A different view

Malkin as Victim

2007-08-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's Friday night and I'm really bored. I don't have cable any more, and what television I do watch has to be streaming over the Internet.

As I was looking around (when are the going to come out with the streaming video channel clicker widget?) I came across Michelle Malkin's talk at the Young America's Foundation. Evidently these are college age conservatives being trained in the propaganda of choice.

Not that I have anything against conservatives, I just haven't seen a real one in a long time. Kind of like cowboys. A lot of people dress up like cowboys, but very few live the life.

The interesting topic that Michelle kept repeating is what a victim she and the other 'conservatives', codeword for neocons, have become under the violent attacks of the moonbat left.

With her being caught in lies, giving out personal addresses and phone numbers of her enemies, and other questionable practices, is she really the best model for these young people? Give me a Bob Barr, Ron Paul, or William F. Buckley Jr. But Michelle Malkin or Ann Coulter? Please, you can do better.

Not to mention that as long as the Republicans have held the majority and the reasons they lost that position it's hard to see the conservatives as victims.

I also never thought I'd hear Joe Lieberman described as a rational Democrat.

Come join me - if you dare

2007-07-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

"…We have people up there in Congress with the brain of a 2-year-old who don't know what they are doing, they don't experience it. I challenge the president or anyone who has us for 15 months to ride alongside me. I'll do another 15 months if he comes out here and rides alomg with me every day. I'll do 15 more months. They don't even have to pay me extra."
(Sean Smith/Guardian)

I was stationed in Turkey in the late 70's, but there the hottest day I saw was 118F. Helmet, gas mask, long sleeve fatigues and flak jacket. There were people shooting at us, but it was mostly the Kurdish PKK downtown.

Even then the politicians were pretty spineless and refused to answer out letters, because "officially" we weren't there.

Then the Iran hostage situation hit and amazingly we had bases all over Turkey.

I guess if there's one thing you can count on, it's that you can't count on politicians. Especially these Republican chickenhawks, in such a rush to go to war but afraid to go themselves.

The Real Libby Crime

2007-07-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of talk about Scooter's escaping prison and Valerie Wilson. But everyone seems to miss the real crime, and threat, from a CIA operative being exposed.

Ms. Wilson (Plame) may or may not have been working undercover at the time she was revealed. But her exposure lead to the destruction of a very carefully constructed front company that was heavily involved in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and other severe threats.

This company was Brewster Jennings & Associates. Not only was the company brought to public scrutiny, but so were other CIA operatives as well as foreign nationals friendly to our cause.

Major spy networks obliterated for the selfish purposes of the Bush administration and we may never know how many lives were lost for this petty achievement. Underground weapons networks don't take kindly to spies.

In every respect the constant missteps of this administration have put us under more danger. Something that should be treated as a high crime and treason.

Pomegranate - the new Madison Avenue spin

2007-06-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

I never much cared for pomegranates, having once lived where I had a tree in my back yard. I ate the few the birds left, but thought they were a lot of work. There's a very thick, hard skin and once you get in seeds with a thin layer of good stuff. Eat the seeds and you get an astringent taste, remove the juicy flesh and spit out the seed and it can take forever to eat a single fruit.

Now they're telling me that pomegranates are the new health food. Greater than wine or blueberries they say. Full of vitamin C, folic acid, and newly discovered antioxidants.

So I decided to try the juice and see if I could lose 20 years of hard living overnight. Going to the local store there were shelves from ceiling to floor stocked with pomegranate flavored juice.

Wait, what's this? Pomegranate flavored? Looking closer, I noticed as many as four other juices plus water.

Apple, grape, and pretty much anything that adds sweetener and is cheap. But the label shouted "POMEGRANATE" on the label.

So as always, buyer beware. And let's hope that someday all of the labeling laws will actually result in truth in labeling. It would be nice if someone were telling the truth these days.

Is it Just Me?

2007-04-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

For some reason, since the blow up on Don Imus, I find I'm watching more Fox programs. Not that I supported what Imus said, I just didn't like his crucifixion. Don chose the wrong people to lambaste, honorable women who certainly didn't deserve it. And women without a soapbox from which to defend themselves.

Imus was like zero based budgeting, you came in with no value and had to not only stand your ground but had to take as much gorund as you could. Everyone had to. And who hasn't had a boss that wasn't exactly the same?

It wasn't that Imus was a bigot. He was just very confrontational and that's how he got the best interviews out of people. Attacked from the start people were immediately pushed off balance and didn't have time to get behind their regular speaking points wall.

Watching Sharpton was sad. Just who is it that he speaks for? Saying the black community is a single voice behind Sharpton is just as bigoted as offering chitterlings to a black person.

Gwen Ifill, someone I admire greatly, took her time on Meet the Press to work out all the anger she'd kept in since being called a Whitehouse cleaning lady. From there it went to worse as she claimed the right to decide what all Americans can and can't listen to.

MSNBC, who hasn't found a fight it can't run from since they cancelled Donahue, finally conceded and cancelled the show.

They had little choice once all of the sponsors pulled out, perhaps the one thing about this I can respect.

While the touchy feely liberals cried and held vigils, pretty much forgetting the women themselves and wailing loudly just to hear themselves, the conservatives decried the message while also rejecting the punishment. Okay they said, if you're going to limit Imus, limit everyone that says the same thing.

But no, only wasp male republicans can be excoriated for this offense. Not rappers, poets, or comedians. Er, other comedians.

So are things already tipping the other way? Have the right moved to the middle and the left to the extreme left? Are Republicans actually starting to remember that thing the Bush administration has tried so hard to strip away, civil liberties?

So goes the pendulum. So goes life.

>Save the bees.

Bolton Beats It, North Korea Comes Home

2007-02-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

I remember years ago Ambassador John Bolton shooting off his mouth the night before talks with North Korea. The next day North Korea pulled out of the talks and went on to test nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems.

Now Johnny is gone and we hear that Christopher Hill has had a major break-through with the negotiations team.

Coincidence? I think not.

Onward to (another) War

2007-02-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

I was listening to Senate hearings the other day. The same hearings where GOJ (Good Old Joe, Party of One) Lieberman proposed a war tax.

He started his questioning by asking General Pace if they were investigating the downing of American helicopters with what he was sure were Iranian surface to air missiles.

Now every news report has said that the helicopters were downed by small arms fire. A SAM, even a shoulder launched SAM, isn't small arms fire. Is Joey not reading the newspapers, or is he so hell bent to get us involved in another war that he's doing everything to bias news reports?

Connecticut, again I say, for shame.

The War Against Footballism

2007-02-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

The NFL came out swinging against churches planning on showing the Superbowl in their churches.

Since churches have gone multimedia, many have invested in large screen projection systems making for a great football experience.

But even more militant than the Olympic Committee, the NFL is threatening these home of hostile footballism if they show games on screens wider than 55" or if they mention the word Superbowl® in billboards or bulletins.

Is the NFL afraid of not sharing in the loot? No, the churches don't charge admission.

But if the churches served popcorn and beer they might get by with the game. The exception to the widescreen rule? Sports bars that regularly show televised sports. Gives communion whine a whole new meaning.

Word of the Day - Dire

2007-02-02T14:55:00.000-08:00

As in:
The great flu pandemic: Despite dire warnings, public interest has

Area Red Cross in dire need of blood

Dire global warming report won't change US policy

US command nominee terms Iraq situation 'dire'

All in all a Google news search on 'dire' returns Results 1 - 50 of about 10,719 for dire.

American Heritage Dictionary
dire (dīr) Pronunciation Key
adj. dir·er, dir·est

1. Warning of or having dreadful or terrible consequences; calamitous: a dire economic forecast; dire threats.
2. Urgent; desperate: in dire need; dire poverty.

[Latin dīrus, fearsome, terrible; akin to Greek deinos.]

dire'ly adv., dire'ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Hate Speech By Any Other Name

2007-02-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

This was at the top of an email from Tom Winters of Human Events Online.

Someday soon, you might wake up to the call to prayer from a Muslim muezzin. Millions of Europeans already do.

And liberals will still tell you that "diversity is our strength" -- while Talibanic enforcers cruise our cities burning books and barber shops. The Supreme Court decides sharia law doesn't violate the "separation of church and state" ... and the Hollywood Left gives up gay rights in favor of the much safer charms of polygamy.

While I don't expect much from any group that includes hate monger Ann Coulter, it just seems to me that this group has become the imaginary group that they're warning us against.

We have a diversity of cultures in the US. There are Chinese neighborhoods were all the signs are in chinese, the markets carry Chinese food items, all of the Schwab employees speak either Mandarin or Cantonese. The same goes for hispanic, jewish, and muslim groups. Given the slow immigration rate of most groups they come in, assimilate, and join our larger community.

Winters warns us that we need to take action(send him money) to prevent the takeover of our wonderful country from "outsiders". He doesn't want "his" country invaded and to wake up one day in a state the he doesn't control.

This isn't a lot different from the Islamists that want to run Americans and Jews out of the middle-east. They warn others of the dangers of dilution and the corruption these other groups cause to their way of life.

Hate speech is hate speech. Whether it's on the other side of the pond or our own. The only difference is that we have the responsibility of preventing this bigotry from spreading over here.

Now It's Hogwash Everywhere

2007-02-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

Dick Cheney started it.

WOLF BLITZER: ...good Republican friends in the Senate and the
House are now seriously questioning your credibility, because of the blunders and the failures.
Gordon Smith...
CHENEY: Wolf, Wolf, I simply don't accept the premise of your question. I just think it's
hogwash.

Now it's Senator Byrd.

“This administration has claimed that debating the president’s plan will undermine U.S. troops. Hogwash. H-O-G-W-A-S-H.” — Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.

Just what do these wise ( ) men mean? I guess it's better than some of the language Cheney has used, but not quite up there with Donald Rumsfelds "aw shucks" moments.

hog·wash [hawg-wosh, -wawsh, hog-] –noun

1.	refuse given to hogs; swill.

2.	any worthless stuff.

3.	meaningless or insincere talk, writing, etc.; nonsense; bunk.

[Origin: 1400–50; 1900–05 for def. 2; late ME. ]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Yet Another Cherrypicked Story (YACS)

2007-01-31T20:26:00.000-08:00

At this point is there anyone that doesn't believe the Bushco administration didn't handpick stories to support the mission they'd already agreed on?

Former chief of the CIA's Europe division, Tyler Drumheller has an interview running in Germany's Spiegel magazine (Oh My God, talking bad about the US in a foreign journal). He talks about a story that he thought had been buried showing up in General/Secretary of State Powell's UN speech.

Okay, maybe some of the people that frequent the FreeRepublic and LittleGreenFootball blogs.

I think of myself as moderate and had tried to join these groups to balance the heavily biased Huffington Post I'd been reading.

You need a special dispensation from God to get into LGF, and I got banned for life from Free Republic. Was I going in as a liberal troll causing trouble? No, my sin was not perfectly toeing the party line on Iraq and what a great idea it was. Guess what guys, it's still not a good idea and Bushco still isn't conservative. And you're killing and maiming a lot of the American soldiers you say you support.

Your posting privilege has been revoked.
Reason:
troll

I find a really simple difference between the Kos and Freeper sites. At Kos, anyone is welcome to join and offer different opinions as long as you don't start fights.

At Freeper you're welcome to start fights (on liberal blogs) as long as you don't have a different opinion.

And on LGF you're just not welcome to join.

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They'd probably go into apoplectic shock if they saw a unique and original opinion in their midst.

I guess I understand why the left goes crazy over the loss of civil rights and the new conservatives don't care. I guess none of the Republicans remember Barry Goldwater and Libertarians.

We now have No Child Left Behind teaching the conservative memorize-and-regurgitate credo rather than the creative thinking of times past. No one is interested in elections or bothers to show up. And the NSA and Google watch our every move. Hi Guys.

The Man or the Machine?

2007-01-30T05:04:00.000-08:00

Bushco® is making much of how Congress confirmed General Petraeus but disapprove the surge.

But it's not the general that sets policy, Bush does. The confirmation merely means that the general is capable of commanding efforts in Iraq.

And he may not be all that the press is making him out to be. He was in charge of training Iraqi replacements, and we all know how that is gone.

Here's an eye opening article by William Arkin at the Washington Post.

Oh Say Can You Sang?

2007-01-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

The right is having a good time poking fun at Hillary Clinton because she can't, as we used to say, carry a tune in a bushel basket.

True, she's terrible. But at least she knows the words. Dennis Hastert kept taking off in a jazz solo making up his own words when he attempted the same.

AWOL Politicians, Or How to CYA

2007-01-27T19:43:00.000-08:00

Washington was the site for a large anti-Iraq war demonstration on Saturday. Tens of thousands of protesters were said to have shown up, many bussed in from states all over the east coast.

If you go with the theme Go Big or Go Home, over 70% of Americans think we're on the wrong course in Iraq. Bush's plan is seen as just enough of a surge to get more people killed, but probably not enough to make a difference.

The 2006 elections are viewed by most outside of Connecticut (thanks for supporting the war Connecticut) as a clear message that it's time to get out from between warring factions in Iraq.

Yet the only federal politicians to show up at the rally organized by United for Peace and Justice were the usual suspects. Dennis Kucinich, Maxine Waters, John Conyers, and Lynn Woolsey.

The news organizations were all a-twitter over Hillary in Iowa, missing the real story of Senator Clinton refusing to take a stand on the war despite being from a very Democratic state.

Where were Brownback, Boxer, Obama, Wilson, and all of the other politicians. I'll excuse Senator Chuck Hagel, who's "if you want a safe job sell shoes" line is a classic.

It's too bad that the politicians are more interested in keeping their job than doing it. And haven't learned the lesson of 2006 that they're both one in the same.

PR Stunt? In Hollywood?

2007-01-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

There are those that say Isaiah Washington's entry into rehab is a public relations stunt. I'd say the stunt started when he first called his fellow actor a name that wasn't politically correct.

I used to live next to a retired public relations manager. He had great stories which I'd rarely believe until he dug out news clippings and autographs.

Gods speed Dave and thanks for the education.

The Workings of Court

2007-01-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

It seems so odd to be remoting back and forth from political pundits to HBO's Rome. Dana Priest, that outstanding reporter from the Washington Post, once talked about mercenary run wars and royal courts bickering as a sign of old empires. I don't know if we're a tired empire looking for gaudy entertainment, but we certainly have the spectacle of court thanks to Libby, Cheney, Rove, and Novak.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fizgerald is peeling back the layers and showing us machinations that would have made Mark Antony proud. Cathie Martin has been testifying giving us a peek into the administration that believed control was all important. Next week we'll hear from former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer as he testifies under immunity and now we learn that Karl Rove and counselor Dan Bartlett have both been issued subpoenas.

I still don't understand why Libbby didn't just shut up, take a sentence and a pardon. But I'm certainly glad he didn't. But if I do get bored there's always Rome, or is it the other way around?

Age Appropriate Employment

2007-01-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

It's a bit disheartening watching the video clips of Google employees. Being close to 50 and looking for employment I notice right away what's missing. Anyone over about 35, or who grew up in the fields, or anyone without the sun starved look of the young academic.

Even senior managers look homogeneous to me.

Are computers and the Internet only for young people? The same has been said about many industries as people look for excuses to hire people more like themselves. Whether young, old, black, Japanese, we've seen many bigotries over the centuries. Google and high tech just get by with it more than previous employers.

Apple tried to get rid of all of their senior people at one time. Old timers worked slower, worked fewer hours, and cost more. What they realized after slimming their ranks is that experience was worth a lot, even in the newer multimedia technologies. They worked slower but their code worked first time, was easier to maintain, and had a longer life because it was designed with changes in mind.

As much as Google would like to be the big new thang, there's really not that much that's new under the sun, just different speeds and names.

So to get my qualifications up to date I've been taking some time off and working on some certifications. It seems odd to be forced into taking tests on equipment I designed and helped build.

I interviewed at Home Depot for at least some income while working on all of this. And to be honest, it will be nice to be around people with a bit more balanced personalities. There was a good mix of ages, races, and ethnicities as I walked through the store. It seems that construction supply has been around long enough to know that it's the diversity of people that makes their company strong.

True, Google has been very successful with their hiring requirements. But it seems odd that electronics and high tech, which depends on a mixture of materials added to germanium or silicon to get transistors to work, is so intolerant of this mixture in their work force.

Over 4 Million Votes Unserved

2007-01-22T09:42:00.000-08:00

There was an odd debate in the House the other day.

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) were debating the rights of four delegates to vote.

When the Republicans took control of Congress in 1995 they took away the (mainly symbolic) vote of four delegates representing the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands. Since the Republicans are concerned about these areas actually having representation and a voice in politics I'll assume they're probably Democrats.

The District of Columbia has long chafed at not having a say in their governance. But being small and mostly minority no one paid them much attention. But Puerto Rico includes over 4 million people, much larger than the typical 600,000 or so constituents.

Rep. Hoyer argued well and he put Blunt on the defensive. Being the minority Blunt won't have a lot to say about it anyway.

I was just at the Alamance Battleground in North Carolina where Regulators first protested unfair representation by royal governor William Tryon. That was in 1771. It seems odd that 236 years later we're still having that battle.

HWCV (How Would Conservatives Vote)?

2007-01-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

It's interesting to hear how little support Bush has for the escalation in Iraq. Those supporting him have arguments like Duncan Hunter's. He says that the new troops are badly needed reinforcements and that stopping them would be tantamount to isolating our troops at the Alamo.

Joe Biden (D-DE) quickly tore that down since the new troops have a new mission. That mission seems to be as targets if you accept William F. Buckley's assertion that there are unlimited insurgents with unlimited IEDs. More troops just mean more possible targets while the troops will have little to no affect on the acts of the enemy.

The accusation that leaving Iraq will only embolden the irrepressible boogeyman Al Queda is as misleading as accusing Hussein of having ties with them. If we leave the majority Shia's will take control and turn all of their energy towards dispatching the Sunni terrorist group. They'll be gone much faster than if we stay in country, providing them both a target and safety from the Shia's.

The Kurdish will have a safe area if they can still the temptation to attack the Turks.

The Shia's are controlling the rest of the country anyway and once left alone will work out differences between Badr and Sadr.

The best part will be getting rid of that body known as the government of Iraq. It doesn't work, the constitution is regularly ignored, and the people are suffering more at the hands of official police than from illegitimate militias.

The largest problem would be leaving the Sunni's as ready victims. Perhaps we could split Israel and give part of it to this minority group. Okay, that's an evil thought. But Baghdad would have to be split akin to Jerusalem, a divide that has never worked well.

There are also some minority Christian and Jewish groups that we've put in danger because of the general rise in violence. An end to the general mayhem might make them safer as a result.

Sunnis argue that a division of the country would mean they would lose control of both major oil fields. This is also misleading as US companies are taking control of the oil fields. The Independent has seen drafts of the new Iraqi hydrocarbon law that would give a lion's share of profits to US companies. The small amount of revenue left could easily be distributed by KBR at a pay window.

One clear message is that we need to go back to the conservative credo of staying away from nation building. From Iran to Chile we've never done a very good job of that and someday we'll learn our lesson.

A Question For Carter re: The Hostage Rescue

2007-01-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

I was stationed in Turkey when the fall of the Shah of Iran occurred. Planes flew into Iran from our base rescuing stranded Americans and bringing with them what little they could.

The planes flew round trips into Iran from our base, then were transferred to other planes to be taken up to Germany on their way to various locations.

While we were in a secure area and well protected by the Turkish military, who despite US spin about the Iraq invasion have always been a great friend of the US, we still wore battle garments and worked 12+ hour days.

This military preparedness caused all kinds of rumors to form and whirl around. But one that I'd love an answer to was concerning who went into Iraq for the hostage rescue.

The rumor was that a team experienced in desert operations had been training for weeks to rescue the hostages. They had desert gear, filters on their helicopters, and knew the people and area.

The rumor goes that at the last moment a Vietnam era general had convinced President Carter to send his own (untrained) troops in for the glory. The result was an ill-equipped and trained force that attempt and failed the rescue.

On the Sunday morning talk shows President Carter said the failing was in not sending in an 8th helicopter. But I've wondered if the failing wasn't the ego of a general seeking one more medal at the cost of many people's lives, a truly Vietnam era tradition.

Fox Unemployment Assistance Program

2007-01-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen Dennis Miller in a while. But flipping through Fox News tonight I saw him ranting about the incident in San Francisco in which the Yale Baker's Dozen a capella all-male group got caught in unfortunate attack by some local males.

The Yale Herald says no one knows quite what happened, but since a parody of the National Anthem was sung Sean Hannity and Dennis Miller have decided that it was a San Francisco anti-patriotism beating.

While there are several versions of the story still swirling around, Dennis Miller's rants were neither funny nor satirical. Mostly, they were just sad and attempted to support Hannity's stand on the issue. Hannity's points are rarely based on reality and this one seems no different since the "National Anthem" ended with lines about beer drinking and was obviously meant as a joke. However by the end of the rant he'd been able to insult all of San Francisco and blame the whole thing on Nancy Pelosi.

Dennis adds nothing to the national discussion on this the newest act of violence in America. He neither breaks the tension with humor nor shows us insights with poignant jibes. It's just hate mongering and boorish at best.

Were it not for Fox News Dennis would be slumming at the nearest John Birch bar. Thank goodness for Roger Ailes and the Fox unemployment assistance program.

The Rules of Weiqi

2007-01-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

US Defense forces often "game" war plans using advanced mathematics, super computers, and creative theories and hypothesis.

On the other hand, the Chinese use a game known in the US as Go, or Weiqi, as it's traditionally called. This is a simple game with a board, white pebbles, and black pebbles. The goal is to surround your opponent's stones so that you can remove them from the board. This game has historically been used to train Chinese and Japanese generals in strategic thinking.

Like the Russian solution of using a pencil in space to solve the problem of writing without gravity, it's often the elegant solutions that serve best.

I think the Chinese see a failing imperialistic country in the US and are afraid we would trigger our excessively large military to prove our power as the internal structure of the empire withers.

So we've seen quite a few moves to build their own martial power in the last few years. Espionage of US military secrets, successful rocket launches, blue water submarine development, cornering of energy contracts, and a budget increase that had Donald Rumsfeld constantly questioning the need.

The need of course is to protect their country from the US as the great wall protected their country from the Mongols.

China again extended their capability by a large leap today when they tested a satellite killer that knocked out an old weather satellite.

US warfare is extremely reliant on satellite systems to guide missiles, communicate around the world, and get images of enemy troop movements. Many of our advanced, or smart, weapons systems would be useless without satellite assistance.

Slowly, inexorably, the Chinese are preparing to confine the death throws of a failing empire. While we, with all of our advanced gaming and super computers, watch men with pebbles surround us.

It's All a Game

2007-01-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

I've often thought that the reason evangelical leaders rant on homosexuality is that they know the issue is a hot button that will get people, mostly men, to send in money.

Certainly with all of the violence, homeless, drug addicts, and global warming being gay is not a high priority threat to anyone.

Yesterday, MoveOn.org ran an ad against presidential hopeful John McCain and his Iraq stance. Why McCain? Why not Duncan Hunter, who won the Phoenix area straw poll? Could it be that attacking McCain will get more people to send in donations?

Now McCain has responded in an email to his exploremcain.com list asking for money to respond to MoveOn.

In order to respond to these negative attacks we need your financial support today for Senator McCain's Presidential Exploratory Committee. Please consider making an immediate contribution of $500, $250, $100, or whatever you can afford by visiting the following link:

Am I the only one that thinks we're the shuttlecock in a game of make money badminton? I've heard that Kerry and Bush spent around $35,000 on ties for the last election. I think the main point of all of this is just to make these people rich.

Outsiders At Large

2007-01-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

The US raid of an Iranian facility in the Kurdish north area of Iraq the other day has a lot o f people questioning whether the Prez is getting ready to attack Iran.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe would not comment on Thursday's raid.

"But the president made it clear last night that we will not tolerate outside interference in Iraq. And that's what the Iranians are up to," Mr. Johndroe said.

This reminds me of an exchange between Senator Ted Kennedy and a British soldier in British controlled Ireland.

"Why don't you go home?" sneered the British guard. "Why don't you?" replied the Senator. I'm quoting here from memory and may not have the quote exact.

According to a Sep 2006 poll of Iraqis 71% wanted the US out of their country within a year. Now we're increasing our footprint there just enough to cause more problems but not enough to stop the violence.

There's an oft quoted wisdom that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Isn't it time we stopped the insanity?

Oversight? Not So Much Says Lieberman

2007-01-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

"There has been a near total lack of cooperation that has made it impossible, in my opinion, for us to do the thorough investigation that we have a responsibility to do," Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, said at Tuesday's hearing of the Senate committee investigating the response. His spokeswoman said he would ask for a subpoena for documents and testimony if the White House did not comply.

So said Senator Lieberman a year ago of documents that might have shed light on the fiasco of the Katrina Hurricane aftermath. And more importantly, on what President Bush and vice-president Cheney's role in all of this was. Because from what we've seen Browny was right, he was framed.

So now that Senator Lieberman is Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Democrats have subpoena power to get answers, we're going to find out what happened, right?

Well, er, no. Lieberman, Bush's personal other party adviser on the Iraq war, has decided it's no longer so important.

... according to Leslie Phillips, the senator’s chief committee spokeswoman. “The senator now intends to focus his attention on the future security of the American people and other matters and does not expect to revisit the White House’s role in Katrina”

It's not Lieberman's fault says his spokesperson in response.

All legislators must work in a bipartisan manner with the other party and the White House if they want to get anything done.

So it's you pat my back and I'll pat yours. I only had poly sci 101, but I thought the reason we had three houses was so they could keep an eye on each other. I guess I was wrong.

And oh yea, thanks Connecticut.

They're Coming Fast & Furious

2007-01-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

The announcements are coming so fast that it's hard to keep up.

We already have Dems Mike Gravel of Alaska, Edwards of North Carolina, Vilsack, and Kucinich.

Not to mention Repups Cox of Illinois, McCain, Hunter of California, Smith of Oregon

Since John Edwards announced over the holiday we've added these people interested in running

Jim Gilmore of Virginia
Mike Huckabee of Arkansas
Guiliani of New York City
Brownback of Kansas and Creationism
Romney, who was a liberal before he wasn't
Thompson of Wisconsin and abstinence anonymous

On the Dem side
Joe Biden of Delaware - and you thought Clinton's speeches were long
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut

Kerry is thinking of making a fool of himself, er, running again.
Hillary is either planning on running or fundraising for more expensive parties.
Everyone is waiting to see what rock star Barack Obama is going to do, and Republicans are already so worried they're already smearing him.
Al Sharpton is thinking of running to provide some badly needed comic relief.

On other fronts, Jim Gilchrist of California and Minuteman battling illegal immigrant fame is looking at running via the Constitution Party.

When you realize that pretty much every Senator and most Representatives would like to run for president there could be a lot more. But since the entry fee for a run is around $100 million these days, most of the riff raff and original thinkers will be left out.

$tate Department's Benjamin Franklin Award

2007-01-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

Why they call it the Ben Franklin Award.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is supposed to announce a new award to honor a company, academic institution or other nongovernmental agency that does the most to stem the bleeding of the deeply wounded US reputation overseas, according to the Washington Post. The award is to be called the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy.

They blame the downhill slide of the US reputation on the Iraq war fiasco. But I think ridiculing "Old Europeans" like Germany and France, antagonizing Russia, ridiculous policy towards the island of Cuba, threatening Turkey and Pakistan, legalizing torture, and throwing out the Geneva Conventions might have something to do with it.

So instead of actually doing things that better the government's reputation, they've created a coalition of public relations companies to artificially pump it up. I guess Karen Hughes just found the job too hard.

They'd better add lots of Benjamin Franklins ($100 bills) to the award. Because I can't see this administration's reputation getting better in the next two years. Having an ethnocentric president and a vice-president that takes joy in shooting sitting ducks (or pheasants) means little chance of changing course now.

In other news Rice announced Zalmay Khalilzad to serve as America's Ambassador to the United Nations. He actually seems like a good choice, but I'm still waiting to hear what the move of Negroponte, who was for terrorism before he was against it, to State makes.

Dere Goes da Judge

2007-01-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

Interesting retreat in President Bush's alleged ultra-conservative judicial nominees yesterday. Four judges were withdrawn one of which,District Judge Terrence W. Boyle of eastern North Carolina, has been a nominee for Virginia's conservative 4th Circuit Court of Appeals since 1991.

I can understand wanting to push through a more conservative judge in San Francisco's famous 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. But rather than nominate someone that was simply conservative he nominated William G. Myers III, a former lobbyist for grazing and mining interests that was decidedly anti-environmentalist. Bush's pro-oil and drilling activities has so isolated him that even the NRA is being forced to take a stance against the administration.

The Virginia based 4th circuit is relied on by the DOJ to limit civil rights in terrorist prosecutions. But his nominee Judge Terrence W. Boyle isn't known to be especially conservative when it comes to civil rights and rules of evidence. Mostly he's known for getting caught up in a feud between Jesse Helms and Democrats, with then Senator John Edwards last taking a position against him for his civil rights record.

With the last renomination of these candidates just a few days after the 2006 November elections when the Democrats won the House, these nominations seem to be more of a poke in the eye to Democrats than any real strategic positioning.

If Bush couldn't get them through even with a Republican majority and post 9/11 inertia I have to wonder if he didn't look for the most contentious nominees he could find.

Like so many of the efforts of the Bush administration, the move seems more to cause polarity than to serve any real function.

Mercaptan or What's That Big Stink?

2007-01-08T09:33:00.001-08:00

New Yorkers are finally admitting the city stinks. An odor like natural gas is being reported around the island of Manhattan.

Of course, the odor of natural gas isn't the flammable gas at all. It's mercaptan, also known as methyl mercaptan. One of the components is sulphur, which gives it that rotten cabbage smell. It's mixed into natural gas, normally odorless, so you can detect a leak before it becomes a boom.

The odor can also come from such diverse sources as feces, algae, cheese and nuts.

Maybe the warm weather is causing a problem. Maybe it's just time to clean up the streets. I'm just glad I don't have to smell it.

Granny Grab Your Gun

2007-01-07T00:46:00.000-08:00

Something I thought I'd never live to see is the NRA supporting Democrats. Yet it seems the Bush administration has sunk so low that even the NRA is aligned against him. Or at least thinking about it.

According the the Washington Post article the reason is two fold.

First is the issue of access to hunting and fishing lands. The Bush administration has been opening huge tracks of prime game areas to oil and gas drilling companies. They've rolled back the Clinton era roadless areas and allowed companies in despite the arguments against it from governors, game and fish agency managers, and many hunting and fishing groups.

The second is that the Democrats aren't pushing gun control, with neither Pelosi or Hoyer mentioning any plans on bringing up gun control.

The Democrats trying to take guns from the ownership of rural dwellers has never made sense. Trying to control illegal sales of guns in cities may make sense, but hunting is an ingrained part of the American life in the country and backroads of the US.

The Democrats have let the Republicans control the message on issues like gun control and abortion. The Democrats have slowly been changing their message, led by Howard Dean.

As he says, no one is for abortion. No one wants there ever to be another abortion. The difference is in how you deal with it.

And we shouldn't be against guns, just the use of guns in violent crimes. Canada, where guns are easily available, has far less gun related violence. The answer is in the culture, not in the tool.

Falling on Both Sides of the Escalation

2007-01-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

It's interesting to see the positions that people are taking on the Iraq war 'surge' or escalation, whatever you want to call it.

I'd expect Senator Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to be against it. Biden: "I have reached the tentative conclusion that a significant portion of this administration, maybe even including the vice president, believes Iraq is lost. They have no answer to deal with how badly they have screwed it up."

McCain and Lieberman (I still don't understand how Connecticut could re-elect him) are staunchly pro-surge, though this may be posturing. McCain: “the surge must be substantive and sustained”. Lieberman not only supports an escalation in Iraq but appears to be ready to expand into Iran as well, declaring that there was “an axis of evil with headquarters in Tehran.”

Somewhat more surprising was Charles Krauthammer's column in the Washington Post where he showed complete contempt of the neo-con dream. "We should not be surging American troops in defense of such a government."

Also coming out anti-surge is conservative Ollie North, who has spent a lot of time on the ground (behind the troops) in Iraq. A "surge" or "targeted increase in U.S. troop strength" or whatever the politicians want to call dispatching more combat troops to Iraq isn't the answer.

Dan Senor penned an op-ed in the über conservative Wall Street Journal calling not just for a surge, but a large surge. "10,000-15,000 more troops would be insufficient to stabilize Baghdad and at the same time maintain a strong presence in Anbar."

General Keane wants a surge that lasts 12 - 18 months and lives and eats with the Iraqis. "What is different is you bring in a 24/7 force and they stay in those neighborhoods and they do not go back to their bases. They stay in the neighborhoods," Keane said.

It's going to be a battle. With Democrats unwilling to cut budgets but having no other influence on the outcome, Bush can do anything he wants. Still, it won't be without a lot of verbal jousting.

As E. J. Dionne Jr. says, "The surge... is seen by most Democrats and some Republicans as a rebuke to the majority whose November ballots signaled a negative verdict on the Iraq war."

To me, it still seems like watching someone sitting in front of a slot machine in Las Vegas, sure that if they just put in one more coin they've got to win.

All Hat No Cattle

2007-01-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

Jane Harman has posted an essay on the Huffington Post today calling for Bush to submit the Iraq budget as part of the regular budget process.

So far Bush has been getting special emergency expenditures for the Iraq war. This aids in two ways.

One, the budget busting costs are counted as part of the Federal budget.

Two, the ways these funds are spent aren't accounted for.

As we've seen much of the money going to Iraq has been going straight into the pockets of contractors with little benefit for the military or the Iraqis.

Harman states that 'I predict this will be the last "emergency" supplemental'. The question is, why is this supplemental being contemplated. Granted, the only budget the past Republican Congress passed was the Defense budget, but I'm sure there are ways to handle this with the general budget and show some accountability.

Harman saying "just one more" sounds like a crack addict saying "just one more hit". Both ring false.

Pass the Sunscreen Frosty

2007-01-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

Long Islanders are enjoying an especially balmy winter. Brookhaven Lab out of Upton, New York is reporting the warmest winter on record. The latest trend has been up sine 1967, with warmer than average weather for the last decade.

The National Arbor Day Foundation has just updated their hardiness zone maps as a result of warming. They've moved zone 7 all the way from North Carolina to Washington DC. The warmer weather has allowed people to plant crepe myrtles in the previously frigid area.

Image courtesy Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The Agony of Da Feet

2007-01-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

It's interesting to hear the tenor of the stories changing as the Democrats take power. Nancy Pelosi was "spot on" in her speech yesterday. Harry Reid was gracious in not stealing the limelight and didn't even approve any parties celebrating his new role as majority leader.

At the same time, the Republicans were whining about minority rights, are lost and returning to their roots.

Having the leadership in the House will make a big difference in the stories that get out because it's going to be a purely Democratic agenda. The Senate will have more Republicans stars because there are fewer of them and the split allows less control by the majority party.

Bush has the big bully pulpit and has had ever since the networks refused to put him on in prime time. I don't know what the administration did after that, but since then he's been on every time he sneezes. Still, as caught up in Iraq as he is it's going to be difficult to push any other agenda.

I'm sure he'll do what he can. As Bush says, it's hard work.
Even in the agony of da feet.

Annoying Rachel Ray

2007-01-04T18:58:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one that finds Rachel Ray really annoying? Okay, maybe me and Anthony Bourdain.

Her empire seems to really have taken off since her early Food Network days. She seems to be guesting everywhere and now has a broadcast talk show. Now there's even talk of Ray taking over the Oprah Winfrey empire when she retires.

I like to cook and I like to travel. But I don't like Ray's travel show, cooking style, mother, and I especially don't like her raspy voice.

Yet she appears to be everywhere these days. My only hope is that like all fads she'll fade and disappear. I hope, I hope, I hope.

I Got Out Just In Time

2007-01-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

I hope stupid isn't catching. From my old home town of Longmont, Colorado.

Longmont police have arrested George Alex Martinez III, identified as a 34-year-old transient, in connection with three bank robberies in the city over a nine day period.

Martinez was identified as a suspect based on witness statements and evidence found at the scene of the most recent bank robbery.

That evidence? His wallet.

Fun On the Hill

2007-01-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

They may be bi-partisan, but the Democrats are still getting their digs in.

First House Speaker Pelosi ousted outgoing Speaker Hastert's from the Robert H. Michel suite of offices. This will be the first time in 50 years that a Democrat has been in those offices.

Now Representative Charles Rangel has claimed the offices loaned to Vice President Cheney during the Republican reign. Said Rangel gleefully "I'm trying to find some way to be gentle as I restore the dignity of that office," Rangel chuckled at the time. "You gotta go, you gotta go."

Rangel is on record as calling the veep a "son of a bitch". I wonder what will happen on the senate side, where Cheney told Senator Leahy to "fuck yourself".

There may be talk of bi-partisanship, but clearly the Democrats are telling the Republicans they're not going to forget the last 12 years.

A Jefferson Twist

2007-01-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

There's an intersting twist in the brouhaha over new Congressman Keith Ellison's intention to use the Qur'an for the unofficial swearing in photo opportunity.

Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, will use a Qur'an once owned by Thomas Jefferson. Well, it's an English version of the Qur'an originally published in 1764. It's believed that Jefferson used the Qur'an as an alternative text on early law.

Bigot in chief Virgil Goode continues to proclaim his "stop them over there so they don't get over here" tired old WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) message. This is the same thing we've heard about Chinese workers, Irish Catholics, and Vietnamese immigrants. He wants to stop Muslims from immigrating into the US.

Since Ellison's family has been in the US since the 1700's I guess we'll need to close all of the mosques and stop allowing conversions too.

So far Virginians seem to support him, which to me just means some people in the state are still smarting over the civil rights act.

One of my best friends is a Pakistani muslim and holds a high level position in a high tech company. He's also one of the kindest, gentlest people I know. Other than not drinking and answering his phone "Selam aleykum" at home you'd never know his religion. With about a fifth of the world Muslim it is blatant bigotry to paint the entire religion as terrorists.

And as a nation founded on the right of religous freedom it seems really hypocritical to condemn Ellison for practicing his own faith. Religion doesn't mean just your particular flavor of protestantism.

GOP Call 1-800-WAA-AAAA

2007-01-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

The Republicans have had the House for the last 12 years and in that time they've stifled the Democrats by discussing bills without the Democrats being present, bringing votes up for a vote without allowing the Democrats to read the bills first, holding votes open for an extended time to allow the Republicans to flip votes, pulled the microphone plug on the Democrats, shut off the lights on Demcrats when they've disagreed with the Republicans and forced Democrats to meet in the basement.

So now that the Democrats have a well publicized plan for the first 100 hours of session that they want to push through, how are the Republicans reacting?

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) on the Democrats first 100 hours plan.
"In their first one hundred hours of governance, House Democrats will renege on a pledge to fully debate policy alternatives, denying the citizens of this country an open, honest discussion of the issues.

I'm sorry, but if this is the maturity level on which the Republicans are going to conduct business then they learned nothing from the last election. It's also going to be a very long two years.The Democrats have been stifled and finally have a chance to pass a few bills. Then they have to start cleaning up some messes like the budget bill the Republicans punted on and the wartime no-bid contracts.

If the Democrats continue to act this way then yes, I think the Republicans have reason to cry foul. But it would be hard to have too much sympathy for the Republicans. But lets hope not because in the long run it's the nation that loses.

Speaking of whining, the liberal bloggers are complaining about the media bringing up Barack Obama's admission to using marijuana in his book Dreams From My Father.

It's called a vetting process, and these are things the public needs to know before sending in donations and voting for Barack. Bush admitted to drinking and refused to comment on cocaine use, so I think the good Senator will be fine.

In fact, the people who have tried drugs and stopped don't bother me nearly as much as the ones that have led such a sheltered life that they've never tried anything illegal.

Just to Be a Contrarian

2007-01-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

I have to play devil's advocate. I've seen this administration play the media for fools before.

Everyone from MSNBC to the BBC has decided that Bush will be firing General Casey and stepping on his body to announce the escalation of troops in Iraq.

According to the New York Times article General Casey represents "Stand the Iraqis up so we can stand down".

The new push is supposed to be to control the nation so we can get a little peace and quiet, then train the Iraqis.

The key part of the new push will be sending a couple of divisions worth of soldiers (10,000 - 30,000) to Iraq to establish peace. In a country of 26 million people.

We'll see. I'm not that ready to seal the deal, as the Bush administration has made a sharp left turn and made the media look foolish before. But for the sake of the soldiers, I hope we're not escalating.

BTW, why is the CIA World Factbook only available on a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection? The population of Iraq isn't a state secret. Are they generally paranoid or is there a benefit to them? Or am I just paranoid? Remember, just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean everyone isn't out to get you.

McDonalds New, er, Health Kick

2007-01-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

I just saw McDonalds Activation Station exercise program. McDonalds continues to prove their market is the nations children and their mission is to get them to eat more junk food.

To make sure they have a good image and empty stomachs, they've started putting commercials on Nick featuring the Ronald McDonald clown leading exercises. I'd say the best exercise would be turning off the television and sending the kids outside.

Beware the New Year bug

2007-01-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

I've been getting a lot of emails with a worm attachment.

These worm-laden messages are titled "Happy New Year" and contain an attachment called either postcard.exe or postcard.zip, according to experts at VeriSign's iDefense Labs, which provides information on security flaws and exploits. If the attachment is opened, malicious software is downloaded from the internet and can infect computers running Windows operating systems.

Smoke It, Don't Flaunt It

2007-01-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Times chronicles the perils of operating a medical marijuana shop in California.
There are an estimated 170 medical marijuana dispensaries in the state but the owners are always in a bit of a catch-22. While the state has legalized the dispensing of marijuana on a doctor's recommendation, the federal government has not.

It sounds like the federal government is trying to work out a compromise, allowing some of the dispensaries to operate as long as they stick to selling to real patients.

However, if you make lots of money then flaunt your success they tend to take it badly. So learned Shon Squier and Luke Scarmazzo, who have made themselves rich in their angel of mercy roles. Scarmazzo even made a video in which he smokes a joint, counts large sums of money and flips off federal agents.

They're now facing IRS and other charges like illegal manufacture and distribution of marijuana after having their Hayward and Modesto operations shut down.

Some cry foul and think going after these entrepreneurs just because they've become filthy rich on an illegal drug is unfair.

Medical marijuana laws are passing in more states all of the time. It looks to me like it's time for the Feds to start working with the state in creating guidelines as to what is and is not allowable. They could even track marijuana through production the way alcohol is tracked now.

On top of that, medical research centers could gain access to marijuana for testing in patients. Determined to keep marijuana illegal, the federal government now denies all of these centers except one the marijuana they need to test the efficacy of the drug.

Oddly enough, this center is run by UC San Diego. Though I'd think it would be more fitting if it was located in Oroville.

See my Dons Blog of California Politics blog for more, with some medical advice on how to smoke a joint.

* Don't source my image to use on your own site. I regularly replace it with images of pink fairies and other less bad boy images.

More on a Silent Hussein

2007-01-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

I've made accusations that the rush to try and execute him was to make sure he didn't incriminate US and British officials and companies in his war crimes.

Variety reports that "U.S. officials ordered CNN and Al-Jazeera, the pool camera crews, to disconnect their audio equipment".

What little footage was left was then censored by the military before it was transmitted back to the US.

This was early in the trial, but it seemed to continue through-out. In IraqSlogger, Nir Rosen reports that "American minders shut off the microphones and ordered the translators to halt whenever they disapproved of what was being said by the defendants".

It's interesting to note The New Republic's article reports Arab (Sunni) journalists are being critical of the trial because so many other leaders in the area could also be tried on similar charges to the murdering of 143 villagers in Dujail. Just how many despots are we supporting in the area?

Certainly the entire Iran hostage situation was over the return of the Shah so the people could try their former dictator.

It seems to be a lesson we've never learned. The reports out of Turkmenistan since the funeral of President-for-life Niyazov show we are still supporting some of the worst regimes in the world.

So why Saddam Hussein and why execute him so quickly? Perhaps so the real criminals will never have to face their own judgements, at least here on earth.

Remembering the Soldiers

2007-01-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

A view of "Arlington West" at Santa Monica Beach, commemorating the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines that have lost their lives in Iraq.

In Memoriam - The Ultimate Price

2006-12-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

In Memoriam On the 3000th Death In Iraq

Remembering the soldiers that gave the
ultimate price for their country
and the family and friends they left behind.

Our prayers are with you.

US Suffers 3000th death.

Oy, It's Election Season Already

2006-12-31T06:58:00.000-08:00

Like the great sports overlap, there's no longer a minute of rest between campaigning these days. Is starting this early really be about getting candidates ahead, or is it the business of campaigning that wants to keep the money flowing?

And like sports fans political junkies are tuning in to pundits listening for the latest election handicapping. The difference being that sports handicapping is actually based on some fact.

I see Edwards is using a web site company out of New Your who's soul focus is candidates. So far their code is pretty bad, so it's obviously a new venture. Or a Microsoft wannabe.

I've created web sites that have helped candidates win local elections, but I have motels, real tors, importers and ecommerce sites to round out my offering. I tried to venture into a real estate focus but realtors at that time were much too cheap and new to the web. Now we have entire companies focusing on elections.

It would seem that elections have become a cottage industry, with major campaigns going into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

I had meant to go to John Edwards' Chapel Hill event last night, but it's a two hour drive and it sounds like these early events are a bit disorganized. I like Edwards, but the primaries are over a year away for crying out loud.

But Edwards has early press and a good support team setting up in many states. However, as William Saffire says, it's a 24 hour news cycle and they'll be looking for someone new soon, sending Edwards to the back of the line as has apparently happened to Hillary Clinton.

The Democratic primary calendar right now, subject to change as states jockey for position.
January 14, 2008 - Iowa
January 19, 2008 - Nevada
January 22, 2008 - New Hampshire
January 29, 2008 - South Carolina
February 5, 2008 - Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas[2], Delaware, Missouri,
New Mexico, North Carolina, Utah, New Jersey
February 12, 2008 - District of Columbia, Tennessee, Virginia
February 19, 2008 - Wisconsin
February 26, 2008 - Hawaii, Idaho
March 2008 - American Samoa, Democrats Abroad, Guam, Michigan, Minnesota,
North Dakota, Virgin Islands, Wyoming (date to be determined)
March 4, 2008 - Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont
March 7, 2008 - Colorado
March 8, 2008 - Kansas
March 11, 2008 - Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas
March 18, 2008 - Illinois, Oregon
April 2008 - Alaska (TBD)
April 1, 2008 - Pennsylvania
May 6, 2008 - Indiana
May 13, 2008 - Nebraska, West Virginia
May 20, 2008 - Kentucky
May 27, 2008 - Washington
June 3, 2008 - Montana, South Dakota, California

The Republican Primary Calendar

January 21, 2008 - Iowa
January 28, 2008 - New Hampshire
February 2, 2008 - South Carolina
February 5, 2008 - Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia
February 5, 2008 - Florida, Michigan (unofficial)
February 12, 2008 - Tennessee
February 9 or February 16, 2008 (date to be determined) - Louisiana
February 19, 2008 - Minnesota, Wisconsin
February 26, 2008 - Virginia (unofficial)
March 4, 2008 - Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York,
Rhode Island, Ohio, Vermont
March 4, 2008 - Pennsylvania (unofficial)
March 11, 2008 - Mississippi, Texas, Washington
March 18, 2008 - Illinois
April 15, 2008 - Colorado
April 26, 2008 - Kansas, Nevada
May 2008 - Alaska
May 6, 2008 - Indiana
May 10, 2008 - Wyoming
May 13, 2008 - Nebraska
May 20, 2008 - Kentucky, Oregon
May 27, 2008 - Idaho
June 3, 2008 - South Dakota, California
June 6, 2008 - Hawaii
June 9, 2008 - Montana

And of course the big election isn't until November 4, 2008. So get those donations in now. Politicians, like tv evangelists, can never seem to get enough.

Of Death and Life, and Love

2006-12-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

As we close down 2006 we bury the famous and infamous. President Ford and the Godfather of Soul James Brown are in state, Saddam is hanged like a common criminal.

There was such a rush to execute Hussein that they hanged him on a Muslim holy day, Eid al-Adha. I remember participating in this holiday when I lived in Turkey. The locals would leave a lamb in-between the two fences surrounding the base command post. Then for the holiday the lamb, commemorating Abraham finding a lamb that saved his son Ismael, is sacrificed and the meat shared with the poorest. Usually this meant vagrant Gypsies traveling from house to house begging a portion. But the sacrifice of the lamb was honored and the holiday a time of reconciliation.

I find it hard to believe a psy-ops unit from Ft. Bragg wasn't involved in this move. Did they know of the sacrifice for this holiday? Were they hurrying to beat the end of the year, not realizing that the Muslims follow a lunar calendar that doesn't end for three more weeks? Either way, the symbolism is working against the US.

The danger is two-fold. One, that we turn Hussein into a martyr of Islam. And two, that we look even more like we're carrying on a great Crusade.

Speaking of endings, many Republicans have vacated their offices and are busy pushing their resume around K Street and the lobbying firms that write so many of our laws these days. So while their jobs in Congress may have ended they could be just starting their careers writing policy.

Then there are the new beginnings. Nancy Pelosi has a three day event planned for her swearing in. I'm surprised she's not allowing the impeachment hearings of Bush and Cheney to go ahead. In one fell swoop she could become the first Speaker of the House and first woman President.

There will many politicians sworn in, but the field still belongs overwhelmingly to the veterans. Can we expect much to change?

The year will end, the new year will come, and life will go on. People will live, love, and die.

Oddly enough, all of this found me reminiscing of my first love during a long drive. Her name was Sherry, and like Wesley's Buttercup in The Princess Bride, it was true love. Unlike many teens, we didn't make out in the back seats of cars nor even thought of it. Ours was an innocent love and we held hands, talked, and basked in the glow of young love.

She was half anglo, half latina. I'll never forget her raven hair and kind brown eyes. She had a smile that to this day makes me feel warm when I remember it, so etched is it in my mind.

I think of true love as that given with nothing expected in return. This is what we had, I think each of us being special in being able to give.

Where would this love had gone had it been allowed time to grow? I'll never know. I like to think it would be of that lifetime kind.

Her father, hardened by a monotonous life of stacking produce at a local grocery store soon saw fit to make sure this didn't continue. Partnering with our pastor, in charge of a strict evangelical church who's affects I'm still recovering from, they made sure I never again had a lone moment with Sherry. It was stopped before it ever really started.

I've since loved, lost, and loved again. It was never true love, with always something expected in return.

I've come to realize how much hard work is part of making a successful marriage but never had one. I wonder what would have happened if we'd had a chance together.

While this was opportunity lost, I hope that you opportunities gained and loves recaptured in the new year.

Morbid Curiosity

2006-12-29T18:14:00.000-08:00

The execution of Saddam Hussein is imminent and the cable news shows are having a field day. The only thing missing is wicker baskets to take to the public hanging.

They're already calling for a live broadcast or at least a follow-on tape.

Reporters in the area say no one really cares. To everyone except Saddam's home village of Tikrit he was an equal opportunity despot.

No tears will be shed over Saddam. It's unlikely that there will be much difference in the day to day violence already occuring in Baghdad.

But I've got to wonder. There were supposed to be several trials accusing Saddam of misdeeds. The first and apparently only one concerns the village of Dujail. After an assassination attempt a sham trial was held and 143 were put to death as a result.

The trial of Saddam was mostly regarded as a circus, a sham to expedite US interests. Do Iraqis think justice has been done, or just that a different actor is lording over them?

I have no issue with Saddam's execution. But I would like to let him live long enough to write an autobiography. Now that would have been an interesting read.

Saddam to Die Die Die

2006-12-28T22:56:00.000-08:00

Reading the reports on Saddam Hussein's execution reminds me of the horrific documentaries on Russia's prison executions. At some unknown time a small window in the door to a prisoner's cell would open and the prisoner would be shot. This while friends and family waited outside hoping to get a chance to signal before the final act.

Russia has stopped these executions, the European Union won't allow member states to conduct death sentences, even Turkey has stopped in hopes of joining the EU.

In the US we make the executions very public. However, despite proof that capital punishment is meted out with a strong measure of innacuracy and bigotry the US continues to conduct executions. Bush's adopted state of Texas continues to set records in the number of people put away. Children, mentally challenged, foreigners with poor representation it doesn't matter as long as they're dead.

In Iraq we originally tried to conduct Hussein's trial with no audio feed. We've done everything we can to ensure that Hussein is quickly put away without an opportunity to accuse the US of supporting his government and it's NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) armament.

When Hussein was required to submit a report of his armaments he did, along with a list of US and British companies that supplied the elemements. The Bush administration made sure this document was quickly classified and kept away from prying journalists.

Now Hussein may be put to death at any time in the next month. Any moment, any day. We won't know until it's over.

But I wonder, is the quick execution a matter of meting out justice, or a convenience for US CEOs and politicians that might be embarrassed by his disclosures? And by calling for this blood price, might we not be allowing the real criminals here in the US to escape justice? Is it just a coincidence that both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden have been on the CIA payroll?

On Death

2006-12-28T19:25:00.000-08:00

I find I think more about death these days. I'm in great health, but at 50 life is on the downhill slide. It's not morbid thinking. Maybe I'm thinking more about life and death just frames the issue.

I've always had a belief in God and the afterlife. If my Sunday School teachers were right, then I only have great things to look forward to. If the atheists are right, it won't really matter.

I've loved my life. I've experienced many unique adventures and met lots of great people. As they say at the end of Secondhand Lions, I've really lived.

There are probably a lot of good years left to me. But for what? And how does it end?

As part of the Joneser generation that comes after the Baby Boomers but before the Generation X, I'm going to be at my twilight at a time when the medical and health care system has been pillaged by the large population of baby boomers. Single, there won't be any children burdened with changing my diapers. I will probably finish my life on my own.

There is I suppose a chance I'll be here when they make the break-through to what is supposed to be our natural life span of 150 years. So at 50 I may just be starting.

But I've run out of dreams. Where am I going? I've left that desire to climb that corporate ladder behind, yet have no toothless and bald grandchildren to reflect on. I tried teaching high school, but the kids are wrapped up in their own lives and don't want to hear the stories of an old man.

I enjoy performing volunteer work and find I can make a difference. But without a challenge it just seems somewhat like rote work.

Am I the victim of Freud's Death Drive, my time having passed and now I'm preparing for the inevitable slip into eternity?

Or am I learning a buddhist lesson, living life one day at a time, not expecting more than the next moment.

Life is great, full of wonder, laughter, tears, of energy. But death, at the end, is the ultimate friend.

Flying Coach

2006-12-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

Well, maybe not coach. There's a news story about British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family flying into Miami on a British Airways 747.

To me, the real story is that Blair was flying commercial to the US. It's not like Parliament can't afford a private plane for Blair. I'm sure there are plenty of British CEOs and citizens that own their own plane.

I understand that many US administration and military senior employess used to fly commercial. According to reports they quit just a couple of weeks before 9/11. They moved to charter flights, I don't know if they've gone back to commercial.

But can you imagine Bush or Cheney flying United? Why is it Tony Blair, a partner in the globally despised Iraq fiasco, the leader of a powerful country like Britain, feels safe flying coach? No private plane, no cargo of armored cars, no legions of Secret Service personnel.

I suppose the Queen doesn't fly commercial. Maybe Prince Charles. But not the decider of their country.

Why is it the US president needs so much protection? Are we paranoid, or has the president of one country become so hated that he's a constant target?

Wouldn't it have been ironic is Blair had perished in Miami, the home of the government that may have ruined his party. And supposedly his best friend.

A Mercenary Force

2006-12-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

The newspapers and blogs are buzzing about the military contemplating the use of foreign nationals in service.

Philipinos have been doing this for decades, I served with several of them in California. Ironically, he had to leave the Air Force to prevent his family from being sent back to the Philipines.

We also exchange service personnel with friendly countries. In basic training I served under a British flight leftenant.

Some say this is a sure sign of the end of empire as the Romans and British had to hire mercenaries to fill out their forces as their power diminished.

I have long supported a required public service. My time in the military taught me a lot, both about myself and other cultures.

But since amnesty has become an important issue, maybe we can do both at once.

We'll require any illegal citizen (they're not all from Mexico) to server two years of federal service to gain US Citizenship. It could be military, peace corp, or conservation corp service, allowing for conscientious objectors.

Both male and female should serve.

Why should we look at this option? For one, this takes a large pool of workers paid under the minimum wage out of competition, requiring employers to offer fair wages.

For another, this allows for an acculturation of these groups. Living in ethnic areas of cities, often they don't learn English and mix with other groups in there area. Nor do they participate in local government or other community projects. Latinos are often a shadow group in their communities. Just as I learned how to shave in the Air Force, these groups would learn civics, English, and other important lessons.

We have an opportunity to improve our country. These people are hard workers, and they can target civil projects that will improve all of our lives.

And finally, we have a deterrent or at least way to slow down emigration. If the border crossers know they'll have to serve two years, rather than merely being bussed across the border to once again attempt a crossing, they might hesitate before deciding to come to the US.

Trumps a Scrooge. Who'd a Guessed?

2006-12-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

Fox News had a Give-Off between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump. Rosie has a real passion for children and leads a couple of charities that gave away millions of dollars last year.

Trump's Charity? A miserly $750,000.

That looks even worse when you look at the relative worth of each of them. The Donald brags that he's worth "$billions, $billions". And looking at the Wikipedia article on Donald Trump it would seem The Donald has received millions in charity when he's been allowed to restructure his and his business's debt.

It looks like the Donald would make Mr. Scrooge himself proud.

Time for a ghostly visit?

The Salvation Army is one of my favorite charities. Who would you recommend for donations?

Hugo and Time

2006-12-23T16:46:00.000-08:00

So far all the reviews of Time Magazine's selection for Person of the Year have resulted in a thumbs down. Pretty much everyone thinks Time copped out in their selection of the new Internet you.

What none of the reviewers mention is that Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, won the popular vote on their web site. So that means you, the Time Person, that uses the Internet, selected Hugo

Hugo Chavez isn't much liked around Washington, DC. I think what makes the Feds unhappy is that Chavez, a third world leader, dare have an ego as big as theirs. And of course his delivering national benefits to the poorest of people and not the big oil companies that our politicians pander to.

There's a photograph of Chavez imprinted on my mind. He's out with the people, standing next to a woman openly breast feeding a baby. Quite a difference from the blue-blooded set Biden, Bush, and Barbara run around with.

Maybe next year we can nominate politician's egos. Though I'm not sure there's enough room on the cover.

Religious Freedom is Good For Them

2006-12-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

It was very interesting listening to Stephen Liston testify before the House International Relations Committee Dec 21 on religious freedoms in other countries, as we have goons in the GOP refusing to comment on Rep. Virgil Goode's and Robin Hayes intolerant comments on Islam.

What was that about the beam in your own eye? They say they support Jesus, but obviously have never listened to his words.

House Hearing on Religous Freedom in Vietnam & Other Countries

Do You Fantasize?

2006-12-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

No, not in a "I'm doing Debbie" sort of way. But let me explain.

I'm pushing 50, and have the typical problems sleeping. Having nothing to do while laying there trying to go to sleep, I did something I haven't done in decades. Daydreamed.

It's an elaborate fantasy with an alien world, immortality, strange critters, farming, and people. As I teenager I used to love science fiction. They could set up any situation on any world and experiment. When DAW started to publish I probably bought a book a day.

Laying there that night, I realized that this late night daydreaming helped me get to sleep.

I asked some friends of similar age if the daydreamed. They'd all lost the habit. And all had trouble falling asleep.

So maybe insomnia isn't all hormones and aging. Maybe it's just that we've quit taking the time to let our minds relax and drift. Some purposeless meandering.

I've heard that Americans have trouble meditating. As soon as we stop and sit still we fall asleep. We're always on the go. Avoiding our dreams.

Perhaps that's what we're looking for in the drugs we take. Marijuana, coke, even ambien. Just a little escape. But we do it in the typical American quick-fix style.

A little daydreaming is good. Not "They'll greet us with candy and flowers" daydreaming, but the "tomorrow will be a better day" kind.

So take some time. Happy dreams.

Trump, Rosie, and Madison Avenue PR Campaigns

2006-12-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, all of those not already sick and tired of Trump vs. Rosie and the Miss USA and View public relations campaigns please raise your hand.

Anyone? Anyone at all? You sir? How about you miss?

It's unanimous. We're all sick and tired of it.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program. Tonight, Joe Scarborough and breaking news on Paris Hilton.

Jon Stewart, the Last Great Hope?

2006-12-21T10:49:00.000-08:00

It's funny to listen to Joe Scarborough whining about being treated unfairly on the Daily Show. I'd guess that's because Jon has absolutely no respect for Joe, a discredited ex-Congressman.

But with Dan Abrams turning Scarborough Country into a celebrity news and gossip show, Hardball wafting whichever way the wind blows, and tens of thousands of viewers leaving heavily biased Fox News shows (though excellent report Shepard Smith continues to do well), could shows like Comedy Central's Daily Show be our last real source of uncomfortable news?

While Jon Stewart denies being a news show, he does report an interesting amount of real news and hosts interviews with real players on the political front. And the more embarrassing the better. Yes, he has the God machine and other silly skits, but there's often a bit of truth even here.

The regular cable news channels are spending more of their news time reporting gossip like Paris Hitlon and Britney Spears' partying, Trump's media blitz on Miss USA Tara Conners, and comedian Michael Richards awkard rant (which sounds very much like a bi-polar episode to me).

Add to that topics they stay away from because either their viewers would be offended or the FCC is holding hearings the broadcast companies want to go their way, it seems like little real journalism still gets reported on broadcast news.

This last week I had to switch over to NPR or PBS to get anything besides news on the missing mountain climbers. While I was interested and hoped for their recovery, there's other news to report that really does affect my life.

So Joe, if you want to keep viewers do what Jon and Keith are doing. Report some real news, take a stand, or do some real investigating.

But please, stop the whining.

Murder and Mayhem

2006-12-17T05:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy year in the US. In something you wouldn't expect, or may you would.

In homocide. Murder. You kill'em, we chill'em. You stab'em, we slab'em.

While those lazy Canadians just north of us only got around to 772 murders last year, Newark alone topped 101 murders this year. And they say we can't do anything right down here.

I was actually kind of surprised that Los Angeles is down to a measly 487 murders a year. So we have one city in the US that has over half the homicides that the entire country of Canada commits.

Overall, the US was at 16,692 for 2005. Oddly enough, this is down from 20,613 in 1986.

Why are we so violent? If it's video games, then why are the murder rates going down at a time when everyone is getting a game console?

Odd, but what a total disregard for life either way.

Bette Midler the Pot?

2006-12-10T09:19:00.000-08:00

It's interesting hearing Bette Midler lecturing Britney Spears, if that's what she's really doing. If you look through the back pages from old Playboys you'll find a wooly shot of our own Ms. Divine.

I remember the shot of Bette raising a leg during a concert, seeing she too once had an aversion to underwear.

“I’ve been on the other side to these wild and wooly sluts that we are seeing around our lives these days," Midler, 61, told the entertainment TV show "Extra," alluding to Spears' and Hilton’s recent out-on-the town antics. "I’ve taken the other side … I started my life out as pretty wild, but I have decided after much growing and living that its time that we got nicer!”

“And I’m wearing underwear…a lot of underwear. In fact, I’m wearing all the underwear that
those girls are not wearing, at least two bras and several pairs of panties.”

I'd guess these quotes are a bit tongue in cheek, which isn't portrayed in the articles. When getting a little publicity, Bette is an old (er,experienced) pro.

Well, that's it

2006-12-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

The 109th session of Congress has been gavelled to a close. It's the end of one of the laziest, most crooked and over spending Congresses ever seen.

From Foley to Haliburton, this group has been a political bloggers delight. Over at Talking Points Memo Joshua Marshall has been keeping a running total of indictments by area and type.

But I'd have to say that I've kind of lost interest. I called this fiasco early, and as people actually started paying attention I just became one of many voices.

Now we'll get to see the Democrats in action. It'll be interesting to see what perennial thorns-in-the-side like Henry Waxman and John Conyers do as they take subpoena power.

For now, Bush and our "foreign policy" will give me plenty to look at until the new Congress convenes. Having lived in the Middle East this has become a favorite of mine, but there's still plenty of other hot spots with China ramping up its military, US debt in the hands of foreigners, and companies continuing their exodus overseas.

Stay tuned, the wild ride isn't over yet.

Line Item Veto - Friend or Foe

2006-03-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

President George Bush has yet to veto a single bill given him from Congress. He's threatened a veto a few times, but only to bully Congress to stopping legislation he didn't like.

The last time Bush talked of a veto was a threat to the Dubai Ports Bill limiting foreign ownership of American ports. I have never heard of him trying to limit a single spending item.

Suddenly he wants a line-item veto. His official stance is that this would allow him to cut pork out of spending bills and limit spending.

Call me a cynic. I've never seen Bush worry about our mounting debt. Even despite warnings from the Federal Reserve and National Association for Business Economics that the federal deficit is harming our economy, he's never pressured congress to limit spending. He even hides line items in his budget like funds for Afghanistan or Iraq, adding them in later as extra spending items.

My guess is that this weakening presidency is looking for new ways to blackmail Congress into passing his pet projects. A senator threatens to vote on an item you're against, Bush merely threatens to block all spending projects for their state.

We've already seen how intimidated Senator Frist is by the Whitehouse. First he's against it, then he's for it. The carrot and stick in this case is Frist's desire to make a run for the Whitehouse in '08. Rove and crowd have clearly signalled that they are supporting George Allen for the next Republican run, yet there's still incentive enough to control Frist.

Imagine if George could sway every spending item and special project for Tennessee. Bill Frist would start supporting the cessation of all stem cell research in a heart beat.

While I'd like to see spending severely limited, the line item veto is a right that Bush should first earn. Not a power granted to beat Congress over the head with.

Iran Threatens the US, Kind Of

2006-03-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

The United States has dismissed Iran's comments that it can inflict "harm and pain" on Washington for its role in pushing for U.N. Security Council action over Tehran's refusal to halt its nuclear program.

"I think that provocative statements and actions only further isolate Iran from the rest of the world," White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with President George W. Bush to hurricane-affected states along the Gulf of Mexico, according to The Associated Press.

If Iran's statements were provocative, what were those of George Bush when he called Iran part of the Axis of Evil and Dick Cheney's "The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose meaningful consequences"?

I get the feeling that both sides are just beating their drums and not much is going to come of it. Iran would have to acquire hundres of centrifuges to successfully produce weapons grade uranium, and act that no on is going to let them do.

In addition, they need the income from their oil that comes from other countries.

The US needs their oil, more so now that China and India are becoming bigger consumers and China is locking up a lot of the worlds oil source in contracts.

So we'll see a lot of beating of chests, but not much real action.

The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Tamiflu

2006-03-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to hear that the US government was planning on moving forward with stockpiling of tamiflu.

The U.S. government ordered 12.4 million courses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu from Roche Holding AG and 1.75 million of Relenza from GlaxoSmithKline Plc, raising the country's stockpile to almost 20 million courses of treatment. The government's pandemic readiness plan calls for enough Tamiflu to treat one in four Americans, or about 75 million people.

But Dr. Koop reports:
Tamiflu and Relenza ... appear to be ineffective against seasonal flu outbreaks and should only be used in the event of a serious epidemic or pandemic, the study authors report in the Jan. 19 online edition of The Lancet.

And even in the context of an epidemic or pandemic, these medications may simply not be enough on their own, the researchers say.

In other words, they may help. But so might chicken soup and hot lemonade my mother's favorite).

The financial magazines think the stockpiling is the greatest news to hit in a while. I'm sure Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is thrilled, but I'm not sure the world health organizations are as happy about spending this money on a drug that may or may not help.

Since people don't have a defense against bird flu it is a dire threat. But since very few cases of species jumping have occured, and none show a predeliction of jumping human to human, I'm more worried about getting the vaccine industry in general up and running better. So let's quit making the rich richer, and make the people healthier.

If They're Not Grateful, Fine Them

2006-03-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

George Barisich, a resident of Chalmette, La. and victim of last year's Hurricane Katrina, gave up on assistance from the federal government and had some t-shirts printed in protest. The t-shirts read "Flooded by Katrina! Forgotten by FEMA! What's Next, Mr. Bush?".

I understand his voicing his frustration on t-shirts, frustration with government is how I got into blogging.

George has been selling and giving away the t-shirts, and as the president of the United Commercial Fisherman's Association he's pretty well known in town.

But he made the mistake of giving a woman a t-shirt in a Wal-Mart parking lot that doubles as a FEMA relief center. Now he's been ticketed for selling the t-shirt on federal property, a charge Mr. Barisich denies. He says he gave the t-shirt away. Never mind says the federal government, you owe us $75 and never do it again.

Mr. Barisich is from the hard hit St. Bernard Parish where 22,000 of 26,000 homes were destroyed, and he's lost several boats and his oyster beds.

So while the federal government has been cited by watchdog groups as being almost totally negligent in disaster recovery efforts here, the local residents can be assured that the local Wal-Mart parking lot if safe from rogue t-shirts salesmen.

Civil Strife

2006-02-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

I believe the people in Iraq are much more interested in three meals a day and a future for their children than they are in civil war. But certainly circumstances are inciting emotions on both sides and Iraqis might come to believe that the only way to have that future is to be in complete control of the country.

The Kurds are already pretty much in control of the northern areas, the only point of contention is whether they will share oil revenues.

The Kurds have numbers and a shared history of being domination.

But the Sunni's also have something that keeps them as major players in this game. They have the experience, being the historical administrators of the country.

Each major party has something that brings them to the table and slows the race to civil war.

The question is, will they also come to share another belief? That the United States must leave their country in order for them to attain their goals.

The one reason that the Iraqi's have "allowed" the US to stay is the belief that the United States military can provide security. That belief has got to be wavering in the minds of locals. And with that belief gone, the little support that the US military has gotten will vaporize.

The US can bribe and threaten an invitation from the Iraqi government to stay as long as they want. The US is building new bases and is planning a long presence in Iraq. But the Muslim religion is extremely disciplined and expects obedience to the death. With the populous turned against the continued occupation the current death rate would continue to rise.

With no ability to provide security and a people that had turned against us, what premium per gallon of oil would be paying to stay in the country?

If we left, allowed the Iraqis to work out differences themselves, wouldn't we in the long run come to the same outcome while saving many American lives?

How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies 101

2006-02-21T09:37:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that the administration could be this dumb on purpose. At a time when cartoons of Mohammed and new photos of the Abu Ghraib scandal are causing tensions, US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw were publicly lecturing Iraqi leaders on how to run their country.

As a supervisor, I always learned to praise in public and reprimand in private. There is a lot of honor and pride in Iraqis, being one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and this public chastisement isn't going to do anyone any good. Not to mention that many Arabs blame Britain's colonialism and America's support of Saddam Hussein the original problems of their land.

In another faux pas, the governor of Iraq’s Karbala province, Aqil al-Khazali, said on Tuesday he had suspended all cooperation with U.S. forces because U.S. security staff last week used police dogs to search government buildings.

Many Muslims consider it degrading to have dogs brought into their homes or offices.

George Will's Word of the Day

2006-02-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

risible:

adj.

Relating to laughter or used in eliciting laughter.
Eliciting laughter; ludicrous.
Capable of laughing or inclined to laugh.

Courtesy www.dictionary.com
As in: Anyway, the argument that the AUMF contained a completely unexpressed congressional intent to empower the president to disregard the FISA regime is risible coming from this administration.

Health Care Irony

2006-02-15T16:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, am I the only one that thinks that today's speech by President George Bush at a fast food restaurant talking about health care savings accounts while Harry Whittington was being treated for a heart attack was a bit ironic?

Or at least sending out a muddied message.

A Matter of Competence

2006-02-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

I obviously have way too much time. Or maybe it's the fact that I have a television set on my desk with cable access. But I do listen to cable news channels too much of the time.

Reports say that a very small percentage of Americans watch cable news. Maybe what's said in these programs don't really matter. It can be a lot of fun to watch, especially when David Gregory and Scott McLellan go toe-to-toe.

But more and more often these day I'm hearing the term 'incompetence' used to describe the current government. From both the right and the left. Targeting both congress and the administration.

Whether it's about the Iraq war clean-up, Terri Shiavo, quail hunting, catching OBL, or forcing out Paul Hackett, people from all sides are getting disgusted with the regular players in politics today.

Local politics moves left and right, and has occasional dust-ups like Tom Noe in Ohio or Arnold's special election in California.

But it's the Democrats and Republicans, Congressmen, Senators, and Whitehouse that are getting accused of stupidity more and more often. I often wonder how this group can make so many bad decisions?

I did get a hint of a reason on a recent trip to a conference in Washington DC. Appropriately, we were in a Senate building.

Expert after expert got up and declared truths that were based on something just said. Not anything based on actual facts or that would make it through a basic logic class. But like a feedback loop, these politicians, lobbyists, and think tankers tell each other the same thing over and over until they come to accept it on faith.

Lets face it. Hillary's not going to be President. Republicans are going to be in charge for a while because there are no Democratic alternatives. Risk taking is dead in the US and being the one true distinctintive character trait we had we're no different than any other country and all that we have left is our hubris, something we ridicule in France all the time. Only Biden is impressed with Biden. Harry Reid isn't really a fighter and isn't giving them hell. The politicians that went to DC for one term to clean up the town are still there and are now part of the problem. And bribes by businesses are destroying our infrastructure as those same companies move all their resources off-shore where they'll be safe, along with the CEO's bank accounts. Why do you think Caribbean banks now have all that money? And we're not going to see any real changes any time soon.

There are a lot of good people in America. There are some really good people. But we seem to have a shortage of great people. It's too bad, we were once great. And more than just competent.

I'm So Confused

2006-02-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

So Bill Clinton lies about having an affair, that didn't include copulation, with an intern and there's a full investigation and impeachment hearing. Other than a bit of a distraction, net nothing to the national security.

Dick Cheney authorizes Scooter to leak information that publicizes the identity of Valerie Plame and reveals a front CIA corporation investigating the transfer of nuclear weapons technology, and so far zip. Net to national security, possible suitcase nuke carried into Times Square and detonated.

This has got be blowing the minds of all those alchemists that believe in the law of "Equivalent Exchange".

Isn't this carrying our Victorian values to an absurd extreme?

If Scalia Hadn't Been Cooperative

2006-02-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Vice-President Cheney mistook a 6' tall lawyer from Austin, Texas for a quail Saturday and shot him full of bird shot.

The victim, Harry Whittington, 78, was alert and doing fine Sunday at a local Texas hospital.

So I guess we know why Cheney took Justice Scalia hunting when trying to sway him on the energy meeting case. Imagine the headlines if Scalia had voted for revealing the meeting attendees.

A Call to Action by General Wesley Clark

2006-02-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

A bit more the New American Foundation panel I attended on Jan 30, keynoted by General Wesley Clark.

Here are a few points on what he thinks we need to do in the future.

Here's what we must do.

First, we've got to set things right at home. Protecting our Constitution comes first. Country before Party. Congress must fulfill its duties to the American people, not rollover for favors from the Executive branch. We need a full, in-depth, bipartisan investigation of the Administration's bypassing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Congress needs to show resolve that the laws it passes do bind the executive branch, whether in wiretapping, humane treatment of prisoners, or the freedom of information act. Moreover, it is time for a special prosecutor, independent of the Department of Justice, to be empowered to investigate the Abramoff scandal, and pursue the leads all the way through Congress and up to the highest office in the land, if necessary. Get it out and get it over.

Then, we have to focus on the principal challenge ahead: preparing our nation to succeed in a 21st Century world where capital and technology flows instantly across borders, where the labor market is global, and where the benefits and security Americans have taken for granted are put at risk as supergiant countries like China, with 1.3 billion people, grab resources, spur their own economic growth, redress old grievances, and naturally pursue their own interests.

We need to reward teachers for their skills and commitments, but the best form of teacher accountability is not found in standardized testing but in the dialogue between teachers and parents centered on the love and respect for each child in the class. And no student who seeks to go to college should be denied that opportunity because they can't pay.

-In health care, we need to take better advantage of modern technology to practice evidence-based medicine, in which treatments and practices are based on statistically proven results — not commercial advertising — and doctors and hospitals are held accountable for their performance, not just by the threat of malpractice but by the day-to-day quality of their results.

We need to harness the innovation of our biotech, pharmaceutical, and health insurance industries better to serve the public good, not just the private gain of shareholders. No child in America should grow up without regular medical check-ups and care — or regular exercise and physical fitness - and every adult should be provided access to the kinds of diagnostic testing and preventive treatments which can slow the onset of aging diseases like diabetes, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer's. Additional insurance coverage should be directed to catastrophic illness and injuries, the kind that wreck families and shatter productive lives.

And inevitably this will mean transitioning over time from a work place centered, private payer system toward greater reliance on some form of single-payer system to ease administrative burdens and reduce costs.

OK, Maybe Those 6 Year Olds ARE Dangerous

2006-02-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

Imagine, you're a six year old terrorist in the Taft kindergarten class. You finally get your chance, a major operation on the NASA Glenn Research Center. You've been in the community for years, a sleeper since birth. Probably indoctrinated in the womb.

The yearly field trip is coming up and you get ready to strike.

Well, thank goodness our Homeland Security Department has taken steps to prevent these six year old terrorists from attacking one of our greatest institutions. All foreign national kindergarteners are forbidden from stepping foot on the NASA Glenn Research Center. Field trips are cancelled, children are restricted to the four walls of their classroom, to be kept under careful surveillance.

WHILE ATTORNEY GENERAL Alberto Gonzalez assures the U.S. Senate that the Bush Administration’s domestic eavesdropping program is a vital “early warning system” for terrorists, another homeland security measure strikes at a local elementary school.

The kindergarten class at Lakewood’s Taft Elementary was planning a field trip to NASA Glenn Research Center. It’s a popular trip because it’s free, because the NASA staff already has age-appropriate tours that fit well with school curriculum, and, well, it’s outer space, for pete’s sake. They’ve got rocket ships.

And NASA works the education angle hard. According to the agency, “A major part of the NASA mission is ‘To inspire the next generation of explorers . . . as only NASA can.’” And of course they talk about math and science. NASA says about 400 school groups took tours last year.

But school principal Margaret Seibel says this year’s trip for Taft kindergarteners — we’re talking 6-year-olds here — had to be canceled due to homeland security concerns.

A Little Over the Top with our Children

2006-02-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

This is a news story I just came across.
A Brockton first grader was suspended from school for three days for allegedly sexually harassing a girl in his class.

The principal of the Downey Elementary School claims the boy put two fingers inside the girl's waistband last week during circle time.

I had a friend whose child was always in trouble in school for talking. He spent more time in the principal's office then the classroom. When I hear about children being arrested for stomping in puddles, kindergartners handcuffed and taken away for disturbing the class, and security personnel stationed in classrooms in Houston, I have to wonder if the problem is with our children or with us adults.

I seriously doubt if the first grader listed above was thinking anything wicked. If he'd just smacked the girl, our violence ridden culture wouldn't have thought a thing about it. At best he was being affectionate or curious, at worst he was just trying to annoy her and get some attention.

Why is it we're unable to guide a six year old without the incident leading to a suspension and national press. Are we that afraid of being sued? Or have we just gotten that dumb?

The boy wasn't charged because children under 7 aren't recognized as being able to distinguish between right and wrong, unfortunately we can't arrest the adults at the school for being stupid.

In support of our soldiers

2006-02-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

I used to run a warehouse when I was in the military. Almost anything but weapons could be written off if you knew the right person.

After the news reports of injured soldiers going without pay because of financial record problems, this news story falls in line. But as someone with supply experience it makes no sense, and just shows the administrative disregard for the men and women in the military.

Army demanded $700 from city man who was wounded.

The last time 1st Lt. William “Eddie” Rebrook IV saw his body armor, he was lying on a stretcher in Iraq, his arm shattered and covered in blood.

A field medic tied a tourniquet around Rebrook’s right arm to stanch the bleeding from shrapnel wounds. Soldiers yanked off his blood-soaked body armor. He never saw it again.

But last week, Rebrook was forced to pay $700 for that body armor, blown up by a roadside bomb more than a year ago.

We've spent over $300 billion in Iraq, much of that paid out in bribes to failed politicians. But we can't write off a $700 vest for a wounded soldier?

Come on Washington. Lets get our priorities straight!

Bringing a Nation Together

2006-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

"I come today, to honor the memory of someone that worked to bring our nation together.".

So said one of the most divisive presidents in our hostory at the funeral of Coretta Scott King. Thus we have proof that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

This happens just as a new letter from a senior Republican senator blasts a junior senator of the other party. What starts at the top seems to soon flow to the most local levels of our lives.

Constantly in our long history we have allowed ourselves to be divided so that those in power can better control us. Moabite vs Ammonite, English Vs French, Protestant vs Catholic, black vs white, Democrat vs Republican.

But what binds us and allows us to construct, rather than destruct, are those characteristics that we have in common. Love of family, children, desire to better our lives. Can there be little doubt that the huge deficits, lack of quality jobs, and falling education rates we see today could easily be overcome if both houses worked together across the aisle?

We need not the control of the triad by one party, but the various views of all parties working to compromise, to develop an administration that is a true umbrella policy for all citizens of these great states.

Hopefully, the seeds of a new coalition can be planted today. May we remember the life of Coretta Scott King, that wonderful woman who shouldered the burden started by the dream of her husband, and work that hopefully we won't soon forget.

Of course, it's all the Muslim's fault

2006-02-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

In today's Guardian.
Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that first published the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that have caused a storm of protest throughout the Islamic world, refused to run drawings lampooning Jesus Christ, it has emerged today.

The Danish daily turned down the cartoons of Christ three years ago, on the grounds that they could be offensive to readers.

No kidding.

Presidential Powers and Targeted Assassinations

2006-02-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

I have doubts that Israel's policy of targeted assassinations work. It seems that every time the Likud has negotiated a peace treaty with Hamas, they've turned around and assassinated a Hamas leader. Now I doubt the Hamas targets were in any way innocent, though there were occasionally civilians that were incidental victims.

But the end result was to keep tensions high and a constant crisis in the newspapers, which was great for fundraising. Both Israel and Palestine are welfare states, dependent on hand-outs from outside groups.

This is similar to the model used by the Family Reasearch Council of Focus on the Family, the ACLU, or MoveOn.org.

Now there is talk of President Bush legally using targeted assassinations here in the U.S. While this may be no more idle academic speculation, with hearings being conducted on domestic eavesdropping it seems to be another tug at the bounds of presidential powers.

Does this really do anyone good? If there is a real and provable crisis, then law enforcement knows they can use lethal force in the conduct of their duties. If a terrorist is not actively committing a crime, then why use lethal force as the first option? But even more questionable is even bringing up the topic in the first place.

In the ever ongoing expansion of presidential powers, is assassination in the US the next line to be crossed? I feel like Robin Williams in Toys, with the walls pressing ever more inward, intruding on my everyday life with blatant disregard for what I think is appropriate. In both the movie and in real life, I think the jealous hording of military power has become an end unto itself.

With voters feeling ever threatened, the Republican party can use these crisis and talk of ever growing and necessary powers to cow and herd the American people in the direction most beneficial to their cause, an ever ratcheting grip on the American people.

Attorney General Gonzalez is not the Chairman, I am

2006-02-06T06:45:00.000-08:00

And so Senator Specter starts the hearings into the domestic spying, er, terrorist surveillance program.

This came as Senator Leahy asked that Attorney General be sworn in. In the oil executive trial, it was pointed out that it didn't matter, that lying before the committee was illegal whether someone was sworn in or not.

In more federal news, new Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is being sworn in today. Retiring Fed Chairman Allen Greenspan is leaving a country heavily in debt, flooded with cash, and with little to no personal savings. And they say he was successful. I'm not sure what a failure would be.

Indications are that China and Japan are getting tired of loaning us money. More US bonds are being bought by Caribbean banks. I'm wondering who's money is behind that. Caribbean economies aren't usually known as powerhouses.

Could that be where so much of the money that's disappeared out of the DOD has gone to? If it looked like no one was interested in loaning the US money, there would be a lot of countries quickly dumping the US Dollar, which would probably cause a worldwide recession.

Follow up to Chris Matthews and Hardball

2006-02-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

Looks like there are blog articles all over the Internet about Chris Matthews after last night's comments about Gay Liberals causing the Baptist Church Fires. Added to his pandering to the administration and comparing OBL and Michael Moore, it looks like Chris is using the Bill O'Reilly/ Sean Hannity use of outrage to attract attention.

He's got the attention, but I've got the feeling he's going to keep losing audience. You can't be a man of two minds and attract a single audience.

What's Up With Chris Matthews?

2006-02-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

I thought I was the only one that had noticed how awful Hardball hosted by Chris Matthews had gotten. He seems lost, not knowing what he's about and grasping for straws as if his ratings were plumetting. But now I see that political blogs all over the place are complaining about his show.

He'll never be a darling of the right, having once been identified as a liberal. But with his, as Arianna Huffington says, Ass-Smooching of this administration he's lost most of the left as well. There may be a few moderates left. But frankly, I think if he lost David Shuster it would pretty much be the end of any respect that the show Hardball had left.

Friday night is especially horrid. He gathers Tucker Carlson, Rita Cosby, and usually Joe Scarborough for a real right wing fling.

I used to listen to his rants about the ethical concerns of Bill Clinton because of his affair with Monica. But will all the criminal prosecutions occuring in this administration all he can do is brag about how he kissed up to the President at the Christmas party.

MSNBC has followed CNN in making bad move after bad move. In trying to move right, they've alienated members from both sides of the spectrum and ended up with the worst in hosts.

Thank goodness the BBC is getting more and more popular. I wonder why that could be?

Who will stand up?

2006-02-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a panel presentation featuring General Wesley Clark as the keynote speaker. From listening to his speech, it's obvious he's planning on running again for president.

I've wondered what difference a Democrat would make since their platforms all seem to be the same as George Bush's. They just seem to think they'd do the same thing better.

But today's news that the House just passed a bill that would take $40 billion worth of benefits from the poorest among us to pay for tax cuts for the richest, I'm really starting to lean towards the Democrats for the next election.

I don't believe in large benefit programs, but when oil companies get $billions in tax cuts and credits as we cut Medicare co-pay payments, make student loans more expensive, and cut alimony collection help for single mothers we're just going too far.

Did you hear the news report on the soldiers that were getting collection notices because they were overpaid $1,000 - $2,000 while in the hospital? Yet we lost over $4 billion in Iraq in pay-offs to local officials. Where are our priorities? As far as I'm concerned, let the soldiers keep the extra pay. Can anyone say they're more deserving to that little bit of money? 6,000 soldiers at $2,000 each (a mximum) is still less than Senator Steven's bridge to nowhere.

We need to look at our national priorities. But until we get politicians out of the pockets of corporations, we're not going to be helping the infrastructure that seems to be in such a need.

The question is, can we trust the current Democratic group to stand up and do what is right? Or would we have better luck with contrite and chastened Republicans?

Tearing Down the Competition

2006-01-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

What is it with the personal attacks between pundits these days?

I really like Keith Olbermann, but his relentless attacks against Bill O'Reilly are getting tiring. I don't see any purpose to it. Bill has his own problems, and the two certainly don't share the same audience.

But the worst has to be Arianna Huffington's attacks on Tim Russert. Week after week she's devoted a Sunday column of Huffington Post to attacking Tim.

Tim's style is pretty regular. He prepares a list of questions, asks them, waits for a reply, then moves on. Sometimes he lets the guests spew their talking points, some times he follows up to get a straighter answer. But rarely have I heard any bias in Tim's questioning.

There are certainly a lot of other talk show hosts that I'd rather see attacked for spin. There just aren't many liberal talk show hosts anymore. But you could go after Wolf. Certainly Brit Hume is one of the worst for misleading viewers. There are guests like Ann Coulter that are just borderline nuts.

Instead, Arianna attacks probably one of the most likeable hosts on the Sunday morning networks. Then squeals like a stuck pig on rumours of a little hardball.

A warning to them both. The old IBM addage, the higher you climb the ladder the more you show your butt. Let's get respectable and move on. If you need someone to attack, attack Tom Cruise, it'll bring you much higher ratings.

Don't Push the Panic Button Yet

2006-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

While the news of a Hamas victory had US media in an uproar, that curmudgeon of US news and anchor of reality, Don Imus, had former Jerusalem Post publisher Tom Rose on this morning.

His are the first comments that maybe not all is lost because Hamas won an election victory. A couple of things. The Fatah government has also been anti-Israel. Fatah is responsible for more Israeli deaths than Hamas. And just maybe, by stepping up to the plate and having to form a government and produce results, Hamas will have to drop the rhetoric and deal with reality. The reality being that Israel isn't going anywhere and only peaceful negotiations will create the state that the Palestinians want.

So if we can get past the panicked sound bytes of Bebe on the right's new darling, Hardball, maybe we're seeing the start of the next Sinn Féin.

So lets not throw out the baby with the bathwater as Arabs start embracing the processes of democracy. Only by testing its boundaries will Arabs know the full character of democracy.

A Revolution in Governments

2006-01-26T15:12:00.000-08:00

We've seen revolutions in government in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Venezuala, Liberia, Bolivia, Spain, Canada, and now Palestine.

Except for Canada and Liberia, it would seem that a stance against the US is the best platform for getting elected. Even the Liberal Canadian government took out ads against the US during the last campaign, but with the reputation of corruption hanging over the liberal party, an anti-US policy wasn't enough to ensure a victory.

But more than rejecting a close US partnership, I think these elections represent a rebellion against oligarchies and corruption, often propped up artificially by the US, making us a target for their problems, but not the prime cause.

We're familiar with oligarchies in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, where the position of king or prime minister is often handed from father to son, or to chosen successor. We're now also seeing a rejection of these governments by their people.

Both Venezuala and Bolivia have seen that close cooperation with the IMF by traditional governments has resulted in poverty and corruption in their economy. Egypt is tired of Mubarak, Lebanon of Assad, Canada of the Liberal party, Turkey of Demerel and Ecevet, and Spain of Aznar and the People's Party.

These governments must win the right to govern by serving the people, not keeping their positions by force or through kowtowing to a foreign government, US, Russian, or Chinese.

The low approval rating of both Democrats and Republicans in the US shows this rejection of embedded incumbancy. We more than anyone should realize that it is competition for positions of leadership that keep us sharp, not a system of bribes and threats that create a pseudo-royalty.

Here in the US the elmination of the middle-class is creating a strong chasm between the haves and have nots. If the current government, both Democrat and Republican, don't start doing their housekeeping and patrolling the treasure rooms, we could see a true rebellion even here in the US, which would surely cause a domino affect felt the world round.

What's new

2006-01-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

I'm finally grounded again. I've been traveling for the last year and a half, crossing the United States east to west three times, and from the bottom of California to the top of Washington once.

It's hard to imagine how big the US is without having driven it. I used to fly coast to coast a lot, but that was six hours in a plane. There's nothing like three days across Texas to understand big.

I'm grounded for now with short tours on the east coast. But I can hardly wait to get going again. I'll be selling my motorhome. Nothing like 7 miles/gallon to limit travels. I think probably a van conversion next. But give me a little cash and I'll be gone.

I think I can understand hobos now. That was a much more dangerous life. But I'm sure that there were times, riding in a car, watching the scenery, when they felt as enchanted by the country as I have been from my drivers seat.

-Don-

Dons Blog

2005-05-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

Dons Blog

Fascism in America.

2005-02-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

If you've watched these pages, you've seen me point out the swing from the hippies of the '60's to almost fascist acts on children, shoppers, protestors and other relatively innocent U.S. citizens. Here's an article that goes into greater detail of the change, and it's even put out by a conservative group.

Is Homosexuality actually good?

2005-02-25T14:08:00.000-08:00

I've not studied it, but I have a guess that homosexuality is a genetic tendency that's triggered by pheromones or other affects of dense populations. The more people in an area, the greater the chance of the condition being triggered.

Call it a natural birth control. Beats famine, disease, and war hands down. And the reason why we see physical differences but one twin will be gay or lesbian and the other isn't.

This could be a problem for a small tribal group that needs to go forth and populate. But the advent of birth control makes all this irrelevant.