SENSE AND NONSENSE

The Republican war on the middle class

2011-12-19T19:39:00.001-05:00

The Republicans in the House of Representatives are making war on the middle class by denying them a tax break they so desperately need. Failure to extend the payroll tax relief will cost a million jobs according to some economists. Do the Republicans care? Evidently not.
The quote below was taken from a New York Times article. Yes, we all know that the New York Times a Liberal newspaper. The statement below, is not a value judgment on someone's position. Rather it states positions clearly enunciated by both parties.

"the looming question remains unresolved — how to pay for the extension. House Republicans want to cut middle-class programs, Democrats want to raise taxes on millionaires, and neither seems inclined to give ground."

On television tonight, the latest polls showed an approval rating for the Republican Party of 20% and the president's approval rating was 49%. The people can clearly see where the fault lies. Everyone knows that the conservative wing of the conservative party is blocking passage of a law that would extend the tax cut. Eric Cantor, not John Boehner, is is in control of the House of Representatives. For all intensive purposes he and his cohorts are in control of this country's economic fate. That is one scary notion.I believe Mr. Canter to be an honorable man. However, this is not about honor, it is about an a rigid mindset that will not give an inch.

Addressing the country's deficit is an important issue.,but it is not the only issue. If the government fails to act in ways to maximize economic stability, the impending economic crash a number of experts are predicting will become an inevitability. The blood will be on the economic hands of the Republican Party.

The publishing revolution is over and we have won.

2011-12-18T11:49:00.003-05:00

In a recent post, I talked about the digital revolution in the publishing world. Sincethen, I joined the Indie Book Collective. I think I needed a waiver to joinbecause I have a publisher, and my novel, Unholy Embrace, was published as a softcover.In joining the collective, I became a full-fledged member of the revolution.What does this mean? In the short-term, I will be selling packages of my shortstories on Amazon, Smashwords, and other Internet sites. Hopefully I will makesome money from this endeavor.

The long-termconsequences of joining this revolution are very important. When I finish mysecond novel, I don't have to worry about finding a publisher. I will publish itdigitally at a time of my own choosing, with a price that makes the most sensefor me, not a publisher. Isn't self-publishing a meaningless effort to bolsterone's ego? Not anymore. Authors are making money, and more importantly,reaching significant numbers of readers without a single tree being choppeddown. The picture to the left is like the "Don't tread on me," flagthat flourished early in the Revolutionary war for Independence. I think that'sa good analogy. Imagine yourself as an author. Which would you choose: to havean attractive hardcover edition of your book that few people buy and read, orpublished digitally and have a significant number of people buy and read yourbook.? Rhetorical question.

Butwhat about getting a novel reviewed? Isn't it true that most reviewers will nottouch a self-published novel? That depends on which reviewers we are talkingabout. The reviewers tied to the hardback and paperback trade will most likelycontinue not to review self-published authors. Fortunately, there are asignificant number of reviewers who only review indie books. While none ofthese reviewers works for midsize and major newspapers, or has a nationalreputation (at the present time), they have readerships that are interested inreading good books not traditional reviewers.

Authorscan get their books properly digitalized by submitting them to a site such asSmashwords. This will likely become a more competitive market. So, I write thenovel, I published the novel, the novel is reviewed, and hopefully people willbuy the novel so they can read it. Isn't that what it's all about?

Jailed Afghan rape victim freed

2011-12-15T01:31:00.000-05:00

The headline for this post is revolting. The description of whathappened to this woman reveals a twisted and bizarre mindset. It isincomprehensible to me that a woman would be jailed after a man rapesher. Yet, this happened in Afghanistan, and not for the first time. I assume that if I talked to a man from Afghanistan he would tell methat I did not understand the way his society functions. My response would be, "Whenyou imprison women for being raped, you have a grotesque imitation of a society."

From CNN

An Afghan woman imprisoned for adultery after a relative raped her has been freed after President Hamid Karzai intervened on her behalf. The woman, identified only as Gulnaz for her own protection, had been sentenced to prison for 12 years after she reported that her cousin's husband had raped her two years ago. Wednesday, she was free at a women's shelter in Kabul, with her daughter..

Her plight gained international attention when the European Union blocked the broadcast of a documentary about her ordeal, saying it would further jeopardize her safety. Afghan Justice Minister Habibullah Ghaleb and a judiciary committee both proposed a pardon. Karzai then ordered authorities to decree Gulnaz's release.

Afghani men do not need to be protected from the Taliban as much as Afghaniwomen need to be protected from Afghani men.

Governer Rick Perry: Wrong on intolerance and wrong on his facts

2011-12-14T06:47:00.001-05:00

Governor Rick Perry of Texas showed something other than Christian spirit when he took time to say the following:

"I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm Christian. But you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in schools." He went on to say, "As president, I'll end Obama's war on religion and I'll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage."

Governor Perry will have a very difficult time finding any written statements or recorded words documenting president Obama's war on religion. That's because president Obama's war on religion exists only in the mind of Governor Perry. I hope the governor did not say what he did because he is a victim of mad cow disease.

When Perry expresses his concern over the inability of children to pray in school, I assume that he's speaking on behalf of Jewish, Moslem, Hindu, and children of other faiths, not just Christian children. There should be no shame attached to a person being a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or a member of any other religion. Shame occurs when people cloak themselves with religion and use it to make vile utterances

New Age of Publishing Books is Now

2011-12-04T21:00:00.001-05:00

If, the world is flat as Thomas Friedman says it is, then the world ofpublishing is becoming paper thin. There was much ado when Amazon said it wasgoing into the publishing business. Authors can make their pitch to Amazon and get the best deal possible. So what's the difference, you ask? Amazon has a fraction of the overhead of traditional publishers. Amazon can afford to let the public make decisions about what he wants to read. Traditional publishers can print books and have them collect dust.

Amazon is only the beginning of the revolution, sort of the tip of aniceberg that's coming dead on a ship too slow to move out of its way. For thoseauthors that don't like dealing with Amazon, there are other alternatives. Takea minute to visit Smashwords. Ontheir website, you can buy novels, novellas, and all sorts of short stories.Probably the low end stuff many people would say. Most people don't know that JohnGrisham sold novels out of the trunk of his car. Stephanie Meyer's overlylarge manuscript was read by an assistant to the literary agent who probably would'veimmediately tossed the 125,000 word sumission into the circular file. The oldpublishing model was failure avoidant. Accumulate as many best-selling authorsas you can and publish their novels until the readership disappears or theink dries

If Amazon is the publisher, it will want to sell the novel on its site, notcompeting websites .Smashwords will sell your novel, short story, etc. on itswebsite, but it will also place novels at Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony,Kobo, Diesel, and any other site that sells novels and pays their bills. Barnes& Noble has entered the publishing business. I'm not a shill for Smashwords.I haven't put my first short story up for sale there, yet. But it will happen soon.Most importantly, I know it will sell. It's about vampires and werewolves, twolovers, and a battle that makes the gunfight at the OK corral seem like a teaparty at Buckingham Palace.
Thispost is based on what I've learned in the last two weeks. Most assuredly, thereare many things I don't know about in the new age of digital publishing. But Ihope to have fun learning them. This is the first of at least two posts on thissubject. The next post will focus on the changing nature of the relationshipbetween the writer and the reader

Districts Pay Less in Poor Schools, Report Says

2011-12-01T23:38:00.001-05:00

Never under estimate the federalgovernment's power for discovering the obvious. A newly released study showedthat students in poor neighborhoods are frequently taught by low-paid rookieteachers who move on as they gainexperience. The quote below from the New York Times is priceless. Everyone inAmerica knew that poor schools had the most inexperienced and often poorteachers. Is there some conspiracy to deprive these children of a qualityeducation? Maybe, but the single best explanation is that good teachers don'twant to teach children who "don't want to learn." I put the last fourwords in quotation marks because a number of elite schools have demonstratedthat these children can make significant progress, and many go on to college inthese exceptional schools.

Until now, however, researchers lacked nationwide data toprove it. That changed Wednesday when the Department of Education released a 78-page report . Its conclusion: Tens of thousands of schools servinglow-income students are being shortchanged because districts spend fewer stateand local dollars on teacher salaries in those schools than on salaries inschools serving higher-income students.

Unfortunately, the schools led byexceptional educators and backed up by the best teachers are rare exceptions. It'snot just a matter of salary orexperience. The conditions under which a teacher has to work are extremelyimportant. Most of the poor children go to schools, which are the oldest andmost dilapidated in each school district. If school districts weren't able tokeep up all the maintenance in the past, and build new schools when necessary, itis going to be more difficult in the future when monies are going to be tighttightly budgeted. With so many people are out of work and/or owning homes that areworth less than they paid for them, they are not going to vote for increases intaxes to provide more money for the schools.

If you are an experienced teacherwith demonstrated competence and seniority, would you rather work in an oldrundown school with rust and mildew, or, in one of the districts where the schoolshave all the bells and whistles? Would you rather teach children who arefrequently underfed, often neglected, and have little motivation to learn, orteach motivated children wanting to learn, well fed, and cared for by theirparents who expect them to go to college? Don't reach for your pencils theseare rhetorical questions.

The report went on to document thatthe problems began in 1965 with the passage of the Elementary and SecondaryEducation Act, which channels money to educate poor children. The report citesa loophole that allowed school systems to report educator salaries on a districtwide basis, which masked the difference between schools with low-incomechildren and those with middle or upper middle class incomes. That's anothersurprise. Can you imagine people working the system for Washington? Ask thebankers. Maybe they could load the school districts the money lady..

Michele Bachmann: Evolution-Only Approach In Schools Amounts To 'Censorship By Government'

2011-12-01T12:36:00.001-05:00

It seems we have returned to theplace where religious belief determines scientific fact. It's one thing to havea theory that guides your research. It's quite another to have a belief systemthat overrides the facts, or at lease changes The interpretation of them to fitthe belief system.

"Bachmann also stated ,"If you look at scientists there is not a unanimity of agreement on theorigins of life." She made similar remarks in 2006. "There arehundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, whobelieve in intelligent design," she said ."

Religious belief systems don'tdepend on empirical evidence, But rather on faith. If they find empiricalevidence that supports their beliefs, that's fine. If the evidence doesn'tsupport their beliefs, then they don't believe in the evidence. Or, theycobbled together bits and pieces of "evidence" and assemble a shakytheory to support their belief system.

Christian Conservatives have aright to believe in anything they want to. But when they exert pressure todetermine the science that is taught in schools, they are infringing upon thelives of all the people that don't share their religious beliefs. No one eversaid ever said that Darwinian evolution explains every fact and has nocontradictions. Of course it does. That is the nature of theories. A scientifictheory has to stand up against new findings that threaten its assumptions.Religious theory, particularly those based on the assumption that the Bible isthe written word of God need to be kept in the churches and not in the schoolsystem.

Ms. Bachman is not alone indisbelieving Darwinian evolution. But when she makes statements that hundredsof scientists support our belief system, She's twisting the facts to support abelief system that's based on twisted facts.

The so-called theory of"creative design" will never go away despite its paucity of facts,because it isn't based on facts but rather on religious beliefs.

On December 20, 2005, Judge Jones issued his 139-page findings of fact anddecision ruling that the Dover mandate which required the statement to be readin class was unconstitutional. The ruling concluded that intelligent design isnot science, and permanently barred the board from "maintaining the IDPolicy in any school within the Dover Area School District, from requiringteachers to denigrate or disparage the scientific theory of evolution, and fromrequiring teachers to refer to a religious, alternative theory known asID."

Our system of government was createdto protect the rights of minorities. That system shouldn't be used to allowminorities to impose their beliefs on the majority of the population

Miley Cyrus Woes

2011-11-29T20:07:00.001-05:00

"Miley Cyrus Alludes To Smoking Weed, Being A Stoner," was the headline on Huffington Post and many other print and web media. Is anyone surprised? Doubtful. Should anyone care? My initial reaction was to say no. However, here is a young woman on a train bound for places other than glory.If the headline is true, there will be a future filled with drug-induced crises, comebacks, more drug-induced crises, followed by more comebacks. Hopefully, there will be a substance-abuse free future for her. but by then, time and experience will have etched deep lines on her soul. The lessons she will have learned by then, she could have learned earlier, at a cheaper price.

I can't help but think of Taylor Swift, who recently appeared on 60 minutes. Her head seems to be screwed on right and her thinking clear. She Is not only in charge of our own life, but in charge of the major corporation she has become. She showed a combination of wisdom and courage when she acknowledged the impact of her behavior on her young fans. She almost looks and sounds too good to be true. But Thus far,Ttere are no shocking pictures or revelations to indicate she is other than what she says she is. Miley Cyrus could do far worse than hanging out with Taylor Swift.

A Hero Emerges- Senator Tom Coburn Steps Forth

2011-11-14T20:10:00.001-05:00

The American system of government could not be more broken. Both parties stand miles apart in their stated beliefs and values and hurl invectives at each other. In the midst of this, a hero has emerged, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. The following headline is a rocket bursting through political hypocrisy and greed. . Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) released a report detailing special tax breaks for wealthy income earners that could give members of the supercommittee common ground for raising tax revenues.

Sen. Coburn is not a liberal Democrat, a four letter word to many in this country, but rather a conservative Republican. It took an immeasurable amount of political courage for him to say the following.

“From tax write-offs for gambling losses, vacation homes and luxury yachts to subsidies for their ranches and estates, the government is subsidizing the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Multimillionaires are even receiving government checks for not working,”

His report found that millionaires enjoy $30 billion worth of tax giveaways in federal grants every year. His staff found that millionaires received $74 million worth of unemployment checks from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, 18 people earning more than $10 million a year received an average of $12,000 in unemployment benefits. These people didn't take advantage of a loophole. rather, they were the beneficiaries of a tax and political system that is morally bankrupt.

I can understand people having a value system in which they seek to reduce the size of government and to minimize the tax burden on the vast majority of working Americans.I cannot comprehend why members of Congress would seek to preserve a system that gives handouts to millionaires. From my perspective, a substantial number of congress persons seek to enshrine a government dedicated to increasing the wealth of the most affluent
I am not a socialist. If I were a rich man I would seek to hold on to as much of my wealth as possible. However I would not expect the government to actively work towards increasing my wealth.

The death of the Liberal arts education curriculum.

2011-10-28T13:14:00.002-04:00

Recently, Michael Crowe, President of Arizona State University argued for the maintenance of traditional liberal arts courses. He did so in response to Florida's Gov., Rick Scott, call for reductions in state appropriations for particular academic disciplines so that public universities can focus resources on producing graduates in the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and math. although I am a proponent of a liberal arts education, I am unable to agree with Mr. Crowe.

Over 40 years ago I graduated with a Bachelors degree in psychology from a well-rounded liberal arts program. I have no doubt that it made me a more complete person with a better understanding of the world around me. However, I went on to get a doctorate, which is how I earned a living. The realities of present day society are different than they were four decades ago.Getting a bachelor's degree in psychology, sociology, or English literature is not going to pay for an apartment in a major city, let alone student loans that have grown immensely.

My youngest daughter obtained a degree in mechanical engineering and in 2000 had no difficulty getting a well-paying job in Boston. She met other young woman her age who had liberal arts degrees from some of the finest universities in America. Many of them worked as "executive assistants" earning 60% of what she did. Before people get $50,000 or $100,000 in debt for their college education, they need to think about how they are going to pay it back. I think it is a shame that many of the courses that I took and enjoyed will no longer be offered. But the times change and what worked 40 years ago does not work today.

Afghanistan: A Problem without a Solution?

2010-09-28T20:23:00.000-04:00

During the past six months, I have read numerous articles and watched television news stories about what is happening in the war in Afghanistan. Last night, On 60 Minutes, I saw evidence that we are fighting a war with no end in sight. CBS correspondent, Lara Logan was embedded with troops of the 101st Airborne in areas of Afghanistan immediately adjacent to Pakistan. She exhibited bravery that few people associate with correspondence these days.

Ms. Logan didn't just talk to the troops about the conditions they were confronting. She went on a mission with a captain in the 101st airborne that showed the intensity of fighting at this front line position. When the American soldiers arrived at the small native village, the chief of the village showed no inclination to talk or work with the captain. On the return mission, the unit came under heavy fire and the captain demonstrated an incredible indifference to bullets whizzing by him as he tried to extricate a truck stuck in the rocky terrain. The captain described an endless supply of soldiers coming in from Pakistan. No matter how many his men killed, more of the enemy pour across the border. He described the non-Afghani soldiers as well trained and willing to die. The captain's efforts to win over small isolated villages were meeting with little success. If the villagers cooperate with us, they are dead the next time that the Taliban enter their town.

The type of combat situation we saw on 60 minutes goes far beyond "Winning the Hearts and Minds of the People." General Pertraeus, who had much more success in Iraq, assured the president and the American people that with additional soldiers the country could be stabilized under what passes for Democratic leadership in that country. Please note I didn't say, "Win." Unless we find a way to seal off the border with Pakistan the war with the Taliban will go on forever. Is this another Vietnam, where no matter how many soldiers we pour into the country the fight continues to rage?

Recent polling has shown that the majority of Americans have now decided they are not in favor of our efforts in Afghanistan. However, there is still staunch support for our continued presence in that country as evidenced by the headline in the September 28, 2010 Christian Science Monitor.

" Afghanistan war: Is the US in it to win it? America's engagement in Afghanistan remains vital. Now is the time to renew our resolve and pursue our broad-based strategy, not look for an exit."

The article written by Kurt Volcker cites General Pertraeus statement, "We are in this to win." With the corrupt government in Kabul and a continual supply of soldiers crossing the border from Pakistan, the question must be raised as to whether it is possible to actually "win." At the same time, it is obvious that if we pull out of Afghanistan, or withdraw to the major cities, the Taliban will take over most of the country and Al Qaeda will have a training ground for far more terrorists than it had in 2001 when we first invaded the country. I don't pretend to have a solution. The question is whether the administration, or anyone in this country (Republicans included), has one.

The Phantom Paragrapher review of "An Unholy Embrace" by Neil Benson

2010-08-28T09:09:00.000-04:00

The Phantom Paragrapher

Review of "An Unholy Embrace" by Paula Zone

Are you loving the whole mortal/vampire love storyline ? Edward and Bella in Twilight , Elena and Stefan / Damon in Vampire Diaries , Dylan and Claire in The Gates (though Claire is now turned) , Alexander/ Jagger and Raven in Vampire Kisses and Dimitri and Rose in Vampire Academy or Hugo and Elizabeth in The Point and who can forget our Sookie Stackhouse and Eric/Bill.

With Vampire Novels now on the rise for the last two years , reading an article -the world of Vampires has hit the money-making world of $7 Billion Dollars in Books, Movies, TV and Merchandise.

Today's Review is that whole mortal/vampire love affair but in today's book it contains the twist of the female being the Vampire and the mortal being the male.

Review : Unholy Embrace - Neil Benson -2010

A popular storyline lately has been the tale of the mortal/vampire love story and the majority of them have ended up writing the male as a Vampire and the female as the lovestruck mortal. One thing that I really liked in Neil Benson's book is that he decided to use gender reversed roles and make the male the lovestruck mortal and the female the Vampire. Having it this way, was a nice change for once.

The story starts when Frank and Nessa are out on a date and are attacked by Werewolves, the attack causes Nessa to extract her fangs and go all- vampirey , something that Frank hasn't really experienced before. From then on , we are transported back to the beginning -where they first met and how their relationship started and of course how they reached the point in the story.

What follows is Nessa explaining and opening her 400yr old heart to Frank and telling her story on how she became a Vampire starting in Hungary all the way to her travels via Vienna and Paris to the Present time in New York.

We read as the Werewolves attacks are just the beginning as Nessa has been on the run nearly 400 years and has been tracked by Narice - the vampire lover of the Vampire who turned Nessa and in return Nessa Killed out of vengeance.

When Frank realises the consequences and danger of being with Nessa , can he stand strong and embrace the unholiness of being with a Vampire or will he take the white feather coward option out and leave Nessa to follow a path of a normal life ?

An excellent story that shows readers in a paranormal and supernatural way that no matter what happens and how terrifying obstacles can be - love between not only mortals but mortals and supernaturals can stick tog

http://www.amazon.com/Unholy-Embrace-Neil-Benson/dp/0982679505/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274835629&sr=1-2

GOP - Great Obstructionist Party

2010-08-18T21:48:00.000-04:00

The GOP, which used to stand for "Grand Old Party," has become the "Great Obstructionist Party." I didn't make this up on my own. I'm using the words of Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader. In the August 15th edition of the New York Times, the esteemed Senator said “I wish we had been able to obstruct more," in referring to the Republican party's response to legislation enacteed by the Democrats during the past 18 months.

The Senator could easily argue that I'm taking his words out of context. I would not disagree. However, I would point out that when President Bush, witth the urging of Secretary of Treasury Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke, asked for emergency legislation to prevent a meltdown of the nation's financial system the GOP as a party said "no." They allowed enough Senators and Representatives to vote yes to allow for the bailout package, but the party's heart was obstructed.

The GOP will go to the voters this fall and tell them the party tried to stop "bad legislation" from being enacted. However, the GOP cannot tell the voters of any positve actions that the party implemented or helped to enact. In times of crisis, leadership does not consist of "Just saying no."

Sarah Palin: Future President and Chief Science Officer

2010-04-12T00:51:00.000-04:00

Former half-term Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, continues to speak, and each time she does so gives more evidence of the vacuous nature of her thinking. She recently opined on how the nation should approach nuclear disarmament. I found this remarkable for a woman who before her nomination to vice-president didn't know the difference between Pluto and plutonium. President Obama respectfully declined her advice and continued to work on plans based on input from senior scientific and political advisers.

Now she has clarified the issue of global warming once and for all. She is "Agin it. You betcha." At a recent Republican convention, she stated:

"We should create a competitive climate for investment in renewables and alternatives, none of this snake oil science stuff that is based on this global warming, Gore-gate stuff that came down where there was revelation that the scientists, some of these scientists were playing political games."

I can understand people having questions about the causes of global warming. However, her reference to snake oil is a bit odd. Does she think snake oil is a cause for global warming or prevents it? Is it possible the de facto head of the Tea Party has a little too much Kool aid in her tea? If you want to risk brain damage, try reading the second sentence a couple of times.

Tonight, on 60 minutes, they highlighted the finding of a link between apes and Homo sapiens. A scientist found the skull of a nine-year-old child that is 1.9 million years old. Undoubtedly, Ms. Palin will remind us this is more snake oil. She point out the Bible and has everything we need to know about evolution. A long time ago when I was in graduate school, the pastor of the St. Thomas Aquinas Center at Purdue University told an audience that "the Bible tells us how to get to heaven, not how the heavens were made." I wonder how Chief Science Officer Sarah Palin would have reacted to hearing that statement from a Catholic priest.

Unholy Embrace vampire novel by Neil Benson - The vampire as beauty and the beast.

2010-03-25T21:24:00.000-04:00

In my vampire novel, Nessa, the vampire, is a beautiful, elegant woman. But as her mortal lover, Frank, finds out early in the novel, she is capable of acts of physical violence he finds difficult to comprehend. Furthermore, when he sees her fangs dripping with blood, the lovely woman he loves is transformed into the hideous, undead creature of myth.

There was nothing startling or revelatory about this kind of change. The duality of good and evil is clearly stated in the Old Testament in the passage that follows.

"I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. "(Isaiah 45:5-8)

The novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the vile Mr Edward Hyde. The work is famous for its vivid portrayal of a split personality, split in the sense that within the same person there is both an apparently good and an evil personality each being quite distinct from the other. The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next.

In my novel, Nessa strives deny her vampirism as much as possible. She wants to be the "good human," not the "evil" vampire. However, there are times when circumstances force her to become the lethal vampire in her own self-defense, or to save Frank. Even acting in self defense, her ferocity and physical power enable her to act in a way most people would find abhorrent. There are instances in the novel when her actions go far beyond self-defense, and the crueler, aspect of her nature is revealed.

We all struggle with our own impulses of good and evil. In order to retain our essential humanity it is necessary we keep our evil impulses at bay. Recent history has shown that under certain circumstances "good people" can act in ways that contravene the ethical and moral standards under which we live.

Nessa, despite her desire to be human, is the vampire, the beast. So beauty and the beast reside side-by-side.

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1639917-Unholy-Embrace----First-Three-Chapters

We Are the Vampires by Neil Benson

2010-03-14T22:07:00.000-04:00

Vampires are us, not other. When we look into the mirror, they are the twisted reflections of evil within us. This is not to say that all, or even most, people are essentially evil. Rather, the vampire is a metaphor for some of our evil wishes. As much as the myth of the vampire is about sex, it is also about greed. The vampire hungers for the blood of the living and takes it by force, not caring whether the victim lives or dies. Of course, there is the exception. That is when the vampire for personal reasons decides to turn the victim into one of the "undead." Evil breeding evil.

Various legends and myths make Lilith, Adam's first wife, the mother of all vampires or all succubi. According to the myth, Lilith refused to subjugate herself to Adam and demanded to be his equal. She might have been the first feminist. For her defiance, she paid an awful price. The Angels killed her children, and she in turn swore vengeance on the descendent of Adam. There are 4000-year-old stone carvings of Lilith. The presence of the carving does not necessarily make her real. However, for people to have taken the trouble to make carvings of her meant she was of more than minor significance. There are legends of vampires in many other cultures separated from the civilizations that arose in Mesopotamia and its neighboring areas.

I believe one way to look at the vampire is to see the creature as humanity disowning its own evil intent. We invent the creature and give it lust and other qualities we deny exist in ourselves. After millenniums passed, the vampire arrived in literature. First in John Polypore's The Vampyre, then in Carmilla" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, and finally in Dracula by Bram Stoker. It is worth noting that Lord Ruthven in Vampire and Carmilla both appear as "normal" human beings. However, Dracula is described as thin, with a long white mustache, pointed ears and sharp teeth. He is dressed all in black and has hair on his palms. Jonathan Harker notes his "extraordinary" pallor.

I believe Dracula was depicted to make him an evil looking creature, not one of us. A hundred years pass, and vampires are once again indistinguishable from us. In many novels, they are creatures of great beauty and allure. In recent novels, they have been tamed, and were it not for their thirst for blood and immortality, could probably join the Chamber of Commerce. But in 2007, continuing into 2008 and 2009, a worldwide financial catastrophe brings forth a different vampire. These vampires do not take in blood, nor are they immortal and have inhuman strength. Rather, these vampires sucked the financial blood of the nation that a second Great Depression was only narrowly averted. These vampires are bankers, brokers, heads of investment firms, mortgage agents, and a host of others who fed on society's greed for bigger, better houses.

Vampires will always be among us. For they are "us" in our worst aspects. Whether in the form of the myth or the reality of people so greedy they would destroy an economy, they are us.

Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson Bound for Hell

2010-01-17T14:42:00.006-05:00

Just when you think you've heard the ultimate insensitive comment from Rush Limbaugh, he shows you that you have underestimated his ability to be less than a human being. On a recent radio show, his Rushness said,

" Speaking on his radio show Wednesday, Limbaugh said the earthquake has played into Obama’s hands, allowing the president to look “compassionate” and “humanitarian” while at the same time bolstering his standing in both the “light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country.” He added: “We've already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax.”

Conservative columnists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Show said the following.

“They are deeply insensitive,” said conservative commentator Pat Buchanan on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Sitting next to Buchanan on set, host Joe Scarborough called Limbaugh’s comments “deplorable.” “The insensitivity is stunning,” said the former Republican congressman.

How can Rush Limbaugh consider himself a Christian when he says so many vile things, and holds his fellow men and women in such contempt. It would be interesting to see him attempting to enter heaven and St. Peter holding an inch thick file of the venomous things he has said during his life. Get into heaven? No way. Bound for a much warmer climate.

While Limbaugh received a modicum of support, nobody of note has stepped up to defend Robertson’s claim that Haiti got hit by an earthquake because it is “cursed.”

Speaking about the disaster during his program “The 700 Club” on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Robertson said that when Haiti was still a French colony its leaders “swore a pact to the devil” to get out from “under the heel of the French.”

“They said, ‘we will serve you if you will get us free from the French.’ True story. And so, the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal,’”

No doubt Pat Robertson considers himself a person close to God. Once Robertson shuffles off this mortal coil he is likely to find himself heartily embraced by Satan rather than uplifted into glory and heaven. The man is just plain mean. What he says disqualifies him not only as a Christian, but also as a human being.

The NBC Scandal: The True Story

2010-01-13T23:16:00.001-05:00

I was astonished to learn there was a scandal at NBC. But if the New York Times says there was a scandal, then there must have been a scandal. In today's New York Times, Alessandra Stanley, wrote the following.

"Possibly the most incisive joke about NBC's late-night meltdown came from Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” sidekick Andy Richter. “It’s been the most fun I’ve ever had in a show-biz scandal,” Mr. Richter said sardonically to Mr. O'Brien on their set on Tuesday.

The NBC scandal isn’t fun exactly, but it is has produced the kind of must-see-in-real-time television that late-night comedy shows rarely offer anymore."

While it would be foolish to challenge anything said in the New York Times, perhaps the above bears some further investigation। According to Webster's online dictionary, the top three definitions for the word scandal are listed below.

1 a : discredit brought upon religion by unseemly conduct in a religious person b : conduct that causes or encourages a lapse of faith or of religious obedience in another
2 : loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety : disgrace
3 a : a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it b : a person whose conduct offends propriety or morality

As I read the above definitions, nothing that has happened with Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien meets any of these criteria. Why should I be an old curmudgeon and ruin the party? After all, the public's appetite for information about scandal seems bottomless. The David Letterman scandal in the fall, was a small prelude to the Tiger Woods scandal. Though Tigers pummeling is far from an end, the day will come when he crawls back onto the golf course to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Or is that outrageously bad boy behavior? Never mind, it's probably the same. It's probably best that I not get involved with such controversies. I have to help my publisher get my vampire novel ready for publication. Vampires. That's a safe subject. You've never heard of a vampire scandals, have you?

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The Obstructionist Republican Party

2009-09-10T00:55:00.004-04:00

What's left of the Republican Party has a new motto. It's "Just Say No" again, and again to anything proposed by the current administration. It could be argued that the Republicans are fulfilling their role as the loyal opposition. However, that argument is terribly thin because it is hard to know what the Republican Party stands for, if it stands for anything at all.

The main mission of the Republican Party seems to be to prevent President Obama from implementing any plan in any area. The Republicans voted against the stimulus package, and offered very little in the way of an alternative that made sense to anybody but fellow Republicans. They were against the bailout of the big three automakers which ought to be interesting the next time they're trying to get votes in Ohio and Michigan.

The essential nature of the current Republican Party position was eloquently stated in July, by Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. When talking with Republican activists regarding efforts to stop the current health care initiative he said, "If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him." If Senator DeMint were interested in serving the interests of the people of South Carolina, he might remember the large percentage of his constituency, which has either no health insurance or inadequate health care coverage. The senator from South Carolina may be prescient in his prediction of Waterloo, but it may be about his own party rather than the president.

The Republicans rightly raise concerns about the amount of money being spent by the Democratic Congress and the Obama administration. Unfortunately, the Republicans are adept at raising concerns, but short on offering realistic alternatives to solving the critical problems facing this country today. The continued absence of meaningful leadership within the Republican Party has allowed Sarah Palin to develop delusions about her ability to run for the presidency in 2012. Perhaps the Republican Party will get its just reward after all.

Health Insurance Companies Cannot Be Trusted with Our Health.

2009-07-28T00:56:00.004-04:00

In an article in Slate magazine, Timothy Noah stated, "Private insurance companies dump very sick claimants based on stupid technicalities. That's reason enough to support health care reform." To back up his point, Noah described what is known as "Rescission," which is the process health insurers use to avoid paying out benefits to treat serious illness by finding minor errors in policyholder's paperwork that can justify canceling the policy. John Grisham's Book, The Rainmaker, described this process in detail, and was the basis for the movie of the same name starring Matt Damon.

Noah's article describes two specific instances in which persons were denied critical health care based on the flimsiest of excuses. Actually, it's very simple. Health insurance companies are in the business of making money. Their primary obligation is to their stockholders, not to the people who purchase health insurance from them. Is it fair to castigate everyone working in the health-insurance business? No, but that's besides the point. The system isn't working. That is the point.

This country has the highest level of medical technology in the world, but an inept, fragmentized, and at times highly unethical system of delivering health care services. The current health care system is bankrupting the country and denying critical medical services to millions of people. It is the ethical responsibility of Congress to put in place a better system. Of course, no one wants to put in place a system that can't be funded. Members of both political parties owe it to their constituents to work together to put in place a system that can at least start to provide adequate health care coverage for everyone.

I wanted to keep this post a positive one, except for the comments about the health-insurance industry. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Senator Jim Demint of South Carolina. Senator Demint's personal beliefs are more important to him than the welfare of the constituency he is supposed to serve. Otherwise he wouldn't be making reference to stopping President Obama on health care being the equivalent of his Waterloo. Senator Demint created his own personal Waterloo by making this remark.

The Supreme Court and Other Myths about Judges

2009-07-15T16:56:00.007-04:00

For two days Sonia Sotomayor has repeatedly stated the mythical mantra that all decisions made by judges are based on the law. She has had to do this while Republican senators have baited her about her "Wise Latina" remark. Again, and again she has reassured each Republican Senator that her decisions have been, and will be, based solely on the law. Did you miss that? Her decisions have been, and will be, based solely on the law. If she were to do this, then she would probably be the first judge in history to accomplish this feat.

Every human being makes decisions based on a variety of factors. The decisions that people make are ultimately based on information they believe to be true. This information is gathered through a filtering process based on people's belief systems, emotions, and a whole host of unconscious and subconscious feelings and experiences that all people possess. To assert that a judge is able to bypass to all past experience, ignore emotions and feelings, and be totally aware of all the subconscious motivations is utter nonsense. Millions of people saw the interview with Chief Justice Clarence Thomas on 60 minutes. Can anyone actually believe that this angry man who grew up with a tyrant of her grandfather does not have his decisions influenced by that experience?

During the current hearings to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, stated that in every major case Supreme Court Justice Roberts sided with the prosecution over the defendant. I'm sure that the Chief Justice could cite his reasons for each and every case, but the sheer consistency on his decision-making pattern speaks to an internal believe system that outweighs the impartiality of the law. Justice Roberts has a view of the way the world should be. The information he gathers on a cognitive basis is filtered through that worldview. To believe that all all his decisions are based solely on the Constitution, legal precedent, and total impartiality beggars the imagination.

The notion that "facts are facts" is also nonsense. I live in the South where the civil war never happened. Rather, there was a war of Northern aggression called by Southerners the War between the States. The southern conceptualization of the civil war is very much alive, and if anyone doubts it, there are many Southerners who would be more than willing to debate the issue. Belief systems structure "facts" and marshal them into a coherent view of the world that enables people to live in a society that make sense to them. Judges, and Supreme Court justices, are not immune to this process and cannot render judicial systems in isolation from the society in which they live in the believes they have about themselves in the world around them. The fact that only one member of the Supreme Court is a woman is testimony to the impact of society. The fact that only one member of the Supreme Court is black or Hispanic is also testimony to the impact of society.

The Price of Oil: Problems in Future Predictions

2009-06-25T16:36:00.006-04:00

When the price of a barrel of oil went below $40, no one expected it to stay that way. The question was how high the price of a barrel of oil would go once it had bottomed. Now that it is approaching $70 a barrel, all sorts of experts are making predictions about future prices. I am not an expert, but it doesn't take a forty year background in the oil industry to know that in the short and intermediate term the price of oil will go up. The big question is the long-term price of oil, meaning how high will it go.

An article in Fortune states, "there are signs that a demand recovery could be on the way in Asia. China's crude consumption averaged 7.6 million barrels per day in April, according to Alidena the highest level on record, amid reports that the government was stockpiling commodities. Goldman Sachs was confident enough of a demand rebound to come out in early June with a price target of $85 a barrel for West Texas intermediate crude by the end of 2009 and $95 by the end of 2010." There are some, although not many, who predicts that oil will reach a price of $250 a barrel.

As a worldwide recovery begins, the demand for oil will increase. Most experts say that worldwide production of oil is at or near its peak. The problem with long-term predictions is that they don't take into account the secondary effects that high oil prices to create. While the amount of energy produced by wind power is very small at the present time, $100 a barrel oil will have a significant impact on it. Also, the nations of the world know that their economies begin to begin to slow down significantly as the price of oil arises. No one can predict the impact of all the measures taken by the major oral consuming countries as a response to high oil prices. On a recent trip, I continually parked my Toyota Corolla between fleets of SUVs and minivans. When the price of gas goes over three dollars a gallon again, people will seek other options. In fact, the new SUVs are becoming much more fuel-efficient.

The wild cards in the deck in efforts to predict future oil prices are things yet to come and be invented. New wind power generators take up much less room, and people can now have a wind power energy generator put in their backyard for $8,000 to $10,000. With so much money can be made in viable alternative energy production, it is impossible to predict what new inventions will be created the young men and women at MIT and Caltech as well as the large oil companies. For an undefinable period of time the price of oil will be high in the amount of economic pain will be all also be high. But in the long run, those countries that are thriving on the production of will eventually be trying to find a market for unwanted thick black sludge.

The Dark Shadow of Socialism Descends on America

2009-06-07T20:34:00.006-04:00

First, the government took over the banks, and then it took over the automobile companies. A completely socialistic health-care system is next on the agenda for the Obama administration. These people call themselves "progressives" are really socialists bent on destroying the free market system and the American way of life. Only a handful of conservatives led by such people as Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and the number of others are crying out into the sending darkness that will obliterate America as we know it. Shame on us for letting this happen.

The mistakes made by the Bush administration, compounded by its free spending ways, helped lead to the perilous situation we now face. Yes, there was greed and avarice on Wall Street and elsewhere in America, but the Socialists have been patiently biding their time waiting for an opportunity to force their agenda on the rest of the American people. Freedom of choice will become a dim memory as the government becomes the "Big Brother" telling us what to do. the government will soon dictate energy policies from what we used to produce energy, to the last detail of how we use it in our homes.

The Obamaists believe that the individual citizen cannot make intelligent choices without the aid of the government. This type of thinking dehumanizes Americans and renders them little more than socially programmed robots. In the New America sex education will be mandatory in the schools. The rights of the parents will be ignored as these few who think they know what is best for us will crush us with their paternalistic approach. We will lose once and for all the opportunity to teach alternatives to the so-called theory of evolution. Evolution, as anyone with any common sense knows, is a poorly thought out theory that barely explains the history of this planet. The knowledge of the Bible will be prohibited, and lost, in our public schools.

Salaries are already being set for people in the private sector who work in banks and on Wall Street. Soon, the government will be deciding what everyone should earn, how they should spend what they earn, and what they should spend it on. They'll be telling us what foods to eat, how much to eat, and what time of day to eat. This is a mind-boggling attempt to intrude on every aspect of our daily lives that will crush the last vestiges of freedom in America. Again, shame on us for letting this happen.

Gingrich, Pelosi, Cheney, and Limbaugh to Star in Remake of Three Musketeers

2009-05-31T10:48:00.005-04:00

Havoc Studios announced that its $150 million remake of the classic Alexandra Dumas novel, the three musketeers, will have an all-star cast. Newt Gingrich will play Athos, Dick Cheney will play Aramis, and Rush Limbaugh will play Porthos. The studio was excited that Karl Rove would be the dynamic and exciting young d'Artagnan. Nancy Pelosi will take time off from her duties as speaker of the house to play the important role of Milady de Winter, wife of Athos, reuniting her with her longtime close friend, Newt Gingrich. A major coup for the studio was the casting of Bill Clinton as Cardinal Richelieu. All other members of the cast greeted Clinton's towering presence as the Cardinal with unanimous acclaim.

The Olympic fencing teams from Russia, Poland, and hungry will act as the soldiers for the King and the Cardinal instead of the usual bunch of klutzes who get cut to pieces by the musketeers. This will ensure dynamic and exciting fencing scenes throughout the movie. Gingrich, Cheney, Limbaugh and Rove said they were excited about having the opportunity to clash sabers with Olympic caliber fencers.

The Impeachable Republican Party Impeaching Republicans

2009-05-22T16:53:00.011-04:00

The Republican Party appears to the developing a case of impeachmentitis. While Newt Gingrich fired off a salvo calling for Nancy Pelosi to resign, other efforts by Republicans were underway to impeach elective officials. In this instance, the targets of the impeachment progress were other Republicans. According to the Huffington Post, "One of the members in the spotlight is Assemblyman Anthony Adams, whose alleged indiscretion was simple: the budget he supported called for a statewide vote on raising income and sales taxes and car registration fees. In other words, in the eyes of his fellow party members, he had voted for a tax increase."

Even Governor Schwarzenegger has been the target of a recall effort launched to replace him. However, because of the number of signatures needed to oust the governor there is a likelihood of this happening. This process has left Republican operatives and insiders shaking their head in wonderment. The Huffington Post quoted Karen Henretty, a prominent Republican strategist, as saying, "What's happening with Republicans in California is the very definition of a circular firing scored."

With Republicans losing seats in the Senate, the House of Representatives, and governorships throughout the nation, it would seem the GOP can ill afford to kill off its own. However, it would be foolish to make any assumptions about what the Republicans will do next. Fortunately for the Republican Party, Senator Specter left on his own in a drumroll court-martial wasn't necessary.

Newt Gingrich Shames Nancy Pelosi

2009-05-20T13:29:00.010-04:00

In an open letter, Newt Gingrich shamed Nancy Pelosi for her recent statements about the CIA and what she knew about enhanced interrogation techniques. In fact, he stated that she should step down as speaker of the house. A careful reading of newts letter provides insights to his thinking, which indicates that they were politically motivated rather than based on a rational of valuation of facts.

The article is a long piece of torturous and ill thought out logic. Some of the best parts are quoted below and speak for themselves. I have made comments about his statements.

"The person who is number two in line to be commander in chief can't have contempt for the men and women who protect our nation. America can't afford it."

Speaker Pelosi's contempt is for the CIA, not for the men and women in the armed forces. The number of people in this country who have contempt for the CIA numbers in the tens of millions. Newt, if you ever get to be president, and heaven help this nation if you do, it would be a mistake to rely on the CIA to make critical decisions.

"It Isn't about Politics. It's about National Security."

Newt, are you serious? If a politician says anything, by definition it's about politics.

"But Speaker Pelosi did not confine the question to the reliability of memory. Instead, she made the allegation last week that the CIA intentionally misled her - misled Congress - and not just once, but routinely."

Again, Newt are you serious? The CIA has a long tradition of misleading Congress and the American people. Start with the Bay of Pigs and the list would cover several pages. Spying is about deceitfulness and the deceivers frequently forget that there comes a time to tell the truth.
"If Nancy Pelosi believe that water boarding was justified in 2002 - just like Porter Gross, President Bush, Vice President Cheney and CIA Director Tenet - the a policy of selectively using enhanced interrogation techniques in carefully circumscribed ways in order to prevent future attacks - in other word the Bush Administration Policy - is vindicated."

Let's assume that nancy pelosi believe that water boarding was justified in 2002. How Does That Vindicate the Bush Administration Policy? Wrong is wrong, and evil is evil, no matter who supports it. If Nancy Pelosi stated she supported the Inquisition, would that make it right?

"She's made America less secure by sending a signal to the men and women defending our country that they can count on their leaders to defend them."

The Bush administration made America less secure by starting an ill-conceived, and ultimately fruitless, war with Iraq and failing to finish the war in Afghanistan. It's hard to imagine it's all Nancy Pelosi's fault. But a man with Newt Gingrich's insight and intelligence couldn't be wrong.

With the Nations Banks still at risk, the automakers still on the brink of insolvency, and a host of other problems facing this nation, it's good to know that Newt Gingrich stands tall watching out for the good of the American people.

Salt Lake City Liberals and Gay Marriage

2009-05-13T19:46:00.017-04:00

It is a truism to say that we live in changing times. but there are times when the changes are greater than others, and now is clearly one of them. A black man sits in the White House, Wall Street companies that had survived the great depression no longer exist, and Utah is moving toward support for gay marriage. An article in the Washington Post stated that a recent survey showed that 49% of Americans favored gay marriage, an all-time high. Clearly, the winds of time or changing on this issue.

In an article in Slate magazine Christopher Cox wrote the following.

"What's the matter with Utah? The most Republican state in the nation is drifting to the left. In the last few months, Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican and a practicing Mormon, has come out in favor of civil unions for gays and repeated his support for
government action on global warming. Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled
state legislature has liberalized Utah's notoriously arcane alcohol laws. The
punishment for this apostasy has been record-high approval ratings—for both governor and legislature."

In 1963 Bob Dylan wrote the following words.

"Come gather 'round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone.

If your time to youIs worth savin'

Then you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'."

For those of us old enough to remember those days, the words are as appropriate now as they were then. For those of you not familiar with them, think about what is happening in the world. Much of the rancor and verbal confrontation that takes place in the country stems from the fact that enormous social and economic changes are taking place. Ideally, we would have a spirited debate about them, but the nature of these changes are such that core values of life are at stake and the strongest of emotions rise easily to the top.

There are also those that make a living stirring up emotions and anger. I refer you to my last post. The potential changes to the health care system are enormous as are changes in how we produce energy. But I don't think the fundamental nature of the society will change. Obama was very clear when he stated that he didn't want to run automobile companies and he didn't want to run the banks. The problem with resisting, or postponing, change is that when it finally occurs it is greater than what you fought against 10 years ago. The UAW is finding this out the hard way. Many evangelical churches are rethinking what the church's mission should be. Heavy church involvement in politics is often counterproductive.

Lastly, I think many people are simply overwhelmed by the nature of the economic crisis and all the changes that they are currently experiencing and future changes they are told to worry about. While the political pendulum will eventually swing back towards the middle, society always evolves in new directions, even if in a glacial manner. Unlike Michael Fox in the movies, we can't go back to the past.

Hate and Anger among Right-Wing Conservative Media

2009-05-02T21:39:00.007-04:00

Each day right wing conservative media people such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, and Laura Ingraham, et al. spew forth a steady dose of anger, hatred, vindictiveness, and misinformation. O'Reilly and Beck would object to being labeled as right wing conservatives, but if they talk like a ducks, squawk like ducks, then their ducks. Feelings, as opposed to facts, are often the basis of what these people say. Americans who share the same viewpoint as these media personages get there endorphins pumped by listening to them. For the rest of us, they represent a black bile that promotes divisiveness, discourages cooperation, and contributes to the negative mood of the country.

The Constitution guarantees the right wing conservative media people the right to spew forth their venom each day. The nature of the society in which we live allows them to distort, misinterpret, and sometimes lie about what is happening and why it is happening. These people are much better at tearing down and criticizing then they are at providing positive solutions. In fact, providing positive solutions would be counterproductive to their ability to draw an audience of angry, frustrated people. President Obama is routinely referred to as a socialist, or at least it is implied that he is. None of them could possibly hear the president when he stated that he had no wish to run auto companies or run banks, and that he had enough other issues to deal with. No, no, no, they mustn't let the truth interfere what they are saying.

Fox News, the kennel in which many of these people dwell, held a tea party protesting taxes and other things, which was about as successful as the previous administrations policies on most everything. Rush Limbaugh, who rants and raves and huffs and puffs like an overweight big bad Wolf, has reached the point where no one in the Republican Party dares challenge him. Glenn Beck hysterically preaches that it is 1938 again and that we are appeasing people who are about to destroy us. He even cries over the situation, but then later admits that it's all part of the show. Sean Hannity said, "That's what Mr. Obama said today, doing his best Dixie Chicks impression while his new world order tour traveled across Europe." Devilishly incisive Mr. Hannity is. Rush Limbaugh has said that he wants President Obama to fail. Of course, there's a little problem in that sentiment because if Obama fails, the country suffers. Small detail for Rush.

Last, but not least, is Ann Coulter whose model for political commentary is the spitting cobra. Her contribution to a more harmonious and peaceful world was her statement, "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building." How charming. That's all folks.

Miley Cyrus in Trouble Again

2009-05-01T19:30:00.010-04:00

Miley Cyrus can't seem to stay out of trouble. The headline on the Christian Post on April 28 is, "Miley Versus Jesus on Marriage." Poor Miley. All she did was make an assertion that Jesus loves gay people. She's just an ordinary 16-year-old teenager trying to make a few million dollars each year. I'm sure it never entered her mind that anyone would assert that she was "taking on Jesus" on the issue of marriage. The Christian Post said, "Today, the majority of America's daughters - even those in the Church - are being heavily influenced by Hollywood singers such as Miley Cyrus and Heidi Montag, both who say they are Christians, yet hold non-Christian views on marriage. Right now, their pro-homosexual ' marriage' values are reaching millions of young people through MTV and other media outlets."

What did Miley say? The following statements, which are accurate as far as I can determine, are taken from Miley's twitter conversation with Perez Hilton.

“Jesus loves you AND your partner and wants you to know how much he cares! thats like a daddy not loving his lil boy cuz hes gay and that is WRONG and very sad! like i said everyone deserves to be happy (sic).”

“i am a christian and i love you - gay or not. BECAUSE you are no different that
anyone else! we are all gods children!”

"ya thats lame! God’s greatest commandment is to love. And judging is not loving. That’s why Christians have such a bad rep. "

The Christian Post went on to cite numerous passages from the New Testament quoting Jesus in to show that Jesus does not support Miley's beliefs and assertions. Very interesting because Miley never made a statement explicitly in support of gay marriage. She focused on God loving everyone. How naive of her.

But what's the real issue here? It's hard to believe that the issue is about what a 16-year-old said on twitter. It seems to me that the Christian Post was using Miley as a convenient target to attack gay marriage. An article in the Christian Post after Iowa legalized gay marriages was much more subdued. Is the Christian Post really more concerned about what Miley Cyrus and young people through MTV are saying as opposed to the Supreme Court of the state of Iowa? Some might consider Miley's last statement ill considered. But it wasn't that long ago that Anita Bryant went to California to deny gay rights. That was ugly, not just a bad reputation.

Corporate Greed Is Alive and Well in America.

2009-04-28T11:02:00.006-04:00

Some people, particularly CEOs, but not necessarily limited to them, seem to have paid no attention to what happened to the American economy during the past few years. Recently, the shareholders of the Chesapeake Energy Corp. protested the $100 million plus compensation package that Chairman and Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon received during the past year. This occurred at a time when the shareholders lost significant value as the price of the stock decline during the year.

There was a national uproar when AIG attempted to pay out $160 million in bonuses. This total is only slightly more than 50% higher than what one man, the chief executive of Chesapeake energy, was going to receive. An article in the Huffington post recently stated that, "First, the Congress and administration needs to establish some definition of "excessive." Let us say that it is total compensation in excess of 30-fold (or 25-fold, or 65-fold, or some other number) the average worker in that firm, or some higher multiple of the lowest quintile, or some other number. Something. This would be the major argument, but something can be agreed."

I disagree. Each company should establish corporate pay. Congress has no business regulating salaries of people in the private sector. However, due diligence is required of the boards of directors so that the CEO salary is appropriate to his/her performance during the past year as well as the increase or decrease in the value of the shareholders equity. However, when a CEO receives 2000% more than the average worker for the corporation it is obscene. While it is often argued that private companies have the right to pay whatever they want; this should not apply when the so-called private company is actually a public company with shareholders.

It is a bad time for corporations to be validating Gordon Gecko's infamous statement, "Greed is good."

Dick Cheney to Star in a New Zombie Movie

2009-04-25T23:05:00.004-04:00

Newton Dimworthy, chief publicist for Wildly Weird Movies, recently confirmed that Dick Cheney would be starring in a new zombie movie to be released by November 2009. The tentative title for the new movie is The Beast That Would Never Die and Couldn't Be Killed. Mr. Dimworthy said that Dick Cheney was a natural for the role given his experience during the Bush presidency and his continued defense of its blunders. Wildly Weird Movies was responsible for the box office smash hits Winning the Iraq War in 100 Days and Human Rights Advocacy at Guantánamo.

Mr. Cheney was unavailable for comment about the new movie at this time. However, his press secretary, Insidious Disinformation, stated that the former vice president would be holding a press conference in the near future at which time he would talk about the new movie and eat all Democrats in sight. The former vice president has been making the rounds of the talk shows, mainly on Fox news, The Republican Broadcasting Network, citing the successes of the Bush administration and pointing out how President Obama is leading the nation to into greater peril each day. The former vice president was particularly incensed about President Obama's willingness to talk to the leaders of European nations, who Mr. Cheney had characterized as a bunch of pansies in the past.

With his newfound popularity, the former vice president may be able to stop traveling around in an armored Brinks car, and use a regular automobile. Who knows, he may even be able to purchase one from Detroit if any of the automakers are still functioning

Dr. Drew and Dr. Phil: Celebrity Mental Health Demeans the Profession

2009-04-12T11:23:00.010-04:00

Stigma regarding mental health, and receiving appropriate treatment for mental illness, is still so strong that anything that promotes or encourages people to seek help is laudable. However, what Dr. Drew and Dr. Phil are up to is more about their celebrity status and self-aggrandizement than anything else. When Dr. Phil visits Britney Spears and holds a press conference afterwards it is not about Britney's mental health status but rather Dr. Phil's celebrity status. For Dr. Phil to say anything about his interaction with Britney at all was a violation of her right to privacy.

Dr. Drew Pinsky is a board certified by the American Academy of Internal Medicine and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Pinsky does not have credentialing as a psychiatrist or psychologist. But since the publication of his test for narcissism, and subsequent book, he has been speaking on public media on everything from narcissism among celebrities and the public at large, to substance abuse, sexual issues, and anything anyone else cares to ask about general mental health issues.

Dr. Pinsky is also a busy man as shown by the fact that he is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine at the University Of Southern California Medical Director for the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at in Pasadena California, staff member at Huntington Memorial Hospital and a private practitioner. In addition, Dr. Pinsky, or "Dr. Drew" as he is called, has a show business career in which he is the co-host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show, love line which he has hosted since 1984. On television, he produces and hosts the VH1Show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and the MTV show Sex ….With Mom and Dad In 2009 a spin-off of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew premiered named Sober House. It's hard to say all these things, let alone contemplating doing all of them.

Doctors doing celebrity reality shows is a far different from Dr. Mehmet Oz coming on the Oprah Winfrey show and presenting medical information and advice in a professional manner. Dr. Oz's professional credentials are of the highest caliber. Dr. Oz is vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Pinsky on the other hand, goes in front of the media and, according to CBS news, stated about Britney Spears, "This young lady — she is dying in front of our eyes. She needs physician care regularly for a sustained period of time. If I were to treat her, I'd put her in 4-6 weeks of an intensive program in a psychiatric hospital and a year of a residential program very much like what Lindsay Lohan did." While Dr. Pinsky may have been concerned about Britney Spears, he was creating valuable airtime for his celebrity status.

Dr. Pinsky gained notoriety when he said in an interview in Playboy, "Take a guy like Tom Cruise. Why would somebody be drawn into a cultish kind of environment like Scientology? To me, that's a function of a very deep emptiness and suggests serious neglect in childhood — maybe some abuse, but mostly neglect." For Dr. Pinsky to speculate on Tom Cruise's mental status and psychological functioning without interviewing him was unprofessional. Further, to do so in Playboy magazine, amid all the pictures of naked ladies, is evidence of less than optimal judgment and a need for celebrity status. In the end, Dr. Pinsky apologized to Tom Cruise's lawyer, but not to Tom Cruise.

Dr. Pinsky writes extensively about how we are in the age of narcissism. Isn't it possible that his behavior and that of Dr. Phil's is a symptom of that narcissism?

Universal Health Care Is Not about Economics

2009-04-09T19:31:00.008-04:00

Universal health care coverage will eventually come to this country. The question is not if, but when. Discussions about free-market systems and costs of health care notwithstanding, societies evolve, and universal healthcare coverage is part of that evolution. In a recent op-ed column in the New York Times, titled, " The Misguided Quest for Universal Coverage," Ramesh Ponnuru stated, "AMERICA’S dysfunctional health care financing system needs to be reformed. But the goal should not be universal coverage. Reform should simply aim to make health insurance more affordable and portable."

Ponnuru goes on to crunch some numbers and provide other rationale to support his contention that the goal of reform of the health-care system should not be universal health care coverage. But the issue goes beyond bean counting and free-market system belief systems. Ultimately, society has to answer the question of whether it is more important for some people to have access to plastic surgery to boost their egos, while other people are denied access to health care that would keep significantly enrich the quality of their lives, or, more importantly, keep them alive.

Universal healthcare coverage will become one more entitlement that will make conservatives to grind their teeth. And well they should. Basically, in our current society, entitlements are apportioned based primarily on wealth or power, or both. And, as the last eight years shows, the Republican Party is predisposed to assuring that the wealthy get wealthier while middle-class incomes can remain stagnant.

Ponnuru makes one important concession when he says, "This is another way of saying that universal coverage cannot be achieved using free-market methods — a point that many liberals correctly make." The free-market system, or capitalism, is the best way to produce most services and goods. However, it is not an all-encompassing way to manage a society where different people have different needs and some will always be unable to meet the challenges of life. The word is unable, not unwilling. The woman who cuts my hairhas chronic lung problems that go untreated because she does not have medical coverage.At the same time,I watched too many faces, including Nancy Pelosi,,where the skin has pulled tight after numerous plastic surgeries and the effect is to give them a frozen smile. We've got to get our priorities right.

Obama Speaking in Code to Taliban (and Republicans)

2009-04-07T19:51:00.003-04:00

During view on MSNBC's hardball, Frank Gaffney, the director of the conservative think tank the Center for Security Policy, accused President Barack Obama of speaking in code, and telling the Middle East that America will submit to them. When challenged to explain this Gaffney said, "when he (Obama) uses the term of respect in the context of a waste bow to the king of Saudi Arabia, for example, and talks about respectful language which is code for those who adhere to Shari'a that we will submit to Shari'a."

In further conversation Gaffney went on to point how important it is for us to be able to understand this code. The question is whether anybody but Gaffney understands this code. Perhaps when you're the president of a right wing Center for Security Policy organization you get secret code books. If so, Gaffney has a moral and legal obligation to share this with the president and the national Security Council. Oh, excuse me. I guess Gaffney assumes that President Obama doesn't need a code book because he knows the gestures of submission.

The Republican right (doesn't that include all Republicans?) was obviously going to jump all over, if you'll pardon the metaphor, everything resident Obama did and said during his recent trip to Europe, and now to the Middle East. The Republicans, as former Vice President Cheney would assure you, are experts on Middle Eastern policy. After all, look what they accomplished in eight years with Iran and Iraq. I ran is still moving towards building nuclear weapons and Iraq after nearly being leveled by internal strife, has a fragile our government that may or may not make it to democracy. Let's not forget about Afghanistan, where Republican policies made it possible for the Taliban to be in a position to threaten

War on Drugs: War on Blacks

2009-04-05T19:44:00.002-04:00

In a recent article addressing the issue of whether we should legalize drugs, Leonard Pitts Jr., a Pulitzer prize-winning columnist, said, "The War on Drugs came into being under President Nixon, whose chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, once quoted the president as saying, 'You have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this all while not appearing to.' Small wonder blacks account for 13 percent of the nation's regular drug users, but more than 70 percent of all those jailed for drug use." (Emphasis mine)

For those among us with a metal predisposition to believe that there is a link between black usage of drugs and incarceration for selling them, Leonard Pitts went on to say
"In 1914, when the first federal drug law was enacted, the government estimated 1.3 percent of us were addicted to illegal drugs. In 1970, when the War on Drugs began, the government estimated 1.3 percent of us were addicted to illegal drugs. Thirty-nine million arrests later, he says, the government says 1.3 percent of us are addicted to illegal drugs." (Italics mine)

The failure to address the demand side of drugs from the United States has nearly led to the destabilization of the Mexican government and society. We are all too familiar with headlines about kidnappings in Mexico, but now those kidnappings have spread to the border states of Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Texas. The war on drugs is not only been a failure, it has become counterproductive. It is time for a national rethinking of the way we address the issue of drug abuse.

The prisons of America have become a dumping ground for American citizens with drug abuse problems. That many of these people sell drugs, and therefore are given longer prison sentences is just a simple statement about how poor people pay for their drug habits. America, and it particularly the black population, is paying heavily for the failed strategies of the so-called War on Drugs. The very notion of legalizing marijuana raises the blood pressure of millions of Americans. Parents cringe at the thought of their children being able to legally purchased marijuana. So their children purchase of illegally anyway.

Racism takes many insidious forms. There are the convenient racist notions that blacks are: lazy; more inclined to crime; have lower intelligence; more corrupt than Caucasians; and a host of other demeaning generalizations used to ignore the fact that a significant proportion of the blacks living in America are living in a separate Third World country state of perpetual poverty. The fact that we have an African-American president does not make any of this different.

O'Reilly Ambushes Journalist and Gets Ambushed Back

2009-03-29T21:01:00.003-04:00

Everything below was taken from the Nation. I have included a link back to their blog site but I wanted to have this material on my web site. By golly there is some justice after all.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/422072/o_reilly_ambushes_journalist_and_gets_ambushed_back?rel=hp_currently

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/422072 "After ThinkProgress.org's managing editor Amanda Terkel wrote a blog entry critical of Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly, the bloviator-in-chief sent a producer, Jesse Watters, to stalk Terkel.

It was a standard O'Reilly stunt, referred to as "ambush journalism." The TV tough guy's gone after dozens of targets using this technique.

But Terkel pushed back. She wrote about the incident in an article headlined "I Was Followed, Harassed, And Ambushed By Bill O'Reilly's Producer."

Then the Center for American Progress (CAP) used their Action Fund to launched a "Stop Supporting The O'Reilly Harassment Machine" campaign that urged Americans to: "Tell O'Reilly's advertisers that you want them to issue a clear statement explaining their opposition to O'Reilly's 'ambush journalism.'" The response has been overwhelming, from viewers and others who were sick of ambush "journalism."

And the campaign seems to be working. On Friday afternoon, the CAP Action Fund announced that UPS would stop advertising on O'Reilly's show. Here's the CAP statement:

In response to our Stop Supporting The O'Reilly Harassment Machine campaign, UPS told us yesterday that it was investigating whether to continue supporting O'Reilly's show. "We are sensitive to the type of television programming where our messages and presence are associated and continually review choices to affect future decisions," spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg told us.

Today UPS announced it will stop advertising on O'Reilly's show. Here is the statement UPS emailed out just moments ago:

Thank you for sending an e-mail expressing concern about UPS advertising during the Bill O'Reilly show on FOX News. We do consider such comments as we review ad placement decisions which involve a variety of news, entertainment and sports programming. At this time, we have no plans to continue advertising during this show."

Rush Limbaugh Rumored to Pay AIG Bonuses

2009-03-29T16:25:00.008-04:00

Rush Limbaugh, leader of the Republican Party, and one of the few people supporting the payment of the AIG bonuses, is rumored to be willing to pay those bonuses out of his own huge salary. My inside source at Rush Limbaugh's radio station, Mary Rockefeller Swyne, alleges that Rush has been pacing the halls muttering, "Those Poor Bastards at AIG."

During the March 17 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh -defended American International Group (AIG) from criticism of the company's controversial employee retention bonuses. Limbaugh declared, "A lynch mob is expanding: the peasants with their pitchforks surrounding the corporate headquarters of AIG, demanding heads. Death threats are pouring in. All of this being ginned up by the Obama administration." It's hard to imagine where the people of New York City would get pitchforks but it's been said that anything is for sale in Manhattan. Perhaps Rush himself brought them into incite a potential riot.

Limbaugh later said, "This $500,000 limit on executive pay -- let me tell you why it won't work. New York City will die. New York City needs a whole bunch of people being paid a whole lot of money, so they can tax their butts off, so that the city can maintain its stupid streets, potholes, and welfare state. Without the super wealthy in New York, it's over." It's uncertain whether New York City needs to super rich, but certainly Manhattan does. With its high cost of living, and posh eateries and galleries only the super rich can truly enjoy living in Manhattan. But it's darn decent of Rush to worry about the super rich. Especially now that he's one of them.

Republican Goal: 30 Senators in 2012

2009-03-27T21:56:00.006-04:00

Thus far the Republicans continue to distinguish themselves during the economic crisis by constantly criticizing anything produced by the Obama administration and offering up tax cuts as a solution to complex financial problems. The leader of the GOP, Rush Limbaugh, has openly stated that his goal is for Obama to fail. That is a logical goal for the Republicans because if Obama succeeds in any measure this society will undergo changes in the near future that will be totally unacceptable to Republicans and conservatives of all breeds and strains.

The problem with a policy of "Lets hope the other guy fails" is that it doesn't put you in a position of offering constructive realistic solutions as alternatives. The Republicans have offered alternatives, and they are on the Internet, but they fail to address such issues as what to do with AIG and Citigroup, as well as the Detroit automakers, if any or all threatened to implode. So, if the recession abates before the 2010 election, then the Republicans can expect to lose more seats in the House and the Senate. If by 2012, the recession is either completely or largely over, then the Republicans face another massacre in the election and will be lucky to have 30 senators. Then they will be able to hold caucuses in the minority leader's office

Arriana Huffington in Need of Further Sedation

2009-03-25T17:29:00.007-04:00

Once the Obama campaign against Senator McCain began to get underway, President Obama shifted his campaign to a more centrist focus. Arriana Huffington, the Liberal Democrat doyenne, wrote an all-knowing column advising then Senator Obama to get back to his liberal left roots. This column detailed everything Obama needed to do in order to win the presidency. Fortunately for President Obama, he continued with his centrist ways and ended up winning an historic election.

Now Ms. Huffington is taking on Secretary of Treasury Geithner, and, if she hasn't been paying attention, President Obama once again. In her words, "Take the Steering Wheel out of Geithner's Hands." Ms. Huffington got specific in her concerns about Geithner

"But the issue isn't Geithner's delivery, it's what he's delivering: an approach to the crisis that is as toxic as the assets that have hamstrung the economy. Geithner, brilliant and hardworking though he is, is trapped within a Wall Street-centric view of the world and seems incapable of escaping.

That's why every proposal he comes up with is déjà vu all over again -- a remixed variation on the same tried-and-failed let-the-bankers-work-it-out approach championed by his predecessor, Hank Paulson."

It should be noted that she is not alone in these concerns. However, Ms. Huffington's range of advice for President Obama continues to be extensive, and at times relentless. Well, if anything happens to Rahm Emanuel or David Axelrod, the president knows where to turn for his next chief adviser.

Mike Huckabee off the Rails on Abortion

2009-03-24T19:27:00.005-04:00

In a torturous piece of logic former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee likened abortion to slavery in a Monday speech during a fundraiser for an anti-abortion group. Huckabee said that when it abolished slavery, the U.S. debated and decided it was immoral for one person to have complete, life-or-death power over another. He said that should not change whether the control involves racial bigotry or a pregnant woman making a decision for her unborn child. "What are we saying to the generation coming after us when we tell them that it is perfectly OK for one person to own another human being?" Huckabee said.

"I thought we dealt with that 150 years ago when the issue of slavery was finally settled in this country, and we decided that it no longer was a political issue, it wasn't an issue of geography, it was an issue of morality. That it was either right or it was immoral that one person could own another human being and have full control even to the point of life and death over that other human being."

Missouri NAACP President Mary Ratliff, said the comparison of abortion to slavery was "apples to oranges" and called it offensive to use the issue of slavery for an unrelated political point.

There is more insidious piece of logic here then most people are unaware of. The agenda is not the elimination of Roe V. Wade, but rather the elimination of all abortion entirely. If anti-abortion proponents can't get the Supreme Court to strike down Roe V. Wade, or get a ruling that life begins at conception, then fall back to a civil rights position regarding the issue of abortion.

Portia de Rossi Apologizes for Her Gay Marriage

2009-03-23T22:29:00.012-04:00

In an effort to heal the tremendous harm that she has done to anti-gay rights people, Portia De Rossi issued a formal apology for her marriage to Ellen DeGeneres. The deeply heartfelt apology went out to all the anti-gay rights activists whose lives have been ruined by gay marriages such as Portia's. She specifically mentioned several anti-gay activists and singled them out for the harm she has done them. All of America applauds Portia for hire supreme act of Christian kindness. It's a shame that the anti-gay Christians couldn't have shown gay people a small fraction of such decency. Portia's act of contrition is shown below.

Bailed-out Banks Contributing to Campaign Funds

2009-03-22T18:04:00.003-04:00

The federal bank bailouts may be giving new meaning to the term "kickback."Many of the banks rescued last year with taxpayer money have contributed to the campaign coffers of some politicians who approved the bailouts, according to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission.While some bailed-out banks, such as Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase, have reduced their campaign donations, others have discreetly made donations this year, Newsweek reported. Bank of America's political action committee (PAC) gave $24,500 in January and February, "including $1,500 to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and another $15,000 to members of the House and Senate banking panels," the weekly news magazine said."This certainly appears to be a case of TARP funds being recycled into campaign contributions," Newsweek quoted Brett Kappell, a D.C. lawyer who tracks donations, as saying. "TARP" refers to the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion legislation passed in October.

Laundering Money Is Legal If Done by Check in Texas

2009-03-19T21:17:00.007-04:00

An Editorial in the Austin American Statesman cites a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision that if you live in Travis County Texas laundering money is legal if done by check. Of course, it took three Republican judges, cited below, to come up with such a ruling. And it might come as a surprise to no one, that one of the defendants was formerly United States Representative Tom DeLay. Once again, justice is being mugged, this time apparently along party lines. The three Republican justices were careful to limit their finding to the law as it stood in 2002. That's a relief. One wouldn't want to think that was permanently legal to illegally launder money in Texas.

"The 3rd Court of Appeals, split 3-2 along partisan lines, has refused to reconsider its ruling last year that, at least until 2005, it was OK to take otherwise illegal corporate campaign contributions as long as the money came in the form of a check, not cash. The court thus reaffirmed a decision tainted by politics.

The case involves defendants with Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee, which worked to raise money and support to elect a Republican majority to the Texas House in 2002. They were successful.

Last year, the 3rd Court's Justice Alan Waldrop, joined by then-Chief Justice Ken Law and Justice Robert Pemberton, upheld the law. But, they added, under the law as it stood in 2002, it was not illegal to launder campaign money if it were in the form of a check. And the $190,000 in campaign donations in question was handled by check."

Dick Cheney: No One Was Tortured at Guantánamo

2009-03-17T21:48:00.005-04:00

In a surprise news conference, former Vice President Cheney asserted that not one single person was tortured or harmed in any way at Guantánamo. To support his contentions the former vice president presented a slideshow of the accommodations and activities that existed at Guantánamo for the detainees. First, the former vice president showed pictures of luxurious condominiums, all with hot tubs and air-conditioning. Inside the condominiums were dark skinned, black haired Arabic looking persons watching television and smiling broadly. When a member of the press question whether these were actual detainees, the former vice president had him arrested and removed from the room.

Next, Mr. Cheney showed pictures of a large swimming pool surrounded by Arabic looking men and women in scanty bikinis. Again, a member of the press questioned the veracity of this picture, pointing out that devout Muslims would never be seen in public with women who were practically undressed. Mr. Cheney asserted that once these men were removed from their native inhibiting cultures they loosened up and adopted Western ways. When a reporter from Al Jazeera protested this assertion the former vice president had him arrested and removed from the room.

The last set of photos showed Arabic looking men shooting pool and playing cards in a large recreation room. Many of them had several empty bottles of beer by them. All of these men seem to be having a very good time. When several reporters rose to their feet saying this was a terrible sham, the former vice president pulled out a shotgun and ordered him to leave the room.

At the end of the press conference the former vice president asked if there were any further questions. In as much as no member of the press was left in the room, there were no questions.

Cheney: Bush not to blame for economy

2009-03-15T22:32:00.006-04:00

When Dick Cheney was vice president of the United States what came out of his mouth was frequently scary. He appeared to have little or no regard for the Constitution, and saw it as a hindrance the implementation of policies to "Make America safe." The question asked by many people was who was going to protect us from Dick Cheney. Now, when he speaks there is a far greater comedic aspect to what he is says. Is he really saying that the Bush administration wasn't to blame for the economy? President Bush ran up the biggest deficit in history and left President Obama with an economic crisis unparalleled since the Great Depression. And President Bush wasn't responsible?

Cheney actually said the following on CNN. "The U.S. economy faltered along with the deterioration of the global marketplace. This isn't something that happened just in the Bush administration or just in the United States, Cheney said. We are in the midst of a worldwide economic period of considerable difficulty here." The United States was at the epicenter of the worldwide economic crisis. Please note that the former vice president used the words period of considerable difficulty. Much of the world to use on the brink of depression and the form up Vice President uses words to describe a six-month tip in the economy.

As the former vice president say what he means war means what he says? It appears that the former vice president knows as much about economics as he did about running the war. Can't we send him back home to Wyoming? Surely this city of Casper needs a new town councilman.

President Chuck Norris to the Rescue

2009-03-12T23:21:00.007-04:00

Chuck Norris: President of Texas. It gives me Goosebumps just to write these words. Think of the Alamo. Think of John Wayne. Better yet, think of Chuck as president of the United States. I hope the Liberals aren't laughing because this is not a man to be taken lightly. When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris isn't going to let Obommunism take over the country. Chuck will fight for the free market system no matter how corrupt it gets.

Chuck's résumé for running for president of the United States is impressive. His years of training as a kick boxer will help him kick butt in Washington. And if anybody's been to Washington, they know that there's more butt to be kicked there then any place else. No one can question his foreign policy experience as evidenced by his many movies rescuing American POWs from the Vietnamese 35 years after the war was over. Ya don't quit the job until it's done. President Bush may have looked Vladimir Putin in the eye and come away thinking he was a friend, but Chuck Norris would never make that mistake. In fact, if Chuck looked old Vladimir in the eye that commie would be lucky if he still had an eye. As for China, remember this. The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Chuck Norris out. It failed miserably.

What's that you say? The next presidential election is 44 months away. Chuck won't have to wait that long. The word is spreading rapidly. It won't be long before millions of Americans are demanding a new election before the end of the year. Constitution be damned. The country needs rescuing and Chuck is coming to the rescue.

In honor of the savior of Texas and the United States the "Yllow Rose of Texas" is presented below.

Justice for Wall Street and other Crooks and Bandits

2009-03-12T19:25:00.006-04:00

Clint Eastwood is saddling up for the last time and that he has warrants for every crook, slime ball and miscreant on Wall Street and throughout the nation who contributed to the current financial disaster. He is also under instructions to bring back the worst offenders dead or alive. Along with him are Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Samuel Jackson. None of them have shaved recently, and they look like they have ridden from Silver City Nevada without a bath. They are the modern day four Horsemen of the apocalypse for financial felons. Don't be afraid, be very afraid.

They ride across the Brooklyn Bridge, through lower Manhattan to the Goldman Sachs Building. Clint, Morgan, and Samuel dismount while Gene proceeds up Broadway with a mule following behind him. Clint reaches into a leather pouch and pulls out a large handful of warrants. He distributes them to Morgan and Samuel, and the three of them walk up to the front door. They are immediately confronted by security guards, but when Clint squints at them the guards all melt away. The three men draw their weapons, enter the building, and then ride up the elevator and make their arrests. A half an hour later, 50 men are marched out of the building onto a waiting bus. This is no ordinary bus, it's a black bus with the words "Bound for Hell" written on the side of it.

After leaving the Goldman Sachs Building, the four horsemen proceed to Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and on to Citigroup. By the time they are finished at Citigroup six busloads of prisoners have been collected. While Clint, Morgan and Samuel have been rounding up their felons, Gene Hackman rode to Bernie Madoff's apartment. Gene rides up the elevator and knocks on Bernie's apartment door. When Bernie opens the door Gene sticks the warrant in front of his face and grabs him by the collar. Gene proceeds to drag Bernie down each and every step and out the front door. He puts Bernie on the mule facing backwards, ties his feet together, and his hands behind him to the pommel.

Clint is chewing on a cigar when Gene rides up towing Bernie behind him. The four men slowly ride to the Holland Tunnel. The six buses follow behind them. A half hour later the four horsemen emerge towing Bernie behind them. But the buses are nowhere to be seen. Even as Clint, Morgan, Samuel, and Gene ride south towards Washington, and eventually Charlotte, with an even larger bundle of warrants, the buses still don't emerge from the tunnel. In fact, the buses are never seen again. Perhaps the "Bound for Hell" on the side of the buses wasn't a metaphor. On to Washington.

Little Jail Time for Maddoff ?: No Justice Here

2009-03-08T01:08:00.002-05:00

The statue of justice has often been portrayed as blind. Now the statue it should be portrayed as deaf, dumb, and blind. Martha Stewart served months in jail for lying to federal authorities. Charles Barkley went to jail for drunken driving. But now it appears that Bernie Madoff, the architect of the $50 billion Ponzi scheme, will be serving very little jail time. This is a man that should be the last prisoner at Guantánamo. I would let all the people that he cheated determined his punishment.

Madoff didn't just steal from people; he took their lives away from them. He also bankrupted charities and foundations. People who thought they were his friends found themselves selling their houses because all of their money was gone. He looked everyone in the eye, smiled, and shook their hand. Then he took their money and made it vanish. Broken lives, broken dreams, broken hearts and a long detritus of the psyches and souls other people are Madoff's final investment return. What else can we expect from the judicial system that let Wall Street portray high-risk products as AAA investments with a minimal number of convictions? Shame. Shame. Shame.

Maybe it's time for Clint Eastwood to saddle up one last time and take a slow ride down Wall Street before he arrives at Madoff's apartment.

Rush Limbaugh Head of the GOP

2009-03-03T21:37:00.004-05:00

It's now official. Rush Limbaugh is the head of the Republican Party. When Republican Party chairman Michael Steele genuflected to Rush Limbaugh the coronation was official. Abraham Lincoln just turned face down in his grave. Teddy Roosevelt gave up San Juan Hill. The party that once ushered in the end of slavery now ushers in slavery to narrow-mindedness, perpetual anger, shortsightedness, hate, and everything you shouldn't take with you to church on Sunday or synagogue on Saturday.

Rush Limbaugh's conservatism has no room for tolerance of the other person's opinion. For that matter, Rush Limbaugh's conservatism has no tolerance for the other person period. He is a narcissistic man full of anger, hatred, and self-doubt who has risen to a position of power which should make all Americans shudder, not just Republicans. Why would anyone be surprised that this man would wish Obama's policies to fail? It is easy for him to stand and say what ever he wants because he has never been in a position of accepting responsibility for other people. No doubt, if he were elected to Congress this spiel coming out of his mouth would still be the same. But at least then, he would have to face the voters.

Limbaughism is a new brand of McCarthyism. Censorship, meanness, condemning people without trials, and spreading fear wherever he can will be the hallmarks of this man's reign of terror. It was far easier to make a joke of him before the Republicans handed him the reins to power in their party. The Republicans have made many mistakes in their history, as have the Democrats, but this one will haunt them for many decades to come. Rush Limbaugh's flawed nature was clearly evident in the whole OxyContin incident. He committed several crimes and got away with them. Now he is about to commit murder on the body politic. Hopefully someone will hold him accountable.

Super Rush Limbaugh Saving America

2009-03-01T18:59:00.004-05:00

While President Obama does everything he thinks will prevent the American financial system, as well as the automobile industry, from falling apart, Rush Limbaugh tries to save us by telling America that Obama and the Democrats are going to ruin the country. According to Rush, his ear shattering and mind bending voice is all that stands between us and doom. Like the Minutemen of yore, who shouted the British are coming, Rush Limbaugh keeps shouting socialism is coming. If he keeps shouting long enough there's no doubt he'll be right.

Rush keeps reminding us that the American way of life and everything it stands for is going over the cliff in a sea of Democratic Socialism. The word liberalism has long since been abandoned and Rush has cut to the heart of the matter. Rush's vast experience in implementing legislation in economic crises marks him as a single person to lead us out of the economic wilderness. Like Moses before him, Rush only has tap his staff are on the rock and credit will be gushing forth. If he raises his hands to the heavens, AAA bonds and preferred stocks will rain upon the people until they are buried with the paper.

After decades of advising men such as Paul Volker and Alan Greenspan, Rush is in the best possible position to know what monetary policies to implement. After inking a $400 million contract for himself, it should be no problem for Roche to come up with several trillion dollars for the rest of America. Wait a minute. That's not the American way. Americans don't accept handouts and give-outs, Americans do it on their own, without any help from anyone else. Haven't you ever seen a John Wayne movie before? But Rush is there for us. No job? No problem. Rush will help you out. No money? No problem. The Rush will help you out. No hope? No problem. Rush will help you out. No OxyContin? Oops! Wrong subject.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a Bird! It's Superman! No! It's Super Rush Limbaugh flying high forever.

Obama Smiles, Pelosi Smiles, and Boehner Is Frozen

2009-02-27T19:39:00.010-05:00

Most politicians have politically crafted smiles appropriate for every situation. But President Obama infectious smile seems to be genuine. Nancy Pelosi's smile on the other hand seems quite plastic, most likely a result of Botox injections and other surgical handiwork done to her face. Representative Boehner rarely smiles, but given the circumstances of the Republican Party there's not much to smile about these days.

I think the President Obama enjoys life, and he enjoys being president of the United States even under these trying circumstances. Nancy Pelosi enjoys power, lots of power, especially when she's wielding it. She's quite capable of smiling when she means the exact opposite. Therefore, I see her smile as something akin to a black widow spider smiling. Just because she smiling doesn't mean she's happy or that you're safe. John Boehner's smiles are few and far between. Actually, I don't think this is a result of the current situation of the Republican Party. Nor do I think it is a result of his unhappiness with the liberal left agenda of President Obama and Nancy Pelosi. I just think he innately lacks the ability to smile. I don't know if this has anything to do with him being a conservative Republican but I will do further research on this matter.

Both Senator Reed's and Senator McConnell's smiles are rather weak and given their ages not likely to change. I admit I haven't done prodigious amounts of research of these gentlemen during their careers and determine whether they were actually caught smiling at odd moments. I do know there is substantial research that indicates that if a person is genuinely smiling he or she will feel better. Maybe if the Republicans and Democrats smiled at each other, genuinely, things would get better in Washington. Oh well, one can dream.

India Outsourcing to America

2009-02-23T22:54:00.005-05:00

It's 30 years into the future and America is still in the midst of the recession. President Obama failed to move the economy enough, and 2012 Governor Sarah Palin was elected president. Her platform of, "I Saved Alaska I Can Save America" was a dismal failure and she lost the following election to some unknown Democrat. The Republicans and Democrats have been arguing for 30 years and haven't compromised on anything. In the meantime the American economy has continued to go downhill and a permanent unemployment rate of 25% and a continuing lower standard of living has become the norm.

India on the other hand, came out of its recession in 2010 and, with the American economy in decline and the Chinese economy suffering as a result of it, India became the number one industrial power in the world. Poverty in India ceased to exist, and wages skyrocketed. In late 2038, Indian companies began to outsource their call centers to the United States. American universities, sponsored by giant Indian corporations with limitless budgets, began to train millions of Americans to speak Hindi. The early efforts are successful and financial and accounting services are outsourced to poverty-stricken New York and New Jersey. Indian consumers become disgruntled over having to talk to Americans with terrible accents.
The Indian National Motor Corporation (INMC) begins building automobile plants throughout the United States which has no automotive manufacturing capabilities.

By 2045, the American economy has begun to revive, and Samuel Raj, the third-generation grandson of Indian immigrants is elected president of the United States on a "JOBS FOR EVERYONE" platform. The Democrats and Republicans are reduced to a fraction of their former selves as the American Indian Libertarian (AIL) takes control of Congress. AIL is able to pass President Raj's complete agenda. By 2050, the American economy has once again become a force to be reckoned with as the unemployment rate falls below 10% for the first time since 2009. President Raj is hailed as one of the great American presidents even before he finishes out his second term

Republican Governors Play Deal or No Deal

2009-02-23T17:14:00.003-05:00

Some of the Republican governors are threatening not to take money from the national bailout plan, also known as the Stimulus Package. While there are certainly objectionable parts of this complicated financial effort to stimulate the economy, it hardly makes sense for governors to refuse monies the citizens of their states so badly need. War maybe hell, to paraphrase William Tecumseh Sherman, but politics is often a descent into madness. For a change, Democrats were able to see further than the end of their shoes when they inserted language into the legislation that enables state legislators to request the money even if the governor doesn't.

It's possible that some of the governors may be "posturing" but knowing that for sure would require mind reading, or the abilities of the lead actor on To Tell a Lie. Boy wouldn't that be useful. So far the Republicans have chosen to do nothing. Offering alternatives that they know have no chance of being enacted is not really offering an alternative. I guess that is political posturing.

One of the complaints about the legislation is that it "forces" states to continue to spend money after the federal money runs out. That has been problematical for many decades and is not a peculiar problem of the stimulus package. I'm sure there are other objectionable parts to the stimulus package. However, as the states undergo massive layoffs and roads and bridges continued to deteriorate along with the schools, we must do something were faced becoming a Third World country. If people object to outsourcing to India, think of how much worse it will be when China and India to outsource to us.

Karl Rove: America's Favorite Person

2009-02-19T21:34:00.004-05:00

For sometime I have been aware that a number of Americans hate Karl Rove. I have been mystified by these hostile feelings because it is well known that he cares about each and every American, regardless of their race, nationality, religion, or political affiliation. This has earned him the nickname of "America's favorite person," among many, many people. I have even been told that each night before he goes to bed, he says a special prayer for the well-being of liberal Democrats throughout this country. Isn't that sweet.

He was blamed for spreading disinformation about the cause and purpose of the war in Iraq. To the best of my knowledge he consistently stated that we were invited in by the Iraqis to help them overthrow Saddam Hussein. He certainly wasn't responsible for the fact that the CIA and other intelligence sources gave the president and his advisers faulty information regarding the status of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. My inside source within inner conservative Republican circles, Stanislaw Lemsky, a former Soviet school teacher and member of the KGB, told me that Karl cautioned the president about making sure the intelligence information was absolutely correct.

A number of people also accused him of preventing significant numbers of Americans from being able to vote. To substantiate such absurd claims recently inappropriately intercepted e-mail messages with voter names have been used as purported evidence to support this assertion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Karl and his staff worked late into the night to make sure these people who had been targeted by unknown sources are actually assured of their ability to vote in the 2004 presidential election.

Lastly, allegations were made about Karl's involvement in the prosecution of former Governor Don Siegelman of Alabama. I'm sure Jill Simpson meant well, but she probably misunderstood Karl Rove when he allegedly asked her to photograph then Governor Siegelman in compromising sexual activities. Karl probably told her that he wanted some personal pictures of the governor and his wife so that he could hang them. To have said what Ms. Simpson accuses him of saying what have constituted dishonorable and illegal activities, both totally abhorrent to Karl's altruistic, and loving nature.

Bernie Maddoff and Millionaire Madness

2009-02-18T11:29:00.007-05:00

Sometime ago I heard the expression that "You only have to get rich once." In as much as I'm not rich, nor will I ever be close to it, this comment stuck in my mind. The appendage to that statement was that rich people can stay rich by putting the majority of their money into very safe investments such as double exempting municipal bonds, or U.S. Treasury notes. While I can feel some level of sympathy, but not too much, for the many millionaires who lost their money with Bernie Maddoff, I can only wonder why they were taking such high risks with their fortunes and so many ended up losing it all.

The only rich person I know has had all his money in double exempt municipal bonds for probably 20 years. Let's assume that he has $10 million, which he probably does. If you do the math, 5% (municipal) of $10 million is $500,000 a year. He seems to be squeezing out a marginal lifestyle with an apartment in Paris and a home outside of Denver. My goodness, it's possible to live on $500,000 a year. It boggles my mind to have that much money to spend a year. So what were all the millionaires who entrusted their money with Bernie Maddoff thinking? Oh yes, he had a wonderful reputation etc. but that's not the issue. If these millionaires had followed the basic rule of very conservative investing giving them a more than adequate income, then old Bernie wouldn't have been able to rob them blind.

We have been a nation of greed and are now paying for it. Our houses were never enough, our cars were never enough, and we never had enough goodies. These are tough times for so many of us. We have watched our investments for retirement dwindle. Many Americans have had to make tough decisions, some of them wrong, some of them right. But the vast majority of us weren't rich to begin with, and never had the opportunity to stay rich. What were all the millionaires thinking who invested their money with Bernie Maddoff? The answer is they weren't thinking

War with Klingons Can Save World Economy

2009-02-16T16:22:00.008-05:00

Just as World War II brought the American economy out of the Great Depression, a war with the Klingon Empire could do the same for the entire planet. An enormous number of jobs would be created worldwide to build the spaceships and munitions necessary for such a war. Millions of jobs would be necessary just to build the spaceships. Boeing of course, would be one of the world leaders in building the spaceships and smaller fighters. Metal workers, electricians, engineers, and more professions and skills would be needed then there is space here to name. The steel mills of the world would be running at full production. Coal, natural gas, and oil would be needed to run the steel mills. This would generate untold numbers of jobs. The computer companies of the world would be hiring vast numbers of people to build the necessary components for the ships. It's all mind-boggling.

Why would we go to war with the Klingon race? It's the economy stupid. Besides, they're a pugnacious race ready to pick a battle with anyone. The cause for the war? Do wars really ever need causes? If we need a cause, we could send Karl Rove and Joe Biden as ambassadors to the Klingon Empire. Certainly one of them would offend the prickly Klingons into declaring war on us. That's even better! We would be defending ourselves and could appeal to the galactic community for military and economic assistance which would help pay for the war.

The worldwide cooperation necessary to conduct the war would create an era of peace on the planet never seen before. There would be enough factories for the United States, Europe,

Russia, China, India, and etc. there would also be a worldwide wave of kickbacks and bribes enriching lobbyists. The best part is saved for last. If we do this quickly enough, William Shatner could be appointed Admiral and lead the fleet to victory. Angelina Jolie would be the natural choice to lead the ground troops necessary to secure the Klingon world. And who but Dick Cheney could fill the post of worldwide Secretary of War. Glorious days to come.

Republicans against Obama and America

2009-02-10T20:11:00.003-05:00

When no Republican member of the House voted for the "Stimulus Plan" President Obama and the rest of the country had more than a hint that bipartisanship wasn't in the air. The Senate response to the plan wasn't much better, and the necessary three Republicans to get 60 votes so that legislation could be passed were able to extract significant concessions from the Democrats. In the meantime Republican leaders went on weekend television, and talked to any media that was willing to listen, about the deficiencies and pork in the Democratic plan. To be certain there is more pork in the plan then the president would like, but for the first six years of the Bush administration an all out pig roast was held in Washington.

What's at stake? The economy and the next 10 or 20 years of the life of this country. What's the Republican response to the economic crisis? The Republican stimulus proposal focuses mainly on tax cuts and tax incentives. There is little, if anything, in the plan to address the fact that the major banks of this country are on the verge of collapse. There is also little in the plan to address the issue of a still mostly frozen lending system. How do the Republicans address the fact that major companies are on the verge of bankruptcy? Economic Darwinism.

The mantra of preserving the free market system lost any meaning when the major banks and financial institutions of this country created trillions of dollars of toxic assets instead of profits. It's amazing how they blame this on Barney Frank. It's as if the Republicans are living on another planet, or see the world so differently that they just don't get it. It's the economy stupid! The Republicans are also busy rewriting the history of the Great Depression. The Republicans are saying that everything Franklin D. Roosevelt did to get the country out of the Great Depression failed. There isn't time or space to get into a debate on this issue, but a lot of books are going to need rewriting to match the new Republican version of history.

The Republicans left in Congress are ideologues who have a particular view of the way society and the economy often function. Their lack of pragmatism hinders their ability to see a variety of alternatives as well as the true nature of the problem. President Obama should quietly bury his bipartisan plans for the present time and get on with the business of trying to prevent a severe recession from becoming a depression.

Octuplets Are Just the Beginning

2009-02-06T19:50:00.003-05:00

People who are complaining about Nadya Doud giving birth to Octuplets when she already had six children are missing the point. Sure, there's no way she can afford to feed 14 children unless she works out a million-dollar deal with a publisher or some sleazy supermarket tabloid. However, she has set a precedent whereby we can do away with the old-fashioned concept of having one or two children at a time and begin to produce them by the dozen.

Increasing numbers of young adults are deciding not to have children. If they don't want them, they shouldn't have them. What we need are volunteers like Nadya who will be willing to have a litter of 12 children, or so, to make sure the population doesn't suffer a steep decline, which is what is happening in a number of European countries. This could be a boon to white supremacists who look forward with dread the day when "white" people" become the minority in America. Presently, that looks to be a probability some time around the middle of the century. If white supremacists could get tens of thousands of white women to volunteer to have 12 children, that day could be postponed indefinitely. Bad idea. Color America dark tan or light brown by of end of the century and learn to love it.

Continuing medical advances will make the concept of "assembly-line babies" a reality in the very near future. This will be the culmination of the industrial age which will end with a drastic population reduction and the revival of agrarianism as a way of life in this country. Small-town utopias will rise, as will small and medium-sized farms which are ideal for having 12, or even 24 children. Sex for pleasure's sake will go out the window and sex for procreation only will become the norm throughout society. Hallelujah!

Obama Seeks deal with Russia to Slash Nuclear Weapons

2009-02-05T20:17:00.004-05:00

According to the UK Times online President Obama will convene the most ambitious arms reduction talks with Russia for a generation, aiming to slash each country’s stockpile of nuclear weapons by 80 per cent. "The radical treaty would cut the number of nuclear warheads to 1,000 each. A Key to this initiative is a review of the Bush Administration’s plan for a US missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, a project fiercely opposed by Moscow."

No doubt President Obama will be accused by the Hawks in Congress and elsewhere of being soft on the defense of this country. The concept of Mutual Assured Destruction, or M.A.D., has long been with us so long that too many people think it is a sane idea. The Hawks will cry out, "If only we had elected Senator McCain this travesty would not be a potential reality." There is a myth that Republican administrations will keep us safer than Democratic ones. This myth has been propagated by Republicans and others who have a vested interest in the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about over 50 years ago.

The Bush administration did not keep this country safe by invading Iraq and wearing down our military forces, while allowing the Taliban its resurgence in Afghanistan. Poorly planned belligerence never keeps America safe. The reduction of nuclear missiles is in the best interest of the people of the world, not just America and Russia. The people of this country are aware that there are forces that pose a significant danger to us. However, having 5000 nuclear weapons will not protect us from terrorists or rogue regimes

The Times article further stated, "Efforts to revive the Start talks were fitful under Bush and complicated by his insistence on building a missile defense shield. “If Obama proceeds down this route, this will be a major departure,” one Republican said. “But there will be trouble in Congress."

It's far too early to predict what the negotiations will look like but the mere mention of the of the missile defense shield will likely raise the blood pressure of conservative Republicans and other like-minded individuals.

Daniel Pearl and the Normalization of Evil

2009-02-04T20:02:00.001-05:00

Professor Perl's article is well worth reading.

The history of persecution of the Jewish people is being carried out in Israel's war with Hamas. The Palestinians have become a proxy for Arab anti-Semitism which has existed for over a thousand years. The Palestinians have been wonderful proxies starting from the time they were duped into leaving Israel by the Arab countries who were about to invade it just after it was given statehood by the United Nations. For the past 60 years the Palestinians have been homeless because no Arab nation was willing to give them an inch of land. No Arab nation is willing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the state of Israel which is part of their institutionalized anti-Semitism.

Israel's dilemma is that fighting terrorists means that in order to root them out you have to go into the houses in which they hide. Thus, the Israelis who have been victims for 2000 years, now becomes seen as victimizers. This is not to say that everything that Israel has done has been "good." When you wake up every day fighting for survival for 60 years as a nation, and for over 2000 years as a people, you're liable to commit your own atrocities.

The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance provided a 2000 year history of anti-Semitism.

which is well worth reading. We didn't get to the present situation overnight.

Wall Street Bandits Steal 18 billion Dollars

2009-01-31T14:06:00.004-05:00

The Scoundrels of Wall Street, taking their cues from one of the seven deadly sins (greed), decided to dole out $18 billion they had only because of government bailouts. President Obama chastised them for this outrageous robbery, but to date than none of them have returned their bonuses. Nor are they likely to. Every major brokerage house, including Goldman Sachs, would be bankrupt were it not for the intervention of the federal government. But when former secretary of treasury Paulson handed them more than their fair share of $300 billion they knew exactly what to do with it. Keep it.

Should the staff of the brokerage houses and investment banks to be getting bonuses when tens of thousands of Americans are being laid off? This is a rhetorical question to everyone except those who worked on Wall Street. This is the gang that couldn't shoot straight, and shot themselves in the foot, in the leg, and finally in the head, so that they lost hundreds of billions of dollars on ill-conceived investments.

The doling out of billions of dollars of bonuses was justified based on the assumption that if these firms didn't give their best staff wheelbarrows of hundred dollar bills, then the staff would have gone to other companies. What companies? Bear Stearns is no more. Lehman Brothers is gone. Merrill Lynch has been absorbed. The survivors are cutting staff by the tens of thousands. Ah, but those staff that remain must of necessity participate in the $18 billion robbery.

This gigantic robbery comes at a time when Bernard Maddoff made $50 billion disappear in the greatest Pinza scheme in the history of this country, if not the world. Many people and charities have seen their life savings disappear. But robbery is a way of life in the investment world these days. An unfair statement? Ask the people who lost the hundreds of billion dollars by investing in Wall Street.

Republicans Batting Zero

2009-01-30T19:29:00.004-05:00

Not one single Republican voted for the bailout measure approved by the House Of Representatives. To be sure, there were portions of the bill which were objectionable to the Republicans, particularly since approximately $200 billion of the bill is likely to become a permanent part of the budget. But the funding for the birth-control information was deleted, which was a main sticking point in the craw of most Republicans. But not one, even one, Republican was able to vote for the bill? Sounds like a solid party line stance. To what purpose?

Congressman Boehner recently said that the Republicans can't be the party of, "No." The Republicans did come up with some counterproposals, mainly in the area of tax cuts. "Instead of a tax credit for individuals making $75,000 or less or families making less than $150,000, Republicans would like to reduce the tax rate by 5 percent on those Americans in the lowest tax brackets, from 15 percent to 10 percent and 10 percent to 5 percent." It's nice to see the Republicans focusing on tax cuts for people making moderate to low levels of income. This is certainly a change from the Bush administration era when Republican tax cuts were targeted for the wealthy. Well maybe the Republicans aren't batting zero, but they certainly aren't scoring any runs. Reducing taxes will help people, but it certainly won't turn the economy around. Nor is it certain that the Democratic sponsored legislation will either.

One potentially hopeful sign was that several Republicans had less than nice things to say about Rush Limbaugh. These comments came about the same time that President Obama told Republicans in Washington to stop listening to the right-wing talk show host. Rush Limbaugh then went on to say that "The president wants him (Limbaugh) to fail." This is all grist for Rush Limbaugh's mill because there is nothing he likes more than controversy, especially when it's about him. Rush Limbaugh is entirely about himself and gives new meaning to the words "self-absorbed."

There is some expectation that a few Republicans senators will vote for the bailout legislation. Heaven forbid! Recently Mitch McConnell, a key Republican leader in Congress, pointed out that the Republicans run the risk of becoming a regional party if they continue as they have during the Bush administration. Republicans are reputed to stand for less spending and smaller government. That's an interesting concept, because even Ronald Reagan, who said that "government is the problem not the solution" ended up with a larger bureaucracy at the end of eight years than he started with.

Bailout Battle over Birth Control

2009-01-27T19:30:00.010-05:00

Recent reports indicate that President Obama will not support the inclusion of birth control funding in the bailout legislation. He is reported to have talked to Representative Henry Waxman, chairman of the energy and commerce committee, about having this provision removed. The Republicans assert that birth control funding has nothing to do with the bailout. While this is undoubtedly true, the inter-party wars over birth control have reared their ugly head. The connection between conservativism and birth control is tenuous at best, since the majority of Republicans are not Catholic, even though the majority of Catholics use bir th control. Oh yes, the majority of Evangelicals are opposed to birth control. Is the country to be governed by the beliefs of the Evangelicals? Did Nancy Pelosi actually say that birth control funding would be stimulating? Did Boehner actually say it wouldn't be?

With so much at stake it is amazing how the both parties have gotten themselves tied up over long-standing unresolved issues. Bush is in, birth control is out; Obama is in, birth control is in. Birth control funding will happen whether or not the Republicans like it, just not in the bailout legislation. Representative Boehner recently said that the Republicans can't be the party of, "No." Well, they appear to be that on both counts. Against birth control, and against the bailout. There also appears to be a prevailing belief among the Republicans the bailout won't work and the Democrats will be left holding the bag in the 2010 elections. If the bailout doesn't work, there will be little left of the economy of the country for either party to fight over in 2010.

So much for bipartisanship. Why is it necessary for the Democrats to put things in the bill that they know will anger the Republicans and why is it necessary for the Republicans to react in a Pavlovian manner? Whether or not the bailout will work remains to be seen. At least the Obama team is coming up with an overarching plan that will address the short-term and long-term economic issues through a diverse array of legislation and other activities. This is a significant improvement over former secretary of treasury Paulson "winging it" as he went along.

In these perilous economic times we need more grown-ups. As the president said in his inaugural speech, "Now is the time to put away childish things." How many from both parties will join the president in being a grown-up is yet to be seen.

President Obama the Socialist?

2009-01-22T19:28:00.005-05:00

When President Obama talked about sharing the wealth with "Joe the plumber," the dreaded "S" word, or socialism, suddenly became part of the campaign rhetoric. Senator McCain and Governor Palin were quick to label Obama as a socialist which any good American knows is almost as bad as being a communist, which is the same as being the devil. Webster's dictionary defines socialism as, "any of various economic and political theory is advocating collective or government ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." For those who weren't paying attention, while the McCain campaign was hurling the odious accusation of socialism against President Obama, the Bush administration was in the process of taking over the banking system in this country. Excuse me? A conservative president taking over the banking system? Sounds a lot like socialism to me.

Following the government takeover of the banking system was the plea from the auto industry to be bailed out by the government. More socialism? And Obama hadn't even been elected yet.

Except for "real Socialists, who are small minority in America, and a few left-wing Democrats, who are probably Socialists, the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Democrats, are just fine with capitalism and don't want the government to own, administer, or distribute goods.

What gets a fair number of people agitated is the concept of "sharing the pie." In one of his broadcasts, Glenn Beck, who tends to the conservative side, said that he didn't want to share his pie, and that America is a bakery that can produce an infinite number of pies. That's a nice theory, but the reality is some people will always be left with the crumbs, and a more than a few people will have no pie at all. This country has been sharing the pie ever since Medicare was instituted, which still sticks in the craw of many conservatives who would like to roll back everything Lyndon Johnson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt implemented.

In President Obama's inaugural address there was no hint of socialism. In fact, Michael Medved, a conservative columnist, said the following about President Obama's inaugural address. "Meanwhile, the big speech also reassured Joe the Plumber and other nervous free-marketeers that careless campaign rhetoric about “spreading the wealth” might not, after all, constitute a major priority for the Obama administration."

To paraphrase President Obama the focus is not on whether the government is too big or too small, but whether it works.

To go back to Glenn Beck's metaphor about sharing the pie, extra slices have been given to special interests throughout the country's history. Farm subsidies are given to major corporations whether they need them or not. Municipalities give significant tax breaks to corporations to lure them to their area. So let's not pretend sharing the pie is all about socialism. If are going to share the pie lets do it more fairly.

President Bush Celebrates Successful Presidency

2009-01-13T19:24:00.006-05:00

At his last press conference, President Bush described the great successes of his presidency. Even though there was gasping, and cries of foul from most of the press, the president went on to list the accomplishments of his eight years as president of the United States. Among them are the following:

The short, successful war in Iraq that resulted in a democracy being established in less than two years, with a minimum of civilian casualties. The president also cited the fact that the war had come in well under budget, costing the American taxpayer less than $100 billion.

Tax cuts that didn't increase the deficit, but rather decreased the deficit to the point that were it not for the slight recession, budget surpluses would be part of the Bush legacy.

Leaving an economy that was basically sound except for the mild recession, which should not last more than a couple of months. The president cited the excellent work of Secretary of the treasury Paulsen and chairman of the Federal Reserve Bernanke in preventing the housing crisis from becoming more than a minor problem for the economy and the people of America.

The major accomplishment in reviving the status of American manufacturing was the reestablishment of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler as the dominant automakers in the world. Each of the big three automakers is now thoroughly solvent and have taken significant market share from Toyota.

The president was also proud of his administration's ability to obtain the cooperation of Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees without the use of any coercive measures. Only one prisoner of war was ever housed at the Guantánamo facility, and that person had a speedy trial in the civilian courts.

President Bush spoke at length about his commitment to the civil liberties of all Americans and his refusal to use wiretaps and other covert unconstitutional surveillance techniques despite the pressure from the Democratic Party.

At the end of the press conference the president was given a standing ovation by all members of the press, many of whom shouted, "Four more years, four more years."

"Katie Couric Not Center of Known Universe”

2009-01-09T20:09:00.005-05:00

The presidential election was decided over two months ago, but Governor Palin has kept talking. She continues to be as enlightening after the election, as she was before the election. In an incredible pronouncement, Governor Palin said, "Katie Couric is not the center of everyone's known universe." Astronomers all over the world immediately concurred with Governor Palin in her assessment. It is rumored that Katie Couric however were shocked to find out that she was not the center of the universe. This will no doubt put a damper into her next contract negotiations.

When Governor Palin was asked how she decided that Katie Couric wasn't the center of the universe, Governor Palin replied, "I just decided." End of discussion on that topic.

Still upset with what she feels was an unfair portrayal of her during it presidential campaign Governor Palin has been speaking her mind about the various injustices she suffered. In an interview posted on the Internet Governor Palin blasted what she says was the mainstream news media's regular use of unsubstantiated and often anonymous blogging in its reporting. If Governor Palin stands by her words, the one she used during the interviews she gave during the campaign, then there is no need for anyone to resort to anonymous blogging. Governor Palin came across in a way that enabled everyone to make a judgment about her capability to be the vice president of the United States. That judgment was a resounding NO WAY!

In our recent interview Governor Palin also said, "Of course I read newspapers," putting an end to the scurrilous rumors that the governor was a non-reader. While Governor Palin was having her say, she managed to take a shot at Caroline Kennedy. Governor Palin said "I've been interested to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled. As we watch that, we'll be able to prove that there's a class issue here.” It’s not clear what class Governor Palin is referring to. Perhaps she's referring to the difference the way the press treats a self-described pit-bull soccer mom and a graduate of Columbia Law School. It wouldn't be fair to treat them differently. Would it?

Dick Cheney to be Appointed Ambassador to Klingon Empire

2009-01-08T19:33:00.004-05:00

In his greatest display of bipartisanship, President Barack Obama announced today that Vice President Cheney would be appointed as the permanent Ambassador to the Klingon Empire. William Shatner was reported to be upset because he wasn't consulted about this appointment. A representative for President-elect Obama said it was fitting for Vice President Cheney to fill this important post even though it was hundreds of light years from Earth. The Klingons were reportedly delighted that Cheney would receive this appointment because they greatly admire his management style and skills and approach to handling people. Mrs. Cheney said she was looking forward to living on Klingon where she could eat blood worms and other rare delicacies unavailable on this planet.

Former secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, was considered for this appointment, but his decision to spend the rest of his life at a monastery high in the Tibetan Himalayas made such an appointment in possible. The Klingons expect that Vice President Cheney will be the helpful in their tactical negotiations with the Romulan Empire. Both the Klingons and the Romulans have had a long history of bomb first, talk later diplomacy. The Klingons felt that Cheney's background in this type of interplanetary diplomacy would be extremely useful. Vice president Cheney is also expected to provide expertise in the art of persuading prisoners of war to voluntarily tell everything they know with a minimum of damage to their central nervous system.

This is expected to be the first of many such appointments by President-elect Obama. President Bush is being considered as Ambassador to the Vulcans so that he may be able to share his advanced meditative practices. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is reported to be interested in being ambassador to the Borg. After working within the Bush administration for eight years, working with the Borg should be a piece of cake according to an administrative insider.

Piggy Banks Flying in Frugal U.S.

2009-01-02T12:19:00.005-05:00

The banks are not actually flying in the air to the best of my knowledge. However, they are flying off the shelves of stores that sell them. According to an article in Reuters, “(Wed Dec 31, 2008 2:34pm EST) "Recession-wary Americans embraced the virtues of thrift this Christmas, with stores reporting a clear rise in the popularity of piggy banks." Naturally, in New York City, designer piggy banks would be the most desirable. The article goes on to quote a New York City retailer. "We have been selling coin banks really well," said Laura Kellner at Kikkerland Design Inc. in New York City, whose stylish chrome pig is priced at $31.

Savings levels have increased markedly in recent months as households adjust to a yearlong recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. In view of the level of most middle-class family incomes, a piggy bank seems to be an appropriate place to put extra savings in terms of what's left over after paying the monthly bills. Many families are not able to save any money at all. There are rumors that Wal-Mart plans to sell three dollar a piggy banks with billions of dollars of fake money. People shouldn't turn up their nose at fake money at a time when the country has learned that most of the major brokerage houses and major banks have been generating fake profits for some time.

Unfortunately, an increase in the savings rate is not necessarily good for the country. The Reuters article goes on to state, "If shock over the housing and stock market's losses sends the savings rate all the way back to the 11.2 percent notched in 1982, after the United States had endured two painful back-to-back recessions, it will prolong the current downturn." The whole business of what we should save is getting too complicated. For a long time the people of this country have been told we weren't saving enough. Now we are warned that if we save too much it will be bad for the economy. I think I'm going down to Santa Fe to find a monastery to hang out in for the next 10 years.

Freedom of Speech Stretched Beyond the Limits

2009-01-01T00:48:00.010-05:00

The following is a quote taken from Media Matters. The post exemplies that there is nothing too obscene or flagrantly racist/sexist/etc. that some fool won't say it. Freedom of speech is not freedom to villify, dehumanize, or make racist/sexist comments.

"With attacks on autistic children, the poor, and HIV-positive basketball star Magic Johnson, talking heads showed that nobody was safe in 2008, no matter how unfounded and unseemly the smear. Progressive politicians, particularly Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton and President-elect Barack Obama, were also targets. Obama was called everything from a "pussy" (Don Imus), to a
"steamy crap sandwich" (Chris Krok). One commentator said Obama "fits the stereotype blacks once labeled as an Oreo -- a black on the outside, a white on the inside" (John McLaughlin), while others associated him with the Antichrist (Bill Cunningham, Chris Baker, Brian Sussman, others). Michelle Obama was also targeted, being described, among other things, as "Kim Jong-Il dressed up with a bit of Oprah Winfrey dressing" (Mark Steyn). MSNBC's Chris Matthews said Clinton's success is attributable not to her merit, but to the fact that "her husband messed around."

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Vice President Cheney Nullifies Presidential Election: Declares Himself President

2008-12-31T00:28:00.006-05:00

At 1 a.m., on December 31, 2008, Vice President Dick Cheney called a press conference to announce that he had nullified the results of the presidential election and had declared himself president. He said that, "The country is facing too many crises to be able to survive the inexperience of formerly President-elect Barack Obama. Only a person with my experience and skill will be able to guide the country for the next eight years." When asked by shocked and horrified reporters, what basis or authority did he have to do this, he replied, "I gave myself the necessary authority." Karl Rove, who was at the back of the room during this announcement, nodded sagaciously.

President Bush who was awakened by the Secret Service to be informed of this announcement reportedly said, "Hunh?" Laura Bush was reported to have said, "Let the damn fool to try to do it." After he finished his brief announcement, Vice President Cheney introduced two army colonels who reportedly backed his coup d'état. My inside source at the White House, Omar Fishbein Muhammed, said that no general in any of the services was willing to support this bizarre attempt at usurping the power of the presidency. When President-elect Barack Obama was informed of Vice President Cheney's announcement he reportedly said that he had dispatched Joe Biden to help arrange for appropriate psychiatric care for the vice president.

In Hollywood, Paris Hilton volunteered to be the vice president's personal nurse, and see to it that he is restored to his full mental health, or what remains of it. Senator John McCain said he had suspended his campaign and was rushing to Washington to be of help in this new crisis. Mrs. Cheney was unavailable for comment, and was last seen boarding a plane for Abu Dhabi.

People Mindlessly Willing to Inflict Pain

2008-12-29T16:21:00.007-05:00

A recent study showed that people will inflict pain on someone just because a person in authority tells them to do so. There is much good in people but there is a mindless cruel side. Mindless following of instructions can happen in any society.

Caroline Kennedy U.S. Senator?: No Way!

2008-12-23T19:28:00.008-05:00

There has been a great deal of opposition expressed about the possible appointment of Caroline Kennedy as a United States Senator to replace Hillary Clinton. This is rightfully so because she has no legislative experience and has held no political office. Her main qualification appears to be that her last name is Kennedy, and she carries the DNA of the former president. What could she possibly offer the people of the State of New York? Does the fact that she is highly intelligent, ethical, and able to comprehend a wide variety of complex issues have any bearing? Are these sufficient qualifications to be appointed United States Senator? Absolutely not! What about the fact that she has written two books, co-authored with Ellen Alderman, related to constitutional rights? Irrelevant, totally irrelevant. Of greater importance is whether she has a list of all the important interest groups in New York State.

Ms. Kennedy has no background or experience in dissembling on important issues. She also has little if any experience in correcting a previously inaccurate statement she had made to the press or media. It's also highly likely she has no experience with one of the most important political issues of our time, working with corporate lobbyists. She's likely to be an independent-minded person voting on issues based on the merits rather than on the important input from highly paid former members of Congress who are trying to buy her vote. We can't afford to have too many people like this in Congress. If our elected representatives don't take money from lobbyists it would put these poor people out of work. Lastly, it's unlikely she has any experience at all with bribery, either as a recipient or a giver. The importance of this issue can be demonstrated by what is happening in the state of Illinois.

The people of the State of New York are entitled to senators who are not only qualified for the office, but have the same set of ethical and moral values. Former Governor Eliot Spitzer could speak at length to this issue. Favoritism and nepotism must be nipped in the bud so that if one of the Bush daughters is ever elected president we can be sure that she earned it

Gasoline Prices: Laughing While We Can

2008-12-22T23:00:00.004-05:00

When the price of gasoline was over four dollars a gallon no one was smiling. Now, when the price of a gallon of gasoline is under a $1.75, depending upon where you live, people can breathe a bit easier when they fill up their cars. While no one expects gasoline prices to remain this low permanently, it is hard to predict how fast and how high prices will rise. Startlingly enough, the number of miles driven by Americans continues to go down even while the price of gasoline is much lower.

It's the economy stupid. Increasingly larger numbers of people are either getting laid off, or having their hours of work reduced. Most Americans have less money as a result of the decline in whatever investments they had, if they had any. The recession, which is worldwide in nature, has resulted in reduced demand in almost all countries. As a result, OPEC, which has always functioned better when prices were rising as opposed to falling, can't seem to cut oil production quick enough to match falling demand. As a result, many experts are predicting that the price of a gallon of oil may fall as low as $25 a barrel. Oil-producing countries which generated budgets based on $90-$100 a barrel oil are experiencing significant budget shortfalls and cutting production with falling prices only makes the problem worse. It's hard to imagine anyone in America are crying for Venezuela (or is it Argentina?), and certainly not for Iran or any Middle Eastern sandbox that got rich selling oil.

What we cannot afford to do is wait for the price of oil to rise again draining billions of dollars from our economy and going into the coffers of countries that bear us little goodwill. We must proceed with wind driven energy projects, all electrical cars, hybrid cars, and all other possibilities that will decrease our use of gasoline. The omission of ethanol was not an accident because this project has been a farce in terms of not saving energy costs and costing the American public billions of dollars in subsidies to businesses that didn't need such subsidies. Lower gasoline prices combined with the current economic situation will likely produce headwinds for alternative energy projects. However, the next president has his head on straight about this issue, and will not allow the country to be diverted from the all-important task of a comprehensive energy policy. While the president doesn't owe big oil anything, there are too many in Congress who are deep in the pockets of big oil. This is where alternative energy projects are likely to be slowed down. "Drill, drill, drill baby" is a hollow mantra that will do little to solve the long-term energy needs of this country.

Costs of Illegal Immigration and Current Economic Crisis

2008-12-18T19:19:00.003-05:00

Illegal immigration was one of the most contentious and important issues facing this country. I say "was" because the current economic crises has pushed this issue to the back burner, so to speak. Almost all of the issues cited below, that arise when illegal immigration is discussed, are still relevant. However, cost factors involved in the illegal immigration become increasingly important when the federal, state, and local governments are all losing significant revenues. Funding for vital programs, including the maintenance of roads and other infrastructure has been lost, and "hard" discussions are undoubtedly taking place throughout the nation about paying for services for illegal immigrants when funding is not available for necessary services for the citizens of this country.

One new factor is that because he illegal immigrants are finding it more difficult to obtain jobs many are returning to Mexico, although no one has a way of approximating such numbers at this time.

A key aspect of the debate and disagreement on illegal immigration relates to its costs. Based on my review of six studies I came to the conclusion that no one really knows the cost of illegal immigration. There are two main problems. Almost all of the studies purporting to document the cost of illegal immigration are written by groups with a particular point of view. I will say more about this later. Secondly, the economic benefits of the illegal immigrants in this country have typically not been adequately addressed.

The Eagle Forum produced a well-documented report addressing many of the cost factors in illegal immigration. However, it is important to know that the Eagle Forum has been a leading advocate for the pro-family movement since 1972 and is therefore not without its biases. The report is worth reading if you are interested in more details about this issue. The Center for Immigration Studies sponsored a report written by Stephen Camorata written in 2004. This report focused on the "High Cost of Cheap Labor." It is important to know that The Center for Immigration Studies is a Pro-immigrant, think-tank which seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted. The report is important because it addresses the cost-benefit aspect of illegal immigration, which has all too frequently been neglected.

Some of the costs of illegal immigrants are obvious and indisputable. Examples of these include costs incurred by hospitals, costs incurred by the states and federal government to incarcerate illegal immigrants convicted of crimes, and costs to local school systems.

Mr. Camorata documents important "benefit" issues such as the fact that, "On average, illegal households pay more than $4,200 a year in all forms of federal taxes. Unfortunately, they impose costs of $6,950 per household.” It is important to note that in addressing taxes paid by illegal immigrants Camorata neglects to factor in sales taxes paid for food, clothing and other purchases made by illegal immigrants and property taxes paid by the illegal immigrants. The reduced cost of services and products as a result of the cheap labor provided by the illegal immigrants has a significant but unknowable effect on the overall cost of living in this country. This had been particularly true in the construction of housing where many illegal immigrants are employed. With the tremendous decline in the number of new houses being built it would be interesting to know if the proportion of workers building these houses who are illegal immigrants has changed.

Detroit’s Downturn: It’s the Productivity, Stupid

2008-12-17T22:42:00.004-05:00

With management that could never see the future, and labor unions that would never let go of the past, the failure of big automotive companies in Detroit was a disaster long in the making. In an insightful article, Rand Simberg, points out that union rules regarding productivity, or the lack thereof, have been a critical factor in the failure of Detroit's ability to compete. Americans can make excellent cars, as has been proven by the fact that the Toyotas and Honda is that many Americans drive were built in this country. But these factories weren't hampered by union rules designed to featherbed and otherwise obstruct the process of being competitive.

Miley Cyrus Disappointed?

2008-12-12T19:12:00.008-05:00

The question on the minds of most Americans, and billions of people throughout the world, is whether Miley Cyrus was disappointed when she didn't get a new Mercedes-Benz on her birthday. The people of planet Earth can breathe easier because Miley was satisfied to get her mother's used Porsche. It was a hard blow for Miley to accept, but she did so with the grace and poise that everyone expects from her. It's difficult for 16-year-old girls not to get exactly what they want for their birthday. It's especially disappointing to get a used car.

My inside source in Hollywood, Elsie Goodfeel, reported that there was a special condition attached to Miley receiving the Porsche. Miley is to be appropriately dressed at all times while driving, whether in Hollywood, or the real world. Elsie he couldn’t verify whether a string bikini counted as being appropriately dressed in Hollywood. In the rest of the world wearing a string bikini would not be considered appropriately dressed. Miley's image is of utmost importance since her less than fully clothed photo shoot scandal last year. Her image will continue to be important as long as she is under age eighteen or works for Disney. There is some fear, that after Miley passes age eighteen and no longer works for Disney, that she will succumb to the influences on such notorious role models as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

In the meantime, we'll all stay tuned to the further adventures of Miley Cyrus.

Great Recession of 2008 and Collective National Stupidity

2008-12-09T19:40:00.004-05:00

Now that the great recession has officially arrived its easy to look back and blame the all the people that were involved in loans that people couldn't pay, the institutions that bundled these loans into toxic packages of so-called assets, and all the people whot thought that housing prices would rise forever. But it isn't that simple, because the vast majority of the people in this country contributed in one way or another to the economic crisis in which we find ourselves. If you think you weren't involved, think again, because you probably were. Consider the following questions:

Did you buy a house you couldn't really afford, but assumed that future salary increases would eventually make the house of affordable?

Were you spending more money then you earned?

Do you have new, or almost new, clothing in your closet that you never wore?

Do you live in a house that had more than 1000 square-feet per person?

Are you paying more than $100 a month on credit card debt?

Did you do impulse shopping and buy things that you didn't really need?

Do you drive a gas guzzling car?

Did you think that the value of your house was always going to increase?

Did you take out a new mortgage on your house so that you could have extra money to spend on something that wasn't a necessity?

Did you buy a condominium or second house so that you could "flip it" and make money.

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions you were either directly or indirectly involved in the current economic crisis. If you answered yes to three or more of these questions you should be sentenced to three counseling sessions with Susie Orman. All of the above constituted the Collective National Stupidity that led to the current economic recession.

How could buying a few things that we didn't really need to contribute to the recession? Easy. We became a nation of shoppers on an endless buying spree that eventually had to end in a catastrophic bust. Counties, cities, and states became dependent upon sales taxes which would one day drop off a cliff. That day is here now. Companies built more stores so that we didn't have to travel far to buy things we didn't really need. When we stopped buying things in abundance, stores began to close. People lost jobs, and companies went bankrupt, which resulted in defaulted loans at banks. And finally, banks stopped loaning money.

William Ayres Speaks out

2008-12-06T10:49:00.005-05:00

During the recent presidential campaign William Ayres was made a focus of the efforts to raise questions about President-elect Obama. Mr. Ayres had once been a member of the weather underground, a radical organization that engaged in acts of defiance against the government in protest against the Vietnam War. By the time the McCain campaign was finished, Mr. Ayres was painted as a violent revolutionary who was a threat to the American way of life. President-elect Obama was linked to Mr. Ayres on the flimsiest of relationships. Unfortunately, this type of slash and burn tactic has become part of presidential politics. Even more unfortunately, Mr. Ayres was made to be something he wasn't. His column in the New York Times after the election is well over gives a clearer picture of who he is and what his relationship with President Obama was.

Depressing Recession Is Finally Acknowledged

2008-12-02T19:36:00.003-05:00

The people in charge of measuring such things have finally declared that we are in a recession. What was their first clue? The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy? Hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs? The stock market declining by over 35%? No. The number crunchers and bean counters had to do their thing and tell us that the recession started last December. There is something bizarre about the way the federal government continues to go about its business of handling and describing the economy. It's almost enough to make you lose your faith in government.

Now that the recession is official, the next order of business is comparing it to all the other recessions and estimating how long the current recession will be. A number of official and unofficial sources have already stated that this recession will be worse than probably all the other recessions since the Great Depression. Again, what was their first clue? The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the disappearance of Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and the near disappearance of the rest of the great brokerage houses might have given them an inkling that the economy was in very bad shape. The great brokerage houses didn't go broke during the great depression, probably because they hadn't had the opportunity to create trillions of dollars of “bad assets."

How can an asset to be bad? Easy. That's when an asset is really a liability. It's very similar to giving a mortgage to someone who can't pay it back. Of course the brokerage houses and the giant national banks told us that the assets weren't bad at first. Then they admitted they were slightly bad, but we shouldn't worry. At the same time, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bernanke and Secretary of the treasury Paulson were also telling us that things weren't that bad. When enough people tell you that things aren't that bad it's time to really worry. We all have denial in our personal lives, but when denial takes place on a national level, it's generally a catastrophe.

The official acknowledgment of the recession comes at a time when the people of this country are supposed to be spending themselves into oblivion for the holidays. The spending orgy this year is likely to be much smaller than previous years. The greatest gift that people can give themselves for the holidays is remembering what's truly important in life. Relationships and family are precious and can't be purchased in any store.

Sex, Sex, and More Sex: Getting Our Minds off the Economy

2008-11-28T21:06:00.005-05:00

Sex, Sex, and More Sex: Getting Our Mind off the Economy

For many months we have been hearing about the worsening state of the economy, which is now in a significant recession. We have watched our investments shrivel up, our neighbors lose their homes, and we are told the worst is yet to come. It is important for everyone to have some enjoyment in life and not live in a perpetual state of gloom. This post will focus on one of the nation's favorite pastimes, and the best way we know of to keep the population growing, sex. This post is also intended for those people who enjoy having sex, or at least want to give it a try.

Recently, a minister in Grapevine Texas urged his married couples to have sex all week long. Minister Ed Young said, “In these days of financial crisis, rampant divorce and debates over same-sex marriage, it's time to turn the whining into whoopee." I couldn’t agree more. He went on to say, “Sex is like Super Glue. It's a spiritual thing, an emotional thing.” I’m not so sure about the super glue metaphor. It creates an image of two people physically, not emotionally bonded to each other. A lot of the functions of daily life could become problematical if two people were super glued to each other. This kind of exhortation of the congregation to have more sex is not unprecedented. Earlier this year a minister in Florida encouraged his congregation to have 30 days of sex. I let my few readers decide if that’s pushing the envelope.

Recent research has found that even thinking about sex has beneficial health effects. In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, `Karen Weatherbee stated, “Just 10 minutes of staring at the charms on the well endowed female is roughly equivalent to 30 minutes of aerobic workout.” The article went on to state that this improves blood circulation and can extend a man’s life by as much as five years. Hugh Hefner’s whole life purpose has just been vindicated. Maybe men can get a prescription from their doctor making the purchase of Playboy magazine a medical deduction.

A Forbes magazine article cites many significant physical benefits of having sex. Among them, “Immediately before orgasm, levels of the hormone oxytocin surge to five times their normal level. This in turn releases endorphins, which alleviate the pain of everything from headache to arthritis to even migraines. In women, sex also prompts production of estrogen, which can reduce the pain of PMS.” Wow! Evidence that sex cures headaches and doesn’t cause them.

EVERYBODY BE HAPPY!

Obama Takes Control

2008-11-25T01:08:00.005-05:00

In the face of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, President Bush has gone missing in inaction. At the same time, Secretary of the Treasury Paulsen, who at times appeared to be running the country, is doing his own thing and giving evidence that he can't wait to get out. When President-elect Obama said that there can only be one president at a time, he was obviously correct. What he didn't realize at the time was that it would be soon necessary for him to become the de facto president until he was formally sworn in. He has begun to introduce his programs, and made it clear that he expects the stimulus package to be implemented before he is sworn in. If implemented, the nation can hope the stimulus package works better than the $700 billion bailout that was supposed to unfreeze the credit markets.

Fear is pervasive in the country as a great recession is upon us. One of the most important things that Obama can do is give the people a sense that someone is in charge and there is some hope. Hope is not a solution for the problems that beset this country, but the absence of hope is desperation which will only make the problems worse. By all appearances Obama has put together an "economic team" of experts, and will not hesitate to utilize the expertise of persons in business and finance. Currently, we have Paulsen and Bernanke talking with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, which scares the hell out of me. Barney Frank, for those who forget, is one of the people who helped turn Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loose to become financially bankrupt. While the Republicans were largely responsible for much of the deregulation that led to the current economic crisis, the Democrats were all too eager to implement a philosophy where everyone was entitled to own a home of their own. Utter nonsense! Owning a home isn't a right, it's not guaranteed in the Constitution, nor did Thomas Jefferson ever refer to it in the Declaration of Independence.

Among the things Obama needs to do is to is work with, and give direction to, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, and other liberal Democrats. None of these people are capable of running the country, and collectively all of them are capable of running it into the ground. A better metaphor might be a nautical one. If the country were likened to a ship at sea, its financial and economic systems are taking on water and in danger of sinking. Responsible programs, not just any programs, need to be put in place. Someone needs to be in charge and make sure all the pieces fit together. So far Obama seems to be doing a good job. But what he has done is a drop in the bucket compared to what he will have to do. He has commendably surrounded himself with very capable people. This was the relatively easy part. Now comes the hard part of tackling the enormous problems and making things better, not worse.

Obama Speaks: Is America Listening?

2008-11-18T19:52:00.004-05:00

The interview with President-elect Obama and his wife on 60 minutes, was very interesting. He talked about the importance of the free market system, and as best as I can recollect, he didn't even give a hint of turning America into a socialist state. So much for campaign rhetoric, and right wing paranoia. He seems remarkably poised and balanced, qualities which he will need during what will be a very stressful presidency. He will also need these qualities to deal with the near messianic expectations that more than a few people have formed of him. The picture of him as the new FDR gives evidence of these overzealous expectations.

The most important thing that Obama can do is restore some sense of hope in the country. The performance of the stock market, and the unwillingness of financial institutions to loan money even after they were given billions of dollars by the government, are both strong evidence of the sense of absence of hope and presence of despair. At the present time the country is devoid of any leadership, as President Bush has gone missing, and Secretary of the treasury Paulson appears to be the leader of the country. How important is hope? Ronald Reagan understood the need for people to feel good about themselves and their country, and that better times lie ahead. Businesses are composed of people, and therefore have the same need.

He must provide strong leadership, because even the best of economic recovery plans will not work unless they are fully implemented, and the people of this country believe that they will work. When the giant banks of this country are given tens of billions of dollars and still do not lend money, but contemplate large bonuses for their staffs, there is a need for a leader who will send a quick direct message telling them what they need to do.

Obama's willingness to form a diverse Cabinet with people who don't completely share his vision is evidence of a man with a strong ego. A strong ego should not be confused with a big one. A person with a strong ego is able to tolerate differences of opinion, and even learn from them. We have had few presidents with strong egos in recent decades. The interview with the heads of his campaign gave a prescient insight into his leadership style. He wants to surround himself with strong and capable people who can carry out their mission with a minimum of guidance.

Lastly, Obama consistently points out that the task ahead of us cannot be accomplished by one person. There is no one human being who can carry the country on his or her back.

Bailing General Motors and Ford: A Necessary Evil

2008-11-11T20:06:00.005-05:00

If this country weren't in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the argument to bail out General Motors and Ford would be less than persuasive. However, given the current situation, the loss of the jobs at America's automakers and the multiplying effect of losing other jobs related to these corporations' existence are too great to allow them to fail at this time. Without the current crisis, it would be fitting that these poorly managed companies partnered with unions who couldn't see the writing on the wall, would have faded into extinction.

Even now there are many who say why bother to save General Motors when its market capitalization as of Tuesday, November 11, 2008, is less than $2 billion. Most people who have been following the long-term demise of the American automotive industry have been well aware of the overindulgent benefits provided to retired auto workers. Many of the automotive industry retirees have never had to deal with Medicare because they had perpetual gold plated medical coverage. Now, like the rest of American retirees, they have to deal with the intricacies of Medicare. Couldn't they, along with management, have seen long ago that this benefit was too excessive to last at a time when the automotive industry in America was continuing on a downhill path?

It has been pointed out that most companies declaring bankruptcy under Chapter 11 don't go out of existence. Instead, they shed debt, reorganize, and emerge as healthier companies. That's what United Airlines and Delta Airlines have done and Circuit City is planning to do. However, this requires special financing which most lenders are not willing to do at the present time at a time when the credit market is still mostly frozen.

The government must do more than just give money to the automakers. The automakers must present a workable plan for how they will become profitable and how they will pay the money back to the people of America. The next administration must be extremely vigilant in its monitoring of the automakers, as well as other companies that have been given government money. While no one wants to government to take over the auto industry, or the banking industry, the people in charge of the companies that have been bailed out have shown themselves to be clueless at times. The most egregious example has been the plans for multimillion dollar bonuses on Wall Street and the expensive road trips at AIG. While Guantánamo must be emptied out of its current occupants, perhaps it should not be entirely

closed. Pictures of empty cells at Guantánamo could be sent to the CEOs of the companies

receiving government bailouts as a reminder of what is at stake.

The Bush Presidency: End of a Long Dark Night

2008-11-08T19:15:00.005-05:00

The end of the Bush presidency is in sight, and America and the rest of the world will be the better for it. The financial catastrophe that confronts the world and a duplicitous, unnecessary war in Iraq are only two of the sins of one of the worst administration’s in the history of this nation. There is another "horror" that this administration attempted to perpetrate on this country, and nearly succeeded. This consisted of the erosion of constitutional freedoms and rights through the so-called "Patriot Act," the torture haven in Guantánamo, and secret and illegal activities carried on by a president, a vice president and others who sought to subvert the rule of law. The administration lived in the darkness of the recesses of their own minds and sought to convince the people of this country that the world was a dark and dangerous place that required abandonment of principles and laws that we have long held sacred.

Before anyone accuses me of being ignorant of the terrorists and other forces around the world who seek our destruction, let me assure you that I am aware of what Al Qaeda and others would wish to do to us and to Israel. However, you can't fight darkness with darkness, or evil with evil. I am uncertain of how President Bush saw the world before he became president. Certainly, after 9/11, with the advice of the people around him, he became convinced that the world was dangerous place and this got translated into making Iraq a focal point for fighting terrorism. Al Qaeda was not present in Iraq before our invasion and Saddam Hussein had no ties with this organization that viewed him as an enemy.

Leadership involves helping this nation to adopt the appropriate mindset to the problems that beset us as well as to the opportunities that we have. The dark mindset of the Bush administration led this country ashtray, and isolated it from its natural allies in Europe and in other parts of the world. A "John Wayne" mentality may have seemed to work well in the movies the late 40s and early 50s, but it ill behooved this country in the 21st century. The integrated nature of the world we live in has been fully evidenced by the way the economic disaster has unfolded. The linkage of nations has never been more apparent. While it is appropriate for this nation to take the leadership in confronting tyranny and terror throughout the world, it is a terrible failure for us to be viewed by the world as a source of tyranny and terror.

Free-Market System Failure

2008-11-06T21:23:00.004-05:00

Diehard capitalists and those who make their living on Wall Street, or connected with most financial activities, are lamenting the "takeover" of the free-market system. They need to get over it. If the financial free-market system could be likened to a ship, it is one that is hard aground on the rocks and taking water, still in danger of sinking. Governments in Europe, in addition to our own, are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into banks and other financial institutions in an effort to stabilize a system that was destabilized by unfettered and unregulated greed.

Before anyone accuses me of being a socialist, let me make it clear that I am all for free-market capitalism because that is the best way known to produce material goods and most services. A planned economy is usually a planned disaster. However, when the greed driven folks on Wall Street, in banks throughout this nation and abroad, and other assorted crooks and scoundrels didn't have proper supervision, they created a debacle of bad loans, packages of assets that soon became worthless, and trillions of dollars of derivatives that will take years to resolve. To complain about the free-market system being taken away, is like a child crying because the parents are finally taken away the matches that have been used to set several fires.

What started as a meltdown in financial institutions and banks soon became a meltdown on Main Street throughout the world. Commodity prices which had been going straight up have come straight down. Oil prices which had been gushing through the roof came tumbling down and countries that had been strutting around like peacocks (Russia, Venezuela, and Iran as well as many others) suddenly found themselves faced with potential budget shortfalls of enormous magnitude. Venezuelan may have to postpone the launching of its Pacific Fleet while it deals with 30% inflation and an economy that cannot be supported with oil selling for under $70 a barrel. The only benefit out of the economic chaos for America has been the reduction in the price of a gallon of gasoline from over four dollars to just over two dollars. However, if people resumed their SUV driving habits we will soon be in the four dollar a gallon gas crisis again.

The financial free-market system will never be the same, nor should it. The people who should have been supervising it were contemptuous of government regulation and assumed that the people who ran financial institutions could be trusted (ouch) to "watch out for their own good." Fiduciary responsibility was all but abandoned and now we all have to pay to fix a system that is almost broken beyond repair. It will take cooperation in this country, not recently a practiced art, as well as cooperation with other countries to avoid another Great Depression. We can only hope.

Obama Wins: Liberals and Socialism Next?

2008-11-04T22:43:00.007-05:00

As of 10:30 P.M. Tuesday, November 4, 2008, it is all but certain that Barack Obama will become the next president of the United States. We were informed by the McCain campaign that Obama is the most liberal senator, and that combined with a Democratic House and Senate, we face all sorts of dire consequences. In fact, the new president will be so busy dealing with the crises created by the outgoing Republican president that he will have little time, and very little money, to implement any sort of liberal agenda.

If the people of this country were paying close attention to what Senator, and soon to be President-elect, Obama did to defeat Hillary Clinton, and then John McCain, they would have seen that he does what he has to in order to accomplish his goal. This is the very definition of a politician. As soon as Obama became the apparent nominee for the Democratic Party, he moved to the center much to the dismay of the screaming, out of touch ultra liberals who immediately predicted his demise. As we have seen, such was not the case. According to articles I have read, Senator Obama has studied President Reagan's presidency in great detail. Regardless of what one thinks of President Reagan, he was immensely popular and had the backing of much of the country.

Obama will not move to the left, but rather government pragmatically. Some of his ideas are no doubt construed as "socialism" by those on the right, but the last two elections have shown that those on the right to have been very wrong. New Democratic senators and Congresspersons have been added from traditionally "red" states and are much more moderate than their first cousins on either coast. If Obama is to bring about change, it can only be done from somewhere in the middle with the cooperation of his many Republicans as possible. Newt Gingrich is warming up his campaign for 2012 in the expectation that an extremely liberal President Obama will run the country further off the tracks. It is likely that President Obama will spend the next four years trying to get the country back on track and actually worked to see that the needs of the majority of the citizens of this country are met, as opposed to the very affluent. This will leave little room for Newt Gingrich, or any other right wing Republican, to run his little train into the White House.

Presidential Poll Differences

2008-11-01T19:13:00.000-04:00

With less than three days until the voting starts Tuesday morning, the presidential polls show a national lead for Obama ranging from 3 to 10 points. Different polls make different assumptions and they are not necessarily comparable. For example, one poll assumes that evangelicals will constitute 42% of the voters on Tuesday, which is more than twice the percentage they constituted in the 2004 election. The average of the polls show Obama to have a lead of about 4% to 6%. However, it is important to remember that the election is based on the Electoral College not on a nationwide popularity contest.

There are differences among the polls on a state-by-state basis, but Obama has a lead in almost all of the battleground states. It would take a significant shift for McCain to win the 270 Electoral College votes he needs to become president. While this is not impossible, it seems unlikely at this point. McCain seems to be making some gains in some states according to different polls: however there is no way to be certain what will happen on Election Day based on any of these polls. Of note, is the fact that recent research has shown that the vast majority of people who say that they are "undecided" have in fact made up their mind even though they don't know it. Sounds screwy? Well, there are ways to elicit opinions and preferences that are the basis for formation of a final judgment.

As Yogi Berra is alleged to have said, "It's not over till it's over" which should make for a very interesting Tuesday evening. It is likely that Obama helped McCain when he talked about redistributing the wealth. While this occurs all the time, it's not something a liberal Democrat should say. However, Republicans have redistributed the wealth of the last eight years, but in this instance the money has gone to the affluent and to the major corporations. Opinion? Go to factcheck.org or some other unbiased sources. On Tuesday, the endless campaign will finally be over and Americans can go on to arguing about other things.

Greenspan Shocks America

2008-10-23T17:18:00.005-04:00

Today, in testimony before Congress, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan said that he was "shocked" at the breakdown in U.S. credit markets and said he was "partially" wrong to resist regulation of some securities. Economists and others who had been predicting the current credit debacle were even more shocked that Greenspan said he was shocked. They were wondering what he thought would happen when he kept interest rates at 1% for so long.

Greenspan provided even more shocking testimony when he said, "Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder's equity -- myself especially -- are in a state of shocked disbelief." It's hard to imagine that someone with his knowledge of history of the way economic markets work could even be mildly surprised that lending institutions failed to protect shareholders equity. Perhaps he had forgotten about the savings-and-loan debacle of the late 1980s and early 1990s. This resulted in the failure of 2412 savings and loan associations. The ultimate cost of the crisis is estimated to have totaled around $560.1 billion, about $324.6 billion of which was directly paid for by the U.S. government—that is, the U.S. taxpayer.

The type of delusional thinking that Greenspan was engaging in was recently termed "market fundamentalism" by George Soros the famed investor and someone who could've provided better guidance for the supervision of the financial institutions than those who were actually in charge. Mr. Soros recently provided a stinging denouncement of the notion that financial and credit markets could be self-monitoring. When children play with money some grown-ups need to monitor them.

If only Greenspan had seen the movie "Wall Street" and heard the character of Gordon Gecko utter the famous words, "Greed is good." What did Greenspan think was going to happen in an environment where executives of financial institutions were rewarded tens of millions of dollars for their successes and had no penalties for their failures? This country needs people in charge of the Federal Reserve and Secretary of the Treasury who have a knowledge of the way people really are in addition to their credentials in finance and economics.

Presidential Polls Are Not Quite Useless

2008-10-21T18:45:00.004-04:00

With two weeks to go in the election many people are carefully watching the presidential polls, particularly the state-by-state ones that will determine victory in the Electoral College. Political polls are based on models of people who will most likely vote, or people who voted in the last election, or some combination of both of them. This model has flaws that are becoming greater as time goes by. Foremost among them is that telephone polls don't include people who don't have telephones. Not many you say. Wrong! Many young adults, even professional ones don't own a landline. A significant number of "poor" people don't have landline to either. So these subpopulations cannot be included in telephone surveys.

Telephone polls also encounter the language problem. There are many American citizens who speak primarily or only Spanish, or another language. These people are excluded from telephone polls and become an important population subset that is not represented in the findings. The fact that these people tend to vote Democratic skew the results towards Republicans.

This year there is a special subpopulation that isn't accounted for in the sampling procedure used by telephone surveys. The Democratic Party has enrolled millions of new voters across the nation, and particularly in key so-called battleground states. If the Democratic Party enrolled these people, it is logical to assume that a significant majority of them will vote Democratic.

Telephone surveys never include people who refuse to talk to the pollsters. So by definition, telephone poles leave out a population subset that is hard to replicate.

If you are a McCain supporter hoping that he will close the gap, don't rely on poll information to support your belief that the race is getting closer. If you are an Obama supporter, you can't be sure whether all your supporters are included.

People have all too often said that bad data is better than no data at all. That is one of the most shortsighted, ignorant statements possible.

Britney Spears Wrongfully Persecuted by Los Angeles

2008-10-18T00:31:00.004-04:00

Forget about the world economic crisis. Put the presidential election on hold. The fate of the Western world hangs in the balance as a Los Angeles jury failed to reach a verdict after the first day of deliberation in the sensational trial of Britney Spears. The case involves charges against Ms. Spears that she was driving without a valid driver's license at the time she was in an auto accident in August of 2007. In fact, Ms. Spears had a valid Louisiana driver's license, but the merciless criminal justice system of the city of Los Angeles wants its pound of flesh, insisting that Ms. Spears should have had a valid California driver's license.

Given Ms. Spears state of mind at the time of the accident it's a miracle she had any kind of driver's license. Fortunately for her, at the time of the accident, her faithful following of paparazzi was right there to help extricate her from any danger. We all remember the Los Angeles city criminal justice system from its botched prosecution of the O.J. Simpson trial to its brutalization of Rodney King. In an apparent effort to rescue its tarnished reputation, the Los Angeles criminal justice system has focused its laser like vision on poor Ms. Spears. This comes at a time when Britney seems to have gotten her act together, at least for a few months. For the first time since 1999 she has a hit single that has gone to the top of the Billboard chart. What could be more important!

No doubt millions of Americans will spend this weekend in prayer that justice is rightfully done for Ms. Spears. The fine young lady who has put a sordid past behind her, and become a role model for all young American women is no doubt biting her nails awaiting the jury's final verdict. Rumors that Paris Hilton has gone to support Britney in her hour of peril are unsubstantiated at this time.

Obama Wins Third Presidential Debate Handily

2008-10-15T22:34:00.001-04:00

In baseball you get three strikes and you're out. There were three debates, and each time Senator McCain tried to get the best of Senator Obama. He didn't succeed in any instance and after three tries he too is out. McCain attacked early and often, but spent too much time attacking and too little time making his own case. McCain needed to make a case for why he would be the better candidate and what he could do that Obama couldn't. He failed to do this, and continued on what are his essential talking points which most of America could have recited with them.

The three debates gave Senator Obama a chance to display his stature and ability to assume command of this country, which has been leaderless for some time. Obama was cool, calm, and collect and responded to almost all of McCain's attacks and charges effortlessly. McCain did score a few points, but consolation points when you are behind in the polls don't matter very much. McCain initially seemed energized, but as the debate war on he appeared old and tired. 72 year old man has the wisdom and ability to run a country, but McCain is not one of them.

The attacks by Senator McCain were mostly tangential and the 700 plus point drop in the stock market only served to emphasize that there was one main issue, the economy. Trying to paint Obama as a tax-and-spend liberal is hard when the so-called conservative president for the last eight years has spent the economy into the ground while cutting taxes.

Senator McCain was clearly an angry man tonight. For much of the evening a frozen plastic smile covered his face. He sought to attack Obama whenever possible and make faces when Obama successfully countered his point. Do we need an angry man for our leader? Or do we need a leader with a more positive vision and a better sense of what America needs?

Presidential Polls: Virginia for Obama?

2008-10-15T19:30:00.005-04:00

The latest CNN poll shows Obama with a 10 point lead over McCain in Virginia. What? Virginia goes Democratic? This hasn't happened since 1964 when Lyndon Johnson overwhelmed Barry Goldwater. Have too many Washington bureaucrats moved into Virginia and turned it against its rightful owners? That's certainly a possibility. It's also possible that independent Virginia voters have looked at the past eight years, looked at Senator McCain, and wondered if he was a solution to their problems.

Maybe Governor Palin was only speaking to large crowds of the faithful Joe six packers when she was in Virginia telling voters how dangerous it would be to vote for Obama. The most dangerous thing for the people of Virginia, and the rest of this country, is the state of the economy. You have to be a real Governor Palin zealot to not be frightened at the prospect of her being one heartbeat away from making decisions about an economy so badly damaged. Can anyone imagine her sitting down with Prime Minister Brown of England or any other European leader and being able to converse on equal terms about economic decisions? If you can, then your imagination has taken hold of you.

It seems that numbers of rural voters all across the so-called "key battleground states" have decided that they would rather take a chance with the supposedly unknown Senator Obama then with the tried-and-true Senator McCain. After what seems to be a decade of campaigning, what is it all about Obama that people really need to know that they haven't already seen. The people of Virginia and the rest of America have very little interest in the loose association that Senator Obama had with the former terrorist Bill Ayres. The McCain-Palin attack plan was a failure. Time is running out. Can Senator McCain still win? Yes, but the odds get longer each day. And clearly, the people of Virginia seem likely to give their electoral votes to the man Senator McCain tells them they can't trust.

Bush Legacy: America near Ruin

2008-10-13T17:07:00.003-04:00

As the Bush (also known as the Joe six-pack) presidency in nears its end, its legacy has become very clear. The country is in a financial disaster that could possibly surpass that of the Great Depression. We are in the fifth year of the war in Iraq where things have gotten better, but no end is in sight. This was a war the Bush presidency took us to with lies, false information, and an ongoing agenda of fear mongering. At the same time, Afghanistan which was nearly won, is now nearly lost.

The free-market system of banking and finance is in total shambles and countries around the world must work together to prevent a global meltdown. The initial cause started here with an absence of any regulation of the financial marketplace that led to systemic abuses ranging from fraudulent home loans to the major financial institutions on Wall Street lying to themselves, lying to their shareholders, lying to the government, and lying to the American public about their true financial state. In the end, the financial institution survivors had to be rescued by the taxpayers of this country. All this happened while the president was keeping us safe from unnamed horrors abroad.

Even the so-called "safe" giant insurance companies found themselves facing financial difficulties that few would have imagined. It all comes back to the commander-in-chief. What the president did, he did poorly. He mismanaged the war and ran up the biggest budget deficit in history. And this was supposed to be a conservative president? What he failed to do was legion, most importantly provide leadership and see to it that the country was better off at the end of his administration that it was at the beginning of his administration. In the end, when his leadership was needed, he had none to display and his credibility was gone. The reputation of this nation is a fraction of what it was when he took over.

Obama Finds His Voice as Professor and Pastor

2008-10-08T23:50:00.005-04:00

The heat in a presidential campaign can bring out the best in a person or the worst in a person.

Senator Obama seems to have found his voice, especially in regard to the economy, as the campaign heads into the final weeks. It was remarkable that he was able to hold the attention of a crowd of 21,000 people in the rain in Indianapolis, Indiana. The people of this country need to understand what's at stake but they also need someone who can provide a strong positive vision so that we can believe we will survive this crisis.

Senator Obama Wins Second Presidential Debate

2008-10-08T01:28:00.004-04:00

Senator Obama gave a sterling performance in the second presidential debate while Senator McCain seemed tired and old beyond his years. Senator Obama spoke crisply and emphasized his key points while making good eye contact with the audience. Senator McCain continued his ineffective attack on Obama and repeated most of his points from the previous debate. It is questionable as to whether Senator McCain actually reads the newspapers. He was still harping on the importance of the surge and victory in Iraq when today's papers carried statements from the outgoing British commander in Afghanistan that the war was unwinnable. Message to Senator McCain: we're losing in Afghanistan.

Senator McCain emphasized his experience but talking about events that occurred during the Reagan administration, and even referring to Teddy Roosevelt, made him look out of touch with the current economic crisis. Senator Obama made a point of emphasizing the need for a lead it to be able to "look around the corner" and think about what's going to happen next as opposed to always being in a reactive state. While Senator McCain appeared to be more cordial at first, he clearly has disdain for the younger man who is now increasingly being seen as a good more commanding leader despite his lesser experience. McCain fails to see that experience by itself is not a recommendation for leadership.

While Senator McCain saw the provision of health care as responsibility, Senator Obama saw it as a right of all Americans. Senator McCain's emphasis on turning to the private sector for health care seems ill chosen when the financial private sector has collapsed and the health-care private sector is best known for its attempts to deny or limit to policyholders. A woman in the audience had a good question when she wondered if we should make health care more like a public utility. Unfortunately neither senator chose to address this issue.

When Senator McCain referred to Senator Obama as, "That one," he lapsed to a level of disrespect heretofore not seen in presidential debates. Senator McCain's one attempt at a "new initiative" whereby the government would buy up mortgages, turns out to be in the plan that was passed by Congress last week. If Senator McCain can't be bothered to read, then he ought to have better staff members who read what he should and remind him of what he should know. This was an evening Senator McCain needed to win in a fashion that would turn around the campaign. Unfortunately for Senator McCain, the evening turned out the exact opposite of what he needed.

McCain to Cut Medicare

2008-10-07T10:35:00.005-04:00

According to the Wall Street Journal, “John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs. The Republican presidential nominee has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan “budget neutral,” as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn’t given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn’t dispute the analysts’ estimate.”

In a time when seniors are struggling to make ends meet, and retirement plans are unraveling, Senator McCain once again demonstrates how out of touch he is with the American people. With his excellent medical plan as a member of Congress Senator McCain doesn't have to worry about the details of Medicare, or reduced Medicare benefits. Is McCain actually trying to alienate America's senior citizens? Hard to know. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Palin Damned Mixed Up Over Coffee Cup

2008-10-05T23:13:00.008-04:00

At a rally on Saturday in California Governor Palin, whose reading habits are known to be very light, misquoted something she claimed to have read on a Starbucks coffee cup. (Source: LA Times)

“It’s like kind of providential yesterday what happened to me,” Palin said. “I am reading on my Starbucks mocha cup the quote of the day. You’ll never believe what the quote was! It was Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state and U.N. ambassador, and Madeleine has as her quote of the day for Starbucks — now she said it, I didn’t say it — ‘There is a place in hell reserved for women who don’t support other women.’ OK now, thank you so much for receiving that well, I didn’t know how that was gonna go over. And now California, let’s see what a comment like I just made, let’s see what it will be turned into . . . newspaper.”

Unfortunately for Governor Palin, she put her foot in her mouth way past her epiglottis. Albright didn't say that. The accurate quote is, "There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't help other women." This is what happens when Governor Palin is turned loose and speaks what's on her alleged mind. It now seems that the McCain campaign was quite correct in keeping Governor Palin under tight control. The governor is far worse than a loose canon; she's a loose thermonuclear verbal bomb.

Based on the stories coming out of Alaska, I suspect that behind Governor Palin's charming political smile lies a very dark heart. With thirty days to go in the campaign, there are plenty of opportunities for Governor Palin to show us who and what she really is. And many more opportunities for Tina Fay to immortalize her on Saturday Night Live.