Yes Larry has decided to post after a while. (and Wordpress and its Epic Fail is why I'm here.)
But the crisis in Georgia has given me a motive to post.
I have talked to people and said the future of the world was a rebirth of the pre-WWI era.
That new age has started today. If we let the Georgians die the war of the Sphere's of influences will occur.
The Level -1 Sphere of Influence of the US is now going to be challenged (and some times assisted) by some of these other Spheres of influence
Your Level 2's in China and Russia
your level 3 in Europe as the EU
Your level 4 with India, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Chile, Japan, France, U.K., and Australia
and your level 5 with countries like Cuba, Venezuala, Turkey, Egypt, and Iran
These sphere's of influence will start to spread out and form alliances and patterns of alliances in the world.
if Georgia falls because the US and the EU won't stand up it means states like Georgia will start to gather other major States with them to form alliances and divide the world.
We may not be lucky to have a new Central powers or alliance. It may be more fissures and divisions in the world.
I blame George W. Bush and Bill Clinton for this
Monday, August 11, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Yeah I know I closed buisness down here
But wordpress was not letting me on for some reason. Since I got my new roomie my internet connection is whack
Why I am Not voting for John McCain Part I:
Why I am Not voting for John McCain:
Part I:
By Larry Bernard
I am first going to put a caveat out there I like to call the John Kerry-Katherine Harris clause. While I hate to say this but if Hillary proves to be as Harris and Kerry were completely out of her mind and a danger to the public good I may swallow my statement and vote against Hillary and by process of elimination electing McCain. But I first want to spell out why I am not going to vote for John McCain
I ) Your party should earn your vote, not be entitled to your vote. and the Moral Hazard problem is key to why your party doesn't have an entitlement to your vote
Moral hazard is the prospect that a party insulated from risk may behave differently from the way it would behave if it were fully exposed to the risk. Moral hazard arises because an individual or institution does not bear the full consequences of its actions, and therefore has a tendency to act less carefully than it otherwise would, leaving another party to bear some responsibility for the consequences of those actions. For example, an individual with insurance against automobile theft may be less vigilant about locking his car, because the negative consequences of automobile theft are (partially) borne by the insurance company.
When we live in a country where our national political system makes incumbents basically protected from the consequences of their actions (a few exceptions exist but it is the rule) The Moral Hazard should be an important principle we keep in mind when we vote. Is this party/Candidate giving me something to vote for or something to vote against. And if the case is the latter it should only be done in the most extreme of cases. FDR transformed the electorate by saying to African American voters (primarily in the south) "What has the republican party done for you lately."
The answer lead to a calcification of Democrat voting in the south which lead to some of the worst of the Jim Crowe years. If we vote for a party just because we will not get our interests met at best, or at worse we can be like those who suffered during segregation empowering those who oppress us. And as the Republicans in the 20s and 30s expected the Party of Lincoln to maintain those votes they did nothing to keep them and so they deserved to lose. And if we keep voting for bad outcomes we will keep getting bad results.
II ) Trust:
When you vote for a Political figure they may have a record, they may have campaign promises but we live in a Representative Republic and by handing them your small power of citizenship your saying "I trust you to, for the most part, get done what I want done in Washington/Your state capital here." Most candidates do this by establishing an Identity.In this Presidential Primary of the candidates left over Mike Huckabee established himself as "The Hip Pastor". Huck plays the base and is concerned with the kind of issues the hip young pastor at your church would be into. Mitt has (to varying degrees of success) tried to sell himself as "Turnaround CEO Mitt." Hillary Clinton established a brand and Identity for herself that just is "Hillary" and Obama has established himself as the hope of a new Generation. But none of these is as bought into as "Maverick" John McCain.
mav·er·ick (mvr-k, mvrk)
n.
1. An unbranded range animal, especially a calf that has become separated from its mother, traditionally considered the property of the first person who brands it.
2. One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter.
adj. Being independent in thought and action or exhibiting such independence: maverick politicians; a maverick decision
But has John McCain went against the popular culture and its beliefs or has he went against the popular culture of the Republican party and its beliefs. One shows courage because it presents potential risk, whereas the other gets you political attention. Furthermore as an incumbent republican senator the weight of the party establishment would back him just as much as it would back Lincoln Chafee and Arlen Specter. And Democrats would be disinclined to run against him because he breaks with the Republican party to support their issues. So in being Maverick John McCain until today has put forward no risk and thus he is not being independent but he is being a follower of social norms dictated by popular culture. The closest he has come to rocking the boat is in his support for the Iraq war, but he has also talked about us torturing and brutalizing people (something which the evidence on is weak or lacking) and made it part of a central critique of attacking the Bush management of the War in Iraq and the Department of Defense. So even when he broke from his going with popular opinion he did so in a way that popular opinion could support him. When people have been concerned about violent video games, John McCain was there. When people have been concerned about Steroids in Sports John McCain was there. if John McCain could get himself a piece of popular discontent he does, and he does in a way that shows a lack of political principle or guiding Ideology. So John McCain isn't what he says he is and Isn't what people think of him as.
III ) Lack of political courage.
During the run up on the McCain-Kennedy amnesty package John McCain and his proxies made derogatory comments to those who disagreed with his bill. His proxies (including proxies for the president) went so far as to call those who disagree with the John McCain Bigots and promote fear of Hispanics voting for Democrats over Republicans if we don't do this. Their are good reasons, and noble reasons to oppose the plan Senator McCain championed. but the fact Senator McCain went forward with this shows a lack of political courage that has happened throughout his career. When Soldiers and sailors needed help with Agent Orange John McCain did not take the courage of fighting for them as a member of Congress fresh out of the DoD until he knew it would pass. When running in 2000 their was a controversy over Bob Jones University, the position of political courage in that race was taken by Alan Keyes who told them their positions restricting Inter racial dating was immoral and unchristian. John McCain could have made that speech but he didn't. After losing the 2000 election and seeing his key staffers not getting Bush White house jobs according to many Democrat sources John McCain considered Jumping parties. John McCain was even talked to about joining the Democratic party ticket in 2004. John McCain stood up for the Vietnamese government against the State Department (with John Kerry) enabling them to get a free trade agreement when they were abusive of human rights. He called people Frauds and con artists for advocating that POW's still remained in Vietnam without any evidence of such wrongdoing. When people disagree with him he either shrugs from political courage or makes derogatory comments about them. John McCain has used Bob Dole's war experience to insulate Bob Dole's criticism of attacks on him from the kind of scrutiny and debate they deserve.
I want to spell out first and foremost that these reasons are non-ideological. While I don't believe John McCain fits the mold of American political Conservatism even if John McCain fit that mold and Ideology we would still have problems.He is still promoting ignoring the Moral Hazard of identifying in party over beliefs. He still isn't trustworthy because he relies on a false identity as some one who rocks the boat when he has a political career of going with the flow. Its about character and Character matters a whole lot to me now when I look at who I select for President. I could go into other aspects of his general character that while they don't fit into this rubric they are none the less concerning. John McCain rails against those who are unduly influenced by money in politics yet if you ask the Senator to name names he cannot name one. If you look at the Senators legislative pursuits and you will find a wish list from his own major donors. He married a wife which helped him further his political career and left his sick wife who stood by him during the worst of the worst.
When we look at these character flaws however we will see them manifest in his policy and his ideological breaks from the republican party
Part I:
By Larry Bernard
I am first going to put a caveat out there I like to call the John Kerry-Katherine Harris clause. While I hate to say this but if Hillary proves to be as Harris and Kerry were completely out of her mind and a danger to the public good I may swallow my statement and vote against Hillary and by process of elimination electing McCain. But I first want to spell out why I am not going to vote for John McCain
I ) Your party should earn your vote, not be entitled to your vote. and the Moral Hazard problem is key to why your party doesn't have an entitlement to your vote
Moral hazard is the prospect that a party insulated from risk may behave differently from the way it would behave if it were fully exposed to the risk. Moral hazard arises because an individual or institution does not bear the full consequences of its actions, and therefore has a tendency to act less carefully than it otherwise would, leaving another party to bear some responsibility for the consequences of those actions. For example, an individual with insurance against automobile theft may be less vigilant about locking his car, because the negative consequences of automobile theft are (partially) borne by the insurance company.
When we live in a country where our national political system makes incumbents basically protected from the consequences of their actions (a few exceptions exist but it is the rule) The Moral Hazard should be an important principle we keep in mind when we vote. Is this party/Candidate giving me something to vote for or something to vote against. And if the case is the latter it should only be done in the most extreme of cases. FDR transformed the electorate by saying to African American voters (primarily in the south) "What has the republican party done for you lately."
The answer lead to a calcification of Democrat voting in the south which lead to some of the worst of the Jim Crowe years. If we vote for a party just because we will not get our interests met at best, or at worse we can be like those who suffered during segregation empowering those who oppress us. And as the Republicans in the 20s and 30s expected the Party of Lincoln to maintain those votes they did nothing to keep them and so they deserved to lose. And if we keep voting for bad outcomes we will keep getting bad results.
II ) Trust:
When you vote for a Political figure they may have a record, they may have campaign promises but we live in a Representative Republic and by handing them your small power of citizenship your saying "I trust you to, for the most part, get done what I want done in Washington/Your state capital here." Most candidates do this by establishing an Identity.In this Presidential Primary of the candidates left over Mike Huckabee established himself as "The Hip Pastor". Huck plays the base and is concerned with the kind of issues the hip young pastor at your church would be into. Mitt has (to varying degrees of success) tried to sell himself as "Turnaround CEO Mitt." Hillary Clinton established a brand and Identity for herself that just is "Hillary" and Obama has established himself as the hope of a new Generation. But none of these is as bought into as "Maverick" John McCain.
mav·er·ick (mvr-k, mvrk)
n.
1. An unbranded range animal, especially a calf that has become separated from its mother, traditionally considered the property of the first person who brands it.
2. One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter.
adj. Being independent in thought and action or exhibiting such independence: maverick politicians; a maverick decision
But has John McCain went against the popular culture and its beliefs or has he went against the popular culture of the Republican party and its beliefs. One shows courage because it presents potential risk, whereas the other gets you political attention. Furthermore as an incumbent republican senator the weight of the party establishment would back him just as much as it would back Lincoln Chafee and Arlen Specter. And Democrats would be disinclined to run against him because he breaks with the Republican party to support their issues. So in being Maverick John McCain until today has put forward no risk and thus he is not being independent but he is being a follower of social norms dictated by popular culture. The closest he has come to rocking the boat is in his support for the Iraq war, but he has also talked about us torturing and brutalizing people (something which the evidence on is weak or lacking) and made it part of a central critique of attacking the Bush management of the War in Iraq and the Department of Defense. So even when he broke from his going with popular opinion he did so in a way that popular opinion could support him. When people have been concerned about violent video games, John McCain was there. When people have been concerned about Steroids in Sports John McCain was there. if John McCain could get himself a piece of popular discontent he does, and he does in a way that shows a lack of political principle or guiding Ideology. So John McCain isn't what he says he is and Isn't what people think of him as.
III ) Lack of political courage.
During the run up on the McCain-Kennedy amnesty package John McCain and his proxies made derogatory comments to those who disagreed with his bill. His proxies (including proxies for the president) went so far as to call those who disagree with the John McCain Bigots and promote fear of Hispanics voting for Democrats over Republicans if we don't do this. Their are good reasons, and noble reasons to oppose the plan Senator McCain championed. but the fact Senator McCain went forward with this shows a lack of political courage that has happened throughout his career. When Soldiers and sailors needed help with Agent Orange John McCain did not take the courage of fighting for them as a member of Congress fresh out of the DoD until he knew it would pass. When running in 2000 their was a controversy over Bob Jones University, the position of political courage in that race was taken by Alan Keyes who told them their positions restricting Inter racial dating was immoral and unchristian. John McCain could have made that speech but he didn't. After losing the 2000 election and seeing his key staffers not getting Bush White house jobs according to many Democrat sources John McCain considered Jumping parties. John McCain was even talked to about joining the Democratic party ticket in 2004. John McCain stood up for the Vietnamese government against the State Department (with John Kerry) enabling them to get a free trade agreement when they were abusive of human rights. He called people Frauds and con artists for advocating that POW's still remained in Vietnam without any evidence of such wrongdoing. When people disagree with him he either shrugs from political courage or makes derogatory comments about them. John McCain has used Bob Dole's war experience to insulate Bob Dole's criticism of attacks on him from the kind of scrutiny and debate they deserve.
I want to spell out first and foremost that these reasons are non-ideological. While I don't believe John McCain fits the mold of American political Conservatism even if John McCain fit that mold and Ideology we would still have problems.He is still promoting ignoring the Moral Hazard of identifying in party over beliefs. He still isn't trustworthy because he relies on a false identity as some one who rocks the boat when he has a political career of going with the flow. Its about character and Character matters a whole lot to me now when I look at who I select for President. I could go into other aspects of his general character that while they don't fit into this rubric they are none the less concerning. John McCain rails against those who are unduly influenced by money in politics yet if you ask the Senator to name names he cannot name one. If you look at the Senators legislative pursuits and you will find a wish list from his own major donors. He married a wife which helped him further his political career and left his sick wife who stood by him during the worst of the worst.
When we look at these character flaws however we will see them manifest in his policy and his ideological breaks from the republican party
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Hey Singapore, Ireland, and Hong Kong
I am going to be writing a research paper on you guys... I expect in the future as I put stuff up here to see more of you guys looking at my blog
I get It
I get my burn out now over politics. It all makes sense to me in a way I didn't have it before. While I am feeling a burn out over school right now, I especially get now Why I am having a burn out over politics. I have since I started blogging and started going into political sims and the like (to a lesser extent paying attention to issues of media bias) Started taking a more active focus on these things. Its a combination of my feeling Burned out but it is also now more about me having seen it all before and having said it all before
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Been about a month and something pushed me to blog
Last thing to make me blog was the Stupid Gay Snickers commercials.... Today is something else stupid.
Captain America is Dead...AGAIN
(Note the death referenced in Wikipedia is what happened in the storyline summary while his death was faked to get the cure)
the stupid part is bolded
The thing is last time... in you know the polarized 90s that stuff played out.... so how about oh I don't know a good storyline.
Captain America is part of the whole Marvel Civil War plotline I hate with firey passion. But what would have made a great story, a story consistent with Captain America is that he faked his own death and found the people who created the events that started the Civil war. That the whole thing was orchestrated to destroy the Superhuman community and have them fight each other until no one was left.
When he finds them the Patriot Captain America is comes out of hiding and lays it all out and the healing begins
You know you can get the stupid polarization angles out AND then you have a coming together
but as I have seen synopsis of the assassination story, I know nothing that well thought out is coming I hate marvel comics so much
Captain America is Dead...AGAIN
(Note the death referenced in Wikipedia is what happened in the storyline summary while his death was faked to get the cure)
the stupid part is bolded
Captain America killed!
Marvel comic book hero cut down by sniper
Captain America is dead. The Marvel Entertainment superhero, created in 1941 as a patriotic adversary for the Nazis, is killed off in Captain America #25, which hits the stands today.
As Captain America emerges from a courthouse building, he is struck by a sniper's bullet in the shoulder and then hit again in the stomach, blood seeping out of his star-spangled costume.
His death is sure to ignite controversy in the comic book world - still reeling from Superman's death in 1993 and resurrection the following year - and even political pundits, who may see Captain America's demise as an allegory for the United States.
"It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now," said co-creator Joe Simon, 93, after being informed of his brainchild's death.
Simon and artist Jack Kirby came up with the character in 1941 as an adversary for Adolf Hitler, who was more evil than any villain the pair could dream up. Since then, the patriotic hero has appeared in an estimated 210 million copies sold in 75 countries.
Not bad for an imaginary sickly kid from the lower East Side named Steve Rogers, who volunteered to be injected with Super Soldier serum during World War II.
Part of Captain America's allure was that he had no true superpowers; the serum made him an example of a human being at his utmost potential.
He could bench-press 1,100 pounds, run a mile in about a minute and outsmart any spy.
Series writer Ed Brubaker - who grew up reading Captain America comics while his father, a naval intelligence officer, was stationed on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - said it wasn't easy to kill off the character. The 40-year-old, however, wanted to explore what the hero meant to the country in these polarized times.
"What I found is that all the really hard-core left-wing fans want Cap to be standing out on and giving speeches on the streetcorner against the Bush administration, and all the really right-wing [fans] all want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam," Brubaker said.
Comic book deaths, however, are rarely final. Marvel's archrival, DC Comics, provoked a media frenzy when it killed off Superman in 1993, only to reanimate its prize creation a year later.
Joe Quesada, 43, Marvel Entertainment's editor in chief, said he wouldn't rule out the shield-throwing champion's eventual return. But for now, the Captain's fans are in mourning.
"I was shocked. I was not expecting it," said Gerry Gladston, co-owner of Midtown Comics in Manhattan. "I'd rather they didn't kill him - but it's going to mean great sales."
'LIFE' OF AN AMERICAN HERO
Created: March 1941
True Identity: Steve Rogers
Born: July 4, 1917
Birthplace: Lower East Side
Current Home: Red Hook, Brooklyn
Superpowers: None (Super Soldier serum makes him a "nearly perfect human being")
Weapon: His red,white and blue discus-like shield
Archenemy: Red Skull
Pop Culture Moment, Film: Easy Rider, Peter Fonda's character is nicknamed Captain America.
Pop Culture Moments, Music: The Kinks' song, Catch Me Now, I'm Falling, has this lyric: "This is Captain America calling." Guns N' Roses' Paradise City: "Captain America's been torn apart, now he's a court jester with a broken heart."
Originally published on March 7, 2007
The thing is last time... in you know the polarized 90s that stuff played out.... so how about oh I don't know a good storyline.
Captain America is part of the whole Marvel Civil War plotline I hate with firey passion. But what would have made a great story, a story consistent with Captain America is that he faked his own death and found the people who created the events that started the Civil war. That the whole thing was orchestrated to destroy the Superhuman community and have them fight each other until no one was left.
When he finds them the Patriot Captain America is comes out of hiding and lays it all out and the healing begins
You know you can get the stupid polarization angles out AND then you have a coming together
but as I have seen synopsis of the assassination story, I know nothing that well thought out is coming I hate marvel comics so much
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Wow...
I've been in Blogger lethargy for a while but lets me roll something out here. What I am posting may soon be yanked from Youtube but I will have commentary later. This was so stupid it made me come out of semi-retirement
(H/T to Ace)
Ok I want to ask something.......
How does two men kissing and then having a "quick lets not act gay" moment sell candy?
can anyone explain that to me
here are some reactions from NFL players
(with Marvin Harrison enjoying these a bit to much)
(H/T to Ace)
Ok I want to ask something.......
How does two men kissing and then having a "quick lets not act gay" moment sell candy?
can anyone explain that to me
here are some reactions from NFL players
(with Marvin Harrison enjoying these a bit to much)
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
W0rd
An editorial which gets to the heart of things in Iraq
And yet we want IRAN to help us stop the conflict
and here is another
and we expect Iran and Syria to help us.
And some folks expect media accuracy
So will Bush sell out the Iraqi people?
The Bush administration disputes the "civil war" moniker. And it's not a semantic argument. Just Tuesday, The New York Times reported that "the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah had been training members of the Mahdi Army, the Iraqi Shiite militias led by Moktada al-Sadr." It's not the only outside influence.
Such a proxy war is not a civil war. Neither is it unreasonable or naive to believe that sans those proxies, Iraq might not be the hellhole it now is. Nonetheless, this remains a matter for the Iraqis to settle.
And yet we want IRAN to help us stop the conflict
and here is another
Such advice is worse than wrong-headed, it is a denial of reality. Iran and Syria have one primary interest — U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and ultimately out of the entire Middle East. So much is clear from the daily pronouncements of the Terhran Mullahs, led by the Iranian strongman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the long-standing refusal of the Baathist regime controlling Syria to stop expediting the inflow of foreign fighters to Iraq to kill Americans and foment civil unrest between Iraq’s Sunni minority and the Shiite majority. The only stability Iran seeks in Iraq is the kind made possible by the sort of puppet regime Ahmadinejad wants in Baghdad. This is why Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told Iraq’s President Jalal Talibani yesterday that Iran will send troops if requested to do so by Iraq.
There is another crucially important denial of reality akin to the “managing defeat” syndrome. Evidence is rapidly accumulating that major Western media organizations are being had on a daily basis by the propaganda efforts of the Jihadist insurgency. A frequently appearing source in Iraq stories from AP, Reuters and other mainline news organizations is “Capt. Jemil Hussein” of the Iraqi police. Hussein was the main source in the Nov. 24 story claiming six Iraqi civilians were burned alive by insurgents outside a mosque. Hussein is one of 14 questionable sources with Middle Eastern names identified by the U.S. military in news stories from Baghdad reporting growing chaos and allegations of U.S. atrocities.
and we expect Iran and Syria to help us.
And some folks expect media accuracy
So will Bush sell out the Iraqi people?
Jim Webb.... Classy Guy
Jim Webb shows that saying every southerner has dropped the N bomb,Make Derogatory comments about Women, maligning rape victimes, advocate being for the Scot-Irish people over non Scot-Irish people, and talking about little kids penis' in the mouths was not the height of his class.
The Hill is there
Forget politics for a moment. Webb is an Ass.
Bush was being polite and showing a legitimate intrest in his son. Webb first used his son as a political prop.... Which to my mind shows a lack of class, but when Bush tries to do the right thing -again- Webb wants to hit him.
And seriously.... Its a question who was the bigger deuchbag Webb or Allen. I think Webb just made that clear to me
The Hill is there
At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, Bush asked Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.
Webb responded that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, said a person who heard about the exchange from Webb.
“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush retorted, according to the source.
Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn’t. It’s safe to say, however, that Bush and Webb won’t be taking any overseas trips together anytime soon.
Forget politics for a moment. Webb is an Ass.
Bush was being polite and showing a legitimate intrest in his son. Webb first used his son as a political prop.... Which to my mind shows a lack of class, but when Bush tries to do the right thing -again- Webb wants to hit him.
And seriously.... Its a question who was the bigger deuchbag Webb or Allen. I think Webb just made that clear to me
Monday, November 27, 2006
More Stupidity from Europe Dept.
BRITISH criminal psychologists are putting together a list of the 100 most dangerous murderers and rapists before they have committed any such crimes, The Times has reported.
Experts from London's Metropolitan Police's Homicide Prevention Unit are creating psychological profiles, compiled through statements from previous partners, information from mental health workers, and details of past complaints.
"My vision is that we know across London who the top 100 people are," Homicide Prevention Unit senior criminal psychologist Laura Richard said.
read the rest
Now I want to ask anyone out there who says that we should be more like Europe to PLEASE STFU~!
Now I want to ask anyone out there who says "O Noes Bush is the debil and stealing my civil rights..." to please STFU~!
Governments all over the world want more power.... its their thing, its why governments exist.
People need to stop government from doing stupid stuff like this
end of story
From the YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP Dept.
Instead, it was the on-air unveiling of an official Raiders broadcast sponsor, as noted by PBP man Papa: "The two-minute warning is brought to you by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation".
The sponsorship is a win-win for the Raiders. The club collects the advertising revenue and with the two-minute headstart, is able to keep its season ticket base largely intact.
WOW
Character matters.... really
The L. A. Slimes actually does a good job talking about why character matters when it comes to Senator John McCain
George Bush's history of substance abuse is extremely formative on his thinking process. It lead him to his christian faith and his views on god-centered and faith-centered life. This leads him to the sense of calling he has had on National Security issues. Bill Clinton's life was formed by an alcoholic father in the analysis of Dick Morris (which I agreed with) his ability to have an almost elastic ability to be all things to all people. These are negatives which these men turned into positives. What did Senator John McCain do with a similar negative to Clintons? He surrendered himself to a higher and transformational power (the government) because of his background as a military man.
You could also say that John McCain's being in the Hanoi Hilton has also put him firmly at the alter of government power. Whereas many organizations (which he was later as a member of congress and the senate antagonistic towards) put pressure on the government to do right by folks like John McCain his mind still in that cell in Hanoi views the government as the source of his salvation.
Looking at Bill Clinton we see a similar negative trait which haunts his political destiny. Bill never served so he didn't have the spine to put boot on the ground in a war he might lose. Somalia early in his presidency assured him that his instincts are correct.
We have a man who formatively is cloaked in the tounge of the addict, and a man who still deep in his mind is formed and tested in a torture cage in vietnam. are these formative experiences a help or a hinderance to his views on the future?
and I think I will just end it as the L.A Times did... talking about my favorite Arizona political figure
The first clue to McCain's philosophy lies in two seemingly irrelevant items of gossip: His father was a drunk, and his second wife battled addiction to pain pills. Neither would be worth mentioning except for the fact that McCain's books and speeches are shot through with the language and sentiment of 12-step recovery, especially Steps 1 (admitting the problem) and 2 (investing faith in a "Power greater than ourselves").
Like many alcoholics who haven't quite made it to Step 6 (becoming "entirely ready" to have these defects removed), McCain is disarmingly talented at admitting his narcissistic flaws. In his 2002 book "Worth the Fighting For," the senator is constantly confessing his problems of "selfishness," "immaturity," "ambition" and especially "temper," though he also makes clear that his outbreaks of anger can be justifiable and even laudable when channeled into "a cause greater than self-interest."
"A rebel without a cause is just a punk," he explains. "Whatever you're called — rebel, unorthodox, nonconformist, radical — it's all self-indulgence without a good cause to give your life meaning."
What is this higher power that ennobles McCain's crankiness? Just as it is for many soldiers, it's the belief that Americans "were meant to transform history" and that sublimating the individual in the service of that "common national cause" is the wellspring of honor and purpose. (But unlike most soldiers, McCain has been in a position to prod and even compel civilians to join his cause.)
George Bush's history of substance abuse is extremely formative on his thinking process. It lead him to his christian faith and his views on god-centered and faith-centered life. This leads him to the sense of calling he has had on National Security issues. Bill Clinton's life was formed by an alcoholic father in the analysis of Dick Morris (which I agreed with) his ability to have an almost elastic ability to be all things to all people. These are negatives which these men turned into positives. What did Senator John McCain do with a similar negative to Clintons? He surrendered himself to a higher and transformational power (the government) because of his background as a military man.
You could also say that John McCain's being in the Hanoi Hilton has also put him firmly at the alter of government power. Whereas many organizations (which he was later as a member of congress and the senate antagonistic towards) put pressure on the government to do right by folks like John McCain his mind still in that cell in Hanoi views the government as the source of his salvation.
Looking at Bill Clinton we see a similar negative trait which haunts his political destiny. Bill never served so he didn't have the spine to put boot on the ground in a war he might lose. Somalia early in his presidency assured him that his instincts are correct.
We have a man who formatively is cloaked in the tounge of the addict, and a man who still deep in his mind is formed and tested in a torture cage in vietnam. are these formative experiences a help or a hinderance to his views on the future?
"Our greatness," he wrote in "Worth the Fighting For," "depends upon our patriotism, and our patriotism is hardly encouraged when we cannot take pride in the highest public institutions." So, because steroids might be damaging the faith of young baseball fans, drug testing becomes a "transcendent issue," requiring threats of federal intervention unless pro sports leagues shape up. Hollywood's voluntary movie-rating system? A "smoke screen to provide cover for immoral and unconscionable business practices." Ultimate Fighting on Indian reservations? "Barbaric" and worthy of government pressure on cable TV companies. Negative political ads by citizen groups? They "do little to further beneficial debate and healthy political dialogue" and so must be banned for 60 days before an election if they mention a candidate by name.
and I think I will just end it as the L.A Times did... talking about my favorite Arizona political figure
Goldwater, a man who seemed to emanate from Arizona's dust, was the paragon of limited government, believing to his core that the feds shouldn't tell you how to run a business or whom you can sleep with. McCain, on the other hand, is a third-generation D.C. insider who carpetbagged his way into office, believing to his core that "national pride will not survive the people's contempt for government."
Passing the International Test?
We here a lot of folks saying we need more International support for our actions in Iraq. Well Al-Reuters shows us why that might not be such a good idea
Now next time you hear that we are on the cusp of losing afghanistan... here is part of the problem. And when you skim through old Iraq stories I want you to ask yourself this question: How, if NATO a unified organization can't operate security in Afghanistan could a lack of organization, a coalition of the willing, do it in Iraq without common organizational backbone.
I might go dig some of the posts and news articles I saw pointing to the problems of our allies. But I think in this age our country may stand alone at the gate.... though truthfully I am not certain we won't run either
Nov 26 (Reuters) - NATO commanders in Afghanistan say the battle against Taliban insurgents is being held back by restrictions placed by alliance nations on what their troops can do on the ground........
GEOGRAPHICAL CAVEATS - Germany, Italy, Spain and others declined calls in September by NATO to move troops based in calm areas to the violent south to help with fighting. Berlin has insisted the parliamentary mandate covering its 2,900 troops stipulates they remain in the north, apart from one-off forays.
Another example concerns troops based in districts around the capital Kabul. Alliance sources complain that some refuse to go outside their assigned patches, reducing ISAF's ability to respond to incidents on the ground.
CONSULTATIONS - Most national forces can only do certain tasks after consultation with their capitals -- a process that slows down reaction times. At least one government insists on being consulted before its troops are despatched to within one km (half a mile) of the restive border with Pakistan.
OPERATIONAL RESTRICTIONS - National contingents may refuse to carry out operations above a specified altitude because they are not properly equipped: some helicopters, for example, cannot be used above a certain height; another's troops have limits on what tasks they can perform at night; one NATO source said some south European nations unused to tough Afghan winter conditions have a caveat against fighting in snow, while others ban theirs from riot control operations.
FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS - Nations have deployed aircraft to help NATO operations but in reality keep a tight grip on how such valuable assets are used, allied sources complain. An ally may pledge to allot a given number of hours per month to ISAF operations "subject to availability"; when alliance commanders seek to draw on that resource, they are all too frequently told the aircraft are not available, runs the complaint. At least one nation will not let troops from other nations travel in its aircraft, according to another alliance source.
Now next time you hear that we are on the cusp of losing afghanistan... here is part of the problem. And when you skim through old Iraq stories I want you to ask yourself this question: How, if NATO a unified organization can't operate security in Afghanistan could a lack of organization, a coalition of the willing, do it in Iraq without common organizational backbone.
I might go dig some of the posts and news articles I saw pointing to the problems of our allies. But I think in this age our country may stand alone at the gate.... though truthfully I am not certain we won't run either
Thursday, November 23, 2006
I am Thankful
Yes another irregular blog posting out of me.
I figured giving the holiday I'd put out what I am thankful about.
I am thankful for my Mother;
She and I have had difficult times in our relationship, I am thankful that since I have started going to USF and really struggling she has been there for me to the best of her ability (some times more then I thought she should have)
I am thankful for my Father;
After his marriage to his new wife a lot of things went sour between my Dad and I. But again now that I am living on my own and talking to him things have just seemed to have moved forward in my relationship with him.
I am thankful for my roomate Kevin;
If kevin hadn't moved down here going to USF would have been tougher for me and I'd probably been laboring and driving back and forth from Sarasota. It wouldn't have been good on my little car or on my pocket book.
I am thankful for Bonnie (Kevin's girlfriend);
Really while I have many loose friends up here I am thankful she is some one who has been in the closer orbit of friendship.
I am thankful for the Job I had(and will have again) at 7-11;
My first year up here my savings and student loan money got blown through real quick. The 7-11 provided me some money that slowed down that process this time. It made this year in some respects financially easier (though educationally a bit rougher)
I am thankful for Myspace (yes I said it);
I have found a whole lot of friends from my high school time on Myspace.... I am very thankful to have found and caught up with these people.
I am thankful for being in School;
I really am. As much as I just want this to be over, I am thankful that I am moving forward with my life
I figured giving the holiday I'd put out what I am thankful about.
I am thankful for my Mother;
She and I have had difficult times in our relationship, I am thankful that since I have started going to USF and really struggling she has been there for me to the best of her ability (some times more then I thought she should have)
I am thankful for my Father;
After his marriage to his new wife a lot of things went sour between my Dad and I. But again now that I am living on my own and talking to him things have just seemed to have moved forward in my relationship with him.
I am thankful for my roomate Kevin;
If kevin hadn't moved down here going to USF would have been tougher for me and I'd probably been laboring and driving back and forth from Sarasota. It wouldn't have been good on my little car or on my pocket book.
I am thankful for Bonnie (Kevin's girlfriend);
Really while I have many loose friends up here I am thankful she is some one who has been in the closer orbit of friendship.
I am thankful for the Job I had(and will have again) at 7-11;
My first year up here my savings and student loan money got blown through real quick. The 7-11 provided me some money that slowed down that process this time. It made this year in some respects financially easier (though educationally a bit rougher)
I am thankful for Myspace (yes I said it);
I have found a whole lot of friends from my high school time on Myspace.... I am very thankful to have found and caught up with these people.
I am thankful for being in School;
I really am. As much as I just want this to be over, I am thankful that I am moving forward with my life
Monday, November 13, 2006
This is a cool Story for the Hebrews out there
The following morning I entered his chambers. He was a gentleman who greeted everyone who came to see him. He bowed to me and offered me a seat. My words poured forth, as I told him that I saw truth and meaning in his religion and that I decided to adopt it if he would accept me.
"Where are you from," he asked me.
"Israel."
He looked at me. "Are you Jewish?"
"Yes," I replied.
His reaction surprised me. His expression turned from friendly to puzzled -- with even a tinge of anger. He told me that he did not understand my decision, and that he would not permit me to carry it out.
I was stunned. What did he mean?
"All religions are an imitation of Judaism," he stated. "I am sure that when you lived in Israel, your eyes were closed. Please take the first plane back to Israel and open your eyes. Why settle for an imitation when you can have the real thing?"
His words spun around in my head the whole day. I thought to myself: I am a Jew and an Israeli, but I know nothing about my own religion. Did I have to search and wander the whole world only to be told that I was blind and that the answers I was seeking were to be found on my own doorstep?
But this story has a double down even odder element to it
"You are quite right, but in this case I am not the matchmaker," she replied simply.
"What do you mean?"
"I'll tell you. Anat came to me and showed me a piece of paper with a name in it. She asked me to introduce her to the person whose name was written there. She knew nothing at all about that person, but said that she had been given his name by someone she trusts completely... It was your name."
After the engagement party, Anat and I went for a walk.
"Tell me," I said, "how did this shidduch come about? I want to know who gave you my name, so that I can pay him."
Anat smiled. "You will have to travel to India to pay him."
Before I had a chance to react, she continued, "I haven't told you yet that at the end of my wandering, I went to the Dalai Lama. I was very impressed by him and all he embodied and I decided to join his religion. When I told him he said, 'Anat, since you are Jewish you should not settle for silver if you can have gold.' He told me to return to my roots and then in a whisper, he asked one of his assistants to bring him a piece of paper. The Dalai Lama then copied the name that was there onto another piece of paper, and handed it to me. 'This is your soul mate,' he told me.
"When I returned to Israel, I joined a religious seminary. And you know the rest. You know, at first it was because of the Dalai Lama, and only later the much stronger light of Judaism that attracted me. And only after a year had gone by did I begin to search for you. I approached many shadchanim, matchmakers, but no one was able to discover you in the various yeshivas for ba'alei teshuvah. Finally someone contacted your yeshiva, and -- I found you!
"From the very first date I knew that the Dalai Lama was right."
Read the whole story here
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
A note
I am told some of my rants are.... Well less then well edited.
I plan to fix these posts since I trusted my Spell Check when I shouldn't have.
This is really the rant spirit I am working on here
I plan to fix these posts since I trusted my Spell Check when I shouldn't have.
This is really the rant spirit I am working on here
Post Election Post 2: Thanks Liddy
My theme for these series of posts is going to be a simple one. And it may seem a bit hard but my perspective is very different. Their are two kinds of folks in this party those who view the party as their province and are part of its aristocracy and those of us who found ourselves at home in the GOP. The former is like some vestigial reptilian appendage to the days when a rich and privileged few ran this party and ran it without an ideological focus or purpose.
And the next person I want to thank for screwing this up for us is part of that establishment, part of that privileged elite of the party. Liddy Dole was part of the K-Street mob and worked her way up using her husband. She led one of the most moral branches of the most immoral organizations (The Red Cross). Liddy was not a person I liked, but Liddy is part of why we are where we are today. And like the President conventional wisdom will spare her.
With a party war chest all about the small to medium donors do we get an intellectual white knight? Do we get a passionate true believer? We get the wife of the boring, dogged... and pretty tied former leader of the Senate. We get a man who lost when he was on the national ticket twice, and lost a third time. Is this how you reach out to those folks who give you 20, 30, 50, or 100 dollars? Is this how you get to the people who can give just the legal limit and afford no more? Of course its not but the fire of the party had been overthrown in the senate so the leadership of Ice needed to try to bear its abominable fruit.
I will get to Bill Frist a bit later... but this is where I rake Liddy dole over the coals.
The truth came down to it that walking into the Pre-Election cycle at the end of 04 the Party had plenty of opportunities. I will focus on the one that I feel was most squandered as a very emblematic problem of where opportunities were blown and that's here in Florida.
Katherine Harris has quite simply a horrendous track record here in Florida. Long histories of Political corruption, long ties to dirty money... But Harris had a pass called the election of 2000..... And *Allegedly* a pass called her staying out of the Senate race for hand picked "Friend of George" Mel Martinez. Harris would have lost to Mel in 2004 and lost handily and if she did we would not be where we are today. But the President I don't know out of a sense of "owing" here or out of a sense of wanting a quiet anointing of Mel gave her a "06 is your year promise." Under the regime of Brother Lott I doubt that would have happened... but this was with the Eunuch guarding the harem of Bill Frist and his little pillow warmer liddy dole.
So because the Brahmin's had to have one of their own Harris came into the fray. It was clear some one needed to recruit some one to beat her. But Liddy did not have the ties to the money men that George Allen had or heck even George Allen’s street cred with the average republican. She wasn't one of us so what she got was well.... a bit sub par.
You look at the elections and we darn near had another Democrat shut out (the CFO race is a unique matter which didn't prove the rule) Harris had lots of negative baggage and that was before she said word one. If a competent republican was standing up for the Senate Seat the Democrats would have had to dump money into the Nelson campaign.... lots of money. That would be lots of money that couldn't crack the Nut in Virginia. Lots of money that couldn't kill some of the gains that were starting in Maryland. and that’s without a pickup.
The entire Dynamic of the race would have changed if Chuck Schummer had to fight it out on the airwaves of Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. The lack of a credible Primary opponent for Harris meant that money could be used in better places. And we see with West Virginia and Nebraska a similar failure to get people on the board who can win.
They weren't playing to win... they were playing to keep the other guy from winning and that’s why they failed.
But if that was her only fatal flaw I could almost forgive her but things got worse. We have the fact she did (for good reasons) the detriment of our party in the Rhode Island Primary. I am not going to fight the case that Laffey could have won. But what I am going to roll out is this... when the Senate Campaign needed all its people ready to fight early and fight often Liddy Dole ordered these people to get a black eye. And we look at the Missing Link and we see the deepest Irony of all. A man whose wife bought in hook line and sinker to the Presidents foreign policy agenda says we have to remove one of the people who stood up to it to punish him. Link ran away from Bush and it was going to damn him. But by trying to save him from his damnation the party lost its money and lost some of the fire it needed in its belly.
The Senate ran to the left end of its own and some other issues I will lay out a bit later on. But when we needed a good Offensive Co-Ordinator we instead got a green rookie with no fire and no skills to fall back on
Thanks Liddy.... at least this means I won't see you waste your time running for President ever in my lifetime
And the next person I want to thank for screwing this up for us is part of that establishment, part of that privileged elite of the party. Liddy Dole was part of the K-Street mob and worked her way up using her husband. She led one of the most moral branches of the most immoral organizations (The Red Cross). Liddy was not a person I liked, but Liddy is part of why we are where we are today. And like the President conventional wisdom will spare her.
With a party war chest all about the small to medium donors do we get an intellectual white knight? Do we get a passionate true believer? We get the wife of the boring, dogged... and pretty tied former leader of the Senate. We get a man who lost when he was on the national ticket twice, and lost a third time. Is this how you reach out to those folks who give you 20, 30, 50, or 100 dollars? Is this how you get to the people who can give just the legal limit and afford no more? Of course its not but the fire of the party had been overthrown in the senate so the leadership of Ice needed to try to bear its abominable fruit.
I will get to Bill Frist a bit later... but this is where I rake Liddy dole over the coals.
The truth came down to it that walking into the Pre-Election cycle at the end of 04 the Party had plenty of opportunities. I will focus on the one that I feel was most squandered as a very emblematic problem of where opportunities were blown and that's here in Florida.
Katherine Harris has quite simply a horrendous track record here in Florida. Long histories of Political corruption, long ties to dirty money... But Harris had a pass called the election of 2000..... And *Allegedly* a pass called her staying out of the Senate race for hand picked "Friend of George" Mel Martinez. Harris would have lost to Mel in 2004 and lost handily and if she did we would not be where we are today. But the President I don't know out of a sense of "owing" here or out of a sense of wanting a quiet anointing of Mel gave her a "06 is your year promise." Under the regime of Brother Lott I doubt that would have happened... but this was with the Eunuch guarding the harem of Bill Frist and his little pillow warmer liddy dole.
So because the Brahmin's had to have one of their own Harris came into the fray. It was clear some one needed to recruit some one to beat her. But Liddy did not have the ties to the money men that George Allen had or heck even George Allen’s street cred with the average republican. She wasn't one of us so what she got was well.... a bit sub par.
You look at the elections and we darn near had another Democrat shut out (the CFO race is a unique matter which didn't prove the rule) Harris had lots of negative baggage and that was before she said word one. If a competent republican was standing up for the Senate Seat the Democrats would have had to dump money into the Nelson campaign.... lots of money. That would be lots of money that couldn't crack the Nut in Virginia. Lots of money that couldn't kill some of the gains that were starting in Maryland. and that’s without a pickup.
The entire Dynamic of the race would have changed if Chuck Schummer had to fight it out on the airwaves of Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. The lack of a credible Primary opponent for Harris meant that money could be used in better places. And we see with West Virginia and Nebraska a similar failure to get people on the board who can win.
They weren't playing to win... they were playing to keep the other guy from winning and that’s why they failed.
But if that was her only fatal flaw I could almost forgive her but things got worse. We have the fact she did (for good reasons) the detriment of our party in the Rhode Island Primary. I am not going to fight the case that Laffey could have won. But what I am going to roll out is this... when the Senate Campaign needed all its people ready to fight early and fight often Liddy Dole ordered these people to get a black eye. And we look at the Missing Link and we see the deepest Irony of all. A man whose wife bought in hook line and sinker to the Presidents foreign policy agenda says we have to remove one of the people who stood up to it to punish him. Link ran away from Bush and it was going to damn him. But by trying to save him from his damnation the party lost its money and lost some of the fire it needed in its belly.
The Senate ran to the left end of its own and some other issues I will lay out a bit later on. But when we needed a good Offensive Co-Ordinator we instead got a green rookie with no fire and no skills to fall back on
Thanks Liddy.... at least this means I won't see you waste your time running for President ever in my lifetime
The Post-Election Post #1 Thanks George
Well folks I have been fighting my blogging doldrums but the election came up and so as some one who has talked a lot in the past (a lot) about the political system I need to say some stuff.
I really wanted to do more on this election but it felt like... it really felt like this election was a whole lot of nothing. Their were things that mattered to me at stake in this election but it really didn't seem to me like it mattered to the people who were running this election. My buddy Ken Kerns, as well as my Buddy Mark Griffis and I joke about how the people in charge don't know what their doing and really this election makes it feels almost like solid fact.
In the end it came down to this it’s very clear that to the American voter the Republicans didn't deserve to win.... and that's why the Democrats took control. In the weeks and months ahead that's not going to be how the tea leaves are read... indeed just today we see the white house failed to leave the mark of blood so it had to sacrifice one of its own.
This sacrifice makes me truly worry about my country. Don Rumsfeld was not a man who was brought on to lead a War on Terror. He was brought on to remodel the Military and he has had 6 years of progress on it.... which stop now I fear, and that's to our detriment down the road. We need to have a military that is ready for the wars we fight another 10 or 20 years from now... not have a military ready only for the conflicts that lay in our field of vision. He was sacrificed for political convenience and I fear for this country we will have other sacrifices to come.
The only salvation I think is the Democrats are going to want to keep the war festering for as long as they can to keep the door open on the anti-war vote for 2008 .... But, I truly fear even that notion because then they will know as our enemies did when we pull out of Saigon. And if we do to the Iraqi people what we did to the People of South Vietnam in the end our military might well be confirmed as a paper tiger. We ran from Somalia, We Ran far away from even trying in Rwanda, We ran from Lebanon, We ran from Indochina, and now perhaps running from Iraq. If this happens I fear for the world because the last time the strength of the United States withdrew like this we saw the rise of Hitler... and even that analogy has its flaws.
Rome began its fall when Rome built the gates to keep the barbarians out and focused on itself. As it did that soon it needed the Barbarians to man the gates against other Barbarians. We look to Europe and we see the Barbarians are at the gate there... are we going to repeat that folly and build our own gates now?
You look at it the election was not an endorsement on ending the policy in Iraq... yet that's what The President has now anointed it so.
Here are some more words on the oil our president is anointing his wounds with
China and the Soviets did not break international law in the way the Iranians are doing, yet the man who will be running our defense department now doesn't see it that way. A man who crafted this new approach with the architect of the Carter foreign policy..... Is this what we want? Do we want to bring Carterism into our government?
When the people of Iran cry out for new leadership, when they cry out for freedom and a western way of life we should not be breaking bread with the men who execute them. We should not be enabling the people who are destroying the economy. Because if engagement was truly the key the powers of Europe should have had the matter all settled.... engagement isn't a panacea.
And yet you look at the Ballot measures. Eminent Domain reform (which Pelosi does not favor) Passed, Bans on Gay marriage passed in almost all the states they came up on. Restrictions on Illegal aliens at a state level -even in states the democrats did well in- passed. Why did we lose? We lost because George W. Bush is not, and never was the heir to Ronald Reagan. He was not one of us and never was, but he mesmerized congress into following him.... and in the process lead them to their doom.
He sold us on prescription drug plans... plans we didn't like. In the election the plan that was better funded then the Democrat alternative was sold as a great evil to seniors who we were told only a few years earlier had to choose between eating and buying their medication. So clearly this plan did not bring us a more "compassionate" face to the public because the democrats would still find a way to crucify us for it. But the congress sold its soul and they sold it in the Bipartisan marketplace.
he told us we needed to interfere more into our school systems, but again instead of making an issue a plus like he said... instead of "softening" the image of the bad old evil conservatives we ended up being worse then before. Test scores were good in some areas but raw data isn't a comforting retort to the emotion of waging war on poor schools. He tried to take their issue and make it his through their methods and that simply isn't how you advance the issues.
Two issues used to attack his leadership, and to attack the competency of the congress he advanced because we needed to "unite" and be "bipartisan".... and a third McCain-Feingold laid out the tools we saw the Democrats use to gain parity with the GOP.... he also twisted the party into Supporting.
He tried to dip into that well a fourth time and give a bitter pill of an immigration bill, partnering again with Ted Kennedy.... but this time the Republicans in the house saw through it. They tried to reclaim its soul but it simply was too late.
George, we lost in large part due to the fact that you lead the Republican Party too far to the left. You were good at winning elections, and in 2000...2002...and 2004 you earned a lot of capital. But you do have to pay it all back and you failed at that George.
You failed to hold strong with intellectual firepower on the courts because the truth is that’s not what you believe in. You believe in micro-politics that has gotten you as far as you did.
George Winners want the ball. You can manage the clock but in the end if you can put it in for 6 you darn well do it.
George you flat out didn't want to win because winning involves working hard and potentially losing.
You picked Collin Powell to be Secretary of State during a war in which he was simply eaten alive by those who opposed our policy. When you could have brought an A game talent back into the picture or used Dr. Rice to seduce those who wished to derail what was right you stuck with what managed the clock... what you thought would earn you a couple of percentages in a couple of precincts.
You never fought this the right way, you never fought to win.
You kept Rumi in DoD when as soon as the war turned up you needed a War time conselegri.
You could have even saved Powell and slid him in
in the end George you didn't fight to win you fought to keep the other guy losing
and you saw how well just two years ago that worked for John Kerry
Thanks George.... thanks for showing what an Ivy League education produces
I really wanted to do more on this election but it felt like... it really felt like this election was a whole lot of nothing. Their were things that mattered to me at stake in this election but it really didn't seem to me like it mattered to the people who were running this election. My buddy Ken Kerns, as well as my Buddy Mark Griffis and I joke about how the people in charge don't know what their doing and really this election makes it feels almost like solid fact.
In the end it came down to this it’s very clear that to the American voter the Republicans didn't deserve to win.... and that's why the Democrats took control. In the weeks and months ahead that's not going to be how the tea leaves are read... indeed just today we see the white house failed to leave the mark of blood so it had to sacrifice one of its own.
This sacrifice makes me truly worry about my country. Don Rumsfeld was not a man who was brought on to lead a War on Terror. He was brought on to remodel the Military and he has had 6 years of progress on it.... which stop now I fear, and that's to our detriment down the road. We need to have a military that is ready for the wars we fight another 10 or 20 years from now... not have a military ready only for the conflicts that lay in our field of vision. He was sacrificed for political convenience and I fear for this country we will have other sacrifices to come.
The only salvation I think is the Democrats are going to want to keep the war festering for as long as they can to keep the door open on the anti-war vote for 2008 .... But, I truly fear even that notion because then they will know as our enemies did when we pull out of Saigon. And if we do to the Iraqi people what we did to the People of South Vietnam in the end our military might well be confirmed as a paper tiger. We ran from Somalia, We Ran far away from even trying in Rwanda, We ran from Lebanon, We ran from Indochina, and now perhaps running from Iraq. If this happens I fear for the world because the last time the strength of the United States withdrew like this we saw the rise of Hitler... and even that analogy has its flaws.
Rome began its fall when Rome built the gates to keep the barbarians out and focused on itself. As it did that soon it needed the Barbarians to man the gates against other Barbarians. We look to Europe and we see the Barbarians are at the gate there... are we going to repeat that folly and build our own gates now?
You look at it the election was not an endorsement on ending the policy in Iraq... yet that's what The President has now anointed it so.
Here are some more words on the oil our president is anointing his wounds with
On at least one Persian Gulf issue, Gates has been associated with a different approach than the one now being pursued. In the summer of 2004, Gates and former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski co-chaired a task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations that argued for opening a dialogue with Iran. The task forces report contended that the lack of American engagement with Iran had harmed American interests, and advocated direct talks with the Iranians. “Just as the United States has a constructive relationship with China (and earlier did so with the Soviet Union) while strongly opposing certain aspects of its internal and international policies, Washington should approach Iran with a readiness to explore areas of common interests while continuing to contest objectionable policy,” said the report, entitled “Iran: Time for a New Approach.”
China and the Soviets did not break international law in the way the Iranians are doing, yet the man who will be running our defense department now doesn't see it that way. A man who crafted this new approach with the architect of the Carter foreign policy..... Is this what we want? Do we want to bring Carterism into our government?
When the people of Iran cry out for new leadership, when they cry out for freedom and a western way of life we should not be breaking bread with the men who execute them. We should not be enabling the people who are destroying the economy. Because if engagement was truly the key the powers of Europe should have had the matter all settled.... engagement isn't a panacea.
And yet you look at the Ballot measures. Eminent Domain reform (which Pelosi does not favor) Passed, Bans on Gay marriage passed in almost all the states they came up on. Restrictions on Illegal aliens at a state level -even in states the democrats did well in- passed. Why did we lose? We lost because George W. Bush is not, and never was the heir to Ronald Reagan. He was not one of us and never was, but he mesmerized congress into following him.... and in the process lead them to their doom.
He sold us on prescription drug plans... plans we didn't like. In the election the plan that was better funded then the Democrat alternative was sold as a great evil to seniors who we were told only a few years earlier had to choose between eating and buying their medication. So clearly this plan did not bring us a more "compassionate" face to the public because the democrats would still find a way to crucify us for it. But the congress sold its soul and they sold it in the Bipartisan marketplace.
he told us we needed to interfere more into our school systems, but again instead of making an issue a plus like he said... instead of "softening" the image of the bad old evil conservatives we ended up being worse then before. Test scores were good in some areas but raw data isn't a comforting retort to the emotion of waging war on poor schools. He tried to take their issue and make it his through their methods and that simply isn't how you advance the issues.
Two issues used to attack his leadership, and to attack the competency of the congress he advanced because we needed to "unite" and be "bipartisan".... and a third McCain-Feingold laid out the tools we saw the Democrats use to gain parity with the GOP.... he also twisted the party into Supporting.
He tried to dip into that well a fourth time and give a bitter pill of an immigration bill, partnering again with Ted Kennedy.... but this time the Republicans in the house saw through it. They tried to reclaim its soul but it simply was too late.
George, we lost in large part due to the fact that you lead the Republican Party too far to the left. You were good at winning elections, and in 2000...2002...and 2004 you earned a lot of capital. But you do have to pay it all back and you failed at that George.
You failed to hold strong with intellectual firepower on the courts because the truth is that’s not what you believe in. You believe in micro-politics that has gotten you as far as you did.
George Winners want the ball. You can manage the clock but in the end if you can put it in for 6 you darn well do it.
George you flat out didn't want to win because winning involves working hard and potentially losing.
You picked Collin Powell to be Secretary of State during a war in which he was simply eaten alive by those who opposed our policy. When you could have brought an A game talent back into the picture or used Dr. Rice to seduce those who wished to derail what was right you stuck with what managed the clock... what you thought would earn you a couple of percentages in a couple of precincts.
You never fought this the right way, you never fought to win.
You kept Rumi in DoD when as soon as the war turned up you needed a War time conselegri.
You could have even saved Powell and slid him in
in the end George you didn't fight to win you fought to keep the other guy losing
and you saw how well just two years ago that worked for John Kerry
Thanks George.... thanks for showing what an Ivy League education produces
Monday, October 30, 2006
A moment of zen
Green Lantern Your stats: Autonomy: 23% Image: 30% Ideology: 40% Perspective: 40% |
Name: Green Lantern Alter Ego: Kyle Rayner, (previously Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Alan Scott & Guy Gardner). Abilities: Has a Power Ring that has the ability to create literally anything, limited only by the will of the wearer. Team Player. Introverted. Idealistic. Broad-minded. Selected by the Guardians of the Universe, Green Lantern is everything a model superhero should be. He has initiative and leadership skills, but still feels subject to the people and the system he fights for. He has a strong sense of self and his own morality; He is compassionate, but still able to 'make the tough decisions' for the greater good. However, it is a heavy burden, and GL frequently finds himself at odds with his own feelings, his responsibilities to his friends and to the Corps. |
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My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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| Link: The DC Comic Book Superhero Test written by Phil_Ken_Seben on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test |
Rinosightings: Another Halloween in the neighborhood
((If you didn't put up your costume and candy... I am putting it up for ya))
Another Halloween and more weird kids in my neighborhood, I really have to wonder what the heck is wrong with them.
one of the neighborhood kids came as General Jack Ripper and instead of asking for Candy he said "The only Candy I want is for the campaign commercials to end." I was with him on that but I still gave him some circus peanuts for his troubles.
Another kid came up to my door dressed as the Church Lady wearing a Nancy Pelosi Mask..... he muttered something about Values which made me think he would appreciate some pocket change more then Candy.
The Campbell kid came dressed up as some one from Tech Support raising money for Project Valour-IT so I gave him some money and a candy apple
Another kid came dressed as a roman seer and muttered "Beware of Habeaus Corpus" he ended up with a Milkway dark for his troubles.
Another of the Weird kids came to my door dressed as Ike Turner
As you might imagine, I have been closely watching the Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali case in Australia unfold with bated breath. Not only do the Sheikh and I share many similar views on ho's, he also happens to have one of the most mackdaddyistic names that has ever been.
The kid did such a good Ike Turner impression I thought to give him a cotton swab... but I decided again to give him a blow pop instead
That swiss kid from down the road showed up and He didn't seem to be in a costume so I asked him "What are you little boy?" he replied somewhat creepily "I'm a Death Tourist. we look like everyone else." I felt he deserved a stale old peep I found laying in the fridge.
The Novak kid showed up wearing a white leather appron and leather gloves... but the dirt on her shoes made me think of Yemen and their problematic election. I gave the novak kid a super-jaw breaker and sent her on her way.
A kid came dressed as a Mullah with a little hand puppet looking like the Iranian President he came to me and said "Free your oppressed Candy from Gitmo" we discusssed if the Candy was held as a political prisoner or if it was all a bunch of fluff. I gave him an Almond Joy as he went off whistling "sometimes you feel like a nut..."
Then I got the Kid with the most grusome and intricate costume. He was dressed as a People's Republic of China soldier straight out of the P.L.A. He had in his hand the head of a Tibetan Monk with a bullet hole in the back. He had some kind of pajama's over his shoulder like he arrested some blogger or something. I was going to send him off with a fortune cookie but then I realized he was the kid who came before I was ready dressed up as the New Jersey Supreme Court. So I shooed him off with a free pocket copy of the constitution.
Chief Wahoo came to my door and I was scared, because I thought Baseball was over for the year but it turned out to be that weird Surber Kid again. I asked why he was haunting me with baseball but he said this was the nearest he could get to a "culture warrior" costume. So I subjected him to the worst thing I had.... Cleveland Browns tickets
and then a kid dressed as some horrid nightmarish wraith
"what do you want from me spirit?" I asked mockingly he told me he was the demon which punished Border Patrol Agents for doing their job I gave him some white Chocolate peanutbutter cups and sent him on his way.
And So I end another weird and scary halloween in Rino Sightings land.... so get off my lawn you darned kids
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