Just An Average Joe

Ignorance & Intelligence The Two Americas

2011-01-23T16:27:00.000-08:00

Eric Cantor

When Presidential Candidate John Edwards spoke of Two Americas, he was talking about the gap between the wealthy and the poor in this country. After the mid-term elections, I felt it was more about the gap between the Intelligent and the Ignorant. I was surprised and deeply disappointed by how many of my fellow Americans were fooled by the Republican propaganda machine. This feeling was reinforced this morning when I watched Republican Representative Eric Cantor on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with David Gregory. I have finally reached the conclusion that the House Majority Leader in Congress is the biggest Pompous Ass since Neville Chamberlain.

The biggest problem facing our nation today is the economy and how to generate job growth. Yet, the Majority Leader and his Republican counter parts; have wasted valuable time with a vote to appease a radical ignorant racist group of people who share a distorted belief of what patriotism is all about. Though, this belief has been fueled by the propaganda tool of FOX News, along with hate mongering rhetoric from the likes of Dick Armey, Freedomworks and (reload) Sarah Palin. Mr. Cantor proved that, not only was the vote a waste of time, the Republicans have once again failed to offer a viable alternative to the healthcare crisis in this country except of “more of the same”.

We send billions of dollars of foreign aid to places around the globe yet; the Republican Party wants to remove over fifty million people from healthcare they now receive due to the New Healthcare Bill. Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer has reduced medical funding in her state to the point where people have died not being able to get the transplants they need. I do not understand how Republicans and the people who have voted for them can sleep at night.

Having the most nuclear warheads or the most powerful military does not make this country great. It is the outreach of compassion and willingness to help others first that sets us apart. Patriotism is not just waving a flag but, it is the helping hand that we give to one another that makes us Patriots. You can have all the guns you want but, it will be access to healthcare that will ultimately keep you alive.

So, while Mr. Cantor and his fellow Republicans wallow around fighting a senseless fight, our country continues with a crisis that needs leadership to resolve. I hope the President and the Democratic Party seize this opportunity and try to bring an end to the economic woes we face. I hope the Republican Party can stop catering to a movement in their ranks that will only hurt our nation down the road.

I hope that my fellow Americans will wake up by 2012 and realize the Tea Party is a joke and a danger to our country. True patriotism is the way we help each other. For only a caring Nation towards us will be united and strong.

John Boehner

Mitch McConnell

As a side note; I fail to understand why businessmen across our country are not embracing healthcare reform. Single payer or Medicare for all, would reduce labor costs by a minimum 30%. This would level significantly the playing field in manufacturing labor costs, when competing against China, Korea and other Asian nations. This would allow the cost of healthcare to be shared by all while maintaining these costs at affordable levels. But, then again, I may not be as smart as Mr. Cantor or Mr. Boehner or Mr. McConnell. Or am I?

That’s How I See It.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Gregory/65804893355
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gregory_(journalist)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Cantor
http://www.freedomworks.org/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/health-care-reform/?wpsrc=AG0002096&keyword=4891465563&cre=434502824&g=1&s_kwcid=TC-21379-4891465563-e-434502824
https://www.aarphealthcare.com/SourceCode=4UF&xOver=Over&utm_medium=USEM&utm_campaign=4UF&utm_source=AARP&utm_content=Topical&utm_term=healthcare_reform_bill
http://www.healthreform.gov/

From My Cold Dead Hands, Another Look

2010-06-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

Today, the Supreme Court reversed the Gun Ban Legislation that had been initiated in the City of Chicago. In May, of last year, I wrote an article addressing the very issue of the Right To Bear Arms. I would like to re post the article again and urge comments. I would like to know how all you readers out there feel about this subject. If you wish to review the original graphics of this article, feel free to click on the link in May 2009. I now present, From My Cold Dead Hands.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

From My Cold Dead Hands

On May 20, 2000, then National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston, made a speech in front of a large audience at the 129th NRA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. The following are the closing remarks from that speech;
For the next six months, [presidential candidate and Vice President of the United States] Al Gore is going to smear you as the enemy. He will slander you as gun-toting, knuckle-dragging, bloodthirsty maniacs who stand in the way of a safer America. Will you remain silent? I will not remain silent. If we are going to stop this, then it is vital to every law-abiding gun owner in America to register to vote and show up at the polls on Election Day.
Heston paused to pick up a replica of a Revolutionary War musket, and continued
As we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, I want to say those words again for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Gore: 'From my cold, dead hands!'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_my_cold,_dead_hands
Charlton Heston, Actor, Political Activist and Four (4) Term President of the National Rifle Association, passed away on April 5, 2007 at the age of 84. So, he was not able to respond when, then Democratic Presidential Primary Candidate Barack Obama was quoted at a fundraiser in San Francisco; 'It's not surprising ... they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti- immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,' referring to small town voters in the state of Pennsylvania.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/usa/features/article_1399675.php

Today, in 2009, the topic of Gun Control is once again appearing on the Horizon. The Gun Control Lobby is pushing hard for President Obama, to make significant movement, in the direction of banning Assault Weapons and if they had their way, all weapons. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence was originated to advocate for this cause. On March 30, 1981, James Brady was shot and paralyzed during an assassination attempt against then President Ronald Reagan. The following are the first two (2) paragraphs from the website;
http://www.bradycampaign.org/about/jimandsarahbio.php

James S. Brady achieved a lifelong career goal with his appointment by President Ronald Reagan in January of 1981 to be Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary. However, his service was interrupted on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley attempted to assassinate the President, and shot both President Reagan, Mr. Brady, and two law enforcement officers. Although seriously wounded by the gunshot wound to the head, Mr. Brady remained the White House Press Secretary until the end of the Reagan Administration.

Since leaving the White House, Mr. Brady has spent much time lobbying with his wife Sarah, Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Control), for stronger gun laws. On November 30, 1993, President Clinton signed the "Brady Bill" - a bill named in Mr. Brady's honor - into law. The Brady law required a five-day waiting period and background check on all handgun purchases through licensed dealers. Mr. Brady also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence), the Brady Campaign's sister organization, which is a 501 (3)(c) organization working to reduce gun violence through education, research, and legal advocacy. In addition, Mr. Brady serves as Vice Chairman of the National Brain Injury Foundation as well as the Vice Chairman of the National Organization on Disability.

I bring all of these facts to light to show what powerful lobbyists are dueling in this issue. No matter what statistics either side brings to the table, the discussion is about changing one of the very foundations of our nation. The Right to Bear Arms.

The following is from the Cornell University Law School website titled The Constitution; http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

To me looking at this Amendment, it appears rather vague, allowing significant latitude in its interpretation. Maybe it was written that way for a purpose. The purpose being that this right was and could be needed to keep our Republic safe from all enemies, Foreign and Domestic. But, I do believe our Nations Founding Fathers anticipated and had the foresight to see, that times and Society could change at some point in the future, where this Freedom will still stand strong but, tempered for the good of the Nation. I believe they knew this Basic Right will always hold true, the core beliefs, of what made our Nation the leader in the World today.

I believe in the Right and freedom to Bear Arms, as well as, every right and law in our Constitution. I have not nor has any member of my family been involved with any type of incident where Guns were involved. I hope that life is kind enough to me to keep it that way. But, if it is not, I hope I will remain true to my core beliefs. That is, I do not believe that shredding any of these rights is justified, no matter what statistics or outright facts are proven.

So, I implore President Obama, use wisdom in your quest for Gun Control. I am not as educated as you but if we put tighter Regulation on Gun Manufacturing along with Traceability and more responsible Gun Ownership Laws, I believe we can obtain the means necessary to effectively manage the use of All Weaponry, without sacrificing any rights. Here’s a suggestion for starters. Make all firearms like automobiles. Their Serial numbers go into a Federal Registry along with a print of the Ballistic make up of that weapon. Make altering a weapon to hide its identity a crime. I have many more suggestions but, I think you get the idea.

Gun Control is a Hot Button issue that I believe surpasses Healthcare, Gay Marriage, Abortion Rights or even the Economy. My message to President Obama is this; you will always be remembered for tearing down the Racial Barrier and becoming our Nations first African American President. Please do not let your legacy be tarnished by becoming the only President that stirred a Revolution. You see, I am afraid the Revolution I am referring to, may not necessarily be fought in the Voting Booth.

That's how I see it.

Counting Their Chickens

2010-05-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Early this year, Scott Brown, won the Senate seat vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy. The Republicans touted this as a wave of change to come. The Teabagging movement claimed complete victory to the point where they felt they were the people who made the difference in Mr. Brown’s win. Living here in Massachusetts and witnessing this event, I can tell you that, even though Scott Brown ran a good and effective campaign, his victory can be attributed to the complacency and entitlement attitude of his opponent Martha Coakley, more than the great push from the Teabaggers. A perfect example of this is a quote from Boston Globe columnist Brian McCrory, in one of his articles; Brian McGrory, a columnist at the Coakley-friendly Boston Globe, accused her of being a "diva" who was dodging debates and skipping the flesh-pressing necessary to win. When asked by the Globe why she wasn't out stumping like Brown, she fired back: “As opposed to standing outside Fenway Park? In the cold? Shaking hands?” Reason.com Michael C. Moynihan

January 15, 2010.

This past week, the Teabaggers are claiming victory again and the Republican Party is claiming, “a failing influence” of President Obama, by the results of primaries and special elections that have taken place around the country this week. Now, I am not an expert on politics but I feel I am the average Independent Voter. This is how I am seeing what the results mean. Remember, no party can win an election by themselves. It is the support of the Independent Voter that tips the election to either candidate.

Now, let us take a look at two of the races taking place. The defeat of career Senator Arlen Specter to Two terms Congressman Joe Sestak and the special election for the Congressional Seat vacated by the death of Congressman John Murtha. Many have said the loss of Specter was a rebuke to President Obama. Yet, during Mr. Specter’s campaign neither President Obama nor Vice President Joe Biden openly campaigned for him. The Teabaggers fought for Tim Burns but, Democrat Mark Critz made a stunning comeback in the final days to capture the seat.

The following is an article from U.S. News and World report which I think illustrates the true meaning behind the Sestak and Critz victories; http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2010/05/20/specter-critz-results-send-mixed-messages-for-democrats.html
Specter, Critz Results Send Mixed Messages for Democrats
Joe Sestak was able to knock off Specter but Democrats do have one bright spot
By Caitlin Huey-Burns Posted May 20, 2010

Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter is the latest causality at the hands of frustrated voters targeting incumbents. Specter lost to two-term Rep. Joe Sestak in the Democratic primary. Analysts say that Sestak's campaign commercial, showing footage of Specter saying he switched parties to get reelected, drove the candidacy of five-term Republican turned Democrat to the grave. "It was the most brilliant and devastating commercial since 1986," says Terry Madonna, director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. "It showed Specter in his own words and the truth of it remained, he said it and that reinforced Sestak's nine month argument." The commercial struck a loud cord with Pennsylvania voters. "Many of the electorate perceived [Specter] as being very evasive of where he stood on a lot of things," says Jerry Shuster, a professor of political communication at the University of Pittsburgh. "His switch appeared to be manipulative of the electorate." Low voter-turnout also contributed to Specter's loss. "It has been clear from the beginning that the lower the turnout, the better Sestak would do," says Madonna. Only 24 percent of Democrats and 27 percent of Republicans showed up to vote Tuesday in their respective primaries. Tuesday's rainy weather also could have affected voter turnout. Pennsylvania voters tend to be older and have difficulty getting to the polls, according to the state's Election Commissioner Chet Harhut. Sestak will face a heated race against Republican Pat Toomey in November, in what will be a "super expensive race that starts today," says Shuster.

Toomey, a former Wall Street trader, small business owner, and congressman lost to Specter in 2004. Madonna says Sestak, a former Admiral with a three decades in the Navy, will have a good chance of beating Toomey in November if he rails against the establishment, congressional spending, and focuses his campaign on creating jobs."[Sestak] has to tell his narrative, his great narrative," says Madonna, referring to Sestak's naval career. "Toomey will have a bit more of a problem with his biography. He will have to defend his stint on Wall Street." There was an important exception to the anti-establishment cloud hovering over this year's races. Democrats were victorious in a special election for the late Rep. John Murtha's seat Tuesday. The southwestern Pennsylvania district supported Sen. John Kerry in 2004 then backed Sen. John McCain in 2008. The region is thought to be strong indication of how voters nationwide will feel come November. Democrat Mark Critz, a former Murtha aid, beat Republican businessman Tim Burns 53 percent to 45 percent in a race originally pegged by pollsters as a dead heat in the days leading up to the election. He will be sworn in Thursday. But Shuster says Critz's win should come as no surprise. "They liked Critz and they liked Murtha," he says. "Because he worked for Murtha and because of the party hierarchy, he'll have a distinct advantage because he's familiar with all the right people."

Though Critz will take office immediately, he won't go long without a fight. He must face Burns again in November. "Historically, in Pennsylvania, the Republicans will vote fairly straight Republican," says Shuster. "But Democrats are more prone to switch." In that case, both candidates will have to target their campaigns at voters on the edge.

As for the race between Senator Blanche Lincoln and LT. Governor Bill Halter, It is a simple case of throw the bum out. I believe Senator Lincoln did not listen to her constituents enough and staying true to the Democratic Party theme. She finds herself in a position where trying to explain her performance has become an agonizing up hill battle.

Now the Teabaggers are opportunists. The overwhelming victory of Rand Paul over the mainstream Republican Candidate Trey Grayson is hailed as a significant step to the power of the Teabagging movement. Senator Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina heralded Mr. Paul’s victory as a defeat of the Washington political establishment. I find that humorous since Mr. DeMint is a part of that very establishment. To me, I believe Mr. Paul’s victory was attributed to name recognition, for one. His father, Congressman Ron Paul, is believed to be the inspiration to the Teabagger movement. I believe the defeat of Tray Grayson is more of a rebuke of the mainstream Republican leadership of the likes of Senator Mitch McConnell and former Vice President Dick Cheney more than it is towards Washington.

I believe the Teahaggers are splitting the Republican Party and weakening it more than they are becoming the political powerhouse in our country. The Independent Voter is in the middle. Maybe with a slight tilt to the right but, I do not believe enough to support many of the racist, backward and hypocritical thinking that the Teabaggers are promoting. I also believe as the younger generations exercise their voting rights the Independent Vote may actually begin to tilt towards the left. Younger people do not worry about skin color, nationality or religious fervor. The generations coming up look for peace and mutual understanding.

So, enjoy your fifteen minutes of fame all you Teabaggers. Maybe you can stretch it into twenty minutes. The effect you will have on the mid term elections this year remains to be seen. But, I truly believe, if the backwards thinking of the Teabaggers should gain power, it will be short lived. We have come too far as a nation of rights and freedoms for all to return to the days of racism and bigotry. Those days are gone. That is what makes our country great.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of Reference:
http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/15/the-incredible-incompetence-of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Brown
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2010/05/20/specter-critz-results-send-mixed-messages-for-democrats.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_Lincoln
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/us/politics/19elect.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rand_Paul
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/us/politics/19elect.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul

The Missiles Of October

2010-05-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

About two months ago, President Barack Obama, took part in a Summit Meeting about the proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Only the future will tell how successful he was, in making all countries involved, understand their individual responsibilities with the control of Nuclear Weapons. As usual, People from the extreme Left said he did not go far enough. While, the extreme Right said he was a total failure. Regardless of which opinion you believe, let me relate a story to you about the day our country and the Soviet Union almost caused Armageddon. This story is being told through the eyes of a seven year old child who, sat in a front row seat, waiting to witness the end of the world.

I really do not recall if it was a weekend or I just stayed home from school that day. But, my mother had the venetian blinds pulled all the way up on the picture window in the dining room. I had all my little cars on the big window frame and along the bench seat below the sill. We had been hearing the Air Raid sirens for the last day or two and my parents were concerned. The Television was on all the time. But, I could not listen to my cartoons because there was some man talking about war. I remember my Mother and Father were glued to the Television set and always holding hands. I had never seen them act this way before. While I was playing with my cars I heard the Air Raid Siren start up again. But, this time, the sound was different. Instead of being a steady wailing sound it was a high pitch then low pitch sound. My parents did not seem to hear it because both of them were in front of the television set praying as the reporter was talking on the screen. As I gazed outside wondering what was going on I saw white smoke coming from the top of the hillside about a mile from our home. This hillside was owned by the United States Air Force. It was the home to a Minute Man Missile Silo.

I remember calling out to my parents, telling them the hill was on fire. But, they were so wrapped up with the Television, they did not hear me. As I watched the smoke, I saw a Rocket slowly rising up to the surface. When it stopped rising, I called out to my parents and said “MA, Dad, come look! The Astronauts are going up!” My Father told me to be quiet. Then he realized the sound of the siren and his face turned white. I said, “Dad, the sirens must be for the Astronauts. Come here, look!” My Father walked over to the window and said “Oh, my God!” My Mother came over and she began to scream. My Father grabbed her and sat her down behind me at the dining room table and held her in his arms. He kept trying to tell my Mom that everything would be alright but, it was not working to well. As I learned when I became older, the rocket was a missile and it was not going to launch Astronauts.

For two days, my parents and I sat there in the dining room watching that missile. Day and night, I slept on the floor in the dining room because my parents said we all needed to be together. Watching the Television, crying, laughing then, and crying again. I really did not know what to make of this but; at least I did not have to go to school. Around the beginning of the third day, the Air Raid Siren started wailing again. This time, it was a steady wail. I looked at the missile and saw the plume of smoke that had been constant for the last few days had stopped. Then suddenly, the missile began to lower back into the hill. I called out to my Dad but, he was already standing behind me watching the same thing. He kissed me on the head and said, “Everything is going to be alright now, son!”

I later learned that we almost came to Nuclear War with the Soviet Union over missiles they had in Cuba and we had in Turkey. All I know is it was the only time I saw real fear in my parents face and that life could have come to an end with only the sight of a flash. It was years later that I realized I had a front row seat to the end of the world. I did not think much about it until a movie came out called “The Day After”. It is a story of a nuclear exchange that occurred between our country and a foreign power. I cried when I saw that movie for the first time because it finally hit me. The horrors of Nuclear War could have happened to me and I could have perished without knowing what life was all about. I thought about Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan. I wondered how many seven year olds lost their lives when the Nuclear age reared its ugly head at them.

So, regardless of what you think of President Obama, let us hope he and all the leaders of the world have struck an agreement where no child of any age, has to wonder what could have been. Oh, and just so you know that seven year old boy was me. But, you probably already figured that out, huh.

That’s How I See It.

A False Sense Of Patriotism

2010-03-27T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Healthcare issue has brought our country to a new era in reform. Unfortunately, some very ignorant people have taken Patriotism beyond what our civilized democracy is all about. The Tea baggers, as well as, the Republican Party itself, has instigated and incited a frenzy that is misled and extremely misguided.

In the 1700’s, when our nation was fighting for its freedom, society was much different as was the situation. The problem today is, that time period is being misused and misrepresented, in regard to, today’s events. The following is a quick synopsis of the situation then; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War
The war was the culmination of the political American Revolution, whereby many of the colonists rejected the legitimacy of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them without representation, claiming that this violated the Rights of Englishmen. The First Continental Congress met in 1774 to coordinate relations with Great Britain and the thirteen now self-governing and individual provinces, petitioning George III for intervention with Parliament, organizing a boycott of British goods, while affirming loyalty to the British Crown. Their pleas ignored, and with British combat troops billeted in Boston, Massachusetts, by 1775 the Provincial Congresses formed the Second Continental Congress and authorized a Continental Army. Additional petitions to the king to intervene with Parliament resulted in the following year with Congress being declared traitors and the states to be in rebellion. The Americans responded in 1776 by formally declaring their independence as one new nation — the United States of America — claiming their own sovereignty and rejecting any allegiance to the British monarchy.

The following is an article from Yahoo.com reporting events today; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_us/us_health_care_threats
Dems deal with threats over health care support
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press Writer Emily Wagster Pettus, Associated Press Writer – Thu Mar 25, 6:35 am ET
Democratic Congress members are getting lessons from the FBI on how to handle threats such as several directed at their colleagues, including bricks hurled through windows and menacing obscenity-laced phone messages left for those who supported sweeping federal health care legislation.
Windows were shattered at four Democratic offices in New York, Arizona and Kansas and at least 10 members of Congress have reported some sort of threats, leaders said. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday, but the FBI is investigating.
Lawmakers who feel they are at risk will be "getting attention from the proper authorities," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who denounced the threats and vandalism at a news conference. He declined to say whether any are receiving extra security. Normally only those in leadership positions have personal security guards.
The brick flung through the window of a county Democratic Party office in Rochester, N.Y., over the weekend had a note attached: "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice," roughly quoting 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.
A New York congresswoman whose office window also was smashed with a brick accused the Republican leadership of failing to denounce attacks against lawmakers. The vandalism happened at Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter's district office in Niagara Falls early Friday, two days before the House passed the health care overhaul bill.
"It's more disturbing to me that Republican leadership has not condemned these attacks and instead appears to be fanning the flames with coded rhetoric," said Slaughter, a key supporter of the bill.
House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement that while many Americans are angry over the bill's passage, "violence and threats are unacceptable."
"That's not the American way," Boehner said. "We need to take that anger and channel it into positive change."
Some of the anger spilled over in a flood of obscenity and threat-filled phone and fax messages to the office of Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. Stupak vowed to oppose the health care package unless given greater assurance that it would not allow federal funding of elective abortions. He voted in favor after the administration agreed.
Stupak's office released some of the messages, declining further comment.
"I hope you bleed ... (get) cancer and die," one male caller told the congressman between curses.
A fax with the title "Defecating on Stupak" carried a picture of a gallows with "Bart (SS) Stupak" on it and a noose attached. It was captioned, "All Baby Killers come to unseemly ends Either by the hand of man or by the hand of God."
The vandalism and threats surprised a researcher at a think tank that monitors extremist groups.
"I think it is astounding that we are seeing this wave of vigilantism," said Mark Potok of the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center.
Hoyer said people have yelled that Democratic lawmakers should be put on firing lines and posters have appeared with the faces of lawmakers in the cross hairs of a target.
While not directly criticizing Republicans, Hoyer said that "any show of appreciation for such actions encourages such action."
Gun imagery was used in a posting on the Facebook page of Sarah Palin urging people to organize against 20 House Democrats who voted for the health care bill and whose districts went for the John McCain-Palin ticket two years ago. Palin's post featured a U.S. map with circles and cross hairs over the 20 districts.
In Virginia, someone cut a propane line leading to a grill at the Charlottesville home of U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello's brother after the address was posted online by activists angry about the health care overhaul. Perriello also said a threatening letter was sent to his brother's house. The FBI and local authorities were investigating.
Tea party activists had posted the brother's address online thinking it was the congressman's home. The post urged opponents to drop by and "express their thanks" for the Democrat's vote in favor of the sweeping health care reform.
Nigel Coleman, chairman of the Danville Tea Party, said he re-posted the comment that originated on another conservative blog, including the address, Monday on his Facebook page. The posts were taken down after the mistake was discovered.
"We've never been associated with any violence or any vandalism," he said. "We're definitely sorry that we posted the incorrect address."
Lyndsay Stauble, executive director of the Sedgwick County Democratic Party in Wichita, Kan., said a brick was hurled through the party's storefront plate glass window late Friday or early Saturday, landing in her office and gouging her wooden desk.
She said that written in marker on the brick were the slogans, "No to Obama" and "No Obamycare."
"The tone is not surprising, but the aggressiveness is," Stauble said Wednesday. "I'm not shocked that people are not reacting well to a large piece of legislation passed by a president that they don't like."
Associated Press writers David N. Goodman in Detroit, Dena Potter and Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va., Ben Dobbin in Rochester, N.Y., Mark Carlson in Phoenix and Laurie Kellman in Washington contributed to this report.

The events involved with the healthcare issue are no comparison to the formation of our nation. Anybody who compares the two is blatantly ignorant and is looking to be unlawful and an outright troublemaker. To do the things that have been done recently, the threats and intimidation to Lawmakers, is not Patriotic. If anyone reading this article is one of those individuals, do not kid yourself. You are no Patriot! You are a law breaking, ignorant malcontent looking for attention!

As for me, I believe in our Constitution and love my country. Even though I disagreed with the Bush Administration, I stood behind him as our President and would have done anything required to defend our Nation. For those of you, who are causing today’s threats, understand this; there are many more like me out here. We consider people like you a threat from within. So, before you go about trying to cause your second revolution, understand that people like me will stop you in your tracks. But, you better hope the authorities do it first. People like me will not bother to read you your rights. As far as we are concerned, you threaten this country, you have given up your rights. So, make sure you truly understand what it is to be Patriotic and do not be fooled by Tea bagging rhetoric or political conservative ploy. Instead, if you really want to do the Patriotic duty, next election, exercise the right thousands of our Armed Forces have given up their lives for, VOTE! Now THAT is Patriotic.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_us/us_health_care_threats
http://www.42explore2.com/revolt.htm
http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/
http://www.historycentral.com/Revolt/
http://www.ushistory.org/DECLARATION/revwartimeline.htm
http://www.nps.gov/archive/cowp/Timeline.htm
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/mary-kate-cary/2010/03/25/sarah-palin-tea-party-leaders-must-condemn-healthcare-threats.html
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/88955-dem-compares-healthcare-threats-to-fighting-in-iraq-afghanistan
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2010/03/26/comments-on-health-care-violence/
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/24/congress.threats/index.html

Unsung Heroes

2010-03-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

How Freedom of Speech Is Being Abused

In the coming months, the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments about a court case that should never even needed to be considered. That case is the abuse of Freedom of Speech, by a religious Church from the Topeka Kansas area. This church is the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church. The Pastor of this church is Fred Phelps Sr. A man, I feel, is a disgrace to his faith and is the poster boy to why many in today’s society are turning away from religion.

This lunatic Pastor, along with the throng of his crazies, appears at military funerals and cheers the deaths of fallen soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In protesting, this lunatic Pastor preaches the deaths of our fallen heroes, is deserved and a punishment from God, while basing this idea solely on their own biases and prejudices towards Homosexuals and other fanatical religious beliefs. A father to a slain Veteran has sued the organization for their protesting at the funeral of his son. Albert Snyder was awarded five million dollars in damages for distress caused by these lunatic protesters. Unfortunately, a higher court overturned this decision and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case to render a final decision.

The following is an article by the Associated Press providing an outline of the arguments from both sides and what is at stake with this case;

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/08/377423/court-to-rule-in-military-funeral.html

Court to rule in military funeral protest case
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is getting involved in the legal fight over the anti-gay protesters who show up at military funerals with inflammatory messages like "Thank God for dead soldiers."
The court agreed Monday to consider whether the protesters' message, no matter how provocative and upsetting, is protected by the First Amendment. Members of a Kansas-based church have picketed military funerals to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

The justices will hear an appeal from the father of a Marine killed in Iraq to reinstate a $5 million verdict against the protesters, after they picketed outside his son's funeral in Maryland.

A jury in Baltimore awarded Albert Snyder damages for emotional distress and invasion of privacy, but a federal appeals court threw out the verdict. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the signs contained "imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric" protected by the First Amendment.

The funeral for Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder in Westminster, Md., was among many that have been picketed by members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Westboro pastor Fred Phelps and other members have used the funeral protests to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. One of the signs at Snyder's funeral combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto with a slur against gay men.

Other signs carred by members of the Topeka, Kan.-based church said, "America is Doomed," "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," "Priests Rape Boys" and "Thank God for IEDs," a reference to the roadside bombs that have killed many U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The case will be argued in the fall.

The case is Snyder v. Phelps, 09-751.

Whether you agree with any Military conflict our troops are involved in or not. The death of a soldier is the most heroic sacrifice that can be made by the individual and his or her family. The funeral is a private and personal service that should not be abused for the right of Freedom of Speech. There is nothing political about a funeral nor is their anything commercial about it. A funeral service is the private moment where friends and family say goodbye to a loved one. It is emotional and traumatic. My only hope is that the Supreme Court will see it this way as well.

Freedom of Speech is a Constitutional Right that many have died for. But, death itself, should not be exploited for personal agenda, by using the very service that our society has agreed, is the only solemn rite of passage. I can only hope the Supreme Court will see this in the same light and make the appropriate decision of when Freedom of Speech goes on hold for a more important rite.

That’s How I See It.

The following are websites of reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Anti-gay_church_protests_U.S._at_military_funerals

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Politics/story?id=1728788&page=1

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2004136

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/08/high-court-takes-funeral-protest-case/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/08/377423/court-to-rule-in-military-funeral.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3158309

The Need for Healthcare Not Health Insurance

2010-03-07T10:08:00.000-08:00

Why the Insurance Industry should be irrelevant on this Issue

Anyone who has read this blog is familiar with my background. Even though I write articles here, and try to add commentary on various other sites, my profession is in Manufacturing. My background originated within the Maintenance end of the industry. However, through the years, I have moved to the manufacture of finished goods. As a Manufacturing Supervisor, I am directly involved with the day to day operations of our facilities. Through the years I have seen, and been a part of, the changes in the way we build our products.

The other day, I was in a conversation with my counterpart, in the Maintenance Department. His name is Jim. He is a decent guy, down to earth and definitely has his own ways of getting things done. In our conversation, he pointed out to me, how complicated technology or innovation has actually made the way we do things today. For instance, we have a system that is run by a computer. This computer takes the data we feed it, distributes this data to the running parts of the equipment and turns the equipment on. Before the invention of the computer we would just turn a switch on. In other words, we have added another layer of activities to operate a mechanism that a simple “flip of a switch” used to handle. So now, we have an extra layer of troubleshooting, that must take place, along with additional materials and labor when, all we had was one simple switch just a few years ago.

Now I know you are asking yourself what this has to do with Healthcare and Health Insurance. I believe that Health Insurance has become that computer. Years ago, if you needed Healthcare, it was as simple as “flipping a switch” to obtain it. Once the advent of Health Insurance, we added a layer that now controls the Healthcare machine, not you or I as it used to be years ago. Please explain to me why Insurance Companies have to make a profit at the expense of the health of Americans? Oh, I understand they have to pay their bills and such but, what says they have to make a profit to the excesses they do today when their whole inception was to help in the provision of effective Healthcare to the citizenry. Not only do they feel they must make a profit but, sacrificing the lives of the average American to obtain those extra billion dollars for their executives, is now the norm? Then maybe Jim was on to something when he said technology or innovation has not made our lives easier.

I found the following article, from the Firedoglake Blog very enlightening when it comes to what is at stake for the Health Insurance Industry;

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/03/03/health-insurance-industrys-300-billion-victory-over-the-public-option/

Health Insurance Industry’s $300 Billion Victory Over the Public Option
By: Jon Walker Wednesday March 3, 2010 9:27 am
When Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and the entire Republican Senate caucus stepped up to kill the public option in the Senate, it is important to remember that the health insurance industry won a victory—a victory worth $300 billion. As Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) now try to crush attempts to revive the public option inside a reconciliation measure, they are battling to protect that extra $300 billion that will flow to AHIP as a result. The public option was never just a “sliver” as Obama tried to claim. It was about a fundamental moral right and the role of government. But what it was also about was a huge amount of money.
The CBO projects that the relatively weak public option–the one limited just to the exchange in the House health care bill–would secure roughly one-fifth of that market, equal to around 6 million people (PDF). The CBO concluded that, as a result of those 6 million customers, the public option will take in $298 billion (PDF) in direct premiums, exchange subsidies, and risk adjustment payments from 2013-2019. However, with the public option removed, but the individual mandate remaining, that $300 billion will instead go straight to the private insurance corporations’ books. If, like I personally suspect, the CBO slightly underestimated the popularity of the public option, and it manages to secure instead roughly a third of the customers on the exchange, that would be roughly $500 billion that the public option would take from the private insurance companies.
I often hear the argument that the public option was not important because only 2% of Americans would be using it. That’s true, but it is important to remember that roughly a third are currently insured by public programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare. Of course, of the roughly half of Americans with private insurance, the bulk of them get there coverage through employer-provided, self-funded plans. Plans in which the employer bears the risk and holds the premiums. The insurance companies are only subcontracted to provide administrative functions. That 6 million people the public option was projected to cover would be a significant share of the potential market for private insurance companies to actually cover and noticeably expand the amount of money they would have earning float revenue.
It is important to remember the sheer scope of the private insurance companies victory if they stop health care reform from having even a relatively weak public option. It will be a victory that will provide them with an extra $300 billion of our money. No doubt some of that same money will be used in the future to fight efforts to enact real health care reform.

All of us here in the United States of America need access to affordable and comprehensive Healthcare. Not Healthcare Insurance. The Health Insurance Industry started as a level that helped to enhance the healthcare access but, now is hindering it. Sadly, the political system that is admired around the world is being used and abused as a tool to obstruct, thwart and prevent the very device we are envied of.

Personally, I believe a Public Option, Single Payer or outright Medicare for all, is the only way, we as a nation, can ensure our citizenry will have the best Healthcare access in the world. Relieving American businesses, of the burden of Healthcare provision, for its employees would make our labor work force second to none in quantity, quality and affordability when competing with the Global Markets. By having one giant pool that business and the public alike, pay into, would help control costs while providing Healthcare for every American citizen. I fail to understand why American Businesses do not stand up against the Heath Insurance Industry and their Lobbyists to demand this competitive edge. But, I guess so many people are in bed together, for nothing more than the almighty dollar and political gain that caring about a human life comes second. Unless, of course, you rant about wanting your country back from a black president, (no racial intention there, right?) you cheat on your spouse while waving your Bible proclaiming pro-life as you support the death sentence. Life in the womb must be more important than outside, huh? WOW! I think I just came up with the topic for a future article. Hhmm…

That’s How I See It.

An Evangelical Rant

2010-01-31T10:33:00.000-08:00

The Decline of Pat Robertson

Two weeks ago, we all, once again, witnessed the devastation of Mother Nature at her worst. From a few years ago in New Orleans, to the Christmas Day Tsunami nothing has torn more at our hearts than watching the effects of the devastating Earthquake in Haiti. We have seen, the best in humanity, show its face with aid pouring in to that Island Home from all corners of the globe. However, among the good, ignorance and outright stupidity has also shown itself.

Being raised as a Roman Catholic and attending an Episcopal Church, I along with others, pray for the well being of the Haitian people. However, ignorant and despicable comments by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and even more shocking Pat Robertson can only leave a person to shake their head and wonder how these individuals can justify the breath they consume everyday. Mr. Robertson made statements that Haiti was being punished by God because of the pact they made with the devil to rid themselves of French Colonial Rule. Is this really what all of you evangelicals believe. Are any of you who follow Mr. Robertson so ignorant and outright heartless that you could believe that a God, who receives worship from the very creatures he finds precious, would want to “punish” them for freeing themselves? If you do then, you are the biggest reason why, many of the generation coming up, are turning away from religious beliefs.

The following is an editorial from the Star-Ledger that pretty well states my opinion on Mr. Robertson and all of his followers; http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/01/pat_robertson_and_haiti_dement.html
The Star-Ledger Editorial Page
NJ Voices: Opinions from New Jersey
International »
Pat Robertson and Haiti: Demented demonology
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board/The Star-Led...
January 16, 2010, 5:41AM
Bottom of Form
Televangelist Pat Robertson sounded like a demented old fool when he said the devastating earthquake in Haiti is God’s wrath for a "pact" Haitians made with the devil to gain independence from the French.
"They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon the third, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil," Robertson said Wednesday on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club.
Insensitive and stupid as it was, this is hardly the first time Robertson has spewed such ridiculous apocalyptic revelations.
He told the Pennsylvania town of Dover in 2005 that disaster might strike there because its citizens voted out school board members who favored teaching intelligent design over the theory of evolution. That same year, he said Hurricane Katrina was sent by God as a punishment for America’s legalization of abortion.
Robertson’s babble is not to be confused with real religious philosophy. He’s nothing more than a nut job peddling an extreme right-wing world view.

Catholicism and religion in general, are finding themselves on the decline in today’s society. The younger generations coming up are being turned off by the outrageous racism and bigotry that is promoted by many religious figures of today. I believe that even the Pope realizes to make the Catholic Church numbers grow, open mindedness and a better teaching of God’s love will gain more than preaching a fire and brimstone attitude.

So Mr. Robertson, here is some advice. SIT DOWN AND SHUTUP! If you are truly a man of the cloth, then preach of God’s love, healing and wanting of worship. Stop acting like you are running for office. You tried that once already and received a humbling experience. Give the rest of us a break.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference; http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/01/pat_robertson_and_haiti_dement.html
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/01/senator-jabs-robertson-over-haiti
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Robertson
http://www.patrobertson.com/
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/13/haiti.pat.robertson/index.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/15/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6101136.shtml

Rush Limbaugh, BSA

2010-01-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

Bull Shit Artist

Is it possible for Rush Limbaugh to stage a fake illness just to provide him a platform to bluster his narcissistic buffoonery? Let us give this some thought for a moment. President Obama takes his family to Honolulu on a vacation. It just so happens, that Rush Limbaugh is vacationing there as well. Gee, what a coincidence. Now, the Healthcare Bill has passed a historic hurdle just prior to the Christmas break. Mr. Limbaugh, along with all the members of the NO PARTY Republicans, is dismayed to put it extremely lightly. Suddenly, Mr. Limbaugh has chest pains and needs immediate medical attention. When all is said and done, the doctors can not find anything wrong with Mr. Limbaugh, in particular, with his heart. That revelation was no surprise to me considering the way he poked fun at Michael J. Fox. I figured he did not have a heart to begin with. So, now the blustery buffoon touts about our nation having the finest healthcare on the planet and there is no need for healthcare reform. What the narcissistic idiot does not realize, or maybe it is by design, no one is criticizing the healthcare. It is the availability of healthcare that is in question. All of this availability being manipulated by Insurance companies who will favor profits over the health of the people they are supposed to serve.

But, of course, the multi-million dollar per year ignoramus, bolstered by the weak minded malcontents who listen or even follow him, does everything he can to mislead and misguide a populace for ratings and status. Who knows, he is supposedly losing weight and trying to get in shape. Personally, I think he is just trying to get laid by Sarah Palin. Be careful Rush, Todd is still around. The following was featured on Hawaii News Now and appears to be the norm for how this scenario is being viewed by all; http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11757107
Rush Limbaugh says tests clear him of health problems
Posted: Jan 01, 2010 3:34 PM EST Updated: Jan 02, 2010 6:37 PM EST
By Duane Shimogawa bio email
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - After suffering chest pains this past Wednesday, conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh was discharged from The Queen's Medical Center Friday.
Limbaugh and his doctor spoke to the media for the first time since the incident happened. He says doctors found nothing wrong with his heart after numerous tests.
He says he most likely suffered a spasm in an artery leading to his heart.
A crowded room of national media switched gears Friday morning. Instead of covering the vacationing President Obama, the tiresome group rushed to Queen's for a Rush Limbaugh announcement.
The first thing Limbaugh addressed wasn't his health. Instead, he thanked the Kahala Hotel and Resort and Queen's.
"Their security staff reacted like that to my distress call at 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon," Limbaugh said. "The people at Queens Hospital could not have been better, I feel very, very fortunate, I've been treated to the best healthcare the world has to offer."
This past Wednesday afternoon, Limbaugh says he felt pain coming from his upper left chest. A pain like he's never experienced before.
It sparked questions about his controversial past with painkillers.
"Are you taking painkillers for your back pain?" A reporter asked. "No, Prednisone," Rush said.
Limbaugh then sat down and tried to walk it off, but the pain was still there. That's when he called security and just 20 minutes later he was at The Queen's Medical Center, undergoing extensive tests. He says the pain went away a half hour later.
"The pain was real and they don't know what caused it and I think for everybody out there, I'm 58, will be 59 in couple of weeks, and you start thinking about these kinds of things, don't mess with it," he said.
The doctor who treated him agrees.
"If you think you're having a heart problem, call for help, call 911, get to the hospital and get to a tor's attention because time is very important," The Queen's Medical Center's chief of cardiovascular disease Dr. Joana Magno said.
And for extra pre-caution, Limbaugh got an angiogram. But nothing turned up, no arterial disease, no coronary disease. His best guess is an artery spasm.
"Turn it over to professionals right off the bat, don't tough it out, don't try to make it go away on your own, it's not worth the risk," he said.
Limbaugh says he got no special treatment from hospital staff. He says his time there felt like a hotel stay.
"Takes things like this to prepare you in life for the eventuality that you are getting older, not as young as you were and not as invincible as you once thought you were," he said.
He says he'll return to work on Wednesday.
doc

As you can tell, I am not a fan of Rush Limbaugh. However, I do wish him good health and hope he is able to recover fully. I would like to believe he has had a change in heart with regard to his personal and political beliefs. However, that would mean he has a heart. A man who spews the filth and fervor, along with the likes of all conservative hate mongers which abuse our freedom of speech, will probably never change until they finally have to face their maker.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9464645
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html
http://news.scotsman.com/world/US-radio-host-Rush-Limbaugh.5952086.jp
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11757107
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail??blogid=95&entry_id=54456
http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/doctors-find-nothing-wrong-rush-limbaugh-01-02-2010
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-01/rush-limbaugh-says-doctors-found-no-evidence-of-heart-disease.html

Finger Pointing

2009-12-30T17:09:00.000-08:00

The Republicans are Experts

The recently failed attempt, by an Al-Qaida operative, to bring down an international flight while landing in Detroit, has sparked the Republican Party to attempt an “I told you so” campaign. While criticizing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, (I have to admit, I am doubtful of her abilities as well) the party of NO, seems to have memory loss, when it comes to who originated DHS and the rules they play by today. It was the Republican Administration of George W. Bush and his fellow criminals who, in 2003, established what some have nicknamed the “Homeboy Security Department”. This farce of a Governmental Agency is supposed to bring together, all intelligence gathered information, so that data can be shared and used for the protection of the American People. However, two of the most important organizations are not bound under Homeland Security Rule; the departments are the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Now, I realize the lack of involvement by these two agencies should not hurt the overall performance of DHS but, it is quite apparent, Homeland Security is falling way short of the intended results it was created to achieve.

The Republican attempt to disparage the present administration will probably fall short. President Obama did not rise up through the politics of Chicago without learning a thing or two about reaction. The following is an article appearing in the Guardian which seems to place the event in perspective; http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/30/us-plots-retaliatory-strikes-yemen
US plots retaliatory strikes against al-Qaida in Yemen over plane bomber
Chris McGreal in Washington, Nasser Arrabyee in Sana'a, and Hugh Macleod guardian.co.uk,
The US is planning retaliatory strikes in Yemen against al-Qaida over its attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight on Christmas Day.
American officials say intelligence efforts are focused on identifying and tracking down those who plotted to put Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on the plane with enough explosive in his underwear to bring down the Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam. But they warn that finding those responsible is unlikely to be swift and say that identifying other "high-value" al-Qaida targets for retaliatory attack would also be a priority.
"First we have to find out who put Abdulmutallab on the plane with the bomb," said a US official working alongside intelligence organizations. "He's providing some leads and we're not dealing with an unknown quantity here. We've been watching and listening to what goes on in Yemen and we may have pieces of the puzzle already and just need to fit it together.
"If and when we identify them then we plan how to deal with them. Who they are is one thing, where they are is another.If they're still in Yemen and we can get a lock on them then it won't be too difficult to know what to do. But they know who they are and won't be standing out. After that we can move with the president's authorization. I don't think there's much doubt that authorization will be forthcoming, but no one should think all of this is going to happen overnight."
The official acknowledged that there was likely to be political and public pressure on Barack Obama to strike back at al-Qaida, particularly with Republican opponents breaking with the usual solidarity on national security issues to accuse him of weakness and making America vulnerable to attack.
"The people we want are the ones who put Abdulmutallab on the plane. Until we can get them there are other high-value targets that will make the point that attacking America does not go unpunished," said the official.
But given the regular attacks against al-Qaida in Yemen, these may have a greater impact on American public opinion than on the extremist group.
The US has been conducting a covert assault with drone attacks on al-Qaida bases for about a year, while CIA agents inside the country help direct ground operations. American Special Forces have been training the Yemeni military and may have been involved in raids.
General David Petraeus, the American regional commander, and John Brennan, the president's counterterrorism adviser, both visited Yemen this year.
Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate's homeland security committee, who visited Yemen in August, described the country this week as a focus of the assault on al-Qaida. "Yemen now becomes one of the centers of that fight. We have a growing presence there – and we have to – of special operations, Green Berets, intelligence," he said.
Yesterday, Yemeni forces targeted Nasser Ahmed al-Ahdal; a former prisoner released after renouncing violence but believed to have renewed links to al-Qaida. One man was injured and captured but Ahdal and two others escaped.
Several al-Qaida members killed in raids by Yemeni forces in the past fortnight had been released or had escaped from prison. Others who have left jail to rejoin the fight include Nasser al-Wahayshi, the Yemeni leader of al-Qaida, who escaped along with 22 others from prison in Yemen in 2006. His deputy, Saeed al-Shihri, joined al-Qaida in Yemen last year after being released to Saudi Arabia from Guantánamo.
While intelligence officials plan how to hit back abroad, they are under pressure at home after Obama blamed intelligence failings for Abdulmutallab being allowed to board a plane to the US. The president has ordered that a preliminary report be delivered to him today tomorrow explaining how the young Nigerian managed to smuggle the explosives on to the flight.
The criticism is focused on the CIA and the national counterterrorism centre (NCC) established after 9/11. The CIA is under scrutiny because it picked up intelligence from Yemen that a Nigerian was involved in a forthcoming attack at about the same time that Abdulmutallab's father told US diplomats in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, that his son had become radicalized in Yemen and was a possible threat. That information was shared with CIA officials in Abuja who passed it on to the NCC, but it was apparently not matched with the intelligence from Yemen. On Tuesday Obama condemned the failure to share information and other intelligence failings as "totally unacceptable".
CIA in the line of fire
First the finger was pointed at Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, who blundered after the failure of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's bombing attempt by saying "the system worked".
But with Barack Obama condemning intelligence failures as "totally unacceptable", attention is focused on the CIA and the national counterterrorism centre (NCC), set up after 9/11 to pool information and forestall the kind of plot that Abdulmutallab came close to completing.
The CIA is under pressure after it was revealed that it apparently had two important pieces of the puzzle that might have prevented the attack and did not put them together.
The New York Times said the agency picked up intelligence from Yemen that a Nigerian was at the forefront of a looming attack on American interests. At about the same time, the CIA was part of a briefing at the US embassy in Nigeria after Abdulmutallab's father warned American diplomats that his son was becoming radicalized, and was in Yemen. The CIA drew up a file, but then sat on it for five weeks.
For its part, the NCC was told by the state department about the warnings by Abdulmutallab's father, but then did not check whether the young Nigerian had a US visa. He did.
The president described the handling of the warning as a failure.
Richard Clarke, a former chief counter‑terrorism adviser on the US national security council, said that while Napolitano is feeling the heat for a political misstep, it was the CIA and NCC that should shoulder responsibility. "There does appear to be a failure here either at the CIA or the new national counterterrorism centre. Homeland security didn't get the information. I think the problem lies at the intelligence community and not at homeland security," he said

In the end, I believe the Republican Party is once again, kicking a dead horse and needs to address their internal party problems before they try to convince the American People to trust them again. With our armed forces deployed in the area and the readiness to retaliate, Yemen would do themselves a favor to rid their country of Al-Qaida before we decide to do it for them. Ask Iraq and Afghanistan if that is not a wise decision in hindsight.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_security
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Napolitano
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/11/emergency.supplies/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/30/us-plots-retaliatory-strikes-yemen
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/12/30/yemen-terrorism.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091229/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen_us_airliner_attack
www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6031772n

2012

2009-11-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

Why I Cannot Wait Until 2013
I am writing this article because I have reached the fed up point of hype. The year 2012 is still, a little more than, two years away and I already cannot wait for 2013. Before I give you my reasons, I want to warn all you readers who suffer from the following; Impressionable, Gullibility, Mental and Emotional vulnerability and outright STUPIDITY!!! You may be insulted by what you read next. Remember, you have been warned!!!

Recently, a movie entitled 2012 was released to movie theaters throughout the country. Prior to this release, the Mayan Calendar has been quoted as being, the tell all, to the end of days for all of us on earth. The Hype for this movie starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson has been a testimonial to the special effects of movie making. The problem though, extends to any and all who are trying to exploit the end of days for money making ventures. Now in a Capitalistic Society, this would not be so bad except for those of the populace that cannot tell fiction from fact. From the History Channel to the Discovery Channel and anybody with a website, the attempts to sell the story of the End of Days is now blossoming into public hysteria not seen since the War of the Worlds radio broadcast on October 30, 1938. Inquiries made to NASA have become so frequent and with such fear and apprehension that funds have been spent to create a website for NASA to debunk the claims of Earth’s destruction and assure everyone that we will still be here on December 22, 2012. The following are links to all the NASA websites addressing the 2012 rumor; http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers
http://fora.tv/2009/02/04/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_Pluto_Files#Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_World_Will_Not_End_in_2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_collision
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_%28mythology%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_(Sitchin#Planets_proposed_by_Zecharia_Sitchin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_doomsday_prediction
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/

The following article from the Telegraph website says it all about the 2012 fears;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6534662/Mayan-2012-apocalypse-theory-not-true-Nasa-says.html
'Mayan 2012 apocalypse theory' not true, Nasa says
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, Nasa insisted on Monday in a rare campaign to dispel rumours fueled by the internet and a new Hollywood movie.
The latest big screen offering from Sony Pictures, "2012," arrives in theatres on Friday , with a $200 million production about the end of the world supposedly based on theories backed by the Mayan calendar. The doomsday scenario revolves around claims that the end of time will come as an obscure Planet X - or Nibiru - collides with Earth. The mysterious planet was supposedly discovered by the Sumerians, according to claims by pseudo-scientists, paranormal activity enthusiasts and internet theorists. Some websites have accused the US space agency of concealing the truth about the wayward planet's existence, but Nasa has denounced such stories as an "internet hoax." "There is no factual basis for these claims," Nasa said in a question-and-answer posting on its website. If such a collision were real, "astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye," it added. "Obviously, it does not exist." "Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012," it insisted. After all, "our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years," added Nasa. Initial theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter solstice in 2012, to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar. Nasa insisted the Mayan calendar does not in fact end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward. And it said there are no planetary alignments on the horizon for the next few decades.
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be "negligible," Nasa said. Modern Maya in Guatemala and Mexico have also rushed to debunk the "prophesy". they view the burgeoning end-of-the-world 2012 industry with a mixture of confusion, exasperation and anger at what is perceived as a Western distortion of their traditions and beliefs. "There is no concept of apocalypse in the Mayan culture," Jesus Gomez, head of the Guatemalan confederation of Mayan priests and spiritual guides, told The Sunday Telegraph. Cirilo Perez, an adviser to Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom is a prominent ajq'ij - literally a "day counter", a wise man who makes predictions and advice on the most propitious dates to marry, plant or harvest. He decried the commercial exploitation of Mayan culture by outsiders. "This has all become business but there is no desire to understand," he said. "When foreigners, or even some Guatemalans, see us, they think 'Look at the Maya, how nice, how pretty', but they don't understand us."

So, for all of you who have fallen victim to the fears of the world coming to an end, you can be rest assured that, we will all be here tomorrow and for a long time to come. Now, if for some reason you still believe all the erroneous websites quoting doom and gloom, I have eight easy steps to relieve you of your anxiety.
Step 1; Pull all your money out of your bank account.
Step 2; Go to your local Gun Store.
Step 3; Go inside and purchase a hand gun with ammunition.
Step 4; Leave the store.
Step 5; Find a very private place.
Step 6; Load the ammunition into the gun.
Step 7; Place the gun to the side of your head.
Step 8; Pull the trigger.
You will have done yourself and everyone who has had to listen to your whining over life ending, a favor. FOR GOD’S SAKE, SMARTEN UP AND GET A LIFE!

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6534662/Mayan-2012-apocalypse-theory-not-true-Nasa-says.html
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers
http://fora.tv/2009/02/04/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_Pluto_Files#Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_World_Will_Not_End_in_2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_collision
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_%28mythology%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_(Sitchin#Planets_proposed_by_Zecharia_Sitchin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_doomsday_prediction
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_(film)
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080502170653AA3tvRa
http://mashable.com/2009/11/12/nasa-debunks-2012/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization#Mathematics

A Military Matter

2009-11-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Since the Presidency of George W. Bush, I still find myself a Moderate in Political beliefs. However, I have developed a slight lean towards the Left. I do not associate with either party. I prefer to remain unaffiliated. In this way, my loyalty will be dictated by the ability of the candidate and my confidence in them. Not due to a party affiliation. I voted for Barack Obama and was very glad that many Republicans were voted out of office. I hope many more will go in 2010. If that becomes the case then, by 2012, we will all have a good idea if the Democratic Party can take us into the future or if we will need another change. I may not agree with everything the Democratic Administration is trying to do but, Healthcare is definitely the most important and most needed reform at this time. Job creation runs a close second along with boosting our economy. I am not quite sure I agree with the methods and results so far but, the previous administration has shown we could do much worse. However, a decision has been made recently that I have reservations about. That decision is to prosecute the September Eleven Conspirators in a Federal Court instead of a Military Trial.

Now, I am a firm believer in the Criminal Justice System. I know that successful prosecutions occurred in the trials of the World Trade Center bombings of the early 1990’s. I do not believe that the terror suspects from 9/11 will have some fancy lawyer using some sly tactics to get acquittals for their clients. I do not believe that Liberal Rogue Judges may throw out evidence and cause a mistrial. It is the difference between the attacks back then and what has occurred here, that asks the question whether this is a Civil Investigation or a Military matter. Even the question of Islam and the Muslim world, does not come into play. It is the suspects, motive, opportunity but, more importantly, the overall conspiracy behind the act and the following events which took place afterwards.

In 1993, the World Trade Center bombing was a Criminal Investigation with international cooperation through Law Enforcement Agencies. Then President William Jefferson Clinton did order a limited Military response to Al-Qaida suspected strongholds overseas. However, no Military invasion occurred as a result of the bombings. Convictions were obtained on most suspects. One or two may have been acquitted in trials in their own countries.

In 2001, the Taliban Government of Afghanistan spoke out about the World Trade Center attacks praising the terrorist attackers and claiming to have the Al-Qaida Leader, Osama Bin Laden, within their borders. As we all know a war ensued with Afghanistan to topple the Taliban Government along with the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent regime change within that country as well. It is because of these events is why I believe the suspects being placed on trial in New York City for the 9/11 attacks should be dealt with by a Military Court. Unlike the attacks in 1993, Military action took place in direct response to these attacks and the terrorist group Al-Qaida has declared and still wages a terrorist war against our country.

Many have questioned the legality of the invasion we perpetrated upon the sovereign nation of Iraq and all of the actions taken place during this time. But, I believe that is a question for an International Court to determine. The fact still remains we went to war over the Trade Center attacks. This act alone should make it a Military matter, not civilian.

So, I find myself agreeing with people such as Rudy Giuliani and others on the Right Wing, when it comes to prosecution of the conspirators on 9/11. Any inappropriate procedures or illegal actions should be dealt with militarily in a Military Court. A Civilian Court is not the place for these individuals, nor for these acts, at this time. Let us just hope that justice will prevail and not make a mockery of a system we hold dearly.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_bombing_(1993)
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/teryasin.htm
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1998_hr/s980224c.htm
http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War

Traitor

2009-10-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Political End Of Joe Lieberman

Earlier this week Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman announced he would join the Republican Party with their Filibuster attempt at the Public Option of President Obama’s Healthcare Bill. Quite frankly, I believe this will be the straw that breaks the camels back, with Senator Lieberman and his ties to the Democratic Party. Unlike Arlen Spector, who is nothing more than an over the hill has been, Mr. Lieberman has found himself on the precipice of political destruction.

The following is an article from CBS News by Stephanie Condon; http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/30/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5463995.shtml
Lieberman May Support Republicans in 2010
Posted by Stephanie Condon
Sen. Joe Lieberman took another step farther away from the Senate Democratic caucus this week, when he said he may support some Republican candidates in the 2010 elections and may not run as a Democrat when he is up for reelection in 2012. "I probably will support some Republican candidates for Congress or Senate in the election in 2010. I'm going to call them as I see them," Lieberman told ABC News. "There's a hard core of partisan, passionate, hardcore Republicans," he said. "There's a hard core of partisan Democrats on the other side. And in between is the larger group, which is people who really want to see the right thing done, or want something good done for this country and them -- and that means, sometimes, the better choice is somebody who's not a Democrat." As for whether he would run as a Democrat himself in 2012 , "That's an open question," Lieberman said. Lieberman ran as an independent in the 2006 general election to hold onto his Connecticut Senate seat, after being knocked out of the Democratic primary by challenger Ned Lamont. He managed to hold onto his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee by agreeing to still caucus with the Democratic party. Lieberman's allegiance to the Democrats has proven to be unreliable, however. In the 2008 presidential election, he supported Republican candidate John McCain. Earlier this week, Lieberman said he would join a Republican filibuster against the Democrats' health care bill as it is currently written. Lieberman opposes the bill's government-run health insurance plan. At least one Democratic leader on health care, however, thinks Lieberman will change his tune on the issue. "When it comes down to getting the 60 votes necessary to pass this bill, I do not believe that Joe Lieberman would want to be the one person who caucuses with the Democrats … to bring this bill down. I don't think he wants to go down in history like that," Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) told reporters Thursday. "He still wants to be a part of the Democratic Party although he is a registered independent. He wants to caucus with us and, of course, he enjoys his chairmanship of the [Homeland Security] committee because of the indulgence of the Democratic Caucus. So, I'm sure all of those things will cross his mind before the final vote." Lieberman also told ABC he will support Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd's reelection campaign in Connecticut next year.

To give a more hardcore perspective is an article by Timothy Nolan of Slate.com;
http://www.slate.com/id/2233743/
Did Lieberman Just Kill the Public Option?
Don't bet on Connecticut's junior senator showing independence from the insurance lobby.
By Timothy Noah
Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., says that "Joe Lieberman is the least of [my] problems" in passing health reform with a public option. I'm not so sure.
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who was formerly a Democrat but who is now an independent, announced today that "if the bill remains what it is now, I will not be able to support a cloture motion before final passage." In other words, Lieberman will support a filibuster. "I can't see a way in which I could vote for cloture on any bill that contained a creation of a government-operated-run insurance company," Lieberman said.
One largely unspoken assumption behind Reid's quest to get an "opt out" version of the public option through the Senate is that he doesn't really need 60 votes for the health reform bill itself. He just needs 60 votes for the cloture motion prior to final passage. Once a filibuster is cut off, health reform can pass with 50 votes (the 51st being Vice President Joe Biden, president of the Senate). One reason Reid's gambit looked so promising as recently as yesterday was that Lieberman, despite his previously stated opposition to the health reform bill even without a public option (i.e., as passed by the Senate finance committee), had agreed not to support a filibuster against it. It now appears that Lieberman either changed his mind or was misunderstood.
Reid seems to think he can keep Lieberman onboard by allowing him to "be involved in the amendment process." In his 2008 book The Good Fight, Reid writes that he and Lieberman differed on the Iraq war but "on other issues, he's always with me." But can Reid really count on Lieberman this time? In recent years Lieberman has not shown himself to be an especially trustworthy character. (The New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg has the details here and here.)
Ezra Klein of Washingtonpost.com and Jonathan Chait of the New Republic both point out that Lieberman's reason for opposing the public option—that it's too expensive—makes no sense, because the public option actually lowers the cost of health reform by exerting downward competitive pressure on the private-insurance premiums whose purchase the government would subsidize. The Congressional Budget Office's scoring of the Reid proposal is expected to show this. But any illogic in Lieberman's position strikes me as evidence not that Lieberman is likely to change his mind when he becomes better acquainted with the facts but, rather, that Lieberman has already decided facts shouldn't get in the way of his opposition.
Why would Lieberman want to sink health reform? Klein points out that in the pretty recent past, Lieberman has supported the general goal, if not the specifics, of Obamacare. But consider Lieberman's political situation. He is no longer a Democrat. That means he no longer has a political base. In the future, he will have to rely more on constituencies and on cash. The White House suggests that Lieberman wouldn't dare alienate voters by opposing health reform. But what's the most cash-rich constituency in the Nutmeg State? The insurance industry, which is headquartered in Connecticut and employs 64,000 people.
At the moment, insurers probably aren't too pleased with Connecticut's other senator, Democrat Chris Dodd, because Dodd is a prominent advocate for the public option. As I've noted previously, Dodd, during the past 20 years, received $2.3 million in contributions from insurers—more than any member of the House or Senate except John McCain, R-Ariz. During that same period, Dodd collected $774,000 from health insurers, ranking second only to House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. Lieberman, even though he's from Connecticut, has during that same period had to settle for 14th place in both insurance-industry contributions and health-insurance-industry contributions. Blocking the public option might allow Lieberman to displace Dodd as "the senator from Aetna."
Support for this hypothesis may be found in Lieberman's timing in announcing his opposition to the Senate finance bill. It was Oct. 13. That was one day after the insurance lobby released its study dumping on the finance bill. Until then, it seemed likely the insurers would either support the finance bill (which contained no public option and was poised to make them half a trillion dollars richer) or keep mum. Lieberman's quick seconding of the insurers' opposition suggests that he will permit no daylight between himself and the insurance lobby.
Further evidence can be found in the substance of Lieberman's argument that the public option would bust the budget. It may be nonsensical, as Chait and Klein say, but it isn't randomly so. It's the same argument the insurers are making. "Probably all people who have health insurance are going to see their premiums go up," Lieberman said, "because there's going to be cost shifting as there has been for Medicare and Medicaid." The proposition that cost savings achieved through public insurance programs never impose financial efficiencies on doctors, hospitals, and private insurers but, instead, lead doctors and hospitals to shift more of their costs onto private insurers lies at the heart of the insurance lobby's opposition to both the Senate finance bill and the public option. But the health insurers haven't persuaded most economists, and the Congressional Budget Office thinks the cost-shifting argument against health reform is incorrect.
If I'm right that Lieberman is determined to line up behind the insurance industry, then there's no hope he will ever support any version of the public option, even on a procedural cloture vote, because there's no hope insurers will support a public option. And if health insurers decide in the end to oppose health reform without a public option, Lieberman will oppose that, too. Please, God, let me be wrong.

I personally believe Joe Lieberman is a Traitor to the voters of the state of Connecticut and has slapped the Democratic Party in the face for the last time. Also, I do not believe the Republican Party is willing to accept him with open arms. If they were, he would have received the nomination for Vice President on the McCain ticket last year. Instead he was snubbed for the likes of former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.

I hope a petition is started in Connecticut and Mr. Lieberman is recalled and a new election takes place. It would serve the voters of Connecticut well to throw this Traitor out of office. I also call upon the present administration to strip Mr. Lieberman of any and all Chairmanships he holds. He no longer deserves the prestige nor honor of holding these positions.

You know what would be a nice touch? If there is a recall election and Mr. Lieberman is voted out. How about Rham Emanual and Harry Reid go to Joe Lieberman’s Office, grab him by the scruff of the neck and the seat of his pants and throw him out of the Capital Building, right down the front stairwell for all to see. Maybe party loyalty, honesty and integrity just might start making a comeback. But, then again, honesty, integrity plus politics probably will never mix. I guess we can only hope.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/30/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5463995.shtml
http://www.slate.com/id/2233743/
http://lieberman.senate.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lieberman
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28788.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/independent-sen-joe-lieberman-hell-back-republicans-2010/story?id=8952240
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lincoln-mitchell/is-anybody-still-surprise_b_336685.html
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/lieberman-i-stand-with-the-small-minority-of-americans-who-oppose-public-option.php
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/10/somebody-buy-joe-lieberman-puppy.html
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300067
http://www.courant.com/topic/politics/joe-lieberman-hpp2355.topic
http://liebermanmustgo.com/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/top-15-lieberman-betrayal_n_336024.html

How Revolutions Start

2009-10-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

What The Wealthy Should Fear The Most

Soon after President Barack Obama took Office Right Wing Lunatic, Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, insinuated that people were angry and may need to revolt to gain control of their government again. Even if those were not her exact words, the references were sure there. I have given some thought to what it would take for an Average Joe or Josephine to reach a point where they felt they had nothing more to loose. Maybe, to even strap a bomb on themselves and be willing, to sacrifice themselves for something better. Sure, we have the fanatical of any group who can talk weak minded souls into doing their bidding for them. But, what is the word you can use to describe when a point has been reached that, the masses as a whole, decide to rise up and cause change. I believe that word is hope.

The hope in having a safe home to live in. The hope in having the ability to feed yourself and your family. The hope that you can provide all the basic necessities, like healthcare, needed to live a decent life in this world. Hope, something the wealthy in this world, never needs to worry about. Unless, all hope is lost. At that point, I believe the wealthy, the elite and the Corporate Stronghold should have plenty to cause deep concern. It is at that point when the wealthy and company will stand to loose everything as well.

The gap between the wealthy, the middle class and the poor is much too big. The greed being consumed by the wealthy is eroding the one safeguard that keeps the mass population from rising up and destroying everything the wealthy wishes to hoard. The following is an article by Vice President Joe Biden. This was posted on the USA Today Website on January 30, 2009. I believe this article brings home the point I am trying to make here; http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/01/time-to-put-mid.html
Time to put middle class front and center
Commentary by Joe Biden
For years, we had a White House that failed to put the middle class front and center in its economic policies.
President Obama has made it clear that is going to change. And it's why he has asked me to lead a task force on the middle class.
America's middle class is hurting. Trillions of dollars in home equity, retirement savings and college savings are gone. And every day, more and more Americans are losing their jobs.
For the backbone of the USA, it's insult on top of injury. Over the course of America's last economic expansion, the middle class participated in very few of the benefits. But now in the midst of this historic economic downturn, the middle class sure is participating in all of the pain. Something is seriously wrong when the economic engine of this nation — the great middle class — is treated this way.
President Obama and I are determined to change this. Quite simply, a strong middle class equals a strong America. We can't have one without the other.
An economy for all Americans
Right now, our most urgent task is to stabilize our nation's economy and put it back on track. That is what our economic recovery package moving through the Congress is all about. We need to make these critical investments to jump-start our economy.
On top of this urgent task, though, we have an important long-term task as well. Once this economy starts growing again, we need to make sure the benefits of that growth reach the people responsible for it. We can't stand by and watch as that narrow sliver of the top of the income scale wins a bigger piece of the pie — while everyone else gets a smaller and smaller slice.
One of the things that makes this task force distinctive is it brings together — in one place — those agencies that have the most impact on the well-being of the middle class in our country. We'll be looking at everything from access to college and training with the Department of Education, to business development with the Department of Commerce, to child care reform with Health and Human Services, to labor law with the Department of Labor. With this task force, we'll have a single, high-visibility group with one goal: to raise the living standards of middle-class families.
Over the upcoming months, we will focus on answering those concerns that matter most to families. What can we do to make retirement more secure? How can we make child and elder care more affordable? How do we improve workplace safety? How are we going to get the cost of college within reach? What can we do to help weary parents juggle work and family? And, above all else, what are the jobs of the future? Here, we'll be looking at green jobs, better-paying jobs, better-quality jobs.
Open to the public
At the end of the day, it will be our responsibility to offer clear, specific steps we can take to meet these concerns and others.
Unlike some previous government task forces, our task force will operate in a fully transparent manner. We will consult openly and publicly with outside groups that have thought long and hard about these issues and can help us bring the most far-reaching and imaginative solutions to these problems. All the materials from our meetings, and any report we produce, will be up on our public website. None of this will happen behind closed doors.
In government, as in life, you need clear goals to succeed. In the Obama/Biden administration, we have set a very clear goal: Our administration will have succeeded if the middle class once again starts to share in the economic success of this nation.
Joe Biden is vice president of the United States.

Regardless of where you believe the middle class begins in financial terms, we live in a class base society. You can not have a wealthy class if you do not have the lower classes below it. You can not have any of the lower classes if you do not allow them the ability to thrive. So, I would suggest to all who have the wealthy ability. If you want to keep the wealth you have, the best way to safeguard it is to make sure you keep your greed in check. Show some empathy to the lower classes so that hope will thrive. If you do not, your wealth will be fleeting and you will find yourselves struggling just to survive instead of living a life of privilege.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/03/medical-premiums-burden-middle-class/
http://pewglobal.org/commentary/display.php?AnalysisID=1051
http://www.whitehouse.gov/strongmiddleclass/
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/middleclassoverview.html
http://themiddleclass.org/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6398137/Cutting-middle-class-benefits-would-save-billions-reform-says.html
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/01/11/what_is_the_middle_class/
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/793/inside-the-middle-class
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1882147,00.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204313604574328552267381152.html
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/03/john_stossels_tall_tales_about_middle_class_income.php
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2009/02/what-does-it-mean-to-be-middle-class-in-america-today.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_middle_class
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21272238/
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/01/time-to-put-mid.html

Regrettable Allies

2009-10-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Did The Mainstream Media Defend Fox News

All this past week, Fox News has been reporting how they are being ostracized and excluded by the White House, when it comes to interviews and receiving information for their news casts. In researching for this article I found many conflicting reports and observations. I have found that this is the norm for anything I write about when, it comes to Fox News and the world of the twenty first century Joseph Goebbals, Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News.

I have found the ratings for Fox News is extremely high. Personally, I find this disturbing since any news from this network is always distorted to the point of outright lying. This network is nothing more than a propagandized mouthpiece of the Neo Conservative side of the Republican Party. The Male and Female Anchors are no better than Pimps and Prostitutes of disinformation, distortion of the truth and outright brainwashing by lying about the facts they report. I can only believe that the shock factor of degenerates like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity must provide an outlet of entertainment in the hectic lives of the people who listen to them. Only truly ignorant, uneducated and racist people will believe the filth they spew. If I am wrong, then our country is in far deeper trouble than any poor economy can bring. Being Patriotic means actually reading and understanding our Constitution and Bill Of Rights. Supporting our Armed Forces in time of conflict and knowing when it is time to come home. Not just flag waving, yelling at the top of your lungs about taking your Country back. I believe many of those people, not only have no understanding about what they are shouting about but, could be lead to foolish and irresponsible actions promoted by the brainwashing lunatic Pied Pipers of Hannitty and Beck.

The following is an article describing what I believe to be truth, to what really was going on, with the Media support of Fox News: http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/networks_refuse_interview_after_white_house_denies_fox_141065.asp
Networks Refuse Interview After White House Denies Fox
By Kevin Allocca on Oct 23, 2009 03:55 PM
The White House dispute with Fox News took a new turn yesterday regarding an interview with an administration official and the White House press pool.
The administration offered up "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg for one-on-one network interviews to be shot by the pool, but tried to block Fox News. FoxNews.com reports:
But the Washington bureau chiefs of the five TV networks consulted and decided that none of their reporters would interview Feinberg unless Fox News was included.
The administration relented, making Feinberg available for all five pool members and Bloomberg TV.
While this could be seen as a display of solidarity from the other networks, a D.C. network insider tells TVNewser the news divisions were not necessarily taking a stand and siding with Fox when they refused the interviews, but that it was more of a financial decision.
The pool is paid for by and rotates between ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC, allowing each network to do quick interviews using the same camera crew. If the White House were to exclude one of the members, the other networks would have to provide their own crew for the interview.
There are financial and contractual arrangements and obligations between the networks when the pool is involved that would override any opinion the networks and bureau chiefs might have with the White House's position on Fox. Under that official arrangement, everyone has to be treated equally.
Of course, there are plenty of newsers and critics who have expressed discomfort with the White House getting involved in media criticism and singling out one organization.

The following article is from the New York Times giving an overall take on the White House, Fox News and the relationship in general between the Obama Administration and the News Media: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/us/politics/23fox.html
Behind the War Between White House and Fox
By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: October 22, 2009
WASHINGTON — Late last month, the senior White House adviser David Axelrod and Roger Ailes, chairman and chief executive of Fox News, met in an empty Palm steakhouse before it opened for the day, neutral ground secured for a secret tête-à-tête.Skip to next paragraph
Mr. Ailes, who had reached out to Mr. Axelrod to address rising tensions between the network and the White House, told him that Fox’s reporters were fair, if tough, and should be considered separate from the Fox commentators who were skewering President Obama nightly, according to people briefed on the meeting. Mr. Axelrod said it was the view of the White House that Fox News had blurred the line between news and anti-Obama advocacy.
What both men took to be the start of a frank but productive dialogue proved, in retrospect, more akin to the round of pre-Pearl Harbor peace talks between the United States and Japan.
By the following weekend, officials at the White House had decided that if anything, it was time to take the relationship to an even more confrontational level. The spur: Executives at other news organizations, including The New York Times, had publicly said that their newsrooms had not been fast enough in following stories that Fox News, to the administration’s chagrin, had been heavily covering through the summer and early fall — namely, past statements and affiliations of the White House adviser Van Jones that ultimately led to his resignation and questions surrounding the community activist group Acorn.
At the same time, Fox News had continued a stream of reports rankling White House officials and liberal groups that monitor its programming for bias.
Those reports included a critical segment on the schools safety official Kevin Jennings, with the on-screen headline “School Czar’s Past May Be Too Radical”; urgent news coverage of a video showing schoolchildren “singing the praises, quite literally, of the president,” which the Fox News contributor Tucker Carlson later called “pure Khmer Rouge stuff”; and the daily anti-Obama salvos from Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity.
There followed, beginning in earnest more than two weeks ago, an intensified volley of White House comments describing Fox as “not a news network.”
“It was an amalgam of stories covered, and our assessment of how others were dealing with those stories, that caused us to comment,” Mr. Axelrod said in describing the administration’s thinking.
The heated back-and-forth between the White House and Fox News has brought equal delight to Fox’s conservative commentators, who revel in the fight, and liberal Democrats, who have long characterized the network as a purveyor of right-wing propaganda rather than fact-based journalism.
Speaking privately at the White House on Monday with a group of mostly liberal columnists and commentators, including Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann of MSNBC and Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich and Bob Herbert of The New York Times, Mr. Obama himself gave vent to sentiments about the network, according to people briefed on the conversation.
Then, in an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, the president went public. “What our advisers have simply said is that we are going to take media as it comes,” he said. “And if media is operating, basically, as a talk radio format, then that’s one thing. And if it’s operating as a news outlet, then that’s another.”
In a sign of discomfort with the White House stance, Fox’s television news competitors refused to go along with a Treasury Department effort on Tuesday to exclude Fox from a round of interviews with the executive-pay czar Kenneth R. Feinberg that was to be conducted with a “pool” camera crew shared by all the networks. That followed a pointed question at a White House briefing this week by Jake Tapper, an ABC News correspondent, about the administration’s treatment of “one of our sister organizations.”
White House officials continue to interact with Fox News correspondents whom they have complimented as professional, including Major Garrett and Wendell Goler.
But Michael Clemente, senior vice president for news and editorial programming at Fox, said the White House was conflating the network’s commentary with its news coverage. That, Mr. Clemente said, “would be like Fox News blaming the White House senior staff for the Washington Redskins’ losing record.”
“I think we’re doing the job we’re supposed to be doing,” he said, “and we do it as well as anyone.”
Mr. Clemente suggested that the fight was part of a larger White House strategy to marginalize critics. He cited a report in Politico about a strategy session in August at which officials discussed plans to move more aggressively against opponents.
White House officials acknowledged that Fox News did come up at that meeting, although not, they said, as a central topic. A number of issues had been added to the White House’s list of grievances by then, including the network’s heavy coverage of some of the more intensely anti-administration activity at town-hall-style meetings on health care and Mr. Beck’s remark that Mr. Obama “has a deep-seated hatred for white people.”
The first real shot from the White House, however, came when aides excluded “Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace” — which they had previously treated as distinct from the network — from a round of presidential interviews with Sunday morning news programs in mid-September.
“We simply decided to stop abiding by the fiction, which is aided and abetted by the mainstream press, that Fox is a traditional news organization,” said Dan Pfeiffer, the deputy White House communications director. Later that week, White House officials said, they noticed a column by Clark Hoyt, the public editor of The Times, in which Jill Abramson, one of the paper’s two managing editors, described her newsroom’s “insufficient tuned-in-ness to the issues that are dominating Fox News and talk radio.” The Washington Post’s executive editor, Marcus Brauchli, had already expressed similar concerns about his newsroom.
White House officials said comments like those had focused them on a need to make their case that Fox had an ideological bent undercutting its legitimacy as a news organization.
Fox News Channel certainly seems to be enjoying a row it considers ratings candy, having devoted hours of news coverage and commentary to the fight.
But White House officials said they were happy to have at least started a public debate about Fox.
“This is a discussion that probably had to be had about their approach to things,” Mr. Axelrod said. “Our concern is other media not follow their lead.”

I believe Fox News either over embellished on this situation or is outright using it to prop up their ratings and continue their propaganda machine. For Fox News to say they are a fair and balanced news media is an insult to the average educated and responsible person who seeks the days news events. The best thing the Whitehouse can do is continue with business as usual. Conduct yourselves in the professional and responsible manner that you can and let Fox News be the victim of their own demise.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/us/politics/23fox.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/fox-should-pay-obama-for_b_332460.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/23/white-houses-fox-news-boy_n_331437.html
http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/1009/Bureau_chiefs_band_together_for_Fox.html?showall
http://www.mediaite.com/online/treasury-denies-it-tried-to-exclude-fox-news-from-interviews/
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/networks_refuse_interview_after_white_house_denies_fox_141065.asp

To Reap What You Have Sown

2009-10-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

How Conservative Talk Deals With Their Reputation

All this past week, Conservative Talk Show Hosts, are up in arms over the National Football League’s rejection of ownership hopeful Rush Limbaugh. A contingent, including Mr. Limbaugh, was attempting to acquire the ownership of the Saint Louis Rams. However, the controversial Conservative Talk Show Host finds himself the victim of a reputation that he alone helped create. The following is an article from the Wall Street Journal, written by Mr. Limbaugh himself, explaining his side of the controversy; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574477021697942920.html

The Race Card, Football and Me
My critics would have you believe no conservative meets NFL 'standards.
By RUSH LIMBAUGH
David Checketts, an investor and owner of sports teams, approached me in late May about investing in the St. Louis Rams football franchise. As a football fan, I was intrigued. I invited him to my home where we discussed it further. Even after informing him that some people might try to make an issue of my participation, Mr. Checketts said he didn't much care. I accepted his offer. It didn't take long before my name was selectively leaked to the media as part of the Checketts investment group. Shortly thereafter, the media elicited comments from the likes of Al Sharpton. In 1998 Mr. Sharpton was found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay $65,000 for falsely accusing a New York prosecutor of rape in the 1987 Tawana Brawley case. He also played a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot (he called neighborhood Jews "diamond merchants") and 1995 Freddie's Fashion Mart riot. Not to be outdone, Jesse Jackson, whose history includes anti-Semitic speech (in 1984 he referred to Jews as "Hymies" and to New York City as "Hymietown" in a Washington Post interview) chimed in. He found me unfit to be associated with the NFL. I was too divisive and worse. I was accused of once supporting slavery and having praised Martin Luther King Jr.'s murderer, James Earl Ray.
Next came writers in the sports world, like the Washington Post's Michael Wilbon. He wrote this gem earlier this week: "I'm not going to try and give specific examples of things Limbaugh has said over the years because I screwed up already doing that, repeating a quote attributed to Limbaugh (about slavery) which he has told me he simply did not say and does not reflect his feelings. I take him at his word. . . . "
Mr. Wilbon wasn't alone. Numerous sportswriters, CNN, MSNBC, among others, falsely attributed to me statements I had never made. Their sources, as best I can tell, were Wikipedia and each other. But the Wikipedia post was based on a fabrication printed in a book that also lacked any citation to an actual source. I never said I supported slavery and I never praised James Earl Ray. How sick would that be? Just as sick as those who would use such outrageous slanders against me or anyone else who never even thought such things. Mr. Wilbon refuses to take responsibility for his poison pen, writing instead that he will take my word that I did not make these statements; others, like Rick Sanchez of CNN, essentially used the same sleight-of-hand. The sports media elicited comments from a handful of players, none of whom I can recall ever meeting. Among other things, at least one said he would never play for a team I was involved in given my racial views. My racial views? You mean, my belief in a colorblind society where every individual is treated as a precious human being without regard to his race? Where football players should earn as much as they can and keep as much as they can, regardless of race? Those controversial racial views? The NFL players union boss, DeMaurice Smith, jumped in. A Washington criminal defense lawyer, Democratic Party supporter and Barack Obama donor, he sent a much publicized email to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying that it was important for the league to reject discrimination and hatred. When Mr. Goodell was asked about me, he suggested that my 2003 comment criticizing the media's coverage of Donovan McNabb—in which I said the media was cheerleading Mr. McNabb because they wanted a successful black quarterback—fell short of the NFL's "high standard." High standard? Half a decade later, the media would behave the same way about the presidential candidacy of Mr. Obama. Having brought me into his group, Mr. Checketts now wanted a way out. He asked me to resign. I told him no way. I had done nothing wrong. I had not uttered the words these people were putting in my mouth. And I would not bow to their libels and pressure. He would have to drop me from the group. A few days later, he did. As I explained on my radio show, this spectacle is bigger than I am on several levels. There is a contempt in the news business, including the sportswriter community, for conservatives that reflects the blind hatred espoused by Messrs. Sharpton and Jackson. "Racism" is too often their sledgehammer. And it is being used to try to keep citizens who don't share the left's agenda from participating in the full array of opportunities this nation otherwise affords each of us. It was on display many years ago in an effort to smear Clarence Thomas with racist stereotypes and keep him off the Supreme Court. More recently, it was employed against patriotic citizens who attended town-hall meetings and tea-party protests. These intimidation tactics are working and spreading, and they are a cancer on our society.
Mr. Limbaugh is a nationally syndicated talk radio host.

I am amazed at how eloquently this article is written. I did not realize Mr. Limbaugh was capable of such a writing, if he is truly the one who wrote it. You would never know it from the ranting that spew from his radio show day after day. There, lies the issue. Maybe if Mr. Limbaugh would conduct himself in the same manner on his radio show as he portrays in the above article, he would be more welcome in mainstream events instead of facing ostracism.

I strongly suggest reading from the following;
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2009/10/17/2009-10-17_lupica_rushed_out_of_the_club.html
This is an article by Sports writer Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News. It is too large to place here but, Mr. Lupica hits the bull’s eye on the Limbaugh issue and expresses exactly how I feel on what has happened here.

I would also add that all the Conservative Talk Show Hosts, defending Mr. Limbaugh, do so because they could find themselves categorize the same way. These individuals use the air waves, provided by corporate funding, to abuse freedom of speech, to gain fame and fortune while preying on individuals who try to seek acceptance in society. The ranting of the likes of Mark Levine and Michael Savage along with Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and many more here in Boston alone, use these weak minded souls who have no better sense than to believe what is fed to them. All of this is in the true realm of nothing more than plain and simple entertainment. Any person of intelligence and dignity do not want to be associated with people who spew conversation like the Conservative Talk Hosts. Now, when reality hits these Talk Hosts, they cry discrimination and foul over the very things they, themselves have created.

In Mr. Limbaugh’s case, I believe David Checketts felt the celebrity of his fellow investor, would be an asset. Instead, it became something so toxic, that he was forced to sever a partnership before it could even get off the ground. I do not feel any sympathy to Rush Limbaugh nor any other Conservative who spews the filth, exaggerations and outright lies they do day in and day out. These individuals are beginning to see that the celebrity they seek, through the means in which they seek, could cost far more in personal reputation than any monetary value can provide.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2009/10/17/2009-10-17_lupica_rushed_out_of_the_club.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/hoffman/6664081.html
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4562338
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1895
http://www.nndb.com/people/428/000022362/
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/20/limbaugh-obama-fail/
http://newsone.com/obama/top-10-racist-limbaugh-quotes/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/16/rush-limbaugh-obamas-amer_n_288371.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2009/10/15/2009-10-15_rush_limbaugh_blames_nfl.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574477021697942920.html

The Enemy Within

2009-10-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

How The Republican Party Is Killing Our Nation

I admit as I am writing this article, anger is the fuel. I have reached a point that I can no longer sugar coat my feelings. After witnessing the events, to kill the much needed, Healthcare Reform Bill. Then seeing the disappointment of the citizenry of Chicago, after losing their bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, being cheered and celebrated by the Right, I am convinced, more then ever, that there is a Cancer in our Country that is eating away at the very fiber of our Democracy. That cancer is in the form of the Republican Party. The City of Chicago was extremely disappointed that the Olympic Games were not awarded to them. To add insult to injury, this community was eliminated in the first round of voting. Instead of being sympathetic, supportive and patriotic to an American City, the Neo Conservative Right Wing of the Republican Party openly celebrates the defeat because of their hatred towards a President that is openly popular to the general public that has rejected their own warped set of distorted values and beliefs. For weeks the Republican Party, along with their propaganda machine of Fox News and Right Wing Talk Radio, has lied on so many statistics in an attempt to sway or brainwash public opinion, against our country and against our present government. Unfortunately, what I believe is pure ignorance, this party and their propaganda machine spew their filth and lies to scare and keep fear in as much of the populace as possible.

Corporate America is just as guilty with the continual bribes and payoffs, given to the members of this party, to benefit corporate profits and keep the economic wealth of the populace at the lowest levels possible. The Democrats may have their own problems as well but, From C-Street to K-Street dealings, the pornographic behavior of Republican Politicians, while preaching family values, has taken hypocrisy to levels never before seen in our nation’s history.

The propaganda machine, lead by the narcissistic cancerous buffoon of Rush Limbaugh and the cancerous psychotic ranting of Glenn Beck, abuses the freedom of speech we celebrate in our nation. I am at a complete loss of how any rational thinking human being could honestly believe what these two men say day after day. To wish our Government to fail and celebrate in the defeat of an American City is outright criminal if not treasonous in its self.

I can only desperately appeal to the rational and intelligent individuals of the Republican Party, if there are any, to rid yourselves of the Cancer that is spreading within your midst. The Neo Conservative Movement, in the Republican Party, is nothing more than a mirror image of the Neo Nazi Party of the 1940’s. I believe the group once known as the Project for the New American Century has infiltrated the Republican Party to the point where it stands on the precipice of its own destruction. Please cut this cancerous tumor from your parties bowels or more rational Americans may need to cut this cancerous party from our Democratic Society.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.newamericancentury.org/
http://www.chicago2016.org/?gclid=CNj_huSqoZ0CFQtN5QodPw6p1w
http://news.google.com/news?q=2016+Summer+Olympics&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&ei=v4DHSsKZCYbg8Qbtz5XiCA&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts935
http://www.healthreform.gov/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,559244,00.html
http://www.triplicate.com/20091001107098/Opinion/Editorials/Coastal-Voices-Guest-Editorial-Doctors-on-health-care-refor

J Street The Other Lobbyists

2009-09-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

Listening to the speech given to the United Nations, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reminded me of an article I was trying to write a month ago about a lobbying group not readily known. This organization touts itself as a Pro Israel group promoting peace and diplomatic stability in the Middle Eastern region. The groups name is J Street. I discovered the existence of this organization while reading the blog American Thinker. At first, I could not believe that Israel would have to take this avenue for our attention since we regard this Middle Eastern Nation our closest ally next to Great Britain. As a Nation, with our Christian beliefs, Israel is an extension of us, in an area of the world which can become extremely volatile in a heartbeat. But, in our society, politics plays a major role in what makes the world go around. It is because of these politics, lobbying for legislative support, becomes imperative. Such lobbying is in full swing today as the threat of a Nuclear Armed Iran, threatens the security of Israel and all of the Middle East.

The following is a statement from the J Street website; http://www.jstreet.org/about/about-us
J Street is the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement.
J Street was founded to promote meaningful American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. We support a new direction for American policy in the Middle East and a broad public and policy debate about the U.S. role in the region. J Street represents Americans, primarily but not exclusively Jewish, who support Israel and its desire for security as the Jewish homeland, as well as the right of the Palestinians to a sovereign state of their own - two states living side-by-side in peace and security. We believe ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the best interests of Israel, the United States, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole.J Street supports diplomatic solutions over military ones, including in Iran; multilateral over unilateral approaches to conflict resolution; and dialogue over confrontation with a wide range of countries and actors when conflicts do arise. For more on our policy positions, click here.J Street will advocate forcefully in the policy process, in Congress, in the media, and in the Jewish community to make sure public officials and community leaders clearly see the depth and breadth of support for our views on Middle East policy among voters and supporters in their states and districts. We seek to complement the work of existing organizations and individuals that share our agenda. In our lobbying and advocacy efforts, we will enlist individual supporters of other efforts as partners. J Street is itself a 501(c)(4) organization and is part of the J Street family of organizations, which includes an independent, legally unconnected Political Action Committee, JStreetPAC.

The following is a Policy Statement from J Street;
http://www.jstreet.org/page/policy
Policy
J Street advocates for American policies that, in our view, advance the national interests of the United States, as well as the long-term interests and security of the state of Israel.
With hundreds of thousands of troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan, an economy deeply dependent on Middle Eastern energy imports, and the possible development of nuclear weapons by Iran or others, the United States clearly has serious national, security and economic interests at stake in the Middle East.
The following links lead to J Street policy positions in nine different areas related to the Middle East – each outlining our key positions and principles.
J Street believes the policies it endorses improve the chances that America can promote a more stable and secure Middle East, an outcome that would serve the U.S. national interest, as well as Israel’s.
Our policy platform is based on the view that American interests require robust and strong diplomatic engagement to promote the interests of our allies and potential allies, and to check and try to alter the unhelpful actions of our adversaries. We firmly believe that engaging with problematic leaders and states is the basis of a smart and tough foreign policy that promotes American interests, deploys a full diplomatic tool-box, and avoids precipitous and unnecessary military conflagrations. We favor - where possible - diplomatic solutions over military ones and multilateral over unilateral action.
Central to our approach is a negotiated end to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which we believe must be an American foreign policy priority and can lead to a much-needed new regional security architecture.

Now, like all organizations, there is opposition to J Street and their beliefs. The following is an article from Commentary Magazine written by Noah Pollak. Feel free to click on his name to view his continuing commentary on this group and American Israeli relations. (Interesting reading);
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/pollak/48751
J Street: An Anti-Israel Group
Noah Pollak - 01.02.2009 - 9:49 AM
Rabbi Eric Yoffie is president of the Union for Reform Judaism, and is a very liberal fellow. Yet even for him, J Street’s campaign to undermine and discredit Israeli self-defense has gone too far. Taking J Street out to the woodshed over its statements on Gaza, Yoffie says that the group
could find no moral difference between the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militants, who have launched more than 5,000 rockets and mortar shells at Israeli civilians in the past three years, and the long-delayed response of Israel, which finally lost patience and responded to the pleas of its battered citizens in the south. “Neither Israelis nor Palestinians have a monopoly on right or wrong,” it said, and it suggested that there was no reason and no way to judge between them: “While there is nothing ‘right’ in raining rockets on Israeli families or dispatching suicide bombers, there is nothing ‘right’ in punishing a million and a half already-suffering Gazans for the actions of the extremists among them.”
These words are deeply distressing because they are morally deficient, profoundly out of touch with Jewish sentiment and also appallingly naïve. A cease-fire instituted by Hamas would be welcome, and Israel would be quick to respond. A cease-fire imposed on Israel would allow Hamas to escape the consequences of its actions yet again and would lead in short order to the renewal of its campaign of terror. Hamas, it should be noted, is not a government; it is a terrorist gang. And as long as the thugs of Hamas can act with impunity, no Israeli government of the right or the left will agree to a two-state solution or any other kind of peace. Doves take note: To be a dove of influence, you must be a realist, firm in your principles but shorn of all illusions.
J Street’s appalling missive concludes: “This is our moment to show that there is real political support for shedding a narrow us-versus-them approach to the Middle East.” What if you shed an us-versus-them approach to Hamas, but Hamas doesn’t shed its us-versus-them approach to you?
J Street in the past has been unrealistic, silly, and dishonest. But its treatment of the Gaza crisis is simply contemptible. Are there any limits to the group’s capacity for self-delusion about the nature of Hamas? May we now conclude that J Street is incapable of recognizing when it is staring genocidal fanatics in the face?
It is time that thinking people started calling J Street what it actually is — an anti-Israel group.

In previous articles I have written about K Street and C Street lobbying groups. I can now add J Street to a list I am sure will continue to grow as I study and write about politics, government and just about anything else that I wish to give an opinion on with this blog. I do believe Israel is, and should always remain, as staunch an ally as Great Britain and all other nations of practicing Christian beliefs. Though I do believe in diplomacy, I hope the Administration of President Obama, does not handcuff Israel if, that nation feels it needs, to exert force to protect itself and the interests of the free world. The development of Nuclear Weapons that could end up in the wrong hands needs to be addressed aggressively and with finality. I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu sees and believes the same. I support whatever force Israel needs to use to eliminate any and all threats in their region. Are you listening Iran?

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.americanthinker.com/
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/08/j_streets_arab_and_muslim_dono.html
http://www.jstreet.org/
http://www.jstreet.org/about/about-us
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/they-re-doing-the-j-street-jive-15103?search=1
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/12/sorosinfluenced_groups_make_in.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/static/about_us.html
http://www.jstreetpac.org/pac/about_the_pac
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/pollak/48751
http://www.jstreet.org/page/policy

Righting A Wrong

2009-09-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts Governor Duval Patrick named a successor to the Senate Seat vacated by the late Ted Kennedy. The successor’s name is Paul G. Kirk. The following from USA Today is a brief biography about Mr. Kirk. http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2009/09/meet-us-sendesignate-paul-kirk-dmass.html
Meet U.S. Sen.-designate Paul Kirk, D-Mass.
Who is Paul G. Kirk, Jr., the man Masschusetts Gov. Deval Patrick selected as the state's interim U.S. senator? Kirk, 71, has never run for political office, but he has been involved in politics and around Washington for a long time. Born Jan. 18, 1938, Kirk met the late Sen. Edward Kennedy early in his career. After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he served as a special assistant to Kennedy from 1969 to 1977. At that time he became a partner at the law firm of Sullivan & Worcester LLP in Boston until 1990. During the 1980s Kirk served in various positions in the Democratic Party – first as treasurer from 1983 to 1985, and chairman of the party from 1985 to 1989. In 1987, Kirk founded the Commission on Presidential Debates with Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., former chairman of the Republican Party. The commission organizes high profile debates between presidential and vice presidential candidates, and has organized debates during each general election since 1988. Kirk was a registered lobbyist, too. Because of his new position he would be banned from lobbying activities for two years after his term ends -- not that he has indicated any intention of becoming a lobbyist. Among his various board appointments, Kirk is a founding member of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s Board of Directors, where he now serves as chairman. Kirk also followed Kennedy’s endorsement during the 2008 presidential election by casting his superdelegate vote for then Sen. Barack Obama. He currently resides in Marstons Mills, Mass. with his wife Gail.

Normally, an action of this nature, by the Governor of a State would not be so controversial. However, there is a little history to the actions recently taken by the Massachusetts State Legislature that paved the way to this appointment. During the Presidential Election in 2004, Massachusetts Junior Senator John Kerry was the Democratic Nominee. At that time, Republican Governor Mitt Romney would have had the opportunity to nominate a replacement Senator had Mr. Kerry been elected. To avoid the appointment of a Republican to the seat, a predominantly Democratic State Legislature, voted to rescind the power from the Governor’s hand. Now, four years later, this same State Legislature reinstates the power to a Democratic Governor in Mr. Patrick. The Republican Minority is up in arms over these events but, they do not have the votes to stop it. By restoring the powers of appointment to the Governor, Massachusetts is now in step with the remainder of the States that all carry this Law. Some critics say that this was strictly political. GEE YA THINK?

The Obama Administration wants an appointment as soon as possible so it will have the votes needed to pass the Healthcare Reform Legislation that is desperately needed. In Massachusetts, there is Political fallout due to many who felt the Kennedy Family had too much input in the appointment of Mr. Kirk. Many democrats believe Michael Dukakis should have been appointed instead. Regardless of the decision, Governor Patrick will be scrutinized and criticized by members of both parties when all is said and done.

On January 19, 2010, a special election will be held to elect a new Senator to represent the people of Massachusetts. This election will make Senator John Kerry the Senior Senator while it may bring the first Republican Senator from this state since 1979. Ironically, that Senator was Edward Brooke, the first African American to be elected by a popular vote to the United States Senate.

For me, I just have to update my score card and try to keep track of, the entire goings on, in Politics today. I have spent all my life following our Government and Politicians to make sure when I use my vote, I will use it wisely. In January, I will use it again.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_G._Kirk,_Jr.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2009/09/meet-us-sendesignate-paul-kirk-dmass.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/09/kirk.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/gallery/09_24_09_Kirk/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/16/approval_in_works_to_appoint_a_senator/
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1826314020090918
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dukakis
http://images.google.com/images?q=Michael+Dukakis&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=iuO7SpjwEIqulAe8j4SuDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20090923paul_kirk_jr_michael_dukakis_top_senate_list_successor_bill_poised_for_governors_desk/srvc=home&position=recent

His Nuclear Option

2009-09-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

President Obama is focusing strongly on his Healthcare Reform Policy. Making speeches across the country and appearing on various talk shows, the President is making his case. In an attempt to gain support in all demographics, President Obama has unleashed his secret weapon. His wife Michelle could be the driving force that tips the scales permanently in favor for Healthcare Reform. While the Republican Party plays to the Insurance Companies and Corporate America, they are showing a total lack of care for the group they should be looking out for the most, the American People. In particular Woman, Soccer Moms and Single Moms.

Michelle Obama was born in 1964 in the Chicago area. She is a graduate of Princeton University class of ’85. She continued to Harvard Law School and received a degree in ’88. Between her humble beginnings in Chicago, obtaining her education and finally becoming the Mother of two daughters, Mrs. Obama has the understanding and ability to reach the demographic her husband needs to make that final significant push to obtain affordable Healthcare for all American Citizens.

The following is an article from CBS News.com. This article lays out my exact feelings on Mrs. Obama’s influence; http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/18/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5320221.shtml
Michelle Obama: Health Care is a Women's Issue
Posted by Stephanie Condon
First Lady Michelle Obama made the case Friday morning that health care reform is a women's issue and called on female activists to support President Obama's reform plan. "Health insurance reform and what it means for our families is very much a women's issue," Obama said, speaking to a group of female advocacy leaders at the White House. "If we want to ensure women have opportunities that they deserve, if we want women to be able to care for their families and pursue things they could never imagine, then we have to reform the system." Women play a unique and increasingly significant role in families, she said, with eight in 10 mothers reporting they are the ones responsible for choosing their children's doctors. More than 10 percent of women in this country are caring for a sick or elderly relative, she said. "Being part of the sandwich generation, raising kids while caring for sick or elderly parents, that's just not a work-family balance issue anymore... it is a health care issue," Obama said. Speaking before the first lady, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that insurance companies can charge women more than men for the same coverage. She noted that insurance companies in some states can deny coverage to women who are victims of domestic violence because they are considered to have pre-existing conditions. "A system that treats women like that is unconscionable," Sebelius said. Obama said she approached the health care debate as both a mother and a daughter. She related the story of how her daughter Sasha had to be taken to the emergency room as an infant. She also spoke about her father, who had multiple sclerosis since he was in his 20's. "I find myself thinking, what would we have done as a family on the South side of Chicago if we hadn't had insurance?" she said. "What if he had lost his job, which fortunately he never did." Obama said she heard from millions of women with less fortunate stories along the campaign trail. Still, she said, it is understandable that many people want to keep the status quo. "There will always be folks who will want things to stay just the way they are," Obama said. "I am here today standing before you as the First Lady of the United States of America because you all didn't settle for the world as it is... Health care is the next step." She described the elements of her husband's plan, including the formation of a health insurance exchange, coverage for routine check ups and preventive medicine, and the limitation of out-of-pocket expenses. "I think this is a pretty reasonable plan," she said. "No longer can we sit by and watch the debate take on a life of its own. Now more than ever we have to channel our passions into change."

While the Republican Party and a few Democratic fools have decided to smoke their Nopium and line their pockets with the bribe money being thrown at them by the Insurance Lobbyists, they have forgotten about the citizenry that the Healthcare Industry has affected in a negative way. The President and his staff have not forgotten and the Nuclear Option has been deployed in the guise of the First Lady. Right Wing talk can try to induce fear in those too ignorant to understand what reform is all about. Tea Parties and rallies can bring out protesters screaming “no” and carrying signs of racial overtones, but the average family, who has a true understanding of what is at stake, may finally have their voices heard.

Old Republican Fools like Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama and South Carolina Congressman Joe “You Lie” Wilson stand to lose much more than this battle. I believe their obstructionist actions are taking the Republican Party to the precipice of destruction. I do not believe the GOP will make a recovery in the 2010 mid term elections. In fact, I believe the Right Wing Talk Shows that claim this recovery, are just trying to stir up support. Support I believe will wane and falter because the Average American can see the Corporate Poison that has infected the Republican Party. Gains will be made in some areas but, the GOP needs to amputate the Neo Conservative arm of their party. An arm that claims Fascism from the Left but, cannot recognize or refuse to acknowledge their own “F”, when they look at themselves in the mirror.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Obama
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Columnists/Van_Dusen_Lisa/2009/09/19/10991286-sun.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/18/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5320221.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-250_162-209.html

Be Careful What You Wish For

2009-09-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday an event took place in Washington D.C. I thought might have some impact on the political front. At first, I was under the impression; this was another event being instigated by FreedomWorks and their golden boys Matt Kibbe and Dick Armey. Along with Think Progress, all the crooked Republican Politicians who are receiving bribe money from the Health Insurance Companies were also involved (yes, I know Baucus and the Blue Dogs share the same bed). But, other than some minor reporting on this event, all the links lead to one person. That person is Glenn Beck. In fact, I found a website called the 9/12 Project. I have signed up for this website however, after reading this article; Mr. Beck may reject my application.

The 9/12 Project appears to be a brain child of Mr. Beck. Originating on his Fox News Program, the following is the Mission Statement found on the 9/12 Project Website; http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement-2/
Mission Statement
Posted by 912ADMINISTRATOR0809 on March 24, 2009
This website is a place for you and other like-minded Americans looking for direction in taking back the control of our country. It is also a place to find information that will assist you in navigating the rough waters we face in the days, weeks and months ahead.
We suggest that you start in your own homes. Talk to your family about the Values and Principles. Discuss the importance of what the Founders designed for America.
Hold or attend a weekly meeting in your neighborhood or town. Communication with your neighbors is vital to the process of protecting our country. Gather in living rooms, coffee houses or restaurants. Share your thoughts and ideas.
Visit this website often. Make use of the resources that are linked here. Share the ideas and resources that have worked in your home or town.
This is a non-political movement. The 9-12 Project is designed to bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created.
That same feeling – that commitment to country is what we are hoping to foster with this idea. We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12th, 2001 again.
Ask yourself these questions:
* Do you watch the direction that America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it?

* Do you believe that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard above the noise anymore?

* Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach…as if you’re completely alone?
If you’ve answered YES, then you’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull back the curtain, you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.
We surround them.
At the origin of America, our Founding Fathers built this country on 28 powerful principles. These principles were culled from all over the world and from centuries of great thinkers. We have distilled the original 28 down to the 9 basic principles.
So, how do we show America what’s really behind the curtain? Read The 9 Principles . If you believe in at least seven of them, then we have something in common.
Welcome.

The following are the 9 Principles as reported on; http://www.squidoo.com/the9-12project
The 9 Principles from The 9-12 Project
1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.God "The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained." from George Washington's first Inaugural address.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.Honesty "I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man." George Washington

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.Marriage/Family "It is in the love of one's family only that heartfelt happiness is know. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family." Thomas Jefferson

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.Justice "I deem one of the essential principles of our government%u2026 equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political." Thomas Jefferson

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness "Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence." Thomas Jefferson

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.Charity "It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer." George Washington

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.On your right to disagree "In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking." George Washington
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.Who works for whom? "I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation." Thomas Jefferson

In my research for this article, I find it puzzling that Fox News was insulted when CNN reported the Teabagging Events, this past summer, as Fox promoted. When, here is a Commentator employed by them, who was personally involved with those events as well as this website and they want to know why anyone would think they are involved? Well all I can say is I strongly urge Fox News, FreedonWorks, Think Progress and The Republican Party to reconsider what they are doing and take a very close look at the type of people they are attracting to these events. I realize the bribe money from the Health Insurance Companies must look good. I also realize, as a Party, the rejection from the American People in the last election, has cut extremely deep. But, beware of the Pandora’s Box you could open here. To instigate civil unrest and disobedience as in the Town Hall meetings and try to brainwash ignorant, weak minded individuals in an attempt to generate support to obtain power again could backfire. Remember the Revolution you speak of and the secession of individual states you promote could occur with consequences much more severe to your party than you think.

As for Glenn Beck, he has gone through quite a lot in his life. He has faced personal tragedy, overcome substance abuse issues and supports his family in Connecticut. He has become extremely successful and has to be admired for his personal and business achievements. As a commentator, I do not know if he truly believes in what he promotes night after night on his Television and Radio Shows. I know I do not agree with the way he goes about his business though there are some things I could support along with him. I caution you Mr. Beck as I have others, be very careful who your audience is. You could very easily become the target of the same people you wish to seek against your political opponents. These people are not the kind to know right from wrong. Their ignorance only tells them to respond to a stimulus. I am sure you would hate to have that turned against you because reasoning is not in their vocabulary.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.the912project.com/
http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement-2/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/01/stephen-colbert-rips-apar_n_181673.html
http://thespeechatimeforchoosing.blogspot.com/2009/09/as-many-two-million-912-project-and-tea.html
http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/9jxqc/i_just_returned_from_glenn_becks_912_project/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42448313@N03/sets/72157622224474669/
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/22802/
http://www.squidoo.com/the9-12project
http://www.examiner.com/x-19545-Anchorage-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m9d12-VIDEO-912-teabaggers-flaunt-racism-ignorance
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-19545-Anchorage-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m9d10-Did-Glenn-Beck-rape-and-murder-a-young-girl-in-1990
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/12/912-signs/
http://washingtonindependent.com/58811/demint-blames-lack-of-crowd-diversity-on-timing-media
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/09/13/2009-09-13_glenn_becks_rightwing_rants_go_way_too_far_critics_charge.html
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Desperate-for-ratings-Bill-OReilly-buddies-up-with-Glenn-Beck-59173402.html
http://blogs.ajc.com/cynthia-tucker/2009/09/08/even-glenn-beck-manages-to-get-one-right-occasionally/?cxntfid=blogs_cynthia_tucker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Beck

The Passing Of The Torch

2009-09-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

With the recent death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and the announcements of no other Kennedy family member running to be his replacement, the passing of the torch will officially take place. This reference to a power shift in the Democratic Party began when a young Chicago Politician walked onto a stage during the 2004 Presidential Democratic Convention. Today, that politician is the leader of the most powerful nation on this world. President Barack Obama was supported by Senator Kennedy dating back to his term as Senator representing Illinois as well as an earlier State Senator representing the South Side of Chicago. This support ultimately was credited to President Obama’s ability to defeat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic Presidential Primary in 2008.

Senator Kennedy was a polarizing figure in politics as were his brothers, President John Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Like his brothers, his personal life was not without controversy as well. Most notably was the automobile accident in which MaryJo Kopechne, a staff member of Robert Kennedy’s Presidential Campaign, was found dead in a submerged vehicle owned by Senator Kennedy. The vehicle apparently drove off the Chappaquiddick Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. Details of what really happened that night will forever be debated. However, it is believed that this incident was the single event in the Senator’s life that probably prevented him from reaching the Presidency.

Remaining in the Senate until his death, Senator Kennedy carved a stellar career that was acknowledged by politicians from both sides of the political aisle. For most of us here in Massachusetts, especially in the city of Boston, it is believed his personal influence was the support behind the Big Dig Highway Project. Even though this project was plagued with over budget issues and corruption, it was the biggest economic boost the city had ever received at that time. This Project was credited with keeping the employment numbers above average nationally, in the Boston Area, during a slow economic time in the early years of the highways construction.

Love him or hate him, Ted Kennedy tirelessly spent his life, trying his best to make life better for everyone in this country. As for the citizenry, some say the Kennedy family will be missed in public service, others say it is about time someone else carried the torch. The truth of the matter is the Kennedy family was committed to public service throughout all of the generations. You can be assured that any absence of a Kennedy in public life will probably be temporary. It is in the family blood to want to serve and be apart of the ongoing life of our country. Stay tuned; I’m sure another Kennedy is readying him or herself to once again emerge as a leader and servant of the public cause.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy
http://www.projo.com/news/content/KENNEDY_HONOR_09-10-09_TVFM2C6_v12.3b3ea6b.html
http://kennedy.senate.gov/
http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/
http://www.iop.harvard.edu/About-Us/IOP-Tribute-to-Senator-Edward-M.-Kennedy
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/us/politics/27kennedy.html
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000105
http://www.masspike.com/bigdig/background/index.html
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://urbanhabitat.org/files/images/boston%2520177.jpg&imgrefurl=http://urbanhabitat.org/node/315&usg=__LQhjpsU9s7bDEmHcVYSQbyEfaok=&h=768&w=1024&sz=325&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=LJaWjbvhsxKz6M:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBig%2BDig%2BBoston%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1

Joe Wilson's War

2009-09-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

“You Lie” is today’s shot heard around the world. South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson’s outburst, during a speech to the Legislature given by President Obama, is the typical reaction of today’s rabid Republican Party. Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, said in an interview, how this shows the inability of the GOP to be able to deal with the situation they find themselves in. Congressman Wilson’s outburst was typical of the Town Hall style civil unrest, which the GOP promotes, to cause what ever disruption they can to derail the Obama Administration policies.

Researching many articles on this event, the following represents exactly how I feel about Congressman Wilson and his party;
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/10/politics/main5300232.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody
Lawmakers Condemn Outburst at Obama
Rep. Joe Wilson Apologizes for Screaming "You Lie" during President's Speech
(AP) Democrats and Republicans alike are denouncing Rep. Joe Wilson for shouting "You lie" at President Barack Obama during his speech to Congress, an extraordinary breach of decorum for which the South Carolina Republican swiftly apologized. "I was embarrassed for the chamber and a Congress I love," Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "It demeaned the institution." House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., told ABC on Wednesday: "Obviously, the President of the United States is always welcome on Capitol Hill. He deserves respect and decorum. "I know that Congressman Wilson has issued an apology and made his thoughts known to the White House, which was the appropriate thing to do," Cantor said. Wilson's outburst came after Obama said extending health care to all Americans who seek it would not mean insuring illegal immigrants. "You lie!" Wilson shouted from his seat on the Republican side of the chamber. After the speech, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said, "There'll be time enough to consider whether or not we ought to make it clear that that action is unacceptable in the House of Representatives." "Let's see what he does," Hoyer told WTOP radio before Wilson issued an apology. "Then there's time enough to consider further action." Wilson's behavior caused a political hangover for him and possibly for the Republican critics Obama had cast as shrill and more interested in killing any health care overhaul than finding a way to provide it. Later, Wilson was contrite. "This evening I let my emotions get the best of me," he said in a statement. "While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility." He then tried to call Obama to apologize personally, but ended up talking with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel instead, Wilson's office said. Biden said Thursday that he hadn't spoken with Obama, but, "knowing the president, I'm sure he accepted the apology." By late Wednesday, though, the congressman's Web site had crashed, he had taken a beating on his Twitter page and Democrat Rob Miller had raised thousands of unexpected dollars online for a possible rematch with Wilson in next year's midterm elections, according to Lachlan McIntosh, Miller's campaign manager. "Everybody was stunned," Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said of Wilson's eruption. "It was just something that nobody had ever witnessed before. We all felt embarrassed." Republicans froze; several glanced in Wilson's direction. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi directed a fierce frown at him; first lady Michelle Obama pursed her lips and shook her head from side to side. Biden looked down and shook his head too. Obama, meanwhile, looked toward the outburst and replied, "That's not true" before going on with his speech. Wilson appeared to consult his Blackberry for much of the rest of Obama's speech. He shook his head defiantly after several of the president's statements. When Obama finished, Wilson bolted from the chamber. Wilson's behavior was "totally disrespectful," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who had been Obama's rival in the 2008 presidential election, said on CNN. "There is no place for it in that setting, or any other, and he should apologize for it immediately."

Congressman John Boehner and Senator John McCain appear to be part of the final few, in the GOP, that understand what it means to be in the Legislature. To understand the responsibility and integrity that needs to be maintained in order to conduct the people’s business. Representatives like Congressman Wilson and up and coming Senator Eric Cantor, are slowly eroding the Republican Party to a point where, the only constituency will be at a level of ignorance and disrespect towards the core values and decency of our great nation. This, to me, is not a demographic capable of electing a Presidential Administration and turning around a party bent on self destruction. The continuing call for revolutionary arms, secession among some states and protests to cause civil unrest, will be the final undoing of a political party that is floundering in their own demise.

Unless the Republican Party reverses the direction it is going in, I for one will never support them again. As I converse with many others on and off the internet, I find I am not alone in that feeling.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.bloggernews.net/122208
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/10/politics/main5300232.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/11/AR2009091103918.html?hpid=moreheadlines
http://www.joewilson.house.gov/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Wilson_(U.S._politician)
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/09/10/joe-wilson-s-dirty-health-care-secret.aspx
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27025.html

Only In America

2009-09-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

The Freedom of Speech

If you web search my name, you will find this blog and my listing under many different social networks. You will find my Facebook, Myspace and even Classmates account. You will also find my comments offered on many other blogs from Representative John Boehner’s website to Politico, the Daily Beast, many less known blogs and numerous newspaper comment sections. The one you will find the most prevalent is the one I can be found on, when not blogging an article. That network is Twitter. Now, I follow far more people than follow me. I do not follow as many people as I would like to but, I am working on it. Slowly I am adding people with a wide range of opinions. Mostly political opinions but, I am open to all topics and subject matter. Of late, I have slowed down a bit with the articles on this blog because I have been extremely busy with my work (must pay bills) and running a household. So, to give quick opinions and hear what others are saying, I will Tweet here and there and read what is going on around the world. I realize that most of the conversation is overall varied, depending on who is active at the moment. The one thing I am always amazed with is the opinions given, at whom they are directed at and to what extreme of emotion is presented with the commentary.

When Iran had their Presidential election a few months ago, it was the internet, in particular Twitter, that kept the world abreast of the appalling events that took place in the streets of that torn country. Facebook and Myspace played a part as well. I think of how it was reported, that the government of Iran, was attempting to stop any news from reaching out to the world. How all of us hung on to every piece of information that was released, mostly through Twitter, showing the chaos and at times carnage of that brutal regime.

I also remember, fairly recently, of how debate had taken place about Google and the problems they have had with the Chinese government, trying to dictate the content allowed, from their search engine. To finally realizing the Chinese government was blocking sites that they felt were derogatory to their regime and what was felt to be the betterment of the Chinese people.

The following is the First Amendment as it is written in the Bill Of Rights from the following; http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/Teach/freeResources/FoundingDocuments/Docs/TheBillofRights.asp
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

I enjoy the Freedom of Speech observed every time I log onto Twitter. I enjoy giving my opinion, as well as, reading the opinions of others, whether I disagree with them or not. People talk about everything and anything. I can get financial advice, pet advice, spousal advice (no wait, I get that at home) criticism of the Republican and Democratic view points, along with direct attacks at President Obama under the claim of patriotism. Even comments are made about the past administration and politicians overall. Who is a crook (which is just about all of them) who is not (cannot quite answer that one).

Healthcare is being kicked around harder than a soccer ball in a championship game. I read the Tweets of people who call themselves patriots and for the conservative movement, while calling the present administration Socialists or even Communists. I picture Nikita Khrushchev in my mind banging his shoe on the table in the early sixties when I hear Communism. I think about the Minuteman Missile Silo, that was located a mile from my childhood home, ready to launch during the Cuban Missile Crisis when I hear the word Communism. Yet, due to freedom of Speech, I read how loosely people use this term and others to give their personal opinions. A right that only a very few nations of democracy allow.

So, whether abused for an agenda, or used to make a civilized point, freedom of speech is a right that we can never afford to lose. So, unlike any other right that could be threatened, when this one goes, so go them all. Let us try not to abuse it but we damn well better make sure we always fight for it.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/26/opinion/26iht-edtaubman_ed3_.html
http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/Teach/freeResources/FoundingDocuments/Docs/TheBillofRights.asp

Temperatures Rising

2009-08-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

There has been a great debate this century about Global Warming, the causes and what needs to be done to reverse this trend. Let us first take a look at the basic definition of Global Warming; http://zfacts.com/p/49.html
Definition of Global Warming: Gradual increase in the earth's surface temperature.

While researching this topic I have found most evidence pointing to greenhouse gases being produced by mankind. Even though, I believe this is a prudent observation, the planet earth has gone from warming to chilling trends since it was created millions of years ago. However, the production of greenhouse gases must be recognized as a catalyst to climate change at a much higher rate than Mother Nature would unfold. The following I submit to support my belief;
http://www.greenfacts.org/climate-change/global-warming/global-warming.htm
Natural reasons will always affect global warming. However, human activities are increasing significantly the concentrations of greenhouse gases, mainly CO2) in the atmosphere, resulting in global warming. Although more research is needed, understanding of global warming processes and computer models have improved. global warming models conclude that most of the warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to man-made activities. Scenarios are developed to predict what global warming are expected for the future and what the likely consequences will be.
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/climate-change-ar4/index.htm#5
The Earth’s climate is influenced by many factors, mainly by the amount of energy coming from the sun, but also by factors such as the amount of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere, and the properties of the Earth’s surface, which determine how much of this solar energy is retained or reflected back to space.
The atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have significantly increased since the beginning of the industrial revolution. This is mainly due to human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, land use change, and agriculture. For instance, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is now far higher than in the last 650 000 years and has been growing faster in the last ten years than it has been since the beginning of continuous measurements around 1960.

Now, regardless of whether you believe mankind is totally responsible or not, there are advantages and disadvantages to the future involving global warming. The following is the good and the not so good; http://hamariweb.com/article.aspx?id=285
Disadvantages of Global Warming• Ocean circulation disrupted, disrupting and having unknown effects on world climate. • Higher sea level leading to flooding of low-lying lands and deaths and disease from flood and evacuation. • Deserts get drier leaving to increased desertification. • Changes to agricultural production that can lead to food shortages. • Water shortages in already water-scarce areas. • Starvation, malnutrition, and increased deaths due to food and crop shortages. • More extreme weather and an increased frequency of severe and catastrophic storms. • Increased disease in humans and animals. • Increased deaths from heat waves. • Extinction of additional species of animals and plants. • Loss of animal and plant habitats. • Increased emigration of those from poorer or low-lying countries to wealthier or higher countries seeking better (or non-deadly) conditions. • Additional use of energy resources for cooling needs. • Increased air pollution. • Increased allergy and asthma rates due to earlier blooming of plants. • Melt of permafrost leads to destruction of structures, landslides, and avalanches. • Permanent loss of glaciers and ice sheets. • Cultural or heritage sites destroyed faster due to increased extremes. • Increased acidity of rainfall. • Earlier drying of forests leading to increased forest fires in size and intensity. • Increased cost of insurance as insurers pay out more claims resulting from increasingly large disasters.

Advantages of Global Warming• Arctic, Antarctic, Siberia, and other frozen regions of earth may experience more plant growth and milder climates. • Northwest Passage through Canada's formerly-icy north opens up to sea transportation. • Less need for energy consumption to warm cold places. • Fewer deaths or injuries due to cold weather. • Longer growing seasons could mean increased agricultural production in some local areas. • Mountains increase in height due to melting glaciers, becoming higher as they rebound against the missing weight of the ice.

I honestly believe, in the final analysis, planet earth or Mother Nature will correct itself like it has done throughout its long life. An example is with seasonal weather patterns. In New England, when we have a snowy winter, we usually end up with a hot dry summer. If the summer is too wet, we will end up with a cold dry winter. Scenarios like this are repeated all over the world. My only hope is that we will change our technologies to be more ecologically friendly and that mother earth will realize that. I would like to see this planet, make the adjustments to survive, in a way that will include the continuation of mankind. We can only hope.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://timeforchange.org/pros-and-cons-of-global-warming
http://www.bionomicfuel.com/pros-and-cons-of-global-warming/
http://hamariweb.com/article.aspx?id=285
http://www.greenfacts.org/climate-change/global-warming/global-warming.htm
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/climate-change-ar4/index.htm#5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&defl=en&q=define:global+warming&ei=wLCRSramCMvAlAfL3sWpDA&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title
http://zfacts.com/p/49.html
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Global_warming
http://www.greenhq.net/definition-for-global-warming.html
http://ecobridge.org/content/g_evd.htm

Living Through Their Mother's Eyes

2009-08-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

Beauty Pageants have been apart of our culture since the 1920’s. However, since the 60’s, additional versions were developed due to the continuing interest, from all ages. One of the versions is the Child Beauty Pageant. I’m talking about from five years to nine years old. I have heard and read varying opinions about these pageants. The following article describes my feelings about this topic;
http://media.www.collegian.com/media/storage/paper864/news/2001/02/22/UndefinedSection/Child.Beauty.Pageants.Are.They.Positive.Or.Poisonous-1696865.shtml
Child beauty pageants: Are they positive or poisonous?
Devon Hoover
Do beauty pageants have negative effects on a child or is it merely all in good fun?
While beauty pageants may have some overall redeeming qualities, for which I am still searching, the impact of a pageant can be far more detrimental to a child than beneficial. The big, frilly dresses and styled hair may seem cute and harmless but is it still cute when a girl is 20-something and still using her looks to get her way?
I was watching a Discovery Channel special that featured pushy mothers who spent thousands of dollars to enter their children into pageants. Because of the intense and sometimes brutal competition between the parents, what may have started out as a fun event quite often turned into a miserable experience for the child.
A 6-year-old contestant confessed that looking in the mirror was scary because she didn't even recognize herself with all the makeup. Despite heartbreaking testimonies like this, parents continue to push their children onto the runway.
Although pageants may provide discipline, fun, mother-daughter bonding time, poise and confidence, beauty pageants, indeed, have negative effects on a child's developmental process.
A pageant provides experiences that are abnormal for such a fragile stage in the life cycle.
While other children indulge in games of tag and "let's pretend," pageant contestants spend much of their time and money in modeling and dance classes and most of their weekends on the road in pursuit of new competitions. This can often create problems of social interaction that could lead to loneliness and isolation later in life.
Pageants create a very stressful environment where the emphasis on beauty and winning takes precedence. Pageants coach children to convey sexuality. They may, in turn, acquire behaviors and attitudes about sexuality that are rather atypical. Such early emphasis on appearance and body image can lead to eating disorders and/or promiscuity at a very young age.
Growing up, most of us are taught that beauty is only skin deep and that real beauty lies within. We are told to love people for who they are, not what they look like. Yet every day, parents contradict such morals by entering their children in beauty pageants to compete in a "game" where winning and losing is based solely on physical characteristics.
Many children are never even given a choice; they are simply pushed into it by parents who vicariously thrive on their adorable offspring. Contestants develop a sense of self worth and acceptance based on how pretty they are.
The unfortunate reality about beauty pageants is that they mirror certain societal values that stress appearance and status as the most important attributes. Everywhere you look, beautiful people are glorified. Television shows, advertisements and beauty magazines emphasize the need to be beautiful and skinny with flawless features.
Due to this abundance of publicity, children develop eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem trying to keep up with the image that society defines as beautiful.
Beauty pageants merely enhance that theme. Pageant winners develop an egotistical self-image, while the losers are made to feel like unattractive failures. Children are taught that beauty wins recognition, money, the biggest trophies and the perfect crowns.
Children have plenty of time to be grown-ups - to wear makeup and high heels and look 10 years older than they really are.
But while they are kids, why not let them enjoy it? Parents shouldn't force children to rush the crucial development process that determines who they will become as adults
They should engage in activities that stress important values and enhance development rather than hinder it. Such activities are critical to development by teaching teamwork, cooperation and acceptance of differences.
The beautiful thing about children is that they are still pure and innocent, viewing the world as inherently good. It is only later, as adults, that they are exposed to the true ugliness of the world.
Why rush such precious innocence for a few trophies?

The following is from an article by Jane Treays, who filmed a Documentary for the BBC entitled, Painted Babies;
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article3997487.ece
To my relief, the two shocking little Dolly Partons whom I had filmed all those years ago had both become poised, decent and disciplined young women. Who knows? Perhaps some of that is down to the beauty pageants. They certainly think so.

For me personally, the reasons this is not considered child abuse or even child exploitation, do not hold any credence. I believe the parents, in particular the mothers, need some psychotherapy. I believe these young girls are living through the eyes of their mothers. As for the fathers, did you ever consider who is in the audience staring at your daughter? Did it ever bother you that some stranger could be filming your daughter or even stalking her? Maybe if these had been thought of ahead of time, JonBenet Ramsey would still be alive today.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.eastcoastusapageant.com/?gclid=CNf_592cs5wCFeFM5QodEjTmnQ
http://www.universalroyalty.com/
http://media.www.collegian.com/media/storage/paper864/news/2001/02/22/UndefinedSection/Child.Beauty.Pageants.Are.They.Positive.Or.Poisonous-1696865.shtml
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2000/06.08/beauty.html
http://kottke.org/09/07/the-face-of-child-beauty-pageants
http://www.minorcon.org/pageants.html
http://www.truthout.org/051109A
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090815181747AAyu6X0
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2338102
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophilia
http://crime.about.com/od/sex/p/pedophile.htm
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/pedophiles/1.html
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article3997487.ece
http://media.www.collegian.com/media/storage/paper864/news/2001/02/22/UndefinedSection/Child.Beauty.Pageants.Are.They.Positive.Or.Poisonous-1696865.shtml

A Second Chance

2009-08-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Healthcare reform may be the hottest issue in our country today. But, in the sports world, that issue is rivaled with as much fervor as the return of Michael Vick to the National Football League (NFL). After being convicted of involvement in a Dog Fighting Ring, spending nineteen months in prison, along with a few months of home confinement, Michael Vick is ready and anxious to begin to rehabilitate his reputation and try to salvage his career as an NFL Quarterback. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell holds the future of Mr. Vick in his hands. I am sure the public’s reaction, along with fan and sponsor support will play a big factor in his decision. For now, Mr. Vick was allowed to sign a one year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and can practice with this organization. He will be allowed to participate in one, possibly two, preseason games before a final decision on his playing status will be determined.

The following is a quote from Mr. Goodell, in regard to, the reinstatement of Mr. Vick to the NFL; http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4359354
"I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around, and that you intend to be a positive role model for others," Goodell said in his letter to Vick. "I am prepared to offer you that opportunity. Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands."
"Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited," the letter said. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you."
Goodell said he spoke to numerous current and former players and coaches as he weighed his decision and that the responses were "very mixed."
"I do recognize that some will never forgive him for what he did," Goodell said. "I hope that the public will have a chance to understand his position as I have."

For me, I do not have an opinion either way, whether Michael Vick plays again or not. I will bet that Dante Stallworth probably has an opinion on this considering he has been suspended for a year without pay for the DUI Manslaughter conviction he received.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-simmons/michael-vick-champion_b_253506.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/27/michael-vick-reinstated-b_n_245715.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alec-baldwin/michael-vick-black-sheep_b_260990.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/20/michael-vick-jail-sentenc_n_205631.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4262751
http://theconversation.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/michael-vicks-apology/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Vick
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=2549
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/08/20/dicks-to-vick-we-say-nix-to-your-jersey-sort-of/?cxntfid=blogs_mark_bradley_blog
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4359354

Volt Or Bust

2009-08-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Chevrolet Volt was finally unveiled recently by General Motors. I, along with many, have been waiting in anticipation of this event. The original concept of this vehicle peaked my interest years ago, when it was first introduced. The following is from the website; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt
Fuel efficiency
For trips less than about 40 miles (64 km) per recharge cycle, the Volt will not use any on-board gasoline. This is referred to as Charge Depletion (CD) mode. Assigning a fuel consumption value which only refers to on-board fuel might not be appropriate.[64]
Once the Volt's battery has discharged to its lower limit set-point, the engine starts and supplies the battery, possibly recharging it while the electric motor continues to drive the car. Once the battery has been recharged to an upper limit set-point, the internal combustion engine will again shut off. In this way the battery's State of Charge (SoC) is maintained within tight limits. The Volt's range-extending gasoline engine is expected to get approximately 50 mpg

This was how I understood the vehicle was going to work. It appears this has remained the same today. To add to the performance promise, this statement was reported from the website; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124998537270122333.html
General Motors Co., outlining a raft of new vehicles designed to reinvigorate its lineup, said its much-awaited Chevrolet Volt is expected to get 230 miles per gallon in city driving.
Now, I am not a Mechanical Engineer but I find this claim to be hard to believe. The technology being used is still the same as first introduced in prototype but, if design improvements made, have allowed this dramatic fuel economy then, General Motors is well on their way to automotive dominance as they once held. But the following statements from the Volt website, paint a contradictory picture considering the suggested retail price of $40,000.00; http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/fuel/electric.do
Chevy Volt is designed to move more than 75 percent of America's daily commuters without a single drop of gas.3 That means for someone who drives less than 40 miles a day, Chevy Volt will use zero gasoline and produce zero emissions.2
Unlike traditional electric cars, Chevy Volt has a revolutionary propulsion system that takes you beyond the power of the battery. It will use a lithium-ion battery with a gasoline-powered, range-extending engine that drives a generator to provide electric power when you drive beyond the 40-mile battery range.
The contradiction is in the premise that this is the vehicle for Middle America. I would presume that the 75% of daily commuters is that group. In which case, how is this demographic expected to be able to afford the price tag. Considering the amount of Government help they have received, I would have thought a bigger break could have been given to the Taxpayer, who bailed their sorry asses out of a jam.

Now, I am not completely down on General Motors. In fact I commend them and am proud they are an American Company that has developed this technology. I am sure as time goes on the price tag will begin to fall. In particular, when the second and even third generation Volts, arrive on the scene. It will have to if; the 75% of commuters is to be realized.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124998537270122333.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt
http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/fuel/electric.do
http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/future/volt.do?seo=goo__2009_Chevy_Awareness__IMG_Chevy_Volt_Phase_2_Branded__GM_Volt__gm_volt

Lobbyists, Civil Unrest And Subversion

2009-08-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

The Insurance Companies Jihad against Healthcare Reform

Watching the Healthcare debate and seeing the Town Hall gatherings looking more like disorganized third world chaos, I can not help but think Lobbying and Corporate influence is the cancer that is eroding the Constitution and the overall moral fiber of our nation. When Politicians receive donations from Corporations, it is not only to elect or re-elect that politician but, to bribe them to legislate in the Corporations best interests. Corporations and the bitter political fighting between the Republicans and the Democrats have replaced the work of the people with the war of the Lobbyists.

Earlier this week, the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, talked about a Lobbying Organization called the Freedom Works. Ms. Maddow described how the Town Hall meetings were being organized and orchestrated by this group under the direct influence of a high ranking Republican and former Legislator. This individual is Dick Armey. Everything I have read about Mr. Armey seems to praise him and present a very accomplished political career. This is why I fail to understand how a man of his stature, can be apart of what I believe is, the instigation of Civil Unrest and Government Subversion, by his organizations bid to defeat the Healthcare Bill being presented by the Obama Administration. I obtained a copy of a letter Mr. Armey has published along with detailed instructions on how to deliberately disrupt any organized discussion on healthcare. I believe these tactics go directly against the very root of what our nation is all about. For this prominent former Legislator, to be a part of a deliberate subversion, to our democratic system is unconscionable. I would like to know where the FBI or any Law Enforcement agency is in allowing this to happen. Spirited conversation and debate is the hallmark of our great liberties and this encroachment upon our rights should not go unchallenged. The following is from the Freedom Works website; http://www.freedomworks.org/about/about-freedomworks
What We Do
FreedomWorks recruits, educates, trains and mobilizes hundreds of thousands of volunteer activists to fight for less government, lower taxes, and more freedom.
This organization calls their recruits Activists? The following is from their mission statement; http://www.freedomworks.org/about/our-mission
FreedomWorks drives policy change by training and mobilizing grassroots Americans to engage their fellow citizens and encourage their political representatives to act in defense of individual freedom and economic opportunity.
Change the rhetoric a little bit here and this could be recruitment for a Suicide Bomber. The Gun these Bombers carry is their voices. The bullets they shoot are the words they use to drown out the real discussion needed. The bombs they have are the disruption and discord that shuts down any conversation about the Healthcare Issue.

Freedom Works, along with the politicians receiving Insurance Company donations (bribes) are the Jihadists hired by the Insurance Companies to prevent their Gold Mines from being closed. The people who believe this organization and other Lobbyist groups, are uninformed citizens who have become the victims of the old Karl Rovian Mantra; Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid. In turn, the despicable Goebbals style propaganda, weaves its ugly influence and prays on the ignorance of the unknowing. So much to the effect that the average citizen is deceived into fighting for a cause, which is thought to be a danger to them, when it serves only the wealthy Insurance Companies best interests.

So, for all of you who have your pockets lined with bribe money, how do you look yourself in the mirror every day. When you see the Civil Unrest and discord you have caused, do you even feel any type of regret? Is the amount of money worth that much to all of you that you even sacrifice your soul? If I were Mr. Armey, I would not want to be associated with any type of activities that could impugn upon a stellar career as he has had. But then again, maybe his career is not as stellar as I think. For Mr. Armey and those of the Lobbyist groups, integrity has a price. For me, keep your Master Card in your pocket because mine is priceless.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/14/lobbying-clients-teaparties/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Armey
http://www.freedomworks.org/about/chairman-dick-armey
http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/arts-culture/dick-armey-PEHST000081.topic
http://www.freedomworks.org/
http://www.freedomworks.org/about/about-freedomworks
http://www.freedomworks.org/about/board-of-directors
http://www.freedomworks.org/about/our-mission
http://www.freedomworks.org/take-action
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, Inc. 2006 Dictionary.Com entry on "lobbyist".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disorder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subversion_(politics)
http://www.freedomworks.org/files/aug%20action%20kit.pdf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/10/AR2009051002243.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.alan.com/2009/08/03/angry-right-wing-mobs-harass-democratic-officials/

Not On My Watch

2009-08-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

As Life and death events are reported on the news, I am sure you are like me and wonder how we would act, if confronted with similar circumstances. Five days ago I was tested.

It was a hot and humid night on that last day in July 2009. We had the usual evening. There was absolutely no indication of what was about to take place. It was around ten o’clock at night. My Mother-in-law stuck her head through the doorway to the side of the house where my wife and I live. She called out to me and said she was ready to go to bed. My Mother-in-law is eighty six years old and walks with a manual walker. So, I help her at bed time, to climb into bed and get snug as a bug in a rug. This night was no different than any other. We were talking and laughing about things. When she sat on the bed, she swung herself around and I lifted her legs up onto the same place in the bed I have done hundreds of times before. She said goodnight to me as I did to her. But, in the middle of her laugh, an eerie silence occurred. I looked at her face and saw the color drain. Her head fell to the side and her eyes rolled up inside her head. I immediately shook her twice. When I did not get a response I picked up the phone next to the bed and dialed 911. As the phone rang I checked for a pulse and respiration. As the operator answered I found none of each. I relayed this information to the 911 Operator and requested EMS help. Then, I told him I had to hang up, to call my wife on the other side of the house, to get her to come and help me. Before I hung up the phone from talking to my wife she came bursting thru the door between our living areas and I gave her instructions to meet the EMS outside and bring them in. She was off in a flash. As I stared down at the lifeless body lying before me I saw something in her mouth. I quickly realized it was Vomit and I grabbed my mother-in-law into my arms and turned her head to the side. I did not want her to aspirate the vomit so I kept sweeping her mouth with my fingers to clear an air way. For some reason an anger built inside of me and I shouted to no one in particular “No, goddamit. Not on my watch”. I knew I could not lay her down because of the threat of more vomiting so; I held her in my arms and placed my left hand on her back. I then placed my right hand at the base of the rib cage and began CPR. This maneuver is for newborns and I am not sure if it really made a difference but, at least I felt like I was doing something. As the seconds ticked away it seemed like hours. I could hear sirens in the distance and eventually my wife’s voice getting louder as she was telling the EMT Technicians her mother’s medical history. When the EMT’s came into the room they sprang into action. I continued the CPR while they hooked up their equipment. Then when they were ready, one of them placed their hand underneath mine and as I felt her taking over the compressions I moved to the side and swung myself out of the way. Soon, the EMT’s had my mother-in-law on a gurney and whisked her to the ambulance. She was on her way to the Hospital in a flash. When everyone was gone I collapsed into a chair exhausted. After a minute or two I called my brother-in-law Jack and told him what happened. He immediately went to the Hospital.

In all of the confusion I had completely forgotten the “No Resuscitate Order” that my mother-in-law had on her refrigerator. A few days later I asked my sister-in-law Kathy if the family could revisit that. I told her there is no way I could have done nothing. I could not live with myself if I had just stood there and did nothing.

As I write this my mother-in-law is recovering and asking when she can return home. She has one or two more hurdles to reach then, she can return. Normalcy has returned here at home. I have gone to work, cut the lawn, and trim the hedges and blogged. We are just waiting for the matriarch of our family to return home. As we wait I am saying a little prayer of thanks to the man upstairs. I thank him for his help and that what could have been never did.

That’s How I See It.

Special Thanks;
In Fitchburg, Massachusetts:
Fitchburg 911 Call Center
Fitchburg Fire Department
Fitchburg EMS
Leominster Hospital
UMASS Medical Center Worcester, Massachusetts
If it was not for these heroes doing what they do, we would be a family in mourning.

Caught In The Middle

2009-08-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

I do not know about you but, I think our Government Leaders, from the Local Mayors’ Office to the Whitehouse and Congress, just plain suck. I think the American People feel caught in the middle with the political wrangling and bickering that has reached a point where our politicians are useless. The Lobbyists from K-Street have just about completely shut out the voice of the American People. The feeling of entitlement and privilege of “the Family” at C-Street has brought the American Politician to be reviled and vilified. More so for the Republican, than that of the Democratic Party.

Within the last two decades, our nation has been sent to war twice, by Presidents from the same family. Our economy was used like an inflatable doll, to be played with then, discarded when its usefulness was reached. The lies in all areas of our Government became so numerous, that it has obscured the truth and good of what our Nations pride and Constitution is all about. Illicit Sex and debauchery have become the norm regardless of which party is in power. Bi-partisanship or working together has been cast aside and replaced by each party’s obsession, to be in and of holding power, in as many parts of the Government as they can. The welfare of the average American never even considered.

So, what can “we the people” do about this situation? In the immediate, pass the word. We should begin to hold our political figures to a much higher standard than we ever had in our past. For the future, every one of us must take part and make the choices necessary to remove those politicians that favor personal greed over the betterment of the American way of life. Each and every American must take a stake in our nation’s future and place our politicians on notice. The political notice that, deliberate ignorance towards the needs of the American People, will not go unpunished.

Now, you could say, we do this every Election Day. This is when we should we be doing this. However, apathy and lack of caring in the past, has led to many of the useless political deadbeats we have in office, from both political party’s today. So, from this moment on, let us all give that notice to all our politicians, especially those who are on summer break from Congress, that the free ride is over. The self indulgence and selfish infighting will come to an end. Either they must put the country’s best interests first, over all others, or face a shortened career that will be swift and complete. Boy, wouldn’t that be refreshing.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25698.html
http://www.politico.com/blogs/politicolive/0809/Summers_downplays_call_for_tax_increase.html?showall
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25695.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/692/story/1168044.html
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/07/31/obama-losing-the-faith-less/
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_07/019098.php

Being White In A Nation Of Diversity

2009-08-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

Living in the Boston area, for all of this past week, I have been barraged with the story of the Cambridge Police Sergeant and the arrest of a Harvard Professor. From the stupidly made remark by President Obama to witnessing the Cambridge politicians groveling over the lessons to be learned, sit back and let me tell you about a white man who has had to live his life through this long time of diversity. Just for the record, this white man is me.

Today, I am a 55 year old White American Male. I am married to my second wife, of 18 years and have six children. The two oldest from my previous marriage of 17 years, (yeah, my present wife finally has seniority) and four step children. All six have grown and are living their own lives. I am so proud of all of them that there are times I wipe a tear from my eyes over the memories. Our oldest, my son, served in the U. S. Army. Because of his classification and duties I can say no more. Our youngest, one of my step daughters, is also in the U.S. Army. She is on her second deployment to Iraq. I am not sure what her exact classification is but, she is a medic and is riding on the “Gun Trucks” as I write this. Now that you know about me, let us go back in time to where being White, was a racial handicap.

About twenty five years ago, I was working two jobs to support my family. During the day, I worked in a Manufacturing facility in Milford, Connecticut. I worked in a place where the majority of the employees were Hispanic with blacks and whites thrown into the pot. The company management was big on training and education, so schooling for all of us was easy to come by. Because we all spent so much time together, we became close friends. We were a very good mix. Many of the Hispanics invited me to their homes in Bridgeport Connecticut as I did them, living in Milford. As the company expanded promotions and opportunities arose. The company decided they would choose the Leadman Positions based on test scores. I had scored the highest at 98.2 after all the testing was complete. One of my friends, Hector Diaz, scored in second place at 97.8. The company did not want the overall Hispanic employment in the factory to be offended by naming a White to the position so, they promoted Hector instead. To justify the promotion the management said that Hector had the highest score. Both Hector and I, along with many others, knew this was not true. Since Hector and I were personal friends and it was only a difference of twenty five cents an hour, I really did not mind Hector received the promotion. I really did not have the time to spare to give to the responsibilities of the new position anyway since I needed to leave on time everyday to go to my second job. But Hector, along with others from the front office, thought this was unfair and protested. The company decided to promote me as well and I became a Lead Setupman. The record was set straight and I was acknowledged to have had the highest score. I was so touched by this incident and the friendships that I had made, I decided, from that day on, more so than ever, to make sure I always practiced the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King jr. and would always judge a man by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin.

A few years later, I moved to Florida where I divorced and met my second wife. Soon after we were married, I was laid off from my employment and my second wife became so ill that she became disabled. She still is today. I found myself needing assistance so; I applied at the Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) Office in Brooksville, Florida to obtain this assistance until we could get back on our feet. I was the only White person applying for assistance. Everyone else was predominantly black with a scattering of other minorities. All of the Councilors were white. After I applied for assistance and was interviewed, I was lead down a back corridor where there was another councilor and a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper (also white). At that point my councilor told me I did not qualify for any benefits and I had to leave. I asked why I did not qualify. The councilor stepped back and the Trooper stepped forward stating that I would be placed under arrest if I caused any more problems. I said I was not causing any problems I just wanted to know what I needed to do to qualify. The Trooper opened the door and told me to leave or I would be placed under arrest. Without saying another word I walked out the door. When the door closed behind me, I found myself in a back alleyway with no outside door knob on the door I had just walked through. I walked around the building and as I made it to my car I saw people, Black, Hispanic and such laughing, trading their food stamps for cigarettes and having the time of their lives. Yet, I was leaving empty handed. I was the only White person there. I remembered a place on U.S 19 called Daystar. This was a place supported by local churches and businesses to help the poor. I applied there for assistance. When I left that facility, I had groceries for a week and a temporary job working at a local farm. After a few weeks, another job came along and we eventually recovered from our economic woes.

So, Mr. President and all you bleeding hearted souls, who say we need a true dialog on race, are you sure about this? If so, are you sure you are ready to hear the truth about the problems, so called, diversity has caused in my life as well a many other hard working people in this country? Whether you know it or not, it is not just about the Blacks in this country. Let us hear from all races like Latino, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim American and even Whites. Let us talk what true diversity should be all about and be prepared. You may not like what you are about to hear. A simple beer around a picnic table is not enough to quell the fire that has now been reignited. A fire that was long on its way to being extinguished, until now. Oh, by the way, if I get an invite to the table, make my beer a Sam Adams Lite.

That’s How I See It.

On His Coattails

2009-07-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

When Duval Patrick was elected the Governor of Massachusetts, I believe it was due to the efforts of now President Barack Obama, campaigning for him. More so, than the belief, Mr. Patrick was actually qualified. I believe the people, who wanted to be known to the future President, supported Duval Patrick the candidate, to catch the favor of the now elected Chief Executive. There could also have been the belief that the magic of Obama would rub off on the first time Governor, in Duval Patrick. This has turned out to be the farthest from the truth. From the first day of governance, Duval Patrick showed he could not even decorate the Governor’s Office nor select the official Governor’s vehicle without causing controversy of excess and financial abuse.

Recent Polls are showing his popularity sinking thru the floor. In every contest, which places him against any competitor, regardless of political party, he would lose the election if held today. The following is a letter posted by Governor Patrick in response to his sinking Poll numbers; http://devalpatrick.com/
A letter from the Governor:
Dear Friends,
Right now, we have nothing but tough decisions in front of us, so for those of us dealing with these decisions every day, poll numbers are bound to reflect that. Every cut and every reform affects somebody. Our economy is in crisis, people in Massachusetts and across the country are hurting, and they expect and deserve help from their government. I don't need a poll to understand people are not satisfied with where we stand. Neither am I.
We will get through this crisis. To see us through, there will be more tough decisions ahead. We in state government have worked hard to bring jobs to the Commonwealth, strengthen our public schools, provide affordable health care and housing, and reform some of the practices that have undermined public trust for decades. Still, we need to do more. All of us in state government, including me, need to step up our game, and not shrink from confronting those tough decisions, however unpopular. If we continue to do so, I am confident our great Commonwealth will come out stronger tomorrow on the other side of the unprecedented challenges we face.
Sincerely,Deval Patrick

Personally, I have not been moved by the Governor’s website letter. I believe, more now than ever, that Duval Patrick was victorious in his electoral bid because he rode the Coattails of then Presidential Candidate Barack Obama’s popularity. These two politicians even shared speeches as they each used the “Yes We Can” motto in both their electoral bids. The following article appears on the WCVB Channel 5 website. I find this writing best describes how I feel about Governor Patrick’s performance;
http://ulocal.thebostonchannel.com/service/displayDiscussionThreads.kickAction?as=61862&w=174686&d=261358
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON DUVAL PATRICK AND HIS PROPOSED TOLL AND TAX INCREASES?
i don't know how you feel about our Governor, but it is my opinion that he is a poor manager and the worst Governor we've ever had.
All this guy wants to do is raise taxes, tolls and add fees or surcharges on anything and everything he can think of. He doesn't seem to comprehend or take into consideration how these increases will adversely affect us in many different ways.
Right now we probably have the highest sales tax in the country. No one will want to purchase anything in this state anymore and will go out of state where they can get it cheaper. A lot of stores will close as a result and put more people out of work.
His proposed increases for tolls and gas taxes were the worst ideas he's had to date. A significant rise in tolls would hurt people trying to commute to and from work. And with the rising price of gasoline, just imagine how much worse it would be for us now if there was an additional 20 or 30 cents added on to each gallon.
A gas tax increase would also create a huge rise in prices for food and other goods that we depend upon for everyday life The trucks that bring grocery items and other goods to the stores would have to add the increase into the price. And I wonder how many people would not be able to heat their homes during cold Winter months with the tax increase added onto cost of heating oil.
The Governor has raised the cigarette tax at least 4 times, so the price is twice what it was before he was in office. Now he wants to tax alcohol. He also talked about adding fees to candy bars and non-returnable soft drinks at one point. He doesn't like consumers to go to other states where they don't have to pay such high prices and as much tax, so he has talked about putting a toll booth on the New Hampshire border to impose another fee on us...another toll. I am willing to bet that Massachusetts Income Tax will be next.
Through it all, he took a trip to Jamaica, on the taxpayers dime, and has hired new people, with political connections to him, who are paid hefty salaries. He also approved salary increases for others. while many are being laid off or are in jeopardy of loosing their jobs.
And let us not forget Duvall's preposterous attempt to file suit against a company in New Hampshire where people purchase tires for their vehicles. He actually was trying to get them to charge Massachusetts sales tax to residents of our state who went over the border! It was thrown out of court and denied. it is afterall, another state, and out of Massachusetts jurisdiction.
He wants to run for re-election, but he doesn't have a snow ball chance in hell. He has made himself very much disliked and he knows it, so he says he wants to improve his image. A day late and a dollar short, I would say. Still, when you see him on the news, he always has that slight sneaky smile on his face and you know he has more taxes, tolls and fees up his sleeve.
Since he has been in office, the state of Taxachusetts has gone to hell in a hand basket. Is it any wonder why people want to move out of state?
How do you feel about our Governor? Let's talk about it.

Former Governor Jane Swift must be in her glory right now. She was a Republican Governor who was chastised as being a lame duck, unable to govern after replacing, another former Governor Paul Cellucci, who resigned for an Ambassador’s Post to Canada. No longer, does Governor Swift, wear the crown of uselessness. She must now relinquish this title to a man who may promote “Yes We Can” but in reality must admit, “No He Can’t”

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://degreesofmoderation.blogspot.com/2009/04/duval-patrick-tax-hikes-massachusetts.html
http://ulocal.thebostonchannel.com/service/displayDiscussionThreads.kickAction?as=61862&w=174686&d=261358
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3homepage&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Agov3
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15611829/
http://newshare.typepad.com/greylocknews/files/05-21-05-MA-duval_patrick.htm
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/gov_deval_patrick_lobbies_west.html
http://blogs.bu.edu/bunow/tag/duval-patrick/
http://devalpatrick.com/

Whack Jobs

2009-07-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

The Birthers are a growing group in this country that is nothing more than the largest collection of Whack Jobs I have ever seen in my whole life. The fact that the Republican Party and some of its members, even want to associate themselves with this movement, is outright nauseating to me and shows the total disarray the party is in. This excerpt, from an article on Politico.com, illustrates the ignorance being touted about the Obama Birth certificate issue;
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19450.html
By BEN SMITH
A quick reality check, before we dive in: The challenges to Obama's eligibility have no grounding in evidence. Courts across the country have summarily rejected the movement's theory — that Obama can't be a citizen because his father wasn't —as a misreading of U.S. law; and Hawaii officials, along with contemporary birth announcements, affirm that Obama was in fact born in Honolulu in 1961.

The following article pretty well states what the official rulings are on the Obama Birth Certificate and how I feel about this whole movement;
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/03/06/birthers_court/
Obama "Birthers" slapped around by federal judge
By Alex Koppelman
Finally, a judge has given the "Birthers" -- the people who argue that President Obama is not eligible for the presidency -- the spanking they so sorely deserve.
In his opinion dismissing one lawsuit filed on behalf of a retired Air Force officer who argued he needed to see even more proof that Obama was born in the United States, U.S. District Judge James Robertson wrote:
This case, if it were allowed to proceed, would deserve mention in one of those books that seek to prove that the law is foolish or that America has too many lawyers with not enough to do. Even in its relatively short life the case has excited the blogosphere and the conspiracy theorists. The right thing to do is to bring it to an early end.
Robertson also wrote dismissively -- even angrily -- about Philip Berg, the man pulling the strings behind this lawsuit. Berg, who's also a 9/11 "Truther," has been at the forefront of the Birther movement and has advanced various nutty theories about Obama's birth and citizenship. In his opinion, Robertson notes that imposing civil penalties against Berg would only provide him fodder for his crusade, but does threaten such penalties against a local lawyer Berg brought in to help with this case.
As the judge noted, and as I wrote in an article examining the psychology of this conspiracy theory specifically and conspiracy theories generally, even an opinion like this is, unfortunately, unlikely to bring an end to this particular madness.

So, for all you Whack Jobs out there, including CNN’s Lou Dobbs, get a life! Get over yourselves and as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said about the 2000 election results, Get over it! We have too many issues in this country and around the world that require our attention. The birther issues are a waste of time and quite frankly are a waste of oxygen on those individuals that have nothing better to do than be a Whack Job! Maybe those people should get a real job and be part of the solution in our world instead of a big part of the ongoing problems.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/22/liz-cheney-defends-birthe_n_242555.html
http://news.aol.com/main/obama-presidency/article/the-birthers-obama-conspiracy-theory/363461
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/03/06/birthers_court/
http://www.thebirthers.org/
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/birther-boom/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19450.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/07/23/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5182746.shtml

Know When To Speak Up Or Shut Up

2009-07-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

At the end of his press conference on the Healthcare Bill being written, President Barack Obama surprised many, as well as, me with a comment about race relations. The statement was in response to a question about an incident involving a Harvard Professor and the Cambridge Massachusetts Police Department. The following are excerpts of his answer, as provided on Bloomberg.com by writer Edwin Chen;
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqSwABfzJgs0
President Barack Obama said police officers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, “acted stupidly” in their arrest of Harvard University African-American studies professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after responding to reports of a burglary at his home…………….Obama, 47, began his comments by saying Gates, who he referred to by the nickname Skip, “is a friend, so I may be a little biased here.”
The president said that while “I don’t know all the facts” of the arrest or the role race played in it, the case highlighted “a long history in this country of African- Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.”
He added: “That’s just a fact.”
“I am standing here as testimony to the progress that’s been made” on race relations, he said. “And yet the fact of the matter is, is that, you know, this still haunts us.”

I believe these comments about the incident were inappropriate for a man of his position and were stated at the inappropriate time. First of all, when the President called Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., by his nickname Skip, this should have been a warning to him, to take a no comment. When the President than stated that he might be a little biased about the case, since Professor Gates was a friend, should have set off alarms in his politically savvy head. Finally, to admit he did not know all the facts should have been a slam dunk (to coin a phrase) in SHUTTING UP!

We are at a point in our great nation where race is becoming a dying issue. The generations coming up behind mine, which is the baby boomer generation, could care less about the nationality, color of one’s skin or religious beliefs of any individual. To comment as the President did last night, will only instigate and continue an issue that is long on the road to being a dead one at best. So, shame on you Mr. President, for the showing of low class to no class in your behavior. Being a middle aged white male, growing up in a racist family, I overcame many racist beliefs and voted for you because I felt you could lead us in a new direction. But, rest assured, if you are nothing more than the same old story with a different face, me and many like me will turn away from you in a heartbeat. That would be something the GOP would relish.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25329.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/22/AR2009072203871.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqSwABfzJgs0
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-gates-analysis24-2009jul24,0,2990550.story

And That's The Way It Was

2009-07-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up and through my early adulthood, no one person could garner my attention more than Walter Cronkite. I am sure my parents thought I listened to him more than I did them. But, for honesty and integrity in reporting the news, Walter Cronkite was and will be, unsurpassed in keeping America appraised of the news events that shaped our daily lives.

I found two articles that combined; fully conclude the enormous impact Mr. Cronkite had during his news reporting career. The first article is by Brian Stelter of the New York Times; http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/remembering-the-way-it-was/
Explaining ‘The Way It Was’ to the YouTube Generation
By Brian Stelter
Sean McManus, the president of CBS News, learned of Walter Cronkite’s death while he was at the dinner table on Friday evening, sharing a meal with his two children, ages 8 and 10.
After taking the phone call, he tried to explain to his children — who have grown up bombarded with news and information — the value of Mr. Cronkite’s once-a-day news updates.
“There probably will never be anybody who has the presence and the stature and the importance that Walter Cronkite had in this country,” Mr. McManus said in a telephone interview, recalling what he told his children.
“I tried to explain to them that most people in America expected to get both good and bad news from one man, and that was Walter Cronkite,” he said. “That will never be duplicated again,” because of the fragmentation of the media.
Mr. McManus sensed that his children had a hard time comprehending what he meant.
“It’s really hard,” he acknowledged, “to remember just how influential and important he was.” He cited Mr. Cronkite’s famous declaration that the Vietnam war would end in a stalemate.
Viewers and Web readers now, he said, “are so used to being assaulted by so many streams of media that it’s hard for them to imagine that there were only three or four ways to get news and information on TV.”
On an evening when Mr. Cronkite was on the minds of the television industry, Mr. McManus sounded a sad note about the splintered media environment. TV executives are always looking for the next Cronkite, he said, “but I don’t think anybody will be in that position of prominence again.”
CBS News still operates out of the same building on West 57th Street in Manhattan where Mr. Cronkite anchored the “CBS Evening News.”
While he had not visited recently, Mr. McManus said, “his presence really is palpable in the halls of CBS News.” On Friday evening, the news division felt numb, even though Mr. Cronkite was known to be in ill health for some time.
A little more than a year ago, Mr. Cronkite paid a surprise visit to the news headquarters. Even the interns who weren’t yet born when Mr. Cronkite was anchor were “literally looking up to him,” Mr. McManus said.
“When he walked in the newsroom, it was like Thomas Jefferson walking into a history class at a university,” he said.

This second article is by Daniel Schorr, an iconic Journalist in his own right. As of this writing, the article is only hours old and will be accompanied by a television program, to be aired, later this evening on NPR (National Public Radio);
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106859991
News Analysis
by Daniel Schorr
Walter Cronkite Will Be Hard To Replace
Audio for this story will be available at approx. 7:00 p.m. ET
All Things Considered, July 21, 2009 · I imagine that no one would have been more astonished and more delighted than Walter Cronkite at the vast amount of ink and airtime occasioned by his death last Friday. That a generation later he should share a global stage with the moon landing anniversary would have seemed only the natural order of things.
Three decades after he reluctantly vacated the anchor seat at CBS News, no one has come to fill his place in American hearts and minds as the prototype newsman, the most trusted man in America.
Once asked to run for office, he said, smilingly, that he could not step down.
His image was the impartial purveyor of facts, without bias or opinion. Actually, some of his most dramatic moments involved departures from objectivity. The spontaneous "Oh boy!" as he watched the moon landing; the catch in his throat when he announced that President Kennedy had died. The eruption, "I think we've got a bunch of thugs here," from the anchor booth at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago when he saw Dan Rather being roughed up by security guards. And, famously, his 1968 visit to Vietnam and on-camera conclusion that the war was unwinnable and should be ended.
President Johnson told his aide Bill Moyers, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."
Cronkite also drew on his reservoir of trust when it came to reporting the Watergate scandal. In October 1972, about a month before the election, Cronkite noted to me, as designated Watergate correspondent, that CBS wasn't giving enough attention to the deepening investigation.
"This has been mainly a newspaper story," he said. "It's time to make it a television story."
We put together two lengthy packages summarizing all that was known about the scandal.
Ben Bradlee, editor of The Washington Post, later said that Cronkite and CBS had turned a newspaper story into a national story.
No one commanded more confidence than this plainspoken newsman from the Midwest. And, given the trend toward tabloid journalism, we are not likely to soon see another "Uncle Walter."

So, of all the famous people who have died recently, Walter Cronkite is like loosing a close relative. Only a few other journalist, along with Edward R. Murrow, can stake a claim of honesty, integrity and confidence in reporting, that Walter Cronkite takes with him. Though many may try to emulate him, there is no one on the horizon, who can match the stature of this Journalistic Icon. And that’s the way it was.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/displayevent.aspx?fID=571&rID=3376
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106859991
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/07/20/2001774.aspx
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/remembering-the-way-it-was/

To The Moon Or Mars

2009-07-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

I remember when I was a child witnessing the lunar landing of Apollo 11. Like millions of people around the world I was glued to my television set as the grainy images appeared of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking across the surface of another world. Recently, the 40th Anniversary of this event had arrived. NASA used this opportunity to celebrate the successful mission and to showcase the future endeavors of the space agency. The crew of this historic mission has been touring and lecturing about the future and where we should be heading with space exploration. The following is an excerpt from the Buzz Aldrin interview by Tariq Malik, as it appeared on the Fox News website; http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533785,00.html?test=latestnews
Buzz Aldrin: Put Humans on Mars By 2031
By Tariq Malik
The moon may have been the entire world for a day for Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin 40 years ago, but today he hopes the United States and the world set their sights on a far grander goal: Spreading humanity to Mars and perhaps asteroids and comets.
But NASA's plan to replace its three aging space shuttles with Orion capsules to carry astronauts to the moon by 2020 may not justify its $35 billion cost if it stops there, said Aldrin, one of the first humans to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 landing on July 20, 1969.
Instead, the United States can aid international partners in exploring the moon and free up its own spaceflight resources to develop systems for even more ambitious goals, he told in an interview.
"While the international explorers, with our help, are going to the moon, we can develop the long-duration life support systems for other things," said Aldrin, 79. "Flying by a comet, visiting an asteroid and station-keeping with it."
Mars within reach
With an international base on the moon and vital technologies like in-space refueling, Aldrin envisions an ambitious series of expeditions to send astronauts on a deep space mission to visit the asteroid Aphophis when it swings near Earth in 2021. A temporarily manned base on the Mars moon Phobos could follow, he added.
"By that time, we'd be ready to put people in a gradual permanence on Mars by 2031," Aldrin said. "That, in a nutshell, is what I really think we should be doing."
NASA's current transition from the space shuttle to Orion is a huge step backward, Aldrin said. The shuttle's may not have lived up to its initial expectations, but its ability to haul tons of cargo to orbit and land on a runway is a capability that should not be lost in order to replace it with something faster and cheaper, he stressed.
"What happens to U.S. space global leadership if everything is going to be done on the cheap and we're not going to think ahead, and we're going back to the moon for some reason that really won't justify the cost of human habitation," he said.
The United States should "do the things that this nation can do and strive toward maintaining globally space leaderships. And that means lifting bodies, runway landers and not going back to the moon, because we've been there," Aldrin added.

I agree with Mr. Aldrin and believe the ambitions of NASA should reach well beyond the Moon. I know some critics would say we do not know enough about our own planet yet for us to be reaching for the stars. But, I believe the gains in space exploration; will help us to understand more about our own earth, its origin and how important it is to help preserve our most natural resource, the planet we live on. I believe the colonization of the Moon is paramount before we reach further into the stars. We need to perfect our technologies of living on another surface, landing and lift-off procedures, as well as, all that is needed to survive in a non atmospheric environment, away from the safety of our own world. I believe the benefits go beyond just the scientific. In fact, I believe the technologies developed will impact every facet of our lives. From the economic thru medical and all life sciences will be enhanced by a healthy and rigorous space program. I only hope our government and all governments around the world are as excited about the future of space exploration as I am.

That’s How I See It.

Website of reference;
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533785,00.html?test=latestnews
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/Apollo/AS11/a11.htm
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo11/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(spacecraft)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA

Class of '94

2009-07-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

In 1994, the Republican Party had an amazing electoral victory in the Congress. This sweeping defeat of the Democratic Party opened an era of conservative rule ushering in the “Contract with America” led, by then elected Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Many of this Class of ’94 remain in political office today. Some are members of a group that, thru scandal, may be bringing the GOP to its knees. This group resides in a church at the Fellowship Foundation residence at 133 C Street SE in Washington. Also, referred to as “The Family”, this group of individuals are some of the GOP members, whose old style thinking is slowly isolating the party from mainstream America.

The following is a brief history about C-Street and “The Family”;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(Christian_political_organization)
The house on C Street
Until 1994, the Fellowship operated out of "Fellowship House," a large mansion located at 2817 Woodland Drive in Washington, D.C., currently owned by the Ourisman family. The Fellowship now maintains a three-story, 7,914-square-foot (735.2 m2) red brick townhouse at 133 C Street in Washington, D.C., near the United States Capitol, called the C Street Center. The townhouse formerly was used as a convent for nearby St. Peters Catholic Church. As noted above, several United States Senators and Representatives have lived at the C Street Center as resident members of the Fellowship at below-market rents. The property is exempt from real property taxes because it is classified as a "special purpose" use. District of Columbia law exempts from taxation "buildings belonging to religious corporations or societies primarily and regularly used for religious worship, study, training, and missionary activities" and "buildings belonging to organizations which are charged with the administration, coordination, or unification of activities, locally or otherwise, of institutions or organizations entitled to exemption."

The following is an excerpt from a radio interview of Jeff Sharlet. Mr. Sharlet is a contributing editor to Harper’s and Rolling Stone magazines. Last year, through HarperCollins, he published his book entitled “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power”. This interview was conducted by Dave Berns on public radio in Nevada;
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/19/behind-closed-doors-c-street/
Dave Berns: Scandals involving John Ensign and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford placed a spotlight on The Family. The group’s town house in Washington is a former convent with a chapel and, according to federal tax records, is registered as a church. Tenants pay below market rent.
We asked Sharlet which is the bigger story: the sex scandals, or the public conversation about The Family.
Jeff Sharlet: The story begins with these scandals. The question is, do you make the bigger connection? The real issue is not who Ensign or Sanford sleep with, but the organizations with which they pursue their policies and the sources to which they turn for moral and religious authority.
I think that is starting to come out, particularly with Ensign, because we see the role The Family plays in the cover-up. Doug Hampton said The Family had a role in moving money around for the affair, which I think a lot of outsiders look at as hypocritical. Knowing The Family, I understand that that’s not hypocritical from its perspective — that it’s actually a form of doing God’s work.
Berns: Talk about the relationship between members of The Family — they are men, not women — and the role they play as a larger group.
Sharlet: The Family began with this idea that God does not work through churches but rather through those whom The Family calls the “New Chosen.” They believe they’re chosen by God. They can’t be expected to pray with the rest of us. They need to pray in private with people of equal status.
When you join one of these prayer groups, you give these men veto power over your life, over every aspect of your life. Wives involved with The Family have said, “In my husband’s life, his brothers come first, I come second.”
I urge you to click on this link and read the interview. If there was ever a group who has elevated themselves to a level of entitlement it is “The Family”.

Even though, there are a few people who are an influence on the residents of C-Street, no one seems to carry as much influence as Douglas Coe. To be honest with you, I felt like I was reading about Charles Manson, as I searched different articles about this man and his connections with leaders of all branches of government. I have always believed in a separation of church and state. But, after researching this article, I am not so sure we are as religious free as we think we are.

The following is a summary of election results in 1994 taken from the website; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Revolution
The 1994 elections ushered in a great number of Republican freshmen. For example, of the 230 Republican House members of the 104th Congress, almost a third (73; 32%) were new to the House.[2] In the Senate, 11 of 54 (20%) Republicans were freshmen.[2]
Many current leaders in the Republican Party and other notables were first elected to national or state office as part of the Republican Revolution:
George W. Bush - Bush defeated incumbent Texas Governor Ann Richards, a Democrat. He was re-elected as Governor in 1998, and elected to the presidency of the United States in 2000 and in 2004.
Bill Frist - Formerly Senate Majority Leader, Frist was the Senior Senator from Tennessee, first elected in 1994 when he defeated incumbent Democrat Jim Sasser. He retired in 2007, after deciding not to seek reelection.
John Shadegg - Former chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, Shadegg was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Arizona's fourth district, replacing Republican Jon Kyl, who was elected to the Senate in 1994 to replace retiring Democrat Dennis DeConcini. Shadegg is the only member of the 1994 freshman class currently in the House Republican leadership.
Saxby Chambliss - Now the Senior Senator from Georgia, Chambliss was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Georgia's eighth district, replacing retiring Democrat J. Roy Rowland.
Sam Brownback - Now the Senior Senator from Kansas, Brownback was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Kansas' second district, replacing Democrat Jim Slattery, who was running for Governor.
Robert Ehrlich - The Former Governor of Maryland, Ehrlich was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Maryland's second district, replacing retiring Republican Helen Delich Bentley. Ran for re-election for Governor in 2006, defeated.
John Ensign - Now the junior Senator from Nevada, Ensign was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Nevada's first district, defeating three-term incumbent Democrat James Bilbray.
George Pataki - Pataki was elected Governor of New York in 1994, defeating three-term incumbent Mario Cuomo. He was the longest-serving Governor in the United States when he decided not to run for reelection in 2006.
Tom Coburn - Now the Junior Senator from Oklahoma, Coburn was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Oklahoma's second district, replacing Democrat Mike Synar (who was defeated in the Democratic primary). Coburn's Senate companion, James Inhofe, was first elected to the Senate in 1994, replacing resigned Democrat David L. Boren.
Mark Sanford - Now Governor of South Carolina, Sanford was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent South Carolina's first district, replacing outgoing Democrat James H. Hodges.
Lindsey Graham - Now the Senior Senator from South Carolina, Graham was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent South Carolina's third district, replacing outgoing Democrat Butler Derrick.
Joe Scarborough - Now the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, Scarborough was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Florida's first district. Scarborough served in the House for three terms before retiring.
Fred Thompson - Thompson was elected to finish the remaining two years of Al Gore's unexpired Senate term. Thompson went on to win the 1996 Senate election. He chose not to seek another term in 2002 and was a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
It has been extremely difficult to obtain a confirmed list of C-Street residents. However, John Ensign, Mark Sanford. Tom Coburn, Sam Brownback and not mentioned above Chip Pickering and Steve Largent, all lived or are in contact with “The Family.”

So, with everyone mentioned here and add Jeff Sessions and Mitch McConnell doing everything he can to delay the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, you have the reason why the only support the GOP can garner is their base. Maybe it is time for this class to graduate and just plain move on. The scandals are piling up and becoming laughable. In fact, the Democrats are beginning to look angelic. I can imagine how many evangelicals are turning in their graves on that thought. The sooner the Republicans can get fresh blood in the party, the sooner they will be able to capitalize on an Obama flub. President Obama is still flying high but he is beginning to look shaky with getting Healthcare and the like passed. Unless the GOP can clean up their act, they just might miss a golden opportunity if the present administration should blunder.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
Special thanks to Mike Licht Writer/Editor at NotionsCapital.com
Washington D.C. Metro Area for his comments and a link on a past article which inspired this writing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19rich.html?_r=2
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/c-street-sex-scandal/
http://hnn.us/articles/1760.html
http://www.alternet.org/politics/141278/rachel_maddow:_gop_sex_scandal_exposes_secretive_conservative_religious__group_--__
http://www.counterpunch.org/kozloff07102009.html
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/07/17/another-c-street-pol-accused-of-cheating.aspx
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/173899.asp
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/tom_coburn/index.html?inline=nyt-per
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/lindsey_graham/index.html?inline=nyt-per
http://www.captiveamerican.com/the-house-becomes-a-home-lifetime-politicians-in-the-house-of-representatives/
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/sanfords-spiritual-advisor/
http://www.thecolumbiastar.net/news/2006/0901/News/006.html
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/19/behind-closed-doors-c-street/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(Christian_political_organization)
http://www.examiner.com/x-9981-DC-Movie-Examiner~y2009m7d18-C-Street-The-Family-and-the-hypocrisy-of-depravity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Revolution
http://www.fairvote.org/reports/1995/chp3/gans.html
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/17/thefellowship-pickering-scandal/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504480.html
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/4.html

She Is No Diana Ross

2009-07-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

But she will still be a Supreme

The Hearings to nominate, Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court have drawn to a close. It is debatable if any testimony given could sway either side from their beliefs, in her appointment or non appointment to this high court. The Republicans appear to have hurt their party more than help it through all of these proceedings. The deep divide within the party is well pronounced as a split between the GOP exists in confirming or blocking her nomination. The following is an excerpt from an article by Frank Rich of the New York Times; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19rich.html?_r=2
The hearings were pure “Alice in Wonderland.” Reality was turned upside down. Southern senators who relate every question to race, ethnicity and gender just assumed that their unreconstructed obsessions are America’s and that the country would find them riveting. Instead the country yawned. The Sotomayor questioners also assumed a Hispanic woman, simply for being a Hispanic woman, could be portrayed as The Other and patronized like a greenhorn unfamiliar with How We Do Things Around Here. The senators seemed to have no idea they were describing themselves when they tried to caricature Sotomayor as an overemotional, biased ideologue.
At least they didn’t refer to “Maria Sotomayor” as had Mike Huckabee, whose sole knowledge of Latinos apparently derives from “West Side Story.” But when Tom Coburn of Oklahoma merrily joked to Sotomayor that “You’ll have lots of ’splainin’ to do,” it clearly didn’t occur to him that such mindless condescension helps explain why the fastest-growing demographic group in the nation is bolting his party.
I strongly urge you to read the complete article. I feel Mr. Rich has hit the nail on the head when it comes to issues within the GOP. As for the hearing in general, no testimony given, appeared to present evidence sufficient to derail the first nomination offered by President Obama.

I do believe the testimony of New Haven Firefighter Frank Ricci and Lieutenant Ben Vargas, also from the New Haven Fire Department, was unnecessary. I believe their testimony was more of a ploy, by the GOP, to bash Judge Sotomayor and to lash out at her because of her ruling against them, more than to show evidence to discredit her qualifications for the Federal Post. Both of these individuals had no objection to her becoming a Supreme Court Judge. So, why did the Republicans on this committee feel their testimony was necessary? I believe it was a political move that backfired to their cause more than offering a logical and substantial rebuttal to her confirmation.

In the end, I believe Judge Sotomayor, will be confirmed to the highest court. I believe the hearings have shown her that people do pay attention to what you say. I believe she has learned that any decision she makes will be scrutinized and her legacy of fairness and interpretation will either brand her as a wise justice, or as a candidate who lied to a committee to gain a position of prejudice. We can only wait and see.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-sotomayor19-2009jul19,0,7689719.story
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/26/huckabee-maria-sotomayor_n_207620.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sotomayor
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124784239343058333.html
http://www.slate.com/id/2219037/
http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/election/1444
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090717/ap_on_go_su_co/us_sotomayor_ricci_9
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19rich.html?_r=2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/17/AR2009071701310.html
A special acknowledgement to Andrew Cohen of CBS News via Twitter for the research information provided.

A Den Of Mistaken Morality

2009-07-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

During the George W. Bush administration, lobbying and the influence on how our government operates was a topic of concern. The fickle finger of accusation pointed to an address known as K-Street. But today, another street looms on the horizon of Republican scandal and deceit. 133 C Street SE, simply known as C-Street, has become the new den where bad behavior is the new signature for the battle weary GOP.

Residents of this address such as Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada, former resident, Republican Congressman Chip Pickering of Mississippi and frequent visitor Republican Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina have made this residence the new focus involving adultery and sexual liaisons. All of this from a party that has wooed the religious right with Bible quotes and themes of country and family values. The following is a sample of the scandals coming from a residence that is listed as a Church; http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2009/jul/14/house_c_street/
The house on C Street
By Patrick Kelley (Contact)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK will be leaving Washington next year to come back to Kansas to run for governor. He’s picked a good time to get out of town.
Scandals have drawn unwelcome attention to the senator’s home in the nation’s capital — the house at 133 C St. SE. Brownback lives there with five other members of Congress, including Sen. John Ensign of Nevada. Ensign has admitted an affair with a member of his staff and news reports have alleged questionable payments made to that staff member.
Other residents of the house apparently counseled Ensign about the affair and at one point supervised his writing of a letter breaking off the relationship. Ensign apparently called his lover soon after the letter was sent and told her to ignore it.
Ensign is not the only politician who has sought advice at C Street. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a former member of Congress, recently told a reporter that he went to the house for advice about his affair with a woman in Argentina.
So the house on C Street and its residents, like it or not, are now in the spotlight — connected, at least peripherally, with two current sex scandals in U.S. politics.
The resulting scrutiny has extended to the house itself and its role in politics.
U.S. News & World Report reported that the house is owned by a “secretive religious organization” alternately known as the “Fellowship” or the “Foundation.” The bottom two floors of the building are registered in tax records as a church. The members of Congress live on the third floor. Each pays $600 a month rent, an extremely low rate for housing within walking distance of the Capitol.
Commentators have begun to ask what role the group that owns the house plays in the careers of its tenants and what influence it may wield in matters of government.
Brownback has not been connected to the Ensign or Sanford scandals beyond mention that he is a resident of the house. But the scandals have directed attention to the house, its owners and the people who live there.
That is the sort of attention that a candidate for Kansas governor can do without. Perhaps it is time for the senator to find more expensive quarters for the rest of his time in Washington.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor

To me, this residence is nothing more than a Legislative Frat house. The Republican members of Congress and the Senate that live there do nothing more than, try to relive their college years and present nothing less than a “Boys behaving badly” attitude. This is in direct contradiction to the Christian beliefs the GOP tout as their mantra to gain the American public support. If you find this behavior acceptable for your public representatives then, rest well knowing that, while K-Street keeps the GOP wallets fat with lobbying and bribes, C-Street will keep their loins well greased so no Republican Politician has to feel overstressed. Between the past Democratic shenanigans and the present Republican implosion, I will remain Independent. Well, at least for now.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/revealed_the_sanfordensign_connection.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Coburn#Personal_life
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25067.html
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/another_c_street_vet_falls_to_an_extramarital_affa.php
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504480.html
http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2009/jul/14/house_c_street/

Where Is The Outrage

2009-07-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

It has been announced this week that the Insurance company AIG (American International Group) is requesting permission to pay over 235 million dollars in retention bonuses to some of their employees. This amount is far in excess of the 165 million dollars AIG wanted to pay as bonuses in March of this year. Those bonuses caused enough of an outrage that the CEO of AIG, at that time, resigned under the controversy. The following is an article that appeared recently in USA Today, addressing this very subject; http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2009-07-12-aig-bonuses-pay-czar_N.htm
Pay czar Feinberg looks at over $200 million in AIG bonuses
By Pallavi Gogoi and Kathy Chu, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — In what could be his first test in office, pay czar Kenneth Feinberg will decide whether to give beleaguered global insurer American International Group approval to pay out $2.4 million this week, and another pending $235 million in retention bonuses in coming months, to its employees.
When AIG paid $165 million in retention bonuses in March, there was widespread public outrage because the government had bailed it out with more than $180 billion in taxpayers' money. CEO Edward Liddy appealed to employees to return at least half of those bonuses as he was given a dressing down by lawmakers at a congressional hearing. Liddy has since decided to step down.
This time, AIG is seeking administration approval before giving bonuses.
"After being under siege last time, AIG wants the government to give some sort of political protection before paying out its contractual deferred compensation," says Andrew Samwick, a professor at Dartmouth College.
AIG spokeswoman Christina Pretto wouldn't comment except to say: "We all have the same objective, which is to restore AIG, repay taxpayers and reduce risk."
The latest Treasury compensation rules for companies that have received government funds "prohibits" any bonuses or retention awards to "highly compensated employees" and "senior executive officers." However, it is Feinberg's job to review any bonus structures that were awarded before Feb. 17 and also "where appropriate, negotiate appropriate reimbursements to the federal government."
Feinberg didn't return calls seeking comment. But Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams said in a statement: "Companies will need to convince Mr. Feinberg that they have struck the right balance to discourage excessive risk-taking and reward performance for their top executives. … Mr. Feinberg has broad authority to make sure that compensation at those firms strikes an appropriate balance."
The Obama administration had to take some heat for allowing the bonus payments in March, especially since President Obama had chided Wall Street for excessive pay. Since then, the administration named Feinberg to oversee and review payments and compensation plans for the executives and the 100 most highly compensated employees at companies that received government aid.
This week's proposed payout is already drawing criticism. The Service Employees International Union demanded that AIG halt the bonus payments. "The greedy CEOs who tanked our economy don't need another million-dollar bonus," said Andy Stern, SEIU president.
For now, the call is Feinberg's, and compensation experts are watching closely. "Feinberg might have to absorb some of the flak this time," says Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware.

My question is where is the outrage over this latest development? Why do our legislators appear to be looking the other way over this latest event?
The following are excerpts taken from another USA Today article recently published;
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2009-07-10-aig-asks-obama-for-bonus-approval_N.htm
While the company isn't required to get the government's blessing because the payments are actually for 2008 employment contracts, the Washington Post said executives are reluctant to move forward with installments coming due next week without official approval.
In September, the government provided AIG with an $85 billion rescue package amid the mushrooming credit crisis. In return, they took about an 80% stake in the New York-based insurance giant. Since then, the government has provided additional rounds of support. AIG's available loan package now totals $182.5 billion, though AIG has not tapped all of the funds.

As far as I am concerned, if they have not repaid the obscene amount of money they borrowed from my tax dollars then, they are completely obligated to not only ask to pay bonuses but, to explain in great detail how employees, who ran the company into the ground, even deserve bonuses.

Now, maybe since Kenneth Feinberg was hired to deal with such requests is the reason the situation appears to be running under the radar. With addressing Healthcare and a new Energy Bill, the Obama administration has enough on their plate right now. My hope is that this corporation is being held on a very tight leash and will not be allowed to flagrantly spend money, it really does not own, in the face of economic discord.

I will never deny anyone compensation to support their family especially, if it is well deserved. But to me, until all the TARP money is repaid, there is not a single person in AIG who deserves anything more than their base salary. Especially those who helped bury the company to begin with. To me, that is where the outrage is.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.insurancedaily.co.uk/2009/07/17/alico-to-split-from-aig/
http://www.aig.com/Home-Page_20_17084.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_International_Group
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2009-07-10-aig-asks-obama-for-bonus-approval_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2009-07-12-aig-bonuses-pay-czar_N.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Feinberg

Coming To A Mall Near You

2009-07-14T00:29:00.000-07:00

Recently the FBI has been conducting an investigation involving American bred Jihadists in the Chicago area. Mohamoud Hassan, Shirwa Ahmed and Zakaria Maruf are three individuals who came to the United States when they were children. They were brought here to live better lives than what could be offered to them in their native Somalia. However, what they did with their opportunity is very chilling. The article is too long to show here but, I suggest clicking on the following link and read an article about these individuals. This article appeared in the New York Times by Andrea Elliot; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/us/12somalis.html?_r=2

We have been very fortunate that terrorist attacks are not as common here as in other countries. But, the implication of what these individuals did and why, is enough to make you ask if we are doing enough to ensure the safety and security of our nation. The Muslim community in their neighborhood condemns what these individuals have done and promotes peace from the Koran. Now, do not get me wrong. Even home grown terrorists today use the Bible to justify their actions when Christian believers will tell you about brotherhood and peace. But, as in all religions, we have to take a close look at how any religious belief, is being taught and how it is being used as a tool of recruitment by undesirables, who have a destructive agenda.

Now, I am not promoting the Patriot Act. But, I do believe that law enforcement needs to keep a close eye and ear on various groups in our country, regardless of religion or non religious intent. People have to understand that freedom of speech does not mean using that freedom to promote actions that cause chaos and disruption. People have to also understand that there is a danger when you interpret something and manipulate that interpretation. Many people need and use religion to keep them grounded and of a straight mind. There are some people who are very impressionable and can be manipulated in a deceitful way. The person who causes this deceit must be held accountable.

So, I believe, we all carry a responsibility, if not for anything less than our own personal safety and security. To take action, even if it is to report what we see or hear, to authorities who can take a closer look at the situation. I do not believe this big brother or a Police State attitude. But, a prudent way to ensure that terrorism in this country is kept in check and prevent what has been happening in market places around the world from Coming to a Mall near you.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda/index.html?inline=nyt-org
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/al-shabab/index.html?inline=nyt-org
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/?cid=hp:cheatsheet6#cheatrow_7448
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/us/12somalis.html?_r=2

Sorry Can Be A Hollow Word

2009-07-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

Federal Judge Denny Chin is not a household name. But, to Ponzi scam artist Bernie Madoff, Judge Chin is etched in his memory for the remainder of his natural life. Judge Chin presided over the Governments trial of Mr. Madoff and upon conviction, sentenced the new federal prisoner to one hundred and fifty years of incarceration. Upon his conviction, Bernie Madoff apologized to the victims of his elaborate Ponzi scheme, who were in the courtroom, the day of his sentencing. But, to many who have lost their life savings, sorry had a very hollow meaning.

Though, it is said, the losses may not be as great as reported. But, there are some people who have life stories altered because of Mr. Madoff’s actions. The following is an article that appeared in the Miami Herald and online. Written by Brittany Levine, this is the plight of three of Bernie Madoff’s clients;
http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/1128728.html
Three South Florida victims of Bernard L. Madoff tell their stories
Three South Floridians revealed how they were victimized by Bernard Madoff. One is 'ashamed' because he got his friends and family involved.
The human toll in the Bernard L. Madoff scandal stretches from England to California, but few places have been hit harder than South Florida.
Three local residents, who are victims, offered their own variations on a theme of fraud and deceit in the days after Madoff was sentenced to 150 years for the long-running Ponzi scheme:
RICHARD SPRING
About 20 years ago, Bernie Madoff sat next to Richard Spring, of Boca Raton, on a New York subway. The two chatted about investments.
Now Spring wishes they never met.
Spring, 70, invested most of his savings with Madoff, according to his attorney Kenneth Lipman. The former stockbroker told his wife, his cousins, and his friends to invest with Madoff, too. He thought it was a safe bet, and for years he saw his investments grow by leaps and bounds.
Then it all crumbled as federal investigators exposed the massive Ponzi scheme. Spring has since become a virtual hermit, rarely leaving the house. He doesn't like to talk about his loss because he's ''ashamed'' he got his friends and family involved, Lipman said.
''It's been a tremendous blow to him. He used to be an optimistic, happy person. Not anymore,'' Lipman said.
He's cut back on spending, especially on luxuries such as his golf membership. His wife is ill and he has to pay her medical bills.
''Like everyone else, he thought he had a great deal of money that he could live off of for the remainder of his natural life,'' Lipman said. ``But he's a changed man.''
GUIDO PARENTE
It was his cousin, Bernie Madoff's longtime secretary, who convinced Guido Parente to invest. He said he ended up losing $1.2 million.
Parente calls himself a ''hands-on kind of guy'' who ''never understood how shuffling money around made more money.'' But Annette Bongiorno, his cousin through marriage, always bragged about her boss' stellar investments.
So Parente, who owns a glass manufacturing company in Plantation, got hooked. His daughter, who owns a children's gym in Fort Lauderdale, also invested $100,000 with Madoff.
Bongiorno, he said, made a commission off the investments. She could not be reached for a comment.
Parente, 66, planned to retire last year and spend time with his family in Benevento, a small town in southern Italy known for its yellow liqueur and hazelnut candy.
But he's back to work. Since the Madoff scheme unraveled, he has been rebuilding his savings and has a ''safe'' Morgan Stanley account.
Parente's hobby is building big houses with marble floors and Tuscan-style roofs. With his extra cash, he would build million-dollar homes on acre lots in Plantation. A few years ago, he sold a house and planned to pay off other mortgages with the profit.
But Bongiorno, 60, convinced him to invest it with Madoff, he said. The slow real-estate market has stalled the sale of the 7,000-square-foot house with an asking price of $2.9 million, and Parente is stuck paying the mortgage.
LORI SIROTKIN
Lori Sirotkin invested more than $1 million, including her children's college funds, with Bernie Madoff. And now the 52-year-old's world has been turned upside down.
She moved recently to Boca Raton from New Jersey to be closer to her mother. Her father died earlier this year. She's divorced, receives no alimony and is currently looking for a job in the medical profession.
Back in New Jersey she tried to cut costs. Only one light was allowed per room. She turned down the thermostat and layered her two teenage daughters in sweaters. If her daughters needed new clothes, ''they just had to squeeze into'' the old ones.
''I was broke,'' she said. ``My kids grew up thinking they could go to whatever college, whatever graduate school they wanted. Now I'm praying for scholarships.''
She said she knew nothing about finances -- her husband took care of the books -- but she trusted Madoff.
Recently, she joined a Madoff Google group, an online network of victims who share information. She's learning about finances and trying to protect herself for the future.
She has no retirement fund because she has always worked part-time.
For now, she waits for payment from the Securities Investor Protection Corp., the government-chartered corporation that compensates customers of failed brokerages for up to $500,000.
''When the money comes through, I'll be able to sleep at night,'' she said.
``Right now, I'm still very scared.''

No doubt Mr. Madoff is trying to take complete responsibility so no one else is prosecuted. But, let us face it, his wife and fellow family members, as well as, close employment allies had to know what was going on. I am sure he will have to cut more deals or he might find his prison cell becoming awfully crowded. The Government continues to pursue his wife Ruth and has confiscated all but 2.5 million of her assets. Other family members are being investigated as well as employees of his company. This investigation could take a few years before everything is sorted out. The SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) needs to look at itself as well considering this scam took place right under their noses. Who really knows how far reaching this case may become.

Personally, I do not think the prison sentence will stop future scam artists. I believe Judge Chin had good intentions, on sending a message, about how behavior like Mr. Madoff’s will not be tolerated. But, in the end, someone will come along and think they will get away with it. The reason, they believe they will not make the same mistakes as Bernie Madoff did. More than likely, it will not be the same mistakes. But, they will eventually get caught. After initial success, their greed will be too tempting to stop themselves.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1893837_1894189,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/business/25bernie.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/1128728.html
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Madoff/story?id=8041942&page=1
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1757090

The Man in The Mirror

2009-07-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, the public memorial service for Michael Jackson, took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Many big name entertainers were on hand to pay tribute to the “King of Pop”. Even the Reverend Al Sharpton made a speech. Everyone who spoke told of fond memories of Mr. Jackson. There were performances by most who took the stage but, the daughter of Michael Jackson is the one who stole the show and everyone’s heart.

Paris Katherine Jackson spoke of her father and the love they shared. As she broke down, so did many in the audience. Jermaine Jackson sang a favorite song of his brother Michael, almost succumbing to tears. But not everyone in the public spotlight shares the sympathy towards the entertainer.

U. S. Representative Peter King of the 3rd District in New York has stated publicly that too much is being made of Mr. Jackson’s death and he should not be so eulogized as a good person. Representative King points out the Pedophile and child abuse accusations made towards Mr. Jackson. Even though he was acquitted of any wrong doing in the trial he did face.

For me, I think the funeral should be over and done. I do believe it is being dragged out much longer than necessary. However, I do believe Michael Jackson should be remembered for the good he brought to this world. His talent was a stepping stone to the caring he showed towards children around the world. I think we honor his talent and take the skeletons of his life and bury them forever. No purpose would be served by denigrating a person who obviously gave to this world far more than he took from it.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/07/michael-jacksons-kids-pri_n_227210.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gigi-levangie-grazer/perilous-isolation-the-ve_b_228333.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/jackson-riddled-with-needle-marks-reports-20090709-ddnb.html
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/07/06/rep-king-on-jackson-theres-nothing-good-about-this-guy/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1915566/peter_king_new_york_congressman_calls.html?cat=49
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/06/pete-king-michael-jackson_n_226062.html
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/newmemberbio.cgi?lang=&member=NY03&site=ctc