General McChrystal out despite Apologies

General Stanely A. McChrystal resigned as leader of the US NATO operations in Afghanistan. General David Petraeus, current leader of the operations in Iraq, will replace the outgoing McChrystal. The four-star General came under intense fire when a profile in Rolling Stone shows the General and his staff making deprecatory remarks of the Vice President, Holbrooke, Eikenberry and the Obama Administration in general.

After the meeting in the Oval Office, General McChrystal was not invited to the National Security meeting about Afghanistan. This was clear indication that McChrystal was not in command of the Afghan forces.

Afghan President Harmid Karzai praised General McChrystal and sopke out against the possibility of dismissing McChrystal. But it seems it was a resignation and not a dismissal. President Karzai then reacted with a statement of solidarity with American President.

McChrystal to keep his job?

General Stanley A. McChrystal, the man in charge of the war in Afghanistan, has come home to see to the Commander -in- Chief. This trip to the White House is decidedly under a dark cloud of foreboding.

A recent article in the music and culture magazine, the seminal Rolling Stone, has brought the General and many of his staff under intense fire because of disparaging comments they made about the President, the Vice President and other members of the administration while being observed by the Press.

Now, the fallout is tremendous. According to White House Press Secretary Gibbs, the President was angry after reading the General and his aide's remarks. He then summoned the General to the Oval Office. General McChrystal arrived in Washington DC early this morning.

He met briefly with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before meeting with the President. At 9:45 eastern time, he arrived at the White House. The meeting was over before 10:30.

After the Oval Office meeting, Obama and McChrystal were scheduled to join a larger group of senior administration aides in a meeting about Afghanistan and Pakistan that was scheduled to begin at 11:35 a.m. ET, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

McChrystal is prepared to resign if the president has lost confidence in him, a national security official told CNN. Most of the Pentagon brass hopes he will be upbraided by the commander-in-chief but sent back to continue the mission, the official said. Though some sources at the Pentagon say that McChrystal is done.

The President has asked for a list of possible replacements should the need arise.

The author, Michael Hastings, writes that McChrystal and his staff had imagined ways of dismissing Vice President Joe Biden with a one-liner as they prepared for a question-and-answer session in Paris, France, in April. The general had grown tired of questions about Biden since earlier dismissing a counterterrorism strategy the vice president had offered.

"'Are you asking about Vice President Biden?' McChrystal says with a laugh. 'Who's that?'"

"Biden?' suggests a top adviser. 'Did you say: Bite Me?'

McChrystal does not directly criticize Obama in the article, but Hastings writes that the general and Obama "failed to connect" from the outset. Sources familiar with the meeting said McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the room full of top military officials, according to the article.

Later, McChrystal's first one-on-one meeting with Obama "was a 10-minute photo op," Hastings writes, quoting an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his f---ing war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss (McChrystal) was disappointed."

The article goes on to paint McChrystal as a man who "has managed to piss off almost everyone with a stake in the conflict," including U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, special representative to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke and national security adviser Jim Jones. Obama is not named as one of McChrystal's "team of rivals."

Of Eikenberry, who railed against McChrystal's strategy in Afghanistan in a cable leaked to The New York Times in January, the general is quoted as saying, "'Here's one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, "I told you so.'"

Hastings writes in the profile that McChrystal has a "special skepticism" for Holbrooke, the official in charge of reintegrating Taliban members into Afghan society and the administration's point man for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"At one point on his trip to Paris, McChrystal checks his BlackBerry, according to the article. 'Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke,' he groans. 'I don't even want to open it.' He clicks on the message and reads the salutation out loud, then stuffs the BlackBerry back in his pocket, not bothering to conceal his annoyance.

Both Democrats and Republicans have been strongly critical of McChrystal in the wake of the story. House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, D-Wisconsin, called McChrystal the latest in a "long list of reckless, renegade generals who haven't seemed to understand that their role is to implement policy, not design it."

McChrystal is "contemptuous" of civilian authority and has demonstrated "a bull-headed refusal to take other people's judgments into consideration."

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota, became the first member of the Senate Democratic leadership to call for McChrystal to step down, telling CNN that the remarks were "unbelievably inappropriate and just can't be allowed to stand."

Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin, D-Michigan, deferred to Obama on the question of a possible McChrystal resignation. He said the controversy was sending a message of "confusion" to troops in the field. I think it has "a negative effect" on the war effort, he said.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, urged a cooling off period before a final decision is rendered on the general. My "impression is that all of us would be best served by just backing off and staying cool and calm and not sort of succumbing to the normal Washington twitter about this for the next 24 hours."

Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Jim Webb of Virginia -- also key senators on defense and foreign policy issues -- were each strongly critical of McChrystal's remarks, but noted that the general's future is a decision for Obama to make.

Karzai weighed in from abroad, urging Obama to keep McChrystal as the U.S. commander in Afghanistan. The government in Kabul believes McChrystal is a man of strong integrity who has a strong understanding of the Afghan people and their culture, Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said.

A U.S. military official said Tuesday that McChrystal has spoken to Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and other officials referenced in the story, including Holbrooke, Eikenberry and Jones.

An official at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said Eikenberry and McChrystal "are both fully committed" to Obama's Afghan strategy and are working together to implement the plan. "We have seen the article and General McChrystal has already spoken to it," according to a statement from an embassy official, making reference to McChrystal's apology.

"I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome," McChrystal said in the closing to his apology.

Rolling Stone executive editor Eric Bates, however, struck a less optimistic tone during an interview with CNN on Tuesday.

The comments made by McChrystal and other top military aides during the interview were "not off-the-cuff remarks," he said. They "knew what they were doing when they granted the access." The story shows "a deep division" and "war within the administration" over strategy in Afghanistan, he contended.

McChrystal and his staff "became aware" that the Rolling Stone article would be controversial before it was published, Hastings told CNN Tuesday. He said he "got word from (McChrystal's) staff ... that there was some concern" about possible fallout from the story.

Obama tapped McChrystal to head the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan in the spring of 2009 shortly after dismissing Gen. David McKiernan.

PCNAA is censorship & fascist

Been gone long time. Who cares?

I am a little fired up today. And it's not because of the Oil Spill in the Gulf. After 8 weeks and only some progress being made while BP looks worse than some of the sea turtles they've killed.... there's not much I can do to upstage Heyward and Svanberg. They're doing just fine making things worse on their own!

No, I want to blog about something that everyone - EVERYONE - needs to pay attention to. Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) has introduced legislation that would give the President the power to shut down parts of the internet in so-called emergency situations.

This bill, S.3480, would "amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and other laws to enhance the security and resiliency of the cyber and communications infrastructure of the United States." This bill has currently been referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Ostensibly, the bill would be for stopping cyber attacks on important and vital government infrastructure. Watch Transformers. Ya know, the part where they're like "shut it down!" and they unplug a server (which makes me laugh... like it would be so easily available and easy to do...) and they all scramble because of DoD information that the Decepticons could get? That may be the situation that is forseen by this bill.

But the reality is, it would probably be used to shut down people who are talking about things the government doesn't like. So this slippery slop brings me to the most cherished piece of government documents: The 1st amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

I consider what I do in the blogosphere to be amateur journalism. I consider what many of my friends who write about conspiracies, vast or otherwise, ludicrous or otherwise, to be amateur journalists. In other words, we study, research and analyze subjects, events, ideas and people but we don't get paid what Anderson Cooper gets paid. We get paid nothing.

I as a Libertarian, find myself at odds often with both parties. So I don't get much love. The government would probably find me dangerous if I owned more guns. But there are always individuals and then there are groups whom the government can deem threats to national security. And for some businesses that require the internet to conduct business, this could be used to destroy them.

So read the bill and decide for yourself in good amateur journalist fashion whether this bill is constitutional or not. Then write someone on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Here's a list of all of them.

• Joe Lieberman, Connecticut, Chairman
• Carl Levin, Michigan
• Daniel Akaka, Hawaii
• Thomas R. Carper, Delaware
• Mark Pryor, Arkansas
• Mary Landrieu, Louisiana
• Claire McCaskill, Missouri
• Jon Tester, Montana
• Roland Burris, Illinois
• Ted Kaufman, Delaware
• Susan Collins, Maine, Ranking Member
• Tom Coburn, Oklahoma
• Scott Brown, Massachusetts
• John McCain, Arizona
• George Voinovich, Ohio
• John Ensign, Nevada
• Lindsey Graham, South Carolina

If it does pass through committee, then write your own senator.

Senator Knotts = Idiot

State Senator Jake Knotts, Republican from South Carolina called the President a Raghead and the Republican candidate for Governor, Nikki Haley, an Indian-American who was raised a Sikh. He was on an Internet political talk show, Pub Politics.

Ed of MSNBC's The Ed Show points out there may be something in the Republican drinking water in South Carolina.



Maybe there is something going on in South Carolina...

Lexington County Senator Knotts has been asked for his resignation by the State's Libertarian Party and later, the Republican Party.

On June 11th, the Lexington County Republican Party Senator Knotts to resign for calling gubernatorial nominee Nikki Haley a “raghead.”

The county party said the comments brought “shame” and “disgrace” to both Knotts and the state in the resolution condemning the state senator’s actions.

Knotts, a key ally of one of Haley’s primary opponents, used the term in a recent interview to describe both President Barack Obama and Haley, who is the child of Sikh immigrants from India.

He later tried to clarify his comments, saying in a statement that he believes Haley “is pretending to be someone she is not, much as Obama did, but I apologize to both for an unintended slur.”

The resolution censuring Knotts does not cite the word he used to describe Haley, saying only that the state senator’s “racial epithets has brought shame and disgrace upon himself, his office and his party.”

The resolution then “condemns the racist statement” before calling on Knotts to “resign his office forthwith.”

In a response, Knotts said he had no intention of resigning,

“This is not a Republican Party, this is a libertarian party,” Knotts said. “This is nothing but politics. I’m not resigning. I could care less.”

He calls himself a Libertarian but I find that a complete load of bullshit.

Plenty of people like to hang their hats on the Libertarian Party for varying reasons. Some of them are just plain ignorant. There is a perception that Libertarians are the last true bastion of macho red-blooded American bigoted values. I won't say there aren't people out there that think that way but there is much more involved and Libertarians tend to be for Civil Liberties for all Americans, not just the ones that look and think like us (ie White Southerners).

Libertarians oppose war, oppose the Fed, the UN and the US Partiot Act. We also don't like corporatism, taxes, bigger government and statist values. So far, only one Republican has been able to maintain his credential as a Libertarian while running and working within the Republican Party. Representative Ron Paul of Texas is that man. None others come close.

It's convenient for people like Knotts and even Ann Coulter to claim Libertarianism. Conservative views have a voice within the Libertarian fold. We like our guns and our property.

We also hold Liberal social values. Many Libertarians are also for gay marriage, legalizing drugs and prostitution. There is a divide among Libertarians on abortion but it is not something that would cause violence among members.

Libertarians also don't care about color, race, creed and religion. We believe the country was founded on the idea of liberty for all.

Two major reasons why Knotts looks dreadfully ignorant. First, to use racial slurs is not a Libertarian value. We do onto others has we'd have done to us. No other political party that I know tries to espouse this as a major tenet of political life.

Second, he behaves as though he can say what he wants regardless of the consequences. Screw everybody, he'll say what he pleases.

Where do people get the idea that Libertarians are bigots? This isn't the party I belong to and I'm frustrated by the stereotype he holds of us and perpetuates in the media.

He isn't a Libertarian. He's just ignorant.

What Would Scott Cunningham Do?

My family and I are moving to Lakeville. Its not a huge move but it does come with a few changes.

1. Gotta mow the lawn!
2. New Phone #
3. Living in a basement again! Eek! Spiders!!!
4. Shoveling a driveway
5. Switching to DSL!
6. Switching to Satellite TV

I started looking at the channels we're getting with our new thingamajig. Among the channels are fourteen (14) religious channels. One is outright Catholic. Another is nothing but services from various congregations replayed including Catholic masses and Jewish services. The rest are outright cheesy to the extreme Protestant. Programming for the Crispy Christians.

Despite my cynicism, it got me thinking. There needs to be some alternative channels to all these Christian channels. Though, I'll admit, the plethora of Christian programming has a lot to do with the population of those who purchase satellite television. I can't find statistics to back up an assertion I want to make so bear with me. I'm making an assumption that most subscribers, or at least a bulk of the early ones, were in the Midwest, regions with a more independent libertarian philosophy, or the Crispies themselves who also happen to live in those areas as well. So, its no surprise that there should be that many religious channels. There are something like 4x that in Skintillating programming (misspelling intended).

I think there should be something of a new age channel incorporating Buddhism, Hinduism, Eastern Philosophies, Paganism, Theosophy and any damn thing we can come up with. It might be difficult to dream up content but there is enough out there already to get us started! I think it would be nice if Belief.net could get on this for all of us who aren't of the Abrahamic faiths. I'd watch!

Man in the Mirror

I also have not posted about Michael Jackson because there is really is no need to. Everybody is doing it! So I thought I'd join up but for different reasons.

I really was neutral about his death. It was just another part of my childhood gone just like Cabbage Patch Dolls and music videos on MTV. But I did remember something that I have to mention.

A song on the Bad album called Man in the Mirror struck a chord with me when I was a teenager. Given that I was 8 when Bad was released, it was several years after. I was really beginning to become concerned about the world. About being a force for good in the great strain of Judeo-Catholic philosophy (Jews better the world, Catholics do good works and Protestants save souls). Of particular interest during my teen years was Sarajevo and the war in Bosnia-Hersegovina.

While my classmates were digging on the revivals of Jimi Hendrix and the Doors and buying into Alternative only when popular, I was listening to other shit. I got into Alternative, too. But I also got into the deeper messages that many were spreading. And it went back to the 80's when a lot of musician-as-activist had its real zenith. In the 60's there was protesting politics and folk anthems. But in the 80's it came to singing about social problems. Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, U2 and even Michael Jackson were singing to raise awareness of problems as far away as Ethiopia and as close as next door.

And there were lots of problems: homelessness, drugs, crack babies, oil spills, endangered species, nuclear meltdown, wars, civil wars, Cold War, nuclear weapons, inflation, recession, taxes, unemployment, pollution, malnutrition, gang violence, civil unrest, crime, school closings, rising food prices, sucide, white collar crime, sex slavery, Cola Wars, Savings and Loan collapse, suicide bombers, famine, drought, AIDS, hate, and poverty.

But the song that probably made the biggest impact brought it back home. Man in the Mirror forced the audiance to reconsider their own feelings and actions, thoughts and ideas about the world and what a person could do to make a difference. Instead of thinking just about others, we had to think about what we could change about ourselves to make it right. The song made an impact at me at that time and I will be forever grateful for it.

The video is an emotionally charged collage of various problems around the world in 1987. It also shows good things happening.

Here's the video. Real Player.

Sarah Palin

I have not said anything about her because of several reasons. First, she's not nearly as crucial to the Republican Party as pundits like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity would have people believe. Second, she's not really worth talking about. I thought she was a lightweight, a soft politician unable to think for herself.

This former beauty queen who is a maverick unto herself doesn't have the right character to be an elected official. If anyone criticizes her right or wrong, she has to attack them with legal proceedings. I know from just being a Political Science major that its a tough field. Politicians are built of tougher stuff than the average citizen. For her to cry foul on every statement, joke or insinuation about her or her family shows her naiveté and vulnerability. The fact that she allegedly looks for criticism reveals that she is more concerned with what others think of her than her job.

By constantly needing to "set the record straight" she actually creates a bigger firestorm. Lunging at all who say anything gives nameless and faceless bloggers a bigger podium form which to reach a larger audience. Also, by calling what we do the "record" is to give us far more credit than we deserve. I'm neither her constituent nor a fellow party-member (I'm a lib lib - that's Liberal Libertarian). She owes me nothing! But I can still criticize her to my heart's content. But does what I say become a record that can be used against her in a court of law? NO! I doubt I even have any effect on any voter's mind!

Now that she has announced her resignation as Governor of Alaska she has proven many of her critics correct. She lacked the integrity to stick to the job at hand. Instead she let her ballooning and evermore cartoonish profile overwhelm her. Her "personality" became bigger than the office she held but not in the way anyone would want. It also increased her political vulnerability because those in the Alaskan government knew she had something fragile to protect: her national image, her brand. Book deals and lecture circuits are far more lucrative than the pitiful Office of Alaska Governor.

I am angry at Moose Hunter Barbie! She has set women back a decade. It may be harder for anyone to take a female Presidential Candidate seriously. Thus far, we've achieved Secretary of State thrice and Speaker of the House once. The Glass Ceiling is still the Presidential Ticket. In addition, her public face helps to reinforce a stereotype that women have increasingly worked to obliterate. The ignorant, sheltered, naive soccer/hockey mom whose ambitions go only as far as her hairdo! A woman who cares more about what others think rather than how she has lived her life. It seems her biggest problem is that instead of thinking, she just reacts. To Everything!

So like any young insecure girl uncomfortable with what she has, she stays with the "in-crowd". The trend right now is to distrust all government. Glenn Beck, a political commentator who recently left CNN for Fox News, has pointed out repeatedly how little we can trust our elected officials (Common Sense, Beck). If Palin is reading her tea leaves, she probably sees herself in the grouping that are currently unpopular. So, like a teen girl who must be seen in the latest fashion, she bails on her state in favor of more money and a maverick image that few take seriously.

I sincerely wish her luck with whatever she does. I don't think it matters much. Mostly, I think she's gunning for Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin or Laura Ingraham's job or at least their profiles and bloated bank accounts. Though I'd remind her that these women have what they have by inviting criticism! They sell more books by being polarizing and pushing so far to the right. They have what they have because of their thick skins and ability to use other's anger against them (which though I disagree with much of what they think, say and do, I do applaud this rare characteristic). I have serious reservations about Palin's ability to survive jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

On a personal note: I am an unemployed College Student who has next to nothing. Try and sue me!

1358 all over again!

On April 1, 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran was established. Things have never been perfect as any human made society isn't. But things have never been this bad.

Unless you've been in a coma, under a rock or tripping on something I don't even want to smell, you already know that many Iranians are protesting the results of an allegedly rigged election. (Trying to compare this to our 2000 election). The year 1358 is the year in the Islamic calendar when the the previous regime ending revolution occurred.

Who thought it would be...

IOWA

That's right, kids! Iowa, the 29th State in the Union, has just legalized Same sex Marriage!!!

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled today that it was unconstitutional to ban same sex marriage. The ruling takes affect April 24th. Yay Iowa!!!

Blagojevich: How I missed thee!!!! Er: How I will miss thee!!!

I was just thinking yesterday, in fact, that we hadn't heard from Rod Blagojevich lately. Considering myself a Daughter of Illinois, I was concerned about the troubled former Governor. Concern myself no more: he's back in the news!!!

Beyond all the other things he'd be facing (conspiracy and fraud charges), he was also indicted today by a Grand Jury on 16 felony charges.

In a completely unrelated story, the state of Illinois will be holding elections to replace the guy Blago appointed to replace Obama. Burris it turns out did try to help Blago's campaign but failed. So, the State of Illinois is scraping the bottom of the barrel. They can't even get successful corrupted officials.

We will never get anyone elected from Illinois in the White House again. We are smeared.

Head's Up: An early and incomplete version of Wolverine origins has been leaked unto the web. Sounds more like a viral campaign. But spokedevils... sorry, spokespeople for 20th Century Fox, the film's distributor, are claiming they will prosecute the culprit to the fullest extant of the law. Wow, all that for a song and dance man from down under who put on some claws and growled.

Don't download it. At least wait till its out in theaters to pirate a film. Have some decency will ya (I don't promote piracy. Its against the law hence the word PIRACY. Don't do it if you know whats good for you).

Stocks make it a 3 day rally but small business lending is down 57%. Well, thank you news people for raining on whatever parade we had going!!!

Life on Mars ended. Jury is still out on whether the ending hit the mark. Not sure if anyone noticed this rare gem of a show. Not sure if anyone notices anything anymore.

Tonight, ER ends and as many entertainment critics are saying, its the end of an era. The 2nd golden age of television is over. Now the better shows are on cable. They're right. But having those shows on the big network that only require bunny ears (oops... not even that is enough anymore) was nice. So long ER. I'm gonna miss ya! With BSG gone, I have like nothing left to watch. Which is really ok.

800 lb. Gorrilla says Salaam or Rozhbash across borders?

I'm taking a time out from my usual reporting/editorializing to discuss an issue that is sitting in the peripheral of the US conscience. And who can blame us? Our economy is in the shitter! Personally I get a tickle every time I hear some say Deep Recession. Take an e out of Deep and "ec" out of Recession and mash the words together and what do you get? Depression! Call it what it is!!! Quit trying to soften the blow. Would a doctor tell a patient with diabetes that he's just sensitive to sugar? No! He'd tell him to change his whole lifestyle because he has diabetes!!! Christ...

Oh.. Local Nostalgia channel is playing Andrews Sisters' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy! Almost makes me wish they actual had buglers playing reveille still. So much better!

Anyways, the issue I'm going to get to tonight is Partition. It is rarely a pleasant experience to partition a nation. Examples: India comes to mind. Ireland. Germany. Georgia. The United States. Yes, we were partitioned. It was called the Civil War.

The idea of dividing Iraq has been around since... well... a very long time! First, lets look at the history of the area. I'll keep this as brief as I can. Then, we'll analyze the ethnicities, religious groups, geography, politics and even culture to gain a better perspective on this puzzling issue.

The area that Iraq occupies is some of the richest and most productive land in the Middle East. To the rest of the Arab world, Iraq is Iowa. Two rivers converge there and frequently flood leaving alluvial deposits behind that nourish the otherwise deprived soil. These two rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Historically this was called Mesopotamia: Greek for "between the rivers".

It was home to the world's first known civilization, the Sumerian culture, followed by the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian cultures, whose influence extended into neighboring regions as early as 5000 BC. These civilizations produced some of the earliest writing and some of the first sciences, mathematics, laws, literature and philosophies of the world; hence its common epithet, the "Cradle of Civilization".

They threw the bum out!

Milorad Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois, was removed from office after a brief, and famously boycotted, Impeachment trial. The Illinois State Senate voted 59-0, with one vote at the end caught in a technical glitch, to remove the 52-year-old father of two from office for alleged abuse of power. The Governor has been accused of using the Senate seat recently vacated by now President Barak Obama to leverage political and individual gain. Though he claims that he was trying to gain projects for the people of Illinois, tapes of recorded conversations, obtained by the FBI, allegedly prove otherwise. It has been released that within the tapes are conversations where Blagojevich attempts to procure lucrative jobs for himself and his wife.

MP3 player harbering top secret data!

I watched a particular segment on CNN about a man in New Zealand who'd purchased a used MP3 player at a thrift store. But later he discovered that the player held top secret information including lists of soldiers and pertinent contact information. Also, it appears they may have been plans on the player that date to 2005.

I should not have to ask what makes this startling. There's plenty! Like how did such a breach even occur? Government servers probably log whenever a file is copied. If the copy was authorized then what the hell was it doing on an MP3 player? If they were unauthorized... well, there are plenty more questions that need asking like how did they not track it down? Who did this? And if they didn't know?!?! sigh....

Its too much ask the people whose job is our security to bother with security it seems. But I will wait until this turns into nothing and forget about it like a Good Stupid Fox watching idiot. Alas, I'm not. Sorry.

Anyways...

President Obama met with House Republicans today behind closed doors. The President's $825M stimulus plan is now the Republicans are now calling it theirs. They claim the problem is the Democrats who are drifting from the President's original plan. There are things the Democrats pulled out of the plan such as a plan to pay for contraceptives and help for the Middle Class. John Boehner does not need to fear that women who could not afford birth control let alone the children they might have will be getting pills to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

I think as much as it sounds like the GOP are in bed with Obama, I'm thinking this is political chess. Eventually they will build a plan that resembles little to nothing that Obama initially presented to Congress. Then they'll vote it down! And it seems the bipartisan President may have sacrificed his own majority for the sake a lukewarm Republican pool?

Also, I have to comment on Obama's first formal interview. It was on al-Arabiya if you haven't heard. He has I think made a huge positive move. Here's why. Terrorists are political actors albeit non-state actors but so are Churches and Greenpeace. The War on Terror as it were actually legitimizes the terrorists. We sank to their level by taking the war to them. Again, sacrificing our principles is always a losing tactic. By going to the Saudi based network and doing a cordial and well spoken interview sends an important message to the Middle East. The USA is going to treat the sovereign nations of the world as just that. We cannot, should not and shouldn't have sunk to their level, which is what the invasion of Iraq was: State sanctioned Terrorism.

Author John Updike passed away. I would have said died but saying John Updike died is awkward. John Updike won the Pulitzer Prize Rabbit twice with Rich and Rabbit at Rest published in 1981 and 1990 respectively. He was the "chronicler of suburban adultery". He passed today at Beverly Farms, Massachesetts.

Personal Notes: I'm debating some changes to this blog such as adding podcasts and thereby putting more into the podcasts and posting links on the page. I started this blog in reaction to then President Bush's second term and my rising ire towards it. I'm thinking of changing the bland conservative look of this site that doesn't change. Stay Tuned!

End yourself!

The Senate confirmed Geitner. I actually sat through Chris Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut, go on about all the economic woes besieging our great nation. It made me want to commit suicide. How the hell are we going to ever get out of this hole?

Geitner has been praised up and down mostly by Democrats such as the aforementioned Dodd and Harry Reid of Nevada. When the vote happened almost all Democrats voted for him. All (not including Al Franken. He's still here in Minnesota, twiddling his thumbs) but 3 Democrats voted against the confirmation: Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Tom Harkin of Iowa and Robert Byrd from West Virginia, the oldest and cootiest coot in the Senate and the Dean (I think Byrd is lonely now that Ted Stevens is a criminal and Ted Kennedy is in the process of kacking... Both named Ted...). Eleven Republicans also voted against him. This includes John McCain, Susan Collins, Richard Lugar and Arlen Specter. These are republicans Obama wants to bring into his sphere of influence. There may already be problems. The margin 60-34 which according to Bloomberg news, is the smallest margin for confirmation of Treasury Secretary. Wow. Someone had little to nothing to do.

Seriously, I'm gonna start using "Honest Mistake" on my tax forms pre-emptively. If they come after me for soing them badly I won't even fall back on ill-written tax code. I'll just invoke the Geitner doctrine. During the White House Press Briefing one astute reporter asked that if say Wesley Snipes, a notorious tax evader, were to have been nominated, would he too have seen his tax case handled with kid gloves? Compelling... Nah! Now that Geitner's done we got Daschle to look forward to now. Oh, break out the popcorn!

On to other things. Rod Blagojevich continues his media blitz. He is now officially a broken record. He need only record himself citing the 6th Amendment, presumption of innocence and the non-contextual snippets of recordings of him speaking with censored expletives. Is there anyone that is convinced that this man is actually telling the truth? He's a democrat so if he can't even get to believe in his so-called good intentions, then he's as good as dead.

Lets make something clear: Impeachment trials are not Judicial Trials. There is no burden of proof. FOR ANYONE! Its a political process that has more to do with viability and public trust than aftual verdits of guilt! It basically amounts to the Illinois State Senate believing that they have cause enough to show him the door.

Blagojevich knows he's toast. He's doing this blitz with several possibilities in mind. 1) He's tryin to taint the prospective jury pool. This may or not be the case. He is a former prosecuter who has gone on record saying that he is censoring himself from talking about details of a pending criminal trial. He has also commented that he thinks this a good choice. I concede that he may honorable on this issue. Or is he? The fact remains, when the public has little to no access to the evidence, we can't verify what he is or isn't leaking. He may well be telling enough to taint future jury pools and just enough.

2) He's gunning for a book deal. Everyone can write a book these days. Someone gave Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly and Dick Morris all book deals so its not much of a stretch to imagine that scenario. Sarah Palin, aka Moose Hunter Barbie, is hoping to snag a $11M book deal. (Really. She really is a self-important hack.) I can see that possibility. By upping the ante and taking his case to the American People, likening himself to Gandhi, MLK and Nelson Mandela and referring to his trial as a an West shootout, he has created a very important ingredient in National politics and public relations: a brand. You need a brand to sell peanut butter and you also need one to sell yourself to the public whether that be food, a tv, a talk show, President or a failed but colorful former governor from one of the most politically corrupt states in the Union. Yeah...

3) He really is pleading his case to the people of Illinois. Realizing that most state news outlets will be more concerned with the Impeachment trial proceedings, he got the last outlet left to him. National Media needs something else besides the latest Obama event like going to the bathroom and kissing his daughters good night. But if he thinks this may actually win the people over, good luck! I consider myself an Illinoisan. Its where my hometown is (Bloomington-Normal, just northeast of Springfield). I still have family living there. On election night, I had a long conversation with my sister, Mary. I would describe my sister as a casual politico. She's not a junkie, an addict or a fanatic such as I am. But even she hated Blago then and knew of plenty of people who wanted him out of office... in November! You think finding out that he might also be guilty of corruption, abuse of power and... oh yeah.... extortion. Keep digging!

Besides, he's got two daughters and his wife lost her job as a fundraiser. And she's also named in the probe of the Governor. Turns out there are questions about her receiving commissions from state contractors and Rod's political supporters when she was still engaged in her real estate business. I think the Blagojeviches should take a hint from the Gov's aforementioned westerns and get the hell out of Dodge!

Thats it from here. Its freaking cold as hell and I think I have frostbite on my toes. No joke. If they turn black and fall off I'll blog about and include snazzy pictures. Till then!

Let it go, Ann...

It's been awhile.

I have had some of the worst 6 months of my life. I worked a despicable job, had a disastrous love affair, health problems and an abysmal semester. And along the way there was an election. We got now President Barack Obama. I really don't have to talk about this. I think there has been more words written about him in the past year than the entirety of literature proceeding his candidacy.

What I do want to bring up is someone I cannot stand: Ann Coulter. I can't stand her mostly because she is the reason Conservatives are so easy to mock (and rile). There have been great SNAFUs on her part such as claiming that Jews needed to be perfected and that women should not be able to vote because they don't understand money. But recently she posted in her own column a rather interesting tidbit.

When will the first reporter ask President Obama to admit that he has made mistakes? Try: Never.

No, that question will disappear for the next four years. It will be replaced by the new question for conservatives on every liberal's lips these days: Do you want Obama to succeed as president?

Answer: Of course we do. We live here, too.

But merely to ask the question is to imply that the 60 million Americans who did not vote for Obama are being unpatriotic if they do not wholeheartedly endorse his liberal agenda.

I take issue with the question "Do you want Obama to succeed as president?" The reason I take issue with this is because of the question that was asked to liberals about the war in Iraq. "Don't you want the war to succeed?" We argued that this was a loaded question. It was a question that was just as bad as "When did you stop beating your wife?" These are unanswerable questions. And Miss Coulter has a very short memory to not remember this fact. She also shows that her sense of humor is pretty much non-existent.

In addition, Miss Coulter also went on to rail about liberals:

Liberals always have to play the victim, acting as if they merely want to bring the nation together in hope and unity in the face of petulant, stick-in-the-mud conservatives. Meanwhile, they are the ones booing, heckling and publicly fantasizing about the assassination of those who disagree with them on policy matters.

Doth mine ears heareth whining? Whining is something that Ann Coulter has turned into an artform. It has enabled her to sell trite little books calling people names and laying down baseless claims and smug arrogance that the radical right laps up. As educated as she is, she uses more anecdotal evidence than facts. Or she does the most dangerous thing: generalizes. These leads to stereotypes and prejudices. This leads me to make the following statement.

Politicsm. Racism is, God willing, slowly receding though far from being history. It is not acceptable among polite society. But hating people of another party is completely acceptable. Telling lies about that party, those ideas and those who represent that party are perfectly fine. But no less disgusting. I call it politicsm for now due to the lack of another word.

As long as Ann Coulter uses unsubstantiated claims and views on liberals, or anyone for that matter, she will not have any respect from this Libertarian. She is only helping herself I might add. The arguments she uses against liberals can and do apply to everyone.

[Liberals] viciously attack all while wailing that they are the true victims.

but also states in the same text, Guilty, that

Liberals seem to have hit upon a reverse Christ story as their belief system. He suffered and died for our sins; liberals make the rest of us suffer for sins we didn’t commit.

People portray themselves as victims while viciously attacking the other side because, um, that's what humans do. We do in arguments with family, coworkers, the legal system... Ann Coulter seems to have a problem: self-awareness. Does she realize she is guilty herself of the very things she is angry about? Or would that be right up there with money and be too difficult for her to understand? She doesn't seem capable of turning the other cheek instead she is on the offensive with obvious defensive motivations. I do think if she is that hypocritical then her book titles like Slander, Treason, Godless, Guilty... actually fit her...?

I don't know how Andrew Stein was capable of dating her. Once.

After all that, I have nothing more to add. Listen to Democracy Now! for today for some stuff I really dig. David Korten is someone I can so get behind! He has great ideas that are congruent and complimentary to many of my political ideas.

You can check out Ann Coulter's column (if you must) here. You can also subscribe to Democracy Now! if you'd like.

More Oil. NOW!

Saudi Arabia announced in the past hour that they will increase production of oil. The amount would increase to 9.7 million barrels in July. It is currently 9 million flat. Also, the Saudis have said that by the end of the year, they will be producing 12.5 million barrels.

On paper this sounds like relief. But it should help a little by easing the demand. Saudi Arabia has also said they would like to create an OPEC fund of $1B for loans to third world nations such as African nations.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a very recent candidate for candidate for President, who also thinks the Surge didn't work in Iraq, thinks that increased oil production is not the windfall some are hoping it to be. In the short term it may be a relief, but in the long term, he's right. We need to continue focus on developing energy systems the run on renewable resources because its only a band-aid.

Oil Companies have used many tactics throughout the past century such as buying new technogies and suppressing them. There have also been anecdotes about murder being used to suppress technology (Think I'm making it up? Nope. That this guy might be. I doubt it.). What we really have is an energy monopoly. Not very libertarian. It results in restriction from a free and open market. I can't walk down to the local dealership and get a car that doesn't run off gasoline. Hybrids regardless of their fanfare, still utilize oil at some point during the operation. Hydrogen requires a mot of oil to create the hydrogen fuel to run those cars. Why do you think George Bush was in favor of that particular alternative energy?

I want to point out that with Bush's declarations that Congress needs to open up ANWAR and other areas for exploitation, it seems rather stupid. Here's Why: Bill Richardson brought up something that has only been mentioned in the past week. Oil companies hold leases to many places throughout the country where they can drill for oil, which by the way, it takes ten years to develop an oil deposit. They aren't using them. Why? Why is there a demand from Oil man George Bush to open up areas when there are plenty of leases already held?

A good reason is that by limiting the supply, it drives the price of oil up. it is highly unlikely that ANWAR will ever be opened. It creates a perception of restricted production that drives price uo and puts money in the hands of those who already have plenty. This sounds criminal because oil is in many areas of the country a necessity. In rural parts of the nation, there is no access to alternative transportation like buses, trains and light rail lines. Its the car, truck or tractor to get around. There are no alternatives! But in the rural areas there are plenty of renewable resources like wind, solar, hydro and other biological materials that can be utilized for fueling purposes. However, these are not going to make a dent in the energy problem in the near future.

What I'm getting at is that the whole country is not made the same. Every city and every region has its own set of unique problems and also solutions. The reason we cannot tackle "America's Addiction to Oil" is because its an extremely daunting task. Every area needs to be evaluated for its particular needs, problems and available resources. What works in New York City may not work in Davenport.

I also want to point out the media's misuse of the phrase "Addiction to Oil". Is it an addiction is the only vehicles a consumer can purchase is gasoline fueled? Is it an addiction if car manufacturers continue to produce cars at the minimum of CAFE standards? If I could change my car to running off of water, trust me, I would. But I lack the automotive abilities to make that transformation.

As you can from the meandering post that I have composed thus far, there is not an easy issue to analyze. No one solution is an absolute cure all. This means that one person does not hold all the cards to solving the energy crisis. It involves a lot of hard work and patience from all involved and the country itself. Unfortunately, with our global economy and the limited supply of oil, costs will not decrease any time soon and many people will continue to suffer through these hard economic times, myself included.

But we were warned. The demand for oil is infinite. The supply is finite. When we burn a fuel faster than it can be harvested and refined begins to become a problem. There is also the issue of peak oil. Peak oil is basically this idea: oil production will peak at one point and drop off. Now someone could point out that will alternative energies, this would cause the dropoff prophetized. But M. King Hubbert who made this prediction in 1956 was not looking at environmentalists to change the fuel economy of the world. Peak Oil would come about because of resources of oil which I've already pointed out are very finite. Hubbert predicted that the US production of oil would peak in the late '60's to early '70's. This roughly coincided with the fuel crisis that developed. This was not a natural crisis. There were also political motivations involved such as the Arab-Israeli war.

Nobody wants to continue giving money to the middle east. Nobody wants to be subservient to another county. We live in a country that cannot fuel itself. We need to be able to do that. But as long as we have a oil companies restricting technology, refusing to exploit already held lands and pushing to create better technologies, we will be held hostage in the Global Economy. And while the wealthy exploit the middle and lower classes to line their pockets, they will destroy the economy. If the economy crumbles, then it won't matter any more. That's how bad it could get. Stock up on water.

Moving on to other topics that are less depressing. Tim Russert died over a week ago. This led NBC to broadcasting a gluttony of production that came just short of canonizing him as a Saint of American Objective Journalism. True, he probably the last bastion of the objective journalist values so rarely seen in the media these days. But seriously! Things went too far! I couldn't turn on a channel without hearing about it... and the 17 girls in Gloucester, Massachesetts. The man was a great guy but i think this was overdone. Russert himself would have been embarrassed.

That's it for now. I was planning on writing more, but I'm running on empty.

Midsummer Eve

Today is Midsummer Eve! Tonight is the shortest night of the year. In Scandinavia, the sun does not set.

It is considered a low sabbath in the Wiccan calendar. But it is my favorite. I don't have to think of any particular mystery or event in the spiritual calendar. Just concentrate on the healing and nourishing power of the sun. Because winter sucks.

Blessed Be!

And get out and party!!!!!!!!!!

Pigs, Tigers and Doughboys

The upper Midwest is still in the grips of heavy flooding from the Mississippi river. Twenty levees have been overrun this week according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Two levees broke in Illinois today, flooding the town of Meyer. The flood waters have receded in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Behind them is a millions of dollars of damage to 10 square miles of the city.

Quincy, Illinois and Hannibal, Missouri, are two culturally significant towns in the area. Both are threatened by rising waters. I have experience in that area during the the Great Flood of 1993. During the summer that year, I volunteered to may sand bags to reinforce the levees. I urge anyone who reads this and lives near the area, please do what you can to help if you are not in the area affected.


Tiger Woods was able to secure victory at the US Open on Monday. He played 91 holes total to achieve this feat against Rocco Mediate, a 45-year-old golfer who has never won a major and hasn't won a tournament in six years. Prior to the tournament, Tiger Woods had undergone his third surgery on his left knee. He has overstressed his left knee over the years. When he wants more power, i.e. torque, he "snaps" his left knee to make his hips turn faster. This has enabled him to make those stunning drives that he his known for, particularly off the tee.

After the Herculean effort to win the 2008 US Open, which many were comparing to Francis Ouimet's 1913 win US Open (though this comparison was more apt for Rocco Mediate), Woods was found to have torn his ACL and incurred two stress fractures. This makes all those grimaces witnessed during Monday's initial 18 holes telling: Tiger was beating himself up.

Woods is likely going to be out for the remainder of the season. With a tear to the ACL it may be career ending. Love him, hate him or just apathetic, Woods affect on Golf is similar to Ouimet's. In fact, it is likely that Woods would never have played golf if not for that win 95 years ago in Massachusetts. Woods brought many spectators into golf's arena. The interest may linger but some see this as the end of golf's recent renaissance. I'm not willing to declare this. I think interest may continue past any career-ending injury.

But if this is the end, I have to thank Tiger Woods for being a champion in mind, body and spirit. And for bringing the sport to the level of popularity it currently enjoys. Thank You!

(But I think you'll be back)

The President of the United States honored the last living US born WWI veteran today. Frank Woodruff Buckles was born February 1, 1901 in Missouri. When the US entered the war in 1917, Buckles was only 16. He was rejected by the Marines for his weight. So, he signed up for the army and lied about his age claiming he was 21. He served as an ambulance driver in France and after Armistice, he escorted German POWs home. He was discharged in 1920.

After living from 1936 till 1938 in Germany, and seeing the beginnings of Shoa (Holocaust), he relocated to the Philippines. There, during World War II, he was captured by the Japanese and was a prisoner for three years.

His portrait will hang in the US World War I museum as a reminder of our last living link to the Great War. He was awarded the légion d'honneur from then President of France Jacque Chirac in 2003. He has also been after many requests, been accorded the honor of being buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

At the end of ABC's news at 5:30, they had the brains enough to show footage of a rainbow that had just happened during the broadcast. I have to say that is awesome! In the tough times we are going through with everything, it is nice to see something so beautiful. It reminds us all that the simplest things can be some of the most beautiful (not to mention, free). I also may not bea religious, but rainbows are symbolic of hope and remind us to do just that.

Sir Prince William!

Oddly enough, there's lots of news. For a Tuesday.

Hamas and Israel agree to a cease fire according to the Beeb. CNN reports that a truce is near completion and would go into affect in as little as three days. The article on the BBC notes that Israel is still "looking to see if this is serious".

Hamas came to power after elections in January 2006 displacing Fatah. In June of the same year, Corporal Galid Shalit. a dual French-Israeli citizen, was abducted. After this, Israel threatened the Palestinians by saying that the "sky will fall" if he was harmed. Many negotiations have been made over the past two years. Even the Catholic Church of Gaza and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter have tried to negotiate for Shalit's release.

Since the rise of Hamas and the kidnapping Shalit, Israel has restricted supplies of gasoline, diesel and electricity to Gaza, limited the amount of food and other goods entering the strip and made it virtually impossible for manufacturers and farmers in Gaza to export anything to the outside world.

Israeli officials have said these measures are intended to pressure Hamas to stop its members and other factions from firing mortars and rockets into Israel.

Prince William has been made a member of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. His official title will be Royal Knight Companion. The Order was established in 1348 by King Edward III. The numbers of the Order are limited. There are only 24 Companions.

William is in the midst of completing two months of intense Naval training. Next Week he will begin to serve on the HMS Iron Duke in its patrols of the Carribean.

The President of France, Nikolas Sarkozy, has announced that France will rejoin the Command of Nato. Then President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of the Command structure in 1966 in a bid for independence from the US dominated Western treaty. With this announcement comes also the news that 50,000 defense jobs will be cut and the Intelligence community will be boosted.

Special Effects master Stan Winston died yesterday. He had struggled with Mulitple Myeloma for the past seven years. He recently worked on Iron Man and was also contributing to projects such as GI Joe, Avatar, and a forth coming chapter in the Terminator series of films. Stan Winston was known for intergrating practical effects (sometimes known as in-camera effects) with the the more recently developed Computer Generated Images, or CGI. He has been awarded four Academy Awards for his efforts in such projects as Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Jurassic Park.

This looks like a job for Superman!!

There plenty of things to discuss. I have taken a great deal of time away from this blog due to things that are beyond my control. Needless to say, I'm glad to back blogging. I will not be posting me World War II blogs in their entirety here. I will also be starting a new blog about Internet Radio.

Recently, I switched from Windows Vista which is a ghastly excuse for an OS to Linux. Specifically, I went running to Ubuntu. I am happy to be rid of Windows at the moment but time will tell if Ubuntu is the right OS for me. There are compliance issues to resolve.

So, to move on and keep this short. It should not be news to anyone that Hillary is out of the race. Now we can get down to ripping Obama and McCain to shreds. May the last man standing be worthy of the office! It seems that things are getting considerably worse everyday. This is why I'm not really blogging. What do I have to blog about? There are more crises going in this country then I have blogs for! And I don't think I can add anything to the vitriol that is already stewing.

Since I'm not going to add to it, I'm going to just make a not of something. Seventy years ago (technically in April), something different popped onto the pop culture landscape. Was it a bird? Was it a plane? no, it was Superman!

Boy could we use you now!

The man in the red, yellow and blue kick started a new genre of storytelling and solidified a medium. There have been many superheroes since Superman that are as diverse as the writers who dream them up. But Superman was the quintessential superhero and many are variations on the theme.

I also want to note that from 1938 until some time into World War II saw the United States at the height of its pop art. Music, Film, Illustration and even photography, had some its finest hours during these years. Some might theorize that hard times make us hope for a better tomorrow but since we still have to live with the pain of today, a little escapism couldn't hurt.