The number eight is a super lucky number to the Chinese so, today the Olympic Games open in Beijing. I'll watch the gymnasts and the swimmers, given the opportunity. And, the Tai Kwon Do siblings from here. The other stuff? Nah.
All the hubbub over should he or shouldn't he was amusing, wasn't it? Yes, the President was right to go. As was the French President - who changed his mind from a previous 'no', Putin, Merkel, etc. It's a world event, a goodwill sporting event. If everyone was so appalled about the choice of Beijing, where were they when the decision was made? And, why aren't they lobbying the committee making the location decisions? They are the ones for the complaints.
As a nod to the achievements of the athletes the world leaders should attend. Our President is a sports nut so it's not at all surprising that he went. Along with Laura Bush and daughter Barbara.
Laura Bush was able to make Myanmar a headline again and that's a good thing. She and Barbara met with refugees near the Thai border and invited them to tell her what they "would like the people of the world to know."
Over the course of the past two years, the people of Myanmar have been at the forefront of the First Lady's focus. The President lunched at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Bangkok with a group of Burmese dissidents. He participated in an interview for radio heard inside that country. A large portion of the traveling journalists covering the Bushes' trip went along with Mrs. Bush and Barbara for the meeting. It was characterized as "their seven-hour swing to the rugged border region where some 140,000 Burmese refugees, many of them persecuted ethnic minorities, have fled."
No, the Chinese leadership has not improved human rights issues in country. Awarding the games to Beijing with that as a perceived incentive for change was naive. Communist countries are not worthy of trust from other countries. By President Bush attending the games, the people of China are shown the respect they deserve from the leader of the free world. He made his condemnations of the workings of the China leadership on human rights before he arrived. His position is clear. Why do you think the chartered jet carrying the White House press corps was detained for over 3 hours on the tarmac upon arriving in Beijing, with not one but two searches of equipment and bags on board? The criticism was not appreciated.
Former President G.H.W. Bush joined the President in Beijing. The former president was chief U.S. liaison officer to China in 1974 and 1975. Also there is Henry Kissinger, responsible for brokering the U.S. opening to China in 1971. Senior officials present said, concerning the relationship between China and the U.S., "would not have been possible" without the efforts of "the two Bushes."
Friday, August 08, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Debates and Fundraisers
The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced the selection of moderators for the upcoming three debates: Lehrer and Ifill from PBS; Brokaw from NBC; and Shieffer from CBS. Can't wait for the professional objectivity to flow from that line-up. Ifill, for example, recently penned an "upbeat" interview with the Obama family for Essence magazine. So, there's that.
Good to know Obama won't have to worry about probing questions from journalists like Jon Ralson. Ralson, a columnist in Las Vegas with a political discussion program on cable tv there, according to this blog interviewed Obama for his show recently. Obama was asked about his vote on the 2005 energy bill and didn't appreciate that at all. He referred to the interviewer as a 'proxy' for McCain, as a matter of fact.
"Hold on a second, Jon, I thought I was talking to you instead of debating John McCain, but I am happy to let you serve as his proxy." Wow.
Jennifer Rubin wrote in Commentary online about Obama's problem with thin skin when posed legit questions about his past votes or comments. "It really is a glaring problem in his whole New Politics formulation and his answer is weak (I tried to strip out the bad stuff) since he ultimately voted yes and has criticized McCain for doing the bidding of Bush/Cheney and the oil companies. It is easy to understand why he hopes the American people are uninterested."
Rubin finishes with "The real question for those debates in the fall is whether any of the moderators have the nerve to treat Obama the way he was in Philadelphia and the way he was in this interview: with the same skepticism, vigor and aggressiveness any candidate would receive. I'm betting "no.". Yeah, me too.
And, about the token claim that Obama is above being beholden to lobbyists like every other politician on the face of the earth: fab celeb George Clooney is holding a fundraiser for Obama on my son's birthday, September 2. In Switzerland. How suave and debonair. It's a two-partner. The reception with Clooney speaking will cost $1,000 per ticket. The dinner afterwards is at the home of Charles Adams with tickets available for only 75, at the cost of $10,000 each.
Who is Charles Adams, you may ask? A lobbyist/lawyer. Shocking, I know. He is the managing partner for Hogan & Hartson in Switzerland, a firm specializing in international legal services.
And, at the risk of offending the loyal, it was Clooney who referred publicly to Obama as a 'rock star' at the announcement of his endorsement in the early part of last year.
Good to know Obama won't have to worry about probing questions from journalists like Jon Ralson. Ralson, a columnist in Las Vegas with a political discussion program on cable tv there, according to this blog interviewed Obama for his show recently. Obama was asked about his vote on the 2005 energy bill and didn't appreciate that at all. He referred to the interviewer as a 'proxy' for McCain, as a matter of fact.
"Hold on a second, Jon, I thought I was talking to you instead of debating John McCain, but I am happy to let you serve as his proxy." Wow.
Jennifer Rubin wrote in Commentary online about Obama's problem with thin skin when posed legit questions about his past votes or comments. "It really is a glaring problem in his whole New Politics formulation and his answer is weak (I tried to strip out the bad stuff) since he ultimately voted yes and has criticized McCain for doing the bidding of Bush/Cheney and the oil companies. It is easy to understand why he hopes the American people are uninterested."
Rubin finishes with "The real question for those debates in the fall is whether any of the moderators have the nerve to treat Obama the way he was in Philadelphia and the way he was in this interview: with the same skepticism, vigor and aggressiveness any candidate would receive. I'm betting "no.". Yeah, me too.
And, about the token claim that Obama is above being beholden to lobbyists like every other politician on the face of the earth: fab celeb George Clooney is holding a fundraiser for Obama on my son's birthday, September 2. In Switzerland. How suave and debonair. It's a two-partner. The reception with Clooney speaking will cost $1,000 per ticket. The dinner afterwards is at the home of Charles Adams with tickets available for only 75, at the cost of $10,000 each.
Who is Charles Adams, you may ask? A lobbyist/lawyer. Shocking, I know. He is the managing partner for Hogan & Hartson in Switzerland, a firm specializing in international legal services.
And, at the risk of offending the loyal, it was Clooney who referred publicly to Obama as a 'rock star' at the announcement of his endorsement in the early part of last year.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Some Suggestions for the Republican Party
For the third day in a row, Republicans in the House of Representatives have continued on with their protest of being shut out of the energy policy legislative process and Speaker Pelosi calling adjournment of the business of Congress for a five week recess. Well, she has a book tour to do, you know.
Oh, yeah. The Speaker has privately told the Dems they can support offshore drilling if it'll help re-election.
And the heckling of the McCain campaign for using Paris Hilton in an ad mocking Obama's Chosen One position? Seems Obama himself referenced his popularity and coverage by the press using her as an example back in February, 2005 to the Washington Post. Oh.
Today I listened to a speech given by David Brooks at the Young America's Foundation assembly in D.C. He described the President, McCain and Obama using firsthand knowledge of all three from interviewing them. He is currently a token conservative columnist for The New York Times.
Brooks says Bush is easy to be around, a likable guy without pretensions and enjoys listening to everyone, even those who oppose his ideas. He looks forward into the future, like 50 years into the future and what the world will be best served by then. This forward thinking was the reason of his Iraq policy, particularly after 9/11.
He said McCain is always moving, doesn't sit still and has people around him all day long. He is a real people person. His greatest skill is when he sees dishonor in the form of dishonoring the American people or abuse by politicians he will go after it. He has a proven track record of fighting corruption in both parties. He has a true humility about himself. He is about others, not himself. And, he refuses to use his own family to boost his candidacy. Especially his children.
Obama was interviewed by Brooks before he became the Messiah, as Brooks characterized the time frame. He likes Obama, as he does the other two men, and thinks perceptiveness about others is Obama's strong suit. His weakness is the fact that he is the least accomplished Presidential candidate in 100 years and lacks knowledge of how to pull the levers of government to get his policies put into place. He will have to take unpopular stands with his party to accomplish much and that will be most difficult for him. He's all about everyone liking him.
Brooks sees conservatives in crisis. He said conservatives are too wedded to Reagan. That the world has changed and government is not getting smaller. There is a decline in conservative intellectual power, no serious policy books being written by conservatives. Republicans have adopted to power and not exploring new ideas. The idea people are politicized in both parties. He sees the answer to the problem being solved by the young people coming up in the party - the under 30 year olds.
The Republican party was built by white, working class people. The party has lost a large percent of this group as the party has been in power. The original conservative movement of the 30's, 40's, and 50's came about from the fact that Republicans weren't in power and free to put new ideas into play. Liberalism was born of a governmental and policy movement.
Change comes from the bottom up and that is why I am concentrating on working for campaigns at the state level. Presidential candidates don't just happen overnight.
Obama is a product of political expediency. He joined the Chicago church that Michelle and her family belonged to and used it for his local political ambitions. As Brooks mentioned (a native of Chicago's Hyde Park himself and politically liberal until in his twenties) Obama is a product of Princeton and Harvard and the south side of Chicago. He never really was a part of any community though he used them as spring boards to the next office. Brooks doesn't think Obama believes the hateful garbage that comes from Rev. Wright's mouth, but he used the church and its large political congregation to go into politics after his community organizing days were finished. This is why Obama has so very little to point to as any sort of achievement in community work or politics - he only stays long enough to move on to the next level.
Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota and mentioned VP candidate for McCain, has coined a term "Sam's Club Republicans" and the need to get back to the regular guy out there. The voters that built the party in the first place. The need is there to act like we have no power, which may be the truth in the very near future.
Brooks uses the example of Alexander Hamilton who believed in capitalism and using government to give people tools to succeed. As did Teddy Roosevelt.
Also, Brooks recommended a book on my to-read list: Grand New Party written by two young men of bi-partisan status. It speaks to how the Republican party can get back to working class roots and win elections. I'm looking forward to reading it. I hope everyone will that is interested in the Republican party.
Oh, yeah. The Speaker has privately told the Dems they can support offshore drilling if it'll help re-election.
And the heckling of the McCain campaign for using Paris Hilton in an ad mocking Obama's Chosen One position? Seems Obama himself referenced his popularity and coverage by the press using her as an example back in February, 2005 to the Washington Post. Oh.
Today I listened to a speech given by David Brooks at the Young America's Foundation assembly in D.C. He described the President, McCain and Obama using firsthand knowledge of all three from interviewing them. He is currently a token conservative columnist for The New York Times.
Brooks says Bush is easy to be around, a likable guy without pretensions and enjoys listening to everyone, even those who oppose his ideas. He looks forward into the future, like 50 years into the future and what the world will be best served by then. This forward thinking was the reason of his Iraq policy, particularly after 9/11.
He said McCain is always moving, doesn't sit still and has people around him all day long. He is a real people person. His greatest skill is when he sees dishonor in the form of dishonoring the American people or abuse by politicians he will go after it. He has a proven track record of fighting corruption in both parties. He has a true humility about himself. He is about others, not himself. And, he refuses to use his own family to boost his candidacy. Especially his children.
Obama was interviewed by Brooks before he became the Messiah, as Brooks characterized the time frame. He likes Obama, as he does the other two men, and thinks perceptiveness about others is Obama's strong suit. His weakness is the fact that he is the least accomplished Presidential candidate in 100 years and lacks knowledge of how to pull the levers of government to get his policies put into place. He will have to take unpopular stands with his party to accomplish much and that will be most difficult for him. He's all about everyone liking him.
Brooks sees conservatives in crisis. He said conservatives are too wedded to Reagan. That the world has changed and government is not getting smaller. There is a decline in conservative intellectual power, no serious policy books being written by conservatives. Republicans have adopted to power and not exploring new ideas. The idea people are politicized in both parties. He sees the answer to the problem being solved by the young people coming up in the party - the under 30 year olds.
The Republican party was built by white, working class people. The party has lost a large percent of this group as the party has been in power. The original conservative movement of the 30's, 40's, and 50's came about from the fact that Republicans weren't in power and free to put new ideas into play. Liberalism was born of a governmental and policy movement.
Change comes from the bottom up and that is why I am concentrating on working for campaigns at the state level. Presidential candidates don't just happen overnight.
Obama is a product of political expediency. He joined the Chicago church that Michelle and her family belonged to and used it for his local political ambitions. As Brooks mentioned (a native of Chicago's Hyde Park himself and politically liberal until in his twenties) Obama is a product of Princeton and Harvard and the south side of Chicago. He never really was a part of any community though he used them as spring boards to the next office. Brooks doesn't think Obama believes the hateful garbage that comes from Rev. Wright's mouth, but he used the church and its large political congregation to go into politics after his community organizing days were finished. This is why Obama has so very little to point to as any sort of achievement in community work or politics - he only stays long enough to move on to the next level.
Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota and mentioned VP candidate for McCain, has coined a term "Sam's Club Republicans" and the need to get back to the regular guy out there. The voters that built the party in the first place. The need is there to act like we have no power, which may be the truth in the very near future.
Brooks uses the example of Alexander Hamilton who believed in capitalism and using government to give people tools to succeed. As did Teddy Roosevelt.
Also, Brooks recommended a book on my to-read list: Grand New Party written by two young men of bi-partisan status. It speaks to how the Republican party can get back to working class roots and win elections. I'm looking forward to reading it. I hope everyone will that is interested in the Republican party.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Energy Policy is in the Silly Season
I noticed an article at IBD Editorials today and the author used a comparison I made yesterday concerning the suggestion from Obama that we all just inflate our tires and tune up our auto engines to solve the energy problems.
Seems the ridiculous comment reminded the author of Jimmy Carter's solution to the energy problem 30+ years ago - set your thermostat to 62 degrees and toss on a sweater. That was the same reaction I had, too. Both men, totally clueless about energy policy. Both men want to dictate the temperature in your home. Remember when Obama said we can't just have our homes at 72 degrees and drive SUVs and eat all the food we want?
My go to guy on all things energy, my husband the engineer in the biz, said that actually Carter's plan would make a dent in consumption since the citizen was using less energy to heat a house. Of course, at Carter's suggested temp, old folks and the infirm would die and babes would get sick but that's beside the point. The tire air pressure and tune up will only be a drop in the bucket and it's silly. The media at the town hall meeting didn't question the nonsense, as they never do, so Obama feels empowered to continue on with it.
He now calls for more offshore drilling after just last month saying no. He calls for releasing oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve which is short term and a very small solution. He simply is ignorant on insisting, as Nancy Pelosi - another foolish political animal - that the oil companies lose their leases to land not being drilled on. And the usual windfall profit tax scam.
Marxism loud and clear. The press laps it up.
The truth is that not all leases produce oil. Oil companies make a very small overall profit, though as some of this country's largest companies the numbers are large. And, an interesting result of what conservation is going on now as drivers are using vehicles more wisely - the price of gas is down. When President Bush opened up land options for increased drilling, though still denied by Congress, the price of a barrel went down $10 overnight. Talking about our own solutions has an effect.
The tired argument that drilling won't help at the gas pump tomorrow, immediately, is bogus. Neither will the alternatives. But, the infrastructure is in place. That's the difference.
Rather than vote up or down on increased drilling approval, the most heavily taxed and regulated industry faces more threats of higher taxation and increased regulations. Not to mention property takeover - like Hugo Chavez did in Venezuela. What company executive in his/her right mind would have the incentive to drill in that atmosphere?
The writing is on the wall. More than 75% over the American people want more drilling. McCain has shifted his stance on more drilling. That's being flexible. McCain voted against the Bush energy bill in 2005. Obama voted for it. Interesting, considering it is Obama ridiculing McCain as though he is the one with the evil Big Oil support.
Obama was here in Houston over the weekend for two private fundraisers. One, in River Oaks, was at the home of an energy multimillionaire executive. Oh.
Though his he never defines his idea with actual numbers during these town halls, Obama claims he'll finance another stimulus check giveaway with money robbed from oil company profits. He'll decide how much money they should make, you know. He's as obtuse about what that profit is, though, as he was before he could define what a capitol gains tax was when he debated other Dems.
How about other windfalls? Like the article in the Wall Street Journal online asked: what about the windfall of "Jim Johnson, formerly of Fannie Mae and formerly a political fixer for Mr. Obama, reaped a windfall before Fannie's multi billion dollar accounting scandal. Bill Clinton took down as much as $15 million working as a rainmaker for billionaire financier Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies. This may be the very definition of "windfall"."
"The point isn't that these folks (other than Mr. Clinton) have something to apologize for, or that these firms are somehow more "deserving" of windfall tax extortion than Big Oil. The point is that what constitutes an abnormal profit is entirely arbitrary. It is in the eye of the political beholder, who is usually looking to soak some unpopular business. In other words, a windfall is nothing more than a profit earned by a business that some politician dislikes. And a tax on that profit is merely a form of politically motivated expropriation."
Today, as I filled my gas tank as part of potential hurricane preparation, the price was $3.63 per gallon. That was regular unleaded and I get a 10 cent discount with my card. I conserve the old fashioned way and for the old fashioned reason - good for the environment and good for my wallet. I don't need daddy Obama to tell me how to run my life, thanks.
Obama's mother's influence continues today on the candidate. He has written of his pride in her ideas of Marxist theory.
And now, Republicans have an issue catching on like wildfire with the voters. Democrats may want to remember that oil people are on both sides of the aisle. To claim everyone in the oil business is Republican is just more silliness. Voters are smarter than that. Voters are demanding all options are left on the table.
Finally.
Seems the ridiculous comment reminded the author of Jimmy Carter's solution to the energy problem 30+ years ago - set your thermostat to 62 degrees and toss on a sweater. That was the same reaction I had, too. Both men, totally clueless about energy policy. Both men want to dictate the temperature in your home. Remember when Obama said we can't just have our homes at 72 degrees and drive SUVs and eat all the food we want?
My go to guy on all things energy, my husband the engineer in the biz, said that actually Carter's plan would make a dent in consumption since the citizen was using less energy to heat a house. Of course, at Carter's suggested temp, old folks and the infirm would die and babes would get sick but that's beside the point. The tire air pressure and tune up will only be a drop in the bucket and it's silly. The media at the town hall meeting didn't question the nonsense, as they never do, so Obama feels empowered to continue on with it.
He now calls for more offshore drilling after just last month saying no. He calls for releasing oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve which is short term and a very small solution. He simply is ignorant on insisting, as Nancy Pelosi - another foolish political animal - that the oil companies lose their leases to land not being drilled on. And the usual windfall profit tax scam.
Marxism loud and clear. The press laps it up.
The truth is that not all leases produce oil. Oil companies make a very small overall profit, though as some of this country's largest companies the numbers are large. And, an interesting result of what conservation is going on now as drivers are using vehicles more wisely - the price of gas is down. When President Bush opened up land options for increased drilling, though still denied by Congress, the price of a barrel went down $10 overnight. Talking about our own solutions has an effect.
The tired argument that drilling won't help at the gas pump tomorrow, immediately, is bogus. Neither will the alternatives. But, the infrastructure is in place. That's the difference.
Rather than vote up or down on increased drilling approval, the most heavily taxed and regulated industry faces more threats of higher taxation and increased regulations. Not to mention property takeover - like Hugo Chavez did in Venezuela. What company executive in his/her right mind would have the incentive to drill in that atmosphere?
The writing is on the wall. More than 75% over the American people want more drilling. McCain has shifted his stance on more drilling. That's being flexible. McCain voted against the Bush energy bill in 2005. Obama voted for it. Interesting, considering it is Obama ridiculing McCain as though he is the one with the evil Big Oil support.
Obama was here in Houston over the weekend for two private fundraisers. One, in River Oaks, was at the home of an energy multimillionaire executive. Oh.
Though his he never defines his idea with actual numbers during these town halls, Obama claims he'll finance another stimulus check giveaway with money robbed from oil company profits. He'll decide how much money they should make, you know. He's as obtuse about what that profit is, though, as he was before he could define what a capitol gains tax was when he debated other Dems.
How about other windfalls? Like the article in the Wall Street Journal online asked: what about the windfall of "Jim Johnson, formerly of Fannie Mae and formerly a political fixer for Mr. Obama, reaped a windfall before Fannie's multi billion dollar accounting scandal. Bill Clinton took down as much as $15 million working as a rainmaker for billionaire financier Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies. This may be the very definition of "windfall"."
"The point isn't that these folks (other than Mr. Clinton) have something to apologize for, or that these firms are somehow more "deserving" of windfall tax extortion than Big Oil. The point is that what constitutes an abnormal profit is entirely arbitrary. It is in the eye of the political beholder, who is usually looking to soak some unpopular business. In other words, a windfall is nothing more than a profit earned by a business that some politician dislikes. And a tax on that profit is merely a form of politically motivated expropriation."
Today, as I filled my gas tank as part of potential hurricane preparation, the price was $3.63 per gallon. That was regular unleaded and I get a 10 cent discount with my card. I conserve the old fashioned way and for the old fashioned reason - good for the environment and good for my wallet. I don't need daddy Obama to tell me how to run my life, thanks.
Obama's mother's influence continues today on the candidate. He has written of his pride in her ideas of Marxist theory.
And now, Republicans have an issue catching on like wildfire with the voters. Democrats may want to remember that oil people are on both sides of the aisle. To claim everyone in the oil business is Republican is just more silliness. Voters are smarter than that. Voters are demanding all options are left on the table.
Finally.
Noreiga Still Saying Anything for Notice
Here's a video clip of Rick Noreiga, the Dem running for the Senate seat of incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9jidkR719M
He refers to the President as "Mr. Bush" and he claims Senator Cornyn wants to sell "more crack to Texans." What a fool. Seems he believes even bad publicity is better than none.
Further proof that Noreiga doesn't have the speaking grace or verbal judgement to be the Texas Senator.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9jidkR719M
He refers to the President as "Mr. Bush" and he claims Senator Cornyn wants to sell "more crack to Texans." What a fool. Seems he believes even bad publicity is better than none.
Further proof that Noreiga doesn't have the speaking grace or verbal judgement to be the Texas Senator.
The Turtle's a Narc
When I was a little girl, we lived on the coast of Mississippi. Our beachfront house had a front yard regularly visited by box turtles. If a box turtle survived the journey across the street from the beach, my sister and I were thrilled to make it a pet. The creature is not known for superior intellect.
Yesterday I read an article by Paul Duggan in the Washington Post about a box turtle, though, that was instrumental in helping the U.S. Park police monitor illegal activity in Rock Creek Park which is close to the Washington, D.C. and Maryland border.
A National Park Service researcher, Ken Ferebee, has been monitoring Eastern box turtles in the park. Over 135 have been counted in recent years. Three of the box turtles have tiny radio transmitters on their shells. So, as they roam the area, their movements are studied. "I was walking in the woods, following the signal with my receiver, trying to find the turtle, and I walked into an area where some large trees had fallen down," he recalled Thursday. "So, there's a big hole in the tree canopy, so there's a lot of light getting down to the ground, and there's a lot of vegetation growing there."
He noticed the turtle, Turtle No. 72, and walked toward her.
"But as I'm walking, I could see a patch of bare soil that didn't look quite right. And when I got closer, I could tell it had been cleared and some plants had been planted. They looked like they'd been grown somewhere else and then actually replanted in the park."
The vegetation was about 4 feet tall and it was about 10 plants.
"I could tell they were marijuana plants," said Ferebee, 46. "I've seen pictures of the leaves before. I've actually seen marijuana plants before, too. And I was a little surprised to see them right there. They've been found in the park before, but it's been a long time." "I called the police to come see, because I knew they'd be interested in that."
Yes, I chuckled when I read the statement that he'd seen pictures of the leaves, too.
The Park Police verified that the area was under watch and a 19 year old from Maryland was arrested as he arrived to tend to his crop.
Turtle No. 72 was last observed in the park, munching on insects.
Yesterday I read an article by Paul Duggan in the Washington Post about a box turtle, though, that was instrumental in helping the U.S. Park police monitor illegal activity in Rock Creek Park which is close to the Washington, D.C. and Maryland border.
A National Park Service researcher, Ken Ferebee, has been monitoring Eastern box turtles in the park. Over 135 have been counted in recent years. Three of the box turtles have tiny radio transmitters on their shells. So, as they roam the area, their movements are studied. "I was walking in the woods, following the signal with my receiver, trying to find the turtle, and I walked into an area where some large trees had fallen down," he recalled Thursday. "So, there's a big hole in the tree canopy, so there's a lot of light getting down to the ground, and there's a lot of vegetation growing there."
He noticed the turtle, Turtle No. 72, and walked toward her.
"But as I'm walking, I could see a patch of bare soil that didn't look quite right. And when I got closer, I could tell it had been cleared and some plants had been planted. They looked like they'd been grown somewhere else and then actually replanted in the park."
The vegetation was about 4 feet tall and it was about 10 plants.
"I could tell they were marijuana plants," said Ferebee, 46. "I've seen pictures of the leaves before. I've actually seen marijuana plants before, too. And I was a little surprised to see them right there. They've been found in the park before, but it's been a long time." "I called the police to come see, because I knew they'd be interested in that."
Yes, I chuckled when I read the statement that he'd seen pictures of the leaves, too.
The Park Police verified that the area was under watch and a 19 year old from Maryland was arrested as he arrived to tend to his crop.
Turtle No. 72 was last observed in the park, munching on insects.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Cornyn Supports Border Patrol Agents
Senator John Cornyn, R-TX, is demanding President Bush commute the prison sentences of two Border Patrol agents. It is way past time that these two agents were released and allowed to repair the damage to their families and professional lives.
In February 2005, two Texas Border Patrol agents were in pursuit of a known drug dealer and illegal immigrant, Oswaldo Aldrete Davila. Aldrete crossed into Texas via the Rio Grande and picked up a van full of marijuana, just southeast of El Paso. A chase proceeded back toward the Rio Grande and shot were fired as Aldrete ran from agents. As the pursuit evolved to a chase outside the van, the suspect was shot by a bullet from one of the agent's guns, in the buttocks.
The story as testimony went that the agents didn't report the shooting to their supervisors and one agent picked up his bullet shell casings. The prosecution claims the agents were trying to cover up their actions.
The case for prosecution of these two men has been suspect from the start. The case is led by U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. He is the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas and was appointed to his position by President Bush in October, 2001. During Congressional hearings on this case, it is alleged that Sutton's office lied to the Congressmen to save face on their actions. The jury wasn't allowed to hear evidence about Davila that would have brought a different verdict, in the opinion of many.
The sentences of Ignacio Ramos - 12 years, and Jose Compean - 11 years, have been appealed. Recently the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected the appeal.
Senator Cornyn calls the trial, "a clear case of prosecutorial overreach and a case where the sentence does not match the crime." He has led the charge of conservatives on the Hill pressuring the White House to commute the sentences and free the agents.
Why does the U.S. Attorney insist on believing the stories of a habitual drug runner from Mexico instead of the word of two career Border Patrol Agents with clean records? One of the agents was named Border Patrol Agent of the Year in the recent past.
Kudos to Senator Cornyn for keeping the pressure on and the story alive in Washington D.C. The only path left to the agents now is their appeal to the Supreme Court. If that is not successful, the only way out for them is from the President.
In February 2005, two Texas Border Patrol agents were in pursuit of a known drug dealer and illegal immigrant, Oswaldo Aldrete Davila. Aldrete crossed into Texas via the Rio Grande and picked up a van full of marijuana, just southeast of El Paso. A chase proceeded back toward the Rio Grande and shot were fired as Aldrete ran from agents. As the pursuit evolved to a chase outside the van, the suspect was shot by a bullet from one of the agent's guns, in the buttocks.
The story as testimony went that the agents didn't report the shooting to their supervisors and one agent picked up his bullet shell casings. The prosecution claims the agents were trying to cover up their actions.
The case for prosecution of these two men has been suspect from the start. The case is led by U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. He is the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas and was appointed to his position by President Bush in October, 2001. During Congressional hearings on this case, it is alleged that Sutton's office lied to the Congressmen to save face on their actions. The jury wasn't allowed to hear evidence about Davila that would have brought a different verdict, in the opinion of many.
The sentences of Ignacio Ramos - 12 years, and Jose Compean - 11 years, have been appealed. Recently the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected the appeal.
Senator Cornyn calls the trial, "a clear case of prosecutorial overreach and a case where the sentence does not match the crime." He has led the charge of conservatives on the Hill pressuring the White House to commute the sentences and free the agents.
Why does the U.S. Attorney insist on believing the stories of a habitual drug runner from Mexico instead of the word of two career Border Patrol Agents with clean records? One of the agents was named Border Patrol Agent of the Year in the recent past.
Kudos to Senator Cornyn for keeping the pressure on and the story alive in Washington D.C. The only path left to the agents now is their appeal to the Supreme Court. If that is not successful, the only way out for them is from the President.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Edwards New Woman
Last week, former Senator from North Carolina and candidate for President John Edwards was in town. He was shown in a photo in the Houston Chronicle posing with the group ACORN, a group riddled with corruption and questionable tactics for voter registration drives. He was doing his anti-poverty schtick. Many local Democrats in upper tiers of city government and political activity are shown smiling in the background, clapping with delight as Edwards holds up a t-shirt with the Texas ACORN logo on it.
Wonder how some of those women feel now that more of the personal life of this guy have bubbled up to the surface of the written media and late night talk show hosts' comedy bits? Maybe it's just sex, like with Clinton, and it just doesn't matter to them. It's really only a scandal if it's a Republican, right?
So, the multi-millionaire trial lawyer, the son of a mill worker and decades long married man is being exposed as a secret lover to a 'new age' filmmaker who worked on videos for his most recent failed Presidential campaign. And, oh by the way, there is a baby involved.
Remember back almost a year ago when the political gossip pages were peppered with speculation that a rumor would be verified and it would not be good for a Democrat candidate running for President? Everyone was speculating that it was probably the boilerplate stuff about Hill and Bill and the spectrum that was all over the map on them. Well, looks like the folks got it wrong. The question is, was it deliberate?
It is with the hints of karma, baby, karma, that now Fox News has confirmed that Edwards was in a Los Angeles hotel Monday night, a story published by Times Online, which is rapidly becoming a daily read for me as this publication seems to know more of what is going on in the U.S. political scene then our own media will report. They are refreshingly untarnished with adulation of the Chosen One, too. So, there's that. The news network, however, has been mum on the story just like all the rest of the tv networks. Again, if it was a Republican involved, we'd have heard all the allegations months ago.
Remember the breathless story of the alleged affair involving John McCain and the lobbyist, though there was no on the record confirmations and only 'unnamed' sources used for that story? It was front page news.
It was John Edwards that was the first Democrat running for President this time around that insisted that all Democrats kowtow to the likes of George Soros and all that he controls and boycott Fox News.
Now a national tabloid publication has run the story of Edwards and this woman. They wrote that Edwards was in Los Angeles attending a meeting on homelessness and was dropped off at a side entrance to the Beverly Hilton about 9:45 Monday night. There were two rooms booked for the woman using a friend's name. In the wee hours of the morning Edwards was seen and confronted by journalists. His face 'went totally white' and he ran down the hall to a restroom. He was later escorted out of the hotel by hotel security. A guard confirmed the story to Fox News and said that Edwards asked him what the reporters were saying.
Later, the story goes, the LA Times demanded their bloggers stay away from the story. They used the pretext that it was only a tabloid story. However, Mickey Kaus, blogger for Slate, leaked the memo and noted the LA Times and other papers didn't want to cover the story when Edwards was a candidate and now that the story is out, it looks like the media cover up that it was. Oops.
There are some speculating that some don't want to cover the story because Elizabeth Edwards is battling terminal cancer. Some say a former Clinton administration official now has a controlling stake in the tabloid and he encouraged resources to be put into the investigation to get Edwards out of nomination contention, therefore helping Hillary.
The videos produced by the woman, who was paid $114,000 for her work, have been taken off Edwards' site. Some newspapers, like The Washington Post, are claiming they are waiting for the tabloid to publish photos to back up the story before they report on it. Also, since Edwards isn't formally running for office now, it isn't a big news story.
Edwards most recently has been vying for the VP slot on the Obama ticket. "I'm prepared to consider anything, anything Obama asks me to do for our country" he said when asked if he'd be part of a new administration. Rumors floated that Edwards may be considered for Attorney General or some kind of anti-poverty czar.
On a side note, maybe all the headlines about Edwards anti-poverty work are making the press because the latest figures put out by research groups for the homeless non-profits point out that the number of homeless in our country are at an all time low. Edwards and his group would have to continue with the thread that the current administration is evil and cruel to the poor. Facts are tricky things. You may remember that critics from homeless advocacy groups blamed the Clinton administration for doing photo ops and feel good outreach and little else. Edwards was a Senator then, where was all his legislative effort?
Thanks to favorite blogger, Bookworm, for the link to the Times Online story.
Wonder how some of those women feel now that more of the personal life of this guy have bubbled up to the surface of the written media and late night talk show hosts' comedy bits? Maybe it's just sex, like with Clinton, and it just doesn't matter to them. It's really only a scandal if it's a Republican, right?
So, the multi-millionaire trial lawyer, the son of a mill worker and decades long married man is being exposed as a secret lover to a 'new age' filmmaker who worked on videos for his most recent failed Presidential campaign. And, oh by the way, there is a baby involved.
Remember back almost a year ago when the political gossip pages were peppered with speculation that a rumor would be verified and it would not be good for a Democrat candidate running for President? Everyone was speculating that it was probably the boilerplate stuff about Hill and Bill and the spectrum that was all over the map on them. Well, looks like the folks got it wrong. The question is, was it deliberate?
It is with the hints of karma, baby, karma, that now Fox News has confirmed that Edwards was in a Los Angeles hotel Monday night, a story published by Times Online, which is rapidly becoming a daily read for me as this publication seems to know more of what is going on in the U.S. political scene then our own media will report. They are refreshingly untarnished with adulation of the Chosen One, too. So, there's that. The news network, however, has been mum on the story just like all the rest of the tv networks. Again, if it was a Republican involved, we'd have heard all the allegations months ago.
Remember the breathless story of the alleged affair involving John McCain and the lobbyist, though there was no on the record confirmations and only 'unnamed' sources used for that story? It was front page news.
It was John Edwards that was the first Democrat running for President this time around that insisted that all Democrats kowtow to the likes of George Soros and all that he controls and boycott Fox News.
Now a national tabloid publication has run the story of Edwards and this woman. They wrote that Edwards was in Los Angeles attending a meeting on homelessness and was dropped off at a side entrance to the Beverly Hilton about 9:45 Monday night. There were two rooms booked for the woman using a friend's name. In the wee hours of the morning Edwards was seen and confronted by journalists. His face 'went totally white' and he ran down the hall to a restroom. He was later escorted out of the hotel by hotel security. A guard confirmed the story to Fox News and said that Edwards asked him what the reporters were saying.
Later, the story goes, the LA Times demanded their bloggers stay away from the story. They used the pretext that it was only a tabloid story. However, Mickey Kaus, blogger for Slate, leaked the memo and noted the LA Times and other papers didn't want to cover the story when Edwards was a candidate and now that the story is out, it looks like the media cover up that it was. Oops.
There are some speculating that some don't want to cover the story because Elizabeth Edwards is battling terminal cancer. Some say a former Clinton administration official now has a controlling stake in the tabloid and he encouraged resources to be put into the investigation to get Edwards out of nomination contention, therefore helping Hillary.
The videos produced by the woman, who was paid $114,000 for her work, have been taken off Edwards' site. Some newspapers, like The Washington Post, are claiming they are waiting for the tabloid to publish photos to back up the story before they report on it. Also, since Edwards isn't formally running for office now, it isn't a big news story.
Edwards most recently has been vying for the VP slot on the Obama ticket. "I'm prepared to consider anything, anything Obama asks me to do for our country" he said when asked if he'd be part of a new administration. Rumors floated that Edwards may be considered for Attorney General or some kind of anti-poverty czar.
On a side note, maybe all the headlines about Edwards anti-poverty work are making the press because the latest figures put out by research groups for the homeless non-profits point out that the number of homeless in our country are at an all time low. Edwards and his group would have to continue with the thread that the current administration is evil and cruel to the poor. Facts are tricky things. You may remember that critics from homeless advocacy groups blamed the Clinton administration for doing photo ops and feel good outreach and little else. Edwards was a Senator then, where was all his legislative effort?
Thanks to favorite blogger, Bookworm, for the link to the Times Online story.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wedding Anniversary #25
A mere 25 years ago today, on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon we were married in the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana. Not a big affair, not a fancy affair either, but the wedding was performed by our minister, Laurel, who used a lovely ceremonial script we were comfortable with.
My sister was my matron of honor, my other sister was a bridesmaid, as was a good friend. My husband asked his father to be his best man. His brother and a friend who he'd known since high school were his groomsmen.
Music was provided by a co-worker who played the piano. Our wedding photos were taken by another co-worker. My aunt's sorority catered the cake and punch at the reception at the church. Did I mention my husband and I paid for our own wedding? Hence, everyone pitching in for us.
Prior to our wedding day, when we were engaged, we travelled to Atlanta en route to New Orleans. The husband met my college roommate. Over a pitcher of sangria in one of our old college day haunts, she told me, "Well, Karen, if you marry this guy, your life will never be boring." Oddly enough, our son was born on her birthday.
And, her prediction was spot on.
My sister was my matron of honor, my other sister was a bridesmaid, as was a good friend. My husband asked his father to be his best man. His brother and a friend who he'd known since high school were his groomsmen.
Music was provided by a co-worker who played the piano. Our wedding photos were taken by another co-worker. My aunt's sorority catered the cake and punch at the reception at the church. Did I mention my husband and I paid for our own wedding? Hence, everyone pitching in for us.
Prior to our wedding day, when we were engaged, we travelled to Atlanta en route to New Orleans. The husband met my college roommate. Over a pitcher of sangria in one of our old college day haunts, she told me, "Well, Karen, if you marry this guy, your life will never be boring." Oddly enough, our son was born on her birthday.
And, her prediction was spot on.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
On This Day in 1967
This story was sent to me via e-mail, from the author of the post. It is a remarkable story.
Lt. Commander John McCain was on an aircraft carrier, the USS Forrestal. A terrible accidental misfire of a missle occurred and hit another plane. An inferno erupted. 134 men died that day and 62 were wounded.
McCain left his own plane and ran toward the fire. Yes, toward the fire. An exploding bomb injured McCain in the chest and legs.
McCain volunteered for duty on the USS Oriskany, as his own ship was out of commission. It was three months later that he was shot down over North Vietnam and spent 5 1/2 years in a communist prison.
Lt. Commander John McCain was on an aircraft carrier, the USS Forrestal. A terrible accidental misfire of a missle occurred and hit another plane. An inferno erupted. 134 men died that day and 62 were wounded.
McCain left his own plane and ran toward the fire. Yes, toward the fire. An exploding bomb injured McCain in the chest and legs.
McCain volunteered for duty on the USS Oriskany, as his own ship was out of commission. It was three months later that he was shot down over North Vietnam and spent 5 1/2 years in a communist prison.
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Yes, it's hot enough for me. Thanks.
I think the reason books in the Summer Reading category are light and quick to read is because our brains don't function so well in the summer heat. And, our attention spans are short. Shorter than usual. I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to even turn on the computer, much less put fingers on the keyboard.
Did you hear of the non-impeachment hearings conducted by the House Judiciary Committee last Friday? Talk about the inmates running the asylum. You'll remember it was Committee Chair John Conyers who was hell-bent for impeachment hearings before the Dems took over Congress in 2006 election. Then, Pelosi put the skids on that and Conyers was all about denying he ever even had the thought. He took down the whole impeachment idea off his web site, too. Well, the worm turned and his pal and failed Presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich has introduced a motion into the record in Congress and Conyers gave it all a hearing.
The usual far left suspects did their thing. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA, claimed President Bush was "the worst president that our nation has ever suffered." Perhaps someone should send dear Zoe a history textbook - and not one written by Howard Zinn.
Rep. Maurice Hinchley, D-NY, said, "This is the most impeachable administration in the history of America because of the way that it has clearly violated the law."
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX, the one who referred to the testimony of Scott McCleland as a meeting of the Book of the Month Club said, "It seems that we are hosting an anger management class. This hearing will not cause us to impeach the president; it will only serve to impeach Congress's credibility." Yes.
And, a sane voice from a George Mason University School of Law professor, Jeremy Rabkin: "I am really astonished at the mood in this room. The tone of these deliberations is slightly demented. You should all remind yourselves that the rest of the country is not necessarily in this same bubble in which people think it is reasonable to describe the president as if he were Caligula." Yes.
Here's a thought - if there is some free time for dithering away the time, how about these Congress monkeys sit down and actually do something. How about some honest work on energy policy or tax relief for small business or health care insurance reform or social security reform or voting on judicial nominations. Just off the top of my head.
Today House Majority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, said she'll not consider any votes on increased drilling as energy policy. "I'm trying to save the planet." The sheer arrogance of this woman. She thinks she is so powerful that she will save the planet. That humans today will save the planet. From what? Yes, we can help the quality of the air and water, but, really. Get over yourselves. Nature has survived since the beginning of the earth and will continue to do so. Al Gore has made enough millions from the lemming mentality of the population believing the utter nonsense coming out of the mouth of this guy. He's not a scientist. He flunked out of Divinity School at Vanderbilt. Seven of his main points in his film have been totally discredited. Incredible.
Congress is at 9% favorable rating. Looking for someone to impeach? Impeach Pelosi and Reed.
I think the reason books in the Summer Reading category are light and quick to read is because our brains don't function so well in the summer heat. And, our attention spans are short. Shorter than usual. I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to even turn on the computer, much less put fingers on the keyboard.
Did you hear of the non-impeachment hearings conducted by the House Judiciary Committee last Friday? Talk about the inmates running the asylum. You'll remember it was Committee Chair John Conyers who was hell-bent for impeachment hearings before the Dems took over Congress in 2006 election. Then, Pelosi put the skids on that and Conyers was all about denying he ever even had the thought. He took down the whole impeachment idea off his web site, too. Well, the worm turned and his pal and failed Presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich has introduced a motion into the record in Congress and Conyers gave it all a hearing.
The usual far left suspects did their thing. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA, claimed President Bush was "the worst president that our nation has ever suffered." Perhaps someone should send dear Zoe a history textbook - and not one written by Howard Zinn.
Rep. Maurice Hinchley, D-NY, said, "This is the most impeachable administration in the history of America because of the way that it has clearly violated the law."
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX, the one who referred to the testimony of Scott McCleland as a meeting of the Book of the Month Club said, "It seems that we are hosting an anger management class. This hearing will not cause us to impeach the president; it will only serve to impeach Congress's credibility." Yes.
And, a sane voice from a George Mason University School of Law professor, Jeremy Rabkin: "I am really astonished at the mood in this room. The tone of these deliberations is slightly demented. You should all remind yourselves that the rest of the country is not necessarily in this same bubble in which people think it is reasonable to describe the president as if he were Caligula." Yes.
Here's a thought - if there is some free time for dithering away the time, how about these Congress monkeys sit down and actually do something. How about some honest work on energy policy or tax relief for small business or health care insurance reform or social security reform or voting on judicial nominations. Just off the top of my head.
Today House Majority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, said she'll not consider any votes on increased drilling as energy policy. "I'm trying to save the planet." The sheer arrogance of this woman. She thinks she is so powerful that she will save the planet. That humans today will save the planet. From what? Yes, we can help the quality of the air and water, but, really. Get over yourselves. Nature has survived since the beginning of the earth and will continue to do so. Al Gore has made enough millions from the lemming mentality of the population believing the utter nonsense coming out of the mouth of this guy. He's not a scientist. He flunked out of Divinity School at Vanderbilt. Seven of his main points in his film have been totally discredited. Incredible.
Congress is at 9% favorable rating. Looking for someone to impeach? Impeach Pelosi and Reed.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
How About A Quiz?
It's Sunday evening. I've enjoyed a weekend break from all the nonsense out there. No news watching. No slobbering hordes following the Chosen One. No Sunday chat shows with pundits stuck in Beltway mode and only one network actually attempting to show a bit of balance. Same old, same old.
So, I took a quiz lifted from pal Incognito. Go here, if you are letting your thoughts settle, too. It's a quiz which shows which party your responses most align with.
My result? I'm a Centrist. I'm center/right. Conservative on fiscal issues. More liberal on social issues. Hmm... Where have I heard that before? I do believe that is exactly how I describe my political thoughts in my sidebar!
Good to know I still listen to all sides - this election cycle surely is testing my fortitude.
So, I took a quiz lifted from pal Incognito. Go here, if you are letting your thoughts settle, too. It's a quiz which shows which party your responses most align with.
My result? I'm a Centrist. I'm center/right. Conservative on fiscal issues. More liberal on social issues. Hmm... Where have I heard that before? I do believe that is exactly how I describe my political thoughts in my sidebar!
Good to know I still listen to all sides - this election cycle surely is testing my fortitude.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Reviewing Berlin
We continue on with the magical mystery tour that is Obama's European summer vacation. If you would like to read an artfully written medieval fairy tale version of the Obama candidacy, go here. And, the writer is a Brit. It was published before the campaign's arrival in London.
Yesterday, I read another interesting post on Z's blog, about the Obama speech in Berlin. Her husband, a German, and she lived in Germany and keep up with the press there. She pointed to an article in a German newspaper. Go here to read it. It refers to the "Obama show", as the German press is calling the appearance, and how typical Germans perceived the candidate. More than 67% polled think Obama can not live up to his hype.
"How come the German and the Berlin taxpayer has to pony up 250,000 euros so that Obama gets a nice television backdrop for his campaign?" asked one irritated blogger on the website of a local newspaper". The response from another went like this: "What do want, McCain to win? that person asked. "It would be good if Obama won, and he can only do that if he convinces voters back home via the TV. So let the cameras show masses of people flocking to Obama through the Brandenburg Gate." I guess the blogger didn't know the venue changed. The article ended with : "Now the Democratic candidate hopes that huge crowds of cheering supporters, mostly foreign, at Victory Column will help him win November's election in the US."
You'll notice Obama and his handlers didn't do the speech in Paris.
Obama went to work out at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin, this ordinary man, instead of visiting the injured American soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. At first, the campaign said they decided against going there because it would look like a political campaign move for publicity. Then, when that didn't wash so well with reporters, Retired military adviser Scott Graton lied to the reporters that the Pentagon asked the campaign not to go. The Pentagon countered with the statement that that statement was untrue. The Pentagon asked that Obama go with only one aide and no cameras. So, there's your truth. If he doesn't make it into a campaign commercial, why bother?
This is yet another moment of shallowness presented by this man. No camera rolling? Not going. There's your change.
When Obama was in Iraq and Afghanistan he noticed that the cable station playing on the televisions on bases was Fox News. He "wondered out loud" if the Commander (thinly veiled jab at Bush) chose the channel. [h/t Jo, whose hubby was deployed to Afghanistan] And, no, Mr. Harvard Law Review, it is the soldiers themselves that chose the network. Like John Kerry, do you think the troops are stupid? That the troops are too dense to realize which international cable network actually supports them and their mission's success? And, news flash, the troops like the President. Why? Because, if nothing else is true about President Bush, it is the fact that he does what he says he will do and he stands firm. His word is trusted.
David Brooks wrote in his column today in The New York Times: "Much of the rest of the speech fed the illusion that we could solve our problems if only people mystically come together. We should help Israelis and Palestinians unite. We should unite to prevent genocide in Darfur. We should unite so the Iranians won't develop nukes. Or as Obama put it:"The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down." "The great illusion of the 1990's, Brooks continues, was that we were entering an era of global convergence in which politics and power didn't matter. What Obama offered in Berlin flowed right out of this mind-set. This was the end of history on acid. Since then, autocracies have arisen, the competition for resources has grown fiercer, Russia has clamped down, Iran is on the march. It will take politics and power to address these challenges, the two factors that dare not speak their name in Obama's lofty peroration."
"He has grown accustomed to putting on this sort of saccharine show for the rock concert masses, and in Berlin his act jumped the shark. His words drift far from reality, and not only when talking about the Senate Banking Committee. His Berlin Victory Column treacle would have made Niebuhr sick to his stomach."
Brooks ends with this: "Obama has benefited from a week of good images. But substantively, optimism without reality isn't eloquence. It's just Disney."
And, finally, Victor Davis Hanson has a good read on the whole 'citizen of the world' description Obama assumes. In National Review Online Hanson rejects the description for himself. For all of Obama's platitudes about the world working together to solve all the problems of the world, the world didn't save Berlin in WWII. Nor did the world save Rwanda or Iraq or the Muslims of the Balkans. It was the U.S. Air Force. For all of his pandering to 'the world', what was the biggest applause line? It was when he spoke of withdrawing from Iraq. Surprise? Hardly. They remained mute as he demanded that Germany send more support to Afghanistan. Why? Because it's not going to happen. Commander in chief is not on the job training for a surrender monkey. He wants to save Afghanis more than Iraqis? Is that the choice he thinks must be made? Even while troops are already coming home, responsibly, from Iraq?
How are the soldiers in Afghanistan to trust a politician that voted to cut their funding while they were on the ground in that country? And, went on a 'fact finding' trip after he wrote out his opinion on Afghanistan and Iraq for The New York Times? And, refuses to admit the surge worked and the soldiers are responsible for that victory? He is not worthy.
Wonder if he credited Bono with his line of 'we are the change we have been waiting for' that he even pulled out in Berlin. Rock star that he is, you know.
Yesterday, I read another interesting post on Z's blog, about the Obama speech in Berlin. Her husband, a German, and she lived in Germany and keep up with the press there. She pointed to an article in a German newspaper. Go here to read it. It refers to the "Obama show", as the German press is calling the appearance, and how typical Germans perceived the candidate. More than 67% polled think Obama can not live up to his hype.
"How come the German and the Berlin taxpayer has to pony up 250,000 euros so that Obama gets a nice television backdrop for his campaign?" asked one irritated blogger on the website of a local newspaper". The response from another went like this: "What do want, McCain to win? that person asked. "It would be good if Obama won, and he can only do that if he convinces voters back home via the TV. So let the cameras show masses of people flocking to Obama through the Brandenburg Gate." I guess the blogger didn't know the venue changed. The article ended with : "Now the Democratic candidate hopes that huge crowds of cheering supporters, mostly foreign, at Victory Column will help him win November's election in the US."
You'll notice Obama and his handlers didn't do the speech in Paris.
Obama went to work out at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin, this ordinary man, instead of visiting the injured American soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. At first, the campaign said they decided against going there because it would look like a political campaign move for publicity. Then, when that didn't wash so well with reporters, Retired military adviser Scott Graton lied to the reporters that the Pentagon asked the campaign not to go. The Pentagon countered with the statement that that statement was untrue. The Pentagon asked that Obama go with only one aide and no cameras. So, there's your truth. If he doesn't make it into a campaign commercial, why bother?
This is yet another moment of shallowness presented by this man. No camera rolling? Not going. There's your change.
When Obama was in Iraq and Afghanistan he noticed that the cable station playing on the televisions on bases was Fox News. He "wondered out loud" if the Commander (thinly veiled jab at Bush) chose the channel. [h/t Jo, whose hubby was deployed to Afghanistan] And, no, Mr. Harvard Law Review, it is the soldiers themselves that chose the network. Like John Kerry, do you think the troops are stupid? That the troops are too dense to realize which international cable network actually supports them and their mission's success? And, news flash, the troops like the President. Why? Because, if nothing else is true about President Bush, it is the fact that he does what he says he will do and he stands firm. His word is trusted.
David Brooks wrote in his column today in The New York Times: "Much of the rest of the speech fed the illusion that we could solve our problems if only people mystically come together. We should help Israelis and Palestinians unite. We should unite to prevent genocide in Darfur. We should unite so the Iranians won't develop nukes. Or as Obama put it:"The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down." "The great illusion of the 1990's, Brooks continues, was that we were entering an era of global convergence in which politics and power didn't matter. What Obama offered in Berlin flowed right out of this mind-set. This was the end of history on acid. Since then, autocracies have arisen, the competition for resources has grown fiercer, Russia has clamped down, Iran is on the march. It will take politics and power to address these challenges, the two factors that dare not speak their name in Obama's lofty peroration."
"He has grown accustomed to putting on this sort of saccharine show for the rock concert masses, and in Berlin his act jumped the shark. His words drift far from reality, and not only when talking about the Senate Banking Committee. His Berlin Victory Column treacle would have made Niebuhr sick to his stomach."
Brooks ends with this: "Obama has benefited from a week of good images. But substantively, optimism without reality isn't eloquence. It's just Disney."
And, finally, Victor Davis Hanson has a good read on the whole 'citizen of the world' description Obama assumes. In National Review Online Hanson rejects the description for himself. For all of Obama's platitudes about the world working together to solve all the problems of the world, the world didn't save Berlin in WWII. Nor did the world save Rwanda or Iraq or the Muslims of the Balkans. It was the U.S. Air Force. For all of his pandering to 'the world', what was the biggest applause line? It was when he spoke of withdrawing from Iraq. Surprise? Hardly. They remained mute as he demanded that Germany send more support to Afghanistan. Why? Because it's not going to happen. Commander in chief is not on the job training for a surrender monkey. He wants to save Afghanis more than Iraqis? Is that the choice he thinks must be made? Even while troops are already coming home, responsibly, from Iraq?
How are the soldiers in Afghanistan to trust a politician that voted to cut their funding while they were on the ground in that country? And, went on a 'fact finding' trip after he wrote out his opinion on Afghanistan and Iraq for The New York Times? And, refuses to admit the surge worked and the soldiers are responsible for that victory? He is not worthy.
Wonder if he credited Bono with his line of 'we are the change we have been waiting for' that he even pulled out in Berlin. Rock star that he is, you know.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Audacity of Obama
Note to Senator Barack Obama: You are not a member of the Senate Banking Committee. I know you were trying to make the Jews feel good about you and all in Israel, but, dude. Get over yourself already.
Charles Krauthammer has an interesting read in the National Review Online. From it comes this: "Obama is a three-year senator without a single important legislative achievement to his name, a former Illinois state senator who voted "present" nearly 130 times. As president of the Harvard Law Review, as law professor and legislator, has he ever produced a single notable piece of scholarship? Written a single memorable article? His most memorable work is a biography of his favorite subject: himself."
"He lectures us that instead of worrying about immigrants learning English, "you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish" - a language Obama does not speak. He further admonishes us on how "embarrassing" it is that Europeans are multilingual but "we go over to Europe, and all we can say is, 'merci beaucoup.' " Obama speaks no French."
So, is he embarrassed of himself? Which languages will he fluently speak in Europe on the grand campaign tour he is on now?
Another smart man, Michael Barone, has an interesting take on the campaign for President this year. His article, also appearing in National Review Online, compares this year's race to the one in 1976. It caught my attention as that was the first time I was old enough to vote. I remember I was completely puzzled as to how perfectly intelligent voters were jumping on the Jimmy Carter bandwagon. You see, I lived in Georgia and Carter was Governor of the state. My family lived in a suburb north of Atlanta and I went to college in Atlanta. I knew who Carter was and knew the country didn't need him. Oh well.
And, this year we face a similar political climate. Just as the Republican brand was suffering after the Nixon years, it does so now. Just as Carter was a relative unknown to the country, so is Obama now. Just as Carter claimed he'd bring the races together - hey, he put up a portrait of MLK, Jr. in the state Capitol in Atlanta - so does Obama.
Barone's point is that the race, despite all the advantages for the Democrats, was a close one. It was 50%-48%, Carter over Ford. In 1976, party identification by Democrats was larger than it is now and Ford was way behind Carter in the polls during the summer months. That is not the case this time. Even though the press has covered Obama to the tune of three times as much as McCain since February of this year, and all with their swooning, fawning, starry eyes, McCain is still within the margin of error of winning in November.
What is to explain that?
I think it is because Obama wears thin on people. The more we hear of him, the less he comes across as sincere, honest, trustworthy, and least of all, humble. Or maybe it's just me.
I'm known as a good judge of character, of people. I'm fair until the bitter end but once my opinion is formed it is rarely changed. My astrological sign is Gemini. I drive myself crazy seeing both sides of all stories. I have not trusted or believed Obama from the beginning. There was just something about him that didn't register right with me.
He's a product of political opportunism, a protege of the political machine on the south side of Chicago. As a political science student in college and the wife of a man married to a politician's daughter of that area during his first marriage, I was already familiar with that machine. I grew up in Louisiana where politics is a blood sport. It's my passion.
Growing up, I was taught to know people by the others with which they associate. Obama, who joined a church for his political career and his wife encouraged it as she was already a member, and then the tapes of the hate-filled 'sermons' of his minister surfaced. His wife has a chip on her shoulder the size of a boulder. They are the poster children of elitism yet pose as poor folks. They have been given every opportunity possible, including the best education in the country. A typical remark from the wife, showing her view of the world, was that the economic stimulus checks written by taxpayers recently wouldn't help much. Why, what could she buy with $600? She said maybe a pair of earrings. Hmmm. I don't think America shops as she does. They live in a McMansion in Hyde Park, after the publication of two books all about him, financed by a corrupt financier/mentor. He has a relationship with William Ayers, a member of the domestic terrorist group of the 60's, the Weathermen. Ayers, not just another parent at the school of his children, but a political fundraiser for Obama since the beginnings of his political career. The kick off fundraiser held in Ayers' home when Obama ran for Senate. His mother, an anthropologist known for her Marxist politics, is referred to by Obama as his 'touchstone' and his agreement with her political views.
It all forms the man.
In his article, Michael Barone suggests John McCain continue to fill in the blanks. He suggests McCain continue to hold town hall meetings, a venue in which he shines and Obama does not. Obama stammers and speaks haltingly when asked questions on the stump. And, the whistle from his teeth is annoying as he holds his nose up in the air posture.
The McCain campaign should continue to fill in the blanks on Obama. Obama's gaffes are frequent. The press will not cover them. Even the obvious gaffe of Obama flat out stating that the Senate Banking Committee - "his" committee, he told the questioner in Israel yesterday, that passed through the Senate legislation to assist Israel with support by financial divestment of enemies. It was simply a lie. Another example of his arrogance getting the better of him.
So, while the press and the Obama faithful continue on with the thread that McCain is old and 'daft', it is up to the new media to take up the slack. The audacity of Obama who now acts as though we must surrender in Iraq to win in Afghanistan is predictable. I suppose he hopes the voters forget he voted against funding the war in Afghanistan.
Maybe he should have just voted 'present'.
Charles Krauthammer has an interesting read in the National Review Online. From it comes this: "Obama is a three-year senator without a single important legislative achievement to his name, a former Illinois state senator who voted "present" nearly 130 times. As president of the Harvard Law Review, as law professor and legislator, has he ever produced a single notable piece of scholarship? Written a single memorable article? His most memorable work is a biography of his favorite subject: himself."
"He lectures us that instead of worrying about immigrants learning English, "you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish" - a language Obama does not speak. He further admonishes us on how "embarrassing" it is that Europeans are multilingual but "we go over to Europe, and all we can say is, 'merci beaucoup.' " Obama speaks no French."
So, is he embarrassed of himself? Which languages will he fluently speak in Europe on the grand campaign tour he is on now?
Another smart man, Michael Barone, has an interesting take on the campaign for President this year. His article, also appearing in National Review Online, compares this year's race to the one in 1976. It caught my attention as that was the first time I was old enough to vote. I remember I was completely puzzled as to how perfectly intelligent voters were jumping on the Jimmy Carter bandwagon. You see, I lived in Georgia and Carter was Governor of the state. My family lived in a suburb north of Atlanta and I went to college in Atlanta. I knew who Carter was and knew the country didn't need him. Oh well.
And, this year we face a similar political climate. Just as the Republican brand was suffering after the Nixon years, it does so now. Just as Carter was a relative unknown to the country, so is Obama now. Just as Carter claimed he'd bring the races together - hey, he put up a portrait of MLK, Jr. in the state Capitol in Atlanta - so does Obama.
Barone's point is that the race, despite all the advantages for the Democrats, was a close one. It was 50%-48%, Carter over Ford. In 1976, party identification by Democrats was larger than it is now and Ford was way behind Carter in the polls during the summer months. That is not the case this time. Even though the press has covered Obama to the tune of three times as much as McCain since February of this year, and all with their swooning, fawning, starry eyes, McCain is still within the margin of error of winning in November.
What is to explain that?
I think it is because Obama wears thin on people. The more we hear of him, the less he comes across as sincere, honest, trustworthy, and least of all, humble. Or maybe it's just me.
I'm known as a good judge of character, of people. I'm fair until the bitter end but once my opinion is formed it is rarely changed. My astrological sign is Gemini. I drive myself crazy seeing both sides of all stories. I have not trusted or believed Obama from the beginning. There was just something about him that didn't register right with me.
He's a product of political opportunism, a protege of the political machine on the south side of Chicago. As a political science student in college and the wife of a man married to a politician's daughter of that area during his first marriage, I was already familiar with that machine. I grew up in Louisiana where politics is a blood sport. It's my passion.
Growing up, I was taught to know people by the others with which they associate. Obama, who joined a church for his political career and his wife encouraged it as she was already a member, and then the tapes of the hate-filled 'sermons' of his minister surfaced. His wife has a chip on her shoulder the size of a boulder. They are the poster children of elitism yet pose as poor folks. They have been given every opportunity possible, including the best education in the country. A typical remark from the wife, showing her view of the world, was that the economic stimulus checks written by taxpayers recently wouldn't help much. Why, what could she buy with $600? She said maybe a pair of earrings. Hmmm. I don't think America shops as she does. They live in a McMansion in Hyde Park, after the publication of two books all about him, financed by a corrupt financier/mentor. He has a relationship with William Ayers, a member of the domestic terrorist group of the 60's, the Weathermen. Ayers, not just another parent at the school of his children, but a political fundraiser for Obama since the beginnings of his political career. The kick off fundraiser held in Ayers' home when Obama ran for Senate. His mother, an anthropologist known for her Marxist politics, is referred to by Obama as his 'touchstone' and his agreement with her political views.
It all forms the man.
In his article, Michael Barone suggests John McCain continue to fill in the blanks. He suggests McCain continue to hold town hall meetings, a venue in which he shines and Obama does not. Obama stammers and speaks haltingly when asked questions on the stump. And, the whistle from his teeth is annoying as he holds his nose up in the air posture.
The McCain campaign should continue to fill in the blanks on Obama. Obama's gaffes are frequent. The press will not cover them. Even the obvious gaffe of Obama flat out stating that the Senate Banking Committee - "his" committee, he told the questioner in Israel yesterday, that passed through the Senate legislation to assist Israel with support by financial divestment of enemies. It was simply a lie. Another example of his arrogance getting the better of him.
So, while the press and the Obama faithful continue on with the thread that McCain is old and 'daft', it is up to the new media to take up the slack. The audacity of Obama who now acts as though we must surrender in Iraq to win in Afghanistan is predictable. I suppose he hopes the voters forget he voted against funding the war in Afghanistan.
Maybe he should have just voted 'present'.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Covering Obama
If Afghanistan is so crucial in the mind of Barack Obama, why hasn't he called even one hearing on the subject, as he is the chair of the subcommittee with oversight on all things Afghanistan? Just a thought.
Does Barack Obama understand that al-Queda doesn't have any bases of operation in Afghanistan; that they move in and out from Pakistan?
I find the staging of the photo ops for Barack Obama and his props, Senators Hagel and Reed, interesting. Every trick in the book has been used to send the appearance that Obama is the President of the United States. And, with his drooling fans previously known as the American journalists, his people have been quite successful. Two of his people even made the gaffe of referring to Obama in terms of the office yesterday and had to be corrected by press. The fact that the reporters corrected him is surprising in itself.
Obama met with General Petraeus and has decided to disagree with the General. Obama refuses to admit his error in judgement about the surge. Obama dwells on the money going to Iraq - money he'll have to have for his social programs. Hey, Marxism is expensive.
Even drooling Katie Couric was a bit incredulous that Obama won't give the surge credit in the very security that allows him his big adventure into the region. Arrogance is a tricky trait. Obama oozes arrogance and sometimes it trips him up. He has placed himself into a box over Iraq and wishing for defeat there so that he can feel better about the positions he has taken. It's always all about politics for Barry. He is not a person who serves his country out of love of country. He serves out of love of himself. This is clearer the longer Barry is in the spotlight. He won't even admit he understands that without the surge, without the Sunni leaders understanding that the U.S. was staying until the job is done, there would have been no coming together of the Sunni and Shiite leaders. His arrogance is not becoming.
I think that's a good thing. The American voter just may begin to put the pieces together. Even the Washington Post is awakening from their Obama-induced stupor.
From the expose in the Houston Press about the arrogance of Obama tossing a wad of paper into a trash receptacle in D.C. and missed. He kept walking and glances over his shoulder to see if an aide picks it up for him. He has a perpetual posture of lifting his nose in the air as he speaks. He thinks it makes him look dignified. He is offended when called a 'politician', though were it not for the political machine of the southside of Chicago he would be a corporate lawyer in the city. Like his wifey who demands college grads do no such thing. Do as I say...Not as I do.
There's some change for you. Right.
The magazines and weekly 'news' magazines can't put out enough covers for Obama. Nightly moderators on cable tv can't speak lovingly enough about their guy. No jokes teasing Obama, though, as he has no sense of humor. Just continue on with the nightly jokes recycled over and over about McCain being old. How clever.
When President Bush implemented a faith based section of the government eligible for federal funds, all hell broke loose from secular America. You would have thought the Pope moved into an office in the West Wing. Then Barry, trolling for religious voters, decided to take the idea as his own and tweak it. Problem is, he took out the very essence of the office - the part where the government doesn't dictate the people the agencies hire to receive funding. Can't have religious people working in religious non-profits. Marxist leaders will tell you what is acceptable in your life; there is no room for making your own decisions.
Yet, the weekly news magazines have devoted pages and cover stories about the 'faith' of Obama. His religious views. His religious home in Chicago, however, is far from the Kansas values a campaign ad professes Obama shares. His mother is the Kansas link and her family moved from there to Washington State when the mother was a young girl. Then they relocated in Washington State so that she could attend a school on Mercer Island known for its Marxist teachers. There are no "Kansas" values in her family. Obama calls his mother's political views his touchstone.
The gaffes of Obama are not to be spoken about. For such a smart guy - editor of Harvard Law Review - he makes some big ones. It's to be expected after running a campaign non-stop since he was elected back in his Illinois legislature days. Each election he runs for the next step up. That's how he became the Democrat nominee with only 1 year's worth of experience in the U.S. Senate and before that a back-bencher in a state legislature. But, wait. He's bi-racial and a nifty speech reader. Oh. Ok.
A divided Jerusalem? Maybe. What day is it? Immediate withdrawal from Iraq, or a structured timetable? What day is it? A diversified energy policy? No way. Only beholden to the most extreme, no matter the issue. Just like dear old mom. His touchstone.
So, now he's moved on to the European segment of his summer vacation. He'll be filming lots of good stuff for the fall campaign cycle. The arrogance of his campaign, lead by the arrogant candidate, was hoping for the shots of drooling throngs of Europeans listening to their guy from the Brandenburg Gates. Looks like that was scrapped. Turns out it was a bit too arrogant even for Barry.
Every so often the past couple of days, a few in the American press have begun to notice the unevenness of coverage for this candidate. The candidate of post-racial, post-partisan America. He is foolishly stubborn on his lapses in judgement concerning national security. He treats his taxpayer funded 'fact finding' trips as campaign stumps and writes op-ed pieces on his conclusions of a trip not yet taken. He has a team of over 300 advisers on foreign policy yet still gets it wrong. He belittles the troops by saying their mission had nothing to do with anything in Iraq, yet uses them (especially the soldiers of color) as photo op props. Don't say anything about anything, though, or you're a racist.
It's nonsense.
Barack Obama is a shamefully opportunistic politician. Just another politician. His career is all important. He enjoys full support from the press - even to the point of The New York Times rejecting a McCain op-ed to balance the Obama pre-trip op-ed.
There were no clamouring hordes of journalists accompanying McCain as he toured Columbia recently. A really newsworthy rescue of hostages occurred as he left the country yet little notice was evident. Katie, John and Charlie didn't drop everything and go on tour with the cool kids.
Obama may want to remember that the American voter doesn't think too highly of the press. The McCain campaign has a good ad on their web site about the press coverage.
Does Barack Obama understand that al-Queda doesn't have any bases of operation in Afghanistan; that they move in and out from Pakistan?
I find the staging of the photo ops for Barack Obama and his props, Senators Hagel and Reed, interesting. Every trick in the book has been used to send the appearance that Obama is the President of the United States. And, with his drooling fans previously known as the American journalists, his people have been quite successful. Two of his people even made the gaffe of referring to Obama in terms of the office yesterday and had to be corrected by press. The fact that the reporters corrected him is surprising in itself.
Obama met with General Petraeus and has decided to disagree with the General. Obama refuses to admit his error in judgement about the surge. Obama dwells on the money going to Iraq - money he'll have to have for his social programs. Hey, Marxism is expensive.
Even drooling Katie Couric was a bit incredulous that Obama won't give the surge credit in the very security that allows him his big adventure into the region. Arrogance is a tricky trait. Obama oozes arrogance and sometimes it trips him up. He has placed himself into a box over Iraq and wishing for defeat there so that he can feel better about the positions he has taken. It's always all about politics for Barry. He is not a person who serves his country out of love of country. He serves out of love of himself. This is clearer the longer Barry is in the spotlight. He won't even admit he understands that without the surge, without the Sunni leaders understanding that the U.S. was staying until the job is done, there would have been no coming together of the Sunni and Shiite leaders. His arrogance is not becoming.
I think that's a good thing. The American voter just may begin to put the pieces together. Even the Washington Post is awakening from their Obama-induced stupor.
From the expose in the Houston Press about the arrogance of Obama tossing a wad of paper into a trash receptacle in D.C. and missed. He kept walking and glances over his shoulder to see if an aide picks it up for him. He has a perpetual posture of lifting his nose in the air as he speaks. He thinks it makes him look dignified. He is offended when called a 'politician', though were it not for the political machine of the southside of Chicago he would be a corporate lawyer in the city. Like his wifey who demands college grads do no such thing. Do as I say...Not as I do.
There's some change for you. Right.
The magazines and weekly 'news' magazines can't put out enough covers for Obama. Nightly moderators on cable tv can't speak lovingly enough about their guy. No jokes teasing Obama, though, as he has no sense of humor. Just continue on with the nightly jokes recycled over and over about McCain being old. How clever.
When President Bush implemented a faith based section of the government eligible for federal funds, all hell broke loose from secular America. You would have thought the Pope moved into an office in the West Wing. Then Barry, trolling for religious voters, decided to take the idea as his own and tweak it. Problem is, he took out the very essence of the office - the part where the government doesn't dictate the people the agencies hire to receive funding. Can't have religious people working in religious non-profits. Marxist leaders will tell you what is acceptable in your life; there is no room for making your own decisions.
Yet, the weekly news magazines have devoted pages and cover stories about the 'faith' of Obama. His religious views. His religious home in Chicago, however, is far from the Kansas values a campaign ad professes Obama shares. His mother is the Kansas link and her family moved from there to Washington State when the mother was a young girl. Then they relocated in Washington State so that she could attend a school on Mercer Island known for its Marxist teachers. There are no "Kansas" values in her family. Obama calls his mother's political views his touchstone.
The gaffes of Obama are not to be spoken about. For such a smart guy - editor of Harvard Law Review - he makes some big ones. It's to be expected after running a campaign non-stop since he was elected back in his Illinois legislature days. Each election he runs for the next step up. That's how he became the Democrat nominee with only 1 year's worth of experience in the U.S. Senate and before that a back-bencher in a state legislature. But, wait. He's bi-racial and a nifty speech reader. Oh. Ok.
A divided Jerusalem? Maybe. What day is it? Immediate withdrawal from Iraq, or a structured timetable? What day is it? A diversified energy policy? No way. Only beholden to the most extreme, no matter the issue. Just like dear old mom. His touchstone.
So, now he's moved on to the European segment of his summer vacation. He'll be filming lots of good stuff for the fall campaign cycle. The arrogance of his campaign, lead by the arrogant candidate, was hoping for the shots of drooling throngs of Europeans listening to their guy from the Brandenburg Gates. Looks like that was scrapped. Turns out it was a bit too arrogant even for Barry.
Every so often the past couple of days, a few in the American press have begun to notice the unevenness of coverage for this candidate. The candidate of post-racial, post-partisan America. He is foolishly stubborn on his lapses in judgement concerning national security. He treats his taxpayer funded 'fact finding' trips as campaign stumps and writes op-ed pieces on his conclusions of a trip not yet taken. He has a team of over 300 advisers on foreign policy yet still gets it wrong. He belittles the troops by saying their mission had nothing to do with anything in Iraq, yet uses them (especially the soldiers of color) as photo op props. Don't say anything about anything, though, or you're a racist.
It's nonsense.
Barack Obama is a shamefully opportunistic politician. Just another politician. His career is all important. He enjoys full support from the press - even to the point of The New York Times rejecting a McCain op-ed to balance the Obama pre-trip op-ed.
There were no clamouring hordes of journalists accompanying McCain as he toured Columbia recently. A really newsworthy rescue of hostages occurred as he left the country yet little notice was evident. Katie, John and Charlie didn't drop everything and go on tour with the cool kids.
Obama may want to remember that the American voter doesn't think too highly of the press. The McCain campaign has a good ad on their web site about the press coverage.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Travelogue Saturday
Greetings from the beautiful Hill Country of Texas. My son is officially oriented as an incoming Freshman and we all love his choice of school. So far, so good.
Son and I drove over Thursday, after dropping Max off at the vet's for boarding. The tech told me it's a full house there this weekend so he'll have lots of playmates. And, I remembered to bring a bag of treats for them to disperse over the weekend. I can't pick him up until after 4 on Monday, as he'll be groomed there Monday and he'll be all clean and smell good when I fetch him.
Freshman Orientation began Friday and Parent Orientation, too. Son went off with his clan and I with mine. The husband, however, could not get away from his job site until Friday afternoon so he missed the day's activities. He arrived by early evening. Son stayed in a dorm with his fellow incoming Freshmen. By 9 this morning I had a text message from him, saying hi and checking in. His dad and I went over for the last of the Parent session after firming up all the finance matters with the Financial Aid office. He's all set and ready for school to begin with move-in day Aug 23.
I'll think about that later.
Originally son and I expected the husband not to be able to get away from his work in Abilene for the weekend but since he did, we extended our stay. We'll be staying tonight and head out tomorrow. Him back to Abilene and us back to Houston. Oreo the cat will be wondering what in the world happened to his people. Not to mention his can of gourmet cat food he receives for breakfast every morning. He's had to make due with the dry stuff.
This afternoon we did some sightseeing as we had a free afternoon together. We visited the Museum of Western Arts and it was very nice. Then, we went on down the road to the town of Bandera. Known as the Cowboy Capital of the World, many western movies have been filmed in the area. John Wayne filmed more than one there, the most notable being "Stagecoach". Western art and movies are not my usual genre but it was fun. We ate an early supper at a place The Duke frequented back in the day and the guys had fine steaks, grilled on an outdoor set up. I enjoyed the chicken enchiladas. On the way back we stopped at a roadside market set up by an organic farmer and the husband got his fix of boiled peanuts and the son picked out some organically grown peaches. Snacks for later.
Now the husband and I are enjoying adult beverages and son is vegging out with a carbonated beverage and the tv remote.
Life is good.
Son and I drove over Thursday, after dropping Max off at the vet's for boarding. The tech told me it's a full house there this weekend so he'll have lots of playmates. And, I remembered to bring a bag of treats for them to disperse over the weekend. I can't pick him up until after 4 on Monday, as he'll be groomed there Monday and he'll be all clean and smell good when I fetch him.
Freshman Orientation began Friday and Parent Orientation, too. Son went off with his clan and I with mine. The husband, however, could not get away from his job site until Friday afternoon so he missed the day's activities. He arrived by early evening. Son stayed in a dorm with his fellow incoming Freshmen. By 9 this morning I had a text message from him, saying hi and checking in. His dad and I went over for the last of the Parent session after firming up all the finance matters with the Financial Aid office. He's all set and ready for school to begin with move-in day Aug 23.
I'll think about that later.
Originally son and I expected the husband not to be able to get away from his work in Abilene for the weekend but since he did, we extended our stay. We'll be staying tonight and head out tomorrow. Him back to Abilene and us back to Houston. Oreo the cat will be wondering what in the world happened to his people. Not to mention his can of gourmet cat food he receives for breakfast every morning. He's had to make due with the dry stuff.
This afternoon we did some sightseeing as we had a free afternoon together. We visited the Museum of Western Arts and it was very nice. Then, we went on down the road to the town of Bandera. Known as the Cowboy Capital of the World, many western movies have been filmed in the area. John Wayne filmed more than one there, the most notable being "Stagecoach". Western art and movies are not my usual genre but it was fun. We ate an early supper at a place The Duke frequented back in the day and the guys had fine steaks, grilled on an outdoor set up. I enjoyed the chicken enchiladas. On the way back we stopped at a roadside market set up by an organic farmer and the husband got his fix of boiled peanuts and the son picked out some organically grown peaches. Snacks for later.
Now the husband and I are enjoying adult beverages and son is vegging out with a carbonated beverage and the tv remote.
Life is good.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Governor Sarah Palin, John Cornyn and Newt
The focus on energy production is everywhere. Too bad no one is doing anything but talking about it in D.C. The failure of the Democrat leadership on this issue is shameful and I believe they will feel the repercussion in November. With a 9% favourably rating in the last poll, you would think they would get the message. No. The stellar duo of Pelosi and Reid have decided to not take up anymore appropriation bills until after the election, as Reid says, until the Obama administration begins. And they will go ahead and take their break in August, because they've worked so hard, you know.
Senator John Cornyn, his re-election I support, has been rolling out some posts by guest bloggers on his web site. Today it was Governor Sarah Palin, (R-AK). You can go here and read her good piece.
Do you know who Sarah Palin is? She is an up and comer in the Republican party, that's the truth. She is smart; articulate and drop dead gorgeous, to boot. She was elected in 2006 as the first woman governor of the State of Alaska. She's a wife, mother of 5, runs marathons, a lifelong NRA member, former chair of the Alaska Conservation Commission, former Wasilla City Councilwoman, and former Wasilla Mayor/Manager. While Mayor/Manager, she lowered property taxes while increasing services and brought in new industry by nurturing the city as business friendly. Yeah, not too shabby.
Palin is frequently mentioned as on the short list for VP with McCain. She recently gave birth to her fifth child who was born with Down Syndrome. This disability was known before the baby's birth and she and her husband decided to continue the pregnancy; to welcome the baby into their family. On her web site, the governor has a place for comments and blessings for baby Trig Paxson Van Palin. Her other children - Track, Bristol, Willow and Piper, as well as her husband are also featured on the site.
This is the final paragraph from Senator Cornyn's web site : "If we don't move now to enact an energy policy that includes more oil and gas production from domestic sources, including ANWR and the federal OCS, we may look back someday and realize that we failed to perceive a critical crossroad in the history of this nation. I don't think it's overly dramatic to say that our country's future and the quality of life for every American depends on the decisions that are made or not made in the next few months."
As Senator Cornyn said today in a television interview, "Congress can't revoke the laws of supply and demand." As he pointed out, Texas is the #1 state in wind energy. That's a start. Texas is lucky to have a senator who understands and promotes sound energy policy.
President Bush has made reformed energy policy a part of his administration's agenda since 2001, yet Congress continues to punt. Now, with two years of Democrat leadership in Congress and the price of gas at the pump tripling, all of a sudden it's the President's fault. Nonsense. The President doesn't make legislation. That is the job of Congress. President Bush has removed the executive order banning drilling on the OCS. Yet, the 'leadership', such as it is, in Congress tells us they will not remove the congressional ban.
The ball is in their court. Remember that in November.
Newt Gingrich has another good article at Human Events about this issue. His petition at American Solutions is being delivered to Congress today. There are more than 1.3 million American signatures on it. Mine is one. Is yours?
If you aren't a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. Each and every one of us can do something. Start by contacting your representatives. Then sign a petition. Write letters. Keep at it all the way until the November elections.
Drill here. Drill now. Pay Less.
Senator John Cornyn, his re-election I support, has been rolling out some posts by guest bloggers on his web site. Today it was Governor Sarah Palin, (R-AK). You can go here and read her good piece.
Do you know who Sarah Palin is? She is an up and comer in the Republican party, that's the truth. She is smart; articulate and drop dead gorgeous, to boot. She was elected in 2006 as the first woman governor of the State of Alaska. She's a wife, mother of 5, runs marathons, a lifelong NRA member, former chair of the Alaska Conservation Commission, former Wasilla City Councilwoman, and former Wasilla Mayor/Manager. While Mayor/Manager, she lowered property taxes while increasing services and brought in new industry by nurturing the city as business friendly. Yeah, not too shabby.
Palin is frequently mentioned as on the short list for VP with McCain. She recently gave birth to her fifth child who was born with Down Syndrome. This disability was known before the baby's birth and she and her husband decided to continue the pregnancy; to welcome the baby into their family. On her web site, the governor has a place for comments and blessings for baby Trig Paxson Van Palin. Her other children - Track, Bristol, Willow and Piper, as well as her husband are also featured on the site.
This is the final paragraph from Senator Cornyn's web site : "If we don't move now to enact an energy policy that includes more oil and gas production from domestic sources, including ANWR and the federal OCS, we may look back someday and realize that we failed to perceive a critical crossroad in the history of this nation. I don't think it's overly dramatic to say that our country's future and the quality of life for every American depends on the decisions that are made or not made in the next few months."
As Senator Cornyn said today in a television interview, "Congress can't revoke the laws of supply and demand." As he pointed out, Texas is the #1 state in wind energy. That's a start. Texas is lucky to have a senator who understands and promotes sound energy policy.
President Bush has made reformed energy policy a part of his administration's agenda since 2001, yet Congress continues to punt. Now, with two years of Democrat leadership in Congress and the price of gas at the pump tripling, all of a sudden it's the President's fault. Nonsense. The President doesn't make legislation. That is the job of Congress. President Bush has removed the executive order banning drilling on the OCS. Yet, the 'leadership', such as it is, in Congress tells us they will not remove the congressional ban.
The ball is in their court. Remember that in November.
Newt Gingrich has another good article at Human Events about this issue. His petition at American Solutions is being delivered to Congress today. There are more than 1.3 million American signatures on it. Mine is one. Is yours?
If you aren't a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. Each and every one of us can do something. Start by contacting your representatives. Then sign a petition. Write letters. Keep at it all the way until the November elections.
Drill here. Drill now. Pay Less.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Shameless Self Promotion
Two posts from this blog have made it into other fine vehicles on the Internet. I thought I would share that with you.
On Texas Weekly, a publication striving to write without partisan bias to the left or the right side of the aisle, since 1984, my post on the recent FISA reform legislation made a mention and link. Texas Weekly is the top political and government newsletter in the state; it says so right on their web site. Who am I to argue? This newsletter will tell the reader how Texas really works.
And, over at 5 Minutes for Mom, my post on raising patriotic children appears under the heading of Great Reads. This web site is chock full of fine reads for moms from all walks of life, at all stages of life. One really good feature on the site is the promotion of mom-owned businesses. Over at Rocking Horse to Love, the reader will view some really cute custom made rocking horses, not so easy to find these days. And, I was really happy to notice over the past weekend a new site has launched, 5 Minutes for Books. More good book talk. Check it all out when time allows.
Happy reading.
On Texas Weekly, a publication striving to write without partisan bias to the left or the right side of the aisle, since 1984, my post on the recent FISA reform legislation made a mention and link. Texas Weekly is the top political and government newsletter in the state; it says so right on their web site. Who am I to argue? This newsletter will tell the reader how Texas really works.
And, over at 5 Minutes for Mom, my post on raising patriotic children appears under the heading of Great Reads. This web site is chock full of fine reads for moms from all walks of life, at all stages of life. One really good feature on the site is the promotion of mom-owned businesses. Over at Rocking Horse to Love, the reader will view some really cute custom made rocking horses, not so easy to find these days. And, I was really happy to notice over the past weekend a new site has launched, 5 Minutes for Books. More good book talk. Check it all out when time allows.
Happy reading.
Two Texans Remembered
This weekend marked the passing of two prominent Texans.
Roy Huffington, ex-father in law of Arianna Huffington, died Saturday at the age of 90. He was a local philanthropist and successful oil man. He is remembered as a former ambassador to Austria for President George H.W. Bush and for his foresight to the needs of our aging society. He and his late wife, Phyllis who died in 2003, founded the Huffington Center on Aging at the Baylor College of Medicine in 1988. It is now known as a premier center on the subject of aging in the world. He was a generous soul who concentrated on donations of millions of dollars to SMU for faculty and student scholarships. He told an associate recently that he kept on working because, "I need to make more money so I can give it away."
The second passing this weekend was that of Dr. Michael DeBakey. Just two months out from his 100th birthday, he died of natural causes in his home. His is known as the father of modern heart surgery. He was a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana but moved to Houston as a young man with many options open to him, due to his talent and innovation skills. Many consider him the greatest surgeon ever.
I've enjoyed reading about Dr. DeBakey throughout the years. Not only do I enjoy biographies as a favorite reading genre, but on a personal note, I was born with a slight heart murmur and heart related innovations are of interest to me. I was one of the lucky ones. My little hole in my heart's wall closed spontaneously by the age of nine. Others are not so lucky and in need of expert care.
His first wife died in Mexico as they were guests of the President of Mexico and DeBakey was there to perform surgeries. Ironically she experienced extreme stomach distress and suffered a heart attack. Now it is known that, especially in woman, this sort of symptom of heart attack is common.
He met his second wife through his friendship with Frank and Barbara Sinatra. DeBakey has many famous patients through the years. The Duke of Windsor, King Leopold of Belgium, Aristotle Onassis, King Hussein of Jordan, Jerry Lewis, Marlene Dietrich, and Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
In 2006 he underwent surgery to repair a dissecting aortic aneurysm, a treatment he pioneered 50 years before. He was the recipient of many awards and honors. Most recently he received the Congressional Gold Medal.
Roy Huffington, ex-father in law of Arianna Huffington, died Saturday at the age of 90. He was a local philanthropist and successful oil man. He is remembered as a former ambassador to Austria for President George H.W. Bush and for his foresight to the needs of our aging society. He and his late wife, Phyllis who died in 2003, founded the Huffington Center on Aging at the Baylor College of Medicine in 1988. It is now known as a premier center on the subject of aging in the world. He was a generous soul who concentrated on donations of millions of dollars to SMU for faculty and student scholarships. He told an associate recently that he kept on working because, "I need to make more money so I can give it away."
The second passing this weekend was that of Dr. Michael DeBakey. Just two months out from his 100th birthday, he died of natural causes in his home. His is known as the father of modern heart surgery. He was a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana but moved to Houston as a young man with many options open to him, due to his talent and innovation skills. Many consider him the greatest surgeon ever.
I've enjoyed reading about Dr. DeBakey throughout the years. Not only do I enjoy biographies as a favorite reading genre, but on a personal note, I was born with a slight heart murmur and heart related innovations are of interest to me. I was one of the lucky ones. My little hole in my heart's wall closed spontaneously by the age of nine. Others are not so lucky and in need of expert care.
His first wife died in Mexico as they were guests of the President of Mexico and DeBakey was there to perform surgeries. Ironically she experienced extreme stomach distress and suffered a heart attack. Now it is known that, especially in woman, this sort of symptom of heart attack is common.
He met his second wife through his friendship with Frank and Barbara Sinatra. DeBakey has many famous patients through the years. The Duke of Windsor, King Leopold of Belgium, Aristotle Onassis, King Hussein of Jordan, Jerry Lewis, Marlene Dietrich, and Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
In 2006 he underwent surgery to repair a dissecting aortic aneurysm, a treatment he pioneered 50 years before. He was the recipient of many awards and honors. Most recently he received the Congressional Gold Medal.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Happy Friday. Take a Quiz. Take a Break.
You Are Not Prejudiced |
 Not only are you color blind, but you're also ethnicity blind, gender blind, and sexual orientation blind. You don't judge someone until you truly know them. And even then, you're probably reluctant to judge. You try to treat everyone equally. Everyone has a fair chance with you. Good job - there's not a prejudiced bone in your body. |
This election year, with a woman, a bi-racial man, and a white older man running for the highest office in the land, I thought this little web quiz would be fun. So, I did it.
It's summer. It's hot outside. I'm fed up with the news. People are behaving as though they have lost their collective minds.
And, my husband is out of town.
I'm taking a short break. Really short road trip with my son. Just one night out of town. We are driving over to the beautiful hill country of our state today and taking a tour of his college, so when he and his parents attend Freshman Orientation next weekend, we'll have some idea of where we are. Maybe.
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