Wings of my Mind

CRUSTACEANS

2009-02-28T16:55:00.001-08:00

CRABS on the Rampage

By nature, crabs step on each other to elevate themselves. CPAC and republicans are exactly doing what crustaceans do by their nature. They are at the bottom of the barrel right now, bereft of ideas, positive or otherwise, to elevate themselves.

Santorum At CPAC: ‘Absolutely We Hope That’ Obama Fails, ‘I Believe His Policies Will Fail’

Just before President Obama was inaugurated, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh declared, “I hope he fails.” Though some Republicans have distanced themselves from Limbaugh’s sentiment, conservatives at CPAC have fully embraced it.

In an interview with ThinkProgress today, radio host Mark Levin and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) added their voices to the chorus of conservatives hoping for Obama’s failure:

TP: What do you think about what Rush said about, I mean, do you hope, should we hope that President Obama fails?

LEVIN: Yes.

TP: Yes?

SANTORUM: If…absolutely we hope that his policies fail.

“I believe his policies will fail, I don’t know, but I hope they fail,” added Santorum. Watch it:

On his radio show yesterday, Limbaugh announced that its is a “dirty little secret” that “every Republican in this country wants Obama to fail, but none of them have the guts to say so.” “I am willing to say it,” added Limbaugh.

At CPAC at least, more and more conservatives are “willing to say it.” Appropriately, Limbaugh will be the closing speaker at the conference tonight.

Transcript:

THINK PROGRESS: What do you think about what Rush said about, I mean, do you hope? Should we hope that President Obama fails?

LEVIN: Yes.

TP: Yes?

SANTORUM: If…absolutely we hope that his policies fail.

TP: Ok.

SANTORUM: Because, well, we, I believe his policies will fail, I don’t know, but I hope they fail, I don’t know. But I believe they will fail.

Inaugural Address

2009-01-20T18:10:00.001-08:00

Watch video

44th President of the United States BARACK OBAMA:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

The Curse of Abraham

2009-01-12T11:51:00.001-08:00

Abraham was a god-fearing man that nothing stops him from pleasing God even to the extent of sacrificing his own son Isaac. Such piety was handed down to the generations with a different twist. The Palestinians, Hamas in particular, have no qualms sacrificing their own people to please their god - world opinion - confirmed by documents obtained by Israeli Defense Forces - a Hamas map.

.................................

This map confiscated Wednesday (Jan. 7) by IDF paratroopers operating in the north of Gaza, shows how Hamas uses an entire neighborhood, rigging it with explosive devices and putting the entire civilian population at great risk. The map shows the al-Tatraa neighborhood in Gaza City divided into three areas of operation (red, blue and green). The dots on the map indicate where Hamas operatives had planted a variety of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), with the colors indicating the type of IED. Additional marks show sniper positions next to mosques. Next to the entrance of the el-Tawid mosque near to Shauuda Plaza at the top left of the map there is a sniper posting with marking indicating the direction of fire marked on the map. At the bottom center of the map there is a gas station where Hamas planted an IED which, if activated, could cause a very large explosion throughout the neighborhood.

An overall study of the map demonstrates how Hamas deliberately uses civilians...

LEMMINGS ON WHEELS

2008-12-15T22:17:00.001-08:00

By Eugene Robinson

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Despite the popular belief, lemmings don't really hurl themselves off cliffs to reduce their numbers. That sort of behavior is seen only among Republicans in the Senate, who gave us a demonstration when they torpedoed legislation to bail out the auto industry.

To state the obvious, no one is eager to use hard-earned taxpayer dollars to bail out the bozos of Detroit. Yes, I know that American cars are better than they used to be, and, yes, I know that the much-heralded Chevy Volt is on the way. But our domestic auto industry has been thoroughly out-thought and out-hustled by the foreign competition, and no infusion of public funds is likely to change this pattern.

It may be that General Motors, Chrysler and Ford are lumbering, Jurassic beasts that deserve their looming extinction. But only a free-market fundamentalist, a lunatic or a Senate Republican -- perhaps that's redundant -- would conclude that now is the moment to hasten Detroit's demise. Click here for full article.

My comment:

Republicans do have a peculiar way of rebuffing Dubya, the titular leader of their party. They can always justify the reasons why they are against Bush, but the main reason is truly to get into the limelight when everything is going dim their way. Right or wrong, they must surface in the news/media or they will be buried by the Obama steamroller. It matters not whether the auto industry gets gobbled up by foreign competition, the republicans must come up with opposing ideas if only to show that they are still relevant as a party. This is a far cry from the McCain slogan of COUNTRY FIRST.

No Escape for Lieberman

2008-11-25T23:01:00.001-08:00

HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman took another step Tuesday toward mending his relationship with Democrats, saying that Barack Obama's actions since winning the presidency have been "just about perfect."

"Everything that President-elect Obama has done since election night has been just about perfect, both in terms of a tone and also in terms of the strength of the names that have either been announced or are being discussed to fill his administration," Lieberman said during a visit to Hartford... Click here for full details.

My comment: In the kaleidoscopic lights of politics, I can spot a loser a mile away. When Lieberman chose to become bedfellows with John McCain, I knew right away that he made a loser of himself. He rolled over from Independent to a turncoat to infamy.

Lieberman's speeches and appearances for the republicans during the campaign will be on the record forever and there is no expunging or editing of history. Lieberman's vitriol against Barack Obama will haunt Lieberman's future among his constituents but what is embarrassing now and in the forthcoming months is that whenever he opens his mouth in praise of Obama, Lieberman is eating crow.

A Triumph for Hillary, Many Women Agree

2008-11-22T09:30:00.001-08:00

Hillary Clinton, a first lady turned senator turned almost-president, is now transforming herself again, this time into the nation's top diplomat. But she is also back to a role she cannot seem to shake: a canvas for women's highest hopes and deepest fears about the workplace.

As she pondered this week whether to trade her hard-won independence and elected office for a job working for a more powerful man, mothers and schoolteachers and law partners mulled in tandem with her. After eight years of building her own constituency, how could Mrs. Clinton surrender it? they asked. Is secretary of state a promotion or an acknowledgment that her political prospects are now limited? And ultimately, how well will her male boss treat her?

As news spread on Friday evening that Mrs. Clinton had decided to accept the job, so did a basic consensus: the assignment was probably a triumph for Mrs. Clinton, if a costly one.

Click http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/us/politics/22clinton.html?_r=1 for more details.

My comment: The foregoing is of course from women's point of view. From a detached point of view, Hillay is a virtual caterpillar on ever ongoing metamorphosis and never really becoming a butterfly. Women would like to think that Hillary has triumphed, albeit pyrrhic, oblivious to clever and subtle shuffle of the president-elect to put her out of the way and in her place.. As Secretary of State she will be implementing foreign policy that is unpalatable to her taste, based on her previous campaign. She will be implementing policy that she mocked and detested, using that as battlecry to rally women who form the cracks in her ceiling. Barack Obama could have selected Diane Feinstein as a matter of course, but no ... it must be Hillary Clinton to rub it in... in the same manner that John McCain paid homage to the president-elct in Chicago to show the world that their claim of experience on Day One is nothing but hot air.

Team of Rivals

2008-11-18T14:31:00.001-08:00

CHICAGO – The bitter general election campaign behind them, President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are seeking common ground on a range of issues in hopes of engendering greater bipartisan cooperation in Washington.

The erstwhile rivals met for 40 minutes at Obama's transition headquarters Monday to discuss possible collaboration on climate change, immigration, Guantanamo Bay and more.

It was their first meeting since Nov. 4, when Obama vanquished McCain in an electoral landslide. Last Thursday, Obama reached out to another former competitor, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom he is considering as a possible secretary of state.

My comment: Even before the ink dried up, Hillary R Clinton was airborne enroute to Chicago with high expectations to become Secretary of State. She was indeed dying to become one - with one minor problem: she still has to be confirmed by the Senate. At the rate the vetting is going, Bill Clinton could yet derail her chances. Considering how she mocked and criticized Barack Obama on foreign policy issues, Hillary will eat crow during the confimation hearings.

And here comes John McCain, hat in hand, talking with Barack Obama in Chicago. There was no earth shaking event to discuss nor any anticipation of a job in the coming administration. It was neither a photo op event, as the Obama circle claimed it to be. It was an event showing the vanquished paying homage to the victor, not trumpeted as such but nevertheless a subtle way of making rabid critics of the campaign eat crow.

And Senator John Lieberman almost fell on his face, profusely pledging his support and allegiance to the president-elect, as if his only redemption is eating crow.

Goodness Gracious!!

2008-10-26T23:30:00.001-07:00

DENVER — Roaring toward the finish, Barack Obama presided Sunday over two Colorado rallies that together drew about 150,000 people, a startling turnout in a key swing state.

In Denver, the city where he claimed his historic presidential nomination, Obama stepped on stage and seemed surprised at his own following. He saw an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 people _ the largest U.S. rally to date in an Obama campaign full of them.

"Goodness gracious," Obama said as peered at the human mass in Civic Center Park.

Smelling victory, supporters even lined the steps of the Capitol, which was so far away from the stage that the people there needed binoculars just to hope to see Obama.

The setting, on a sparkling day in this battleground state, said perhaps more than Obama did in his actual speech. It rippled with the kind of enthusiasm found at victory rallies.

The location of a later rally _ a Colorado State University lawn known as "The Oval" _ suggested Obama's possible future workplace. He spoke to an estimated 45,000-50,000 people at the Fort Collins event.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/26/obama-stirs-up-supporters_n_137949.html

St. Louis, Mo. Rally

2008-10-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, waves as he arrives at a rally in St. Louis, Mo., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008.

LA Times for Barack Obama

2008-10-17T14:43:00.001-07:00

Endorsement

Barack Obama for president

He is the competent, confident leader who represents the aspirations of the United States.

11:01 AM PDT, October 17, 2008

» Discuss Article (289 Comments)

It is inherent in the American character to aspire to greatness, so it can be disorienting when the nation stumbles or loses confidence in bedrock principles or institutions. That's where the United States is as it prepares to select a new president: We have seen the government take a stake in venerable private financial houses; we have witnessed eight years of executive branch power grabs and erosion of civil liberties; we are still recovering from a murderous attack by terrorists on our own soil and still struggling with how best to prevent a recurrence.

We need a leader who demonstrates thoughtful calm and grace under pressure, one not prone to volatile gesture or capricious pronouncement. We need a leader well-grounded in the intellectual and legal foundations of American freedom. Yet we ask that the same person also possess the spark and passion to inspire the best within us: creativity, generosity and a fierce defense of justice and liberty.

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The Times without hesitation endorses Barack Obama for president.

Our nation has never before had a candidate like Obama, a man born in the 1960s, of black African and white heritage, raised and educated abroad as well as in the United States, and bringing with him a personal narrative that encompasses much of the American story but that, until now, has been reflected in little of its elected leadership. The excitement of Obama's early campaign was amplified by that newness. But as the presidential race draws to its conclusion, it is Obama's character and temperament that come to the fore. It is his steadiness. His maturity.

These are qualities American leadership has sorely lacked for close to a decade. The U.S. Constitution, more than two centuries old, now offers the world one of its more mature and certainly most stable governments, but our political culture is still struggling to shake off a brash and unseemly adolescence. In George W. Bush, the executive branch turned its back on an adult role in the nation and the world and retreated into self-absorbed unilateralism.

John McCain distinguished himself through much of the Bush presidency by speaking out against reckless and self-defeating policies. He earned The Times' respect, and our endorsement in the California Republican primary, for his denunciation of torture, his readiness to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and his willingness to buck his party on issues such as immigration reform. But the man known for his sense of honor and consistency has since announced that he wouldn't vote for his own immigration bill, and he redefined "torture" in such a disingenuous way as to nearly embrace what he once abhorred.

Indeed, the presidential campaign has rendered McCain nearly unrecognizable. His selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate was, as a short-term political tactic, brilliant. It was also irresponsible, as Palin is the most unqualified vice presidential nominee of a major party in living memory. The decision calls into question just what kind of thinking -- if that's the appropriate word -- would drive the White House in a McCain presidency. Fortunately, the public has shown more discernment, and the early enthusiasm for Palin has given way to national ridicule of her candidacy and McCain's judgment.

Obama's selection also was telling. He might have scored a steeper bump in the polls by making a more dramatic choice than the capable and experienced Joe Biden. But for all the excitement of his own candidacy, Obama has offered more competence than drama.

He is no lone rider. He is a consensus builder, a leader. As a constitutional scholar, he has articulated a respect for the rule of law and the limited power of the executive that make him the best hope of restoring balance and process to the Justice Department. He is a Democrat, leaning further left than right, and that should be reflected in his nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is a good thing; the court operates best when it is ideologically balanced. With its present alignment at seven justices named by Republicans and two by Democrats, it is due for a tug from the left.

We are not sanguine about Obama's economic policies. He speaks with populist sweep about taxing oil companies to give middle-class families rebates that of course they would welcome, but would be far too small to stimulate the economy. His ideas on taxation do not stray far from those put forward by Democrats over the last several decades. His response to the most recent, and drastic, fallout of the sub- prime mortgage meltdown has been appropriately cautious; this is uncharted territory, and Obama is not a master of economic theory or practice.

And that's fine. Obama inspires confidence not so much in his grasp of Wall Street finance, but in his acknowledgment of and comfort with his lack of expertise. He will not be one to forge far-reaching economic policy without sounding out the best thinkers and practitioners, and he has many at his disposal. He has won the backing of some on Wall Street not because he's one of them, but because they recognize his talent for extracting from a broad range of proposals a coherent and workable program.

On paper, McCain presents the type of economic program The Times has repeatedly backed: One that would ease the tax burden on business and other high earners most likely to invest in the economy and hire new workers. But he has been disturbingly unfocused in his response to the current financial situation, rushing to "suspend" his campaign and take action (although just what action never became clear). Having little to contribute, he instead chose to exploit the crisis.

We may one day look back on this presidential campaign in wonder. We may marvel that Obama's critics called him an elitist, as if an Ivy League education were a source of embarrassment, and belittled his eloquence, as if a gift with words were suddenly a defect. In fact, Obama is educated and eloquent, sober and exciting, steady and mature. He represents the nation as it is, and as it aspires to be.

Unfit for the White House

2008-09-30T00:47:00.001-07:00

The day before Bush address at the White House plugging for a bailout, McCain was asked on what is his stand on the memo of Treasury Secretary about the economy. McCain's bland answer was, he has not read the three page memo which has been discussed in Washington circles for over a week. This prompted a wiseacre that the Straight Talk Express has no reading room. Fact is, McCain has no interest on economy matters.

After Bush's suggestion for an economic bailout, Obama suggested to McCain that a joint statement be drawn to spur bipartisan support of the Bush initiative. A bulb suddenly lit in McCain's head and saw a grand opportunity to act presidential. He issued a statement on his own (never mind Obama) calling for a bipartisan support of Bush bailout, thus effectively pirating Obama's idea. He pushed his grandstanding to the hilt - McCain announced suspending his campaign so he could rally "bipartisan support" (his hackneyed phrase on the campaign trail) and also announced that he will not attend the scheduled debate "unless a deal is reached " in Washington. The succeeding events showed McCain stumbling at every step and eventually eating crow, but for now this writer would like to point out the consensus at the capitol that it is the president's job together with congress to bail out the economy. In other words, McCain is trying to usurp the duties of the president after his intellectual dishonesty of pirating the idea of Obama. McCain's rightful place is a rocking chair in front of his ranch at Sedona - definitely not the White House.

Will They Ever Learn??

2008-09-27T01:17:00.001-07:00

Republican noise makers declared McCain winner of the debate even before it started. It means McCain need not show up for the debate because it is already won. Talk about being scared.

In the course of the debate familiar cliches were tossed around in abundance:

1. I have plenty of experience and ready to be president.

2. He is naive and does not understand Iraq.

3. He is naive and doest not understand Russia.

4. He is naive and does not understand the surge.

5. He is naive and does not understand foreign policy by talking to adversaries without preconditions.

These are pronouncements, worn out and passe were it not re-hashed by the nominee of GOP.

These were the same pronouncements of someone who is now in the dustbin of history.

The electorate is not that stupid. Will they ever learn?

Moral Fibber??

2008-09-22T21:07:00.001-07:00

On Larry King Live hour at CNN, Susan Molinari, a republican hatchetwoman revealed that the republicans cannot attack Obama because there is no record to attack. That explains why the McCain brigade fabricate lies to paint Obama on. Obama is impregnable on his moral fiber, so the McCain camp have to invent their moral fibber. What kind of president will that make of McCain?

Pinocchio for President?

2008-09-19T21:21:00.001-07:00

Senator John McCain has nothing to say to the electorate, so he cooks up a broth of lies and calls it medicine for the ills of the american people. There's no telling how intelligent is the american electorate - a pinocchio may yet become president.

Capricious McCain

2008-09-01T14:37:00.001-07:00

Soldier McCain flaunts his military service, in addition to love of country, as making him fit to guard the ramparts of liberty when he occupies the White House. Recent revelations of candidate McCain point otherwise. Granting his claim as expert on security, he is well qualified as security guard of the bank of america - were he younger.

Candidate McCain is at least a decade away from senility but he is quick to fake senior moments when cornered with leading questions: he can not exactly remember how many houses he owns. In the face of mass foreclosures and people all over the country at the brink of losing their homes, McCain's multiple homes is in stark contrast and sticks out like a sore thumb in an ailing economy. In a vain effort to mollify ruffled feathers, McCain surrogates pictured McCain laid up as a POW in a house with bare floors purportedly to evoke sympathy.

When Russian troops invaded Georgia, McCain was quick on the draw shooting from the hip. He blustered that Russia ought to be expelled from G8 nations and in unabashed demagoguery McCain declared that all Americans are Georgians!

And now comes the snake oil! McCain picks Sara Palin as running mate. This is very obvious pandering to Hillary Clinton women voters. These histrionics makes McCain very well qualified to be president of Barnum Bailley Circus.

Border of Iraq and Pakistan??!!

2008-07-21T19:54:00.001-07:00

H e e e r r ee ‘ s Senator John McCain

It must be one of those senior moments of Ole John … border of Iraq andPakistan?? They are about 650 miles apart!

John McCain apparently hasn’t learned from the democratic primary race. Hilary Clinton did not make it because she was too arrogant with empty cliches, i.e. “I am ready to be CIC on day one”, etc.. McCain is making the same pronouncements, and more: “I am ready to protect you from terrorist, I am stronger on foreign policy, I am more patriotic, ..” , etc. Such declarations are not only arrogant and puerile but also silly and condescending. Silly, because there is no White House 101 in any university in the universe. It is like proclaiming that one can swim simply because there is water out there. Only when one gets wet in the water and not sink can one truly assert that he/she can swim.

There is nothing more condescending than to aver that your opponent is inexperienced. Flaunting one’s experience as the longevity in public office is like a barnacle proclaiming that it has stayed long enough underwater in a pier column. Barnacles yield no pearls.

And here comes McCain gloating over the success of the surge in Iraq. What price Iraq? Over 4000 american casualties and countless maimed and injured as well as countless Iraqis dead – too many for counting.. Whether it is success or not by any standards, Iraq is not something to gloat over. The price is too much for McCain to get ecstatic and too ghoulish to gloat over.

Here’s another McCain gaffe: he faults his opponent for making policies in Iraq and Afghanistan even before he visisted the site. It can merit a laugh or two were it not so juvenile of the senator from Arizona.. JFK formulated policies and goals for man to land on the moon. JFK never went to the moon.

Posturings of McCain

2008-06-15T14:16:00.001-07:00

McCain Campaign Video - Study of mindset and body english

The campaign video of Senator John McCain is a giveaway of how hollow a candidate can be. He talks of his grandfather and his father before him. Then he talks of Vietnam tour, becoming prisoner of war for more than five years - and about some of his buddies never coming back.

McCain has low esteem of his military experience, that is why he deems it necessary to drag his ancestors before him - to prop up the seemingly inconsequential chapter of his own military experience. His surrogates claim that McCain is a hero, in effect translating his military experience into acts of heroism. Nothing can be more preposterous. There are no heroic exploits that can compare to MacArthur or Eisenhower and much less, to the valiant efforts like the Charge of the Light Brigade.

McCain himself, unabashedly claims he is good at making the people secure, altho his body english says otherwise. His eyelids flutter faster than the wings of a hummingbird, betraying his non-belief or insincerity in what he is saying. What he actually means is that he is applying for the job of a security guard.

Military experience is no trivia in one's life, but invoking self-pity at the expense of 'buddies who never came back' is rather lilliputian.

The Spurious Claim of Hillary Clinton

2008-02-10T14:24:00.001-08:00

There is no school for presidents and commander-in-chiefs. All the presidents, since George Washington got to the White House without any claim of being experienced. The ability to wield the power of the greatest nation on earth is something that is not bragged about, and much less claimed. Either one has got it or not.

And now comes Hillary Clinton trumpeting on rooftops that she is experienced and ready to assume the duties of commander-in-chief on day one. Nothing can be more presumptuous. The fact that she claims experience is hollow and inauthentic, and even shameless. It means that George Bush and all the way back to George Washington are nothing but nincompoops and inexperienced. If there is any experience that matters with Hillary, it is the experience of standing by her man during the heyday of Monica Lewinsky. She could not possibly stomped away from her cheating husband because she had already hatched the plan of running for president herself, using the ex-president as her backbone. Too bad, the ex-president has the backbone of a jellyfish, too scared of responding to the bombing of USS Cole.

In the face of strident claims of experience and ready for commander in chief day one, Senator Clinton is becoming more and more like a charlatan, foisting snake oil on the electorate. The USA will not only be the object of scorn among international allies, but also the laughning stock as well.

The Myrtle Beach Rumble

2008-01-22T13:51:00.001-08:00

Words that remain Unspoken

The debate of Democrat presidential contenders on the day commemorating Martin Luther King (MLK) was partly circus histrionics on who is more MiLKy WAY among the three contenders left standing after the original crop of ten. Pundits say that it was actually a rumble between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, with John Edwards standing as the referee, making calls against Obama more than against Hillary... which boils down to white vis a vis black, unfortunately. Very interesting democrats ...

Although a wide range of issues were tackled during the deliberations, the stellar highlights focused on personal calls. Early in the campaign, Hillary posed rhetorical questions about the electability of Obama. The unspoken word is BLACK,therefore Obama is not electable. The unspoken word did not resonate with Iowa voters and Hillary was unceremoniously trounced. In New Hampshire, Hillary did a number on manipulating voters with body english which unmistakably relayed the unspoken words: "I am woman, pity me, vote for me". Surprisingly it worked with New Hamshirites. Hillary was ecstatic, and blurted "I have finally found my voice!" , meaning the unspoken words.

Now on the just concluded debate in South Carolina, she declared straightfacedly, although laced with bluster and braggadocio:
a... I can tackle foreign affairs effectively
b ... I can be commander in chief effectively
c. ... I am the agent of change, effectively for thirty six years
d ... etc, etc. etc.
and in all those pronouncements she did not utter the unspoken words: "because my husband Bill is behind me!!"
which prompted Barack Obama to wail ... "I am fighting two Clintons!" wherein he could have echoed Bill Clinton in New Hampashire "Give me a break!" but his body english spoke flawlessly with unspoken words echoing Dubya: "Bring 'em on!"

The Mark of a Demagogue

2008-01-17T22:17:00.001-08:00

John Edwards, former senator of North Carolina, and now candidate running for the White House, is beginning to show his true colors as the ultimate demagogue. He goes to great lengths to convince voters that he is the best candidate to run the White House, even if he has to drag his sick wife ailing from cancer to campaign for him. The purpose is to manipulate compassionate voters to commiserate with his wife's malaise. There are lots of compassionate voters who can relate to mrs. Edwards cancer but it is beginning to show that mrs. Edwards is nothing but a tool to sway voters and has nothing to do whether or not he is a capable commander in chief.

Edwards is also pitching for the poor and downtrodden, trying to identify with their plight and promising all kinds of goodies to ameliorate their sorry condition. This guy is a glib tallker and a liar, as manifest by the two blinks per second of his eyes, and most importantly by his $400 haircut.

The crowning laurels of Edwards's demagoguery is his strident pitch for veterans of Iraq war. He claims that 200,000 veterans are forsaken by the current administration. After serving their country selflessly, all the get for their services is to be treated like rubbish and left out to sleep under the bridges and viaducts of highways. The veterans are left out in the cold, abandoned, says Edwards, by the current administration. This is the most blatant lie ever foisted by a candidate running for president. It can evoke anger at Bush and elicit votes from the unsuspecting electorate, but such claim is dishonest and a showcase of demagoguery at it's worst. The homeless veteran is not poor. They are homeless because of drug addictions, mental illness, and many other reasons, but certainly not because of poverty. Edwards know these facts, but it is convenient and earth-shattering to trumpet these woes of veterans for his own selfish reasons - to sway the voters to propel him to the White House. If one cannot be honest to oneself, the White House is the wrong place to go. Edwards should be in a mental institution.

My Daemon

2008-01-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Goldencompassmovie.com

The Mark of a Chameleon

2008-01-04T15:00:00.001-08:00

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

It wasn't long ago that Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign scoffed at the notion that young voters would deliver an election. How quickly things can change.

Just seconds into her speech Friday morning, Clinton was declaring herself the candidate for America's youth , stealing a page from the new Democratic presidential front-runner, Barack Obama. The night before, the under-30 crowd came out in larger numbers than ever in Iowa caucuses normally dominated by the AARP-card set, delivering victory for the Illinois senator who promised to bring change to Washington.

That's why after her third-place finish in Iowa, Clinton got off her plane in New Hampshire and declared: "This is especially about all of the young people in New Hampshire who need a president who won't just call for change, or a president who won't just demand change, but a president who will produce change, just like I've been doing for 35 years."

"I'm running for president to reclaim the future , the future for all of us, of all ages, but particularly for young Americans," she said a few seconds later...

------

It is incidental that chameleon rhymes with clinton, but surely Hillary is rhyming up steadily as the campaign goes full throttle. She is really dust in the wind, going whichever way the wind blows, such that when you open your eyes, it (dust in the wind) hurts. She is patently inauthentic, especially when listening to her, sounding so hollow without any semblance of sincerity in what she blurts out. She is virtually a robot mouthing platitudes that are meaningless or at best, presumptuous. It is not all that bleak really if and when she gets to the White House, it will become Gray House of Blue House, etc. and eventually be known as Chameleon House.

Slumber Party of Deadheads

2007-07-18T22:55:00.001-07:00

GOP torpedoes Iraq troop pullout plan

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

Senate Republicans torpedoed legislation Wednesday to force the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, bowing to President Bush's adamant refusal to consider any change in war strategy before September.

The 52-47 vote fell far short of the 60 needed to advance the legislation and marked the final act in an all-night session that Democrats engineered to dramatize their opposition to the war.

Click on banner headline for complete details …

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid was trumpeting the democrat line to cut and run (euphemistically dubbed ‘withdrawal’) and protect our assets and interests in Iraq. This is the height of hyprcrisy and I do not see anything taller in the horizon. Reid is in a hurry to get out now, because “time is on our side and the american people are on our side”. Perhaps Reid does not realize that he is doing a double talk.

The republicans stood their ground: “Think of the aftermath of withdrawal – murders, chaos, genocide …” When Reid was asked what are the alternatives of wiithdrawal, he bristled at the reporter, but was speechless.

Senator John Kerry was interviewed on CNN if he believes there will be genocide after withdrawal and he replied, “genocide is here now …” yet he voted for withdrawal. Cannot understand his logic.

For a while I thought democrats will be sleeping with republicans, with sheets and cots just off the senate floor. It turned out to be a slumber party of deadheads. Not even the presidential contenders were immune from the indignity.

No Reason For Existence

2007-07-11T17:02:00.001-07:00

Uneasy GOP senators beseech Bush on Iraq

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

Nervous Senate Republicans beseeched the White House without apparent success Wednesday for a quick change in course on Iraq as congressional Democrats insisted on high-profile votes calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops by spring.

Prospects for a less-sweeping, bipartisan challenge to President Bush suffered a setback when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the leading proposal has "less teeth than a toothless tiger."

Taken together, the events pointed toward a 10-day period of politically charged maneuvering in the Senate in which Democrats push for a withdrawal, the White House's allies resist and a small but growing collection of Republicans — most of them facing re-election in 2008 — is caught in the middle.

Click on banner headline for complete details ….

I happen to watch Senator Barbara Boxer on the senate floor with her characteristic antics: “ Must we wait for more casualties to pile up, more of our soldiers to die, more women and children to perish in suicide bombings …? Let us get out now! “

Of course Barbara Boxer was parroting the the line of democrats without presenting any viable alternative for such course of action. It is cut and run. The democrats sincerely believe in their hearts that it will be like magic – after troop withdrawals the violence and mayhem upon the Iraqi people will STOP! It is this childlike innocence on one hand or utter intellectual stupidity on the other that drives this democrat mentality, which does not merit any reason for existence … in the senate of all places.

Smarter vs. 'Dummier'

2007-07-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

Clinton criticizes Libby prison commute

Draws distinction between husband's 140 pardons as he left office

KEOKUK, Iowa - Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton drew a distinction between President Bush's decision to commute the sentence of White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby - which she has harshly criticized - and her husband's 140 pardons in his closing hours in office.

"I believe that presidential pardon authority is available to any president, and almost all president's have exercised it," Clinton said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This (the Libby decision) was clearly an effort to protect the White House. ... There isn't any doubt now, what we know is that Libby was carrying out the implicit or explicit wishes of the vice president, or maybe the president as well, in the further effort to stifle dissent."

… Here are a couple of pardons that Bill Clinton executed during the last day in office.

Almon Glenn Braswell was pardoned of his mail fraud and perjury convictions, even while a federal investigation was underway regarding additional money laundering and tax evasion charges. Braswell and Carlos Vignali each paid approximately $200,000 to Hillary Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, to represent their respective cases for clemency. Hugh Rodham returned the payments after they were disclosed to the public. Braswell would later invoke the Fifth Amendment at a Senate Committee hearing in 2001, when questioned about allegations of his having systematically defrauded senior citizens of millions of dollars.

Marc Rich, a fugitive, was pardoned of tax evasion, after clemency pleas from Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, among many other international luminaries. Denise Rich, Marc's former wife, was a close friend of the Clintons and had made substantial donations to both Clinton's library and Hillary's Senate campaign. Clinton agreed to a pardon that required Marc Rich to pay a $100,000,000 fine before he could return to the United States.

The distinction that Hillary wants to portray is that Bill Clinton is smarter while dubya Bush is ‘dummier’ because Bush did not charge six figure amounts for issuing pardons.