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.

Shamnesty

2007-07-01T20:01:00.001-07:00

Demise of immigration bill leaves problems to fester

People are elected to Congress to solve problems, but Thursday when the Senate had a chance to solve one of the nation's worst — its intolerable, unworkable and unjust immigration system — a majority ducked and ran toward the safety of their political bases.

Fifty-three senators voted to kill an immigration compromise that was months in the making and favored by interests as diverse as Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and President Bush. The measure would have provided strong new enforcement in exchange for opening a path to citizenship for 12 million illegal immigrants in the USA.

………… click on headline link for complete USA TODAY editorial …

Fifty three senators saw the light and voted NO to amnesty, which columnist Michelle Malkin dubbed as shamnesty. Had the legislation passed, it would have been a great travesty to the rule of law – rewarding violators and transgressors of immigration laws, as well as succumbing apparently to the whims of the president of Mexico who was visibly irked.

It is incorrect to call them as twelve million illegal immigrants. They are better known as twelve million illegal overstaying visitors – they have not attained the status of immigrants – not yet anyway. There are many statutes in the books concerning immigration and any more statutes will simply compound the issue. There are stiff penalties for employing illegal aliens and strict enforcement of the law would be enough to deter illegals to abuse their welcome mat. It is downright unfair to grant amnesty to flagrant violators of immigration laws. Enforce the law and the problem will take care of itself.

Hillary Demagoguery

2007-06-30T19:34:00.001-07:00

Clinton slams GOP rival's Cuba remark

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Taking a swipe at a potential GOP presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday criticized Fred Thompson for suggesting illegal Cuban immigrants pose a terrorist threat.

"I was appalled when one of the people running for or about to run for the Republican nomination talked about Cuban refugees as potential terrorists," Clinton told Hispanic elected officials. "Apparently he doesn't have a lot of experience in Florida or anywhere else, and doesn't know a lot of Cuban-Americans."

Thompson posted Thursday on his campaign blog saying he had been referring to Cuban spies, not immigrants. "Our national security is too important an issue to let folks twist words around for a one-day headline," Thompson said in his post. "Cuban-Americans are among the staunchest opponents of illegal immigration, and especially so when it's sponsored by the Castro regime."

………………

This is a typical Hillary demagoguery. She went to a city where Cubans abound and spoke in the true fashion of a charlatan. I did not hear or see the video but I am pretty sure she spoke with the affectation of a tin can orator atop a soapbox. Notice that Hillary is issuing blanket statements, like she is speaking of gospel truths. This is characteristic of demagogues and rabble rousers talking specifically to a selected audience, telling them what is pleasing to their ears, with utter disregard of truth and nuances of truth.

I find this attitude and mindset of a person running for the White House very disturbing. It is too self-serving, and translated on global scope on which the White House is anchored, Hillary will be looking at the world thru the eyes of a frog in a well looking at the sky. Fred Thomson summed it up succinctly: folks twisting words around for a one day headline.

Senate Sound and Fury

2007-06-11T16:40:00.001-07:00

The Senate majority hasn’t shaken off its euphoria from the last elections. First they act like generals and try to micromanage the war in Iraq and now they try to micromanage the functions of the White House by disrupting the Justice Department.

The minority Republicans are wise to dig in their heels against the whims and fancies of the wannabe generals and Commander-in-Chiefs. The democrats are unwittingly chipping away at the bastion of the executive branch and trying to usurp its functions. White House spokesman is right in asserting the fact that the Justice Secretary works at the pleasure of the president, not the senate. The Justice Secretary has done no wrong, regardless of how much the Senate try to unearth any anomalies in the department.

The sponsor of the resolution for a vote of no confidence, Charles Schumer, is acting like a snake oil salesman trying to grab the limelight, and the Senate did the wise thing when the GOP blocks Gonzales no-confidence vote.

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats blistered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Monday with debate on a "no-confidence" resolution, but President Bush and fellow Republicans shrugged it all off as a waste of time.

No one predicted that the resolution would survive its test vote late in the day. But neither did Republicans or Democrats rush to defend Bush's longtime friend after he alienated even the White House's staunchest allies on a host of controversies — from the bungled firings of eight federal prosecutors to the handling of wiretapping authority under the USA Patriot Act.

Many Republican votes against the symbolic resolution apparently sprang from a fear of political retribution, not support of Gonzales.

"There is no confidence in the attorney general on this side of the aisle," said Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announcing he would vote for the no-confidence resolution.

The debate itself shook loose another Republican call for new attorney general.

"I have lost confidence in the ability of Attorney General Gonzales to lead the

Department of Justice effectively," Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine, said in a statement. "I think his continued tenure does not benefit the department or our country."

Other Republicans complained that the Democratic resolution was an effort to pressure Bush into firing Gonzales — an unlikely prospect in light of Bush's strong continued support.

"They can have their votes of no confidence, but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government," Bush said in Sofia, Bulgaria, the last stop on a weeklong visit to Europe.

"This process has been drug out a long time," Bush added. "It's political."

The attorney general said he was paying no attention to the rhetoric on Capitol Hill.

"I am not focusing on what the Senate is doing," Gonzales said at a nuclear terrorism conference in Miami. "I am going to be focusing on what the American people expect of the attorney general of the United States and this great Department of Justice."

Democrats said it was only fair that senators give Gonzales an official up-or-down vote, especially after five GOP senators had called for the attorney general's resignation and many more had publicly criticized him.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., one of the resolution's sponsors, said any attorney general should uphold the law rather than the president's political priorities.

"The attorney general has not lived up to this standard, and he has lost our confidence," Feinstein said on the Senate floor.

So-called "no-confidence" votes on members of the executive branch are rare, in part because the Constitution mandates the separation of powers. The only way Congress can remove a presidential appointee is through impeachment.

Majority Democrats toned down the language in the one-sentence resolution to attract more support from Republicans.

"It is the sense of the Senate that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people," read the measure, sponsored by Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Feinstein.

Sixty votes were required Monday to bring the resolution to a formal debate.

Republicans protested the measure on constitutional grounds. There was scarcely any defense of Gonzales himself.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record) called the debate a waste of time.

"It will have no impact on the tenure of the attorney general," McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters on a conference call.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record), R-Utah, did not defend Gonzales. He said the resolution failed constitutional and procedural tests and he took issue even with the notion that it accurately represented both houses of Congress or public sentiment.

"This joint resolution amounts to sound and fury, it signifies nothing," Hatch said on the Senate floor.

Spinning Wheels in Congress

2007-06-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

Immigration bill suffers a big setback

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press

A broad immigration bill to legalize millions of people in the U.S. unlawfully suffered a stunning setback in the Senate Thursday, costing President Bush perhaps his best opportunity to win a top domestic priority. The bipartisan compromise championed by the president failed a crucial test when it could not attract even a simple majority for an effort to speed its passage.

Supporters could muster only 45 votes to limit debate and speed the bill to final passage, 15 short of what was needed on the procedural maneuver. Fifty senators voted against cutting off debate.

Most Republicans voted to block Democrats' efforts to advance the measure.

Click on link for more details…

Congress is spinning its wheels on this legislation. By all accounts, this bill is bipartisan and to top is all, is Dubya’s pet project. Despite Sen. Kennedy spearheading the passage of the bill, it did not make the grade. One would think that the Democrats are in the minority.

Proponents of the bill assert that we are a nation of immigrants. It is true, but the logic does not apply to the legislation in question. The more than 12 million undocumented residents are not immigrants, period

I have a surefire way to make congress stop spinning their wheels. ENFORCE the current laws of the land, and everything will fall into their right places.

Tin Can Orator in the White House?

2007-06-01T12:10:00.001-07:00

Bernstein: Hillary Clinton is inauthentic

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist says his biography reveals her ‘real’ self

A new biography’s unflattering portrayal of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton as someone who “camouflages” her real self for political gain is starting to attract attention — and not for the salacious stories most books recount about the Clintons.

“A Woman in Charge,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carl Bernstein, gives scant attention to the tense days the former First Lady spent in the White House when Bill Clinton was sneaking around with his intern, Monica Lewinsky. Instead, the former Washington Post reporter, who helped blow the lid off Watergate, attempts to portray Hillary Clinton as someone who is willing to rewrite her own history to advance the political career she put on hold when she moved to Arkansas with her college sweetheart who would later become president.

“This is a woman who led a camouflaged life and continues to,” Bernstein told TODAY host Matt Lauer on Friday in an exclusive interview. “This book takes away that camouflage.” The book, which he called the first “real biography” of Hillary Clinton, will be available on June 5.

To tell the story of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s journey from a humble childhood marked by abuse at home to the White House, and later the U.S. Senate, Bernstein talked to about 200 close friends and advisers to the Clintons. Bernstein said he learned a lot about Hillary Clinton, including steps she took to try to silence the various women linked to her husband throughout his political career.

Click on link for more details …

+++++++++++

I have long harbored this gut feeling that there is something phony about Hillary R. Clinton in the way she talks to her audience. It appears that she takes on the stance of an actor, tailoring her rhetoric to what is pleasing to the specific audience, making her sound like a tin can orator – irritatingly loud and without substance. I could not quite articulate an adequate description of this Hillary character, until now that Carl Bernstein said so in his book, i.e. - inauthentic. She is patently artificial in her ideas and corresponding words, so much so that she appears flip-flopping on important issues. Naturally when there is no solid foundation for ideas, the substance expressed in words keep changing like the colors of a chameleon. I would not entrust the onus of the White House to this unstable character.

The Crucible of Nation Building

2007-05-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

The main reason why this nation is great is because it is built on the selfless sacrifices of heroes unmindful of the cost of preserving freedom. This nation is great because it went through the crucible of war and the discipline that emanated therefrom was forged from the blood and spirit of heroes who did not plunge blindly into the valleys of death but rather with dogged resolve to keep the conflict away from succeeding generations of their children.. I honestly believe that this remembrance of today should be in spirit of nationhood totally untarnished by mundane pursuit of personal ambition, otherwise called politics. I am in total agreement with Paul Morin …

Keep politics out of Memorial Day

By Paul Morin,Fri May 25, 4:00 AM ET

Here is a surprise: I am not going to defend the Iraq war. I won't even explain the importance of the war on terrorism. Veterans Affairs budget? Not today. That's because this column is about Memorial Day, a hallowed day that should be about honoring the more than 1 million men and women who died in the service of this nation in wars and conflicts dating back to 1775. It should be above politics. Period.

Yet Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is calling on Americans to use Memorial Day weekend as a time to "bring an end to this war." Mr. Edwards is hardly the first politician from either political party to exploit this day, a holiday that was consecrated with the blood of American heroes. As national commander of the American Legion, I implore all candidates to refrain from politicking on Memorial Day.

The families of those killed in war should not be led to believe that their loved ones died for a less-than-worthy cause. They died because they took an oath to defend this nation and its Constitution. The sacrifice is the same whether it's for a "popular war" or an unpopular one. Memorial Day should be an occasion to bring Americans together to honor these heroes.

It brings to mind the words of Army Sergeant 1st Class Jack Robison, who recently wrote from Iraq, "Sometimes I think God must be creating an elite unit in heaven, because He only seems to select the very best soldiers to bring home early."

If you want to honor these heroes, visit a veterans' cemetery on Memorial Day. Attend a parade without the divisive political signs. Make cards for the comrades of the fallen who are recuperating in military and VA hospitals. Lay a wreath at the headstone of a departed hero.

Americans need to remember why Memorial Day is special. It's not about picnics or trips to the beach. It's not about making pro- or anti-war statements. It's not about supporting political candidates. It's about honor, duty, and the ultimate sacrifice. It's about people who have decided that the United States is worth dying for.

• Paul Morin is national commander of the American Legion, the nation's largest wartime veterans organization.

You Did Not Die In Vain

2007-05-24T13:49:00.001-07:00

The Iraq war is a polarizing event such that even ex-presidents do not run short of acrimonious pontifications. It was not like we marched to Iraq like a knight in shining armor to deliver the Iraqis from Saddam. The images of Iraqis dancing in the streets while the Twin Towers were burning will never be blurred from memory but that is beside the point. 911 was not an accident in history – it was a well planned adventure in terrorism that served as a wakeup call for Americans, hitherto smug in the thought that the oceans are buffer zones for safety. 240 dead american servicemen in Lebanon and 17 dead sailors aboard USS Cole failed to shake us from stupor. The burning World Towers were jolting shocks in succession and only a zombie will not react to such pain.

Liberals and Conservatives were unanimous in declaring that retribution is imperative.The terrorist were confronted in their own game and terrirories. But soon the Liberals wavered in their resolve – after body bags started bringing casualties back to the homeland. The Liberals think that fighting terrorist is a game, and according to Harry Reid, one more casualty is one too many. The euphoria of winning the last elections made the Democrats think that they have the mandate to act like wannabe Napoleons and thus attempt to micromanage the Iraq war like it were the little house on the prairie.

Of course there is price to pay for defending the country from terrorism. The soldiers never wavered in their resolve by enlisting in a volunteer service and some even refused lucrative sports contracts . There is no honor more edifying and reward more gratifying than giving one’s life in service to the country. So while wimps and detractors are calumniating George dubya Bush to mask the shaking in their boots, a California family grieves dead soldier.

By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press WriterThu May 24, 12:20 PM ET

The front steps of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr.'s old high school became a makeshift shrine of flowers, flags and balloons, marked with a sign reading: "You're our HERO."

The 20-year-old soldier's Web page was also flooded with condolences on Thursday, a day after word came that his body had been found in the Euphrates River following an ambush in Iraq.

At South High School, Arnack was self-assured, knowing early that he wanted to join the military.

"I just remember, as a sophomore or a junior in high school, he was set on it," said Kyle Flynn, the soldier's friend and football teammate. "'I'm ready to go,'" Flynn recalled Anzack saying.

Students went to the school to leave flowers and light candles. The sign on the school steps read, "We love & miss you Joe Anzack. You're our HERO."

Anzack was one of three soldiers who vanished after their combat team was ambushed May 12 about 20 miles outside Baghdad. Five others, including an Iraqi, were killed in the ambush, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida.

Click link for more details …

Gunboat Diplomacy

2007-05-23T00:35:00.001-07:00

This image provided by the US Navy shows the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), USS Nimitz (CVN 68), and USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) strike groups steaming through the Gulf of Oman Tuesday May 22, 2007. The U.S. Navy staged its latest show of military force off the Iranian coastline sending the three strike groups through the narrow Strait of Hormus on Wednesday. Aircraft aboard the three carriers and the Bonhomme Richard were to conduct air training while the ships ran submarine, mine and other exercises. (AP Photo/US Navy - Denny Cantrell)

George W. Bush has been called lots of names but never a name for lack of courage. The US can not afford to become appeaser to international rogues and terrorists who are banking on America’s ‘weakness’ of giving values to each and every human life. Iran rants may just be bluff and bluster, but threats to wipe Israel off the map is no joke, not even for dubya. The Democrats would rather consult the UN and other countries before they make a move in the Persian gulf, simply because they do not have the courage of dubya … without realizing that it might be too late for consultations.

In the face of Iran’s intransigence and defiance of UN sanctions, I think the US opted to send diplomats - Nine U.S. warships enter Gulf for training – to convey the message that time is up.

By Mohammed Abbas

Nine U.S. military ships entered the Gulf on Wednesday for a rare daylight assembly off Iran's coast in what naval officials said was the largest such move since the 2003 Iraq war.

U.S. Navy officials said Iran had not been notified of plans to sail the vessels, which include two aircraft carriers, through the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow channel in international waters off Iran's coast and a major artery for global oil shipments.

Most U.S. ships pass through the straits at night so as not to attract attention, and rarely move in such large numbers.

Navy officials said the decision to send a second aircraft carrier was made at the last minute, without giving a reason.

Pussyfoot Hillary

2007-05-16T16:24:00.001-07:00

Hillary Clinton won't commit on Iraq deadline. She thinks she is at a party at Central Park when she cast her vote defunding the Iraq war. There is a noticiable absence of strength of character when she skirts the issue of a final vote. The most powerful office in the planet calls for more fortitude and backbone and determination without being hemmed in by feminine coyness and pussyfoot tendencies ………..

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton voted Wednesday to advance legislation cutting off money for the Iraq war, but she declined to say whether she would support the measure if it comes to a final vote.

"I'm not going to speculate on what I'm going to be voting on in the future," the New York senator and Democratic presidential candidate said when asked by reporters whether she favored the troop withdrawal legislation.

Clinton sided with 28 other senators who lost a procedural vote on the measure offered by Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis. The amendment would have cut off money for combat operations after March 2008.

Clinton long has resisted calls from those within her own party to impose a specific deadline on troop withdrawal in Iraq — a position that has at times resulted in her being booed by anti-war activists.

"This is consistent with what I've been saying for several years," she said.

Even as she denied there were any mixed signals in her votes and statements on a troop withdrawal, she criticized what she called growing confusion caused by President Bush's Iraq policy, including the appointment this week of a "war czar."

Clinton said she wants her vote to send a message to Iraqi leaders that they have to do more to stabilize their country before the United States will commit to a longer troop presence there.

Philippine Elections

2007-05-15T07:06:00.001-07:00

A charlatan calling herself president, makes a call to MOVE ON. Nothing could be more callous and insulting to the Filipino people. Having imposed herself TWICE as president of a gentle and forgiving people, she now cajoles the people again, in preparation for massive alteration of the will of the electorate in the just concluded elections. There is no need to make this CALL. Verifiable results are not even known yet and this call preempts any fair results of the elections, and certainly a giveaway of the insidious plans to thwart the will of the electorate one more time.

The elections of 2004 are testimonies to unprecedented cheating perpetrated by the COMELEC, the POLICE, and the MILITARY- the very same agencies supposedly safeguarding the santicty of the ballot, at the instance of a pretender president using the national treasury as carrots to entice the rabbits agencies aforementioned. The people had been insulted frontally and brutally by massive cheating, and now are being asked once more to MOVE ON, as if nothing happened. What gall!!

…………….

Gloria: It’s time to move on

PRESIDENT Arroyo yesterday called on all candidates, winners and losers alike, to forget their rivalries for the sake of the country.

"Campaigns are marked by fierce competition but we should be gracious, win or lose. For the good of the country, the chapters on bickering and competition should be closed once the people’s verdict is out, and instead open the door to national unity and cooperation," she said in a statement.

She said the Filipino people united behind democracy in exercising their right to vote.

She said the country should continue on the path of growth while counting the blessings of economic growth and political stability.

Arroyo praised the Commission on Elections, PNP and Armed Forces for safeguarding the elections, along with the efforts of religious, civic, and professional sectors and foreign observers.

"I am especially proud of the famed heroism and dedication of our teachers, and our policemen and soldiers for their impartial defense of peace and order," she said. – Regina Bengco

Who is Afraid of Ann Coulter?

2007-05-08T15:35:00.001-07:00

By Ann CoulterThu May 3,

I just woke up from watching the Democrats' debate last Thursday, and I am rested and ready to report!

Someone needs to tell the Democrats to stop talking about their families. I know they're trying to demonstrate their "family values," but using actual, live human beings to illustrate the freakish ideas of the Democratic base just makes normal people uncomfortable.

When Chris Dodd was asked about gay marriage, he said he always thinks of his little daughters -- aged 2 and 5 -- and imagines them turning out to be lesbians, saying he would want them treated equally.

To prove his bona fides to the environmentalist nuts, Obama said: "We've also been working to install lightbulbs that last longer and save energy. And that's something that I'm trying to teach my daughters, 8-year-old Malia and 5-year-old Sasha."

So we finally have an answer to the question: What do Democrats teach their daughters? Is it:

(a) integrity

(b) character

No! The answer is: (d) They teach their daughters to use low-energy lightbulbs. This is so important that it apparently bears mentioning during a debate under high-intensity TV studio lights.

(How many kids does it take to screw in a lightbulb? In the Barack household, evidently, it takes two.)

"Best in Show" for cringe-inducing mentions of family members went to John Edwards. In the single most appalling moment of the debate, John Edwards reminisced about the time his father, who was sitting in the audience, totally humiliated him as a child.

"I can remember vividly my dad after church once Sunday, when I was about 10 years old, taking us -- it's our whole family -- into a restaurant. I was dressed up. I was very proud to be there, and we sat, got our menus, looked at the menus, and the waitress came over and my father said, 'I'm sorry. We have to leave.' I didn't understand. 'Why? Why do we have to leave?' And I was embarrassed. I found out when we got outside the reason we had to leave is he couldn't pay the prices that were on the menu."

Thanks for the memories, Pop!

The not-visibly-insane Democrats all claim they'll get rough with the terrorists, but they can't even face Brit Hume.

In case you missed this profile in Democrat machismo, the Democratic presidential candidates are refusing to participate in a debate hosted by Fox News Channel because the hosts are "biased." But they'll face down Mahmoud Ahmadinejad!

At this, even Hillary Clinton was thinking, "Come on, guys -- let's grow a pair."

Obama was asked to name "America's three most important allies around the world" -- a question rejected as "too easy" on Fox's new game show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" Any politically savvy 11-year-old could have named Britain, Australia and Israel.

B. Hussein Obama answered: "the European Union." Which is (a) not a country, and (b) not an ally.

What was his next guess? Epcot Center?

In addition to not being a country, the "European Union" happens to be composed of people who hate our guts. It is the continent where Moveon.org-style lunatics are the friendly, pro-American types and the rest are crazy Muslims.

Obama did eventually mention Japan as an ally -- along with China and Afghanistan -- which would have been a better answer to the question: "Who are America's four or five most important allies?" But at least he named a country that could conceivably be called "an ally."

Of course, it took Obama less time to remember an American ally than it took John Edwards to remember Jesus. Edwards was asked who his "moral leader" was -- and he was stuck for an answer.

I had time to shout "Jesus" at the TV 20 times, exhaust myself, and have a sandwich before Edwards finally coughed up "mah lowrd." Even then it appeared that Edwards was not actually naming the Savior but exclaiming, "Mah lowrd, that's a tough question!"

Edwards then put "mah lowrd" (assuming that was his answer) on a par with other moral leaders such as his father -- who had embarrassed him so as a child -- and his wife. (When he mentioned his spouse as a "moral leader," Hillary visibly tensed for fear that she might be asked the same question.)

In fairness to Edwards, asking a trial lawyer to name his favorite moral leader is like asking the president of Iran to name his favorite Jew. (Answer: George Soros.)

If you're keeping score, that's two major religions the Democrats lack a working knowledge of -- Christianity and Islam.

Man and Universe

2007-05-07T14:36:00.001-07:00

Brightest star explosion ever spotted

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

A massive exploding faraway star — the brightest supernova astronomers have ever seen — has scientists wondering if a similar celestial fireworks show may light up the sky much closer to Earth sometime soon.

The discovery, announced Monday by NASA, drew oohs and aahs for months from the handful of astronomers who peered through telescopes to see the fuzzy remnants of the spectacular explosion after it was first spotted last fall.

Using a variety of Earth and space telescopes, astronomers found a giant exploding star that they figure has shined about five times brighter than any of the hundreds of supernovae ever seen before, said discovery team leader Nathan Smith of the University of California at Berkeley. The discovery was first made last September by a graduate student in Texas.

"This one is way above anything else," Smith told The Associated Press. "It's really astonishing."

Smith said the star, SN2006gy, "is a special kind of supernova that has never been seen before."

Observations from the Chandra X-ray telescope helped show that it didn't become a black hole like other supernovae and skipped a stage of star death.

Unlike other exploding stars, which peak at brightness for a couple of weeks at most, this supernova, peaked for 70 days, according to NASA. And it has been shining at levels brighter than other supernovae for several months, Smith said.

And even at 240 million light years away, this star in a distant galaxy does suggest that a similar and relatively nearby star — one 44 trillion miles away — might blow in similar fashion any day now or 50,000 years from now, Smith said. It wouldn't threaten Earth, but it would be visible to people in the Southern Hemisphere, he said.

+++++++++++++++

This star show was seen only last fall. Of course --- it has been travelling for the last 240 million years and it just arrived here on earth. This supernova might remain visible for another million years, which means that it no longer exist. What is visible are light remnants of the last million years. In the same breadth the stars we see now could be extinct already and what we see are the dying embers of a star that was. It is also possible that more stars are on their way to be seen, their starlight still travelling on their millions of light years journey to our planet.

It is not for man to worry. Man may not be around to witness any stars after a thousand years.

Ode to Gypsy

2007-05-02T01:04:00.001-07:00

Radiant rays of sunrise painting the sky

Scudding clouds sofly racing on high

Reddish glow of sunset heralding the end of day

Meaningless all and gray until you came to me.

You came to me on wings of song

When you put your lips closer to the phone

Images of you coming to me in a dream

Gliding stealthily on planks of moonbeam.

Fairylike motions light as a feather

Fiery lips caressing till the end of never

On these dreamlike reverie I hate to waken

Whispering softly the words I leave unspoken.

I searched for you on places high and wide

Unbeknownst you are always by my side

Affectionate and caring always full of love

Nobody else like you save from up above.

The sound of your voice warbling a song

Fills my heart with gladness all day long

Soothing as the mist on a hot summer day

Breaking barriers to have union with thee!

Rhetoric kings and Gas bags

2007-04-28T11:44:00.001-07:00

Democrats: U.S. has lost global standing

The United States has lost its global standing during George W. Bush's presidency and needs a Democratic commander in chief to restore America's place in the world, Democrats running for the White House said Saturday.

My comment: These observations are obviously candidate’s rhetoric. US role is always at the top and the White House wannabes fully realized that. Belittling that fact would of course make their rhetoric shine, albeit with mediocrity

. "We are today internationally and domestically a nation that is no longer a leader," said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, one of three candidates to address a convention of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

My comment: This perception of Richardson is indicative retrograde mentality. He creates a make-believe vacuum and puts himself in position to fill it. Crustacean outlook, to say the least.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee, said the world needs to see that "America can be a force for good."

"What their perception is that America is a bully and we only care about our short-term interests," Edwards said. "The starting place is to end the bleeding sore that is the war in Iraq."

My comment: Edwards is on delusion trip of the gentle giant. Fact is America always operates on a position of strength, mistaken for a bully. A nation can not be great by allowing itself as other nations ‘ doormat.

Richardson, Edwards and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden said they would make ending the war a priority.

"The American people are looking for us as Democrats," said Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "They're looking for someone literally, not figuratively, to restore America's place in the world."

Biden said the country's other problems cannot be solved until the U.S. successfully deals with Iraq.

My comment: Operations in Iraq with a timetable for withdrawal is SURRENDER, pure and simple, far from SUCCESSFULly dealing with the problem. Biden betrays his rhetoric here – ‘literally, not figuratively’

Click on banner headline for complete details…

Euphoria of a Senate Majority Leader

2007-04-27T12:59:00.001-07:00

Bush vows to resist calls for withdrawal

President Bush warned Congress Friday that he will continue vetoing war spending bills as long as they contain a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Speaking a day after the Democratic-controlled Congress approved legislation that requires that a troop drawdown begin by Oct. 1, Bush said — as he has before — he will veto it because of that demand. He invited congressional leaders to come to the White House to discuss a new piece of legislation that would not include a timetable, and expressed hope a deal could be reached.

Bush has set benchmarks for the Iraqi government, but has steadfastly opposed attaching any timeframe to them or requiring any actions if they are not met.

"I invited the leaders of the House and the Senate to come down soon after my veto so we can discuss a way forward," the president said. "I'm optimistic we can get a bill, a good bill and a bill that satisfies all our objectives."

Later, White House deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel said invitations were extended Friday afternoon to nine top congressional leaders, from both parties, to come to the White House on Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., urged Bush on Friday to "carefully read this bill."

"He will see it fully provides for our troops and gives them a strategy worthy of their sacrifices," Reid said. "Failing to sign this bill would deny our troops the resources and strategy they need."

For full details click on banner headline …

………………

Harry Reid thinks Bush has lost his reading ability, or perhaps Reid is on the threshold of dementia. Earlier Reid said that “Iraq is lost” although other senate stalwarts do not agree. The recently crafted war spending bills setting forth withdrawal timetables is a way of flexing the newfound muscles of the democratic majority without regard to consequences. In other words, it is meant to make the democrats look good – in the words of Harry Reid: “I have fulfilled my constitutional duty”, even if doing so amounts to a unilateral surrender to the forces of insurgents and terrorists. What is lamentable is the shortsightedness of Reid who can’t see beyond his nose: he can’t see or he does not care about the consequences of surrender. I hope he sobers up from his intoxication of occupying the majority leader’s chair.

New York Post Editorial

2007-04-27T01:02:00.001-07:00

REID'S BLOODY HANDS

April 24, 2007 -- Fresh from his declaration that "this war [in Iraq] is lost," Senate Demo cratic leader Harry Reid is moving quickly to hasten America's unilateral surrender.
And to cast the Middle East into murderous chaos.
Reid yesterday promised that the Democratic-controlled Congress will within days pass legislation requiring U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq over the six months starting Oct. 1.
Never mind that such legislation:
* Likely wouldn't pass either house of Congress . . .
* . . . and, even if it did pass, certainly wouldn't survive a veto.
So the point must be not to make policy, but to send a message: That Harry Reid's Democratic Party is against war in the Middle East, maybe?
Or that war in the Middle East is OK - so long as no Americans are fighting?
Or, maybe it's all about politics?
To be sure, Reid won't risk calling for an immediate pullout. He cautioned his party's bug-out-now wing to be patient, despite "the restlessness" of those who "voted for change in November [and] anticipated dramatic and immediate results in January."
The problem, said Reid, is that "George W. Bush is still the commander-in-chief - and this is his war."
And there's the real problem: From the start, Reid and the Democrats have seen the war in Iraq as a partisan opportunity.
They refuse to present a unified front to the rest of the world - especially to America's enemies - because, in their pinched view, to do so would be to weaken their own prospects for retaking the White House in 2008.
No, Reid didn't repeat his declaration of defeat during yesterday's speech from the Senate floor.
It probably has dawned on him just how big a political blunder he committed - witness Sen. Chuck Schumer's gentle contradiction of the majority leader over the weekend, insisting that "the war is not lost."
Then again, Reid didn't have to repeat his original remarks - because the imposed timetable he announced, if enacted, would bring about precisely the same result.
That is, a precipitous U.S. withdrawal from the region - if Reid thinks the bug-out would stop at Iraq, he's dumber than he sounds - followed by:
* A rapid, al Qaeda/Iranian-driven descent into regional chaos.
* Most likely, a general war.
* And, almost certainly, a Mideast nuclear-arms race as Saudi Arabia, Eygpt and (probably) Turkey rush to arm themselves in anticipation of an Iranian bomb.
At the very least, Reid has to understand that his rhetoric can only encourage short-run insurgent attacks on Americans in Iraq.
Their blood stands to be on his hands.
And that's a terrible price to pay for a political payday that's so tentative that even an instinctive gut-fighter like Chuck Schumer recoils from the risk.
Harry Reid needs to put a cork in it.
Today.

Guilty without Proof

2007-04-22T11:00:00.001-07:00

The Senate Judiciary Committee is pressuring Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down although there is no evidence of wrongdoing that they can find. The Senate democrats insist that the polls indicate negative numbers for the Attorney General and therefore the AG must step down. The leadership in the senate are acting like robots - unthinking and allowing the polls to dictate their actions. On a deeper introspection, there is racial discrimination here – more than meets the eye.

Specter: Gonzales undermines AG's office

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has hurt the Department of Justice and the Bush administration with his poor handling of the firing of eight federal prosecutors, a leading Republican senator said Sunday.

Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, stopped short of calling for Gonzales' resignation.

But he said there was "no doubt" Gonzales was undermining the agency and the morale of its employees.

"The attorney general's testimony was very, very damaging to his own credibility. It has been damaging to the administration," Specter said. "No doubt, it is bad for the Department of Justice. It is harmful. There has been a very substantial decrease in morale. There's no doubt about that."

Asked whether Gonzales should resign, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., said: "I don't think he can be effective" if he ignores the growing pressure on him to resign as the nation's top law enforcement official.

"A lot of those calls are coming from Republicans," Leahy said. "He's lost the confidence of many Democrats and Republicans in the Congress, and many people throughout America."

Specter said Sunday that he didn't think it would be appropriate for him to call for Gonzales' resignation, saying that is the decision of the president or Gonzales himself. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Tom Coburn (news, bio, voting record), R-Okla., are among the lawmakers who have called for Gonzales to leave.

"I do not think that it is appropriate for me to call for his resignation," Specter said. "I don't challenge anybody else who wants to do it. But my own mindset is to leave it up to the attorney general and the president."

Schumer, one of Gonzales' most vocal critics and the first to call on the attorney general to resign, maintained Sunday that Gonzales ought to resign as soon as possible.

Fulfilling the Mandate of the People?

2007-04-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

Iran starts enrichment at Natanz site: IAEA

Iran has begun making nuclear fuel in its underground uranium enrichment plant, the international atomic watchdog said on Wednesday, in a move by Tehran that raises the stakes in its showdown with world powers.

A confidential note by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said Iran had started up more than 1,300 centrifuge machines in an accelerating campaign to lay a basis for "industrial scale" enrichment in the Natanz complex.

Iran has been steadily upping the ante in a standoff with the U.N. Security Council, which has demanded an enrichment halt over suspicions that Tehran's declared civilian nuclear fuel project is a cover for mastering the means to build atom bombs.

For more details click on banner headline

Tehran has been consistently ignoring UN admonitions to halt its nuclear ambitions because the UN hesitates on flexing its muscle. The world body cannot quite assert its responsibility of controlling rogue nations because of its dovish inclinations and appeasement leanings. Tehran recognizes this pussyfooting as weakness of the world body and therefore ignores with impunity the UN sanctions. Tehran is so bold at this stage to thumb its nose at the world body – how much bolder will it get when it has achieved nuclear capabilities? It will undoubtedly bully the the world in the same fashion that it bullied UK and the mariners.

Tehran knows that Bush got his hands tied now that the democrats are in power. Iran is virtually cheering the democrats to get their resolve on the cut and run song and at the same time fueling more strife on the streets of Baghdad. Iran is growing and sharpening its horns while the democrats are singing cut and run. Never mind the consequences – Harry Reid says he is fulfilling the mandate of the people.

Carrying People's Mandate with Mediocrity

2007-04-16T17:33:00.001-07:00

Bush, Democrats in stalemate over Iraq

“Listen, I understand Republicans and Democrats in Washington have differences over the best course in Iraq," Bush said. "That's healthy. That's normal, and we should debate those differences. But our troops should not be caught in the middle."

"The president has a choice to make in the coming days: Cling to the discredited policies that have led our troops further into an intractable civil war, or work with a bipartisan majority of Congress to make us more secure," said Majority Leader Reid.

"We're committed to pressing these goals to the administration until they do change course," he said.

Vice President Dick Cheney has predicted that Democrats will cave and that Congress will pass a "clean" bill that funds the war in Iraq and Afghanistan without timetables.

The Democrats disagreed. "The president is not going to get a bill that has nothing on it," Reid said. "It would be wrong for this legislative branch of government to capitulate to this wrong-headed policy that the vice president and the president have been leading."

Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told reporters in Michigan Monday that if Bush vetoes their original bill, Democrats would go with a "second-best approach" to dealing with security issues in Iraq. He said the second bill would tie U.S. economic and military support to the Iraqi government's ability to meet performance benchmarks.

Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said that Bush and Republican congressional leaders have abandoned efforts to hold the Iraqi people and government accountable.

"As they rush to embrace the Bush plan for more of the same in Iraq, the Republican policy is to make U.S troops bear the full burden of the war on their shoulders," Emanuel said.

For more details click on banner headline

Obviously nobody is listening to anybody. Each one is engrossed on his/her own mindset, except the President who is open to any dialogue. Harry Reid is in no mode for dialogues – he is in combat mode, and will not ‘capitulate’.

The Democrats want to ‘change course’ but all the course the see is only beyond their noses – to cut and run. They do not see or refuse to see what will happen after ‘cut and run’. They appear incapable of presenting other alternatives ‘to change course’ and trying to foist such mediocrity as obeying the mandate of the people.

Asia Dream Team

2007-04-14T13:19:00.001-07:00

North Korea Nuclear Deadline Slips

By CHARLES HUTZLER

BEIJING (AP) - North Korea missed a Saturday deadline for shutting down its main nuclear reactor, and a key U.S. negotiator said the country must keep the disarmament program from foundering.

The United States and other governments involved in six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear programs said the slipping of the 60-day deadline was significant, but not yet fatal to a two-month-old agreement that laid out a timetable for disarmament.

``It's time for the North Koreans to get moving on their issues,'' Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator, told reporters after meeting in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart.

Hill ticked off the unmet conditions of the February agreement: North Korea's failure to shutter its Yongbyon reactor and allow verification by U.N. inspectors, and South Korea's resulting refusal to ship 50,000 tons of fuel oil to the North.

Saturday's missed deadline marked the latest setback for an agreement that, when reached in February, offered the prospect of disarming the world's newest declared nuclear power.

North Korea successfully tested a nuclear bomb in October.

For full details click on banner headline

It would be difficult to make the new kid on the nuclear block toe the line. North Korea has landed on first base and pumped up with adrenalin to make the homerun. It wants to belong to the nuclear club. North Korea prides itself of having the stick but no carrots. South Korea has got the carrots. If North and South come to their sensibilities and merge, that would be a very formidable KOREA!That would be the dream team of Asia.

Tehran Disconnect

2007-04-07T16:20:00.001-07:00

Iranian: U.K. can help mend relations

Ambassador Rasoul Movahedian told the Financial Times newspaper in an article published Saturday that Iran had "showed our goodwill" by freeing the Britons.

"Now it is up to the British government to proceed in a positive way," he was quoted as saying. "We will welcome in general any steps that could defuse tensions in the region."

The British mariners, captured in the Persian Gulf on March 23, were freed Wednesday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called their release a gift to Britain.

For full details click on banner headline…

Can’t fault the Iranian Ambassador … he is just doing his job, toeing the propaganda line of this boss in Tehran, despicable as it may be. A gift to Britain?!! Kidnapping and releasing hostages is considered a gift? It is a crime and the perpetrator should be punished. The little man in Tehran might be sincere in his belief that he gave Britain a ‘gift’, which means an utter disconnect of his brain functions, just like his denial of the holocaust.

Hilarious Hillary

2007-04-04T08:18:00.001-07:00

Clinton urges Dems to press Bush on Iraq

Democrats should pressure President Bush to agree to a withdrawal of troops from Iraq rather than concede that he will veto such a plan, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday.

Bush has promised to veto House and Senate versions of a war spending bill that includes timetables for drawing down troops, but Democrats shouldn't give up, said Clinton, the front-runner for the 2008 Democratic nomination.

For more detils click on banner headline ….

"I'm not ready to concede that," Clinton said. "We're actually back into a bipartisan government where we have a Democratic Congress and a Republican president. What has historically happened is there has to be some negotiation and compromise and we may not get it, but I'm not willing to concede."

Hilarious Clinton is doing her best – citing past precedents, doubting present goings-on and making future commitments. This is not even double talk, it is triple talk. Congenital liars do not realize they are prevaricating when they do. It is so ingrained in their mental makeup and could not discern between truth and lies. And this is she who is gunning for the white house.

Napoleonic Complex

2007-04-02T18:39:00.001-07:00

Reid may move to cut Iraq war funds

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) said Monday he wants to cut off money for war next year, making clear for the first time that Democrats are willing to pull out all the stops to end U.S. involvement.

Reid was an amateur pugilist during his college days and obviously thinks like one now in the Senate – no foresight and can only see as far as his nose. He is thinking only of the voters who put the Democrats in the majority, without regard to consequences of his actions. Never mind the chaos and anarchy that will ensue, “I have done my constitutional duty”, he said, and in effect thumping his chest.

Other Democrats are singing the same tune and assuming the same stance – Napoleonic complex, fantasizing that they are generals and commander-in-chiefs. The Democrats need not go very far to see the effect of their folly – they can go to the kitchen and see many cooks on the job. Perhaps they can have a sumptuous meal.

535 generals on Capitol Hill

2007-03-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

The intrigue on Capitol Hill is succinctly summed up by White House spokeswoman Dana Perino when she said the president respects the role of Congress — and Congress should respect his.

"I think the founders of our nation had great foresight in realizing that it would be better to have one commander in chief managing a war, rather than 535 generals on Capitol Hill trying to do the same thing," she said. "They're mandating failure here."

Future presidents will find themselves hemmed in if this bill becomes predecent, i.e. 535 generals on Capitol Hill.

Senate OKs war bill with Iraq timeline

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Write

Senate Democrats ignored a veto threat and pushed through a bill Thursday requiring President Bush to start withdrawing troops from "the civil war in Iraq," dealing a rare, sharp rebuke to a wartime commander in chief.

In a mostly party line 51-47 vote, the Senate signed off on a bill providing $123 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also orders Bush to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of passage while setting a nonbinding goal of ending combat operations by March 31, 2008.

The vote came shortly after Bush invited all House Republicans to the White House to appear with him in a sort of pep rally to bolster his position in the continuing war policy fight.

"We stand united in saying loud and clear that when we've got a troop in harm's way, we expect that troop to be fully funded," Bush said, surrounded by Republicans on the North Portico, "and we got commanders making tough decisions on the ground, we expect there to be no strings on our commanders."

"We expect the Congress to be wise about how they spend the people's money," he said.

The Senate vote marked its boldest challenge yet to the administration's handling of a war, now in its fifth year, that has cost the lives of more than 3,200 American troops and more than $350 billion.

"We have fulfilled our constitutional responsibilities," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., told reporters shortly after the vote.

If Bush "doesn't sign the bill, it's his responsibility," Reid added.

In a show of support for the president, most Republicans opposed the measure, unwilling to back a troop withdrawal schedule despite the conflict's widespread unpopularity.

"Surely this will embolden the enemy and it will not help our troops in any way," said Sen. Richard Shelby (news, bio, voting record), R-Ala.

While Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that setting timelines for withdrawal would hamper U.S. commanders in Iraq, he said Thursday that the debate on Capitol Hill has "been helpful in bringing pressure to bear" on the Iraqi government. He said it has made it clear to the Iraqis that "there is a very real limit to Americans' patience."

Gates also said he was disturbed to hear one of his military officers say it will be fall before they have a good idea how well the latest Baghdad campaign is going. He said he hopes that Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, will be able to make that evaluation by summer.

Forty-eight Democrats and independent Bernard Sanders (news, bio, voting record) of Vermont were joined by two Republicans, Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska and Gordon Smith (news, bio, voting record) of Oregon, in voting for the measure. Opposed were 46 Republicans and Connecticut independent Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record).

Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wy., and Tim Johnson (news, bio, voting record), D-S.D., did not vote.

The House, also run by Democrats, narrowly passed similar legislation last week. Party leaders seem determined that the final bill negotiated between the two chambers will demand some sort of timetable for winding down the war — setting them on course for a veto showdown with the president.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the president respects the role of Congress — and Congress should respect his.

The legislation represents the Senate's first, bold challenge of Bush's war policies since Democrats took control of Congress in January. With Senate rules allowing the minority party to insist on 60 votes to pass any bill and Democrats holding only a narrow majority, Reid previously had been unable to push through resolutions critical of the war.

This latest proposal was able to get through because Republicans said they didn't want to block an appropriations bill needed for the war.

"I think the sooner we can get this bill ... down to the president for veto, we can get serious about passing a bill that will get money to the troops," said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky.

Democrats acknowledge they do not have enough support in Congress to override Bush's veto, but say they will continue to ratchet up the pressure until he changes course.

The looming showdown was reminiscent of the GOP-led fight with President Clinton over the 1996 budget, which caused a partial government shutdown that lasted 27 days. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., the House speaker at the time, eventually relented but claimed victory because the bill represented a substantial savings over the previous year's spending.

Bush said the money is needed by mid-April or else the troops will begin to run out of money, but some Democrats say the real deadline is probably closer to June.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Defense Appropriations Committee Thursday that a delay in funding would have a chain reaction that could keep units in Iraq longer than planned.

If the bill is not passed by May 15, he said the Army will have to cut back on reserve training and equipment repairs, and possibly delay the formation of other Army units needed to relieve those deployed.

Shortly before the final vote, the Senate agreed 98-0 to add $1.5 billion for mine-resistant vehicles for Marines, and 93-0 to aid a program to track down convicted sex offenders.

Members also agreed 96-1 to prohibit funds in the bill to be used for spinach farmers. The vote was orchestrated by Republicans to target some of the extra spending added to the bill by Democrats; while the Senate bill didn't include any funding for spinach growers, the House measure contained $25 million.

Mediocrity and Usurpation of Duty of Executive Branch

2007-03-27T16:28:00.001-07:00

Three months after gaining control the Democrats are still trying to flex their muscles that has atrophied for reasons of mediocrity. They are vainly trying to show the people who elected them some kind of statesmanship and good governance but all they can come up with is theatre performance. Now they are attempting to micromanage the Iraq efforts by issuing the timeline for withdrawal. Such attempts are shortsighted and virtual usurpation of the duties of the executive branch.

Senate signals support for Iraq timeline

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

The Democratic-controlled Senate narrowly signaled support Tuesday for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next March, triggering an instant veto threat from the White House in a deepening dispute between Congress and commander in chief. Republican attempts to scuttle the non-binding timeline failed, 50-48, largely along party lines.

The vote marked the Senate's most forceful challenge to date of the administration's handling of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 U.S. troops. It came days after the House approved a binding withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008.

After weeks of setbacks on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) said the moment was at hand to "send a message to President Bush that the time has come to find a new way forward in this intractable war."

But Republicans — and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record), an independent Democrat — argued otherwise.

John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., a presidential hopeful, said, "we are starting to turn things around" in the Iraq war, and added that a timeline for withdrawal would encourage terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere.

Bush had previously said he would veto any bill that he deemed an attempt to micromanage the war, and the White House freshened the threat a few hours before the vote — and again afterward. "The president is disappointed that the Senate continues down a path with a bill that he will veto and has no chance of becoming law," it said.

Similar legislation drew only 48 votes in the Senate earlier this month, but Democratic leaders made a change that persuaded Nebraska's Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson (news, bio, voting record) to swing behind the measure.

Additionally, Sens. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska and Gordon Smith (news, bio, voting record) of Oregon, vocal critics of the war, sided with the Democrats, assuring them of the majority they needed to turn back a challenge led by Sen. Thad Cochran (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss.

The debate came on legislation that provides $122 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as domestic priorities such relief to hurricane victims and payments to farmers. Final passage is expected Wednesday or Thursday.

Separately, supporters of an increase in the minimum wage readied an effort to attach the measure to the spending bill, along with companion tax cuts that Republicans have demanded. The House and Senate have passed different versions of the bill but have yet to reach a compromise.

The House has already passed legislation requiring troops to be withdrawn by Sept. 1, 2008. The Senate vote assured that the Democratic-controlled Congress would send Bush legislation later this spring that calls for a change in war policy. A veto is a certainty, presuming the president follows through.

That would put the onus back on the Democrats, who would have to decide how long they wanted to extend the test of wills in the face of what are likely to be increasingly urgent statements from the administration that the money is needed for troops in the war zone.

"I hope he will work with us so we can come up with something agreeable for both" sides, Reid said at a post-vote news conference. "But I'm not anxious to strip anything out of the bill."

As drafted, the legislation called for troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days, with a non-binding goal that calls for the combat troops to be gone within a year.

The measure also includes a series of suggested goals for the Iraqi government to meet to provide for its own security, enhance democracy and distribute its oil wealth fairly — provisions designed to attract support from Nelson and Sen. Mark Pryor (news, bio, voting record) of Arkansas.

Despite the change, Pryor voted to delete the timeline.

The vote was a critical test for Reid and the new Democratic majority in the Senate nearly three months after they took power. Despite several attempts, they had yet to win approval for any legislation challenging Bush's policies.

Republicans prevented debate over the winter on non-binding measures critical of Bush's decision to deploy an additional 21,500 troops. That led to the 50-48 vote derailing a bill that called for a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days but set only a non-binding target of March 31, 2008, for the departure of the final combat forces.

Some Democrats said they would support the non-binding timetable even though they wanted more. "I want a deadline not only for commencing the withdrawal of our forces but also completing it rather than a target date," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt.

"This provision represents a 90-degree change of course from the president's policy of escalation in the middle of a civil war," he said, "I'm confident once the withdrawal of our troops begins, there will be no turning back."

Lieberman, who won a new term last fall in a three-way race after losing the Democratic nomination to an anti-war insurgent, depicted the vote as a turning point. He said the effect of the timeline would be to "snatch defeat from the jaws of progress in Iraq."

Republicans spoke in similar terms.

"Wars cannot be run from these hallowed and comfortable and sanctified chambers 10,000 miles away from the war zone," said Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. "How about allowing the officers, the men and the commanders in the field who are engaged daily, risking their lives to bring peace and security to Iraq, determine when and how we can best turn over to the Iraqi security forces the critical job, the critical job of assuring security."

Rule of Law - Checks and Balances

2007-03-27T15:20:00.001-07:00

The ACLU saw it fit to file lawsuit against Rumsfeld and the judge saw it fit too to dismiss such lawsuit. It goes to show that when the rule of law is unbridled, justice prevails – US style, that is. Other countries are hamstrung by US style of justice, and therefore become banana republics or dictatorships.

Judge dismisses lawsuit against Rumsfeld

By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer 59 minutes ago

Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld cannot be tried on allegations of torture in overseas military prisons, a federal judge said Tuesday in a case he described as "lamentable."

U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan threw out a lawsuit brought on behalf of nine former prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Rumsfeld cannot be held personally responsible for actions taken in connection with his government job.

The lawsuit contends the prisoners were beaten, suspended upside down from the ceiling by chains, urinated on, shocked, sexually humiliated, burned, locked inside boxes and subjected to mock executions.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First had argued that Rumsfeld and top military officials disregarded warnings about the abuse and authorized the use of illegal interrogation tactics that violated the constitutional and human rights of prisoners.

"This is a lamentable case," Hogan began his 58-page opinion.

No matter how appealing it might seem to use the courts to correct allegations of severe abuses of power, Hogan wrote, government officials are immune from such lawsuits. Additionally, foreigners held overseas are not normally afforded U.S. constitutional rights.

"Despite the horrifying torture allegations," Hogan said, he could find no case law supporting the lawsuit, which he previously had described as unprecedented.

Allowing the case to go forward, Hogan said in December, might subject government officials to all sorts of political lawsuits. Even Osama bin Laden could sue, Hogan said, claiming two American presidents threatened to have him murdered.

"There is no getting around the fact that authorizing monetary damages remedies against military officials engaged in an active war would invite enemies to use our own federal courts to obstruct the Armed Forces' ability to act decisively and without hesitation," Hogan wrote Tuesday.

Had the Rumsfeld lawsuit been allowed to go forward, attorneys for the ACLU might have been able to force the Pentagon to disclose what officials knew about abuses at prisons such as Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and what was done to stop it.

Hogan also dismissed the charges against other officials named in the lawsuit: retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, former Brig. Gen. Janis L. Karpinski and Col. Thomas M. Pappas.

Karpinski, whose Army Reserve unit was in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison, was demoted and is the highest-ranking officer punished in the scandal. Sanchez, who commanded U.S. forces in Iraq, retired from the Army and said his career was a casualty of the prison scandal.

The ACLU and Justice Department had no immediate response to the ruling.

Magic in the Whitehouse?

2007-01-28T18:10:00.000-08:00

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that President Bush should withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq before he leaves office, asserting it would be ``the height of irresponsibility'' to pass the war along to the next commander in chief.

``This was his decision to go to war with an ill-conceived plan and an incompetently executed strategy,'' the Democratic senator from New York said her in initial presidential campaign swing through Iowa.

``We expect him to extricate our country from this before he leaves office'' in January 2009, the former first lady said.

The White House condemned Clinton's comments as a partisan attack that undermines U.S. soldiers.

About 130,000 American troops are in Iraq and Bush has announced he was sending 21,500 more as part of his new war strategy.

………………..

These comments do not bode well for Hillary Rodham Clinton eyeing the White House. It shows cracks in her character to the effect that she does not measure up to the onus that bears down to any occupant of the White House. She is already evading responsibility before it happens, instead of preparing for that eventuallity She expects the presidency to be like a walk down the rose garden. That kind of mindset has no place in the White House where respose the greatest powers on earth.

It is very presumptuous of candidate Clinton to be dictating the course of history. Whether or not the Iraq war was a mistake or an accident/offshoot of the 9/11 spectre, it is now real time history ongoing. To expect the sitting president to clean up the mess of the world by the wave of a wand, is the height of delusion of any candidate for president. Such delusion renders one unfit to occupy the most powerful position on earth.

Rizal Day

2006-12-29T18:42:00.000-08:00

Honoring The Hero with Lies

Pretender Arroyo will lead the nation today in celebrating the 110th death anniversary of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal whose death on Dec. 30, 1896 triggered the Philippine Revolution and the country’s independence from Spain two years later in 1898.

Arroyo will lead the nationwide celebration of Rizal Day through commemoration rites at the Rizal Shrine in Baguio City where the Fake Family is spending their holiday break.

On this day in 2002 Arroyo pledged in front of the monument of the national hero at the Luneta Park that she will not be a candidate for the presidency. Poor Rizal must be turning in his grave now that Arroyo is going thru the motions again of extolling him with her lies.

Peace on Earth ...

2006-12-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

... and GOODWILL TOWARD MEN

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Deep Disappointments

2006-12-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

Great Expectations

On this particular Sunday, December 17, 2006 the Filipino people had great expectations. On this day half a million people, nay … a million people expect to congregate at the luneta park to protest and make known their disgust and rejection of the despicableconstituent assembly that has been railroaded and shoved down the throats of all law abiding filipinos by an equally despicable house of representatives. Today the filipinos will make known the sound and fury of a long seething discontent with the administration of Gloria Arroyo. Alas! This great gathering of eagles turned into

A Gathering of Shepherds
The gathered mass of rallyist underestimated the wiles of the Pretender and her cohorts. Days before the rally, the chief of PNP threatened to arrest actors, politicians, or bishops who will deliver incendiary speeches and will charge them with sedition. The head of the military establishment displayed armaments of war that will pounce at any time to break up infiltrators and saboteurs who are expected to be throwing bombs and explosives in the middle of the motley throng. These ploys of threats and scare tactics were effective alright. No million warm bodies showed up and by police count a measly 30 thousand had garnered courage to attend the mass rally. The CBCP and other religious leaders were intimidated and fell back on their calling as shepherds of the flock, piously delivering homilies to

A Gathering of Sheep

Portrait of aToddler Dictator

2006-12-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

DAILY TRIBUNE

Commentary

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has made backtracking, flip-flopping, back-pedaling and more as her official government policy. It is no wonder the Philippines under her regime ranks as one of the most non-descript nations in the civilized world.

Mrs. Arroyo, as a leader, has hit rock bottom not only for her lying, cheating and stealing but also for being a non-credible political persona with an instinct for dividing rather than uniting and for inflicting more damage than necessary on an already image-battered nation.

Didn’t she backtrack pathetically from sworn commitment she made to her major ally after she enthusiastically but unilaterally offered to sacrifice a handful of troops to President George Bush’s Coalition of the Willing in Iraq because she feared public opinion over the kidnappers’ attempt to behead kidnap victim Angelo de la Cruz?

Not so long ago, she promised on the death anniversary of the nation’s well-loved hero, Jose Rizal, that she wouldn’t run for president for being the single, biggest cause of divisiveness in the country, only to shamelessly break her word.

She also flip-flopped on the appointment of Adm. Mateo Mayuga to a major military post as flag-officer-in-command a year ago for some reason that remains mysterious to this day, only media criticisms got her back on track.

A week ago, she managed to greatly embarrass the nation on the world stage and to unremorsefully sidetrack the hard work of Cebu’s local officials as well as tourism operators by unilaterally canceling a major international summit even after delegates made the trip to Manila by blaming her back-pedaling on Typhoon “Seniang,” a flimsy excuse that none of the guests believes to be true because they know full well that the Arroyo government was lying, that the sordid truth is that it was in the midst of a brewing political storm of her own making

And today, after moving heaven and earth to get the House to stake its political capital on her pet Charter change project designed at perpetuating herself in power, and taking the nation to the brink of a constitutional crisis, she flip-flops, backtracks and back-pedals once again when faced with a massive public show of indignation.

Mrs. Arroyo has not changed from being a Malacañang spoiled brat as a toddler resident there; growing into adulthood has not taught her the basic niceties of social behavior; she still has not learned to treat people with respect in spite of her age, her so-called pedigree and her much bragged-about education. Actually, typical of a spoiled brat, she backs down only when she is threatened with serious spanking or when she feels she’s in danger of being booted from her favorite playground, Malacañang.

We, the Filipino people should not continue to tolerate her shameless behavior. We should not allow her to make a mockery of the civilized tradition of respect for the people. She should be booted out as soon as possible before she causes any more irreparable damage to the nation and its people.

Filipinos must finally open their eyes to this woman for what she is truly worth: Nothing. She’s greedy, she’s incompetent, she’s unreliable and she’s untrustworthy.

Anna de Brux

Belgium

Breaking Up A Rally

2006-12-13T17:19:00.001-08:00

Esperon warns on bombers at rally

‘Biggest anti-Gloria gathering’

BY VICTOR REYES

ARMED Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon yesterday said communist and terrorist groups might sabotage the Church-led anti-charter change rally on Sunday at the Luneta.

"We want to preclude some vested forces from exploiting that rally to their own designs, meaning there are forces that could infiltrate that rally or could probably agitate after infiltration or provoke or sabotage the rally itself," Esperon said after presiding over a command conference at the headquarters of the National Capital Region Command.

Comment:

The five star general must be thinking aloud on his five star grand scheme to protect his patroness. He foresees disruption of the peaceful assembly of mass of demonstrators by infiltrators and saboteurs. Such disruption can cause a stampede and the resulting chaos can be horrible. It is a brilliant way to stop demonstrators in their tracks.

Squid Tricks

2006-12-10T22:12:00.001-08:00

Why the rush for Con-Ass, or now
Con-con, and what’s in it for us?

Administration allies, the majority, are pushing Charter change by every imaginable means. They have succumbed to obviously desperate measures. When confronted with contentious issues, they are disturbingly belligerent and arrogant, even strangely righteous in maintaining their arguments for changing the Constitution.

Rep. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero

There is no rhyme or reason for this indecent haste to mangle this important national document. It is not like the archives where the document reposes was burned or damaged beyond legibility, or a leprechaun stole and ran away with the document, and therefore there is absolute necessity to reconstruct, amend, change, or restore the document. The rush to Con-Con give rise to suspicion of ulterior motives of the movers rather than the necessity of action.

Cha Cha, Pig, Con Ass, Con Con, are all premeditated plans to perpetuate GMA’s usurpation of power. She is not contented of stealing the elections twice – she also has delusions of an enchanted kingdom where she is queen and the filipinos are her slaves. GMA wants the world also to recognize her, and so she send her slaves to other countries, with the euphemistic appellation of super maids.

The real and immediate reason for this indecent haste of amending the constitution is to put up a façade of urgency and consequently divert the attention of the people away from the stench she created when she subverted and tharted the will of the electorate by massive cheating during the last elections. The media and even the academe swallowed her subterfuge, hook and sinker, and even the senate do not know what hit them. The religious groups were caught unawares too – they thought that congress is the culprit. Little did they suspect that all these headlong rush to amend the constitution are squid tricks to cover up the anomalies that GMA cooked up in her witches brew.

Little House on the Pasig River

2006-12-08T12:28:00.001-08:00

JDV backs off from Con-Ass

GMA has finally realized the folly of CHA-CHA, PIg, and CON-ASS and now has unceremoniously pulled the rug under JDV. It was GMA who gave the green light to JDV to push through a unicameral legislature, despite palace circus barkers that GMA has nothing to do with it.

GMA may not have the moral fiber to rule but she has got lots of fibber. She has no respect for the pilipino people and therefore insult their intelligence constantly. She thinks that by palace pronouncements, lies will transmute to the truth.

CHA CHA and CON ASS are all staged managed facade with the main purpose of diverting the attention of the people away from the the despicable usurpation of power via massive election cheating. The media and the academe appeared to be hoodwinked by such high falutin’ rhetoric of constitutional amendments. While the media and the people are distracted and mesmerized by these high falutin’ antics, the Fake Gentleman is carting away the national treasury and depositing it in German banks.

The pretender in the palace by the murky river is playing her role to the hilt. She occupies the office to pursue her own selfish interest. The welfare of the people is as good as flowing downriver by her palace. She considers the country as her little house on the prairie – the ideal place to exploit her fantasies.

Birth of a Revolution

2006-11-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

Bonifacio Day

The Katipunan Supremo: A Self-taught revolutionary

In August of 1896, at Pugadlawin, Kalookan, Bonifacio gathered his men and fearlessly urged them to tear up their cedulas as a symbilic gesture of their defiance of Spanish rule. Thus began, the Philippine Revolution against Spain.

A difficult childhood gave Andres the strenght to face all odds with great courage and determination. He was the eldest of six children of Catalina de Castro and Santiago Bonifacio.

At the age of fourteen, Andres was orphaned and had to taken on the task of caring for his younger brothers and sisters. To do this, he had to quit school and look for ways of supporting his family.

Together, they made rattan canes and colorful fans from Japanese paper. Even if he stopped going to school, Bonifacio continued reading the novels of Rizal and Dumas; he also read about international law and French Revolution. In later years, he too began to write about what the Filipino should know to appreciate the desire and the need to be free.

During his late teens, Andres was able to work as a clerk, then as a sales agent. later on, he became a warehouseman in Tondo.

Bonifacio and Jose Rizal were both members of La Liga Filipina, a movement working peacfully for reforms in the Philippines. However, the two national heroes never knew each other personally. When Rizal was arrested in 1892, Bonifacio realized that Spain would never grant the requested reforms. So, on the night of July 7, 1892, Bonifacio, Valentine Diaz, Deodato Arellano (brother in-law of Marcelo H. del Pilar), Teodoro Plata (Andres' brother in-law), Ladislao Diwa, and a few others secretly met in a house along Azcarraga Street (now Claro M. Recto Street) near Candelaria Street (now Elcano Street). On that night, the Katipunan was formed. The members formalized their membership by signing the pact with their own blood. In 1895, Bonifacio became the Supremo, or leader.

In the same year the Katipunan was founded, Bonifacio married Gregoria de Jesus, who chose Lakambini or muse as her codename in the Katipunan. She took charge of the confidential files, revolvers, seals, and other materials of the society.

On August 23, 1896, the katipuneros gathered secretly at the farm of Juan A. Ramos, son of Mechora Aquino, at Pugadlawin in Kalookan. The Spaniards had gotten wind of the Katipunan and deciphered its secret codes. The katipuneros are now fugitives and in great danger. Together, the katipuneros agreed to fight to the death for their cause.

"Bring out your cedulas and tear them to pieces to symbolize our determination to take up arms," Bonifacio challenged his members. The katipuneros tore up their cedulas and shouted, "Long live the Philippines." The cry at Pugadlawin signaled the start of the Philippine Revolution.

The inital plan to attack Manila did not push through due to lack of arms. Instead Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, and some others attacked the Spanish arsenal at San Juan del Monte. Bonifacio failed to anticipate the possible arrival of the Spanish reinforcement troops, who caused the Filipino's defeat.

Bonifacio and his men retreated with heavy casualties.

Bonifacio's life as a militant katipunero ended on Mount Hulog, a mountain in Maragondon, Cavite. Bonifacio and his younger brother Procopio were accused by the Spaniards of rebellion and were sentenced to die. On May 10, 1897, Mariano Noriel handed a sealed envelope to Lazaro Makapagal and instructed him to take the two Bonifacio brothers to Mount Taal. Once there Bonifacio requested Makapagal to open the envelope. In it was the order to execute both brothers. Makapagal had no recouse but to follow the command, lest he be punished severely. In doing so, he executed the Filipino who sprearheaded the Philippine Revolution against Spain.

Source: Filway's Philippine Almanac Centennial Edition

Downfall

While Bonifacio's personal campaigns were less than successful, the revolutionaries in Cavite had greater success, led by officers coming from the upper classes, including the celebrated Emilio Aguinaldo. Thus, they sent out a manifesto calling for a revolutionary government of their own, disregarding Bonifacio's leadership. A council comprising of Bonifacio's men and the Magdalo and the Magdiwang, two locally-based rival Katipunan factions, held a convention in Tejeros, Cavite to establish a unified front and settle the issue of leadership of the revolutionary movement. The Magdalo faction was led by Baldomero Aguinaldo, cousin to Emilio Aguinaldo. In the elections, the Cavitenos voted their own Emilio Aguinaldo President. Bonifacio, due to the lack of a power base in the province, was voted Director of the Interior. However, a member of the Magdalo faction, Daniel Tirona, questioned Bonifacio's qualifications for high office, declaring him uneducated and unfit for the position. Bonifacio was slighted, all the more so since he had previously asked that the results of the election be respected by all. Invoking his authority as Supremo, he threatened those in attendence with a pistol and declared the results of the Tejeros Convention as null and void and left in a rage. Later, he wrote to Jacinto about his misgivings about the whole matter, as he suspected Tirona of spreading black propaganda against him and fixing the ballots (as some other leaders also suspected). Regrouping his forces, he attempted to return to the province of Morong (now Rizal), where he had a strong base and support. Tried by a moot court 'in absentia' by the Aguinaldo faction, he was condemned as a traitor to the Revolution and given the death penalty. An arresting party of Magdalo soldiers caught up with Bonifacio in the town of Indang and a skirmish ensued, in which Bonifacio was wounded and his brother Ciriaco killed. He and his other brother, Procopio, were captured and were subsequently executed by firing squad on May 10, 1897 at Mt. Nagpatong. Co-patriots of the Revolution regarded this an ugly blot laid at Aguinaldo's door, though in fairness Aguinaldo originally wanted them banished instead.

Wedding Song

2006-11-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

Empty Nest

Not very long ago you were born
On a halcyon day at early morn
You were a baby cradling in my arms
Oh what loveliness full of charms.

The teen years go fleetingly
Ribbons adorn your hair so lavishly
Many a swain wanted to walk you home
Go to church on Sunday with and mom.

And you came upon mr. Right
Boundless indeed was your delight
To love and cherish, say I do
Asked my blessing, god be with you.

Down the aisle, unto the altar
Long tresses, flowers were your attire
To have and to hold in sicknes and in health
To the handsome groom thee I bequeath.

The bird has grown wings and learned to fly
Together you look anxiously to the sky
To go where your mother has gone before
And make the world turn forever more.

Your siblings before you did embark
In search of fortune , their lives to start
Now it’s your turn , you are the youngest
Serenity in my abode, ‘tis an empty nest.

And so it is and will be, from young to old
Woman clings to man nonetheless bold
Fulfillment of man’s reason to be
Entrenched to a niche in eternity.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

2006-11-27T17:56:00.000-08:00

Thou shalt be honored unto Eternity

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?
21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1

3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30" Other requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin. The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror. The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe Louis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame. Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uni forms ready for guard duty. ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,

AND

LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

God Bless and keep them.

Contributed by: Eric Gruenberg

About Time

2006-11-24T21:49:00.000-08:00

The Dawn OF A Brighter Tomorrow

THE opposition yesterday said it would file administrative and criminal charges against government officials who participated in the "fraudulent and deceptive" People’s Initiative to amend the charter.

Forty-two of the 43 media persons sued for libel by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo yesterday agreed to file a suit against Atty. Arroyo for abusing his powers to file libel cases and for violating the rights of journalists.

It takes a long time coming but hopefully this will be the start of redress of grievances for people who have long persevered in having their rights and freedoms trampled upon by the fake president who claims she has the mandate of the people. The media cowed by her pretense address her PGMA – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. There is nothing presidential about a pretender, especially when the very first official act is to accept bribes from a foreign enterprise, IMPSA, which was turned down by her predecessor for the simple reason that it is dirty money. Pretender Arroyo got no qualms about dirty money – it is money, period.

The Ombudsperson should actually be very busy pursuing cases of theft and malversation of funds, if she puts her mind to it. As it is, she is apparently asleep on the job, and if she is not, she is off to a junket to Germany, like there were nothing else better to do. This is an odious anomaly at a great expense of the people. The office of the Ombudsperson is an independent entity, according to its official function. Fact is, it is linked to malacanang by un umbellical cord. It is an insult to the intelligence of the people.

On This Day

2006-11-23T13:58:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks we live in America, land of the free, home of the brave, where the media's elite journalists can leak top-secret information with impunity, win Pulitzer Prizes, cash in on lucrative book deals, routinely insult their readership and viewership, broadcast enemy propaganda, turn a blind eye to the victims of jihad, and cast themselves as oppressed victims on six-figure salaries.

Michelle Malkin

Give thanks we do not live in the Philippines where glueria has preempted the rule of law, unleashing her lapdogs and thus having a field day kidnapping and gunning down dissenting activist, where the court dockets are clogged with libel cases against welll meaning journalists who refuse to be cowed to silence, where the palace by the murky river is becoming a black hole for pork barrels, where the senate and the supreme court will soon go the way of the dinosaurs … to extinction.

Gob bless the United States of America.

Dose Of His Own Medicine

2006-11-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

Journalists to sue Arroyo’s husband
Posted: 21 Nov 2006 12:47 AM CST
The following article by Raissa Robles is in today’s issue of the Hongkong-based South China Morning Post.

Dozens of Philippines journalists are playing first gentleman Mike Arroyo at his own game, filing a class-action lawsuit against the president’s litigious husband.

University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque, who prepared the petition, said all but one of the 43 journalists being sued for libel by Mr Arroyo had agreed to sign up to the lawsuit.

The suit claims Mr Arroyo breached their rights under the civil code, and will seek cash damages.

“When he sued the 43 journalists, it was Mr Arroyo’s intention in fact to chill the freedom of the press,” Professor Roque said.

The high number of libel suits filed by Mr Arroyo showed “it is not only an act directly against specific individuals but an act directed to intimidate the entire profession”.

Mr Arroyo’s lawyer, Ruy Rondain, said “really?”, and started laughing. “I can’t imagine what course of action they might have against him because he hasn’t done anything that violates any of their civil, political or criminal rights.”

But the sued journalists said they were serious about standing up for press freedom. Mr Roque said the 42 litigants would publicly sign the petition tomorrow and it would be filed next week.

Other journalists who have no pending libel cases against them by Mr Arroyo were also expected to sign up.

ABS-CBN journalist Ricky Carandang said he was signing up as “I think Mr Arroyo’s actions have gone beyond that of an aggrieved person seeking redress [and] they are trying to redefine libel.”

Mr Carandang was business editor at Newsbreak when it printed an article alleging the first family hid assets in the United States.

Newsbreak editor-in-chief Marites Vitug confirmed she and six other staff members of the investigative news magazine who have pending libel suits would join in.

“We really want to make a statement that the first gentleman is using libel not reasonably but to … stop reporting about him,” she said.

Professor Roque called the planned suit “unprecedented”. He said they intended to make Mr Arroyo “liable for damages” for violating the Philippines Civil Code.

Its Article 32, in particular, makes “any public officer or employee, or any private individual” liable for damages if he “directly or indirectly obstructs, defeats, violates or in any manner impedes or impairs any of the following rights and liberties of another person [including the] freedom to write for the press or maintain a periodical publication”, Professor Roque said.

Mr Rondain said: “I can’t imagine” such grounds for a suit. I’m still laughing.

*** It is about time for the journalists to say:”enough is enough!” – aloud, that is. All this time, they are seething inside for lack of a champion to voice their dissent. Now that they have Professor Harry Roque as their knight in shining armor, they should be more vocal in exercising their press freedom, oblivious the husband of Arroyo.

Miguel Arroyo is a bully throwing his weight around. Bullies thrive on fear. Once the fear dissipates and the journalists go tit for tat, Arroyo would go slinking with tails wrapped around his legs. He has no business curtailing the freedom of the press, much less, being frivolous filing all those libel suits.

True Friends

2006-11-19T12:29:00.001-08:00

Embittered Insiders Turn Against Bush

By Peter Baker

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 19, 2006

The weekend after the statue of Saddam Hussein fell, Kenneth Adelman and a couple of other promoters of the Iraq war gathered at Vice President Cheney's residence to celebrate. The invasion had been the "cakewalk" Adelman predicted. Cheney and his guests raised their glasses, toasting President Bush and victory. "It was a euphoric moment," Adelman recalled.

Forty-three months later, the cakewalk looks more like a death march, and Adelman has broken with the Bush team. He had an angry falling-out with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this fall. He and Cheney are no longer on speaking terms. And he believes that "the president is ultimately responsible" for what Adelman now calls "the debacle that was Iraq."

Adelman, a former Reagan administration official and onetime member of the Iraq war brain trust, is only the latest voice from inside the Bush circle to speak out against the president or his policies. Heading into the final chapter of his presidency, fresh from the sting of a midterm election defeat, Bush finds himself with fewer and fewer friends. Some of the strongest supporters of the war have grown disenchanted, former insiders are registering public dissent and Republicans on Capitol Hill blame him for losing Congress.

A certain weary crankiness sets in with any administration after six years. By this point in Bill Clinton's tenure, bitter Democrats were competing to denounce his behavior with an intern even as they were trying to fight off his impeachment. Ronald Reagan was deep in the throes of the Iran-contra scandal. But Bush's strained relations with erstwhile friends and allies take on an extra edge of bitterness amid the dashed hopes of the Iraq venture.

Comment: You will know your true friends in times of adversity.

Hell Hath No Fury?

2006-11-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

House Democrats Name Hoyer to No. 2 Post

By ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats picked Rep. Steny Hoyer to be House majority leader on Thursday, spurning Rep. Nancy Pelosi's handpicked choice moments after unanimously backing her election as speaker when Congress convenes in January.

Hoyer humiliates Pelosi, defeats Murtha, 149-86
Update: Unless there was some eleventh-hour shift to Hoyer — which is unlikely, considering that 90 Democrats had already publicly committed to him yesterday — then Murtha lied to Matthews’s face on Hardball yesterday.

Michelle Malkin tells How the Democrats "clean house"
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/006373.htm
My woman-to-woman advice for Nancy Pelosi today: To clean a house, you take the garbage out, not in.

It is beginning to look like the Dems are not the sweet smelling rose after all, as presented to the US electorate. The stench is beginning to reek this early. Majority leader Harry Reid is beginning to see the Abramoff submarine resurface with this name on it. And will Nancy Pelosi exhibit the fury of a woman scorned?

Bush in Singapore

2006-11-15T12:33:00.000-08:00

Bush Seeks to Reassure Allies on Trade
By TERENCE HUNT
SINGAPORE (AP) - President Bush is seeking to reassure nervous Asian allies that the United States will remain a reliable partner in liberalizing trade, confronting North Korea's nuclear threat and fighting terrorism after an election upheaval back home.

...........

It is interesting to note that nowhere in this news write-up was the Philippines nor Arroyo mentioned or even inferred. Gloria claims the US as partners against terrorism, not equal but insignificant partner, by all looks and apperances. The That is what body english of this report seem to impart.

It is not far fetched to expect that Arroyo spinmasters will claim a 'one-on-one' audience of Arroyo with Dubya. The US embassy in Manila will certainly be regaled by these efforts 'propping' up Arroyo to see eye to eye with Dubya.

Incoming Majority Leader

2006-11-13T23:41:00.000-08:00

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Reid's no-nonsense, plainspoken style reflects his origins, growing up in a cabin in the tiny community of Searchlight, Nev. Once an amateur boxer and an official fighting organized crime in his home state, he won a House seat in 1982 and four years later moved to the Senate. Reid, 66, served as former Democratic leader Tom Daschle's deputy for six years until Daschle lost his re-election bid in 2004. Since becoming Democratic leader in 2005, Reid has continued to fight for Democratic causes such as an increase in the minimum wage and opposition to President Bush's tax cuts. But, as a practicing Mormon, he has also at times sided with Republicans on legislation opposing abortion.

The US Elections

2006-11-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

The recent US midterm elections went thru without a hitch. The winners were ecstatic and the losers reflected on what went wrong. The conduct of the elections went so smoothly that it did not cause even a ripple of protestation from any quarters. That is the beauty of americana that is hardly discernible unless viewed against the backdrop of elections of other countries.

The elections in the Philippines is a study of contrasts. There was massive cheating at the polling places , at the comelec, and at the electoral tribunal or the congress. Vote counting is an exercise of adding votes to the favored candidate and diminishing count of the unlucky one. Who determines the lucky candidate is usually the incumbent at the top of the heirachcy, manipulating the process with the use of the military and the police. The unfavored candidate has only a chinaman's chance of winning, and if he does win, end up dead in the back alleys somewhere. There is nothing salient about the electoral process in the Philippines except the fact that whoever is the incumbent dictates the manner that process is executed. That essentially defines dictators. The Philippines prides itself as a democracy - dictator democracy, that is.

Starlight

2006-11-10T23:53:00.000-08:00

I can see starlight inyour eyes
From beyond eternity, piercing my soul
I can feel the warmth of your brown eyes
Radiating comfort from that limpid pool.

Many a time I wish to deny
The churning emotions of my heart
Alas they come back always on a sly
Deeply entrenched, never to depart.

How can I love thee, fairy by the mist?
Beauty in the flesh,untouchable like a dream
With laughter and smiles, surely you exist
But how can I hold thee, lovely moonbeam?

Let me just indulge in imagery
Enshrine such beauty in a niche
This love that was never meant to be
Forever yearning, always out of reach.

For as long as the waves lap the shores
And this heart of mine gallops
I shall worship thine gaiety and mores
With exuberance and full of hopes.

Hello World ...

2006-11-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

This is the beginning, I hope
To join bloggers in the loop
Like a bird just learning to fly
Spread my wings , search the sky.