Month: April 2008

New Game For Iraq

Sadr threatens to start new war against US, Sunnis agree to return to the government. This all is becoming one large game in Iraq.

Iraq’s largest Sunni bloc has agreed to return to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s cabinet after a boycott that lasted nearly a year, several Sunni leaders said on Thursday, citing a recently passed amnesty law and the Maliki government’s crackdown on Shiite militias as reasons for the move.

The Sunni leaders said they were still working out the details of their return, an indication that the deal could still fall through. But such a return would represent a major political victory for Mr. Maliki in the midst of a military operation that has at times been criticized as poorly planned and fraught with risk. The principal group his security forces have been confronting is the Mahdi Army, a powerful militia led by Moktada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric. Even though Mr. Maliki’s American-backed offensive against elements of the Mahdi Army has frequently stalled and has led to bitter complaints of civilian casualties, the Sunni leaders said that the government had done enough to address their concerns that they had decided to end their boycott.

Sadr calms down, sunnis leave government, sunnis return to government, Sadr starts thumping his war chest….do you guys see a pattern here? It is becoming all too predictable. It is not even a good game of political chess they are playing.

Congress Gets Its Props

I have been one of the biggest critics of the Congress. I have called them do noting and lame, but I will give props where props are deserved.

The media has been allowed by president after president to be owned or controlled by corporations and senator Dorgan is trying to stop this control.

The Federal Communications Commission defied some members of Congress in 2007 by easing a ban on ownership of a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same city.

Yesterday, the lawmakers took the first step toward getting even.

The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved a rare “resolution of disapproval” to invalidate the FCC’s new rules, as concerns about media consolidation escalated in the wake of News Corp.‘s negotiations to buy a second New York newspaper.

“We really do literally have five or six major corporations in this country that determine for the most part what Americans see, hear and read every day,” said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, a Democrat from North Dakota who is the lead sponsor of the resolution. “I don’t think that’s healthy for our country.”

Both Sen. Clinton and Obama are signed on board of this effort. The real test will be if the Prez vetoes, will they overrride.

McCain’s Campaign

The media has had its big story on the McCain campaign, that was the recipes listed on his website.  Instead of being from his wife, they were straight off the Food Network website.  This got lots of play by some in the media and on the View.

Why?  Does that really flippin’ matter when the fate of this country is waiting for the new leader?  Does that make a difference in the situation in Iraq?  How about strengthen our economy?  Then why dwell on it?

The issues need to be covered.  But the corporate media spends all its time and efforts on bullsh*t stories that do not inform an ignorant electorate.  Issues like McCain’s flipping on torture or tax cuts, issues he orginally opposed, but now he supports.

So the recipes are not important!  But then the media would be acting like a responsible function of society and that is something that they are just not prepared to do.  Okay, the story has taken a back seat to the comments and the negativity of the Dems, but that is another post.  Both are completely worthless.

Candidates And Pep Rallies

I hate pep rallies! The candidates, all the candidates, and their stump speeches are just that….a pep rally. Complete with cheers, jeers, yells, whistles, applause and even a fight song, in some cases. It is all about winning, just like a high school pep rally.

Apparently, the American voter appreciates being treated like a juvenile. I guess that makes sense , since the mental capacity of most is about that of a 14 year old. That could go to explain it.

A good example, in Pennsylvania union, blue collar, non-college working class voted large for Clinton. Thinking…thinking….does anyone remember Bill and NAFTA? He basically, gave away their jobs to overseas. And they expect someone who supported the original agreement to somehow bring those jobs back? Yeah, right!

And then white women voted for a white woman…go figure.

Here is my fav, catholics voted for Clinton, but will mostly likely help elect McCain. Does anyone else see the utter lunacy of any of this? Does anyone see the game being played here?

This shows me that: 1–the voter is uninformed…..a polite way of saying stupid. 2–they like this stupid little game of politics makes them feel a little important for a short while. 3–Finally, there vote will probably not count, because the power elite already have their choice for president.

May the force be with you!

Virtual border fence in Ariz. a failure – The Boston Globe

Virtual border fence in Ariz. a failure – The Boston Globe

I was gonna summarize this story for my readers, but hell, you got to read the whole thing. It is the brain child of Boeing and the $20 million is a flush down the toilet. The story they will scrap it and go with a new idea and concept.

All I can ask is, did they try it out before they bought it? If not, why not? If it does not work as advertised can the taxpayer get their money back?

I am working on a new award for my Blog to give every year for this type of waste and stupidity. I already have the “Assies”.

Let Us End This Crap Now

Fine they finally voted in Pennsylvania and yes, Clinton won by 10 points.  And now the fight will move to North Carolina and Indiana.  Will this ever end?  NO!  The fighting will go on and on and on and…………Everyone is getting weary of this process.  And now we will see what will transpire now….But there should be a way to finally put this stuff to bed and decide on a Dem. candidate.

The Dems need a leader and a frontrunner to get behind and they need it now.  I have thought it over and would like to offer a few suggestion to finally give the American people a rest and a candidate before the Fall.

Since all of them want to look tough, then try these ideas to decide on a winner:

1–Let them suit up and go on UFC and the Octagon and slug it out until one is declared the winner.

2–A duel–stand back to back–take 10 paces turn and fire–Winner!

3–This one was already a gag thing, but on further thought–why not?  A no holds barred wrestling match.

I know these are a bit physical and some would be squeamish, so I also have some less “manly” ways to decide the winner.

1–A cook off–the best scone wins

2–A mullet toss–sling a dead fish as far as they can

3–An eat off–whoever eats the most, pick a food, in the time alloted winners.

4–a badminton match the best 3 out of 5

5–lastly a stare down.

This would not be the best thing for the media, but it would have good ratings from a country obsessed with BS and seldom on issues.

A Political Reality Check

Surrogates on both sides of the Dem campaigns are playing race card, fear card, and several other cards. Please make them stop! All this he said, she said silliness must stop. When talking about to “real” people and not the pundits that are looking for that hook that they can use for a couple of days or even a couple of weeks. Appears the people are getting weary of this negativity, the voters are worried about losing their home or how to feed the kids and the candidates spend all their time spreading manure. Voters really want specifics on issues and not who goes bowling, or does a shooter, or who the candidate has met in the past.

Even when I say that, it appears that I could be mistaken by the vote in Pennsylvania. I have watched this process from the beginning and it is the media that is setting the tone and the direction of these campaigns. Manure is just good ratings. For that reason whenever the candidates are interviewed it is some obscure BS instead of the issues that is talked about. They seem to refuse to make the candidates to face “real” issues that the people need to know.

If this crap continues through the convention, then I could foresee a low voter turn out in the Fall. Why? The voter will see that the change both candidates promise, is just that a promise that will be broken and NOTHING will change in Washington. If there is a low voter turn out then I see McCain winning the general.

What Are The Issues, Now?

Have learned some learned people, men and women, talk about forgotten issues of this election season. Such as education, inner city crime, etc. These people are saying that the candidates are missing an excellent opportunity to discuss these issues on the national stage. That they have the perfect platform for that dialog.

Thinking……Thinking……Thinking……

Okay, where have these smart people been? When we “real” issues ever been the focal point of an election season? (Pause for thought) NEVER! That is when!

The worse group is the mainstream media. These “people” and I use the term losely, concentrate on BS issues and seldom on “real” ones. Sensationalism always trumps reality with the pundits.

Campaigns may start off with the best of intentions, but it quickly degrades into the slinging of mud. Let us be realistic–campaigns are about popularity and electability–seldom about the issues. That would be just Un-American! To put issues and problem solving, ahead of ego.

WORD!

Oil Reaches More New Highs

A Japanese oil tanker was damaged Monday when it was attacked by a small boat in Middle Eastern waters off the coast of Yemen, the tanker’s owner said. Word of the attack helped to drive world oil prices to a new record.

The attack rattled the nerves of global energy traders, sending the price of benchmark light, sweet crude to a record $117.40 per barrel. Oil prices had also briefly touched $117 per barrel last week, after rebels attacked a pipeline in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer.

Okay this is a daily occurrence, but now I want to start a prediction that oil will hit $125 a barrel by July 4th.  Anybody else want to join in?  Come on what you got to lose?