Month: May 2011

We Have A New Ambassador

Inkwell Institute

Subject:  Diplomacy/Afghanistan

Correction:  An oversight on my part has lead me to make a monumental f*ck up……parts of this post were from..http://www.kabulpress.org/my/spip.php?article64331….I apologize for this to any and everyone involved….I will try to do better in the long run…..I do apologize most strongly to Matthew Nasuti for my screw up…….

I know….since OBL is dead then why would you care about what is happening in the Middle East…well, to be honest….we CANNOT ignore the region….we have many Americans dying and bleeding in this region….though many would like to put it out of their minds….we cannot….if you truly support the troops and just do not say it to sound “cool” or patriotic, then to ignore this region now would be a fatal error….

Since Obama became president our ambassador in Afghanistan has been a guy named Eikenberry….well that dude has decided to take a powder on Obama…leaving our president to find a replacement…..but first what about this guy named Eikenberry?

The best thing I can say about Karl Eikenberry is…..thinking……he has been many things but the most outstanding of these are…he has been ineffectual and invisible…I would bet you, my reader, had NO idea who was the US ambassador to Afghanistan….I know this is in NO way that damn important, huh?

True that….but……his replacement is!

The man tapped to be our new ambassador to Afghanistan is…..Ryan Crocker.  Does that name sound familiar?  It should….he was the administrator of Iraq after we crushed the Iraqi government and set about with out occupation….OK, Prof what was so bad about Crocker and his stay in Iraq?

Ryan Crocker’s tour as U.S. Ambassador in Iraq from March 2007 to March 2009, saw significant diplomatic successes, for which he should receive credit, but his failure as a manager led to a seemingly endless series of Embassy scandals, from the Blackwater mercenary scandal, to massive cost overruns on the new Embassy, to huge and wasteful Embassy overstaffing, to billions wasted on USAID development programs. This resulted in the overall failure of the civilian “surge” in Iraq. These failures were largely ignored by the mainstream media as they were overshadowed by the spectacular success of General Petraeus’ military surge.

In Iraq, Ryan Crocker seemed incapable of standing up to corrupt security contractors, an ineffective USAID, waves of politically connected Beltway Bandit consultants who were soaking up Iraqi aid funds, an abusive and careless Bureau of Diplomatic Security and a ponderous and inept State Department bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. The result was that Ambassador Crocker was directly or indirectly responsible for the largest waste of public funds in the history of the U.S. Department of State.

A wonderful record and now we get this inept diplomat as our voice in Afghanistan…..are we suppose to believe that things will be different this time around?  Does anyone remember the money on pallets in Iraq?  The money that disappeared mysteriously by the truck loads?  Come on…..this guy could not handle Iraq so how will he be any more effective in Afghanistan?  Just how much money do we pour into Afghanistan?  And one of his supporters, ie Blackwater has a presence in the country…at least he will have friends there to greet him upon his arrival…..when will we ever learn?

A Working Class Warrior

fightconservatives.com/Inside-the-Boo…

When I saw my title I immediately thought of the John Lennon song, “Working Class Hero”…not one of his most famous songs but, in my opinion, it was his best!

I see my friend and loyal reader over at Spinny Liberal (my blogroll will get you her site…visit often) beat me to the punch or maybe it is just great minds think alike….

Years ago when I was much younger I was asked to participate in a scholars conference on the campus of the Univ. of Louisville….I was asked because I had lectured on the shortcomings in the theory of non-violent action….I was not a big hit because most of the academics that were there were big admirers of Gandhi, King, et al….and thought that they had changed the world….my point was that these people set stuff into motion but it was the people that actually made their goals happen…I take nothing away from those that I criticized…… very brave and influential people…..anyway I was asked simply because even though I was educated I worked at blue collar jobs and the panel wanted a different perspective and I was introduced as a “blue collar intellectual”…at first I was uneasy with that title but as the conference moved along I became rather fond of it……I really got a hateful reception when I accused my fellow panel members of neglect…..I said that NO change will come from the bottom up because the academics and intellectuals talk to each other and not the people….they spend their time writing and talking with colleagues, using terminology that the average person has No idea what they are talking about….and because of that disconnect the average person basically ignores them as much as possible…..and that most people do not walking around with a Thesaurus in their pockets……..as you can see….I was not that popular of a speaker (but I got over it)……and after years and years of research and activism….not much has changed….the people still do not understand much of what the so-called intellectuals have to say…..Intellectuals and academics seem to lack passion, they have plenty to say in their writings, but they lack the fire of passion for what they say or write….and there is the major disconnect they have with the people they try to influence……

I tell this tale because of a recent test I took I found on a site listed on my blogroll, Plutocrap (go to right of site click on the site and visit) and after it was tallied up I was a “Working Class Warrior” and I guess that pretty much goes with the title I got decades ago….You are a Working Class Warrior, also known as a blue-collar Democrat. You believe that the little guy is getting screwed by conservative greed-mongers and corporate criminals, and you’re not going to take it anymore.  (So says the quiz at the top of the post)…..

I have almost always called myself a “radical progressive”…..by the classical definition of both, not some PC terminology…….radical meaning….political orientation of those who favor revolutionary change in government and society and progressive meaning……political orientation of those who favor progress toward better conditions in government and society….and the word revolutionary does NOT imply armed conflict, just a new way of thinking and acting….

There is NOTHING progressive about the current administration of Obama and at best…. it is a bit liberal….but in rhetoric only…..the change you voted for is NOT gonna happen…..

If you would like to see what your title would be if you would like one (and we all like an ego boost every now and then)…..take the test at the top of the page and see what type of progressive or liberal or whatever you would like to call yourself….it is a short and easy test and will take not much more than 5 minutes to take…try it, you will like it!

Things You Might Like To Remember

The best news for a Monday……

I recently said that I would not post anymore on the con artists that was thinking about running for the GOP nomination….TRUMP….I lied!

First let me remind my readers….I have always said that he would make his decision on 16 May and that would be NOT to run….And today’s date is…WHAT?!?  Damn!  I do love being right….(he said giddily)

But for those people that thought even for a moment, that Trump would make a good president and BTW that includes Huckabee, who is also NOT running, maybe there are a few things that you will need to remember before you even consider this consummate con man as a viable candidate…….

Salon.com’s reporter Justin Elliot has summed it up for those too lazy to Google…….

  • The time he killed a pro sports league As the owner of a team in the fledgling United States Football League in the 1980s, Trump “led the USFL into a self-destructive, all-out war with the NFL” that culminated in a disastrous anti-trust lawsuit and, ultimately, the premature death of the USFL.
  • That his clothing line is made in China Even as Trump bashes the quality of Chinese manufacturing and bemoans outsourcing, his Donald J. Trump Signature Collection of suits and ties is made in China.
  • How he wildly exaggerates his wealth Trump claims his net worth is as high as $7 billion, but various independent estimates have put the figure an order of magnitude lower than that. Indeed, the requirement for presidential candidates to file a personal financial disclosure is one reason Trump will likely never be a candidate for office.
  • How he inflates his academic record Trump says he was a “really good student at the best school in the country;” multiple profiles early in his career claimed he graduated first in his college class. In fact, he was only admitted as a transfer student to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania through a family connection, and he graduated without honors.
  • His poor grasp of the English language He once misspelled the word “too” in a letter of complaint to the Times’ Gail Collins. Here’s a sample semi-coherent Trump sentence: “Her storytelling ability and word usage (coming from me, who has written many best sellers), is not at a very high level.”
    His multiple bankruptcies While describing himself as “a deal maker without peer,” Trump has in fact had more business bankruptices (4) than wives (3), as Katrina vanden Heuvel pointed out.
    When he was sued for not renting to African-Americans Early in his career, a major discrimination lawsuit was brought against Trump and his company, accused by the Justice Department of declining to rent to potential black tenants. Trump ultimately agreed to take steps to avoid discrimination without admitting guilt.
    His constant race-baiting Trump’s entire fake presidential campaign was characterized by racially tinged attacks and gaffes — from his obsession with birtherism to his baseless claim that President Obama did not deserve to get into Columbia and Harvard Law School to his now-famous boasts about “the blacks.”
    His long history of scamming the press Few remember it, but Trump’s first fake presidential campaign was way back in the 1988 cycle. He did it again in 2000. We’re living through the third iteration.

Please keep this post in mind the next time this weasel slithers into the political arena….he is a Liar and a com man and deserves NOTHING, especially from the media that was so in love with him as a candidate….and the people need to keep his game in mind so the next time he will NEVER be considered for anything other than a con man and a TV personality.

Political Philosophy Vs Political Theory

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Political Philosophy/Political Theory

Oh Geez!  I have this tendency for self-abuse…..especially mental abuse…….this is one of those times…trying to explain the difference between the two approaches to politics could make a person go completely batty……good thing I suffer from brain worms after years of political analysis and explanation….so I should come out of this a bit better than some one else…..we will see…..

Political philosophy begins with the question: what ought to be a person’s relationship to society? The subject seeks the application of ethical concepts to the social sphere and thus deals with the variety of forms of government and social existence that people could live in – and in so doing, it also provides a standard by which to analyze and judge existing institutions and relationships. Although the two are intimately linked by a range of philosophical issues and methods, political philosophy can be distinguished from political science. Political science predominantly deals with existing states of affairs, and insofar as it is possible to be amoral in its descriptions, it seeks a positive analysis of social affairs – for example, constitutional issues, voting behavior, the balance of power, the effect of judicial review, and so forth. Political philosophy generates visions of the good social life: of what ought to be the ruling set of values and institutions that combine men and women together.

And then we have political theory which basically put, is the political orientation of a group or nation..or more simply an ideology or a specific orientation……  and these include, but not limited to……conservatism, progressivism, radicalism, liberal, fascism, socialism………and on and on…..for example conservatism…which means a political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes (Does that sound at all like anything happening today?)…..or centrism, a term you hear more and more…but in a political science thinking it is avoiding the extremes of left and right by taking a moderate position or course of action……..and this goes on and on……

A political philosopher deals with what is best for the country or a society and a political theorist is ONLY concerned with what is best for a specific slice of that society, not the society as a whole and diverse organism but rather a single group or class, if you will.

I realize that I have done little to clear the confusion up….but at least I tried….and that is more than most can say….so sports fans…..what is more important the philosophy or the theory?

Have Boobs, Will Work

Once again it is the weekend and my few days of mental relaxation….and since it is Sunday I found some stuff that makes one just shudder….

Women for decades have been trying to lose the stigma of “tight sweater” means better work conditions….sort of thing….but it seems that in China they have some pretty stringent qualifications that they look for in some of their spokespeople……

Even foreign firms have been known to advertise for specific ages, looks and genders, particularly when seeking good-looking women to fill posts. Job descriptions here routinely have height and weight requirements, and those deemed not beautiful enough can be turned away with no recourse.

But the Ministry of Tofu blog reports on one case that might be over-the-top even for China: a company seeking large-breasted virgins for a tea-picking ad.

The requirements: “A prospective employee has to be a woman with no sexual experience, has a bra size of at least C, and has no scar or wound visible on her body with a uniform.”

I say…try that in the good old USA and see just how far that flies……but on a more realistic note…is that not the perfect woman that most men look for?  Big breasts and a virgin?  I know that sounds like misogyny and it may well be….but the truth is the truth……whether we like it or not.  But to say that they are qualifications for a photo ad is just plain….obscene!

Could You Please Talk A Little Louder?

Here it is again…the weekend and Chuq’s moment of Zen…well two days to be truthful….you know that time when all is calm and serene…that is if you do not have grandchildren…..but anyway I spotted a story that makes you stop and ask…what are they thinking?

We all have our frustrations….one of mine is cel phones….people driving with their heads up their butts because it is just sooo damn important that they take that call from Billy Jo….or those cretins that walk around staring at their Smartphones like they are waiting for the almighty to call…..and then there are those inconsiderate bastards that have to talk really loud on their phones to the point that the phone is not needed the other part could probably hear them without it……

And there is this…..

Normally, chatting aimlessly is a surefire way to wind up with a dead cellphone battery. But researchers at South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University have discovered a technique that could use the sound of your voice to charge your phone.Although for now you really have to shout to give your battery much of a boost. A prototype needed 100 decibels — the equivalent of noisy traffic or a jet passing overhead — to generate 50 millivolts of electricity. That’s enough to give a smartphone battery a lift, but far from the 5 to 12 volts needed to properly charge the typical mobile device. So don’t expect to find voice-charged phones in stores any time soon. But the lead researcher, Sang-Woo Kim of Sungkyunkwan University’s nanotechnology institute, is confident that tinkering with the design will make this technology more practical.

The scientists trapped nano-scale strands of zinc oxide between two flexible electrodes. Incoming sound waves hit a sound-absorbing pad on top of the device, causing the tiny zinc wires to compress and release. The movement generates a tiny electrical current.

Oh goody!  Now there is something for me to look forward to….a wealth of people screaming into their cell phones……..will make for some enjoyable meals…….

Proud To Be An American!

Daily Agitator

NO!  I am NOT talking about that hip little country ditty that so many play at their gatherings…now that I have said that I cannot get that twangy little thing out of my head….we hear so many Americans claim it….but what do they mean?  OK, this is a subjective term……and for that reason I would like to hear from my readers on what it means……I will give my thoughts and I will await yours…..

First of all….I think it is just a slogan or an idea that is appealing…..I want to hear what it is that people are proud of……..is it the education system….the health system……the way we treat each other…..or maybe it is our politics……could it be the politicians?  Please just what are you proud of here in the US?  Is it …just because?  Is it our military?

Seriously….I want to hear what it that we are proud of here ……..and yes….it could well be a post in the future……..OK, personally, I am proud of the rights that we each have….even though there are some that want to take those rights away….I am proud of the founders for coming up with a system that, in theory is an excellent system, but since the founding it has become bastardized to look less and less like the system the fathers intended……..I am proud that we each have a choice in our lives, even though some choices are not popular with different sects……

Please…tell me…what is it about this country that makes one proud to be an American?

2011 Anal-Ocity #19

They just cannot help themselves…..I am sorry that most of the Anal-ocities I have picked seemed to be overwhelmingly stuff that GOPers have had to say….but, let us be honest….they DO make some of the most anal things of anybody in society…….you would think that politicians would eventually learn that in an electronic age you cannot hide from the things you say……

Today’s anal-ocity is from the Repub candidate for governor of West Virginia, Mr. Larry Faircloth…….

Terry and Larrice Craver, the co-founders of We the People of Hampshire County, said the group hosted a candidate forum April 29 in Romney,Virginia that three GOP candidates attended.

“While Mr. Faircloth was giving his opening comments, he chose to tell a racist, sexist ‘Joke,’” the couple said in a Monday email obtained by the Daily Mail.”This offended several people, some laughed, most gasped, and one man stood up and walked out and made the statement ‘You’re all nothing but a bunch of  bigots’ on his way out the door.”

The Cravers declined to retell the joke in a telephone interview.

Mr. Faircloth ‘s comments were to call Pelosi a “BIMBO” and then to call Pres. Obama a “SAMBO”…….

I do not understand this type of hate among politicians…..

When will conservs decide to call these types of bigot and sexist candidates out for their unfeeling and unwarranted attacks of people that they do not agree with, politically…..this is beyond tacky……it disgusting and sad that in the 21st century our politics have not moved beyond this sort of trash……

Is America In Decline?

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  American Government

With the 2012 election season quickly approaching all those candidates, or should I say, all those presumed candidates are trying to find the best hook to excite the American voter…the socialist tag is waning…..so what could they blame on Obama that would start the masses jerking off to vote?

I have it!  American is in DECLINE and it is Obama’s fault!….his policies and those of the liberals are destroying our once great nation….sounds good?  You betcha and it will make a helluva hook for Americans that listen to Limbaugh, Beck and other such notables…..

But the question remains…..Is America In Decline?

I believe it is!  And it has been since the 90’s with all the terrible decisions made by our leaders……  And now you would like to know why, right?

After 30 years of some vague policies that have done little to improve life for most Americans….we are now entering into a period where , if things do not change, the Middle Class will be gone for as it is today, it is disappearing slowly…..

Millions of Americans see corporate power as the obstacle to progress and the negation of the democratic ideal of government of the people, by the people and for the people. They see that their vote means little and in most cases….NOTHING to the elected representatives……that their (the people’s) desires and concerns are seldom met, if at all……

Chrystia Freeland writing for Reuters:

Global capitalism isn’t working for the American middle class. That isn’t a headline from the left-leaning Huffington Post, or a comment on Glenn Beck’s right-wing populist blackboard. It is, instead, the conclusion of a rigorous analysis bearing the imprimatur of the U.S. establishment: the paper’s lead author is Michael Spence, recipient of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences, and it was published by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Spence and his co-author, Sandile Hlatshwayo, examined the changes in the structure of the U.S. economy, particularly employment trends, over the past 20 years. They found that value added per U.S. worker increased sharply during that period – 21 per cent for the economy as a whole, and 44 per cent in the “tradable” sector, which is geek-speak for those businesses integrated into the global economy. But even as productivity soared, wages and job opportunities stagnated.

This conclusion is a very big deal – Spence is telling us that global capitalism is working the way it should, but that the American middle class is losing out anyway. Since global capitalism is the best way we’ve come up with so far to run our economy, that creates quite a dilemma.

Spence is honest enough to admit that he has no easy answers. But he has posed the right question. American politicians in both parties are focused on a budget debate that is superficial, premature and ultimately about something pretty easy to figure out. Instead, we should all be working on the much bigger problem of how to make capitalism work for the American middle class.

Political games and partisan bullshit is bringing about the decline and the American people have NO one but themselves to blame!

Sad to say, my friends, America is in decline…..and if we fall….how long will the rest of the world stand?  I am NOT preaching American Exceptionalism here but that so much of the world depends on the US for so much….how long can it last if the the US fails in a big way?

No Taxation Without Representation

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  American Government

Do you remember from American history class the slogan or the rallying cry or the war chat or……”No Taxation Without Representation”?  What does it really mean?

A situation in which a government imposes taxes on a particular group of its citizens, despite the citizens not consenting or having an actual representative deliver their views when the taxation decision was made. This situation was one of the triggering events that spurred the original thirteen American colonies to revolt against the British Empire.

In the 1750 and 1760’s it was a cry against the British Empire by the American colonists….in essence the colones were pissed that they had to pay taxes to the realm and had NO representation in Parliament……that they were denied their rights under English law….well it pretty much lead to the American Revolution….and we all know how that ended……even is used today…most notably by the Tea Party when they were protesting taxes that they did not want to see raised…..even though those taxes were NEVER intended to go up……..

We could make the same argument today…places like Puerto Rico, Guam and others are basically colonies of the US, but we had rather call them “territories”….they pay taxes and have NO representation in Congress….oh, they have observers but NO power to vote for laws and such…..that is disgusting in itself (that may well be another post….later)

But I want to talk about another miscarriage of justice, if you will……Washington D.C…..the capital of the US….the people living within the confines of the Federal district…..do NOT have representation in the Congress…..oh, they also have an observer but they have NO right to vote on legislation even when it applies the them directly……

The US Constitution grants congressional voting representation to the states, which the District is not. The District is a federal territory ultimately under the complete authority of Congress. The lack of voting representation in Congress for residents of the U.S. capital has been an issue since the foundation of the federal district. Numerous proposals have been introduced to change this situation including legislation and constitutional amendments to grant D.C. residents voting representation, returning the district to the state of Maryland, and making the District of Columbia into a new state. All proposals have been met with political or constitutional challenges; therefore, there has been no change in the District’s representation in the Congress.

Basically, it is that American citizens, who pay their taxes that support the state, have NO representation, voting representation, in the legislative body of the country……so it is easy……give them representation or let them be tax exempt…..an easy solution, well, two solutions…..there should be NO American citizen without voting representation in Congress…these citizens do not have the same rights as you do….and that is a travesty!