I have been out of the country this week, and away from my fix of MSNBC and The Daily Show. My perspective then has come from conversations with non-citizens who have no vote in the US presidential game. Viewed from afar, however, they do have very strong opinions. Universally, Bush is held in very low regard. McCain is seen as an extension of Bush and old. And, everyone is thrilled about Obama. When I return to my intravenous digital fix I will get back into the swing of things.
For now, all I can say is the Obama Denver speech was awesome. And for ridiculous counterpoint, McCain picks a nitwit with big hair who opposes abortion even in the case of rape or incest. She also opposes gay union. Fortunately for her Ted Stevens is a big supporter....and oh, Fox News says she has foreign policy experience because Alaska is next to Russia.
Holy shit!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Biden for Vice President
I am very excited about the Biden pick for VP. I have been a Biden fan for a long time and was vocal in my support for him in the early going in the 2007 run up to the primary contests. In the early 1970's dear friends of mine worked for Biden on his Senate staff. They were enamored then of his character (exemplified in part by his commitment to raising his two boys after the tragic death of his wife and daughter) and have remained so over these many years.
Unlike the increasingly flawed McCain (in fact, he has always been flawed, it is just becoming more clear in the harsh light of the campaign)Biden has always been thoughtful. That is something the alleged maverick McCain cannot claim. In fact, I feel certain that the maverick tag is a clever way to cover the life long tendency McCain has had to be a fuck up. In fact, but for the cover provided by his father and grandfather he would have achieved little on his own.
The Biden family and the Obama family are great in juxtaposition to McCain. They don't have seven homes to choose from. Neither do most Americans. What a great story. McCain marries beer money built on the back of the mob. The rich daughter leaves her two half sisters in the dust.
Obama and Biden on the other hand, made themselves what they are today. They pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps, not the bootstraps of someone else. They are the American dream. McCain is the true elitist and the son and husband of privilege.
Voters, please open your eyes.
Unlike the increasingly flawed McCain (in fact, he has always been flawed, it is just becoming more clear in the harsh light of the campaign)Biden has always been thoughtful. That is something the alleged maverick McCain cannot claim. In fact, I feel certain that the maverick tag is a clever way to cover the life long tendency McCain has had to be a fuck up. In fact, but for the cover provided by his father and grandfather he would have achieved little on his own.
The Biden family and the Obama family are great in juxtaposition to McCain. They don't have seven homes to choose from. Neither do most Americans. What a great story. McCain marries beer money built on the back of the mob. The rich daughter leaves her two half sisters in the dust.
Obama and Biden on the other hand, made themselves what they are today. They pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps, not the bootstraps of someone else. They are the American dream. McCain is the true elitist and the son and husband of privilege.
Voters, please open your eyes.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Pip-squeak for President
Commentators haven't focused attention on the fact that at 5 feet 6 inches in height, John McCain would be, if elected, the second shortest President in American history.
He would only tower over the 5' 4" James Madison. Simply put, McCain is a pip-squeak.
Not only is he height challenged (gawd I hate the politically correct vernacular!)he also exhibits the classic behavior of the short man. The Napoleon complex often shows itself with aggressive actions (McCain's well known anger among other of his attributes fit that bill).
Not only is McCain a pip-squeak, I think he's a little squirt and a small fry!
He would only tower over the 5' 4" James Madison. Simply put, McCain is a pip-squeak.
Not only is he height challenged (gawd I hate the politically correct vernacular!)he also exhibits the classic behavior of the short man. The Napoleon complex often shows itself with aggressive actions (McCain's well known anger among other of his attributes fit that bill).
Not only is McCain a pip-squeak, I think he's a little squirt and a small fry!
Monday, August 11, 2008
My Cynical Read on the Georgia Conflagration
Israel has been selling armaments to the Georgia military ($500M) and training military personnel. Although they have ceased sales for the moment, Israel is home to 80,000 Georgian Jews (there must be that many in Buckhead). The United States has approximately 1000 military advisors in Georgia and has supplied a significant amount of military equipment to that country. The President of Georgia is a Harvard trained lawyer. The most noteworthy feature of Georgia is the oil pipeline that transects the country moving Central Asian oil to the west without crossing Russian territory. Do you think that matters?
In my view, the current conflagration could not have happened without the knowing acquiescence or prodding of the United States and Israel. Our military advisors on the ground are too smart and too sophisticated for the Georgian move into Ossetia to have occurred without a wink and nod from the West.
Why would we want a conflagration in breakaway Ossetia and a dust-up in Georgia with Russia? That is an easy one. We wanted the Russians focused on an internal problem while we escalate the intensity of our pressure on Iran. This is a cynics view, but I think we should all hold our breath and hope that the Neo-Cons have not orchestrated the Georgian mess as an element of their last hope to blast Iran before the Bush administration exits the White House.
Keep in the mind that this administration is well schooled in prevarication and duplicity. Nevertheless, I hope my cynic's view of the Georgian situation is wrong.
In my view, the current conflagration could not have happened without the knowing acquiescence or prodding of the United States and Israel. Our military advisors on the ground are too smart and too sophisticated for the Georgian move into Ossetia to have occurred without a wink and nod from the West.
Why would we want a conflagration in breakaway Ossetia and a dust-up in Georgia with Russia? That is an easy one. We wanted the Russians focused on an internal problem while we escalate the intensity of our pressure on Iran. This is a cynics view, but I think we should all hold our breath and hope that the Neo-Cons have not orchestrated the Georgian mess as an element of their last hope to blast Iran before the Bush administration exits the White House.
Keep in the mind that this administration is well schooled in prevarication and duplicity. Nevertheless, I hope my cynic's view of the Georgian situation is wrong.
My Georgia Strategy: Ten Easy Steps to Bring Russia to Her Knees
1. Restrict sale of Gulfstream jets and Feadship yachts to Russian oligarchs
2. Require that Russians only view Russian programming on television
3. Prohibit sale of property in London, South of France and Palm Beach to Russian oligarchs
4. Ship unlimited quantities of Microsoft VISTA to Russia
5. Curtail shipments of Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Mercedes to Russia
6. Curtail shipments of Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Givenchy to Russia
7. Curtail shipments of Rolex, Breitling, Piaget, and Patek Phillipe to Russia
8. Curb iTunes downloads to Russia
9. Require that Russian oligarchs buy only "Made in Russia" products
10.Restrict sale of heels more than two inches high to Russian hookers
2. Require that Russians only view Russian programming on television
3. Prohibit sale of property in London, South of France and Palm Beach to Russian oligarchs
4. Ship unlimited quantities of Microsoft VISTA to Russia
5. Curtail shipments of Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Mercedes to Russia
6. Curtail shipments of Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Givenchy to Russia
7. Curtail shipments of Rolex, Breitling, Piaget, and Patek Phillipe to Russia
8. Curb iTunes downloads to Russia
9. Require that Russian oligarchs buy only "Made in Russia" products
10.Restrict sale of heels more than two inches high to Russian hookers
"He Sure Does Have a Pretty Mouth"
So, the inevitable happened and John Edwards imploded. I am not surprised. I never liked the guy. When he was first thinking of running for President in 2004 I noted that he had not been outside of the country. He was a guy with no gravitas. He had made his money as a trial lawyer handling "bad baby" cases. I was a trial lawyer back in the day so I know about "bad baby" cases, and more important, that they were often based upon bad science. The horrific outcome for the child and the parents was so catastrophic that the huge amounts of money changed hands. That background was no qualifier for national office but it ostensibly made him a champion for the little guy.
Time under the limelight did not, however, give Edwards a pleasing cast. In fact, he looked more self-absorbed than before. The YouTube clip said it all:
Some of you will remember the great James Dickey novel, Deliverance. The movie, released in 1972, starred Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight. Of Edwards, a nice Southern boy, they would have said,
"He sure does have a pretty mouth."
Time under the limelight did not, however, give Edwards a pleasing cast. In fact, he looked more self-absorbed than before. The YouTube clip said it all:
Some of you will remember the great James Dickey novel, Deliverance. The movie, released in 1972, starred Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight. Of Edwards, a nice Southern boy, they would have said,
"He sure does have a pretty mouth."
Monday, August 4, 2008
Kinda Silly
The Obama campaign plane is silly. O Force One it is being called. It is clearly over the top. What the campaign should do is charter a plain vanilla piece of shit run out plane from one of the numerous bankrupt airlines in the US. Instead, some smart staffer decided to pimp out the campaign plane and unnecessarily spend campaign dollars on what will certainly become a symbol of Obama's hubris.
I makes me nuts. We must win this election. Obama needs to stay close to his core beliefs and remain grounded. I think this is not unlike Elvis. The posse surrounding the star want to take care of their man. Elvis didn't demand all the trappings. He was a simple small town boy. Obama didn't demand the pimped out plane. Some staffer thought it would be cool. Well, sonny, it is not cool. It is over the top, unnecessary and sends the wrong message.
Wise up. Stop being silly.
I makes me nuts. We must win this election. Obama needs to stay close to his core beliefs and remain grounded. I think this is not unlike Elvis. The posse surrounding the star want to take care of their man. Elvis didn't demand all the trappings. He was a simple small town boy. Obama didn't demand the pimped out plane. Some staffer thought it would be cool. Well, sonny, it is not cool. It is over the top, unnecessary and sends the wrong message.
Wise up. Stop being silly.
The War Criminals in the White House
Lately, I have had lots of random thoughts regarding the campaign, but nothing compelling enough to sit down at the computer and compose a post. The weather has been good in the Northwest and there are many more productive outlets available out of doors. In fact, I am about to head out for a midday bike ride, but wanted to take a moment to rant before I hit the road and allow the endorphins to wash away the negative energy.
Yesterday's New York Times Book Review had a long piece on The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, by Jane Mayer. The book, from the review, captures the tale of how Cheney and his side-kick Addington, hijacked the American Constitution and authorized, with the naive and willing complicity of Bush and Gonzales, the use of torture.
If one great reason exists to elect a Democrat to the White House, it may be the opportunity to charge several Bush administration officials with criminal conduct. Several of them have been put on notice that they should be cautious about traveling abroad. They are easily subject to being charged with War Crimes in other jurisdictions. Domestically, they have violated the law. The Justice Department, under a Democratic President, must investigate their transgressions and bring charges, if the evidence so warrants. I believe it will.
Unfortunately, I believe that Bush, before he leaves the White House, will pardon several members of his administration for these alleged crimes. Wanna bet?
Yesterday's New York Times Book Review had a long piece on The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, by Jane Mayer. The book, from the review, captures the tale of how Cheney and his side-kick Addington, hijacked the American Constitution and authorized, with the naive and willing complicity of Bush and Gonzales, the use of torture.
If one great reason exists to elect a Democrat to the White House, it may be the opportunity to charge several Bush administration officials with criminal conduct. Several of them have been put on notice that they should be cautious about traveling abroad. They are easily subject to being charged with War Crimes in other jurisdictions. Domestically, they have violated the law. The Justice Department, under a Democratic President, must investigate their transgressions and bring charges, if the evidence so warrants. I believe it will.
Unfortunately, I believe that Bush, before he leaves the White House, will pardon several members of his administration for these alleged crimes. Wanna bet?
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