Idea exchange

This is a bit of a rambling talk, but if you stick with it you will see an amazing design for a city and hear a great engineering joke about a tree:




The fact that this city of the future is being built in China, not America, tells me that America has abandoned greatness in the Bush years.

I hate to see a dream deficit.

Intense ad

This is the best political ad I've seen in 2008:



I think it speaks truthfully and without the usual tools of deception (cringe-music, smug voice, and palette tricks), which in this case are totally unnecessary.

When you can tell a simple truth you are in an enviable position. Reagan understood this much.

Reflections on Obama

The campaign of Barak Obama is often portrayed, within and without, as a movement. I usually bristle at this description because it is missing rather important elements.

Think of Martin Luther King and the American racial equality movement and ask yourself whether I speak truly when I say that a movement has three parts:

1. A leader.
2. A population which recognizes its chains
3. A population which perceives a hope of escape from them

It is not enough for a leader to speak vaguely of Hope without identifying the chains and pointing to the exit. It is not enough for a leader to speak dully of audacity without championing an action.

So far the Obama movement is just a rudderless hope floating on buoyant nostalgia. Tides take such "movements" out to sea where they become indistinguishable from the turmoil of the brine.

There is one dark chain that binds us all, just as there is a new dawn to face. A movement must use moral persuasion to draw attention to the new dawning, rather than despair over the chains. This the the moral of the Statue of Liberty story.

There is more to Love than life.
There is more to Hope than audacity.
There is more to change than rhetoric.

If this is to be a true movement, rather than a "cult of personality", then it must embrace steps two and three. A movement goes nowhere with only "the One", at least nowhere worthwhile.

I am decidedly not the person I have been waiting for.

Who is Barry Soetoro?

Is Barak Obama illegally on the presidential ballot?

Eligibility challenge part 1

Eligibility challenge part 2

They seem to have gone off the deep end over at No Quarter, but the Associated Press seems to have confirmed a piece of evidence in their story.

I sez it is better to know the truth of the matter before the convention rather than after it. I also sez it smells like a Republican fraud, but one should not ignore evidence no matter how unappreciated.

A new group forms

In response to Cindy Sheehan's challenge of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's seat, a new group of concerned Republicans has crossed the aisle to endorse Ms. Pelosi in the race.

Traitor Joe

When Lieberman betrayed Connecticut democrats to further his personal agenda, Harry Reid peed on Connecticut democratic voters wishes, and I have been regretting his weakness ever since.

Recently, for instance, Joe Lieberman has seeking the spotlight by bashing candidate Obama with McCain talking points (see here).

When is too much enough?

If Harry Reid publicly called Joe out, then going forward his ungrateful backstabbing would carry less weight because it could be cast as petty revenge. If, however, no vile deed goes unpunished, Harry will add credibility to his mounting party betrayals.

Why not hand Joe's Senate committee assignments to someone up for reelection, or promise them publicly to someone like Tom Allen of Maine?

Is Reid going to allow this ticking bomb to tick through the whole election?

Ou est le anti-Christ

You know politics and/or religion are getting out of hand in the US when people are looking for the anti-Christ in the opposition.

Robert Dreyfuss says that McCain could be the anti-Christ:

Exhibit A

John McCain's campaign, in an ad called "The One", hints that Obama is the anti-Christ:

Exhibit B

Who is the real anti-Christ and who is the imposter?

Maybe to be safe everyone should vote for Ralph Nader?

But what if he's the anti-Christ and this is all part of his cunning plan to deceive everyone?

Drat that tricky devil!

Biting the Hilton that feeds you

This is Jon Stewart at his best, taking a look at campaign messages and the politics of leafy, bitter greens:



ADDENDUM:

Paris Hilton decided to respond to the McCain add which portrayed she and Obama as celebrities:

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

I guess that's what you get when you bash the daughter of a large campaign donor.

A snake called Mobil

The idea of a national park seems to be to create a place "unspoiled" by human activity. That humans, if given the chance, would take a Paradise and turn it into a sprawling industrial zone seems like the story of Eden with a new apple and a new snake. So, I thought that perhaps a fire-and-brimstone sermon might be in order.

Here goes...


Man is contaminated with sin-ah.
He walks in sin-ah.
And in this siiiiinful state he corrupts that which is holy-ah
That which is con-se-crated-ah,
that which is pure and good-ah,
that which was made by God's hands.

ANWR comes from God and the land teems with life-ah.
Snooow is not enough to drive out that life-ah.
Deep frost, perma-frost, cannot freeze out that life-ah.
There are elk in herds, and waters full of fish and seal-ah.

When the light of God reaches into that cold place don't it call out the black and grizzly bears-ah?
Don't it call out the moose and lynx-ah?
Don't it call out the Elk and wolves-ah?
Don't it call out the falcons and the eagles now?
Don't it call out the musk-oxen, now?

Well? So what?
[quitely] By his works you shall know him.
[quietly] Isn't that right?
[with fire] ANWR is a holy place!


And when man, whose mind is corrupted by greed starts drilling there a change will come-ah.
Oh yes!
A change like that which took place in the garden of Eden. Oh yes!
Man will bring sin into a holy place. Yes!
Man will bring pollution and raise monuments of ugly to profane that place. Oh yes!

That's why we have to protect this holy place-ah.
We need to prove to ourselves and to our children,
that as low as we have sunk-ah, we will sink no more.

As looow as we have sunk, when businessmen grind good people down-ah.
As looow as we have sunk, when the media thinks the Truth is a small thing, now.
As looow as we have sunk, when you can walk the streets on Sunday and don't hear nobody calling out His name!

We need to start to turn things around, now.
We need to keep a place where God can look without disgust-ah.
We need to keep a place where God feels appreee-ciaaaa-Ted for his works-ah.
His heavenly works-ah!
His divine works-ah!

How come we can keep a pyramid but not a shrine of God's creation?
How come we can keep a wall in China but not a treasure that God made?

Because we are weak-ah!
Because we corrupt that which is holy and make holy that which is man-made-ah.
Because we have eyes to see the light and keep them closed-ah.
Because we have ears to hear the word and pay no mind-ah.
Because we have mouths to praise God but use them for lies-ah.

What brings us to Anwar but greed-ah?
Greed for oil. Yes sir.
What brought us to Iraq bug greed-ah?
Greed for oil. Yes sir.

Are we going to give ourselves to temptation again?
Are we going to shrug and say, "It's alright"?
Or are we gonna call on Jesus' name and saaaaay, Saaaaay-ah
God-ah!
Prince of peace-ah!
Holy spirit and mother of God-ah!
Deliver us from evil-ah,
and lead us not into temptation-ah!

I can feeeeeel the Lord in this roooooom, Now.
Oh yes!
The heavenly spirit is stroong now.
Oh yes!
Raise up your arms, now.
Raise them!
Raise them up!

Can you feel the Holy Spirit-ah?
Can you feel the Holy Spirit trying to get through to yoooou-now?
Let him in!
Don't shut him out, now!
Let him in, now!

Praise Jesus!
Thank you Jesus!
Thank you Jesus for the Alaskan Wildlife National Refuge-ah!
Praaaaaise your name!
Thank you Jesus for this gift of which we are not worthy.
Oh no!
There are men working right now-ah,
spending Aaaaaawll their time-ah,
I say spending all their time trying to steal your gift right now from the rest of us.
Please Jesus!
Please, reach down and heal these sickly men-ah.
Place your hands upon them and let them see the heavenly light right nooooow-ah.
Let them open up their eyes to the glory you have creeee-ate-ed-ah.
Let them hear with their own ears the shriek of a falcon in the skies-ah.
Let them see with their own eyes the glory of the sea against the mountains, now.
Heal them Lord-ah.
Lead them awaaay from temp-tay-shun.
Heal them Oh! Lord! Yes-ah!
Heal them that they may live in peace and happiness-ah.
That they may give thanks for what they already have,
instead of always looking for more from the rest of us-ah.
Lord have mercy.
Lord Jesus save us from these men-ah.
Save and protect us from these men-ah.

Now, brothers and sisters, the Lord don't need money to work his miracles, but you know that this congregation is flesh and blood. The Lord is strong here and he gives us strength, but we need to take up a collection now to sweep these men aside. I want you to dig-down into your wallet and show your faith in Jesus now. I want you to take out the largest bill you have, oh yes, the largest bill you have and show your faith in Jesus. He's gonna tell me how and you're going to provide the way.

Hallelujah!





ps - Last night I watched a movie about the life of MarJoe Gortner (MarJoe).

pps - If you follow the "show your faith in Jesus now" link above you might discover that ANWR is not the fertile Eden I portrayed. It is actually more like a place of rugged beauty that inspires awe because the struggle of life over environment is understood with a glance. Can I help it if the Holy Spirit moved me in mysterious ways?

200,000

One good reason to elect Barak Obama is that he can do this:



And John McCain cannot:



The ability to inspire others is not a superficial talent in the hands of one that would be president.

The horse's mouth, lips, and tongue

Typically politicians say they were "taken out of context" when confronted with hypocritical statements issued from their own lips. Alternatively, they sometimes "shoot the messenger", so to speak.

It is not hard to predict which trail the McCain camp will hike when more people see this video:

McDull

The McCain camp seems to be trying to pre-empt favorable coverage of Obama by constantly whining to the press about how unfair Obama's coverage is.

I think that Stephen Colbert does a good job of explaining why that is, during the Staycation segment of the following clip:



Perhaps Mr. McCain should try a wardrobe "malfunction"? That seemed to work for Janet Jackson!

A reminder

Sometimes a piece of art can change your perspective, modify your outlook. Here is a simple idea, set to music, and carried out well. Maybe, if we're all lucky, the black-hearted machine-men that are ruining America and taking the planet with them will encounter it and the tiniest speck of humanity will spot their grinch-like hearts and change them.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Seems sensible to me

Why should the U.S. Congress take up the articles of impeachment proposed by Dennis Kucinich?

Imagine if Americans were reminded that the president Bush told us that Iraq had a nuclear weapons program and was working closely with terrorists, while he now asserts that Iran has a nuclear weapons program and is working closely with terrorists.

Imagine if Americans had a chance, at long last, to see the American Constitution honored in Washington D.C.

Here is an interview with Dennis Kucinich discussing the role he hopes his legislation will play:

The case for war was based on fraud

An Inconvenient Al

Al Gore gave a speech recently to the Daughters of the American Revolution in which he challenged Americans to go 100% renewable within 10 years:




Here is a link to We Can Solve It, which Mr. Gore mentions.

Juxtaposed against any recent speech by the president Bush it puts Ralph Nader's quadrennial claims in doubt. There would have been a dramatic difference between Bush and Gore.

EconomiJon

Jon Stewart analyzes the current economic woes...

Florida

As the president Bush uses skyrocketing oil and gas prices to hand out more gifts to his rich oil buddies, particularly promoting off-shore drilling, something occurs to me.

Florida doesn't want off-shore drilling and for obvious reasons. Oil sludge on white sand beaches, and derricks in the view, make for less attractive beaches and less tourism.

So, why doesn't Obama announce he'll immediately reinstate the executive order the president Bush over-turned?

He can then challenge McCain to do the same and force him to be wishy-washy on an issue Floridians take a keen interest in.

It'd be nice to see a little offense out of the Senator from Illinois.

Google News

The pictures that get paired up with Google News headlines are often odd matches, but I thought this one was especially odd. I noticed it today in the health section.

Instant Messaging

The thrust of John McCain's presidential propoganda seems to be that he thinks president Bush is wrong, but that his policies should be maintained.

Isn't that akin to arguing the captain of the Titanic was wrong, but that his speed, timing, and direction were wise actions to be emulated?

Another democratic nail in the rule of law's coffin

This Bush-pandering FISA bill that just passed the Senate marks democrats like Ms. Pelosi and Barak Obama as betrayers of the rule of law:


Details here


The American people gave Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid a clear mandate to end the war in Iraq and punish the law breaking of the Bush administration, but they have decided to forge on with a plan of endless appeasement that is sickening to behold. America is turning into a banana republic led by criminals and seems to be swirling the drain.

Maybe we need to start tarring and feathering cowardly politicians again?

How much proof do you need?

For years climate scientists have been telling us the earth is warming due to man-introdued greenhouse gasses. They told us the global average temperatures would start rising and it did. They created climate models that predicted extreme water conditions, more pronounced droughts and more violent storms. These things have been coming to pass.

They warned the polar ice was melting, and that as it melted the reflective ice would be replaced with heat-absorbing darker water and that this would create a "feedback loop" which would accelerate the pace of the warming.

Scientists are now saying...

"It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.

Source"

Making predictions based upon observations is what you'd expect from theories that are reliable.

Even more than that the basic science boils down to this...

Carbon is dark, like coal or tar, and like them it absorbs heat well. You can confirm this by walking barefoot on sunny pavement and contrasting that by walking barefoot on sunny cement.

What these Exxon/Mobil hirelings are trying to confuse is that elementary science. You can expose the silliness of their arguments by taking your shoes off at any sunny parking lot near you. You can also think about Venus if it is nighttime. Venus is further from the sun than Mercury, yet hotter. It is so because it has an atmosphere in a state which scientists refer to as "run away global warming".

Time is short and as humans squabble over the last vestiges of a lifestyle that is killing us, a much larger problem goes unnoticed. It can only be addressed with international unity of purpose. It can only be addressed when governments tax that which generates carbon to fund that which does not. While I fear nuclear power for its waste and meltdowns and proliferation of dangerous weaponry, I prefer it to planet-wide destruction and am willing to support it because it doesn't put carbon in the atmosphere.

I will also support wind power and solar power and any other project that generates power without carbon.

This must be a priority. The evidence says so.

Neil Young

Along with Bruce Springstein and the Dixie Chicks, Neil Young will be remembered by me as an artist that spoke out unequivocally about the abuses of the president Bush.

This video begins, "Let's impeach the president for lying":



Here is a link to a Billboard interview with Mr. Young:

Bernard Shakey

Blackwater

What do you suppose would happen if some state hostile to the U.S., say Iran, were to use a sovereign fund to hostilely take-over ownership of Blackwater?

I do believe Blackwater is going to be the problem that keeps on giving.

By Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, USA (Retired)

This report tells the largely untold human story of what happened to detainees in our custody when the Commander-in-Chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture. This story is not only written in words: It is scrawled for the rest of these individuals' lives on their bodies and minds. Our national honor is stained by the indignity and inhumane treatment these men received from their captors.

The profiles of these eleven former detainees, none of whom were ever charged with a crime or told why they were detained, are tragic and brutal rebuttals to those who claim that torture is ever justified. Through the experiences of these men in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, we can see the full scope of the damage this illegal and unsound policy has inflicted - both on America's institutions and our nation's founding values, which the military, intelligence services, and our justice system are duty-bound to defend.

In order for these individuals to suffer the wanton cruelty to which they were subjected, a government policy was promulgated to the field whereby the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice were disregarded. The UN Convention Against Torture was indiscriminately ignored. And the healing professions, including physicians and psychologists, became complicit in the willful infliction of harm against those the Hippocratic Oath demands they protect.

After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.

The former detainees in this report - each of whom is fighting a lonely and difficult battle to rebuild his life - require reparations for what they endured, comprehensive psycho-social and medical assistance, and even an official apology from our government.

But most of all, these men deserve justice as required under the tenets of international law and the United States Constitution.

And so do the American people.

More...
And More...

Why doesn't this matter to "Law and Order" Republicans?

In what ways does this abuse make the US safer?

Can we fight for democracy abroad and let it lapse at home?

McSame

One thing I'll say for YouTube is that it is getting harder and harder for politicians to be outright full-throated hypocrites without getting caught.

The I-word for POTUS

On Tuesday, June 8th, 2008 Representative Dennis Kucinich introduced 35 articles of impeachment against the president Bush.

Details here

It seems long overdue, particularly with presidential pardons and lessons not learned in Iraq.

Hedges

Christopher Hedges has a new book out called Collateral Damage which tries to make war "real" for our TV-obsessed culture. Christopher has been a reporter for a long time and covered war zones for a long time and seems to have an earnestness in his message for mankind. He hinted at this in his previous book, I don't believe in Atheists, when he said the world would survive if People stopped believing in God, but not if they stopped believing in Sin (to paraphrase).

War is not a moral "slippery slope" so much as it is a mosh pit of depravity to be leapt into.

You can read an article by Christopher called, "What it really means when America goes to war" to get a sense of the work.

Given Christopher's background I expect it to provide a human touch to war's gloss. We need that badly, and I am reminded of this every time I watch the toothy shellac-heads playing journalists on TV.

War is not a game, or a sport, or lowest of all entertainment. It is sometimes necessary, but always evil and it brings out the worst in our best. Unfortunately the converse is not true and our worst are sinking down.

Lewis Black Attack

Wet that whistle and ring that bell

Here is my attempt at a song which can be sung at an anti-war protest rally. I went for simple and churchy. I also went for lyrics that put a little personal responsibility into the mix.


The lyrics are...

If we don't bring them home, they will stay.
If we don't bring them home, they will stay.
If we don't bring them home, they will stay and stay.
Let's bring them home, bring them home, bring them home.


We've been stuck in Iraq, far too long.
We've been stuck in Iraq, far too long.
We've been stuck in Iraq, with no plan to get back.
Let's bring them home, bring them home, bring them home.


Here is the melody (MP3 format)

Download

It starts on middle C.

A song that stays like a US soldier in Iraqi

The latest delegate odds

Now that Oregon and Kentucky have spoken, it is time to update the delegate math...

Barak Obama has 1656 pledged delegates and 306super delegates for a total of 1962delegates.

Hillary Clinton has 1498 pledged delegates and 279 super delegates for a total of 1777 delegates.

Democratic candidates need 2026 delegates to win the nomination.
Obama therefore needs 64 more delegates (1962 + 64 = 2026).
Hillary needs 249 more delegates (1681 + 249 = 2026).

There are 302 available delegates. Obama needs 21.19% of them and Hillary needs 82.45% of them.

Hillary says she is staying the course, so it is on to Montana and South Dakota.

Source: CNN Delegates 2008

Hamas as victim

When a Grad Katyusha rocket fired by Hamas lands in an Israeli shopping mall and injures 90 people why isn't that news?

The Western media has become one-sided in its' portrayal of violence with respect to Gaza, painting a simplistic view of Israelis as oppressors and Palestinians as victims even when Hamas targets civilians.

Can you imagine what the U.S. response would be if Canada fired a rocket into a mid-western shopping mall?

And yet the Israelis' respond with little-more than precision strikes.

It is a safe bet that if a Palestinian civilian is harmed in response to these acts of war it will be deemed news and possibly an outrage.

The new numbers

Hillary blew Barak Obama out in West Virginia hitting the target of 66% of the vote, which is a remarkable total.

But, Barak did win some delegates and that changes the math...

Hillary has 1,444 pledged delegates and 273 super delegates for a total of 1717 delegates. She now needs 307 of the remaining 432 delegates to win. That is 71% of the total.

Barak has 1,600 pledged delegates and 282 super delegates for a total of 1882 delegates. He now needs 142 of the remaining 432 delegates to win. That is 32.87% of the total.

You will notice that Hillary clobbered Barak in West Virginia and yet the bar becomes even higher for her going forward (from 66% to 71%). Every little drop in Obama's delegate bucket makes Hillary's odds worse, but all the votes are not yet counted.

Next up are Kentucky and Oregon.

Errol Morris' new film

In the pudding

Due to rising oil prices, gas prices, food prices, and unemployment rates, people in Maine have been seeking welfare in greater numbers (up 10% in 2008).

This means Republicans are now responsible for increasing the size of government, spying on Americans, over-turning state initiatives, embroiling us in a costly foreign occupation, and increasing the welfare roles.

The chasm between what Republicans spout and what they deliver grows deep and wide.

More delegate math

Now that North Carolina and Indiana have spoken, it is time to update the delegate math...

Barak Obama has 1584 pledged delegates and 252 super delegates for a total of 1836 delegates (Source).

Hillary Clinton has 1415 pledged delegates and 266 super delegates for a total of 1681 delegates (Source).

John Edwards has 18 pledged delegates.

Democratic candidates need 2024 delegates to win the nomination.
Obama therefore needs 188 more delegates (1836 + 188 = 2024).
Hillary needs 343 more delegates (1681 + 343 = 2024).

3535 delegates awarded so far (1836 + 1681 + 18).
There are 4049 total delegates (Source).
There are, then, 514 delegates remaining.

There are 221 pledged delegates left, ranked in descending delegate order below:

Puerto Rico has 55 delegates and votes on June 7th
Oregon has 52 delegates and votes on May 20th
Kentucky has 51 delegates and votes on May 20th
West Virginia has 28 delegates and votes on May 13th
Montana has 16 delegates and votes on June 3rd
South Dakota has 15 delegates and votes on June 3rd
Guam has 4 delegates and votes on May 3rd

This means there are 293 super delegates remaining (514 - 221)

Now that we have the updated info we can look at the updated odds.

Obama needs 188 of the 514 remaining delegates, so he needs 36.58% (an improvement of 6.8% since last check) of the total to win the nomination (188/514).

Hillary needs 343 of the 514 remaining delegates, so she needs 66.73% (a drop in the odds of 8.06% since last check) of the total to win the nomination (343/514).

Hillary has never achieved those kinds of pledged delegate numbers in this race. The closest she has come to that is in American Samoa where she grabbed 2 of the 3 delegates for 66.66%.

She is finished whether or not she admits it.

To this point Barak Obama has spent $158,509,856 to defeat Hillary Clinton (Source).

To this point Hillary Clinton has spent $108,862,564 to not defeat Barak Obama (Source)

That means that democratic candidates have spent $267,372,420 to choose a nominee.

That's incredible, isn't it?

From the horse's mouth

I am tired of people saying they "misspoke" and getting a free pass.

Think and hope

Hillary's 3am ad projected the message, "Fear to vote for Obama". Her late Pennsylvania ad seems designed to scare Americans about the past:




Here is Bill Clinton speaking about that kind of message:

Philistines in a tube

A philistine is "a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values".

Such people apparently congregate in Washington D.C., as this journalistic experiment by Gene Weingarten conveys. He places a world-class violinist (Joshua Bell) in a subway with a Stradivarius and has him play for 45 minutes to see if people will notice:

Pearls Before Breakfast


Eastern religious figures chide followers to live in the moment and I suppose this experiment illustrates why we should try to notice the beauty that sometimes surrounds us. Anyone that stopped and listened would have had a fine start to their day, but most of us walk right on by and fail to notice the pearls cast in our paths. We gripe, perhaps, about the pains in our feet that they cause.

This episode seems to illustrate a symptom of a broader problem. Could such people ever recognize a garden of Eden if they passed through the center of it? Without even the sense to notice Beauty, how will our lives become beautiful?

Here is a link to Chaconne, played by Viviane Hagner. That sets a nice mood as you read the article.


ADDENDUM: You can listen to the full Bell performance here , that is, if you've got the time.

New DNC add

I don't see too many political adds that I like, but this is one of them.



It is nice to see content take center stage for once.

Hey ho U.F.O.

ABC News mentioned more unexplained bright lights in the South-Western US, this time in Arizona:

Phoenix 4/22/08

This wouldn't be the first time folks in Phoenix have seen strange lights in the sky, and folks in Stephenville Texas have seen them too:

Riders in the sky

The report I saw had zero follow up, but mentioned that pilots saw the lights too.

What 'til Dick Cheney hears about this one. He might put out an edict to blow up all lights.

Jon asks...

Jon Stewart asks, "What's wrong with a president that is elite?"



He also puts the recent Obama "bitterness" comments in the context.

Philly cadidate Q&A in 10 parts...

Here is a perspective on the Q&A that I cannot resist quoting:

As heckling erupted at the debate's end, Gibson smiled wanly and said, "The crowd is turning on me." Within three hours of the debate's end, the ABC News website had received over 7,600 comments about the evening's events. The overwhelming majority were negative.

Stephanopoulos and Gibson deserve every bit of opprobrium being thrown their way. They delivered a noxious blend of smear, innuendo and diversion.

But it looks like the same old political junk food no longer satisfies an electorate hungry for real change.

The dumbest debate in America

Here is what Josh Marshall had to say as the Q&A progressed:

Debate blog log

Zeitgeist

Watch Zeitgeist (free) and you might find yourself wondering...

Is all the world a prison and are all its' international bankers psychopathic personalities?

Let's go shopping

Click here to play

More Clinton than Clinton

One thing I like to say about Barak Obama is that he is more Clinton than Clinton. His message, his style, and his politics remind me a great deal of Bill Clinton.

There is one other thing, too, that reminds me of Bill. When attacked he reflects and then comes back with a strong, direct, well presented case defending himself and attacking his attackers (in this case the two companions in campaigns, Hillary and John).

Here is a short clip of what makes Obama such a formidable candidate:



I always thought Bill was at his best when he was being confronted.

Won't you carry me a-waaaay

With support for the war continually shrinking, the only people general Petraeus, president Bush, and John McCain are fooling with their current Pollyanna talk are themselves, the US Congress, and a dwindling supply of Fox News viewers.

That's it.

I was outside last week and I heard a jet plane overhead. I looked up but there was nothing there. The jet had already flown halfway across the sky but the noise was just reaching me now. I found it and tracked it with my eyes for a while and it occurred to me that the plane was a good metaphor for neocon control of Washington. Most of the country has moved on from their unpopular and ineffective ways, but they persist as so much noise radiating from an empty place, and from the past.

On Thursday there will be more noise and carrion calls but the country has moved on. They will be ineffective because the lies don't work when credibility is gone. If the president Bush wasn't so oblivious to shame he'd realize how pathetic he is.

On Markets

As I watch "the Fed" scrambling to fix the current credit crisis a thought occurs to me. I wonder if providing credit to the characters that made many bad decisions is chasing good money after bad. I also wonder if such credit will be used to create jobs in China rather than in America.

It used to be that the economy slumped and credit flowed and jobs were created and there was more money to spend.

Are we at the point now, though, that the economy slows and credit flows but the infrastructural investments strengthen our competitors? To put it another way, is our tax money making China even more competitive?

How exactly does "the Fed" justify bailing James E. Cayne out of his Bear Stearns losses to strengthen America's economy?

If "the Fed" allowed me to get the 2.5% interest rate to refinance my house, rather than giving it to J.P. Morgan to gamble with, I could save myself $88,268.40 overall, or $2942.28 per year. This figure is even more generous than the Bush tax-credit, and it is a far longer lasting stimulus to the economy. From an investment point of view, I have never missed a payment and I'd be offering collateral. From what I gather in talking to people, many American homeowners stand to see gains far exceeding my own.

What makes J.P. Morgan a better investment than your average Moe?

Lobbyists, no doubt.

On ignornace

There is more than one way to be ignorant. One way is to fail to achieve your goals through the application of ignorant actions. Another way is to use wise actions to achieve ignorant goals. This is the type of ignoramus that sits in the white house today.

Conventional wisdom offers some guidance with the addages, "Look before you leap", and, "Be careful what you wish for."

But, one of my favorite quotes is, "Common sense isn't all that common".

Why?

Because Man is attracted to much that is harmful. It is a flaw in the design and something we must keep in mind as we act. The architects of the US Constitution knew this and it is why they designed our government to check and to balance Power. The architects of the Abrahamic Religions knew this and it is why the story of Adam and Eve is preserved through the centuries.

A democracy, when it operates in such a way as to reflect the will of the People, is an effective way to weed out the bad actors. Selfish actions by leaders leads to widespread discontent and opposition...in a healthy democracy. We have the widespread discontent in America but not the opposition. Democrats were swept in with a mandate to change the friggin' course only to announce that "Impeachment" is "off the table" and the "Power of the Purse" will not be used to end the war.

That is historically called "loyal opposition" and it is what I suspect troubles Ralph Nader enough to run every 4 years. He takes "a pox on both your houses" approach, and I am tempted but not swayed by him

Why?

He doesn't seem to build a movement between election cycles. We don't have instant runoff voting, the only way to break the two-party lockdown. And, once you've peed in the pool nobody is going to swim with you - in other words, he would be a president without supporters, a leader without followers.

It is tempting to believe that the force of your own moral example is enough to change the world. I'm not so sure people are capable of fundamentally changing. They have been yelling, "Crucify him!", rather than giving thanks for millennia. People only pretend to honor the Prophets, because living like them requires more love than exists in the typical human heart.

At least that's the way I see it.

Trickle-down

I like to think of good and evil as seeds planted in all men's hearts, as pods inside us that will grow roots and spread if nurtured.

I like to think of the societal rules under which we live as a type of fertilizer for these hidden seeds. In societies in which facts are valued more than opinions good is nurtured and evil withers (meteorology replaces virgin sacrifices). In societies in which Justice is valued more than punishment goodness grows and evil weakens (courts replace witch-hunts).

Conversely, when you have a US president continually promoting torture it is a type of cultural fertilizer which makes evil weeds from evil seeds mature into evil deeds. Justice is then perverted into punishment, Beauty into a prostitute, tolerance into bigotry, knowledge into opinion, intelligence into ideology, and community into angry mobs.

And... soon enough evil weeds begins to spread in our communities, in our bedrooms, and in our schools.

As the weeds gain strength they begin to choke off the plants which bear fruit. Voices of reason fall on deaf ears (global warming gets ignored), Voices of compassion fall on deaf ears (Darfur gets ignored), Voices of humanity fall on deaf ears (Guantanamo gets ignored), Voices of Justice fall on deaf ears (Habeas Corpus gets tossed), and the eyes of men grow dull to Beauty (witness suburban sprawl).

Some version of this mental exercise has been put forth over the ages through Philosophy, through Religion, and through Art. The message is this:

Honor the light or live in darkness
Worship the good or be ruled by evil
Watch the garden or lose the fruit

In the Bush era the bees leave us.

The super-highway of progress

I sez, "Facts which conflict with ideology are not speed-bumps on the super-highway of progress."

I sez, "A raging civil war is not a "sectarian strife" speed-bump."

I sez, "The unjustified death of a US soldier is not a "regrettable sacrifice" speed-bump. It is a foolish waste of life and the result of morally corrupt leadership."

I sez, "Murdered Iraqi civilians are more than ingrates incapable of dining on our abundant harvest of Liberty."

Candidate McCain seems to hold many Utopian ideologies dear, including a free market fundamentalism that is more properly called unregulated bubble-economics (bubbles rise in warm wind and like to go, "Pop!"); and, after 7+ years of America "moving in the wrong direction" he continues to idolize the responsible ideologies.

Ideas might come from Republicans and Democrats but that doesn't mean Ideas are partisan. A capable leader must simply use what works and discard what doesn't. By definition, an ideologue is a follower not a leader. An ideologue will drown in a mud-puddle believing he can fly his way out. Look at Herr Bush flap, flap, flapping away and you can see your future with McCain in charge (all flap no flight).

We are winning the war.
You are going to get more chocolate.
Strife is a measure of success.
Less is more.

The Lord Gene

Gay scientists have been working hard to isolate the gene that turns ordinary people into Christians. For more information see this fascinating report:

glumbert - Gay scientists isolate Christian gene

The Wright Stuff?

I heard a lot about Obama's recent speech called, "A more perfect union", so today I searched for and found the video.

Full text

George Lakoff is cuckoo for the speech. You can read his comments here.

Since deciding that I prefer Barak to Hillary I haven't felt conflicted. Hillary seems like she's angrily imploding while equating attacks against Obama with making the case for herself. It is not the same thing at all, otherwise my own criticism of the president Bush would qualify me as your president.

The way of the vegemite

Here is a 40-minute talk by Dr. Colin Campbell, author of "The China Study".

T. Colin Campbell Presentation

I have been mostly adopting a vegemite diet and so far it is going well. I say mostly because I am intent not to be a fanatic about this. Here is my outlook:

• I have meat in the freezer that I'm not going to throw out since an animal died to provide it. 

• If I'm going to do this, then one key is good recipes. I don't know how to cook vegemite dishes, so I've been perusing vegetarian cooking magazines. That has provided an influx of  ideas.

• Thinking about food like this has turned out to add a lot of interest to meals. One success was  the idea of fixing a nice meal, to both try out new recipes and to illustrate that a change like this doesn't have to be a martyr's experience. On the menu were stir-fry turnovers and sage/pumpkin-balls with white wine and then desert (a chocolate-pie with date-nut crust).  I think that was a good idea. Everything looked, smelled and tasted good and I was full.

• Cheese is really good on a lot of things and that will be tough to eliminate, perhaps even impossible for me. I think I'll reduce the amount of cheese I eat by using Parmesan cheese grated on things, as well as a sprinkling of nutritional yeast. It is a quality vs. quantity approach.

• I have no desire to become a fanatic about my diet. Life is short and uncertain and there are times when I am going to consume animal protein (i.e. holidays, Super-Bowl parties,  weddings). I'll leave horror, guilt, and shame to the vegans.

• I'll steer away from the fake-meat products, which usually look unappetizing and invite comparison. I want to strive to make food that tastes good in-and-of itself. Vegetables have a lot of color and flavor and simple techniques like roasting or sautéing develops them further. I don't think there is any need to make "meat-like" dishes and I believe this is a self-defeating approach given my experience with a Tofu "hot-dog". Anything more disgusting than a hotdog will only be found in my trash bins.

• Having said that, though, I have found a few substitutes that I like. I prefer the taste of rice milk to soy milk, and like Nature's Gate brand. I like Morning Star "chicken" nuggets. I also like WholeSoy & Co.'s soy frozen yogurt. So, I am not going to be fanatical about avoiding substitutes either.

• I really like soup and I'm going to figure out some good ones. I saw a Tuscan bean and green soup that looks good and French Onion soup ought to be possible.

So far this approach is working out well-enough for me. I have had a pizza with friends here, and burger at a BBQ joint there, but on the whole I have reduced the animal protein in my diet by a large magnitude. 

Simplicity Itself

Politicians are great at generating confusion when campaigning. Here is what I intend to keep in mind come November.

This is an election to pry power from the finger-tips of people that have abused it. If I live to be 140 years old I expect to never see economic, moral, and foreign policy failures of this magnitude, duration, and cost.

In short, I will vote for a gassy mule with a powder-horn in it's butt over a Republican in 2008, and that goes double for one so misguided as to see success when he looks at 4,000 deaths, 5 years, and no political progress.

Where in the world is Dick Cheney?

Vice president Dick Cheney's current tour du war includes stops in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, and Turkey. You might ask yourself, "Self. What is Dick doin'?"

DEBKAfile, an Israeli-aligned intelligence-reporting site, reports that:

Our military, Washington and Gulf sources report that US Vice President Dick Cheney is again talking about possible US military action to shut down Iran’s covert nuclear program.

Full Details

I know it is late in the president Bush's term, but those incompetent violence-addicts need watching.

Dick

The past sez...

"Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service when it is violating all His laws. Our passions, ambitions, avarice, love and resentment, etc., possess so much metaphysical subtlety and so much overpowering eloquence that they insinuate themselves into the understanding and the conscience and convert both to their party."

- John Adams in a letter to Thomas Jefferson -

Reinhold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952), 21-22

The present illustrates...

Raddatz: Two-third of Americans say it’s [Iraq war] not worth fighting.

Cheney: So?

Raddatz: So? You don’t care what the American people think?

Cheney: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. There has, in fact, been fundamental change and transformation and improvement for the better. That’s a huge accomplishment.

-Excerpt from an interview between Martha Raddatz, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, and vice president Dick Cheney in Oman. -

Source

I sez...

Shouldn't someone with Dick Cheney's record have more humility? 

Shouldn't a public servant in a democracy have a higher regard for the will of the people?

Dick Cheney reminds me more and more of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il.

Delegate math

Barak Obama has 1413 pledged delegates and 208 super delegates for a total of 1621 delegates.

Hillary Clinton has 1242 pledged delegates and 237 super delegates for a total of 1479 delegates.

John Edwards has 18 pledged delegates.

Democratic candidates need 2024 delegates to win the nomination.
Obama therefore needs 403 more delegates (1621 + 403 = 2024).
Hillary needs 545 more delegates (1479 +545 = 2024).

3118 delegates awarded so far (1621 + 1479 + 18).
There are 4047 total delegates.
There are, then, 929 delegates remaining.

There are 566 pledged delegates left, ranked in descending delegate order below:

Pennsylvania has 158 delegates and votes on April 22nd
North Carolina has 115 delegates and votes on May 16th
Indiana has 72 delegates and votes on May 6th
Puerto Rico has 55 delegates and votes on June 7th
Oregon has 52 delegates and votes on May 20th
Kentucky has 51 delegates and votes on May 20th
West Virginia has 28 delegates and votes on May 13th
Montana has 16 delegates and votes on June 3rd
South Dakota has 15 delegates and votes on June 3rd
Guam has 4 delegates and votes on May 3rd

This means there are 363 super delegates remaining (929 - 566)

Now that we have the info we can look at the odds.

Obama needs 403 of the 929 remaining delegates, so he needs 43.38% of the total to win the nomination (403/929).

Hillary needs 545 of the 929 remaining delegates, so she needs 58.67% of the total to win the nomination (545/929).


Here are the places she garnered those kinds of pledged delegate numbers:

Hillary won 59.14% of the pledged delegates in Massassachusetts's (55 of 93).
Hillary won 59.91% of the pledged delegates in New York (139 of 232).
Hillary won 63.16% of the pledged delegates in Oklahoma (24 of 38).
Hillary won 66.66% of the pledged delegates in American Samoa (2 of 3).

Source

I cannot resist pointing out here that Democrats will be counting the votes in Guam, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa while ignoring those of Florida and Michigan.

God Talk

If you want to see someone reasonable discussing the athiest viewpoint, you can't do much better than this opening statement by Sam Harris:



This statement was part of a debate with Chris Hedges. You can view the full exchange here:

Truthdig discussion

Finally

Obama finally sat down with the Chicago press and answered all questions about Tony Rezko.

Details here


With that albatross flung off his neck I feel a lot better about candidate Obama.

So much so that I think I'll do a post shortly on delegate math and Hillary's predicament.

Determination

Here is a link to a video of Bill Moyers interviewing former journalist Sarah Chayes. She has been helping to rebuild Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban.

Hope is irrelevant

She seems like a remarkable woman and I admire her fortitude.

Woman in red

Vanessa Cariddi grew up in Maine and from a young age was captivated by opera. If you've ever traveled around rural Maine you'd know how improbable that was.

Knowing nothing about opera I will describe her voice as luscious. She appears in this video dressed in red and on the right:



Here is a link to her website: Vanessa Cariddi

I've seen enough of Hillary

I've decided that I've had enough of Hillary's campaign. She just drove me away with this bit of shameless, scorched-party groveling for votes:

"I think you'll be able to imagine many things Senator McCain will be able to say. He's never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002,"

Source: Clinton on her plane en route to Fort Worth from San Antonio.

Now I hope she loses in a rout.

ADDENDUM: So much for a Texas rout, but now Hillary has been caught exploiting racism.

Her desire to win now exceeds my desire to vote for her.

Whitewater too?

The worst-case scenario I can come up with for Democrats in 2008 goes something like this:

1. Obama locks up the nomination
2. The press suddenly realizes the Tony Rezko story (see here and here) is worth looking at after-all.
3. The trial becomes a circus, with Obama forced to testify.
4. John McCain plays the race card.
5. Al Sharpton rides in and kicks the hornets nest.

Maybe it is a good idea for Hillary not to concede the nomination after-all?

Jack Nicholson endorses Hillary

Here is a YouTube video of Jack Nicholson endorsing Hillary Clinton:

The one that got away...

As I watch the case of Roger Clemens unfold I am reminded of another public liar that got away. The one I am thinking of lied to the American people, the U.S. Congress, and our closest allies and the end result was another Vietnam.

On one hand, you have an aged and overweight pitcher sticking pharmaceuticals up his butt to extend his career, and on the other, casualties in the tens of thousands.

Which one finds room on Ms. Pelosi's table?

Turkish Invasion

Turkey has been attacking the Kurds in Northern Iraq:

Turks rolling along


The Kurds have managed to oversee one of the more stable areas of Iraq, probably because they hated Saddam Hussein so much (they were the "own people" in the sentence "He gassed his own people").

How will they view US inaction in the face of such an intrusion into the free and soverign, happy and virtuous, somewhat sandy Iraq?

What happens if the Turks mistake US soldiers for Kurds?

What happens if Iran decides to defend the Kurds?

What if the UN decides to send in peace-keeping troops (I know I'm being absurd)?

Isn't this story a little bit bigger than the attention it draws from the corporate media?

How much are the Kurds going to take?

Vegans

I mentioned earlier that I don't like the word "Vegan" and it's true. What I don't like is that vegan doesn't describe someone that eats a healthy diet, but rather a whole lifestyle.

Perhaps I should go with "plant eater", or the Latin version "plantaedere", or "herbivorous", or "vegemite"? Whatever the phrase it should identify someone that predominantly eats plants, but isn't going to say no to thanksgiving dinner with friends or proper superbowl fixin's.

I need a word that means adopting the food for its' health benefits without rigidity, while rejecting the vegan-culture.

I suppose Americans working for social change in the sixties who weren't interested in adopting hippie culture faced the same grammatical challenge. Society likes its' pigeon-holes. Either you are "anti-war" or a "hawk", and you're not expected to oppose dumb wars on their demerits without being pegged a dove.

C'est la vie.

Mission Accomplished?

In 2007 901 US soldiers died in Iraq. That is a 3.4% increase from 2006's 871 deaths (details here). There is also no foreseeable political progress being made (the ostensible reason for the escalation), Iraqis are neither safe nor free, and yet Osama still is.

However, the public is being sold on the idea that this constitutes a "success". It is clearly a marketing success, and one favoring John McCain, the presidential candidate with the most enthusiastic aspirations for escalating and extending our occupation.

Studying The China Study

I have been raised as a carnivore with a fondness for gravy. I enjoy bacon, and steaks, and pork chops, and lamb chops, and fried chicken, and brisket and pulled pork, and grilled salmon. I am sure that over a lifetime I am personally responsible for more than one barnyard's decimation. And I don't like the word vegan either.

But, I have been reading "The China Study" lately, a book about nutrition by T. Colin Campbell. It is a book which promotes a whole-grain, low-fat, vegetable based diet, the benefits of which include...

Living longer
Having more energy
Lowering blood cholesterol
Reversing heart disease
Preserving eyesight
Stronger bones
Avoiding impotence
Avoiding strokes
Prevention of kidney stones
Avoiding Alzheimer's
A lowered risk of prostate, breast, and other cancers
Avoiding arthritis
and it may help to prevent diabetes.

The evidence suppporting Dr. Campbell's findings is scientifically based, well presented, and startlingly clear. So much so, that I am reconsidering the way that I eat.

I am reminded of a passage from Plato's Gorgias, during which Socrates wishes to denounce oratory by comparing it with "cookery"...

"Cookery puts on the mask of medicine and pretends to know what foods are best for the body, and, if an audience of children or of men with no more sense than children had to decide whether a confectioner or a doctor is the better judge of wholesome or unwholesome foodstuffs, the doctor would unquestionably die of hunger. Now I call this sort of thing pandering and I declare that it is dishonourable - because it makes pleasure its aim instead of good, and I maintain that it is merely a knack and not an art because it has no rational account to give of the nature of the various things of which it offers. I refuse to give the title of art to anything irrational..."

Source: Gorgias

Why is it that desire and reason pull in opposite directions?

For now I am going to incorporate more vegetables and fruit into my diet and take things one meal at a time. I'll write about this book some more, and leave you with a handy link for more information:

The China Study

Singing Friday

Sung to the tune of Cocaine, by Eric Clapton

McCain

If you wanna end war you better not vote for; McCain
When Saddam is gone and you wanna fight on; McCain
It's no lie, It's no lie, It's no lie; McCain

If you wanna drop bombs, bombs on Iran; McCain
Don't forget this fact, we're still in Iraq; McCain
It's no lie, It's no lie, It's no lie; McCain

If you got bad news and wanna keep them blues; McCain
It's a pain in the ass all this expensive gas; McCain
It's no lie, It's no lie, It's no lie; McCain

He won't leave, He won't leave, He won't leave; McCain

U.M.

Mitt Out

Mitt Romney has decided to call it quits.

Details here
Read his speech here

Let's take a look at the math for the Republican race:

The total number of Republican delegates is 2,380
The total number of delegates awarded so far is 1,197
Therefore, there are 1,183 Republican delegates left

Republican candidates need 1,191 delegates to win

John McCain has 714 delegates
Therefore, John McCain needs 477 more delegates, or 40.32% of those remaining.

Mike Huckabee has 181 delegates
Therefore, Mike Huckabee needs 1,010 more delegates, or 85.38% of those remaining.

If all of Mitt Romney's delegates (286) should go to Mike Huckabee, then he will have 467 delegates.
Therefore, Mike would need 724 more delegates, or 61.20% of those remaining.

Ron Paul has 16 delegates.

I'll leave that math as an exercise for the reader

From JFK to GWB with love

Someone took one of the latter speeches of John F. Kennedy and set it against images which place the Bush years in context.




I think the speech was given at Columbia University shortly before Kennedy's murder, and is referred to as, "Speech on Secret Societies and Freedom of the Press".

His voice and his words still have the power to linger, specifically these for me:

"Even today there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its' arbitrary restrictions. Even today there is little value of insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it."

I'm just saying...

Mike Huckabee, the candidate, manages to wear his religion on his sleeve even more than his Mormon opponent. So on a day that he swept the south, I find it interesting that...

Tornadoes swept the south, killing at least 45


In the Bible God shows his displeasure via natural forces. So, if you're a Bible-believing Christian in "Huck's Army", then how do you reconcile these rare, winter, killer tornadoes with your enthusiasm for Huckabee?

Mike Huckabee won in Tennessee and tornadoes killed 24 there.
Mike Huckabee won in Arkansas and tornadoes killed 13 there.

Kentucky voters are leaning towards Huckabee (Survey USA).

I can't find a poll for Mississippi, so the case is incomplete.

Could God be trying to warn the faithful here, or is it a simple coincidence?

How does one know for sure?

ADDENDUM: Alabama, which Huckabee also won, is now under tornado watch.

ADDENDUM2: Alabama wound up one of the "worst hit states" joining Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Here are pictures of the devestation: BBC News

Storm Cloud Norman

In a January 23rd Wall Street Journal article Norman Podhertz has an argument with himself and defends the position that he was right all along about Iraq and somebody needs to bomb Iran. He argues...

"The upshot is that if Iran is to be prevented from becoming a nuclear power, it is the United States that will have to do the preventing, to do it by means of a bombing campaign, and (because "if we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long") to do it soon."

Source

Some of the assumptions in the piece are:

[*] It is the 2005 NIE (which corroborates his opinion) that is correct, not the 2007 NIE (which does not).

[*] There is only one solution to the problem of Iran and it involves dropping bombs on Iran. Every other idea is crap.

[*] The threats of Russia and China are irrelevant considerations.

[*] George W. Bush will get this one right (third time is the charm).

[*] Once the bombing is finished, Mission Accomplished. There will be no appetite or instrument for revenge.

[*] Our military doesn't have enough to do at present and would be delighted to escalate the conflict.

[*] Israel will escape the bombing our bombing is concerned about.

[*] All the other western nations need weathermen to know which way the wind blows.

[*] A democratic president, or John McCain, couldn't possibly be a match for Bush-administration competence.

[*] A tanking US economy, stretched thin by tax-cuts, corruption, and war, can survive an energy price hike.

It must be nice to live in a world where you are always right and every disaster serves as confirmation of your conceit.

Obama Super Tuesday Conundrum

What most unsettles me about Barak Obama is:

1. There seems a well-oiled hand guiding the love-fest and I don't know who that is. Here I am thinking about a "Business Roundtable" type organization (not angels or aliens). He has raised too much money for an unknown, garnered too many fawning press articles of adoration, and has too rapidly built an efficient political machine out of whole cloth. Bugs Bunny would say there is something that doesn't add up.

2. He has on a number of occasions used words and phrases which reinforce conservative ideology, for instance attacking Hillary over "mandates", praising Reagan, and so-on. Whatever Hillary's faults she doesn't attack the left, knowing to do so preconcedes the issue. Here's a very interesting take on this issue:

Freedom riders

3. The Obama campaign is committed to the democratic party only to the extent that it supports Mr. Obama: See here


What I like about Obama is that on Iraq he spoke up when it mattered and his speech stands up rather well to history:

October 2, 2002

What I don't like about Barak is where was his follow-through once he achieved Senatorial powers?

Who is this man and where does he want to go?

The most pronounced problem in America isn't that we haven't been left enough, or right enough, or center enough. It is that our leaders are too beholden to corporate string pullers to serve the common good. We can no longer implement an idea that works for everyone if corporate lobbyists tug their little strings.

Free-market fundamentalists would argue that unregulated capitalism is best for everyone. I sez, "Poppycock!"

I argue that Enron is one recent example of why that isn't so. I argue that executive pay packages are bilking owners of their earnings. I argue that Japan opened a car factory in Canada recently because Canada provides health care to their citizens (meaning health-insurance premiums are becoming a drag on our economy)

Are any of the candidates that remain going to cut some of those strings?

Is Obama?

That is what I'd be asking myself heading into the voting booth.

The debate

The democratic candidates have been whittled down to two, Obama and Hillary. Here they are in a debate which took place in Hollywood on 1/31/08:



Both Barak and Obama did very well swiping at Mitt Romney and the notion you need a CEO to run America (into the ground).

I thought Barak stumbled out of the gate and I am weary of his platitudes. I've never seen a candidate get such a free ride in all my life.

Hillary seems to be a candidate-by-rote. There is an automaton vibe in her coached gestures, smile, and answers.

What most interested me was the healthcare section of the debate.

Universal single-payer healthcare is cheaper, covers everybody, is employed successfully across the globe, and easy to understand. Canada has it and their economy is doing better than ours. It is too bad that neither candidate is willing to support it outright. Why not make the republican defend the mess we have now?

Barak says "special interests" a lot. Usually that is code for "unions". Is Obama fervently anti-union?

Hillary's healtcare "plan" was a disaster that we're still stuck with. Insurance was better and cheaper before politicians like her got involved. So why does she always bring it up as if we should be impressed?

Obama is fast on his feet. He stumbles a bit getting what he wants to say out, but his answers are usually steered in an intelligent direction. He got to the word "balance", as in balanced tax burden, when talking about funding his healthcare plan and that is something even people like Warren Buffet agree with.

There are a lot of things Hillary "would do", "when" that she "hasn't done", "now or then". As the president Bush has pillaged and plundered where was her outrage and thunder? Where was her opposition to the tax cuts, to the war, and on and on and on.

After all that talk about healthcare I have my doubts if either Obama or Hillary will be able to make anything better. The piecemeal approach they both talk about can be defeated on 1,000 fronts.

The point Wolf Blitzer wanted to hammer home and did was their plans require tax increases. What if either of them had talked about the savings that come from going to a universal single-payer healthcare system?

From and From

From the Constitution of the United States:

"No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law"

From the president Bush in response to a Law passed by Congress which forbids using federal funds to establish permanent US military bases in Iraq:

The executive branch shall construe such provisions in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President.

Source

This is a rather obvious illegality that even Ms. Pelosi seems to have noticed and I didn't think she noticed anything that mattered.