2010 Will Mark the End of the NASA Space Shuttle Program: Here’s to a Good NASA Year

The space shuttle fleet is scheduled for retirement in 2010, unless they extend the program a little longer so that there isn’t as much downtime between the Discovery’s final flight and the first operational flight of the Orion space vehicle. 

Here is the published schedule for the final five flights:

February 7—Space Shuttle Endeavour will “…deliver the final connecting node, Tranquility Node 3, and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the International Space Station.”

March 18—Space Shuttle Discovery will “…carry a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science racks that will be transferred to laboratories of the International Space Station.”

May 14—Space Shuttle Atlantis will “…will carry an integrated cargo carrier to deliver maintenance and assembly hardware, including spare parts for space station systems. In addition, the second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, a Mini Research Module, will be permanently attached to the bottom port of the Zarya module.”  This mission will be the final flight of the Atlantis.

July 29—Space Shuttle Endeavour will “…deliver an EXPRESS Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station.”  This mission will be the last one for the Endeavour.

September 16th—Space Shuttle Discovery will “…deliver the Express Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4), a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MLPM) and critical spare components to the International Space Station.”  This is the final scheduled mission for the space shuttle program. 

I hope all of these missions go off without a hitch.  I think it’s safe to say that if they lose another shuttle prior to the scheduled retirement of the fleet, they’ll ground the shuttles permanently and send the hardware up to the ISS by other means.

Two of the shuttles are being offered up as museum pieces; one museum has put in a request for the Endeavour that NASA is considering.

I hope everything goes off without a hitch.

$10,000 Reward for Killers of Salvation Army Major Offered: Killers Still on the Loose

A $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the two murderers who killed a Salvation Army major in front of his three children on Christmas Eve continues to grow.

So far there have been no arrests in this horrific crime.   Hopefully the police are closing in; it sounds like they’ve gotten some tips.

Dems Should Pay Attention to What Greece is Doing: Their Reckless Spending May Put Us Into the Same Situation

Greece is making massive cuts to their budget in order to get their debt problem under control.

I hope the Democrats in Congress and in the White House are watching what the Greeks are doing and are taking some notes.  It’s what we should be doing right now too.

Murder of Salvation Army in Front of His Children on Christmas Eve is Heartbreaking: Police Need to Get The Killers and FAST

I was sickened to learn of the murder of a Salvation Army major in front of his three children on Christmas Eve.

The two killers confronted the major and demanded money, then shot him in cold blood as his kids watched in horror.

I feel sick.

Raising the Debt Limit Every Few Months is Making Our Financial Situation Even Worse: Congress & Administration Need to Cut Their Spending Immediately

Congress and the President aren’t cutting their spending the way that they should be, and are making our debt load even worse.

They can’t be talking about turning their attention to cutting the debt after they pass health legislation.  They need to postpone their debt-exploding health care reform bill and address the debt NOW, before it’s too late.

For months they’ve been saying that the debt exploded under the Bush Administration.  That’s true, but that’s no excuse for continuing this very bad practice.   They came in promising to restore financial sanity to Washington; it hasn’t happened, and I have no confidence in the current Congress or Administration to fix THE biggest threat to our nation.

We will have to look to the next Congress and Administration to get us out of the mess that no current Democrat is interested in fixing, in the least.   They’re competing to get as much bacon as they can.  Revolting!

Copenhagen Conference is a Circus: They Have No Business Agreeing to Any Protocols Until They Get the Science Mess Straightened Out

The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change--or whatever the hell it is that they’re calling it—is the largest gathering of global warming alarmists on the planet, and they have no legs to stand on.

Their data has been criminally tampered with by global warming supporters in the scientific community, and then destroyed, leaving no evidence behind other than an e-mail trail that someone forgot to erase.

All it is is a gathering of neo-communists, environmental wackos, and malcontents who don’t want to see the world as it is; they’d rather waste time and resources trying to stop a naturally occurring process instead of adapting to the situation and moving things forward.  And spend money on their own causes too.

A little more responsibility in planning for the future would go a lot further rather than trying to stop global warming, which is going to happen regardless of what the wackos in Copenhagen decide upon.  This is like trying to stop the sun from setting.   They can spend trillions of dollars trying to stop it, but it’s trillions of dollars that they could be setting aside to relocate entire cities and communities that will be flooded out in the next hundred years.

That entire conference is doing a pretty good job of blowing a lot of hot air around. But that’s all that they’re doing, as well as arguing about a bad plan that won’t work, and is based on sketchy science.  I think this conference is premature, and ill-considered, given what they’re up against.

They ought to get with the program.

NO to Raising the National Debt Ceiling: It’s Time to Cut the Budget and Use the Savings to Pay Down the Debt

Congress is preparing to raise the debt ceiling again to avoid defaulting on the debt.  No, no, NO!  Congress and the Administration need to cut their budgets and use the savings to PAY DOWN the debt, not add to it.

Adding another $1.8 trillion to the borrowing ceiling is way out of line.  This government has no business spending more money than it has.

I have little faith that this and  future administrations will have the discipline to reign in spending the way that they need to, before we’re presented with a bill that we have no way of paying, without adding more debt.

We also need to be able to tell China off without fear of China saying “no” to our borrowing requests.  This is a symbiotic relationship that must be changed.  The current Administration seems to want to avoid talking to China about it’s human rights record because we owe the Chinese SO much money.

Better start the cutting party!

Since Reid’s Compared GOP Efforts to Block Health Care Reform to Efforts to Block the Stoppage of Slavery, Here’s A Comparison for Reid in the Same Vein

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made some more outlandish statements about his GOP colleagues and others trying to slow down the runaway health care reform train recently. In the statement, he said that those efforts were comparable to the efforts to prevent emancipation of the slaves before, during and after the Civil War.

He left out a VERY important fact on his statement.

It was the DEMOCRATS of that era who blocked the emancipation of the slaves, and resisted the 13th Amendment. Radical REPUBLICANS pushed through those changes and ended slavery. Some progressive Democrats joined the Republicans in ending slavery.

I would like to point out that no Democrat who favored slavery back then is alive today; that was then. Not today.

It should also be noted that in the more recent civil rights era, when they were trying to pass additional civil rights legislation (the 1964 Civil Rights Act), the Democrats filibustered the legislation for 83 days, and included a 14-hour speech by Senator Robert Byrd.

For Senator Reid to say something like this is more proof that he’s in over his head, and his runaway health care train is heading for a major derailment. And WHY should the Republicans be the ones to change their minds? He can’t even get his OWN party on board his runaway train.

I’m actually enjoying watching Reid and President Obama squirm.

MSNBC Desperation on Global Warming Continues to Show: Now They’re Running Old Stories as if They’re Breaking News

MSNBC has a “breaking news” item on their web site today: “Rising Ocean Levels Could Threaten Maldives.”

No duh!

This is a re-run of a story that has already been gone through by all the news organizations, and is already common knowledge.  According to MSNBC, they’re running the story in advance of the Copenhagen summit on global warming.

They should be reminding the summit that the Maldives WILL be underwater and that they will need help in relocating their entire population.   But no, MSNBC is dedicated to stopping the rise of the waters.   MSNBC needs to get real and face the facts as they ARE, not as they want them to be.  And so should the politicians and the news media who support a failed theory.

Former WWE Wrestler "Umaga" Dies at Age 36: Heart Attack Suspected

Another former WWE talent, "Umaga" Edward Fatu, passed away at age 36 on Friday at a Dallas-area hospital.

He had been battling a lot of the same demons that have claimed other professional wrestlers and was suspended by World Wrestling Entertainment in June after failing a drug test.

I still don't think that these wrestling organizations are doing enough to change the culture that says that their athletes have to have huge muscular bodies in order to be considered "successful" and that drug abuse, in any form, is bad for their employees, and bad for business. WWE has moved forward with it's Wellness Policy, but it doesn't account for the damage that many of these wrestlers had done to themselves years ago.

Look at Eddie Guerrero; the former WWE great had undergone major struggles, but conquered his demons and had been drug and alcohol free for years; but the damage had already been done and he passed away at age 38.

Road Warrior Hawk is another example. He had turned his life around too, but the damage had been done years before and it caught up to him. Hawk passed away at age 45.

These wrestler deaths seem to come in clusters. I hope this isn't the start of a new one.

May he rest in peace.

Michigan Snowbirds Need to be Counted as Michigan Residents for 2010: State May Have Already Lost 11% of Population in Last 3-4 Years

The Michigan government is asking Michigan snowbirds, or residents who go south for the winter, to fill out their census forms when they get mailed out in February or March.   They need to indicate that they are residents of Michigan on the forms, and not residents of Florida or Arizona, or wherever they go during the winter months. 

The government estimates that 200,000 snowbirds were counted as residents of other states during the 2000 census; as a result Michigan lost a Congressional seat and about $2 billion over the last ten years.

If the estimates are correct, and we’ve lost 11% of our population, the results will be devastating, with the loss of billions in federal aid, and the proportionate loss of representation in Congress.

Accuracy in the census and the addition of the snowbirds will stem the heavy loss of workers in our struggling state.

If you’re a Michigan snowbird, please read the following from the State of Michigan:

LANSING - Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, Jr. reminds Michigan residents who leave the state for warmer climates during part of the year, commonly referred to as snowbirds, to make sure they are counted in Michigan for the upcoming Census in 2010.  Every resident of the United States should be counted by the Census just once and in the correct state. 
"Michigan residents who spend a smaller portion of the year at a residence in another state should be sure to fill out the Census form for Michigan," said Lt. Governor Cherry.  "There are dramatic financial impacts to Michigan, and we need to be sure that our residents are counted here and not in another state."

Unfortunately, Census forms that will be mailed in March do not have clear instructions for people with more than one place of residence.  This runs the risk of many snowbirds being counted in the wrong state.

Michigan snowbirds should follow these guidelines:

1.  Zero should be entered on the Census form received at the second residence, as the number of people residing there, and the rest of the form should remain blank.  It is also a good idea to write "usual residence elsewhere" on the form so that the Census Bureau will know the reason for entering zero.

2.  If other individuals are occupying the home in Michigan while permanent residents are away, those completing the Census form should include the permanent residents.

3.  If no one is staying at the Michigan home, residents should wait until returning to Michigan to complete the Census form.  If a form hasn't been received, Census personnel will contact residents between May and July.

For each Michigan resident who is missed by the Census or who is counted in a different state, over $1,000 in federal funds that should be allocated to Michigan each year will be spent elsewhere. 

"Just missing one person in the Census means a loss of at least $10,000 in funds to Michigan over the course of a decade," added the lieutenant governor.  "We can't afford to not be counted."

Michigan has more snowbirds than many other states, with an average of 2.1 percent of Michigan's residents identified as part-year residents.  Most of Michigan's part-year residents have their permanent homes in Michigan and spend the smaller part of the year in another state, which means they need to be counted in Michigan.

Obama’s Afghanistan Plan Will Work Only if Taliban & al-Qaeda are Degraded and Afghan Military is Upgunned to the Point That Taliban Can Never Match Their Firepower

President Obama has decided to increase U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan to 100,000 in the next six months before beginning a staged pullout starting in mid-2011.  It looks like he has a target of a U.S. troop pullout before the next U.S. presidential election.

His goals are ambitious and not without a lot of risk.  There has to be progress on many fronts, including progress in stabilizing Afghanistan’s government, guaranteeing basic human rights, reducing corruption in government, controlling the drug trade, and building up their military to the point that the Taliban and/or al-Qaeda will not be able to defeat them in sustained battle.  That’s the key.

I’m not sure if Congress will play ball, though. The left wants no troop buildup, the right wants no timetable.  I disagree with both sides.  There should be a temporary surge, and they should be talking inside the Administration about a withdrawal date.  Whether that timetable should be made public is a different story. 

They should let the surge go forward, with full funding, then start pulling back depending on what’s happening on the ground.  And the Afghan government should be given the same deal as the Iraqi government has been given: fight your own battles.  And we should be providing the tools that they need to get the job done.  The Afghan Army should be the strongest military force in the country, not the Taliban and not al-Qaeda.  And the same thing goes for the Iraqi Army in Iraq.

We owe it to the soldiers who have died there to make sure that their sacrifice wasn’t in vain.  And to make sure that we won’t be back in either country in the future, retaking the same ground AGAIN that’s already been paid for in blood.

MSNBC Declares We’re “Losing” Battle on Global Warming: No We’re Not—Global Warming is Being Redefined More Accurately Now and They Don’t Like It

After days of refusing to carry any stories that covered the contamination of all the gloom and doom research that the global warming crowd has been quoting for years, MSNBC started crying about it with a story proclaiming that the battle over global warming is being “lost.”

In other words, their version of global warming is getting trashed in favor of a more accurate and reliable accounting of what global warming actually is—a naturally occurring phenomenon that has gone on MUCH longer than humanity has been around.  And will still be going on until the day the sun consumes the planet.

But I’m happy to see that they’re now talking about the inevitable changes that will be coming, instead of trying to stop the changes.   It’s about bloody time too.  We can no more stop global warming than we can stop the sun from setting. 

Now, Senator Boxer is crying about charging someone who exposed the global warming data manipulations (that we all knew was going on) with a crime to cover up her and her compatriots’ own crimes of collusion and abuse of power with regards to falsifying global warming data and trying to sell the public a boatload of crap. 

And it’s also interesting to note that the manipulated data has mysteriously been destroyed.  Perhaps Senator Boxer and Speaker Pelosi should investigate THAT.

This Talk of Cheney Running in 2012 Should Remain Talk: I Wouldn’t Support Him

An MSNBC columnist pointed out in a recent column that the conservatives do not yet have a viable candidate to run against President Obama in 2012. He raised a few possibilities: Sarah Palin, John McCain (the not-conservative), and Dick Cheney.

John Meacham thinks that Cheney should run, so that voters will have an opportunity to cast a “final judgment” on the Bush years.

I don’t think so.

Dick Cheney should stay retired, and out of the media. He’s more of a hindrance than he is a viable choice to take on Obama. It’s not his qualifications that I’m questioning, but his judgment. Aside from the fact that he’s disregarded presidential traditions by criticizing the new Administration immediately after leaving office, I disagreed with most of his public stands as they were too far to the right, were reactionary, ill-conceived and war hawkish. And when Iran re-appeared on the radar screen, it was Cheney who was beating the war drums the loudest. That scared me. I was glad that Bush and Cheney left office before they got us into a war with Iran too.

Our side didn’t find WMDs in a bunker in the Iraqi desert like I thought they were going to. That was the entire rationale for going into Iraq in the first place. Cheney’s never admitted to the mistake, which causes issues with more than a few voters, including me.

Cheney presents the image of a man with his finger poised on the little red button, just itching for an excuse to press it. What the red button controls is of equal importance; is it a paper shredder with the Constitution loaded up and ready to shred? Or is it the control that will empty all the missile silos?

I hope Cheney is enjoying his retirement. I like the current administration even less than I like Cheney, and his influence on America’s foreign policy would be a prime target for Obama to go after. This needs to be a one-term President; he needs to be turned out on Election Day.

No thank you on Cheney. We need someone who has broader appeal.

Tiger Woods Car Crash: He Ought to Quit Avoiding the Police and Tell Them What Really Happened

The media circus surrounding the Tiger Woods car crash will only intensify the longer he avoids talking to the police about the accident.

It may be that Tiger and his wife are trying to patch things up, but he should schedule an interview with the police and get it over with. He may be trying to keep his wife out of jail for an alleged assault that preceded the crash; but he needs to fulfill his obligations and talk to the police before they are forced to get a warrant.

I hope everything works out.

Liberal Democrat Insists Current Health Care Plan is Worth Losing His Seat Over: If He Insists, But if It’s Come Down to That, Why Doesn’t He Resign Immediately and Save Us the Trouble?

This Congress is so far out of control with the electorate that they don’t take the time to read the bills that are before them before casting a vote, don’t care what their voters think and are willing to lose their seats to get what they, and only they, want.

So says Democratic Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado, who thinks that the health care bill is worth losing his seat over.

It’s worth noting that his constituents did not get to express their opinions of his choices as their representative, as he did not schedule any town hall meetings during the summer break as many of his Democratic colleagues did, though he has mentioned health care in other town hall meetings. So, he’s bound and determined to vote on this bill the way that the Democratic leadership wants it, regardless of the consequences. Sounds like someone who needs to be recalled immediately, before the bill is voted on in the Senate. I don’t think he’ll step down on his own.

I’m glad he’s not my representative.

Democrats Ought to Quit Screwing Things Up Before Insisting That The Rest of Us Shut Up About It: Thought Cop Politicians Shouldn’t Try to Mandate When We Exercise Free Speech

At first, when I saw the news about the “Complaint-Free Wednesday” bill being introduced by Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver, I thought it was a joke.

Who would dare to assault the First Amendment like this?

Then I saw follow-up news stories that it WAS a serious attempt to curtail free speech on the day before Thanksgiving. Perhaps Rep. Cleaver should convince his colleagues in Congress to quit giving the rest of us reason TO complain about them. And he’s got the gall to point out the health benefits of not complaining as much either, which I don’t dispute, but what good is it if the Democrats cause everyone to stroke out over their bad decisions?

I see that Rep. Cleaver voted for the House health care bill, so I view this as nothing more than an attempt to stifle serious opposition to his vote, as well as other Democratic screw-ups since taking control of the government. And if they manage to pass it for one day, how about on days that Congress votes for more bad legislation, too? Or every day?

No thank you, Mr. Thought Cop. If the public has something to say, they can say it WHENEVER they want.

I sure wouldn’t be complaining as much if our government was taking us in the right direction.

Global Warming Crowd Baffled By Halt in Global Warming: They’re Not as Smart as They Think They Are

The headline couldn’t have said it plainer: “Climatologists Baffled by Global Warming Time-Out.”

Well, duh!

They’ve finally taken note that lack of sunspot activity = lack of global warming, which pretty much shoots their “man-made global warming” hubris down.

So much for “proven science.” They got it wrong—AGAIN! Proven science, my afterburner! The global warming know-it-alls are tasting what humble pie is like. All they have to do is stand outside and freeze their asses off for a while to get a clue.

Now, when sunspot activity on the sun resumes, so will global warming. There will be a direct correlation between the two, which should put the conversation into the correct context. Finally!

Just so the global warming crowd gets the picture, here it is: global warming is a NATURALLY occurring phenomenon. It was going on long before humanity was here, and will go on long after humanity is gone. Climatologists need to drop their preconceived notions and start reconsidering their flawed group-think ideas. There’s already news reports that they’re trying to ignore or hide the data to suit their needs, like they’ve already done with other research that shows global cooling.

So much for their “proven science.” AGAIN!

AP Shows It’s Bias Against Sarah Palin: Eleven Reporters Assigned to Fact-Check Palin’s Book While Assigning None to Fact-Check Obama’s Book When It Came Out

The Associated Press is so biased against Sarah Palin that they’ve assigned eleven reporters to fact-check every part of Palin’s new book; contrast that to how they treated President Obama’s book when they assigned no one to fact-check it.

And how does one fact-check someone’s opinion of events?

I have not read Palin’s book, and have no intention of reading it. My opinion of her is already formed, to the point that I don’t need to read her opinion of events to know that I’ve already got the basic facts.

Even with President Clinton’s book, most of it was his opinion of political events that happened during his time in power in both Arkansas and in the White House. A politician writing a book about their life and times often try to repaint the picture that’s already taken shape. I took the time to read President Clinton’s and came away with a sense that he had tried to re-write history. And I didn’t need openly biased individuals in the liberal media to point that out, either.

What interests me more is the hypocrisy in how the media treats politicians from different parties. My interpretation is that they don’t treat everyone the same, even though they should. If they hold one politician’s feet to the fire, they should hold ALL of them to the same standard.

All the Associated Press is doing is reinforcing the belief that they don’t like Sarah Palin, and are trying to discredit her, while ignoring glaring deficiencies in the works of their favored politicians.

“Can Baseball Bring U.S. and Cuba Together?” It Certainly Can: We’ll End Up Owning Their Baseball Team as More Will Defect if Given the Chance

Playing baseball with Cuba = more Cuban baseball players defecting to the U.S.

That’s the equation that we need to keep in mind when we think about improving our relationship with Cuba via baseball.

I think that if we want to get closer to Cuba, we should start loosening the embargo in exchange for Cuban advances toward human rights and free elections. That will go a long way further than us taking over the Cuban national baseball team by way of defections.

I think we already have enough Cuban baseball players in the U.S. to field our own Cuban national team.

Ms. Not-California Should Get Out of the Press Too: She’s Killing Her Own Cause

The drama surrounding the Ms. California controversy is still in the media, and the primary antagonist, Carrie Prejean, is not helping her own cause with her actions.

She sued the pageant for breach of contract; it was over her statements that marriage is between a man and a woman (she’s right on that point alone) and her…augmented features…and then settled when news of some kind of sex tape emerged that was in the possession of the people she was suing. The pageant also sued for the surgery and the proceeds from her book. That was also settled.

Then her bizarre appearance on CNN’s Larry King Live show when she attempted to walk off the set didn’t settle matters at all. She subsequently canceled a later press engagement. Ms. Prejean really needs a publicist if she insists on staying in the news.

I think she needs to call it quits and get out of the media too. She’s only hurting her own case.

Five Terror Suspects Transferred to Federal Court: This is a Good Day

People involved in the bombing of the USS Cole and the 9/11 planning have been transferred to federal court in New York and will be tried like everyone else. This is good news, contrary to the reactions that have been coming out on TV.

The military commissions are part of the Bush Administration’s star-chamber justice policy that makes a mockery of the American justice system, and denies the writ of habeas corpus to everyone, as the United States is sworn to observe as a charter member of the United Nations. In fact, the U.S. and Britain pushed for this writ to be included in the United Nations charter when it was being written.

The Obama Administration now has two choices: go after these guys in federal court with every shred of evidence that they have, or run the risk of them getting off and being released back into the wild. In other words, put up or shut up. They’d better put up.

I’ve long spoken out against the government’s policy of keeping people locked up for years without trial, and without legal representation, and the Obama Administration’s decision to maintain the Bush policies was a very disappointing one. Then a federal judge ordered the Administration to either charge them with crimes, or release them, which precipitated this move into federal court.

And for those who are worried about them in civilian prisons, not to worry. Our prisons are good enough to hold former soliders; they can hold onto a small handful of 12th century barbarians.

Palin Needs to End Her PR War With Her Daughter’s Ex: Family Matters Should Be Settled Privately

I’m getting a little sick of hearing about Sarah Palin and Levi what’s his face (her daughter’s ex) exchanging insults and publicly posturing in the media.

They really need to take the media out of the equation and settle things privately, like most families do. All one has to do is pick up the phone and call the other, not get on Oprah or some other talk show and issue statements that are picked up by the mainstream media, which leads the other to call a press conference and respond.

We don’t care about the details; just settle it and keep it out of the media circus.

If Palin is serious about running for office, she really needs to wage her battles much more discreetly; she’s handing ammunition to the opposition.

Obama Looks Ready to Reject All Afghanistan Proposals in Favor of New Strategy: He’s Looking For an End to the War

President Obama appears to be ready to reject all of the current proposals on what to do next in the Afghan War in favor of a new strategy. It’s hard to predict which way he might go next.

He will probably reject General McChrystal’s request, and others put forth by the Defense Department. McChrystal got himself into some trouble when he went off the reservation and launched a PR campaign aimed at pressuring the Administration into accepting his battle plan, but there are other factors in play that weren’t present when McChrystal presented his proposal. General McChrystal’s decision was regrettable and probably contributed to the current state of affairs in the White House Afghanistan strategy.

Another factor is that the current government of Afghanistan is highly dubious. A run-off election was cancelled when President Karzai’s opponent dropped out of the running as he was unconvinced that the fraud that took place in the first election wouldn’t be repeated in the run-off election. International monitors reported ballot boxes being stuffed and voter intimidation happening across the country, to the point that Karzai lost votes during the supervised recount and didn’t have enough to win outright, as was originally projected.

The Taliban has been gaining ground in several provinces, and they won’t be dislodged without a major ground offensive to retake those provinces. Sustained battles with the Taliban means there will be more American casualties, something that the war-weary American public may not accept, and something that Obama will take the blame for, as Commander-in-Chief.

He wants the Afghan government to shoulder more of the responsibility so that the war can be wound down, but I wonder if the current Administration will repeat the mistakes of the 1980’s and 1990’s, when the U.S. left Afghanistan to it’s own devices following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Taliban came to power with their al-Qaeda allies.

We cannot leave the Taliban intact, but our government needs to decide what it’s going to do, and soon. The last thing we need is for al-Qaeda to rebuild in a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, because we’ll eventually be back over there dealing with them again. Given the national treasure that we’ve spent freeing Afghanistan—and I’m talking more about lives than money—would we have the national will to do so again, as well as the strength of arms?

The other question is one of anti-government factions (non-Taliban) that are currently fighting against the Afghan government and against NATO forces. Given the success of getting Iraqis to switch sides and fight alongside the American military, can something similar happen in Afghanistan?

Where is this Administration taking us?

Zero Tolerance Gone Mad: When Did It Replace Common Sense?

The recent suspension of an Eagle Scout from school for carrying a two inch pocketknife in his car onto his school grounds in New York has thrown new light onto the question of “zero tolerance” as it relates to knives and firearms.

The Eagle Scout, who is also a soldier, was suspended for 20 days for having it in his car. He didn’t have it on his person at the time. He keeps a sleeping bag, water, and the 2” knife, which was given to him by his grandfather, a local police chief.

The punishment is way out of proportion to the crime.

And because this suspension is now on his record, he may not be able to attend West Point. It’s time for legal action against the school district to reverse course on this case, and for them to put some common sense back into the process. Ruining the kid’s life over this?

Get real!

ACORN Files Lawsuit Against Government: Claim That Congress Passed a Bill of Attainder May Be Valid

I am no fan of ACORN, or the things that they’ve been accused of doing, including their roles in pressuring banks to extend loans to people who had no business getting loans, which lead to the sub-prime mortgage mess.

But when Congress de-funded the group of millions of dollars, ACORN was effectively crippled. Again, no big loss in my view.

But ACORN filed a lawsuit, claiming that the act of Congress that de-funded them was a bill of attainder, which is a law that targets one individual or group for punishment without due process or a trial, and is illegal under Article 1 of the Constitution. Individuals who are members of ACORN have been on trial, but the group as a whole has not.

They may have a point. Under the circumstances, the Congress probably should have suspended funding pending an investigation, rather than banning it outright.

How much more is this going to cost the taxpayers?

Fort Hood Shooter’s Connections to Radicals Under Investigation: What is Really Going On?

The Fort Hood killer has apparently had contact with several individuals who were under FBI surveillance in the months leading up to the shootings, so there may be a lot more going on than what was originally thought.

My questions are this: if the FBI was aware of the apparent contacts, why didn’t they put military authorities on alert that one of their own was linked to Muslim radicals in this country? And why didn’t the military take this man off active duty if there was a link?

Lot of questions, not enough answers yet. I’m not buying into the political correctness argument that Fox News has raised yet. Legal barriers exist which prevented the exchange of information between the FBI and the Army. And the First Amendment does come into play with Major Hasan’s e-mails to the people he was trying to contact.

Yet he used a U.S. military computer to send his e-mails, didn’t he? And the understanding is that all e-mails are the property of the company that owns the computer and pays the Internet bill. Most businesses have the same policy, as do schools. And doesn’t the military have regulations on appropriateness of communications with certain individuals who incite religious violence?

The powers that be need to get their act together and make the changes necessary to prevent this kind of stuff from happening again.

Obama’s Demeanor at Fort Hood Memorial Service Was Much Better Than His Initial Comments About Shootings: He Needs to Get Off the Teleprompter When Something’s Going On

President Obama’s demeanor at the Fort Hood memorial service yesterday was much more appropriate than his initial reaction at the Native American conference he was making comments at.

I had a hard time believing that a U.S. President would say the things that President Obama said, and how he said it at the time. It would have been much more appropriate for him to move his remarks about Fort Hood to just after his thanking the hosts. But instead he gave a “shout-out” to someone he misidentified as a Medal of Honor recipient, which added fuel to the fire, and brought up the shooting as an afterthought. That was how it appeared at the time. He made it look like the shooting was an inconvenience, and his statements did nothing to change any minds about that point.

Thankfully, he was the President and Commander-in-Chief at Fort Hood. Much better performance, though I didn’t think he should have mentioned the shooter as extensively as he did. It probably would have meant more as well if he had written more of the speech himself.

Still, overall, it was a mixed performance.

House Democrats Ramrod Health Bill Through: Now We Know Who to Vote Out of Office

The following Democrats (and one Republican) voted 'yes' on Pelosi's health care bill. Following the party affiliation, it shows the state and the district number that they represent.

Neil Abercrombie (D) HI-1
Gary L. Ackerman (D) NY-5
Robert E. Andrews (D) NJ-1
Michael Arcuri (D) NY-24
Xavier Becerra (D) CA-31
Howard L. Berman (D) CA-28
Marion Berry (D) AR-1
Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D) GA-2
Earl Blumenauer (D) OR-3
Leonard L. Boswell (D) IA-3
Corrine Brown (D) FL-3
Robert A. Brady (D) PA-1
Tammy Baldwin (D) WI-2
Shelley Berkley (D) NV-1
Joe Baca (D) CA-43
Timothy H. Bishop (D) NY-1
G. K. Butterfield (D) NC-1
Melissa Bean (D) IL-8
Bruce Braley (D) IA-1
James E. Clyburn (D) SC-6
John Conyers Jr. (D) MI-14
Jim Cooper (D) TN-5
Jerry F. Costello (D) IL-12
Elijah E. Cummings (D) MD-7
Lois Capps (D) CA-23
Michael E. Capuano (D) MA-8
Joseph Crowley (D) NY-7
William Lacy Clay (D) MO-1
Dennis Cardoza (D) CA-18
Jim Costa (D) CA-20
Russ Carnahan (D) MO-3
Emanuel Cleaver II (D) MO-5
Henry Cuellar (D) TX-28
Christopher Carney (D) PA-10
Kathy Castor (D) FL-11
Yvette Clarke (D) NY-11
Steve Cohen (D) TN-9
Joe Courtney (D) CT-2
André Carson (D) IN-7
Gerald E. Connolly (D) VA-11
Anh Cao (R) LA-2
Judy Chu (D) CA-32
Danny K. Davis (D) IL-7
Peter A. DeFazio (D) OR-4
Diana DeGette (D) CO-1
Bill Delahunt (D) MA-10
Rosa DeLauro (D) CT-3
Norman D. Dicks (D) WA-6
John D. Dingell (D) MI-15
Lloyd Doggett (D) TX-25
Mike Doyle (D) PA-14
Susan A. Davis (D) CA-53
Joe Donnelly (D) IN-2
Kathy Dahlkemper (D) PA-3
Steve Driehaus (D) OH-1
Eliot L. Engel (D) NY-17
Anna G. Eshoo (D) CA-14
Bob Etheridge (D) NC-2
Keith Ellison (D) MN-5
Brad Ellsworth (D) IN-8
Donna Edwards (D) MD-4
Sam Farr (D) CA-17
Chaka Fattah (D) PA-2
Bob Filner (D) CA-51
Barney Frank (D) MA-4
Bill Foster (D) IL-14
Marcia L. Fudge (D) OH-11
Gene Green (D) TX-29
Luis V. Gutierrez (D) IL-4
Charlie Gonzalez (D) TX-20
Raúl M. Grijalva (D) AZ-7
Al Green (D) TX-9
Gabrielle Giffords (D) AZ-8
Alan Grayson (D) FL-8
John Garamendi (D) CA-10
Jane Harman (D) CA-36
Alcee L. Hastings (D) FL-23
Maurice D. Hinchey (D) NY-22
Rubén Hinojosa (D) TX-15
Steny H. Hoyer (D) MD-5
Baron P. Hill (D) IN-9
Rush Holt (D) NJ-12
Michael M. Honda (D) CA-15
Brian Higgins (D) NY-27
John Hall (D) NY-19
Phil Hare (D) IL-17
Mazie K. Hirono (D) HI-2
Paul W. Hodes (D) NH-2
Debbie Halvorson (D) IL-11
Martin Heinrich (D) NM-1
Jim Himes (D) CT-4
Jay Inslee (D) WA-1
Steve Israel (D) NY-2
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D) TX-18
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) TX-30
Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D) IL-2
Hank Johnson (D) GA-4
Paul E. Kanjorski (D) PA-11
Marcy Kaptur (D) OH-9
Patrick J. Kennedy (D) RI-1
Dale E. Kildee (D) MI-5
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D) MI-13
Ron Kind (D) WI-3
Steve Kagen (D) WI-8
Ron Klein (D) FL-22
Ann Kirkpatrick (D) AZ-1
Mary Jo Kilroy (D) OH-15
Sander M. Levin (D) MI-12
John Lewis (D) GA-5
Zoe Lofgren (D) CA-16
Nita M. Lowey (D) NY-18
Barbara Lee (D) CA-9
John B. Larson (D) CT-1
Jim Langevin (D) RI-2
Rick Larsen (D) WA-2
Stephen F. Lynch (D) MA-9
Daniel Lipinski (D) IL-3
Dave Loebsack (D) IA-2
Ben Ray Lujan (D) NM-3
Carolyn B. Maloney (D) NY-14
Edward J. Markey (D) MA-7
Carolyn McCarthy (D) NY-4
Jim McGovern (D) MA-3
Jim McDermott (D) WA-7
George Miller (D) CA-7
Alan B. Mollohan (D) WV-1
James P. Moran (D) VA-8
John P. Murtha (D) PA-12
Gregory W. Meeks (D) NY-6
Dennis Moore (D) KS-3
Betty McCollum (D) MN-4
Kendrick B. Meek (D) FL-17
Michael H. Michaud (D) ME-2
Brad Miller (D) NC-13
Gwen Moore (D) WI-4
Doris Matsui (D) CA-5
Jerry McNerney (D) CA-11
Harry E. Mitchell (D) AZ-5
Patrick J. Murphy (D) PA-8
Christopher S. Murphy (D) CT-5
Dan Maffei (D) NY-25
Jerrold Nadler (D) NY-8
Richard E. Neal (D) MA-2
Grace F. Napolitano (D) CA-38
James L. Oberstar (D) MN-8
David R. Obey (D) WI-7
John W. Olver (D) MA-1
Solomon P. Ortiz (D) TX-27
Bill Owens (D) NY-23
Frank Pallone (D) NJ-6
Bill Pascrell Jr. (D) NJ-8
Ed Pastor (D) AZ-4
Donald M. Payne (D) NJ-10
Nancy Pelosi (D) CA-8
Earl Pomeroy (D) ND-1
David E. Price (D) NC-4
Ed Perlmutter (D) CO-7
Gary Peters (D) MI-9
Chellie Pingree (D) ME-1
Jared Polis (D) CO-2
Tom Perriello (D) VA-5
Mike Quigley (D) IL-5
Nick J. Rahall II (D) WV-3
Charles B. Rangel (D) NY-15
Silvestre Reyes (D) TX-16
Steven R. Rothman (D) NJ-9
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D) CA-34
Bobby L. Rush (D) IL-1
Ciro D. Rodriguez (D) TX-23
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D) MD-2
Tim Ryan (D) OH-17
Laura Richardson (D) CA-37
Loretta Sanchez (D) CA-47
Robert C. Scott (D) VA-3
José E. Serrano (D) NY-16
Brad Sherman (D) CA-27
Louise M. Slaughter (D) NY-28
Adam Smith (D) WA-9
Vic Snyder (D) AR-2
John M. Spratt Jr. (D) SC-5
Pete Stark (D) CA-13
Bart Stupak (D) MI-1
Jan Schakowsky (D) IL-9
Adam B. Schiff (D) CA-29
Linda T. Sanchez (D) CA-39
David Scott (D) GA-13
John Salazar (D) CO-3
Allyson Y. Schwartz (D) PA-13
Albio Sires (D) NJ-13
John Sarbanes (D) MD-3
Joe Sestak (D) PA-7
Carol Shea-Porter (D) NH-1
Zack Space (D) OH-18
Betty Sutton (D) OH-13
Jackie Speier (D) CA-12
Mark Schauer (D) MI-7
Kurt Schrader (D) OR-5
Bennie Thompson (D) MS-2
John F. Tierney (D) MA-6
Edolphus Towns (D) NY-10
Mike Thompson (D) CA-1
Niki Tsongas (D) MA-5
Dina Titus (D) NV-3
Paul Tonko (D) NY-21
Nydia M. Velázquez (D) NY-12
Peter J. Visclosky (D) IN-1
Chris Van Hollen (D) MD-8
Maxine Waters (D) CA-35
Melvin Watt (D) NC-12
Henry A. Waxman (D) CA-30
Robert Wexler (D) FL-19
Lynn Woolsey (D) CA-6
Anthony Weiner (D) NY-9
David Wu (D) OR-1
Diane Watson (D) CA-33
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) FL-20
Tim Walz (D) MN-1
Peter Welch (D) VT-1
Charlie Wilson (D) OH-6
John Yarmuth (D) KY-3

I do think that Rep. Stupak did the right thing in sponsoring an amendment that got rid of the abortion clause. But he still voted for the rest of it; I would have preferred him to become Democrat #36 who didn't vote for it because of the unresolved Constitutional violations that this bill is full of.

I do favor health care reform, but not in this form. They could have done MUCH better than they did.

I have no confidence in the above list of politicians to do their duty and follow the Constitution. They seem to have forgotten that the Constitution trumps political rubbish that politicians sometimes come up with. And this bill, in it's current form, is rubbish. And the people above voted for it.

Mark Schauer from the Michigan 7th Congressional District voted 'yes' on this rubbish; he's not up for election until 2012. Plenty of time to build up the opposition base here. Tim Walberg, whom Schauer defeated in 2008, is on-track for a rematch and has already declared his intentions to run again in 2012.

Time to show the Democrats the door. And I hope the GOP has eaten enough humble pie to return to the concept of small government; otherwise, it'll be the time of the 3rd party to shine.

One-party rule is for the birds; having one party running the House and Senate and the White House hasn't worked for the Republicans or for the Democrats. I'm hoping the elections bring balance back to Washington with the Democrats holding one house and the Republicans holding the other. It seems like the country ran better under that model.

It would prevent rubbish like the current health care bill from making it as far as it has. Something to think about.

Fort Hood Shooting Was Not an Act of Terrorism: It Was an Act of a Lunatic Who Snapped

Like most Americans, I was shocked at the loss of life at Fort Hood, and inspired by the acts of heroism of the first responders and the common soldier who rushed to aid the wounded.

And the more I hear about the shooter, the more I'm convinced that it WAS an isolated incident. I think the fact that he was about to be sent overseas had more of an impact on him than his religion. He was an Army psychiatrist, and they're subject to the same stresses as those who are not.

I hope that people don't target American Muslims for retaliation. This situation is bad enough without people getting it into their minds to carry out private revenge acts against people who had nothing to do with the actions of one man.

Pelosi's Health Bill is UNCONSTITUTIONAL: Let Her Try and Put Someone in Jail for Refusing to Purchase Her Health Plan

The health care bill being ramrodded through Congress is UNCONSTITUTIONAL and is an assault on the Constitution itself and state's rights.

Powers not expressly given to the federal government are reserved for the states. And according to this article from the Wall Street Journal, "...Congress, in other words, cannot regulate simply because it sees a problem to be fixed. Federal law must be grounded in one of the specific grants of authority found in the Constitution." Those grants are found in Article 1, Section 8.

The Democrats won't be throwing ANYONE in jail for refusing to buy their insurance. The people who should go to jail are the ones who exceed their constitutional authority and vote to pass this monster of a bill.

The fact that the Congressional Democrats are even thinking about passing this health care bill in it's current form, and is clearly a violation of the Constitution speaks volumes about the direction they want to take the country. And they aren't listening to their constituents either.

This will be going straight to court. Tea Party lawyers have promised to mount a constitutional challenge of the bill within hours of it being signed into law. Pelosi and other supporters have claimed that this is part of the Congressional right to tax and spend, but even in their own arguments there is a significant flaw. What does Constitutional law say about passing a mandatory law on part of the population, but not on the rest of it? It's ILLEGAL.

Even more fundamental, many of the governed are not giving their consent on this entire fiasco. Congress is knowingly choosing to ignore "We the People." They ought to hold some town meetings NOW. It'll make the summer town meetings look like a picnic.

It's time for a rollback of Congress's tendancy to overreach its authority. The Founders were clear on this point: they considered "confiscatory taxation" and deficit spending for the "common welfare" business that Congress likes so much as a return to the darkest form of tyranny. And that's what the current Congress and President is engaged in.

Welcome to liberal America. And if that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, GOOD. People ought to think about that the next time they consider electing a liberal or moderate.

Democrats Haven't Got the Message on Health Care Yet: They Will Pay a Heavy Voter Price if They Pass This Bill on Saturday

Congressional Democrats are so far out of touch with what the electorate wants in regards to health care reform that it isn't funny. Tuesday's election was as much about health care reform as it was a rebuke of President Obama's policies.

And if they pass Queen Nancy's health care bill on Saturday, they will pay a heavy price in terms of election developments. Recall drums are sounding already, and a lot of them will lose their seats in the 2010 elections. And just try to make conservatives pay monthly health care premiums for abortion services. Please.

Make your choice, Democrats. Those who vote 'no' on Queen Nancy's 1,990 page bill will probably save themselves a great deal of trouble in the coming months.

1,990 Page Health Care "Plan" Should Be Trimmed to 200 Pages: Current Bill is Too Big, Too Broad and is Chocked Full of CRAP Too

Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats rolled out a 1,990-page health care proposal that makes severe changes to things like Medicaid, which the Democrats had previously said that they wouldn't change. And all Americans will have to subscribe to it too, which is opposite of what the Democrats said that they wanted. Opt out, my afterburner. There's no opting out with this bill.

The REPUBLICANS sure didn't put that crap in there.

They should take this bill, eliminate the fluff and condense it down to 200 pages. If they can't do that, then the entire thing should be scrapped. Entire federal budgets have been less than this pork-packed bill. Congress built the Social Security Administration in 1935 with a whopping 64-page bill. Compare that with Pelosi's 1,990-page monstrosity that a select few can even begin to understand.

Here's a part of the bill that CBS News web site quoted: "(a) Outpatient Hospitals – (1) In General – Section 1833(t)(3)(C)(iv) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395(t)(3)(C)(iv)) is amended – (A) in the first sentence – (i) by inserting "(which is subject to the productivity adjustment described in subclause (II) of such section)" after "1886(b)(3)(B)(iii); and (ii) by inserting "(but not below 0)" after "reduced"; and (B) in the second sentence, by inserting "and which is subject, beginning with 2010 to the productivity adjustment described in section 1886(b)(3)(B)(iii)(II)".)

1,990 pages of that horse crap??!

They should pass a bill that says the following: Congress shall pass no bill that cannot be understood by someone reading at an Eighth Grade (up to Tenth Grade) reading level. That's what most publications and newspapers do: they write to that level so that they have a large enough audience that can understand what they're saying. Congress needs to do the same thing.

In the meantime, they need to re-do this entire bill, starting with the title of it and working their way down. And if they can't say what needs to be said in plain English, and within 200 pages, then they shouldn't even consider passing this bill. There's no excuse for passing stealth legislation, which is what this bill is.

Congress should also pass no bill which they don't completely understand themselves!

MSNBC is Living in a Glass House: Their Criticisms of Fox News Over Impartiality Applies to MSNBC as Well

MSNBC has engaged in stone throwing while ignoring the glass house that they're living in; they've said through Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann that Fox News should be disqualified from being a news organization because of their activism.

If that's the standard, then MSNBC should be disqualified first as they engage in the character assassination of Fox News personalities on a daily basis. Count the number of times Olbermann deliberately doesn't call "Fox News" "Fox News." He's been reduced to name-calling. And MSNBC was considering keeping this guy as an anchor after he SCREWED up? Here's one of his recent rants (watch as long as you can stomach it).

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Both organizations have their news reporting divisions, and both have their op-ed divisions. Fox has Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, Greta Van Sustran, Chris Wallace and the Fox & Friends crowd. MSNBC has Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Andrea Michell, Ed Schultz, Joe Scarborough, Keith Olbermann, and co-hosts on several of the above shows.

MSNBC ought to tone down their own political rhetoric before criticizing the opposition; they have no credibility with personalities like Olbermann throwing political and personal grenades at people he doesn't like.

I do think both networks do need to do a better job of separating their news gathering divisions from their opinion-editorial side, which does get considerably more attention than their news divisions do. And yes, both liberals and conservatives manipulate stuff to their own ends. There's no denying that.

The main difference between MSNBC and Fox News is that Fox is more open to admitting that it has an opinion. Even their web site reflects it. Look up at the top of their web page and you'll see an "Opinions" selection. MSNBC simply calls their op-ed site "MSNBC TV" and leaves it at that on their web site.

The pot needs to stop calling the kettle black, until it comes clean on it's own views, which are hard-core liberal.

GOP Is Knuckling Under on Their Beliefs in the Name of Winning the Next Election: Stand Firm and FIGHT!

"The Party of No" is a label that has been used to describe both the Republicans and the Democrats, with one major difference.

The Democrats did not compromise on their stands; the Republicans appear ready to throw their values out the window to avoid being seen as the "Party of No" and having the label used against them in the days and weeks prior to Election Day. Yet the "PoN" strategy is one that they used against the Democrats, and were given a pretty good thumping at the polls.

The Republicans need to solidify their conservative base, and they won't do that by trying to out-Democrat the Democrats. This is a theme that I keep returning to because the GOP clearly isn't receiving the message yet. It's a failed strategy on the part of the Republicans. Their ideas should stand or fall on their own merits, without concern about whether they'll win or lose an election.

I want my elected officials to stand their ground, not adjust their positions so that they're going with the flow.

UK Prime Minister Brown Turns Into Magical Environmental Prophet: "50 Days to Save the Planet" Claim is Utter Rubbish

More global warming hubris from the government of the United Kingdom is circulating it's way through the world press this morning.

UK Prime Minster Gordan Brown is claiming that world leaders have 50 days to avoid utter disaster and climate change and "save the planet." What NONSENSE!

The Prime Minister's date is an arbitrarily chosen political date to pressure world leaders to come on board the "Save the Planet" bandwagon and agree to their point of view. And the trends that the Prime Minster is quoting is based on long-disputed research that generates enough hot air to heat the planet too.

And through all this, they're STILL ignoring the sun and sunspot activity that actually controls the extent of global warming, as the last couple of summers have clearly demonstrated.

Will the earth get warmer? You betcha! And then it'll cool off again. But this heating and cooling process has been going on for LONG before humans were around. Waters have risen, waters have fallen, then risen again. That's accepted science.

I think world leaders need to decide on what to do when the waters do rise again, as far as people who are living in areas that will be underwater in the next hundred years. The Maldives is a point in particular. Their entire nation, which is a cluster of atolls, is three feet above the ocean level and will likely be reclaimed by the ocean. What will the world do to help the people of the Maldives?

I don't have a problem with them trying to find cleaner ways of doing things; that will impact positively on our quality of life. But the man-made global warming hubris is pure rubbish; they need to look at the entire picture, not just one piece of it.

Would They PLEASE Keep the Balloon Kid Off TV?

I wish that the media circus surrounding the "balloon boy" would just die down, and that the parents would keep the kid at home, instead of dragging him onto TV. He threw up twice on live TV today, according to media reports.

This is ridiculous! Let the investigators investigate, and leave the kid out of it!

White House Behavior With Fox News is Childish: They Really Need to Grow Up

The White House is in a tit-for-tat exchange with Fox News over what they perceive as slights on the part of Fox over Obama's questionable health care and political views, and it's the most childish thing I've ever seen coming out of an Administration.

All it's done is drawn more attention to Fox to the point that they're totally dominating their competition even more so than usual.

Obama should focus on more important issues than a single media network that doesn't bow and scrape to him like the others do. No other President that has taken this kind of approach has been successful in waging a media campaign against a network.

Move on, Mr. President.

Granholm Administration Moves to Re-Combine DNR and DEQ to Save Money: That's Exactly Why They Were Split Apart

Michigan's Governor Granholm has proposed recombining the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) back into a united DNR.

The reason? To save money.

The reason the DNR was broken into the DNR and the DEQ, with their own budgets and responsibilities in the 90s? To save money.

Someone needs to explain this. Why will going back to the old system save money over the solution that a prior Administration, which was much more business savvy, came up with to save money in the first place?

I eagerly await a REAL GOOD explanation from the talking heads over this contradiction.

More Political Nonsense From the "Non-Political" Nobel Committee

I'm amused by the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to President Obama for eleven day's work as President (Obama took office January 20th, the deadline for nominations for the prior year was February 1st), but what's done is done. He's been awarded it, and has humbly accepted it in the spirit that it was offered.

So be it.

I'm also amused by the Republicans telling their members to tone it down, out of fear that they will be seen as a bunch of whiners. This is probably a smart move on their part.

And what does his press secretary have to say?

"We think that this gives us a sense of momentum when the United States has accolades tossed its way rather than shoes," he said this morning.

Accolades, eh? This was a one-fingered salute to President Bush from the Nobel Peace Prize committee, which also awarded Al Gore the prize for his global warming hubris, nothing more. So given their own political activism, I'm not surprised they gave Obama the prize for eleven days of no results.

And Mr. Press Secretary is sounding more like a propaganda minister every day, instead of a Press Secretary.

Even Obama's allies on MSNBC were not overly generous:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Whatever.

Letterman's Situation Highlights Problems With Employer/Employee Relationships: Where is the Line?

One of the questions being asked in light of the David Letterman situation is where the line is drawn between an employer and an employee (or manager/subordinate) having a relationship.

The line is fairly easy to see, yet employers get themselves into trouble by crossing that line without regard for the consequences. I've seen this first-hand, with a manager and a subordinate at a supermarket having a relationship that went badly. The effect that the break-up and charges of sexual harassment was devastating to not only the two involved, but also to all their co-workers. I thought they both acted stupidly.

Relationships at work are a bad idea. The best thing that two co-workers can do is keep their clothes on--that goes double for the manager who has the hots for a subordinate.

This Letterman situation is going to get far worse before it gets better. And yes, Letterman is an idiot for getting himself into this situation.

Dog Fighting Videos Protected By First Amendment?

When I first saw this on the news, I couldn't believe it.

There's a court case going on that will determine if dog fighting videos are protected speech. Whoever thinks that they are needs a good boot in the ass.

If the law that is being challenged is too broad, and will include a ban on hunting shows that show wild animals being shot by hunters, then they need to re-do the law which bans specific types of videos, such as dog fighting.

But leave the First Amendment out of this. This is a vile abuse of the court system to use the First Amendment to allow this contemptible blood sport to continue.

FTC Orders Bloggers to Disclose Payments For Reviews of Products

The Federal Trade Commission recently passed a rule that says that bloggers have to disclose whether they are paid for their reviews via money, freebies or equivalent of whatever product they are reviewing.

Per this order, I would like to make the following statement:

I generally refrain from reviewing products that are on the market. And those that I do review, I do so without any type of reimbursement whatsoever from the companies whose product it is. It would be nice, but I choose to review those products that I have a stake in, such as my Toshiba HD-DVD player that is essentially worthless, but still very useful. See my prior posts on the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD format war for details on that topic.

No free trips to Disney for me.

I will post what I want, when I want, about anything I want without worrying about the FTC order.

Next!

General McChrystal Goes Off the Reservation: His Afghanistan Speech Was Unfortunate

I've been watching and waiting for the axe to fall on the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and it looks like it's started.

General McChrystal sent his troop request to the Pentagon, then took his plan and his views to the media, which I didn't think was a very good idea. And sure enough, instead of motivating the Obama Administration to send more troops, all it's done is infuriate the Commander-in-Chief.

It's very unfortunate that General McChrystal didn't bide his time and speak privately with his boss.

I'm no fan of the Obama Administration, but there are written and unwritten rules between the military brass and the President, and it appears that a few lines were crossed. This is very unfortunate, and I hope that he and President Obama are able to get through this and move on to addressing what needs to be done to destroy the enemy.

Obama Administration Cancels Missile Defense Program on 70th Anniversary of Soviet Invasion of Poland: Timing of Announcement SUCKED

Poland is reacting very badly to the cancellation of the U.S. missile shield that would have been partially based on Polish territory.

For whatever reason, the Obama Administration decided to announce the change in plans on a dark day in Polish history: the 70th anniversary of the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland, which lead to decades of eventual Soviet rule, once the Nazis were driven from Poland.

The Poles are still very sensitive to the symbolism of this day, and our government chose this day, out of 365 days available in the year, to leave the Poles feeling like we're abandoning them. Again.

Couldn't they have chosen a better day?

President Obama Shouldn't Use Last Administration's Poor Spending Record to Justify His Own: Make Some Cuts

President Obama made the statement during his speech to Congress that he had a $1 trillion deficit as soon as he walked through the doors of the White House due to the last Administration's spending spree, including invading Iraq, etc. And the Democrats in Congress cheered.

Yet this is the same President Obama whose Office of Budget and Management says will add another $10 trillion in debt by the end of his two terms in office, at a minimum.

We're looking to President Obama to restore financial sanity in Washington, not use excuses like he made before Congress (see the first paragraph) to engage in his own budget-busting spending spree.

Someday a President will be forced to make catastrophic cuts in order to keep the country out of bankruptcy. And those cuts will be massive, and painful. It would be better to make cuts now and keep from reaching that point.

President Obama needs to shift gears, put the health care stuff on the back burner, and make some cuts. Get the budget under control and reduce the debt before adding more to it via this costly health care proposal that Obama is keen on passing.

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Twists Things Around: Representative Was Correct in Pointing Out Loophole, Though His Approach to It Was Highly Inappropriate

I was just flipping through the channels and stopped on MSNBC when I saw that Rachel Maddow was doing some commentary on the "You Lie!" situation in Congress. She got a couple of points incorrect.

The situation started when President Obama was making his speech to a joint session of Congress on Congress's health care bill, when Representative Wilson, reacting to a statement that President Obama made during the speech regarding whether this plan would cover illegals, stated that it wouldn't.

That was when Representative Wilson stated that Obama had lied, which lead to a huge political storm in Congress, which lead to Representative Wilson calling the White House before midnight on that evening to apologize.

It was a tactless statement on his part, but then news broke that the Democrats were closing a loophole that Representative Wilson was aware of, and was reacting to when Obama made his incorrect statement. A loophole is a loophole. Congress is notorious for creating loopholes in legislation, which leads them to go back and take care of it later on.

In this case, the GOP had tried to amend the problem twice, but both amendments were rejected by the majority Democrats.

Rachel Maddow stated that Congress was taking action to make sure that the "make believe" loophole would address his issue. That's pure political commentary based that is being parroted by the liberal media, who don't see it as a problem. That's nothing more than the liberal press imposing their views on things, nothing more.

Congress needs to close these loopholes.

I don't think Wilson won; decorum should be maintained. His apology was correct.

And if it wasn't a loophole, then why are the Democrats bothering to fix it?

Soviet Buran Space Shuttle Could Be Revived to Replace Retiring American Space Shuttle Program

This news report appeared in Russia Today and has sci-fi fans positively drooling. Russian and American scientists are looking at reviving the Soviet-era Buran space shuttle program to replace the retiring American space shuttle program.

The Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor are to be retired in 2010; the Orion orbiter is not expected to get off the ground until at least 2014, and is already rumored to be on the Obama Administration's list of programs to be cut.

(Adjust your volume downward at the beginning of this report, then adjust it to your comfort level).

If they can modernize the Buran design with today's technology, it would solve a lot of issues and could get off the ground relatively quickly. Buran had a larger cargo capacity as it didn't have a need for it's own engines--the Energia booster rocket provided more than enough lift to launch it into space.

Since the original Buran was destroyed in a hangar collapse in 2002, they would have to restart the program from scratch.

This probably won't happen, but it's a fascinating scenario. I like the idea.

Presidential Advisers Should Go Through Stronger Vetting Process: Current System Allows Unqualified Candidates to Advise the President

One of the most perplexing parts of the government is the Executive Office of the President, which was created in 1939 by FDR, and continues to this day. The advisers are appointed by the President and under the day-to-day management of the Chief of Staff.

The appointees are not subject to Congressional review, which I'm uneasy with. These people are advising the President.

The President's cabinet officers do require confirmation by a simple majority vote of the Senate. But this is a separate body of politicians than the Executive Office of the President. The media has taken to referring to these advisers as "czars."

The offices that are in the Executive Office of the President are:

• Council of Economic Advisers
• Council of Environmental Quality, which has been in the news quite a bit lately with one of the appointees resigning under fire due to his radical communist views.
• Council on Women and Girls
• Domestic Policy Council
• National Economic Council
• National Security Council (Congress should definitely have some input here as the last several appointees by the last three Administrations were not so hot).
• Office of Administration
• Office of Management and Budget
• Office of National AIDS Policy
• Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Office of the Trade Representative
• President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
• President's Intelligence Advisory Board (should be combined with the NSA)
• White House Military Office (position vacant due to Air Force One flyover of New York and subsequent resignation of the chair).
• White House Office

Each of these departments have sub-departments, so it's a pretty complex system. And very few are vetted by Congress. And in the case of Van Jones, the former "Green Czar," he didn't fill out the 63 question background questionnaire, which would hopefully have lead someone to raise some red flags.

The system needs to be strengthened, and background checks need to be performed. Or they should be voted on by Congress, following a question-and-answer session by a select committee.

Michael Jackson's Death Ruled a Homicide: Second Doctor Under Investigation

Michael Jackson's death was ruled a homicide by the coroner who did the autopsy on the late singer.

And instead of answering questions, the autopsy has lead to more questions. How could things have gotten so far? He should have been in the hospital if he was in that kind of pain and unable to sleep.

The police now have an hour-by-hour accounting of what happened to Jackson. According to the records, Jackson was given the following drugs in this sequence:

1:30 a.m. — 10 milligram tablet of Valium, a sedative.
2 a.m. — 2 milligrams of the sedative lorazepam (brand name Ativan) given intravenously.
3 a.m. — 2 milligrams of the sedative midazolam (brand name Versed) given intravenously.
5 a.m. — 2 milligrams of lorazepam given intravenously.
7:30 a.m. — 2 milligrams of midazolam given intravenously.
10:40 a.m. — 25 milligrams of propofol (brand name Diprivan) given intravenously and diluted with lidocaine (brand name Xylocaine).
10:50 a.m. — Doctor leaves Jackson’s room; returns minutes later to find Jackson not breathing. Begins CPR and gives 0.2 milligrams of flumazenil (brand name Anexate), used to reverse sedatives.

Did the doctor not realize what was going to happen? Those sedatives remain resident in the body, and with the propofol, the effect of the other seditives were amplified, according to medical authorities familiar with the drug.

Jackson should have been in the hospital getting proper treatment from doctors who were not on the King of Pop's payroll, and would have cleaned him out and gotten him on a proper treatment plan.

I can't see how the doctor involved won't get charged with a crime. He sure was negligent.

People Shouldn't Be Surprised That Pope Isn't Publicly Lavishing Praise on Senator Kennedy: His Political Stands Went Directly Against Church Policy

The media is wondering why Pope Benedict XVI hasn't issued any public comments on the death of Senator Ted Kennedy.

The reason is threefold: abortion, stem cell research, and gay marriage, which Kennedy strongly supported, but is vehemently opposed by the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Kennedy's outright defiance of church doctrine is well-known in Rome. So don't expect to see the Pope go out of his way to praise the Senator for his politics in public.

Being a liberal Catholic is a contradiction: one can be a liberal, or be a Catholic, but not both. You either are, or you aren't a Catholic. And the attempt by American politicians to bridge the gap and have it both ways is utterly ridiculous.

To see Senator Kennedy's voting record, go to ontheissues.org then select Massachusetts, then select Senator Kennedy on the Senate side.

As Expected, Liberals Target Those Who Aren't Gushing Over Senator Kennedy: Bloggers are Initial Targets

Politico.com is starting to go after those who decided not to hold their fire on the late Senator Kennedy.

Targeted were Washington Times columnist Andrew Breitbart, who twittered that Kennedy was a "villain," a "duplicitous bastard," and a "prick" and commented that he was "...more than willing to go off decorum to ensure THIS MAN is not beatified,” and “Sorry, he destroyed lives. And he knew it." Breitbart's comments, not mine.

They also mentioned HotAir's AllahPundit who wrote up a sarcastic commentary on what the eulogy was going to sound like.

And Instapundit over at Pajamas Media wrote that the Kennedy coverage was going to be like the "Wellstone funeral on steroids." Conservatives remember that disgraceful funeral as a Democratic rally, which was totally disgusting and inappropriate. The Democrats lost seats in the election that followed the Wellstone funeral because of their actions.

They even mentioned Limbaugh, who did hold his fire on Kennedy, but criticized the Clintons for being strangely quiet and commented that they had parted ways with Kennedy in January of 2008, when Senator Kennedy endorsed Obama for President instead of Hillary.

I'm waiting to see if the news anchors take the same stance that they did in 2004: that coverage of the Reagan funeral was excessive. I think the Kennedy coverage will eclipse the Reagan coverage.

Still waiting for Savage and Hannity to weigh in; listening to Savage tonight will be interesting. He's the most likely to go off on Kennedy and attract attention. Hannity will moderate his tone; Limbaugh did, so did Beck. O'Reilly will be interesting as well tonight.

Why is Microsoft Apologizing for Changing a Photo in an Ad? Different Markets Require Different Approaches

Microsoft is taking some heat for changing the race of a man featured in a photo on their web site. And I don't understand what the problem is.

Someone happened to notice that the Polish version of their web site has a white man featured in the photo; on other versions of the web site, it's a black man in the photo. Microsoft is apologizing for doing so, yet they shouldn't have to.

Every marketing major in the world knows that you change the advertising in different markets, in order to achieve a deeper market penetration. An ad that works in the U.S. market won't necessarily work in the Polish market.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Poland's population is a lot less diverse than ours is: it shows that the population is 96.7% Polish, 0.4% German, 0.1% Belarusian, Ukrainian 0.1% Ukrainian, and 2.7% is listed as "other." Caucasions make up nearly 100% of Poland's entire population.

By contrast, the U.S. population diversity looks something like this: white 79.96%, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61%.

The CIA put this in their writeup: ...a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic.

Companies doing advertising in the U.S. need to be more diverse in their advertising; those in Poland do not, and they shouldn't be criticized for changing their approach. Microsoft probably uses people of Asian descent for their advertising in China. That's smart advertising.

Microsoft should stand it's ground on this issue.

Senator Kennedy Passes Away at Age 77

I don't have a whole lot to say about Senator Kennedy's passing, other than to acknowledge that cancer is a common enemy, and I mourn the loss of another human being to the plague of our time.

I'm going to wait to blast the little pricks who had no problem saying really nasty stuff about President Reagan after he passed, and didn't have the decency to keep their yaps closed until after he was buried.

When someone from our side criticizes Senator Kennedy, it'll be the same pricks who start bitching and moaning about how inappropriate the statement was, and how DARE someone criticize the late Senator while his family is in mourning. Yet they had no such qualms about saying what was on THEIR minds when Nancy Reagan was going through the same process.

Liberal hypocrisy will be on full display shortly. And it'll probably be Limbaugh, Savage, Hannity, O'Reilly or Beck who make a statement that sets the liberals off, and they'll be demanding retractions, apologies and who-knows-what-else.

Then I'll have more to say.

Lockerbie Terrorist Should Not Have Been Released: Someone in Scotland Needs to Resign NOW

The decision to release the terrorist who helped to blow Pan Am Flight 103 out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland, is a low point in Scottish national history.

I think the minister who decided to grant this release is out of his mind and should consider resigning in order to restore Scotland's reputation, which lies in tatters after this debacle. And Libya should be ashamed of itself.

270 human beings were NOT granted a compassionate release by this monster and his cohorts; they didn't stand a chance. If the blast didn't kill them outright, the fall and impact from 38,000 feet certainly did.

This man should have died in jail, where he belongs. It was a LIFE sentence, not an 8 year sentence he was given. What a disgusting turn of events!

Chavez Continues His Rhetoric: Threatens to Ban All Columbian Imports in One Year

Mouth of the South Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, is raising the rhetoric in his row with Columbia, threatening a total ban on Columbian imports and severing all trade with his democratic neighbor, which has accused him of arming Columbian paramilitary groups.

Things have not settled down since Chavez told his military to prepare for war.

Columbia is exploring the possibility of leasing several bases on Columbian territory to the U.S. military, and it's driving Chavez insane.

Yet he thinks it's all right for Venezuelan arms to end up in the hands of Columbian rebels who want to establish a Socialist government in Columbia. He's trying to have it both ways; I hope Columbia doesn't cave in to this lunatic.

Voters Should Remember How Liberal Politicians Treated Their Health Care Reform Concerns

Barnie Frank had an atrocious town hall meeting with his constituents in Massachusetts, and shoveled so much crap into the faces of the voters out there that the entire point of the meeting was lost.

He wasn't there to listen to the opinions of his constituents; he was there to stir things up.

Hopefully the voters in his Congressional district remember what was said at this meeting, and someone steps up to the plate to challenge Frank for his seat.

And the same thing goes for the others too, especially the ones who don't even hold town meetings. That includes Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid.

Looks like they're really squirming. The GOP is correct in their opposition to this health proposal. We can't afford it right now.

Feds Tour Michigan Prison: Possible Location for Gitmo Detainees

Federal officials began touring a soon-to-be-closed maximum security prison in Standish, MI, to see if that's where they want to ship al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.

I am in favor of sending them here to Michigan, but not to Standish. It IS too near a population center that could be used as terrorist target (ie a hostage situation to entice the government to release the prisoners.)

Here's my thought: send all the prisoners currently being held in Alger Maximum Correctional Facility near Munising, MI, to Standish instead, and send the al-Qaeda prisoners to Alger Max.

The military will need to establish a base nearby; there's much more space in the Upper Peninsula to do that, if it is to be a joint military/civilian operation.

The local population WOULD be at risk, no matter where the al-Qaeda prisoners go.

If that's to be the standard, then here's another thought: distribute the prisoners throughout the country. There are enough maximum security prisons throughout the nation that we can send 3-4 prisoners to each, and not publicize who's going to which prison. That would eliminate a single target for terrorists to go after.

Our prison system can handle these people. There's a lot of NIMBY going on around here, nothing more.

We held Nazi prisoners in this country for years; in fact there were 400,000 German and Italian soldiers held in POW camps in the continental U.S. during World War II; there were close to five hundred POW camps in the following states: Ohio, California, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oregon, Georgia, Texas and Nebraska. According to one article that I referenced, Texas alone had seventy camps.

People ought to get over their apprehension. This is nothing new.

Venezuela Looks Like It's Going to Attack Columbia: Chavez's Military Buildup Continues

The Mouth of the South, President Chavez of Venezuela, accused Columbia of sending it's troops into Venezuela and has begun serious saber rattling over the "incident" (which never happened by the way).

He's looking for an excuse to give Columbia a bloody nose.

Chavez has begun ratcheting up the rhetoric to include threatened use of military force to destabilize Columbia, whose president he doesn't like.

The true intent of his massive arms buildup appears to be coming to fruition. He's out to make everyone around him into socialists.

If he does attack Columbia, he'll probably claim that Columbia invaded Venezuela, and that Venezuelan troops are pursuing the Columbian forces back into Columbia.

It's a pretext that has been used before: when Japan opened hostilities with China in 1937, they accused the Chinese of sneaking across the Marco Polo Bridge from China to Japanese-occupied China and kidnapping one of their soldiers. Tensions had been building for months, and on that day in particular, there had already been shots fired between the Chinese and Japanese armies. The missing Japanese soldier incident started major military action, once the Japanese got their foot into the door.

That's exactly the sort of situation that will set off the powder keg between Columbia and Venezuela, since Chavez is obviously spoiling for a fight. And the news that Columbia is talking to the U.S. about leasing seven Columbian bases to U.S. forces for drug interdiction and regional security guarantees is driving Chavez bonkers.

Perhaps if he quits funding and arming FARC, which opposes democracy in Columbia, the U.S. bases will be unnecessary. But he's unlikely to do that, isn't he?

Democratic Lawmakers Are Learning What Happens When They Try to Mandate Health Coverage That Punishes Those Who Opt Out: People Push Back

I'm wondering if Democratic lawmakers, under heavy barrage at their town hall meetings across the country, are getting the message that people don't like to be forced to purchase government health care plans or ELSE?

What did they think was going to happen? That people were going to let Congress and our Socialist President push them into a Socialist agenda? And submit to fines for not wanting to get into the government health care plan, especially if they can't afford the premiums?

Then there's the fuzzy math...taxing the rich to pay for this mandatory health system? The Administration hasn't come out and said how much of a shortfall that the government will be forced to pick up. That bill is likely to be HUGE to the taxpayer, who will also be paying for the system if they don't have health care through their employer or on their own.

This is the wrong battle to be fighting right now. And Congress is learning the hard way that if they push a socialist agenda on the American people, that they'll push right back.

It's extremely unfortunate that there has been violence and disruptions at these meetings; in civil discourse there is no place at the table for those who intend to disrupt the town hall meetings through acts of violence or aiming to prevent the exchange of ideas.

Congress needs to know how their constituents feel about the issues; if that flow of information is disrupted, they're likely to go further off course than they already are.

If I was going to give advice to the protesters, it would be to register your opinions at the mike, and in your reactions to what the legislator says, then leave it at that. They'll hear you, loud and clear.

And my advice to the other side would be to not restrict the debate by underhanded tactics, such as letting your own supporters fill 85% of the seats before letting the rest of the public in. In order for a town hall meeting to be legitimate, let everyone in.

And both parties need to stay out of these meetings. They'll taint the proceedings even more.

ObamaCare Needs to be Put on Hold: Government Revenue is Decreasing

Many of the new government spending programs need to be suspended until someone figures out how much revenue the government is taking in from income taxes and other types of taxes.

This includes suspending all plans to put Obama's health care nightmare into effect.

According to the Associated Press, tax receipts are poised to drop 18% from one year ago, which means the government needs to go on a crash diet immediately. They cannot keep spending more money than they actually have.

Congress ought to forget about health care reform for the time being until we are on firmer ground with the economy. We're already $11 trillion in debt, with another $12 trillion or more in debt on the way.

Stop this madness!

Government Needs Massive Spending Cuts Now: Income Needs to Exceed Expenses, Not the Other Way Around

It is currently being projected that the U.S. government will have spent $23 trillion by the time this current economic downturn ends, and the economy begins to expand again.

At what point is the solution worse than the actual problem that it's trying to fix?

$23 trillion is approximately double the entire gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States. That doesn't work. The government needs to start scaling stuff back and not be left holding the bag when it's time for the bailed out companies and corporations to start paying their loans back to the taxpayers.

It should also be written into bankruptcy law that if a company that has government bailout money is liquidated, the United States Department of the Treasury gets the proceeds first, to pay the government back for the bailout.

Congress "Retires" F-22 Raptor: NOT

The press is reporting that Congress has officially "retired" the F-22 Raptor, which was to replace several older models of strike fighters operated by the Air Force and Navy.

No they didn't.

They decided to end the production of the F-22, but the 200 that have already been built will remain in service for 10-20 years before the model is officially "retired" by the military, not by Congress.

Congress abandoned the F-22 Raptor in favor of the newer and cheaper F-35 Lightning II, which will be operated by the U.S. military as the "Joint Strike Fighter." They've just placed an order for more F-35s even as they cut production of the F-22.

If this new fighter can do the workload of the F-22 for less cost, then this is a good decision. In it's heyday, the now-retired F-14 Tomcat cost $30 million per copy; the F-22 cost $99 million per copy, which made many in Congress choke on the cost.

For the billions they put into the F-22, the military should use the F-22 Raptor for a while to justify the cost that was put into R&D and procurement of the F-22.

That's a financially sound decision too.

Obama's Health Care Math is Fuzzy: Taxing One Group to Pay for Everyone Else Won't Even Come Close to Making Obama's Program Work

President Obama's health care plan is nothing short of full-scale LUNACY.

Taxing the rich to pay for his entire health care proposal won't work: he's talking about insuring 46 million people. There aren't enough American millionaires in existence to come up with the cash necessary to support this plan, which is still in infantile stage. And if they do have enough money to pay for all of this, will they the following year? And the year after that? And the year after that?

What has been left unsaid is how much the government will have to pony up to cover the shortfall in Obama's math.

There is a solution out there, but this isn't it. And the sooner they change their tune, the better.

Sure Feels Like Global Warming, Doesn't It? Thhhp!

So, how does global warming feel to everybody?

Feels like hell has frozen over to me. What? What? Global warming causes temperatures to RISE??!

And what's that, you say? A lack of sunspot activity, you say?

Are the global warming blowhards putting two and two together?

When are the global warming alarmists going to finally admit that sunspot activity plays a much larger role in Earth's weather patterns, and that their gloom and doom forecasts are much more likely to be caused by sunspot activity than "man-made global warming?" There's a contradiction of terms if there's ever one to be found.

The globe is going to do what it wants, regardless of our absence or presence. I think we're in more danger from the hot air coming from self-important egomaniacs from within the global warming crowd. By all means, we should go green with stuff, because it's good for the environment that our struggling civilization lives in, but people ought to knock it off with the lies about global warming to further their own political agendas.

If the ocean rises and consumes our coastline, it's because it's done it before, time and time again, without man being around. Fossil records prove it, which is a constant thorn in the side of the faulty "man-made global warming" science, which has been used to convince the scientifically illiterate that "man-made global warming" is a bigger threat than it actually is. Natural global warming is being used as a tool to further a liberal agenda.

It's the role of the elder generations to leave the environment in better shape than they found it for future generations, which will, in turn, leave it cleaner than they found it for the generations that follow them.

Going Away for a While: Updates Will be Spread Out

Heading up north for the summer, so I'm not sure how often this will be updated.

Looking forward to getting back on and making more noise real soon.

GM and Chrysler Now Have Credibility as They Finally Admit That They're Bankrupt and HAVE Been Bankrupt for Over a Year

I made a comment last year on this blog that the Big Three were already bankrupt but didn't have the guts to admit it; as of Monday it will be true for two of the Big Three.

GM is set to go into bankruptcy on Monday; Chrysler is already there and restructuring. Ford looks like it's got it's act together and successfully changed course in time to avoid joining GM and Chrysler in bankruptcy court.

The sad part about this is that they could have avoided this problem many months ago, and adapted to changing conditions much more quickly. But they chose not to, preferring not to change their already-decided auto lines to match what was happening in the economy.

I'm not interested in who was more at fault in the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler; the management vs. union debate has been going on for many decades before this, and will likely continue for many years into the future, once this crisis has abated.

The government needs to complete this work quickly, then get out of Detroit's business. Government doesn't have time to run the auto industry; they can barely manage Washington's problems as it is, without having two auto companies to run as well.

Why Was Chrysler Taken to Bankruptcy Court in New York, and Not in Michigan, Where It's HQ Is?

I've been mulling over the Chrysler bankruptcy since it happened and one question keeps popping up:

Why did the government file for the bankruptcy in New York, and not in Michigan?

The federal government could just as easily have filed it at a federal courthouse in Michigan, as it did in New York. Many of Chrysler's debts are owed to Michigan businesses.

Not sure what the rationale was for filing this bankruptcy there instead of here, where Chrysler is headquartered.

Abuse Photos Should Be Released AFTER U.S. Troops Are GONE from Iraq, Not Before

I am of the opinion that the Abu Ghraib prison abuse photos SHOULD be released, but not until U.S. troops are GONE from Iraq, not before.

The ACLU and the media can wait two more years. They've already waited seven. They have NO RIGHT to demand that our troops be placed in any more danger, especially now that the war in Iraq is scheduled to wind down. The release of those photos may shift the sands again and turn Iraqis who are currently helping the U.S. forces against them.

The early release of those photos would be a mistake. The Obama Administration should stand it's ground on that point. When our troops are gone, THEN they can release everything and begin to make amends, but not while there's still shooting going on. We need to stop handing ammunition to the enemy and then having them shoot it back at us.

Cheney is in the News Again: Stirring the Pot Up Again With His Flawed Approach to National Security

Keeping traditions is an important part of our American tradition, and one tradition is that former Presidents of the United States do not criticize their successor for a while.

Former President Bush is honoring this time-honored tradition, saying that he "...doesn't want to criticize President Obama as he deserves my silence." His Vice President, Dick Cheney, is honoring no such tradition. He's been blasting away at Obama's approach to national security.

I thought that Cheney should have resigned alongside President Bush's former Defense Secretary, Don Rumsfeld, due to his contribution to the hype behind the Iraq War, and the mismanagement of the occupation, and his willingness to shred the Constitution in the name of national security.

In fact, I tried to blister both their hides (Rumsfeld and Cheney) with criticisms of those points, to the point that someone who reads this blog sent me an e-mail, warning me to "tone it down" or else I would end up disappearing when "martial law was declared" as that reader put it. I ignored that advice. Martial law was NOT declared, President Bush didn't seize power like some thought he would, and he and Cheney left the White House precisely on time.

Since Cheney has refused to fade quietly into the background, I'm going to dial my criticism of him back up.

And make no mistake, I think Obama's mismanaging things pretty badly, but he'll get his own articles once I have a clearer picture of what direction he's steering us in. For now, Cheney is invoking the wrath of my poison pen. Again.

Human rights should NEVER be sacrificed in the same of national security, as Cheney has suggested. Rather, human rights and national security should go hand in hand. But that means changing what our perception of "national security" is.

"National security" should involve a free American people being able to live their lives, free from fear of terrorists, of criminals, and free of being afraid of what their own government might do to them for speaking up, and criticizing the government. The American people want their government to stand up for the rights of individuals, and to honor and cherish the Bill of Rights, on which their natural rights are confirmed.

Cheney's version of national security involves star chamber justice, weakening the parts of the Constitution that he doesn't like, because they're INCONVENIENT, holding people without trial indefinitely, and denying people accused of crimes the right to challenge their imprisonment, in spite of all the international treaties that the United States has signed that says it would take the lead in upholding international norms of decency and human respect.

Human rights need to be considered in all national security matters, and shouldn't be subordinated. There are ways to do both, and still get the job done. And that's what infuriates me the most about Cheney's approach to things. His approach is that there's only one approach to all of these problems, and human rights can be sacrificed in the name of national security. His inflexibility has made him one of the most controversial Vice-Presidents of all time.

I think in time, history will be kind to Bush, but I'm not so sure about how history will judge Cheney. The damage he inflicted on the Constitution is something that should be held up as the wrong approach to solving the nation's problems.