Government Needs to Take Steps to Ensure That Current Wall Street Trouble Doesn't Happen Again

I've been holding off commenting on the current Wall Street crisis until I could understand what was happening and why. Here's how it breaks down:

1. People wanted to buy houses that were too expensive for them.
2. Mortgage companies wanted people to buy expensive houses too.
3. Banks lowered their standards to a point that people didn't even have to show that they had a job or could afford the monthly payments.
4. People got the loans and "bought" their houses with a mortgage.
   
5. Investment banks used a system referred to as "leveraging", which means that they borrowed money from other banks and countries to buy up the mortgages so that they would receive the income from the borrower. Since the interest rate on the mortgage was higher than the interest rate on the loan that the investment bank took out to purchase the mortgage, a profit would be made by the investment bank.
6. Some banks kept borrowing money to buy up more mortgages and make more money. Several of the big banks accumulated debt more than thirty times their TOTAL value.
7. Housing collapse began; people began to default on their mortgages.
8. So many people defaulted that the banks couldn't pay back their own debts that they had accumulated.
9. "Toxic debt" was the term coined to describe the debts that the investment banks accumulated to buy up mortgages.
10. On Friday, President Bush announced that the government would buy up the "toxic debt" to shore up the faltering financial sector. The U.S. taxpayer gets stuck with the trillion-dollar bailout. Some people need to go to JAIL.
    

That's it in a nutshell.

And I am not in favor of this move until we're told EXACTLY how much this is going to cost.

There's plenty of blame to go around:

• People shouldn't have taken out loans that were beyond their ability to pay back.
• The banks should NEVER have allowed these loans to be authorized.
• The government should NEVER have eased the leverage restrictions that were in place until the late 1990s. This was a total screw-up.
• Both parties are to blame as well. The party that SHOULD have seen this crisis coming DIDN'T, and the party that did didn't do ANYTHING about it.
  
• In addition, the Fed should have done much more to keep the dollar strong, which is their MANDATE.
• The government should have been cutting expenses at the same rate as their tax cuts. $1 of tax cuts should have translated into at least $1 of spending cuts. They should have been cutting our $10 trillion debt load up to a week ago, before committing the government to an additional $1.5 trillion (minimum) that they've taken up to save Fannie May, Freddie Mac, and all the banks that have failed in 2008. Put another way, this week has been the most expensive government spending surge in HISTORY.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has spent $600 billion in 2008. It has $30 to $45 billion left in reserves, which is approaching the minimum mandated by federal law. What happens if another 10-20 banks go under and they each have $3 billion in covered deposits?

Who's leveraging the GOVERNMENT??!

Pakistan Claims to Have Opened Fire on U.S. Choppers: Conflicting Accounts

Here's the conflicting versions of an "incident" involving U.S., Pakistani and tribal forces:

Pakistan security force: "Pakistani forces and local tribesmen opened fire on two U.S. helicopters who attempted to land along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border on the Pakistani side. The helicopters fled back across the border to Afghanistan."

Pakistan Foreign Ministry: "Local tribesmen opened fire on two U.S. helicopters escorted by U.S. gunships who attempted to land along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border on the Pakistani side. Pakistani security forces were not involved. The helicopters fled back across the border to Afghanistan."

Pakistani Army: "We deny it. Our border wasn't violated. But we did hear shooting in the area. We don't know where the firing was directed."

Tribesmen: "We saw that U.S. forces were gathering across the border, so thousands of tribesmen who were upset that the U.S. came in on September 3rd and killed twenty civilians gathered and were guarding the area. Good thing the U.S. left, otherwise the people were ready to give them the welcome that they deserved."

Pentagon spokesman: "The incident described by Pakistan didn't happen."

It seems like everyone has a version of what did or didn't happen.

It's probable that someone with an itchy trigger finger in the village got spooked, and everyone joined in the firing, without having a real target in sight. Once the firing stopped, someone claimed that U.S. helicopters had tried to land, and that's how the story spread.

I'm inclined to go with the Pakistani Army and Pentagon explanations. What a confusing story.

No American Candidates Should be Anywhere Near UN Next Week: Opening Session Being Attended by World Leaders

I'm not too happy to hear that the GOP ticket is planning on sending Sarah Palin to the U.N. to meet world leaders to build her foreign policy experience. That is precisely the WRONG thing to do; it's no better than Obama's grandstanding overseas a couple of months ago.

They need to reconsider this move. If McCain/Palin wins in November, she can build up her experience by attending funerals of foreign leaders and dignitaries, and acting as the President's representative while overseas.

This could backfire as badly as Obama's bungled overseas trip. I don't think they want to go there. Both tickets should avoid the UN like the plague!

Pakistan Orders It's Army to Open Fire on American Troops on Strike Missions Into Pakistani Territory: American Side Needs to Back Off

Pakistan is getting fed up with American troops crossing the border into their territory to destroy Taliban and al-Qaeda targets and has ordered it's army to open fire on American and coalition forces that they encounter inside Pakistan. This is not a healthy turn of events.

An American admiral went to Pakistan to talk to their new government about smoothing things over, but each time an American strike happens inside Pakistan and civilians get killed by American bombs and missiles, it destabilizes Pakistan's fragile government and increases the risk of an anti-American government coming to power in Islamabad. This is not a good way of keeping Pakistan on our side.

I don't think this is a correct course of action to take; we don't need to get into a shooting war with Pakistan over this. I think President Bush and the Pentagon need to decide if Pakistan is still our ally or if it's a nation that we intend to invade next. We're not acting like good friends to Pakistan.

No good can come of this.

When Is That Little Commie Runt in Venezuela Going to Get Indicted on Drug Charges?

The U.S., Venezuela and Bolivia are engaged in expelling one another's ambassadors; the U.S. has also frozen the assets of two Venezuelans who are engaged in drug dealing to raise money for FARC rebels in Columbia.

Screw that!

When will U.S. courts indict President Chavez on drug dealing charges? Forget about the lackeys, go for the head of the snake itself, and charge him as Manuel Noriega was. Better yet, get INTERPOL involved, as Chavez ordered his people to sell drugs for FARC, which he supports. That's grounds for INTERPOL involvement.

Further, Columbia, the U.S. and Venezuela are all signatories to the INTERPOL agreement. If the U.S. wants to isolate the Mouth of the South, this is a good way to do so, until Columbia's people get tired of Chavez and throw him out of office themselves.

Some People Need to CHILL: They're Creating the Very Gas Shortage That They're Afraid Of

There's been a great deal of rumor-mongering going on today, and it's created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

People are afraid that gas will hit $5 or $6 a gallon overnight; what a bunch of BULLSHIT! That wouldn't have happened, but since so many people went out and panic-bought fuel today, they're creating the very shortage that they're afraid of. And now there's a possibility that gas will hit $5 in the coming days and weeks because of the panic buying AND the potential disruption, which probably wouldn't have been so bad on it's own.

According to WLNS, the police had to be called to at least one gas station in the Lansing area today, to break up fights between drivers. State officials are telling everyone to follow their normal routines when it comes to fill-ups as it will minimize any ACTUAL disruptions in the fuel supply from Hurricane Ike.

People need to remember that as demand exceeds supply, the price will increase. If the hurricane tears up oil production and disrupts the supply, that's one thing. But for us to panic-buy and reduce the available supply faster than it can be replenished, and the price skyrockets as a result--without the price gouging factor--then we've shot ourselves in the a$$.

Shame, shame.

Who Cares What Bolivia Does? They Need Us More Than We Need Them

Regarding the Bolivian expulsion of our ambassador: WHO CARES?

They need us more than we need them. Let them throw our entire embassy out while their country goes to pieces, as it's currently doing.

The State Department can cut their budget accordingly and save the money that would be wasted on Bolivia's current government. They won't even be there in a couple of months! Their own people seem to be showing them the door.

Good riddance!

Foreign Governments Need to Stay the Hell Out of Our Business: We'll Elect Our Own President, Thank You Very Much

80% of the world wants Obama in the White House? Too bad; there might well be a lot of disappointed people around the world once AMERICANS have their say at the polls on November 4th. Americans don't like foreigners messing with OUR elections.

And what is with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown endorsing Obama and Obama's proposals that Obama withdrew his support from last month? I respect the Prime Minister, but not when it comes to OUR elections. He ought to get his OWN house into order before telling us how to run ours.

And speaking of elections, why won't he allow a general election in Britain? Is it because Labor's run out of gas and the Conservatives lead by David Cameron are taking seats away from his party in local elections across Britain? This man has some nerve endorsing Obama when he won't allow a general election in his own country.

And as predicted, Obama didn't earn any votes over here with his grand trip overseas, in which he WAS grandstanding. Shame, shame. Pandering to an overseas audience before he's even elected.

International community, keep your opinions to yourselves because we AREN'T interested. Run your own elections, and let us run ours.

Conyers Says She's Ready to Lead Detroit City Council: I Think Not

President Pro Tempore Monica Conyers says she's ready to lead the Detroit City Council once Council President Ken Cockrel becomes acting Mayor of Detroit.

YEAH, RIGHT.





She called Cockran "Shrek" in the above exchange. She was more concerned about being disrespected and was extremely rude herself.

Her temper will get the best of her and she'll turn the city council meetings into a bigger farce than they are now. And that's assuming that she comes out of the FBI investigation of the council in the clear.

Here's more of her fine leadership qualities on display:

• Yesterday she ran away from the press after calling them "evil" and requested an escort past them.
• During the Democratic National Convention she called the Denver police to moderate a dispute between her, her staff and the hotel that she was staying at. Calling the police for something like THAT?
• She threatened to shoot one of outgoing Mayor Kilpatrick's aides at a pension meeting and then threatened to have her four brothers "whup his a$$."

She's promised to behave, but given the type of politics that goes on at the City Council meetings, will she be able to keep order and stay in order?

Woodward Makes Brief Mention of New Technique for Tracking Terror Leaders: Media Should STAY OFF This Part of the Story

Bob Woodward's new book makes mention of a new system of tracking and targeting terrorist leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan that the military is taking great advantage of. But when questioned about it in an interview, Woodward declined to explain further.

Smart move, Bob. I hope the media follows his example and leaves this part of the story alone. Whatever the military is doing, it's working.

The last time that the press revealed that the military was able to track al-Qaeda's use of particular electronic devices, the group stopped using them, which made the system useless and lead to more American lives being lost on the battlefield. We don't want a repeat of that experience.

If there are any reporters out there who already know the details about this "system" that Woodward mentions, ZIP IT. Don't take another tool out of the hands of the military.

Detroit's Mayoral Nightmare Ends: Kilpatrick Pleads Guilty and Resigns

Detroit's long nightmare is finally over. Mayor Kilpatrick plead guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice, will resign, serve 120 days in jail, and will have probation for five years. In addition he will lose his law license, forfeit his pension and will repay the city $1 million.

The scandal has made international headlines for months and was a huge embarrassment to the city and to the entire state of Michigan. Today's developments are also generating international headlines.

Now they have to sort out the City Council down there. Several members are under FBI investigation for corruption and may be in big trouble.

Kilpatrick's resignation will go into effect in two weeks; the city council president will assume control of the city as Detroit's 61st mayor the next day; hopefully he cleans house.

GOP Platform Looks Good; Few Items of Concern

The 2008 GOP platform is now complete and is available on their web site. They have a lot of good stuff in it, not the least of which are:

• Support for the First Amendment right of association that protects the Boy Scouts of America and other similar organizations who are under attack from liberals.
• Support for appointing judges with a strict view of the Constitution to the federal bench and not political activists who believe in the "living document" crap.
• Support for the 2nd Amendment to keep and bear arms.
• Support for human rights, religious freedom and economic freedom overseas.
• A strong pro-life stance in the abortion debate.
• A commitment to maintain our friendship with Israel.
• Calls for an end to earmarking.
• Calls for a balanced budget amendment, except during times of war.
• A ban on human cloning and stem cell research which involves the destruction of embryonic human life, and the creation of human embryos for research purposes.
  
• A massive expansion of stem-cell research in those areas that do not involve the destruction of embryonic human life.
• Preserving property rights.
  

I'm not in full agreement with everything in their platform.

• They still refuse to recognize habeas corpus as a right as described in the United Nations charter and is an international right, not just an American one.
• They're maintaining their support of the death penalty as a party.
• I also don't believe that the Republicans will stop runaway government spending. The moderates who hold a majority in the party will keep spending and expanding the debt unless conservatives get in control of the party. THEN we'll see dramatic reductions. Not before.
• Global warming hubris. Where exactly does the science end and the politics begin?
  

They're also debating the 2012 primary system. Looks like two states will again enjoy primacy at the expense of all others; I had hoped they would get rid of this unfair system after two states--Michigan and Florida--rebelled against this system for the 2008 primary season. I think every state in the union needs to follow Michigan's and Florida's example and hold their primaries early in 2012. This issue needs to be forced; both parties are reluctant to go there.

Here's the platform.

DailyKos's Lies Exposed: Backpedals on Story that Governor Palin's Fifth Child Was Actually Her Grandchild

Slam dunk story...ultra-liberal blog site DailyKos tried to spread a vicious lie that Governor Sarah Palin's fifth child was not hers, that the child was actually her daughter's.

So the Palin family fired back, announcing that the daughter is five months pregnant right now, which blows the DailyKos story clear out of the water. They've already eliminated their original post in shame, posting the announcement of the daughter's pregnancy, with the tagline that the candidate "was SO not vetted" by the McCain camp.

That also isn't true; McCain knew about it already; confirmation came from a McCain aide before the Palins issued a joint press release.

I'm SO enjoying watching DailyKos squirm...

The Mainstream Media is Getting It Wrong Again: They Underestimate Conservative Turnout on Election Day

The word out in the media is that they're laughing at the GOP vice presidential nominee and consider it a joke.

GOOD.

Considering the outcomes of the last two Presidential elections, one would have thought that they had learned their lesson. Guess not. They're ignoring the effect that Governor Palin is already having on conservative voters, who have already proven that when they turn out in large numbers, their candidate wins the election.

There's some pretty silly articles out there put on by liberal pundits who have no clue as to what kind of strategy McCain is employing, including this one. The Politico article is one of the more clueless ones that I've seen so far.

It's still too early to tell if Governor Palin will be able to draw out conservatives who were sitting on the fence, waiting to see how things turn out before deciding to go vote on Election Day. But if she's successful and enough attention is turned onto Obama's time in the Senate and his super-liberal positions, the Democrats could be in deep trouble, considering that there's a statistical dead-heat going on in the polls.

The entire election will hinge on whether the conservatives turn out in force, and carry as few as two swing states that are leaning toward Obama at the current time. There's still two full months and change before Election Day, and it could go either way. But the MSM is underestimating the conservative turnout and overestimating the Democratic turnout, as they have over and over again. It'll be funny if they're dead wrong--again.

The conservatives are better at turning out voters than the Democrats and "rock the vote" are. When will the media be on the same page as reality?

Gustav Threatens New Orleans: We're About to Find Out if Recovery Money Was Wasted

Hurricane Gustav is approaching New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and we're about to find out if billions spent on Katrina recovery was worth it, or if the money went into a sinking money pit that matches the sinking bowl that New Orleans sits in.

FEMA, Louisiana's state government and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin have a chance to prove that they've improved their plans in their response to the approaching threat.

The Army Corps of Engineers reports that their improvements to the levee system around New Orleans and in southern Louisiana are 20% complete. Uh oh. And parts of the city remain nine feet below sea level and continue to sink.

People who are choosing to stay in the strike zone need to reconsider TODAY and leave TODAY. By mid-morning tomorrow, it will be too late.

McCain's VP Choice is a Good One: Experience Remains an Issue in McCain vs. Obama Race

John McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. It's a good choice, and an unexpected one. The smart money was on Romney as McCain's VP candidate, but McCain went with another Republican--and a conservative one--who has taken on her own state party in an attempt to straighten Alaska out.

I view her as an ideal citizen-politician who isn't part of the Washington crowd, who isn't afraid to take on her own party and will tell it like it is.

More importantly, she counts herself as an opponent of abortion and has gotten good reviews from conservative leaders. I like the choice.

Obama is trying to say that experience is no longer an issue between the candidates, but it actually still is. The main event is still Obama vs. McCain, not Obama vs. Palin. Obama or McCain will be running the country in 2009; that hasn't changed, so experience is still on the table.

Democratic Convention Was All Giltz, No Substance: Temple of Obama Was Ridiculous

The Democrats sure know how to put on a glitzy party, that's for sure, but their convention was all glitz, and no substance. They failed to astonish anyone with bold new initiatives, and was nothing short of a full-scale victim pity party.

And there was Bill Clinton retelling old lies and rewriting history...again. All one has to do is look at the first quarter of 2001's growth rate to tell the story of record surpluses and economic growth: the economy grew backwards at a rate of -.49%. He handed off an economy with decreased GDP to George W. Bush. His surpluses were already on the way out the door while Clinton was still in office.

I wasn't impressed with the rhetoric. All I heard was "poor us, poor us." They delivered on the "why" but not on the "how" except in the most generic terms possible. "Obama has the experience to put people back to work!" How, exactly?

And the Temple of Obama thing on the last night was utterly ridiculous; it's cannon fodder for the opposition, who has already taken great advantage of how it looked, even before the One even appeared on the stage. And when he did take the stage, he announced nothing new, other than some new criticisms of McCain.

For all that trouble, Obama got a six point bounce in the polls, which is considered a moderate outcome. The candidate who gets the bigger bounce in the polls following the respective conventions usually wins the election. In 2004, Bush got a 15 point bounce, Kerry got a five point bounce. Kerry was also dealing (ineffectually) with the Swift Boat ads, which came on the heels of the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

I took more enjoyment out of watching MSNBC with it's on-air personality conflicts. THAT was more interesting watching than the Democratic Convention.

I wonder if the networks will monitor the GOP convention next week as closely as they did Obama's. I seriously doubt it. And I also wonder if the GOP convention will be as generic as the Democratic one was. We'll see.

Did Hillary Mean It? WHO CARES?

I've got a few things to say about this recent body language/speech analysis that the networks seem to be indulging in when analyzing a political speech.

I don't put a lot of stock in over-analyzing a political speech, and I think that the networks are doing precisely that. And they're missing the point. What percentage of political speech made by a politician is actually meant?

The real answer might shock some of the pundits.

Regarding Hillary's "concession" speech, she just got her ass kicked in the delegate count, and for the sake of her party's unity, she gave the speech that people on her side needed to hear. THAT'S ALL IT WAS! And if anyone missed it, she said this between the lines: "Hope Obama loses so I can run again in 2012."

That's the headline, CBS. "Did she mean it?" WHO CARES!

As far as the side I'm on, I'm not on hers, and I will campaign against her again when she runs in 2012.

NO to McCain-Lieberman: Conservatives WON'T Stand For It

There's a big rumor going around that John McCain has chosen independent Joe Lieberman as his running mate. I hope that this rumor is false; I know I'm not alone in saying that I wouldn't vote for this ticket, regardless of whether Obama is going to win it or not.

I like Joe Lieberman, but his voting record is straight-liberal, except in national security.

McCain needs to really choose carefully. His values-voters are hanging in the balance.

MSNBC Talking Heads Feuding More Than Usual: Democratic Convention Acts Like a Pressure-Relief Valve

For some time I've been watching the Bill O'Reilly (FoxNews) vs. Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) feud as the two personalities took potshots at one another on their respective shows.

But I didn't see the on-air Joe Scarborough vs. David Schuster spat or Keith Olbermann open-mike commentary during a Scarborough report during last night's Democratic National Convention. It's facinating that these kinds of eruptions happen during live coverage of an event, or even in the studios themselves. The Geraldo Riviera vs. Bill O'Reilly confrontation last year was pretty wild, too.

Will MSNBC react to this exchange, or will they waffle and let things stand?

If Hollywood Wants Obama to Win, They Need to Shut Up About McCain

It occurs to me that the more Hollywood talks politics, the more the right gets fired up. So it stands to reason, that if they want their "chosen one" Obama to win, they need to shut up about McCain and keep making movies. In fact, the less we hear from Hollywood, so much the better.

If they want to use the power of their celebrity to promote a cause, that's one thing. But everyone saw what happened when McCain ran his "Celebrity" ad and use Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in it: Obama's numbers began to slide and haven't recovered. He'll have a bump in the numbers next week due to the Democratic Convention starting tomorrow, and all eyes will be on Obama.

The week after, the GOP has their turn. Then I fully expect one of the most negative campaigns in American political history to begin.

But with the success of McCain's "Celebrity" ad, Hollywood should take note that most common folks don't care about their opinions. They'll wind up hurting Obama instead of McCain if they trash-talk McCain.

Full-Circle: DNC Restores Votes Stolen From Michigan and Florida

The primary voting drama that happened between Florida, Michigan and the Democratic National Committee has come full-circle. As had been hoped, the DNC restored full-strength voting rights to Michigan and Florida at the request of Barack Obama.

They had stripped the two states of all their delegates to this week's Democratic National Convention in Denver as both states had primary elections prior to Super Tuesday. After much screaming, both states had half-strength votes restored to them in May, and full-strength votes restored as of today.

Finally, some common sense coming out of the DNC. Those voting rights should never have been taken away in the first place; their own rules say that those states who have pre-Super Tuesday elections will be penalized with a 50% loss of voting delegates, not 100%.

Is candidate "undecided" from Michigan going to be represented at the DNC too? That was one of the more ridiculous things to come out of the election in Michigan. They should have kept all the names on the ballot, like they did in Florida, instead of taking them off and putting "undecided" on there.

Well, we just completed sixteen days of Olympics on TV. Now we'll have eight full days of hot air coming from Denver and St. Paul over the next two weeks. THERE'S a global warming catastrophe! Everyone had better go out and buy carbon credits so that the temperature of the planet doesn't go through the roof during the conventions!

While everyone's out purchasing their carbon credits, I also have a bridge in Brooklyn that I'd like to sell you....

IOC Needs to Clean Up It's Act: Beijing Selection Was a Costly Mistake and Set the Cause of Human Rights in China Back Decades

The International Olympic Committee considers the Beijing Games a back-slapping success, but given what it's done to the cause of human rights in China, they should be mollified. Yes, the on-field games were a tremendous success. But at what cost?

They've set back human rights in China for decades!

The Chinese government forcibly relocated hundreds of thousands of people who used to live where the Olympic venues now sit, placed political dissenters under arrest in the weeks before the Olympics, threatened gatherings of more than five people with arrest for fear of public protests in full view of the Olympics and TV cameras, arrested foreign protesters, set up "protest areas" and then arrested applicants who dared to apply for permission to protest in those areas.

The press reported this story on a pair of elderly Chinese women whose house was demolished. When they applied for permission to protest in the "protest area" they were arrested and charged with "disturbing public order" and sentenced to one year in a labor camp to re-education.

And we won't even discuss Tibet, whose "appearance" in the Opening Ceremonies was faked by the Chinese authorities.

The only ones to do their parts were the athletes, who I won't criticize. I'll be happier to see them in London in 2012.

Shame on you, IOC! Develop a backbone, please, and don't award the Olympics to totalitarian regimes that do this kind of thing to their own people.

Joe Biden is Obama's Choice: Will Hillary's Voters Stand for This?

Joe Biden was announced as Obama's choice to be his running mate yesterday, and it's an interesting choice. I thought he'd go with Hillary Clinton to keep her voters from going over to John McCain on Election Day. I don't think they're going to go for this. There's a lot of grumbling going on.

It'll also be interesting to see if Obama's people can keep Senator Biden from going "off the reservation" and speaking his mind and getting into trouble again.

In any case, I'm not voting for the ticket. They're too far to the left for my taste.

Presidential Signing Statements: President Bush Has Exceeded His Authority

In the history of the U.S. presidency, every President since George Washington has added comments to bills that they just signed; in many instances, it's to thank people who were instrumental in passing the legislation through the House and Senate; other times it's to voice displeasure with parts of the bill, or why they're supporting it, or other reasons.

President Bush has done something new.

In his presidential signing statements, he announces which parts of the bill he won't enforce. On a bill he just signed. What is the point in signing a bill if he isn't going to enforce it in it's entirety? Why didn't he veto it instead?

But that's not the worst of it. He's done this 500 times now, citing his interpretation of the Constitution and "national security." Since he's been so busy shredding parts of the Constitution that he doesn't like, perhaps he needs to re-read Article I Section 7.

The long and the short of Article I, Section 7: if the President signs a bill, it becomes law, and the President's branch of government oversees it's execution.

These 500 signing statements have impacted nearly 750 laws in all.

And it nearly equals the number of signing statements by all his predecessors--combined.

Every President has had legislation come across his desk that he didn't like, but forty-two of them were big enough to tell Congress to publicly "stick it where the sun don't shine" by vetoing an objectionable bill and forcing Congress to try an override, or signing it and living with it. But President Bush and his obsession with national security and secrecy decided to not enforce parts of dozens of laws, behind closed doors and out of the spotlight.

He should have been vetoing bills left and right, and if Congress overrode a bill he considered "unconstitutional" or imposing on presidential power, he should have filed suit in court.

This is nothing short of an all-out assault on the separation of powers. I don't like it, and some major judicial reviews need to happen to shrink presidential powers back to a more reasonable level.

The current administration is lucky that we're not midway through their term in office; Congress might have taken these five hundred presidential signing statements and turn them into parts of articles of impeachment. I don't know how the government will deal with this now, if at all.

I think after the Bush Administration leaves office, the full extent of what they've been doing will come into the light, and we'll be shocked beyond belief at what's been really going on. I'm more disappointed in this Administration than I was in the last one. I don't make that statement lightly.

What a mess.

Veepstakes: AKA Ho-Hum

I'm not waiting for Obama's VP pick to be rolled out, like the media, who don't seem to know what to do with themselves. If John McCain was introduced as his running mate, THEN I'd sit up and take notice.

More ho-hum from Camp Obama.

And the press can't get enough of it. Bleah!

NASA Retirement of Space Shuttle Program May Not Happen: Political Trouble With Russia May Require Shuttle Fleet to Remain in Service

The way that the rhetoric has been flowing between Russia and the West, and Washington in particular, future joint space programs with the Russians may be in jeopardy, which may impact on NASA's retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2010.

Hopefully this is a momentary glitch in U.S./Russian relations, but if some kind of "new" Cold War starts up again, and relations between the two countries go downhill on a long-term basis, it's difficult to see the Russian and American space agencies continuing to cooperate. It's amazing how much impact a small nation can have on the relations between two big ones.

NASA is currently set to retire the space shuttle in 2010, relying on the Russian Soyuz rockets to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) with supplies and personnel until the new Orion shuttle comes on-line in 2014 or 2015. But with today's crash of the Orion mock-up, it shows that NASA still has a ways to go. (Video here)

But what if the Russians decide not to allow Americans in their Soyuz capsules? NASA may have to extend the life of the shuttle program to keep America in space, which increases the risk every time the shuttle is put through a blast-off, and atmospheric re-entry. Those birds aren't getting any younger. And they haven't been able to fix the foam problem which doomed Columbia.

Hopefully the political problems being batted around between Washington and Moscow won't translate over to the scientific community as well. The international community has invested too much into the ISS and other programs for it to fall apart now.

"Reform Michigan Government Now" Ballot Initiative Is Out the Window

A three-judge panel ordered election officials to keep the huge Michigan constitutional re-write off November's ballot.

They said it was too broad, and more worthy of a constitutional convention. Ballot initiatives need to be easy to understand, and this initiative was anything but that. It would have re-written thirty sections of the Michigan constitution, with no opportunity to vote 'yes' on some of the proposals, and 'no' on others.

This is a very good decision.

I do think that some of the ideas should be voted on, but each with their own individual ballot proposals.

China Cheated at Gymnastics: Some Chinese Athletes Are Not Old Enough to Compete

China's Deng Linlin compared to 16-year old U.S. gold medal winner Shawn Johnson. There is no way that the child being held in the photo at left is 16 years old. Johnson is what a 16-year-old SHOULD look like, with adult teeth.

Georgia and Russia Are Both to Blame for Their War: Both Sides Targeted Civilians

You know, as bad as Russia's behavior has been in the last two weeks with their use of disproportionate force against Georgia, Georgia is also to blame for the current state of affairs.

The Georgians attacked civilians in South Ossetia first, starting with their rocket bombardment of Tskhinvali, followed up by a ground offensive. They used a sledge hammer to kill a mosquito, which gave the Russians all the reason that they needed to wage a war of aggression and occupation against Georgia.

So while we're screaming at the Russians to get the hell out of Georgia, we should also be condemning Georgia for it's conduct before the Russian "intervention." If Russia is being accused of using disproportionate levels of force, the Georgians have also done the same thing in South Ossetia. They went into South Ossetia to stop separatist forces from shelling Georgians on both sides of the border; it should have stopped there, but they turned a minor border skirmish into a major international conflict.

I think the U.N. needs to conduct two investigations to determine if war crimes were committed: the first one is to determine if Russia's invasion and occupation of Georgia violated the rules of war, and the second one is to determine if the Georgians did the same thing in South Ossetia during their bombardment of Tskhinvali. Everything needs to be looked at.

Both Russia and Georgia are signees of the Geneva Conventions; both are bound to not to deliberately target civilians in a war, whether declared or undeclared. This is considered a grave breach of the Geneva Convention. Neither side went out of their way to insure that civilians weren't getting hurt. In fact, both sides targeted civilians, both inside and outside the zone of conflict.

And before NATO membership is offered to Georgia, they need to be reminded that they have a responsibility to safeguard civilians in the conflict zone.

Who's In Command of the Russian Army?

Who's in charge of the Russian Army? The President of Russia, or the Prime Minister?

According to the Russian Constitution of 1993, the President of Russia is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. By Russian federal law, the Prime Minister of Russia has the power to:

• determine the basic guidelines of the Government activity;
• present proposals to the President on the structure and functions of the central institutions of the executive branch (e.g. ministries and federal agencies);
• nominate the vice prime ministers, federal ministers and other officers and presents them to the President;
• represent the government as an institution in foreign relations and inside the country;
• head the sessions of the Government and its Presidium and has the right of decisive vote;
• sign the decrees and executive orders of the government;
• He also informs the President about the Government activities on a regular ongoing basis.
  

The Prime Minister does not have the power to command the Russian Army, except as acting President.

But when Vladimir Putin stepped down as President of Russia and accepted the post of Prime Minister, many analysts expected the new President to be a figurehead, while Putin was the power behind the throne. The former KGB man was expected to remain the most powerful political figure in Russia.

And when the Russians stormed into South Ossetia and another breakaway province, and then invaded Georgia proper, Russia's president was nowhere to be seen. Vladimir Putin was in Beijing for the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, then flew directly to the battlefield to take charge there.

Western military analysts were astonished that the Russians could summon an army out of nowhere and move it across the border IN FORCE within hours. They concluded that Putin had been planning this invasion for many years and had positioned Russian armor, aircraft and troops near the border so that they could move fast once the go order was given. Who finally gave that order?

Then there's the cease-fire. The President of Russia signed the EU-brokered cease-fire with Georgia, but the Russians are still moving south toward Tblisi and have been sighted digging in and fortifying their positions. It's unknown if Russia will exit from Georgian territory as they've agreed to and in what timeframe. The reason: Vladimir Putin. He's ignoring the piece of paper that his "leader" and the Georgian President both signed.

Russia controls 1/3 of Georgia right now and have effectively cut the country in half. It's a huge mess that's going to get a lot worse, especially if Russia attacks Ukraine next, or the Russians renege on their pledge to withdraw.

What will the West do to stop Russia? What can they do?

Ridge: GOP Will Accept Pro-Choice VP Pick

Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge has been going around saying that the GOP will accept a pro-choice candidate for the VP position with John McCain.

Oh, that's what he thinks.

If Ridge is right, and McCain does choose a pro-choice running mate, that will be the deciding factor for many conservatives who will not equivocate on this point. It doesn't matter if the candidate defers to McCain, who is pro-life. If President McCain suddenly keels over and is incapacitated or dies, all of a sudden we have a pro-choice Republican running things. That's not acceptable.

Values voters will not support this idea at all. They will stay home on Election Day, or vote for someone else who is solidly pro-life.

If McCain Chooses a Pro-Choice VP, I Definitely Will Vote 3rd Party

Rumors have surfaced that John McCain is thinking about a pro-choice candidate. If he dares to go down that course, he will lose whatever Conservative support he's managed to cobble together in recent months.

I sure as hell won't vote for him if he does this. Right now there's a possibility that I might vote for him to stop Obama, but I will not vote for any pro-choice candidate on any level, under any circumstances.

He really needs to choose carefully and decide which base he wants to rely upon.

Russia's Eaten Georgia Alive; Ukraine Should be Worried Too

Russia is continuing to eat Georgia alive, and Ukraine may be on the menu as well.

The Russians have never liked sharing military facilities or navy assets with the Ukrainians, and now that they're continuing their invasion of Georgia, Ukraine may want to beef up it's military.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, their vaunted Black Sea Fleet split between Russia and Ukraine; both fleets were stationed at Sevastopol, which is now Ukrainian territory. Ukraine leased the base to Russia until 2017, but has indicated that the Russians will have to leave Sevastopol once the lease expires.

Tensions between the two fleets have always been there; the sailors from both fleets have gotten into huge fights on shore when in proximity to one another. And since the Russians deployed units of their fleet to blockade Georgia, the Ukrainians have said that they may not allow the Russian warships to return to Sevastopol.

When the Ukrainians began making noise about not renewing the lease in 2017, the Russians began building a new Navy base at Novorossiysk.

And with the announcement that Ukraine is requiring 72 hours notice for the Russian fleet and military personnel/equipment to enter and leave Ukrainian territory, tensions will be higher than ever; and since the Russian Army is already on the move, Ukraine has every right to be worried about what/who Russia's next target will be.

If Russia does attack Ukraine, it will be the largest army in Europe against the 2nd largest army, not the largest army against one of Europe's smallest armies.

When will the Russians stop?

Are We Really Surprised That the Chinese Government Engaged in Deception at Opening Ceremonies?

People seem surprised that the Chinese government used computer graphics and lip synching at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. They really shouldn't be. And we shouldn't be surprised when more such revelations come to light.

China's Communist Party are well-known as masters of propaganda; they regularly pull this type of stunt on their own people.

Anything that interfered/diminished the grand spectacle of the opening ceremonies were considered to be unacceptable by the Chinese government were altered:

• Replacing a Chinese child with buck teeth (and a beautiful singing voice) to a "cuter" little Chinese girl who lip-synched the song were considered necessary by the Chinese government.
• Computer-generated fireworks that were inserted into live coverage of the fireworks taking place in Beijing.
• Recruiting people off the streets to come in and fill the seats of Olympic venues so that it looks like the Olympics are being well-attended, to present an image of a unified and supportive Chinese nation.
• Training spectators on how to coordinate their cheers, what they are supposed to sound like, when they are supposed to clap, and all the other things that spectators do at a sporting event.

This is nothing new to the Chinese government; and don't be surprised when the closing ceremonies have a lot of the same alterations and omissions that the rest of the Beijing Olympics have.

In spite of all this, the Olympics seem to be going well so far. Athletes are winning medals, nations are cheering their champions, and some great stories have come out of the Olympics. Let's hope this continues.

Russia's Attack on Georgia: When Will They Stop?

The former Soviet state of Georgia has been making moves toward re-establishing peace since war broke out two days ago, but Russia seems to be ignoring them, continuing their large-scale offensive against the Georgian military and state. Georgia pulled their troops out of the South Ossetian capitol and offered a cease-fire, but Russia rejected it and unleashed it's air force, sending fighters and bombers over the border to attack targets all over Georgia, and not just in South Ossetia.

In addition, the Russians have employed the use of ballistic missiles with non-nuclear warheads. The United States hasn't used a ballistic missile in Iraq or Afghanistan; it was thought the use of those weapons would alarm the Russians. In addition, the sheer collatoral damage caused by the impact of a ballistic missile would be unpaletable.

The question I have is this: if Georgia pulls completely out of South Ossetia, will the Russians stop, or will their offensive continue against Georgia? Russia claims that they aren't out to get Georgia, but if they achieve their stated goals and absorb South Ossetia into Russia, but keep advancing their army through Georgia and continue the bombing far from the actual combat zone, when WILL they stop? After they've occupied all of Georgia?

And will Georgia begin attacking targets inside Russia itself? So far their military has been in action on their own territory, including inside South Ossetia (which isn't part of Russia unless Georgia and Russia agree that it is). And since the Russians have invaded, Georgia seems to be focused on defensive action, but if this thing doesn't stop soon, that may change and Russia will tear Georgia apart, limb from limb.

The possibility of a Georgian military victory against the Russians is remote (wouldn't it be something if Georgia was able to defeat the Russians?), and the longer it goes on, the worse off Georgia is going to be. Forget about the U.N. Security Council; Russia is facing down the other 14 members with their super-veto (that is also enjoyed by China, France, Great Britain and the United States).

Hopefully one of the peace delegations being sent to Russia and Georgia will get the two sides to compromise and to get the Russians to back off of their disproportionate military response.

Kilpatrick MUST Go: He's an Embarassment to Detroit, and to the Entire State as Well

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent a night in jail for violating his bond with an unauthorized trip to Windsor last week. The judge had expressly warned him not to return to his courtroom with new problems, but there sat the Mayor of Detroit again. The judge's action was correct; he had to preserve the integrity of the court system and treated Kilpatrick the same as everyone else.

He's an embarrassment to the entire state, and not just the City of Detroit. It was really embarrassing to see the Mayor in handcuffs in European newspapers as well as others around the world. This is the type of publicity that we don't need.

For the good of his city and his state, Mayor Kilpatrick should resign immediately. He's lied under oath, assaulted a deputy sheriff and violated his bond. He's already facing eight felony counts; Attorney General Mike Cox is expected to announce additional felony charges for the Mayor's attack on the deputy.

Governor Granholm should accelerate her hearing on whether she should remove Kilpatrick from office, as provided for in the city charter. There isn't a moment to lose.

Another Incident with the Mexican Army on U.S. Soil: Mexican Solidiers Point Rifles at Border Patrol

There was another border incident Sunday night; two Mexican soldiers crossed into Arizona and held a U.S. Border Patrol agent at gunpoint until BP reinforcements moved in to assist. They then withdrew into Mexican territory without further incident.

This may have been an accidental encounter; BP agents have sometimes accidentally crossed into Mexico, and Mexican army soldiers (or drug smugglers dressed up as soldiers) have crossed into the U.S. over two hundred times.

In the age of GPS, it seems strange that government agents from both sides don't realize when they're either approaching the border, are on it, or have gone over it.

But in any case, Mexican drug smugglers are using heavy weapons and equipment to get our BP and local law enforcement officials to stay away from their drug shipments. This was the reason for moving our military closer to the border to assist the Border Patrol when they're heavily outgunned by Mexican drug smugglers.

Authorities are right to believe that things will turn violent. They inevitably will; will we take the necessary steps to insure that our people have what they need to turned back these armed infiltrations of our border areas? Or will things keep getting swept under the carpet?

Air Problems Persist in Beijing: Athletes Are Going to Have Problems

The Chinese government waited too long to start cutting pollution to improve air quality for the Olympics, and with the Opening Ceremonies set for tomorrow, many athletes are going to have problems.

I'm afraid that our athletes will come back from China with major health problems.

I hope that if air conditions are bad, they cancel some of the distance events and not bow to Chinese pressure to run the events regardless of what's in the air and how bad it gets. It's the responsible thing to do. Hopefully any air problems our athletes encounter will be minor and they won't develop lung conditions that will have to be dealt with in the months and years after the Beijing Games.

We're seeing the downside of heavy industrialization playing out before our eyes.

Tire Talk: Obama's Gas-Saving Strategy Will Cause People to Overinflate Their Tires if They Aren't Careful

I've been listening to the current political chatter about inflating our tires to save on gas; some people are going to inflate their tires to the maximum limit and have blowouts. Obama's making an error.

According to those in the know, he needs to add a disclaimer to his "advice" for saving fuel that the PSI printed on the side of the tire means that's the tire's maximum rating when the tires are hot. Air pressure increases as the tire heats up, so the secret is to inflate the tires to under the limit so that when the tire gets hot it doesn't go over the printed limit.

I'm no mechanic, but I've read enough to know that cold weather will drop the air pressure in tires, so more air might need to be added during winter months; in hot weather, the PSI will increase due to the heat so less air is needed.

It's amazing what becomes politicized in an election year. Tire pressure of all things...

Reform Michigan Government Now Initiative is Too Broad: Each Proposal Should Be Voted on Separately

I am coming out in opposition to the Reform Michigan Government Now Initiative, which is a ballot proposal that will make approximately thirty changes to the Michigan Constitution.

All of these changes should be voted on one at a time, and not in one huge ballot proposal, and not to the benefit of one political party over another. Here is the list of changes that this clunky creation is proposing:

(from the Reform Michigan Government Now Initiative website)

Reforming the Legislative Branch

• Legislators’ benefits after leaving office to be the same as retired state employees
• Stop the revolving door between the Legislature and lobbying by enacting a two-year lobbying ban — the toughest in the nation
• Require annual public disclosure of income and assets by all legislators
• Roll back the 38 percent increase lawmakers gave themselves in 2002
• Reduce the Senate from 38 members to 28 and the House from 110 members to 82
• Reform redistricting by appointing a bipartisan panel to set legislative districts
  
  

Reforming the Judicial Branch

• Judicial benefits after leaving office to be the same as retired state employees
• Reduce judicial salaries by 15 percent
• Toughen disciplinary and conflict of interest requirements
• Require annual public disclosure of income and assets for all judges and justices
• Add 10 judges to the lower courts and reduce the number of Supreme Court Justices from seven to five justices and the Court of Appeals from 28 to 21 judges

Reforming the Executive Branch

• Benefits after leaving office for the four statewide elected officials (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state) to be the same as retired state employees
• Reduce the salaries of the four statewide elected officials by 25 percent
• Stop the revolving door between the executive branch and lobbying by enacting a two-year lobbying ban — the toughest in the nation
• Require annual public disclosure of income and assets for the four statewide elected officials
• Reduce the constitutional cap on the number of state government departments from 20 to 18 and cut hundreds of state boards and commissions
  

Reforming Elections

• Strengthen the ban on illegal aliens’ ability to register and vote
• Make the Bureau of Elections independent of partisanship
• Allow no-reason absentee voting
• Require post-election audits of election procedures
• Require paper trails for all voting systems
• Ban election officials like the secretary of state and local clerks from taking on campaign roles in elections they’re overseeing
• Enact anti-fraud measures to protect the integrity of Michigan’s election process

I like a number of these proposals, but am opposed to others, such as the reduction of the number of judges. There is already a huge backlog in cases on all levels, and they should be increasing the number of judges to deal with it, not reducing them. And no one party should benefit from all these changes.

This ballot proposal is too huge for a single question on the ballot. And here's what voters will see when they go to vote. If they want to make major changes like this all at once, they should call for a constitutional convention.

I want to vote yes on a number of these changes and no on others, but I can't. Voters are being forced to choose all or nothing. So I vote to throw this ballot out and break it up so voters can see what they're getting themselves into without being confused by a huge ballot proposal that has good and bad ideas in it.

This is a very bad model of a ballot initiative that shouldn't be used again.

No New Presidential Politics Posts Here for a While

I haven't been writing about either Obama or McCain or anything else over here as of late.

I am so turned off by both candidates that I have been staying away from commenting on the 2008 Presidential Election. As far as the election itself, it's a question of whether I vote for McCain, or vote for a worthy 3rd party candidate. If it looks like it's going to be very close, I won't waste my vote; stopping Obama is more important than my disillusionment with McCain.

I'm going with issues related to the current Administration and local politics for the time being, unless something really strange happens in the current campaign. Maybe after the conventions the choice will become clearer.

Rebate Checks Round 2: Bad Idea

There is a possibility of another round of rebate checks from the government to stimulate the economy. I disagree with this kind of thinking due to the fact that the feds will have to borrow tens of billions of dollars to pay for the package, just as they did earlier this year. In fact, they had to borrow $191 billion.

Going further into debt to China and other international lenders is a TERRIBLE idea, and I renew my objections to it. This proposal should not see the light of day.

No government should spend more money than it takes in. There's a reason that the economy is in the condition that it's in: we are $10 trillion in debt, our dollars are devaluing on the international market, which is also helping to drive up the price of fuel, which is driving up the cost of everything else.

This is NUTS, and we have to put our collective foot down somewhere to break this vicious cycle.

Conservatives Have it Wrong on Two Key Issues: the Death Penalty and Habeas Corpus

I am again at odds with mainstream conservatism over two stands that they've decided to continue this election year. And I'm not sure how this will affect my vote in the fall.

The first issue is the death penalty. When the Supreme Court ruled--correctly--on the proportionality of the death penalty to heinous crimes (such as the child rape case) where the victim survives, the conservatives loudly denounced the decision and blasted the majority opinion.

The holier-than-thou attitude toward employing the death penalty that has been coming from conservatives is wearing more than a little thin. At the very least, they should be denouncing the error-riddled death penalty system and leading the charge to investigate every case to make certain that they are going to execute the right person for the right crime. DNA evidence is responsible for clearing at least one death row inmate every month. Until this evidence is considered, there should be a moratorium on executions across the country.

The other problem I see with the conservative movement is the unwillingness to extend the Writ of Habeas Corpus to captured enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. military prisons around the world.

The media wrote that the Supreme Court "granted" the writ to Gitmo detainees. How can they "grant" the writ to detainees when they already have habeas corpus rights as determined by international law? The American and British governments made sure that it was written into the United Nations charter back in 1948.

Habeas Corpus (the right to challenge unlawful detention and petition for relief) is not just an American custom, as some people seem to think. If a detainee is a citizen of a UN signatory nation, then they have habeas corpus automatically. They don't need to be American citizens to have that basic human right. But the U.S. government has systematically ignored this little point.

What concerns me is the fact that a government that is unwilling to extend basic human rights to non-citizens is only a few steps away from engaging in this kind of conduct against it's own people too. All one has to do is look at what happened to Japanese-Americans during World War II to see that this has already happened in our history.

And the conservatives were braying like elephants when the Supreme Court decided in favor of making sure that the government follows the rules which it is bound to follow, both within the framework of our own Constitution, and with the United Nations charter.

I can't ignore either of these issues in the fall.

Recent Michigan Supreme Court Ruling is Baffling: Is a Homeowner's Front Porch His Property, or is it Public Property?

The Michigan Court of Appeals issued a ruling last month that seems strange.

It concerned a case where a drug sniffing dog accompanied a police officer to a person's house in Detroit; the dog indicated the presence of drugs inside the home from on the person's front porch. The police officer then entered and made arrests.

I have no problem with the drug bust itself.

But one of the arguments made during the trial and appeal was that the use of the dog without a search warrant was illegal. Kyllo vs. US (2001), a U.S. Supreme Court case, established that using a thermal imaging device outside a person's home to detect heat lamps used to grow weed without a search warrant was illegal.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that dog sniffing dogs are outside the bounds of 4th Amendment protection, and that a person's front porch is public property, not private.

This makes no sense. Even if a person's front porch is considered to be public property, to get to it one has to trespass on the land between the road, which is public, and the house, which sits on private property.

This ruling threatens the property rights of homeowners. The police should have a search warrant for a drug bust; how hard can it be to talk to a judge to issue such a warrant?

The police should cover all their bases and do the extra paperwork. An operation like the one they broke up won't disappear overnight; it'll be there when they arrive with the warrant.

Supreme Court Declares Washington DC's Ban on Handguns in Violation of 2nd Amendment

Washington DC's 32-year ban on handguns within the city was overturned by the Supreme Court yesterday.

The vote was along idealogical lines, as expected, and settles an old question of individual gun ownership rights vs. gun ownership as part of a well-regulated militia. Both sides are mentioned in the 2nd Amendment itself.

Now, can they get back to enforcing the laws already on the books instead of trying to ban guns outright? And it should be noted that banning guns in DC didn't substantially change the crime rate as gun control advocates said it would. In fact, DC was the U.S. murder capitol several times since the ban took place.

So much for that theory.

Yesterday's Supreme Court Decision on Death Penalty Was Messy, But Correct

Yesterday's ruling by the Supreme Court on applying the death penalty to child rapists when no life has been lost was a tough one, but was also correct.

Before I go any further, rape in ANY form is a HORRIFIC crime that does need to be punished by life in prison without any possibility of parole.

"An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, name for a name, life for a life" is a mantra that is often quoted by death penalty supporters, but it also implies some kind of balance in the application of the death penalty. And for the last 30+ years, the death penalty has not been imposed without a special circumstance: the death of the victim as a result of the crime.

I think the possibility of a death penalty wouldn't deter an animal that unleashes this kind of hell on a child anyways; they're going to do it because they think they can get away with it. I think that's a common belief among among criminal elements.

This ruling affects similar laws in six or more states; the federal statutes remain intact.

This is a victory for death penalty opponents, but the victory is bittersweet, given the abomination that child rape is. This ruling can be considered a step forward in creating a more uniform system when the death penalty is being considered, which is good news. In time, I think this court decision will be proven correct.

Clint Eastwood vs. Spike Lee: War of Words Heating Up

Hollywood directors Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood seem to be getting into a war of words and unlike the Donald Trump vs. Rosey O'Donnell wars, this one is much uglier and not entertaining at all.

It stems from comments that Lee made about two of Eastwood's 2006 movies--"Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima." Lee criticized Eastwood for not portraying any African American soliders in his movies. Eastwood responded by saying that if there had been any African-American men helping to raise the flag at Iwo Jima in the famous photograph that he would have had it in his film.

Then he told Spike Lee to "shut his face."

Lee responded in kind by saying that "Eastwood is not my father, and we're not on a plantation."

OK, gentlemen, KNOCK IT OFF! This sounds like a conversation that needs to be taken off-line and settled privately. This is definitely not funny.

Obama vs. McCain: Ho-Hum

So it's to be Obama vs. McCain in the fall. Sounds pretty boring to me.

While I'm happy that one of this blog's stated objectives has been accomplished with Senator Clinton withdrawing from the race against Obama, what are we left with? An ultra-liberal against someone whose maverick credentials are giving conservatives heartburn.

I'm not going to make up my mind now, but I'm not happy about November. Looks like a lose-lose situation to me.

DNC Agrees to Seat Florida and Michigan Delegates at Half-Strength: Obama's Getting Votes He Didn't Earn in Michigan

The rules committee of the Democratic National Committee restored Florida and Michigan's delegates to this summer's Democratic National Convention, but they have half-strength votes. That's fine with me as it's in compliance with their bylaws. And it's more than what I thought was going to happen.

I thought they would seat Florida's delegates at half-strength, but not Michigan's, as Obama removed his name from the ballot.

Instead, the rules committee is giving Obama votes he didn't earn--he wasn't a candidate on Michigan's ballot as he pulled his own name off the ballot months before the election--and Clinton won 55% of the votes. The other 45% should be going to the convention as undeclared delegates who can vote for who they want once they get there.

Obama was not required to pull his name off the ballot, but he did it, regardless of the consequences.

And if Clinton does challenge the awarding of unearned delegates to Obama, in this one instance, I'm going to root for Senator Clinton in her challenge. I almost get the feeling that Obama will fall 3-5 delegates short of clinching the nomination, and the fight over Michigan's delegates will intensify.

This situation is entirely the fault of the DNC. And as many had hoped, including me, Florida and Michigan threw wrenches into the DNC machine and they were forced into headline-making decisions regarding the disposition of the votes of both states.

Perhaps the next time around, they'll follow their own rules when it comes to states violating their guidelines?

Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Illegal Seizure of Polygamy Kids: Case is in the Toilet

The collapse of the prosecution of the Texas polygamists accelerated today with a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court in favor of returning the kids to their parents.

This is what happens when the law is treated like optional guidelines; and I can't believe that Texas officials got stuck on STUPID! They've been reduced to sending the kids back to a less-than-ideal situation at best, and a molestation situation at worst.

This is ENTIRELY the fault of these people who decided to blanket the entire colony with this idiotic warrant that never should have been issued. They should have done their homework, infiltrated the group or turned a few of the members and targeted ONLY those individuals who they suspected of abusing kids. Instead, they took the children of the innocent as well as the guilty, and denied due process to all.

Now the Texas CPS and legal system has egg in it's collective faces, and it's their own damned fault! They could have put a stop to this type of behavior, but because they didn't follow their own procedures, this case has been turned into a total farce. And the polygamy BS will continue.

Someone needs to face the music over this unbelievable situation.

USS Kitty Hawk Retires: Aircraft Carrier Leaves Japan on It's Final Voyage

The USS Kitty Hawk is due to be retired early next year and is on it's final voyage home. She departed Yokosuka, Japan, this morning and is en route to Pearl Harbor, then on to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where she will be decommissioned on January 31st, 2009.

The Kitty Hawk replaced the USS Independence after that aircraft carrier was retired; now the USS George Washington, one of America's newest nuclear-powered carriers, will arrive in Yokosuka in August.

As they left the harbor, the sailors on deck formed the word SAYONARA, which, of course, means "goodbye."

A historical group in Wilmington, North Carolina, is lobbying the Navy to donate the ship as a museum, where it would be docked next to the battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55). It's also been reported that the government of India wants to purchase the Kitty Hawk.

I'd rather see the ship end up in North Carolina as Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, is where the Wright brothers staged their first powered aircraft flight. I hope the Navy doesn't decide to sink it as they did the USS America three years ago after blowing the hell out of it. I still wish they hadn't done that, but hopefully the tests that they did will be beneficial to designing the next generation of carrier.

Polygamy Case Begins to Collapse: Texas Officials Took Legal Shortcuts and Short-Circuited the Process

As was widely feared, the case against a polygamist colony in Texas began to buckle as the courts took an intense look at how this entire mess came to be and found severe problems with how the case has been handled. The seizure of 465 children from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) compound was found to be without merit; the accusations were not supported by the evidence, and legal procedures were violated.

And now there's an even larger mess than there was before.

A dozen children have been ordered returned to their families immediately; more will probably follow.

There's some ugly undertones in this case, both within the FLDS, and within the legal system, and both are in the forefront of the case. It's already an established fact that the FLDS practices polygamy, which is illegal, and may be forcing underage girls to marry much older men. That's a very good reason for the Texas legal system to be concerned.

But Texas has very specific laws on child welfare, which are designed to keep families together and help them work through problems. In this case, those laws are not being observed; the parents have been effectively shut out of the case while the future of their children is decided.

And the authorities are not even taking the time to determine which families are practicing polygamy, and which ones have legal marriages under Texas law (meaning ONE husband and ONE wife with a marriage license).

Shouldn't the authorities take the time to separate the innocent from the guilty, rather than painting them all with a VERY broad brush? This is part of the reason why the court ruled the way it did. Other problems with the case cited by the judge:

• The phone call that started this entire affair was a hoax. A woman claiming to be 16 and a victim of the sect was actually a pathological liar living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has a history of making false police reports.
  
  
• Texas officials wanted to arrest one man and ignored good information that they received that he was living in Arizona. They staged the raid on the Texas facility anyways.
  
  
• Of the 31 "children" who were suspected of being underaged mothers, half were adults, including one 27 year old. Another 18-year-old has accused the police of ignoring her birth certificate and driver's license. Hardly the kind of "evidence" that can stand on it's own merits in court and prove what the state is saying.

Polygamy is an abomination. But so is raping the Constitution. FLDS members are no different from other faiths when it comes to the cafeteria-style beliefs of members of those faiths. "Oh, I'll practice this belief, but not that one over there." Yaadaa yaadaa.

But in the Texas case, the authorities have accused ALL their members of polygamy and taken their children (by force) without a chance to prove the accusations wrong, and with NO charges being filed against the parents.

I don't like the FLDS, but to deny them their Constitutional rights sets up a precedence that is EXTREMELY bad. The authorities in this case need to get with the program and follow established legal procedures.

Like I said, this is ugly. And it's going to get a lot uglier.

Taser Duel in Colorado over Parking Spot: At Least They're Both Still Alive

Two men got into an argument over an illegally parked vehicle and whipped out their Tasers, shocking one another stupid. The instigator was arrested.

Well, it's a better outcome than having these guys pull out handguns and start blasting away at one another, with the bullets hitting whoever or whatever is in the way. Both men are alive and none the worse for their experience.

Too bad it's not on video. It would help the authorities sort out the stories that both men are telling.

Florida Floats Plan That Takes Advantage of DNC Rules: Asks to Have Half Their Delegates Seated in Accordance with Rule Rule 20.C.1.a.

Someone in Florida is finally using their heads and demanding that half their delegates be seated at the Democratic National Convention as called for in Rule 20.C.1.a. of the Delegate Selection Rules.

Smart move.

I think that Florida will manage to get half their delegates seated.

Detroit City Council Moves Against Mayor Kilpatrick: Votes to Take Steps to Remove the Mayor from Office

The Detroit City Council's feud against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick entered a new phase after the council voted to take steps to remove the mayor from office. He stands accused of eight felony charges related to his text-messaging sex scandal that cost the taxpayers of Detroit millions of dollars.

This was a necessary step in restoring public confidence to the Mayor's office. They've scheduled a forfeiture hearing for June the 13th. But it may be unnecessary as the trial should be decided by then. If he's found guilty of any of the felony charges, he automatically loses his office. If he's found innocent, what will the city council do then? Will they have a leg to stand on?

This is getting more interesting by the day. Who needs TV shows with legal dramas? Detroit's got it all.

GOP Loses Three Seats in Republican Districts: Voters are Rejecting MODERATE Republicans for CONSERVATIVE Democrats

The GOP is crying about losing three longtime Republican seats in recent special elections. I found it fascinating that they had fielded three moderate Republicans against three conservative Democrats, and lost all three elections. And two of the Republicans had serious issues that conservative voters were not happy with.

Is the National Republican Committee paying attention to what's happening?

Sort of. They do not appear willing to admit that their efforts to marginalize the conservative base have only made it stronger. And the conservative voters turned out for the conservative candidates, even if they were from the other party. That's a sign of things to come.

The GOP has to come to grips with this situation and field more conservative Republicans; otherwise the electoral bloodbath that many are predicting on Election Day will happen.

No Republican can survive without conservative support. The last three special elections in Louisiana, Illinois and Mississippi are the proof of that statement. If things stay as they are, the moderate Republicans are going to have a very bad day in November if they're facing conservative Democrats.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there may be more conservative Republicans left in Congress than moderate ones the day after Election Day if the GOP doesn't shift gears and get with the program.

Democratic National Committee Needs to Re-Read Their Rules: They Can Only Take Half of Michigan's and Florida's Delegates Away

Rule 20.C.1.a. of the Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention:

Violation of timing:

In the event the Delegate Selection Plan of a state party provides or permits a meeting, caucus, convention or primary which constitutes the first determining stage in the presidential nominating process to be held prior to or after the dates for the state as provided in Rule 11 of these rules, or in the event a state holds such a meeting, caucus, convention or primary prior to or after such dates, the number of pledged delegates elected in each category allocated to the state pursuant to the Call for the National Convention shall be reduced by fifty (50%) percent, and the number of alternates shall also be reduced by fifty (50%) percent. In addition, none of the members of the Democratic National Committee and no other unpledged delegate allocated pursuant to Rule 8.A. from that state shall be permitted to vote as members of the state’s delegation. In determining the actual number of delegates or alternates by which the state’s delegation is to be reduced, any fraction below .5 shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number, and any fraction of .5 or greater shall be rounded up to the next nearest whole number.

And yet more DNC violations of their own rules:

Rule 11A:

No meetings, caucuses, conventions or primaries which constitute the first determining stage in the presidential nomination process (the date of the primary in primary states, and the date of the first tier caucus in caucus states) may be held prior to the first Tuesday in February or after the second Tuesday in June in the calendar year of the national convention. Provided, however, that the Iowa precinct caucuses may be held no earlier than 22 days before the first Tuesday in February; that the Nevada first-tier caucuses may be held no earlier than 17 days before the first Tuesday in February; that the New Hampshire primary may be held no earlier than 14 days before the first Tuesday in February; and that the South Carolina primary may be held no earlier than 7 days before the first Tuesday in February. In no instance may a state which scheduled delegate selection procedures on or between the first Tuesday in February and the second Tuesday in June 1984 move out of compliance with the provisions of this rule.

So, let's see:

Iowa held their primary/caucus on January 3rd, which was 33 days before the first Tuesday in February. The rule above states that they can hold their primary no earlier than 22 days before the first Tuesday in Febuary. Iowa violated the rules.

New Hampshire held it's primary on January 8th, which was 28 days before the first Tuesday in February. The rule above states that they can hold their primary no earlier than 14 days before the first Tuesday in February. New Hampshire also violated the rules.

Michigan and Florida held their respective primaries on January 15th, which is three weeks earlier than the first Tuesday in February. Michigan and Florida both violated the rules. Both states acknowledge that point.

South Carolina held it's primary on January 26th, which was 10 days before the first Tuesday in February. The above rule states that they can hold their primary 7 days before first Tuesday. South Carolina violated the rules as well.

So, five states violated party rules on timing of their primaries. All five states got stripped of 50% of their delegates and lost all of their superdelegates. Right? WRONG!

Three states escaped punishment entirely. Two states lost ALL of their delegates and superdelegates, which isn't covered in the rules.

The DNC seems to have a problem in applying the rules equally and fairly. It's another sign of how corrupt the DNC leadership is. If they continue on their current course and deny Florida and Michigan their guaranteed votes that are provided for in their own rules, they run the risk of losing major support in both states. Both states have gone Republican in the past before; do they really want a repeat performance?

Start following your own rules, DNC.

Michigan Democratic Plan to Split Delegates Between Clinton and Obama is Junk: Why Are They Awarding Obama Freebies?

News broke yesterday of a plan put forth by Michigan Democrats to split the state's delegates between Clinton and Obama 69-59 in favor of Clinton. I think this plan is a very bad one. Obama wasn't even a candidate--he pulled his own name off the ballot--so why is he getting freebie delegates?

Clinton should be getting 55% of the delegates and the other 45% should go to the convention as un-pledged delegates, who can support whomever they want once they get to the convention. If they want to support Obama once they get there, that's fine, but to give Obama a single pledged delegate is not reflective of the election that was held.

He could have kept his name on the ballot, but he chose to pull his name from consideration. So he shouldn't be getting 59 freebie delegates at all.

Or 1/2 that number under Rule 20.C.1.A. of the "Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention" which the DNC is in the process of violating. More on that later.

Forget the current plan.

Global Warming Hubris: Carbon Credit Market is a "Feel-Good About Polluting" SCAM, Nothing More

The carbon offset market is FINALLY being shown to be a huge fraud that takes provides those with a guilty conscience (about contributing to the world's carbon emission problem) a "feel-good" solution that ultimately does nothing. This is really dumb. And now some in the media seem to be treating the carbon market with a bit of well-earned skepticism.

Here's another report.

The Hollywood crowd that has joined the global warming alarmism campaign and use their celebrity star power to spread the word about the "threat" of global warming and toot their own horns about purchasing carbon credits should ground their private gas-guzzling jets instead. That would stop the carbons from getting into the atmosphere more than purchasing carbon credits from questionable sources who may not be doing what they're saying they're doing to reduce carbon. Or selling credits that they've already sold to someone else.

Global warming is inevitable, with or without us adding to or taking away from it. It's going to happen regardless of what we do, which makes this claim of man-made global warming highly dubious at best. If the governments of the world want to improve the environment for everyone, I am in complete agreement with that.

But trying to stop something that's as inevitable as global warming is the height of folly. Those with guilty consciences should learn to LIVE WITH IT and plant the damn trees themselves.

Someone, PLEASE, save these people from themselves!

But if no one wants to, then here's how to jump in on this fiasco.

Burma/Myanmar Suffers Cyclone Strike: 13,000 Feared Dead and the U.S. Pledges $250,000: Is This a Very Bad Joke?

A huge cyclone hit Burma/Myanmar/(whatever they're calling themselves) and nearly 13,000 are feared dead.

Our government has pledged $250,000 to aid in disaster relief efforts.

WHAT!

Is this a joke??!

Conspiracy Theorists Believe Bush Will Cancel 2008 Presidential Elections: NONSENSE!

Ahhh, more conspiracy notions to dispel!

The topic is NSPD-51, an Executive Order which ensures the continuation of the federal government in the event of a catastrophic attack or natural disaster. It calls for the President to take charge of government operations in the event that something really bad happens.

Some with very active imaginations have taken this to mean that President Bush will declare martial law and cancel the elections on a whim to begin his "reign" as dictator.

That's nonsense.

Let's imagine one scenario that this Executive Order is truly designed to deal with:

Washington is destroyed by a terrorist nuclear bomb while the government is in session, and most members of the House and Senate are killed. Also, the President, Vice President, most of the Joint Chiefs and many of the Cabinet members are dead.

In this hypothetical situation, the Presidency passes to...oh, the Secretary of Energy, who is twelfth in line of succession and overseas on business. He/she flies home and is sworn in somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.

The new President is going to be pretty busy, trying to figure things out and wondering where to start.

Where the conspiracy theorists are going crazy is the discussion over whether to reconstitute the Congress immediately or not. The Constitution stipulates that in the event of the death or incapacitation of a member of Congress that an election is held for the seat.

But what would happen if all 535 members of Congress were dead?

Consider this: it would take some time to organize elections in every state, and then designate a new national capitol for the reconstituted Congress to meet at. The directive gives the President emergency powers to manage the situation, and begin to get things in place for setting the government back up.

The reason that it does this is that if our government is decapitated, it assumes that the Executive Branch will recover first. It's easier to swear in a duly appointed Cabinet member as President than it is to organize an election, have candidates campaign, stage the election, get them to the capitol and swear them in. That's how the law is written.

Of course, the governors might appoint the new slate of Representatives and Senators. But even then, where would they meet? Someone would have to coordinate that.

One troubling thing that is giving the theorists ammunition are the secret annexes to this Presidential Order. Only the Administration knows what's in the various annexes, and this is driving the conspiracy discussion along. There are rumors of martial law being declared (possibly) for the purpose of making the President a dictator (highly unlikely).

That's the spirit of this Presidential order as I read it. If President Bush has one obsession (and a flaw), it's national security and protecting the country.

Bush isn't going to stop the elections due to terrorism. Other nations have held elections in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks, such as Spain in 2004.

Here's what will likely happen in October/November/December of this year:

• There will be no terrorism before the election. If there is, it'll be small-scale.
  
• Washington, DC, will not fall into the Atlantic Ocean.
• An asteroid will not strike Capitol Hill and level all of Washington.
  
• The election will be held, a winner will be decided.
• The transition will begin.
• President Bush and VP Cheney will leave office on January 20th, 2009, on time and without strings attached.
  
• The 44th President will take office on the same day.
• The conspiracy theorists will look silly again.

That's my two cents.

Here's the complete list of Executive Orders from the National Archives dating back to 1937.

Lots of Videos of Chinese Flame Protection Unit in Action

And in the following video, which is entirely in French, it was not French officials who doused the flame and leaving the runners speechless--it was the Chinese. The broadcast is in French.



So much for unity. Sure looked like the Chinese vs. everyone else, including the London police and the French runners.

China Demands Apology from Western Media for Correctly Labeling Chinese Actions in Tibet Barbaric: No Apology is Necessary

China has demanded that CNN apologize for comments that commentator Jack Cafferty made on the April 9th edition of his show. In my humble opinion, no apology is necessary as Cafferty told it the way that it is.

Cafferty was criticizing the idiotic Chinese government by calling them a group of "thugs and goons" over their treatment of their own people and the Tibetans and calling Chinese products "junk."

If China's government doesn't want accurate labels assigned to it in the West, then perhaps they ought to clean up their act and start acting like proper Olympic hosts.

China's conduct is responsible for the reception that their torch relay has been given in recent days. If China wasn't busy shooting people in Tibet, their damned relay would be going a lot smoother. And the press isn't to blame for that, either, so this demand for an apology is entirely baseless.

Japan and Australia Deny Entry of Chinese Flame Protection Unit: Finally, Some Credibility to This Fiasco

Japan and Australia have announced that they will not allow the Beijing Olympic Games "Sacred" Flame Protection unit to participate in any security proceedings when the Olympic torch arrives in those two nations.

Finally, some common sense!

This Chinese paramilitary unit has established themselves as a gang of troublemakers; fights and scuffles with street protesters in London and in Paris firmly established the true nature of these Beijing Olympic Games.

Good riddance to the Flame Protection Unit.

IOC Allows Disrupted Olympic Torch Relay Event to Go On Despite Protests: Will Reconsider It for Future Olympics

The International Olympic Committee has decided to allow China to continue it's highly disruptive international spectacle with the Olympic torch.

The Torch relay was disrupted in London and Paris, and officials in San Francisco changed the route of the torch to avoid tens of thousands of protesters that awaited it. Additionally, the flame was extinguished three times in Paris, which (supposedly) has never happened before. The flame is on it's way to Argentina, where there's not expected to be much of a protest.

I think the IOC should have canceled the rest of this ridiculous relay as China continues it's crackdown in Tibet and hasn't put any pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the killing in Darfur, which in turn has turned the torch into a political target. It's not supposed to be that way, but China has done nothing to ratchet down the tensions.

Instead, they've sent Chinese military guards (in the blue and white jump suits seen above) to guard the torch and act like the thugs that they are. They're members of the 70-man Beijing Olympic Games "Sacred" Flame Protection unit; their division of the Chinese People's Armed Police are also responsible for the recent crackdown in Tibet. They've gotten into fights along the route with protesters and wore out their welcome in France and in Britain.

Hopefully some of the other nations on the route deny entry to these Chinese military guards as they are an insult to the Olympic spirit which China has been trumpeting about on their torch relay web site. And they continue to debase the word "sacred" while in context to the flame.

The IOC is going to look at future requests from host countries to do similar relays. These relays should be conducted in the host countries alone; they don't have a right to disrupt international cities as the Chinese have done in the last ten days.

Free Tibet Protestors Disrupt Olympic Torch Procession: Unfortunate Situation is Responsibility of Chinese Government

I see that protesters have disrupted the Olympic flame procession in Great Britain and in France, where the torch was extinguished three times. By Olympic tradition, the torch is supposed to be lit in Greece, then goes around the world before arriving in the host country. In this case, it's the People's Republic of China.

But their brutal suppression of the Tibetan people and the recent violence in that Chinese-occupied country has lead to worldwide protests, and protesters have targeted the Olympic torch.

It is most unfortunate that this tradition has been disrupted, but the sole responsibility for this fiasco lies with the people who are in charge in Beijing. It was their orders that sent their army in to put down a legitimate protest in a country that does not belong to China, with more than a hundred lives being lost. The Tibetan people have a right to practice their religious beliefs in spite of the heathen communists.

China is not being a good Olympic host.

And the IOC should put a stop to this fiasco before it gets any worse. They were opposed to this multinational torch tour in the first place; and where Tibet is concerned, the unity propaganda coming from the Chinese government rings hollow.

And for the Chinese foreign minister to call the Olympic flame the "holy flame of the Olympics" is just plain offensive. Communists don't believe in anything being holy. The Chinese government has also denied that the flame was put out in France at all, telling it's people in official Chinese news broadcasts and print media that the relay in France was "successfully completed." NOT!!

Just take the damned torch to China and let them parade it around there.

Polygamy Compound Broken Up: Seizure of Kids at Compound Seems to Stretch the Law to the Breaking Point

This week's raid of a Fundamentalist Mormon compound seems to have solved one possible problem and created a whole bunch of others.

Over four hundred kids were seized during the raid amid accusations of child molestation, forced marriages and other highly taboo subjects that I don't want to get into now. But as news of the raid broke and the story began to evolve in the media, the search warrant that was used to enter the compound and seize the kids seems like it will not hold up in court.

A search warrant has to have the following: the name of the property owner, the specific address of where the search warrant is to be executed, and the type of evidence that the authorities are there to find that are related to suspicion of the type of crime that is being investigated.

Also, if a person is living in an apartment, the landlord cannot give permission to authorities to enter; the warrant must be sworn out as to treat the rented property as the home of the tenant.

In this case, the warrant had one address, which was for the office of the complex. The warrant did not specify whose apartments were to be searched, their respective addresses, or the specific apartment numbers.

While I am totally against plural marriages, the Constitution may have been violated, and potential child sex offenders may get off the hook as a result. UNACCEPTABLE!

Texas officials MUST get this right. Taking shortcuts on something like this not only endangers Constitutional protections, but also the successful prosecutions of people like this colony's "prophet" (aka child rapist-in-chief). I hope the authorities had all their ducks in a row.

Air America Radio Host Suspended for Anti-Hillary Rant: Ho-Hum

A liberal radio show host was caught blasting Hillary Clinton with some very bad words, and has been suspended. Yippee skippee. I'm so excited that I'm bored out of my mind.

Oh, did I say that out loud?

I wonder if this Air America host will get the Imus treatment, or if she'll be back on in a few weeks. That's the only part of this unfortunate situation that I'm interested in. Her choice of words WERE really bad, and that she did it at a work-related event was just plain stupid.