Still Too Many Sex Offenders Using Myspace and Facebook: General Public Needs to Do It's Part Too

I recently turned in a name to Facebook of a convicted sex offender who was using the social networking site and got a message back that they had dealt with the problem.

I happened upon him accidentally as I was looking at a friend's profile and saw that this guy, who spent five years in jail for sexual assault and was a classmate of mine from college, had established a profile.

I also know both of his victims--both 13 year olds at the time who would have been horrified to see him up on Facebook and communicating with other teen girls. I had no problem getting him thrown off of Facebook--I sent a link to his registry entry in my state's sex offender registry to Facebook and they put two and two together themselves.

I'm no crusader to get people thrown off any social networking sites.

But sex offenders are not supposed to be on social networking sites, yet there are tens of thousands of them using Facebook and Myspace, even risking going back to jail in some states.

Myspace has banned 90,000 convicted sex offenders from using their web site. Facebook hasn't released any information yet on how many they've barred. I know that they've barred one.

The general public needs to be aware that if they find someone that they know who are convicted sex offenders on a site like the two social sites discussed already, to contact those web sites and let them determine if the person involved falls under their guidelines, as forty-nine attorneys general have insisted that they do.

They're breaking the law by doing what they're doing and risking going back to jail. That isn't the sign of someone who is complying with the law and squaring their debt to society. If they were, they'd give Facebook and Myspace a WIDE berth and follow the instructions of their supervisors completely, no matter how unjustly they feel they're being treated.

More Democratic Waste on the Way: Pelosi Says to Keep the Door Open on Second Stimulus

Not content with their fill of pork, Congressional leaders appear to be lining the little piggies up for more of the same, saying that they needed to keep the door open for a second stimulus package.

When will this utter stupidity come to an end? When the country is bankrupt from all of this garbage that they're signing off on?

Generational theft doesn't come close to covering what they're doing. It's so vile and obscene that the current English language doesn't come close to having a term to describe what the Democrats are doing, along with Republican turncoats who are supporting the Democrats.

Those who vote "NO" are doing us and themselves a favor; they'll be proven correct soon enough. And I dread the day when that prediction comes true. Money doesn't grow on trees; it has to be generated, and it won't be generated until the workforce is back on it's feet and producing, and people are buying their products.

But they're spending money that is years away from being generated by the economy. They shouldn't be gambling with money that they don't have and doesn't belong to them.

OINK!! OINK!! The Piggies are Back at the Trough Again: So Much for Change We Can Believe In

President Obama and Congress decided to break their "no pork" campaign promises and pack the budget full of pork projects.

Change we can believe in, eh? BULL HONKEY!! This looks to me like Bush III.

Someone pass the mustard, because we're all going to be eatin' this pork for a LOOOONG time to come.

Start shoveling!

Media Should Leave Jennifer Aniston Alone: She's Not on the Taxpayer Dime and Can Do What She Wants With Her Own Money

Fox News reported that actress Jennfier Aniston spent $50,000 on her hair during a recent PR stint for her new movie Marley & Me (an EXCELLENT movie), while average Americans are having to cut back.

I don't have an issue with someone spending their own money on their own stuff. She IS helping part of the economy.

If Uncle Sam were paying for it, I'd be pulling my own hair out, but that isn't the case at all. I think the media ought to give her a break and let her spend her money the way she wants to.

I wouldn't spend $50,000 on styling my hair, that's for sure, but if she wants to, more power to her.

Limbaugh ISN'T In Charge of GOP: Dems Making Hay Out of Limbaugh's Telling GOP What to Do

Democratic leaders have been reacting to a speech that Limbaugh gave to the Republican political action group (CPAC) last week, saying that Limbaugh is running the GOP.

So?

Maybe he ought to.

But the fact is, that he isn't; he's giving the Republicans a much-needed kick in the seat of their pants to get them back on track.

They've been off track for quite some time now, and voters punished them. Limbaugh has been screaming bloody murder since the Republicans started trying to out-Democrat the Democrats and turned their backs on their core principles of reducing government, lowering taxes and other conservative issues.

The GOP ought to listen to Rush and keep saying "no" to socialist proposals. It may cost them in the short term, but it'll be worth it in the long run.

Obama's Budget Has $1.75 Trillion Shortfall: He Should Balance the Budget By Cutting $1.75 Trillion in Spending

President Obama's budget spends more than it takes in by $1.75 trillion. He shouldn't stand for that and cut at least $1.8 trillion out of his spending proposals.

Yes, that's trillion with a "t." He can start by cutting out the big bailouts and let the system self-adjust, as painful as it will be. All they have to do is protect the value of the U.S. currency, as is Constitutionally required. That will leave him about $800 billion to cut in spending.

He should make these cuts now, and inject the system with a bit of self-discipline, which will help us more in the long run, rather than loaning billions to companies that will fail, unless they learn how to take in more than they spend.

But the socialists won't allow that to happen. They'll keep throwing other people's money at the problem until we are teetering on the brink. How many more problems are they going to create in trying to solve the current ones?

Further Proof that Bailouts Just Delayed the Inevitable: GM Exploring Bankruptcy & AIG Needs Billions More Too

I had written a while back about my opposition to the bailouts and how the companies that were on the receiving end were responsible for their own problems, that the bailouts were pushing their failures a little further around the road.

I had also said that the auto industry was already bankrupt but didn't have the guts to admit it.

Trillions of dollars and a few short months later, we begin to see the danger signs that I predicted back in October. CITI Group is about to be nationalized due to their continued massive losses; GM is exploring three bankruptcy options, in addition to their seeking an additional $16 billion on top of the $13 billion they've already received, and AIG needs billions more on top of the $150 billion it's already gotten from taxpayers.

And they're STILL paying out their multi-million dollar bonuses to their executives. Tactless.

The bailouts were a mistake from day one. The companies should not have been nationalized; government shouldn't have put taxpayers on the line for NEARLY as much as they have. I can see some interventions, but only to prevent crippling the national currency against other markets. I'd rather have been on the hook for $200-$250 billion instead of nearly $5 trillion.

Government's running wild and needs to get a grip. Knee-jerk reactions haven't helped; they've only made matters much much worse. GM needs to get under bankruptcy protection this week. Would CITI's collapse weaken the dollar? What about AIG's?

There are some very stark decisions that will have to be made shortly. I hope everyone's up to it, because the writing's on the wall, and decision time is nearly at hand.

Obama Administration Back-Pedals on Habeus Corpus at Guantanamo and Human Rights in China: MAJOR Disappointments

In the space of one week, the Obama Administration decided that the writ of Habeas Corpus doesn't apply to the prisoners being at Guantanamo Bay, and abandoned challenging China to improve it's domestic human rights policies.

These are MAJOR let-downs as far as I'm concerned.

I had hoped that the Obama Administration would turn things around quit feeding the Constitution to the shredding machine, but sadly, it isn't going to happen.

When are defenders of this Bush-era doctrine going to realize that if we do that kind of crap to foreigners, that the same treatment is only a few steps away from being carried out on American citizens as well? Invoking national security to hold onto someone we don't like will prove to be too tempting for a government to resist. It's only a matter of time now.

Secretary Sniper-Fire announced during her first visit to China as Secretary of State that she's had these discussions with Chinese leaders for the last decade, and both sides know what the other's position is. That's NO reason for backing down from China. And I don't care how much we need China's money either. We need to keep the pressure up on China.

Habeas corpus is NOT optional either. Setting our own Constitution aside for the moment, we agreed to it in the United Nations charter, having pushed the organization to adopt it over the objections of the Soviet Union. We need to live up to our international obligations NOW, not when it's more convenient.

If Obama wants to clean up America's image, he needs to get with the program and start DOING it.

Can Government Be Sued By Conservative Talk Radio for Restraint of Trade if Gov't Reinstates Fairness Doctrine?

Every conservative talk-radio personality has been harping on the possibility of the Fairness Doctrine returning, in which their host radio stations will either be forced to take on liberal talk shows, or the conservative shows will be forced to present a more balanced viewpoint during their own air time.

Neither is acceptable.

The radio stations know that liberal talk-radio is a money-losing proposition. Air America's business model was so screwed up that they couldn't find enough advertisers to offset their major expenses, and Air America went under in 2006. It relaunched not long after that, fired some people and took to the air again with varying results. Their ratings remain at a fraction of the conservative talk-shows, and so does their profitability.

Their remaining stations are tempted daily to switch over to all-sports programming to turn a profit, because they definitely aren't making it with left-wing programming.

So if the government reinstates the Fairness Doctrine, are they vulnerable to lawsuits from conservative talk-radio and the stations for restraint of trade, by forcing them to air unprofitable and unpopular programming? Not to mention all the First Amendment issues that come boiling up to the surface as well.

Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, and Glenn Beck remain the top four talk-radio shows in the country. To give you an idea of how far apart the two audiences are, Air America had a 1.6 market share in Spring 2008; Limbaugh's share was a 13.5 for the same time period.

A fairness doctrine will only be fair if it also targets liberal networks CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC for a more balanced viewpoint as well, but I don't see that happening. Nor do any of the talk shows.

Keep the Fairness Doctrine in the trash heap, FCC. Don't bring it back.

U.S. Relations With Pakistan Sometimes Need Secrecy: Blabbing About It Won't Help Pakistan's Situation on the Ground

The U.S. relationship with Pakistan has always been a little tricky, especially in recent decades. And some arrangements have had to be done in secret in order to keep the various Pakistani governments out of trouble with their own people and with the wider Muslim world.

For instance, when it was decided in the 1980s that the U.S. was going to supply Afghan freedom fighters with anti-aircraft missiles and other heavy weapons to shoot down Soviet Hind gunships and hurt the Red Army, a deal was struck between Israel, the U.S. and Pakistan, which insisted upon secrecy out of fear of offending not only the Soviets, but also the Muslim world by working with the Israelis.

In the early days of the campaign, the Israelis would help provide Soviet-built or inspired weapons, and would transfer them to Pakistan, who would be in charge of getting the weapons to the mujaheddin who were killing Soviet soldiers.

That story was not publicly known until well after the Soviet Red Army withdrew from Afghanistan.

The Soviets were aware of Pakistan's involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War later on; they took enough prisoners during the war to confirm that the Pakistanis were arming the Afghan rebels; the KGB and their Afghan allies struck at a munitions depot outside of Islamabad in 1988, and carried out more than one hundred attacks on targets inside of Pakistan throughout the duration of the war.

Fast forward to earlier this week. The British news story that showed American aircraft at a Pakistani base in 2006 hasn't helped the Pakistani government. They're surrendering territory to the Taliban even now, and this story will only destabilize the Pakistani government even more.

Pakistan will continue to help us, but not if the press and our Congress blab about everything.

The press should be a little more sensitive to the situation in Pakistan and understand that their reporting will have a severe impact on the government there. Do we really want a Taliban government in Islamabad? We don't, but the way that the press has been acting, they might.

Monkey from Hell Shot While Attempting to EAT a Police Officer: What Was Owner Thinking?

Monkeys are not pets.

And a monkey that is kept as one will eventually go NUTS. And someone will get HURT. It's only a matter of time, according to experts.

Such was the case with a 200 pound monkey that went nuts and attacked a friend of it's owner, partially EATING HER ALIVE before escaping and going after Connecticut police officers who came to put a stop to the carnage.

The enraged monkey pursued the police officers; one officer dove inside a patrol car and slammed the door shut. The monkey tried to open the passenger side door, broke off the mirror and then went around to the driver's side, which was unlocked and entered the vehicle. The officer drew his sidearm and opened fire, fatally wounding the monkey.

The victim remains in critical condition.

What on earth was this person thinking, having a wild animal like that outside of a zoo? This is sheer stupidity and a disaster waiting to happen, which DID.

I suppose PETA's going to protest the fact that the monkey didn't get to EAT the police officer too and got shot for his troubles. LUNACY!

Pakistan Knuckles Under to Taliban: If Pakistan Continues Down This Road, They Should Turn Their Nuclear Weapons Program Over to International Control

Pakistan agreed to impose Islamic law on a section of their country that is under the control of the Taliban, in a very troubling move that is a portent of things to come.

It's widely agreed that Pakistan's government has marginal control of their country and are facing a resurgent Taliban threat. And Pakistan is also nuclear-armed. Pakistan must not allow the possibility of their nuclear weapons ending up under Taliban control.

I think they should consider asking the Americans or Russians or some international agency to come in and remove their nuclear weapons if there is even a remote possibility of the entire country falling to the Taliban. They CANNOT be trusted with nuclear weapons.

It's one thing for an elected government to control it's nuclear arms and technology, but if that government is overthrown by a terrorist force such as the Taliban, the threat couldn't be clearer. It's also clear that if the Taliban do take over Pakistan, we'll be at war with that country next.

I hope that various governments are coming up with a plan to deal with this frightening possibility of a Taliban take-over and will take multi-lateral action to seize Pakistan's nuclear arms and technology if it looks like the country will fall into Taliban hands.

What other choice is there?

Blackwater Security Changes Company Name in New Public Relations Move: Will It Help?

Security outfit Blackwater is changing its name from Blackwater Worldwide to Xe to repair its badly damaged reputation, following a serious shooting in Iraq and the loss of it's State Department contract for providing diplomats protection in and around Iraq.

The shooting incident left a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused Iraq's government to request that they leave Iraq. It was one of several incidents that Blackwater was involved in and the straw that broke the camel's back. Five Blackwater employees were charged in the shooting, which prosecutors say was not justified.

Xe will not actively seek new security contracts and is focusing on it's other lines of business that are not under public scrutiny the way that it's security operations in Iraq were.

The State Department contract was worth $300 million to Blackwater/Xe; they took in a little over a billion dollars last year from contract work around the world.

The entire system of using mercenaries to do government work in war zones needs to be examined closely. If it is determined that the services provided are necessary, then they need to be subordinate to both the U.S. military and the Iraqi military. They seemed to ride roughshod over U.S. military units, which was a big distraction for U.S. combat forces who didn't like being told what to do by a company not in their chain of command.

I'm not sure if this name change will change much of anything. It's their actions that people will be watching, not their packaging.

Stimulus is 100% Pork That Has Simply Been Repackaged: Same Thing CAN Be Done for $170 Billion

The entire stimulus bill needs to be scrapped; it's full of CRAP! The current plan has stuff in it that has NOTHING to do with providing jobs.

STD prevention, more funding for NASA, a federal tracking system for your health treatments, tax breaks for Hollywood to purchase movie film, Smithsonian funding, smoking cessation, providing public computer centers, alcohol and substance abuse reduction, Farm Service Agency computer upgrades, golf carts for golf courses and dozens of other pork projects totaling $124 BILLION, and that's the stuff that's the stuff we know about.

Pelosi & company are keeping REAL quiet about what's actually in the bill. As of 10:38pm Thursday, Congress hasn't even seen the 780 page bill that they're voting on Friday morning, and they're out securing votes for a plan that no one has even seen in it's entirety. Congress should be ashamed of itself!

Welcome to the Democratic change that President Obama was promising.

What else is in this piece of crap bill?

On a side note, I found it very interesting to read about a Congressional Blue Dog (Conservative Democrat) alternative that does what the current monstrosity of a stimulus rescue plan does, except it does it a lot cheaper and wiser.

Instead of spending nearly $800 billion on pork, which the Democratic Congress is ram-rodding through, the Blue Dogs came up with a $170 billion plan that accomplishes the intended effect of stimulating the economy and implements controls that are missing in Pelosi & Company's $800 billion stimulus plan.

And the Blue Dog plan self-terminates when the economy recovers. The Blue Dogs call it their "Strategic Targeted American Recovery and Transition Act" or START Act.

It's an interesting read.

CNN's Nancy Grace is Spending FAR Too Much Time on Caylee Anthony Murder: Yes, It Was a Horrible Crime, But That's Not the Only Thing That's Happened

Every time I'm flipping through the news channels and see Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News, she's doing EXHAUSTIVE reporting and commentary on the murder of baby Caylee Anthony.

I'm not trying to dimimish the horror of that particular case, but her nonstop coverage has sensationalized it to a point that I can't stand it anymore. If the word "Anthony" is anywhere on the screen, I flip the channel.

She really needs to vary her programming, while monitoring the situation. I do wish she'd devote some time to the issues that she covers on her web site, which proves that there are other kinds of cases going on every day around us.

I'm not completely sure why she's devoted this kind of airtime (over a month, daily) to one particular topic.

We had a similar type of case in the Lansing area a couple of years ago, where the parent/parents claimed that their little boy had gone missing, but had in fact murdered him by beating him to death with a hammer. I'm still angry over that situation and get reminded of it every so often when the parents try to weasle their way out of their sentences.

I also don't like to be reminded of it every time I turn on CNN Headline News at 10pm. Both situations ARE ugly reminders of the evil that is present in our society, but Nancy, PLEASE vary your programs a little more! The world is still going on.

GOP Leadership Backs Off From Comments Against Limbaugh and Steers House GOP to Reject Obama Stimulus Plan

The House GOP leadership backed away from their comments against Rush Limbaugh, saying that the comments read harsher than they were intended.

Rush seemed willing to let bygones be bygones, but pushed the leadership to be more aggressive in their attempts to stop the Obama Administration's agenda, which was also the correct thing to do.

Their conservative base will support them if they stick to their conservative principles, and don't knuckle under to the new order in Washington. The Republicans who lost their seats did a poor job of taking care of their conservative constituents, who didn't turn out to support them, or threw their votes elsewhere.

The House GOP's unanimous rejection of President Obama's stimulus bill is a very good start. I was pleased to see that. Having the Republicans get along with the Democrats is not in our nation's best interests.

Many of our problems need more than one solution, and if we get into the groupthink that the Democrats have bought into, we run the risk of restricting our choices in dealing with the economic difficulties that have put our economy into the toilet.

House GOP Leaders Buy Into Socialist Groupthink: Telling Limbaugh to Shut Up Because He's Pointing Out Where They Need to Go Won't Help Them

The GOP House leadership told Rush Limbaugh to back off his comments and that he and Sean Hannity are brick-throwers who don't have to do what is necessary for the well-being of the public.

The House GOP has bought into the socialist feel-good groupthink of the Democrats.

This is why the GOP lost so badly in November, and why they will continue to lose seats. They're alienating their own constituents. By not standing up to the Democrats now, they're proving that this is simply a continuation of 2008, where they're trying to out-Democrat the Democrats. They haven't learned this lesson yet.

Republicans need to be Republicans, and stand on their own merits, not try to cling to the coattails of the Democrats, who are about to enter a troubled time in their own party, now that all the pieces of the elected government are in place.

The Dems are about to find out that capturing power is a lot easier than maintaining it, especially with the patchwork coalition that holds their party together trying to pull in so many different (and opposite) directions. And when Obama starts to move toward the center to govern, that's when the real fireworks will begin inside the liberal Democratic Party.

The Republicans blew it when they controlled the House, Senate and White House. They didn't do what they should have done, and then lost both houses of Congress and the Presidency.

Instead of telling Limbaugh to shut up, the GOP leadership ought to listen to what he's saying and maneuver themselves into position for the next elections. They need to FIGHT against Democratic Party initiatives and propose their own, not go along weakly with the Democrats.

And if the GOP leadership is too weak and too timid to do so, then perhaps they should stand down and let someone in who WILL! Joining the Democratic attack on Limbaugh is not the sign of strong GOP leadership, that's for certain.

Still waiting for the leadership that has been sorely lacking in the GOP....

Follow-Up to 2008 Story: FLDS vs. State of Texas

Now that seven months have gone by since Texas officials royally screwed up an investigation of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) cult and were ordered to return most of the 439 children to the unrestricted care of their parents, what's happened since then?

All but thirteen children have been returned; Texas officials believe they've sorted out the situation and have begun prosecuting this case the way it should have been in the first place.

There are multiple investigations of the cult itself and the way that it does business; there are questions of whether the FLDS ranch/compound was constructed using funds illegally siphoned from a trust, which has since been put into caretaker custody by a judge in Texas.

Several men belonging to the FLDS are being investigated for having multiple under-aged wives.

Their leader, Warren Jeffs, remains in prison, where he belongs. He was convicted of child rape in Utah and was facing eight charges in Arizona at last glance.

Overzealous officials seem to be following the rules now, having been slapped around by a Texas judge who reprimanded them for sloppiness in their handling of the case from the get-go. Hopefully they'll remember this situation if they're confronted with something similar down the road and do their homework before executing a search warrant.

That clearly didn't happen when this whole thing started.

Obama Administration Mounts a PR Assault on the Military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy: Strategy Will Backfire

As anticipated, the Obama Administration is making noise about dismantling the military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy toward gays. His press secretary confirmed that he wants to go to Congress to repeal the policy, but won't do so until late 2009 or 2010.

Ultimately, it won't work.

I think it will actually drive more gays out of the military and lead President Obama to hastily restore the policy--in it's current form. There are many who wouldn't mind seeing this happen.

President Clinton beat a hasty retreat on this issue and never returned to it. I think history will repeat itself with President Obama once he takes a measure of how the military feels about this issue, and how the public feels about it. In fact, he's already delayed looking at this issue until 2010.

I'm not sure that the Democrats in Congress will want to risk alienating their constituents, who have shown that they may vote their own way on issues related to gay rights, regardless of party label. Look at California and their Proposal 8 controversy. I knew that proposal would pass; voters don't like being told what to do and having the power of their votes taken away by activist judges.

Even though the Democrats control the government, I think this will be an uphill battle for them, should they choose to try. And at this stage, I'm not sure they want to go on record with their vote.

And even if they do succeed, how long will it last?

Contrary to Popular Groupthink, Now is NOT the Time for National Unity: Now's the Time to FIGHT

The press has been going after Rush Limbaugh for saying that as a conservative, he wants "Obama to fail."

I heard CNN blasting him last night for saying this, saying it's not helpful to "national unity" behind the Obama Administration. Excuse me, but has CNN forgotten that not everyone voted for THEIR candidate?

Now is not the time for national unity; now is the time to FIGHT LIKE CATS AND DOGS to stop the Venezuelan-ization of our country. The government has no need to nationalize banks and private businesses, as Chavez has in Venezuela.

We are NOT Venezuela II or Cuba II.

Limbaugh is absolutely right. And for all these news organizations to gang up on Limbaugh in this fashion for defending the conservative position shows how far and how deep the socialist groupthink extends.

No more bailouts; the economy needs to be allowed to right itself. The accuracy of this position will be made clear when the companies that have already been bailed out start going under down the road, and taxpayers will be left with nothing but the debt to show for it.

Current Air Force One to be Replaced: 747-200 Upgrades Becoming More Expensive as Time Goes By

The Air Force is looking to replace the current Air Force One with a newer aircraft.

An exhaustive study found that the VC-25 (which is based on the 747-200 airframe) is due for extensive air control upgrades, air defense and communication upgrades, as well as increased maintenance costs. They're having problems identifying suppliers for needed parts to keep the aircraft ready to take off at a moment's notice. As the design gets older, the problems will get worse.

Boeing and Airbus are already working on designs for a new Air Force One that will be equipped for midair refueling, will have all the communication equipment, technology, room and defensive systems that will allow the President to run the country while he or she is airborne.

The plan calls for the first aircraft to be delivered in 2017; the second Air Force One sometime in 2019 and another in 2021 (the military currently has two Air Force Ones).

The two most likely contenders (the winner gets to build all three aircraft): the Boeing 747-8I and the Airbus A380. There's also speculation that the Boeing 777-300ER might be a contender.

The Boeing 747-8I:

The Airbus A380:

The Boeing 777-300ER:

It'll be interesting to see who builds the next Air Force One.

Circuit City Reorganization Fails: Entire Chain Will Close

Circuit City had been hoping to reorganize under the auspices of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but were unable to find a buyer for all or part of the chain. As a result, the entire chain will close, sending another 30,000 of it's employees into unemployment. All 566 stores will be liquidated.

That's too bad. They were no match for Best Buy or Walmart, which knocked the stuffing out of Circuit City to the point that it's suppliers wouldn't do business with them until their past debts were settled.

And in doing so, the suppliers will get paid off what they're owed, with no opportunity for repeat business, which will affect their own bottom line further down the road. Where does it end?

2008 Retail Bankruptcies: Some Familiar Names Go Away

2008 was a very bad year for retailers and business in general, and some big companies went under, including some that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the week after Christmas.

The 2008 list:

• Circuit City
• Boscov's
• Sharper Image
• Mervyns
• Linens 'n Things
• Whitehall Jewelers
• Steve & Barry's
• Bennigan's
• Tribune Company
• Tweeter Opco
• Shoe Pavilion
• Waterford Wedgwood
• Advantage Rent-a-Car
• Bally's Sports Club
• Pilgrim Pride
• Aloha Airlines
• DayJet
• SkyBus
• ATA Airlines
• Mrs. Fields Famous Brands LLC
• Progressive Auto Parts
• Goody's
• Ziff Davis
• Buffets Holdings (Old Country Buffet, Ryan's Grill Buffet and HomeTown Buffet)
• KB Toys
• Polaroid
• Arena Football League
• Olsson's Books and Records

This list does not even touch the bank situation.


You will not see the following things in 2009 as their companies have cut them:

• Polaroid Traditional Instant Film (discontinued before Polaroid filed for bankruptcy)
• Zima (popular clear malt) (Coors Brewing Co.)
• CD sales at Starbucks
• FedEx Kinko's is dropping the Kinko's name and renaming itself FedEx Office.
• Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper (Dr. Pepper Snapple Group) (YUCK!!)
• Volcano Taco (Taco Bell) (Company says the popular taco was a limited-run menu item)
• Crown Pilot Crackers (Nabisco)
• Smoky Chipotle Crispy Fried Chicken (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
• DHL Shipping in the United States (DHL) (They're going back to Europe)
• Hundreds of other changes as businesses try to save themselves.
  

Companies in Danger--2009

The following list of companies is listed as being in grave danger of disappearing in 2009, according to AOL Money & Finance's web site:

• Chrysler (Despite the government bailout)
• XM Sirius
• AIG (Despite the government bailout)
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (They may be folded into one government agency)
• Rite-Aid
• New York Times (has to pay off a $400 million debt in the first few months of 2009)
• Nortel (already filed for bankruptcy)
• Pier 1 Imports
• Charter Communications ($20 billion in debt, stock was trading at $.12 a share today, expenses>income, just missed a $74 million payment)

2008 was a very rough year, and 2009 isn't looking too healthy right now either.

Has Anyone Seen Chicken Little Lately? He's Strangely Quiet About Global Warming

Has anyone seen "Chicken Little" Al Gore lately?

He's been strangely quiet. Must be crunching the numbers so that he can predict triple-digit temperatures for July and August to support his faltering global warming hubris.

See you around, Al.

World Media Needs to Give Prince Harry a Break: His Remarks Are Outweighed By His Military Service

Prince Harry is apologizing for a three-year-old video of him using racist terms and poking fun at his grandma.

The media needs to cool it and leave him alone. This is a huge non-issue that they're blowing way out of proportion; how this video made it into the media's hands should be investigated, not Prince Harry. This video was obviously not meant for public consumption and should have remained that way; the media should have ignored it.

How is he supposed to react when militants in the combat zones threaten to capture him, cut off his ears and send them to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II? "Oh, that's nice?" Or something along the lines of "go %^@ off??!" Harry chose the latter and he's being criticized for it.

The media has it in for Prince Harry and for the royal family, and don't care about the damage that they cause in their reporting. That's more scandalous than the Prince's remarks. He did an outstanding job during his time in the war zone, but the media screwed that up for him too, didn't they?

He's apologized, which was the correct thing for him to do, now LET IT BE, media!

Plea from School District for Toilet Paper and Light Bulbs is Utterly RIDICULOUS: Administration Should Be Ashamed of Itself

I'm about ready to rip hair out of my head over this one.

A Michigan school has asked it's parents to donate toilet paper, light bulbs and trash bags to the school as there isn't money in the budget for purchasing said supplies.

Which administrator or group made this decision needs to lose their job(s) over this sad state of affairs?

There are other places to cut the budget! Something that has this large of an impact on the students and staff is inexcusable and requires immediate action.

These kinds of supplies need to be untouched on the balance sheet; they can reduce it ONLY if a school is closed, or the student population of that school drops by more than 10%. But not to the point that the school has to BEG for its parents to buy stuff that should already be provided for.

Shame!

Russians Turn Off Gas Lines Going Through Ukraine: It's Another Step Toward a Russian/Ukrainian Military Confrontation

The Russians are using energy as a weapon against Ukraine again in a move that will ultimately lead to a war between Russia and Ukraine.

What other conclusion can there be?

Russia found a reason to invade Georgia, which it doesn't like very much. The Russians don't like the Ukrainians very much either because of Ukraine's decision to nationalize a joint Russo/Ukrainian naval base on the Black Sea. Russia is itching to kick the Ukrainians out of the Crimean Peninsula and seize the entire Black Sea Fleet for itself. The two countries divided the Soviet Black Sea Fleet between themselves after the USSR collapsed in 1991.

Their agreement over joint use of the Sevastopol base expires in 2017, and Ukraine has signaled that the agreement will not be extended. This did not go over well in Moscow.

Nor has Ukraine's attempts to join NATO or the European Union. Ukraine has the second biggest military in Europe behind Russia, a situation that Russia doesn't like very much.

During the Russo/Georgian War last year, Russia deployed it's fleet from Sevastopol to blockade Georgia's ports, and Ukraine insisted that deployed Russian naval units needed it's permission to cross back over into Ukrainian waters, which Russia ignored.

Whether the gas gets turned back on or not, Russia's using energy to influence Ukraine is a cause of major concern. Russia wants Ukraine under it's control as a buffer between itself and NATO, which it also doesn't like. And Ukraine feels the same way about Russian interference in their internal and external affairs.

No good will come of this current crisis.

Blagojevich Impeached: Saga of His Appointee to Obama's Senate Seat Goes On

Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois House of Representatives on Friday; and his choice to fill President-elect Obama's Senate seat, Roland Burris, was denied permission to join the Senate.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Burris' favor, saying that the appointment was completely legal. I saw that one coming. But the only question now is whether the Senate will delay the appointment, or approve him tomorrow. All the appropriate paperwork has been filed with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate and everything appears to be in order.

What now?

The Senate might well seat Burris without further comment, or delay the appointment until the impeachment of Blagojevich is complete and an outcome is decided. I hope the Senate buries this issue and gets the story out of the news. It's getting really old fast!

Unless there's a specific reason to deny Burris the seat, they should seat him and move on. His nomination by Blagojevich IS in bad taste, but Blagojevich had a right to do so. He wasn't impeached at the time of the nomination nor was he convicted of any crimes. I'm not sure if he's stripped of any powers while the impeachment is in progress in any case.

The Senate needs to settle this; it's a HUGE distraction, which is probably what Blagojevich intended in the first place.

Bush Presidency Should Not Be Judged By Historians of Today: They're Just As Polarized As the Electorate

Historians have been gathering to discuss how the Bush Presidency should be written into the history books, and already there have been dramatic announcements that Bush is the "worst President in history" by some of the "delegates" to this convention.

With all due respect to this gathering of academics and writers, I find myself questioning whether they should even be talking about this subject yet. History is written best by those who have some years of separation between the subject and themselves. Historians of today should be documenting what happens and leave the judgments to those who come after them.

The historians of today are just as polarized by the politics of today as anyone else in the American public, and so are susceptible to making judgments without the benefit of knowing what happened after President Bush left office on January 20th. Historians of today only have a partial picture; it's like calling a football game at halftime with the score tied. They can't do that. The story is still unfolding!

I doubt they can take a neutral stance on President Bush. I know I couldn't; the difference between them and me is that I can admit that I can't be neutral. And more, I WON'T. But I'm not the one who's going to be writing the history books either.

Treat whatever you hear coming from historians of today with a grain of salt. They're no different than you or me with regards to how much people like or dislike President Bush and his decisions as President.

These historians shouldn't insult us by pretending to have neutral opinions. "President Bush is the worst President in history" proves it.

Governor Blagojevich Had Every Right to Appoint Obama Successor to Senate Seat: He's Not Been Removed From Office or Convicted of ANYTHING Yet

Embattled Illinois Governor Blagojevich made headlines around the world when he defied public opinion and the opinions of both his state government and the U.S. Senate itself when he appointed someone to the Senate seat that he was accused of trying to sell for profit.

And yet, he had every right to do so, and it will more than likely be upheld by the courts.

Blagojevich has not been stood up in front of a jury and been pronounced guilty; nor has the Illinois legislature voted on any measure to impeach the governor. If they wanted to prevent this end, they should have impeached Blagojevich immediately so as to strip him of the power to appoint a successor. They didn't do that, so the Illinois secretary of state is obligated to certify the appointment and issue the appropriate credentials for the new junior Senator from Illinois.

I don't have an opinion on the nominee; he's not been accused of anything wrong and he is qualified under Constitutional guidelines.

It's troubling to see the government trying to circumvent the Constitution and ignoring the fact that this governor is innocent until found guilty. And as much as I'm enjoying the spectacle, I hope it doesn't drag on. The Constitution has already been shot full of holes; we don't need one of the fundamental aspects of Constitutional protections on due process to be weakened any further.

Leon Panetta for CIA Director? Someone on Obama's Team is Smoking Something to Come Up With This Idea

It looks like former Chief of Staff Leon Panetta (under the Clinton Administration) is being nominated to head the Central Intelligence Agency.

The CIA??!

Why on earth would they want this? Panetta doesn't have the right type of experience for this posting. The Obama Adminstration already has a super-spy working for it: Robert Gates. Why don't they ask him to do it instead? Gates is untainted by the causes of the Iraq War, and the subsequent questions about extraordinary rendition and interrogation techniques. Obama could ask McCain to take over the Defense Department.

It appears that this nomination took a lot of Washington by surprise. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out, if it's true. Panetta has a lot of experience, but not in this department. Surely there's a posting that's a better fit.

More Proof That Man's Contribution to Global Warming is Overhyped: Fewest Solar Spots on Sun Corresponds to Drop in Average Temps Across Planet

2008 is a year that global warming nuts would like to forget; it saw their ice-thin facade of science collapse in the face of decreased solar activity, which corresponded to a planet-wide drop in average temperatures.

The sun is a larger factor in global warming and global cooling than the nuts would like to acknowledge. Sunspot activity has been decreasing since 2000, and average temperatures have been falling since 1998. In addition, their global warming models did not predict the cool-down of 2007-2008. According to their model, the temperature should have increased.

Global warming alarmists should get their facts correct before trying to scare people into buying into their belief that man alone is responsible for the rise in global temperatures, which aren't rising at all. So much for the much-hyped "proven science" which other (ignored) science has DISPROVEN.

Now, I do think that we should be looking at alternative cleaner fuels and changing the types of emissions that come out of our factories and industry. It's good for the air we breathe, and for the environment, but without all the global warming hype surrounding it. That's something I'm willing to work for.

But enough of the global warming hype, already. Put it in it's proper context, global warming people!

Russian Professor Predicts U.S. Will Collapse and Break Apart in 2010: Russian Media Loves His Predictions

A Russian professor has predicted a 45%-55% chance that the United States will collapse under the economic strain that it's under, a second American Civil War will break out and several new nations will emerge from the wreckage.

Yeah, right.

But his wild predictions have found an audience in the Russian media, which has been interviewing him like crazy. Despite his reputation as a KGB analyst, he couldn't predict the breakup of his own country in 1991, yet he's prognosticating an American collapse in 2009-2010. His anti-Americanism has found support in Russia and in the Kremlin, who blame Washington for everything.

His description of the six new American nations to emerge from the article: California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.

Thhhhp!

My prediction: 2009 will come and go. So will 2010. America will emerge from it's economic woes sometime in 2010, with a new focus on paying off the sizable debt that is currently being accumulated.

This guy has read too much Harry Turtledove (an alternate history author). Too many of his ideas look like they've been plagiarized from Turtledove and other "what if" authors that I've read.

Hamas Has Been a Disaster for the Palestinian People; Israel Has No Choice But to Put Hamas Into Its Place

Governments around the world have been quick to issue statements condemning the latest fighting between Israel and Hamas and called for a cease-fire between the two sides.

A CEASE-FIRE??!

Hamas is responsible for most of the civilian casualties. They're positioning their military hardware next to schools, apartment buildings and houses, and not allowing the residents to flee for their lives when they know that Israel is destroying Hamas hardware whenever and wherever they find it. Hamas knows full well what will happen when their hardware is hit by Israeli bombs while sitting next to an occupied building: noncombatants die.

Israel was content to leave Gaza alone, until Hamas broke the cease-fire and began firing rockets into southern Israel, which provoked the Israelis to fire back.

As far as this talk of a cease-fire goes, it would be like asking the United States to negotiate a cease-fire with al-Qaeda. Why should Israel be made to agree to a cease-fire with a terror group bent on it's destruction?

Hamas has proven it can't run a picnic, let alone the Palestinian government. Yet the Palestinian people voted for Hamas and got exactly the type of government that they wanted. All that Hamas has brought is death and destruction to the Palestinian people. I wonder if the majority of Palestinians will be thinking about that the next time they have an election.

So How Many Banks Have Restored Lines of Credit Since the Government Bailed Their Bankrupt Hineys Out?

The $850 billion question being asked of the major banks who took the government bailout is this: what did you do with the money, and why aren't you loaning money to your customers that the money was intended for?

Of the 210 banks who took the bailouts, how many have restored lines of credit to their customers?

Not many. They aren't answering questions as to where the money went, have reduced or eliminated lines of credit to their customers, and have paid out "golden parachutes" (bonuses) to their executives, despite claiming that they wouldn't do so.

If the banks aren't more forthcoming in what they've done with the money, then those loans should be revoked and the banks seized.

They cannot do what they've done and then pretend that they owe the taxpayers nothing. That won't fly.

This is just more proof that the sheer size of the bailout was a huge mistake, isn't working and is in desperate need of fixing.

Biden Talks of ANOTHER $700 Billion Stimulus: This is a BAD Idea

VP-elect Biden said during an interview today that the "...economy is in danger of absolutely tanking" and would take another stimulus (in the range of $600-700 billion) to get things back on track.

I would like to know if this will involve borrowing more money from China.

Because if it does, then I am absolutely opposed to this move. We CANNOT afford more debt. They should be doing these stimuli from money they already have in the bank from taxes. They need to be PAYING DOWN the debt, not increasing it.

The cumulative effect of all this debt will lead to the end that Biden is currently predicting, and the bill WILL come due eventually.

Kennedy Considering Asking Governor of New York to be Appointed to Clinton's Seat: Why This is a VERY Bad Idea

Now that Senator Sniper-Fire has been nominated to be President-elect Obama's Secretary of State, the race is on to fill her seat. Caroline Kennedy, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Representatives Maloney and Millibrand, along with Bill Clinton, are currently the favorite picks of the talking heads on the news shows.

I don't like the attention that the media is giving to Kennedy, merely because of her last name. She should probably pick up some political experience and hold some other offices before asking the Governor of New York to appoint her to fill the remainder of Clinton's seat. And I'm talking about elected positions, not appointments due to her family connections.

She's an excellent fundraiser, having raised over $65 million for the New York public schools. But being an effective fundraiser does not necessarily translate into being an effective politician who responds to the needs of her constituents. The only track record that we have are position statements that she's made when her liberal media friends ask her for her opinions on the issues of the day.

She's already said that she supports gay marriage, abortion rights and supports gun control. If she ever ran for President, I would not vote for her based on those principles alone.

Her support for gay marriage and abortion rights is also contrary to her beliefs as a Catholic, and that's another serious issue for many people. You can't be pro-choice and be a Catholic; those positions are mutually exclusive from one another. Being Catholic is about being part of a pro-life religion. She's either a Catholic, or she's not. There is no such thing as a liberal Catholic. But it seems like many Catholic politicians from out East abandon their church's most sacred laws in the name of their politics.

Religious beliefs aside, the interests of New York would be better served by picking someone who has experienced going through a campaign and has at least held public office.

Name recognition alone isn't enough to hang one's hat on. We've all eyewitnessed the truth of this statement recently, when a virtually unknown politician named Obama beat a political star with the name-draw that Hillary Clinton has and went on to become the first African-American President. Name recognition is but one piece of the puzzle.

Governor Paterson would do his state a favor by looking elsewhere for a suitable and more seasoned replacement.

Bill Clinton Doesn't Need to be Involved in Senator Sniper-Fire's Confirmation Hearings: Obama's Calling the Shots, Not Bill's Charities

There's been a story circulating around that former President Clinton may be called into Senator Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearings to testify about possible conflicts of interests with regards to her nomination as Secretary of State.

He's already agreed not to accept foreign government donations to his charities. But more than that, Hillary's not taking orders from her husband on foreign policy matters; her boss is President-elect Obama.

Former President Clinton doesn't need to testify. It's a side-show that Congress doesn't have time for, and can handle privately with the Clintons and AWAY from the hearings. This hearing is about Senator Sniper-Fire, not President Clinton.

Oops, did I say that out loud?

Obama's Ties to Chicago Policitians May Be a Problem:Illinois Governor is Tip of the Iceberg

The shock waves are still coming out of Illinois, following the FBI arrest of the governor of Illinois on charges of graft, extortion and other corruption charges.

Governor Blagojevich has been accused of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Obama following Obama's resignation from the seat to prepare his new Administration. And he apparently interfered in the Tribune Company's sale of Wriggley Field to extort the board to replace the editors at their newspaper (the Chicago Tribune) who were calling for his impeachment. Tribune filed for bankruptcy on Monday; the sale of the baseball field could have netted the company $100 million.

The accusations contained in the FBI summary are staggering.

I'm starting to get the feeling that the level of corruption that the governor is involved with runs much deeper than has been revealed so far; and because Obama was a legislator in Illinois for ten years, his involvement with other state legislators and associates who were involved with this corrupt governor will be under close scrutiny.

I'm very uncomfortable with another Administration coming in with the kind of potential baggage that dogged the Clintons for years. It feels all too familiar and is the kind of thing that, as we have already seen, will lead to never-ending investigations, regardless of whether the President-elect did anything wrong or not.

This is one of the reasons that I liked Bush in the beginning: when he first came into the White House; there were no skeletons rattling around in a closet; Clinton came in with lots of them.

Whose example will Obama follow, I wonder?

Auto Bailout Bill Passes House: Senate Bill Faces Filibuster

The House of Representatives passed their version of a bill which partially bails out the auto industry in exchange for a controlling interest in those corporations. It appears that the bill will face an uncertain future in the Senate as the GOP has threatened a filibuster unless changes are made in the bill.

I have mixed feelings about this bailout.

While I do think that the people of Michigan have suffered enough, I don't think that government will do a better job of making the auto industry better. I do not like the idea of a "car czar," nor his/her power to put the companies into bankruptcy or withdraw potential bailout money without some protections for the corporations, as well as some oversight of the "car czar."

And the government is already into too much private business.

I also do not think that copying Venezuela's economic model is a very smart idea. In fact, it's a really dumb move.

And now that we have an incoming socialist President, I fully expect this nationalization process to accelerate. The debt he's going to inherit and his current "tax and spend" plan is going to put the economy deeper into the hurt locker that it's already in.

The government needs to come to it's senses before it's presented with a bill that it can't pay.

Those Who Want Obama To Take Office Immediately Should Cool It: EVERY New Administration Needs Time to Get Set Up Properly

I was listening to Limbaugh today and he played back several sound clips of TV commentators wishing that the Constitution was amended so that Obama could take office on December 1st instead of January 20th. He's correct in telling Obama's TV news friends to settle down, but not for the reasons he listed.

He said that Obama doesn't want to take office due to the fact that the economy will worsen between now and January 20th, and that Obama doesn't want to be seen as being in charge when things really get bad this month; especially if one or more of our auto companies dies at the end of the month.

Putting the politics aside for a moment, the actual reason that there is a lag between the election and the time the new President takes office is that any new incoming administration needs time to fill many thousands of jobs, and not just the cabinet-level positions.

And until the adoption of the 20th Amendment in 1933, the lame-duck period was actually longer; Inauguration Day wasn't until March 4th prior to that. And the four-month period (between the election in 1932 and the inaguration in 1933) really hurt the country as the Great Depression was at it's peak during this time, and critical decisions were being put off.

There's no reason to alter the Constitution. Period. And even if they pulled it off, none of the states would be able to schedule votes before the January 20th Obama inauguration.

And I wouldn't be so anxious to rush a seasoned President out the door in return for someone who's been in federal-level politics for a grand total of four years. Obama will have his chance soon enough.

$10 Million Bonus for Merrill Lynch CEO Under Discussion: They Meant BOGUS, Not Bonus as Company Takes Bail-Out

Merrill Lynch became the latest bailout recipient to raise the ire of Congress and the public when their CEO asked for a $10 million bonus, weeks after the company took a taxpayer-funded bailout from the federal government.

If their executive board authorizes it, the government ought to consider revoking the company's bailout.

This is just one more proof that the entire bailout package was a very bad idea. There's no accountability, the companies aren't following the conditions of the bailout, and some of these companies will drive themselves into the ground pulling crap like this.

$2 trillion for stuff like THIS?

Nations Begin Signing Cluster Bomb Ban: Can We at Least Design the Weapon So ALL the Bomblets Explode?

One of the most infuriating things about cluster bombs is that when the weapon is deployed, and hundreds of bomblets are deployed, not all of them explode, which turns the impact zones into deadly minefields. Here's what a cluster bombing looks like:



Despite what the announcer says, not all nations that have cluster bombs deploy them correctly. Israel hit southern Lebanon with cluster bombs (supposedly the upgraded units with the self destruct units, but take a look at how effective the self destruct actually is.) The following video was taken by an Australian after the Israeli-Lebanese/Hezbollah war (audio commentary starts about 14 seconds into the video):



Israel and Russia both used cluster bombs in close proximity to civilian populations; the Russians disregarded the rules of war and dropped the munitions directly onto Georgian cities during their war earlier this year, deliberately targeting civilians. They did the same thing in both of their Chechnyan wars (Shali, Chechnya, in 1995, and in Elistanzhi, Chechnya, in 1999).

NATO used them in Yugoslavia, we used them in Iraq and Afghanistan and Vietnam. And in every use of them, there's a minefield left over. It's believed that ten million

And now there's an international conference going on; 100+ nations are going to ban them, including Afghanistan, Laos, Lebanon, Great Britain and 18 of 26 NATO countries. 88 nations are expected to sign it today, with 22 promising to sign tomorrow; when this is done, it will go to the United Nations where the remaining nations of the 192-member General Assembly can sign it as well.

The United States, Russia, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and several others have indicated that they will not sign it.

If we cannot design the damn thing to work as intended, perhaps we SHOULD sign the treaty and develop an effective system that will detect and detonate leftover munitions with minimum risk to the mine clearing teams.

Cluster bomb munitions can kill years after a peace treaty is signed between two warring nations, and that's not right, especially if little kids are the ones picking up the bomblets and having them explode in their hands, or blow their legs off.

I'm in favor of the treaty. These kinds of weapons, while very effective at destroying an enemy target, can be replaced with more reliable weapons that function as performed. The failure rate is simply too great to ignore.

Media Matters Goes After Bill Cunningham: Some of His Comments Earn Him Title of "Purveyor of Hate Speech" From Liberal Group

Media Matters has set it's sights on conservative commentator/radio host Bill Cunningham for some of his controversial comments about poor people, blacks, the unemployed and other groups.

He came into the national consciousness during the recently concluded Presidential elections when he introduced John McCain at an event in Cincinnati. He used President-elect Obama's full name (HOW DARE HE USE THAT NAME!) and said that he was a "hack" and a "Daley-style Chicago politician" among other things.

McCain didn't like it, and immediately repudiated what Cunningham said, which prompted Cunningham to say that he had been thrown under McCain's "Straight Talk Express" bus and trampled. He pulled his support of McCain and returned to his local talk-radio show. McCain knew who was introducing him, yet made no effort to find someone else to do the honors.

In the months since, he made some very nasty comments about Obama that Media Matters has zeroed in on. And truth be told, Cunningham is in the same vein as Michael Savage and Bill O'Reilly; he sometimes says the right things the wrong way. The specifics that Media Matters quoted in their report are as follows (credit: Media Matters web site) :

• Alleging that "Obama wants to gas the Jews"

• Invoking "[s]ix-six-six" and "the beast" in discussing "Barack Hussein Obama"

• On Obama Sr.: "That's what black fathers do. They simply leave"

• On the poor: "[P]eople are poor in America ... because they lack values, morals, and ethics"

• Declaring that America's "so-called noble poor" don't use birth control so that "the mom can get more checks in the mail from the government"
  
  
• "We are the only country in the world where poor people are fat."

The part that Media Matters forgets is that as inappropriate as some of these comments apparently are (while out of context, mind you), it's also protected speech.

I definitely don't agree with everything that Savage, O'Reilly and Cunningham say. They're their own worst enemies at times, but I also disagree with Media Matters on how they cut and paste comments together to make their victims look as bad as possible.

If fascism does start in this country, it'll start in the media with the same kind of tactics that Media Matters employs when going after people they don't like.

The Post of U.S. Secretary of State is Part of the Foreign Policy Team, Not the National Security Team

I keep hearing that the Secretary of State is the head of the President's national security team. With all due respect, no it isn't. The Secretary of State is the head of the President's foreign policy team.

The head(s) of the actual national security team are the Homeland Security Director, the National Intelligence Director, and the Secretary of Defense.

The Secretary of State is the President's chief foreign diplomat.

The National Security Council, of which the Secretary of State is a member, also includes the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Adviser as well as other departments as needed. The President is the chair of this council.

The President uses the National Security Council to get the experts in their various departments to come up with a comprehensive national security and foreign policy. Once the President decides, the Secretary of State executes the diplomacy, while the other departments execute their own part of the plan.

So it's quite confusing when the media portrays the post of Secretary of State as something other than it is.

Pentagon Preparing 20,000 Troops for Domestic Use: Conspiracy Theorists Run Wild Over This

This has been underway for some time, but the Pentagon is preparing a 20,000 strong military force for domestic deployment in the event of a city-killing terrorist attack, such as a chemical, biological, or nuclear strike.

Some talk-radio personalities are saying that this will be the tool used to overthrow the Constitution and establish fascism in this country. I disagree with Glenn Beck's assessment. When a nuclear attack happens (WHEN, not IF), we will be thanking God that these troops are available to help. If we are the targets of a Mumbai-style terror assault, people like Glenn Beck will be the first ones publicly calling on the government to use these troops immediately.

I do not believe that this force will be used to overthrow the Constitution, but to strengthen it, and to help our domestic institutions protect the American people from the kind of people (with their fourth-grade educations) who murdered so many in Mumbai, including six of our fellow citizens.

I'm not going to sweat it. The Fairness Doctrine is more of a threat than these troops are.

Are Our Big Cities Prepared for a Mumbai-Style Terror Hit?

One of the questions being asked in Britain and in the U.S. is whether there are enough anti-terrorism forces to go after terrorists in multiple locations in the same city, as it happened in Mumbai, India. Rather than army commandos, it would likely be SWAT teams that would be initially deployed in places like New York, L.A., Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta. Britain's got their own version of SWAT.

Focusing in on America, if a terrorist force hit multiple locations in one city and managed to dig in as they did in Mumbai, would there be enough SWAT units and other similar units to quickly deploy and begin immediate operations to secure whatever locations had been seized and rescue the hostages? And would reinforcements be quickly available from the federal government?

India was not prepared for an attack of this magnitude; it took 60 hours for them to clear the buildings that were captured by the terrorists. During that time, the terrorists were shooting hostages.

Are we ready for something like this?

Governments of India and Pakistan Need to Keep Talking: The Region Doesn't Need a War Between Two Nuclear Powers

Indians are asking exactly the same questions of their government that many Americans were asking after the 9/11 disaster in this country. "Why did the government fail to protect us?"

The Indian news media is reporting that the government knew a major attack was coming, but took no steps to warn their people that a disaster of this magnitude might happen in the near future. They kept their silence in the same way that the Bush Administration ignored the previous administration here about how dangerous al-Qaeda was and that an airborne terrorist attack might be mounted.

And India seems to be pointing the finger of blame at Pakistan, even as Pakistan attempted to ratchet down the rhetoric and keep everything low-key. They dispatched their intelligence chief to New Delhi to speak with his Indian counterpart, an act that many Pakistanis were unhappy with, but did so regardless of how it looked in Islamabad.

And Pakistan's president has promised to take action if it is proven that elements in his country were involved. Asif Ali Zardari is the husband of former Pakistani Prime Minister Bhutto, who was also killed by terrorists last year.

India and Pakistan need to be talking, not arguing and then fighting. They're both nuclear powers, and blowing one another off the map won't help matters. Pakistan really needs to come down on it's extremists, and India must do the same.

Government Should Forget About the Bailouts, and Reduce the DEBT: That's Going to Kill Us

When we take a hard look at what our nation is facing in this financial crisis, it becomes clear that a number of things need to be considered when formulating a strategy to dig ourselves out of this mess. And I think our government is failing to look at what lies over the horizon. They're really blowing it.

They've reacted by adding $5 trillion to our national debt.

Here's my impression of this fiasco:

• A stimulus package that requires us to borrow money from China to fund it? DONE!
• Fanny Mae is failing? So is Freddie Mac? QUICK!! TAKE THEM OVER! (Pass the buck.)
• Lehman Bros. is failing? Too bad. They didn't support my candidacy. Let them FAIL!
• AIG is failing? Bail 'em out. Then bail 'em out again!
• Stock market's lost 2,000 points in the last ten days? Drat.
• Bear Stevens is failing? Seize them, sell them and put the taxpayer on the hook for the bill!
• Citi is failing? Bail 'em out. More? Bail faster! Here, have some more taxpayer money!
• A $700 billion bailout? Add another $150 billion to bribe the opposition in Congress. Mo' money, mo' money!
  
• We're bailing out all the toxic debt??! Bail harder! Bail faster! Here, have some more money!
• What? What? Wall Street doesn't think it's the right fix now that they have it?
• Washington Mutual is failing? Seize 'em and bail 'em out!
• Dow's dropped 2,000 more points?
  
• Hmm...Dow added 936 points in one day, but it's still down for the week.
• Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon and State Street all signed on to our $2.5 trillion deal, to take our money, whether they needed it or not! YAY!! MORE DEBT!! Oh those taxpayers are really soaking it up now! Hummana, hummana, hummana!
  
• WHAT DID ALAN GREENSPAN SAY?? Oh, man, there goes another 600 points off the Dow!
• "Bailouts Being Used to Finance Retirement Packages." Surprise, surprise, surprise.
• Now the TARP measure isn't being used to buy all toxic debt? What's going on now?
  
• Hmm...General Motors sales fell 45% from a year ago, Ford fell 30%, Chrysler fell 35%, Toyota fell 23%, Honda fell 25%, and Nissan fell 33%.
• Now the Big 3 want a bailout? Yes! No! Yes! No!
• The CEOs flew their private jets to Washington while claiming that their companies are BROKE??! GM is producing a 2009 Hummer??!
• Group says we entered a recession in December 2007. Well, DUH!

It seems clear to me that the auto companies are ALREADY bankrupt, if they're going to Congress and asking for an I.O.U. to stay in business through December. They don't have the guts to come right out and say it. Yet.

As for the rest, it was a mistake to begin with. I think that those companies that would have a negative effect on the value of the dollar overseas (should they fail) need to be bailed out, while the others should get on a payment plan and pay off their debts, just like Joe and Jane Six Pack does.

The government should take the money from this $5 trillion scheme and put it toward paying down our national debt. That'll kill us in the long run and will hurt many more people than the current downturn has/will.

Trouble in India Will Mean Disaster Between Pakistan and India: Last Major Attack Almost Brought Two Countries Close to War in 2002

The huge terrorist attacks taking place in India will cause serious problems between Pakistan and India. The Indians have been looking for an excuse to put Pakistan in it's place for a while, and the headline-grabbing terrorism taking place in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) may well provide it.

Kashmir remains a problem between the two countries, and at least one terrorist has cited the troubled region as being the reason for his taking hostages. Terrorists launched an attack on India's government in New Delhi in 2001, and that attack caused over a million Indian and Pakistani troops to take up positions on either side of their shared border and square off for months.

If Kashmir is the cause of this, and it's directed at the government of India, they might turn their attention from Mumbai to Kashmir, and trouble will follow.

I'm getting the impression that there's more than one terror group involved here; one group took a Jewish facility, several others attacked hotels, and others attacked elsewhere. Some have targeted Americans and British citizens; others targeted Jews, still others targeted Indians. Some have released their Western hostages. It's really confusing. If it is one large group, they're hiding their goals quite effectively by going after so many different targets.

It's going to take a while to sort all of this out.

ANOTHER $800 Billion Mistake? It Happened a Lot Faster Than I Thought It Would

Back when I was railing against the first $850 billion mistake to bail out Wall Street's Folly, I predicted that they'd be back in six months asking for another huge infusion of cash.

I was not expecting them to put up another $800 billion within 1 1/2 months to help Wall Street.

We can't afford this, nor should we be bailing out the auto industry. The fact that they're begging for money shows that they're already bankrupt, but haven't chose to admit it yet.

The government is setting us up for more falls in the future with all this intervention. This is a short-term strategy that will have serious long-term ramifications. A lot of these companies that we're busy rescuing were going to fail, and will probably fail regardless. And we'll still be stuck with the bill.

I don't like it.

Many Institutions Climb on Gravy Train: Corporations, States, Cities and Who Knows What Else

Let's see who else is requesting federal bailout money, now that the floodgates are blown open:

American Express
Transportation Corridor Agencies of California
Ford
Chrysler
General Motors
General Electric
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
State of California
State of New Jersey
State of New York
Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association
City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
City of Phoenix, Arizona
City of Atlanta, Georgia
City of Detroit, Michigan

There are now DOZENS of institutions trying to get onto the gravy train! They need to all be told to cut their expenses and live within their means. People do it; why can't they?

TERRIBLE Nebraska Law Allowing Parents to Drop Teens Off at Hospitals Being Reviewed: "Please Don't Bring Your Teenager to Nebraska" Comes TOO LATE

Nebraska's awful child-abandonment law is FINALLY being reviewed, as kids from other states continue to be dropped off by their idiot and incompetent parents.

The total number of kids abandoned so far is 34. On Thursday, a 17 year-old girl was dropped off at an Omaha hospital with her 14 year-old brother, and promptly ran away, leaving her brother behind.

This law has been a FARCE from day one and should never have been adopted by the legislature of Nebraska.

And the emotional damage being done to these children by their parents is immeasurable.

They say the way to hell is paved with good intentions. And this law was originally designed to help infants, but with the lack of an age limit in the law, parents began dropping their teenagers off. Of the 34 kids dropped off so far, not a SINGLE one has been an infant. Six of the children were under age 10, and the rest were teenagers.

All of these teens need to be returned to their relatives, and the ex-parents PROSECUTED! And in particular, those parents who crossed state lines to get rid of their kids need to be in federal court for what they have done.

I'm not interested in hearing why they've done what they've done. They had the means to travel to Nebraska from other states to drop their kids off; why couldn't they have contacted social services in their OWN states? EVERY state in this country has some kind of system to help parents in need, and family courts to order the kids into state custody to get the help that they need.

Nebraska needs to GET IT IN GEAR and FIX this terrible law!

Gay Activists Disrupt a Lansing-Area Church: How Low Can They Go?

Gay activists took a Lansing-area church by surprise and staged a protest during services, both inside and outside the building on Sunday.

Inside the Mount Hope Church, demonstrators yelled gay slogans, hanged a banner from the church balcony, threw fliers at members of the church and then pulled a fire alarm. Outside, activists had an upside down pink cross and picket signs.

Revolting behavior!

And no one was arrested for doing this? Pulling a fire alarm is not protected speech. I wonder how many of these protesters were locals, and how many were outside agitators?

Time to Repeal the $850 Billion Bailout Mistake: It Isn't Working

I wrote the following in the last couple of months:

September 24th: I think that $700 billion is just the start and they'll come back and ask for another $500-$750 billion in six months. We can't afford that!

September 28th: No $700 billion ever made can stop a crash of a financial system that people have lost their trust in and believe is unstable.

October 3rd: And we've only seen the beginning of this bailout. Now everyone will want one too.

October 5th: Two states--California and Massachusetts--want money as well. The floodgates are now open; where will this end? And how many states will try to climb on this gravy train?

October 6th: Welcome to the dark side of globalization....This has been the strangest bill in quite a while; the size of it is HUGE; Wall Street didn't want it, the politicians say they didn't want it but attached $150 billion in pork to buy off their colleagues to vote for it, Wall Street put it's reaction on public display by losing hundreds of points on the days that the House and Senate voted on this bill; then they said it probably wasn't the fix that was needed. Then Wall Street lost hundreds of points more over worry that the money won't come fast enough. And the taxpayer's on the hook for the entire $850 billion package with little to no hope for a return.

Then I took a hiatus to see if this $850 billion mistake was the miracle cure that would save us. What happened?

Since the signing of the bailout of Wall Street's Folly, the DJIA has lost another 1,950+ points. The federal government increased it's bailout of AIG from $85 billion to $150 billion. Now they're talking about bailing out the auto industry. And many companies that have been thrown a lifeline are sustaining HUGE quarterly losses.

And the U.S. government is up to about $5 trillion in additional debt, trying to solve this mess.

The bailout isn't working; the money's being eaten like candy, and the problems are continuing to cause mayhem in the American and global economies. I get the impression that this bailout money is being thrown away.

They need to repeal the entire mess. The bailout of Wall Street's Folly was ill-conceived, and we simply cannot afford to bail out industry after industry, as the politicians now seem to be hell-bent on doing.

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of U.S. Navy Use of Sonar Without Restrictions

Environmental wackos lost their case against the U.S. Navy today, when the Supreme Court ruled that the Navy could use sonar whenever and wherever it needed to.

Lower court judges had issued injunctions against the Navy to prevent it from using sonar to detect enemy submarines when in proximity to marine life, whether in practice or in an actual combat situations. The high court found that the possibility of having an untrained anti-submarine force being deployed against an enemy (with no such restrictions) presented a danger to the safety of the fleet, and outweighed the potential danger to the little fishies.

The Supreme Court decision is the correct one. It would be a HUGE gamble to have an inexperienced Navy crew going after a Russian or Chinese-built sub with a nuclear payload targeted at American cities.

If the wackos don't like it, why don't they take their money and find an alternative detection system that the Navy can equip their ships and subs with, so that the Navy can get rid of their EVIL sonars and save the little fishes?

Veterans Deserve More: Government Has Dropped the Ball

On this day that we honor America's veterans for their service to our country, I find it APPALLING that 1/4 to 1/3 of America's homeless are also VETERANS.

This is shameful.

They put their lives on the line for our country, and come back from America's wars with both obvious and hidden injuries. It's a sad state of affairs when our various elected federal governments have to be prodded AGAIN and AGAIN to take the necessary steps to care for America's wounded warriors, both from the current wars and from past wars as well.

And yet, some 300,000 to 400,000 veterans are out in the cold, and the VA takes care of 100,000 of them annually. If the 400,000 number is accurate, then that means that 300,000 (or 75%) are left to fend for themselves.

I'm glad that the budget for Veterans Affairs has doubled to $93 billion in the last seven years, but they had no choice, with so many wounded veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope that the VA is expanding it's reach to help other, less fortunate veterans.

Thank you veterans, for putting on a uniform and putting it ALL on the line.

Obama Chooses a KLINGON for His Chief of Staff: So Much for Cooperation

President-elect Obama is not off to a smooth start to his new Administration. He chose the Democratic version of Karl Rove, Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, as his White House Chief of Staff. Emanuel is not equipped with an "off" switch, unlike Rove, who knew when to keep his mouth shut. The GOP labeled him a "hyper-partisan" immediately upon the announcement of his nomination to be White House Chief of Staff.

Here is an example of how a Klingon deals with an annoyance, which matches how Emanuel will deal with people in the White House:




This will be a VERY interesting appointment. Obama's found someone meaner than Michael Savage, which I didn't think was possible. Here's Emanuel's Wikipedia entry, including a recounting of the famous steak knife incident, which helped to earn him his nickname of RAHM-bo, owing to his "take no prisoners" strategy of dealing with people he doesn't like.

I though President-elect Obama would pick a Klingon-like person to fill the role of Chief of Staff, not an ACTUAL Klingon!

Where Does Obama Stand on Slave Reparations?

President-elect Obama hasn't made his stance on slave reparations clear yet, as he hasn't made his position clear on a great many issues.

According to NewsMax, Obama was opposed to slave reparations before he ran for Congress; after he was elected to the U.S. Senate, he stated that he was opposed to "...just signing over checks to African-Americans," which is a lot different than opposing the concept outright as he was before.

Where does he stand now?

I am opposed to court-ordered reparations, as the statute of limitations has LONG expired for slavery, which ended in 1865. Doing it in 1868 would have been better than in 2008, as it would have helped the direct victims of slavery. It's too late now.

And if American taxpayers will be called upon to pay reparations, does that mean that the decendents of Union soldiers who died during the Civil War to free the slaves will be made to pay as well? Is that fair?

I have other objections that I'm not going to get into now, but I think that Obama coming in on the side of the slave reparations crowd will fire up the kind of people who have already been arrested for plotting an assassination attempt.

And I agree with the Libertarian Party, in the assessment that a serious attempt to hand out checks to slave decendents for wrongs committed by a part of the population, long dead, will actually increase racism, rather than bury it. I think there's quite enough to be getting on with, without adding this complication.

Proposal 8 Succeeded in California Because Judges Didn't Listen to the Electorate in the First Place

If opponents of California's Proposal 8, which bans gay marriage, want to blame someone for the passage of the measure, they should start by blaming the judges who forced the issue in the face of strong opposition from California's voters. Instead, the left is blaming Christians for running a better campaign than they did.

Prop 8 succeeded because gay marriage was imposed by the judges on the voters of California, when they had already objected to it. The judges overstepped their authority, and there was a wave of resentment that went along with it. The U.S. Constitution makes it clear that marriage regulations are a reserved power for the states to decide. Activist judges like to assume this power for themselves.

Voters had already approved Proposal 22 in 2000 with 61% of the vote, which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Five years later, the courts overturned Prop 22. Legal challenges tied up the issue until May of this year, when the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages, to take effect in mid-June. Almost immediately, a new ballot proposal started gaining strength in the shape of Prop 8.

The feelings of the voters haven't changed that much. And they threw the issue back into the faces of the activist judges, who will almost certainly overturn it again, in another display of judicial activism. This debate will never go away.

Every state in the union has to decide this issue for themselves, and some definitely have, with varying degrees of judicial intervention. I continue to oppose any federal involvement in what is, under the Constitution, a state matter. Federal judges need to let the state supreme courts have the final say in matters related to state powers.

Senator Talks Up Fairness Doctrine Again: Assault on First Amendment Set to Begin

Senator Shumer is talking about the Fairness Doctrine again, setting the stage for the Democrats to begin their legalized assault on the First Amendment.

He was on Fox News on Tuesday and did a word play on Fox's own motto: fair and balanced. He said that the Fairness Doctrine would bring fairness and balance to the AM dial, balancing conservative shows with liberal ones.

Let's be frank.

Liberal talk shows are money-losing propositions for radio stations, while the conservative ones rake in the cash, and have tremendous staying power. Why should the radio stations be forced into such a money-losing proposition by carrying liberal talk-radio on an equal footing with the conservative ones?

Conservatives are afraid that since liberal shows are money-losers, that they would cut back on conservative shows as well in order to avoid the flak and fines that the FCC would be required to impose, as well as limit the damage to their bottom lines that liberal programming would bring.

Senator Schumer also said that those who opposed the Fairness Doctrine also wanted to limit the amount of pornography on the air. His argument makes no sense from a literal standpoint. Pornography isn't seen on radio.

And he's made no argument for more of a conservative viewpoint on TV news stations, such as CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, or NBC, or more liberal viewpoints on Fox News. Senator Shumer and his friends have targeted radio exclusively. That fact alone makes the Fairness Doctrine unfair.

Conservatives Should Declare Independence from the GOP: They'd Do Better With Their Own Party

I think the time has come for the conservatives to break with the GOP. They're Democratic-Republicans anyways!

The Republicans lost because they tried to out-Democrat the Democrats. And then they became the Democrats, spending money that isn't theirs, and not agreeing with anyone (including themselves) on anything. And they tried to push the conservatives out of the way in the process.

Being a conservative is about taking a stand, and living by it, not changing a stand when the wind of public opinion starts to blow in a different direction. All one has to do is look at the global warming hubris and how McCain embraced it to win over Democratic supporters.

And now we see the consequences of trying to out-Democrat the Democrats: the GOP's butt is in a sling, the result of voter dissatisfaction with Democratic-Republicans.

Will the moderates in the GOP learn?

Democrats Should Keep Their 15% Approval Rating in Mind: With Fewer Republicans Around, They're in the Hot Seat

Before they get too carried away, the Democrats need to keep their approval rating in mind. As of a CBS poll from last week, Congressional job approval stands at 15%, which is half of what President Bush's is.

And with fewer Republicans around to blame, and a Democrat preparing to move into the White House on January 20th, the Dems will be squarely in the hot seat.

It will be interesting to see if they succumb to the same pressure that the Republicans did, with one-party in control of the Congress and the White House.

If anything, the Democrats are even more vulnerable, as their party is a sewn-together coalition of competing factions. There's a few triggers that we've already seen will cause the Democratic Party to splinter; remember when Pelosi and Reid decided to knuckle under to President Bush and his war budget last year? The anti-war Democrats nearly rioted in the aisles.

We'll see how this goes.

Status of Forces Agreement With Iraq Needs to be Delayed: New Administration Doesn't Need Their Hands Bound

I think that the Iraqi and U.S. governments should put off agreeing to any Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) until after January 20th, when President Obama takes office and his intentions are made clear. There's no point in making an agreement like this if the Obama Administration will be withdrawing troops on a large scale, as he suggested during the campaign.

With the current mandate set to expire on December 31st, our troops will be required to suspend military operations in Iraq and return to their bases throughout Iraq. There is a need for U.S. troops to be able to defend themselves if their bases are attacked; I think it would be a good idea for both governments to extend the current mandate to mid-March, until the new U.S. government is in place and both governments can meet can plot out what the next 16-20 months will look like.

Why sign a SOFA with Iraq if our forces will be gone in 16-20 months?

WSJ Says Treatment of Bush Was "Disgraceful": Administration's Shredding of Constitution Was MORE Disgraceful

I'm at odds with the Wall Street Journal's op-ed piece on how President Bush was treated during the campaign of the last two years.

Frankly, I'm not concerned with what our enemies overseas are thinking. I'm much more concerned about the damage done to our Constitution in the name of national security that this Administration and this President have allowed to occur.

Indefinite detention of people? No habeas corpus? Star chamber justice? Not being allowed to confront their accusers? No trial by jury? No attorneys? No independent judicial review of the cases and sentences? Illegal evidence is allowed? A majority vote to decide guilt, and not a unanimous vote? Torture?

No, the Constitution of the United States is the SUPREME law of the land, and cannot be altered by lesser laws like the Patriot Act or the Military Commission Act of 2006. It's protections cannot be changed until the Constitution is properly amended and voted on as outlined in the Constitution itself. That has NOT happened.

It's true that the country hasn't been attacked since 9/11, but that's because it's easier for terrorists to shoot at American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, rather than trying to infiltrate over here and risk getting caught before being able to do any damage. And our soldiers are more than happy to return the favor and fire back.

I am in complete disagreement with the Wall Street Journal on this issue. The other issues quoted in the article are trivial, compared to the damage that President Bush has done and received criticism on, and rightfully so.

Michigan's Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 are ABOMINATIONS: I Despise Both of Them

Michigan voted to become a safe haven for growing pot, in the ugliest case of drug-fiendish group-think that I have ever seen.

Who will be authorized to grow medical marijuana? My drug-fiend neighbors? The local supermarket? And what's to stop criminal elements from registering as growers and engaging in criminal enterprise as well as supplying "medical" pot?

Will it come across state borders, in violation of federal laws? And which laws will trump the other laws? Federal anti-drug laws, or state ones?

I'll be the first one to admit that I absolutely despise Proposal 1, and am very perturbed that so many voters were hoodwinked into voting 'yes' on this proposal.

As for Proposal 2, I voted against this as well on religious grounds. In addition, by the ballot's own language, it will use embryos that are unsuitable for implantation, which means that they're using defective embryos, and will require taxpayers to pay for faulty research. This is a waste of money, as well as being morally objectionable.

It also closes the door on preventing future research along similar lines, which I object to as well. I'm no fan of Prop 2, but realize that this will be harder to reverse than Prop 1, which I will continue to rail against.

What a revolting turn of events!

Obama Wins; Definitely Not a Reagan Landslide, But More Than Enough to Beat McCain

Barack Obama made history, becoming the first African-American man to become President of the United States. It wasn't quite a Reagan-style landslide, but was still more than enough to put McCain away. Congratulations to the President-elect.

I'm more unhappy about Michigan's Prop 1 and 2 right now than I am about the race for the White House. I've been on record as not being happy with either candidate, but we have a new President, and without all the legal dramas of 2000. For that, I am grateful.

We'll see how President-elect Obama does. I'm looking forward to a lot of new source material in the next four years, especially if his Socialist views begin to take the shape of policy.

For now, he has a lot of work to do in order to straighten out the economy.

It Will Be Over Tomorrow; We Will Have a New President

As the rest of the country gets ready to vote starting in a little over eight hours from now, I still have mixed feelings on the candidates.

They are not the best that their respective parties have to offer, and we're going to be stuck with one of them for the next four years, assuming they stay healthy.

McCain has made too many compromises over his career to be called a real conservative. Obama is too young and inexperienced and is too far over to the left; he's going to be forced to move to the right in order to govern if he wins tomorrow.

I don't think that the polls are correct in their blowout predictions either.

They've gotten the last two Presidential elections wrong with their polling data, both before and during Election Day. The problem is that the media and the pollsters continually underestimate the turnout on the Republican side, while overestimating the Democratic turnout on Election Day. And they never seem to learn from their mistakes.

And when the polls do not match the election results, they start screaming about voter suppression and start looking for victims. They don't seem to understand that many people don't want to tell who they actually voted for. I'd tell a pollster that I wrote in Mickey Mouse, just to throw their numbers off. It's none of their business!

It'll be interesting to see if any coal states predicted to go to Obama flip to McCain. Very few of the networks carried the Obama/coal industry story.

I will be watching the results tomorrow night with great interest.

Newspaper Covers Up Obama Statements on Killing the Coal Industry to Keep Coal-Producing States in His Column

The October Surprise came in November, and might well change the complexion of the race for the White House.

The surprise was a statement by Barack Obama, made in January of this year, about the coal industry to the San Francisco Chronicler. Obama said, in the recording, that the companies could try to build all the coal-fired plants that they want, but they could only do it in a way that would bankrupt the coal industry if he had his way.

Really? And when was he going to tell the twenty-seven coal-producing states that little bit of information? And when was he going to explain that to the ten largest coal-producing states:Montana, Illinois, Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Texas and Indiana?

And here's why the Chronicler withheld the information about their preferred candidate:




Many of the undecided/"leaning Obama" and "marginally McCain" states also have a sizable portion of their economies built around coal production, with thousands of voters depending on the coal mines for their livelihoods.

For this supposedly "huge" lead that Obama has on McCain, the race is still in the air and could go in a number of directions OTHER than the way that the media PREFERS.

I think it's going to be a lot closer than ANYONE thinks.