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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1,990 pages of that horse crap??!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Would They PLEASE Keep the Balloon Kid Off TV?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Move on, Mr. President.

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

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

The reason? To save money.

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

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

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

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

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

So be it.

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

And what does his press secretary have to say?

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

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

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

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

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

Whatever.

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

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

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

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

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

Dog Fighting Videos Protected By First Amendment?

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

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

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

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

FTC Orders Bloggers to Disclose Payments For Reviews of Products

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

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

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

No free trips to Disney for me.

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

Next!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Couldn't they have chosen a better day?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Congress needs to close these loopholes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Microsoft should stand it's ground on this issue.

Senator Kennedy Passes Away at Age 77

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

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

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

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

Then I'll have more to say.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Feds Tour Michigan Prison: Possible Location for Gitmo Detainees

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stop this madness!

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

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

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

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

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

Congress "Retires" F-22 Raptor: NOT

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

No they didn't.

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

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

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

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

That's a financially sound decision too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, how does global warming feel to everybody?

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

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

Are the global warming blowhards putting two and two together?

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

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

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

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

Going Away for a While: Updates Will be Spread Out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Newsweek Asks if New "Star Trek" Film is Morally Relevant Like Original TV Series Was: That's the Wrong Question

"Has Star Trek Lost It's Moral Relevance?" is the title of an article found in the current Newsweek magazine. It bemoans the fact that the new film doesn't take on moral issues like the original Star Trek TV series did, as did subsequent follow-ons series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise. The article complains that it's a shoot-first, blow things up film.

With respect to Newsweek, that's the wrong question to be asking. After all, Star Trek is a mirror-image of our society, taking on popular questions of the day.

If Star Trek IS a mirror-image of us, what does the lack of a theme say about our SOCIETY? That's the question that the article should be asking. Welcome to moral relativism, which seems to be the rule of the day in a large part of our society. This means that the film can't address popular questions of the day, lest it be labeled racist or bigoted for DARING to take a side. See the Miss California debate to test the validity of this statement.

In addition, the film engages in popular trends of the day, introducing sex and a previously unknown relationship between Spock and Uhura into the franchise, as well as revising the history of the established Star Trek universe, which is a big no-no with "Star Trek" fans, alternate timeline notwithstanding.

Besides, not all the films did what the TV series did. The films built off one another, especially Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The fourth film had a green theme, the fifth film addressed the issue of God-like superbeings, and the sixth and final film of the old series looked at the reconciliation of two civilizations engaged in a long Cold War, paralleling the relationship between the United States and Russia.

And the makers of the film wanted to recapture the feel of Star Trek II, substituting a half-mad Romulan from the future for Khan.

If anyone's responsible for the film not taking on controversial issues of the day, blame the liberal press and various activists, who seems to be leading the charge on criticizing those who might have ideas different from their own and dare to express those ideas, which increases their own (the liberals, that is) hypocrisy of becoming what they behold: the most intolerant people on the planet.

If that's the expectation, then this film is right on target.

Powell Should Follow Specter Out the Door: If Anyone Has a Right to, He Sure Does

I do think that Colin Powell should follow Arlen Specter out the door and follow his example, by joining the Democratic Party.

But it's not for the reasons that Limbaugh has stated, which are that he endorsed Obama solely based on race.

I have no comment on that point.

No, Powell should join the Democrats because the Bush Administration royally screwed him during the build-up to the Iraq War, using Powell to press the case for military action against Iraq and sending him before the U.N. Security Council with false information. CIA did Colin Powell no favors and set him up, when they knew they didn't have the evidence that Powell was pressing for to show that Iraq possessed WMDs.

If anyone has a right to be p.o.'ed by what was done to him, it's Powell. I wouldn't blame him if he never appeared at a GOP event again. Who wouldn't be angry by being set up like Powell was by his own party and his own President?

Powell will always be remembered as the Secretary of State who sat before the Security Council and told them that Iraq had WMDs and offered proof of mobile weapons labs, which U.S. and U.K. intelligence services had already discounted but didn't tell Powell about.

On the political side, he belongs to the Democratic wing of the Republican Party. I think he's burned too many bridges to simply go back and continue on as if his endorsement never happened. His pro-choice leanings are incompatible with what has been a pro-life party. He's got more in common with the Democrats than the Republicans these days; I'm surprised he didn't switch when he endorsed Obama.

I don't know if he'll ever be able to live down his actions as Secretary of State. I'm also uncertain if he'll ever return to politics, so his switching sides won't damage the Republicans any more than they already are.

Democrat Specter Gets Put Into His Place: Dems Reduce His Seniority on Five Committees to Junior Status

Did Senator Specter really expect to keep his seniority when he switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party?

If he was, his hopes were dashed when the Senate demoted him on his committees from the top of the totem pole to the bottom on four of the committees on which he sits, and near the bottom on the fifth committee.

The Democrats did keep his seniority intact outside the committees and in the Senate, but that's all that's left.

I'm sure the Democrats are making him feel welcome, especially when he goes off the reservation like he did a few days ago when he said that the GOP might still win the open Minnesota seat currently being contested by Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D). He discounted his statements as being due from switching parties and not shifting gears quickly enough.

The Democrats were said to be annoyed with the comments.

Democrats in Pennsylvania are lining up to challenge him. And his GOP rival had a 20 point lead on him when he quit the Republican Party. Specter's wish to hold onto power may be dashed by his new friends if he doesn't start parroting the new party line.

And no one seems to be sure if the Democrats are done with reducing Specter's power. But he has less to promise to his new constituents than he did when he was a Republican.

Looks Like We Need to Keep Our Guard Up: Swine Flu Isn't As Dangerous as First Believed, But It's Hitting Close to Home

A friend of mine just posted that her kid's school over in Grand Rapids is closed due to a student there getting a "probable" case of swine flu.

That's a litle too close for comfort.

Apparently this student has a friend that returned from a visit to Mexico a few weeks ago.

I'm still uncertain as to whether we should let this thing run it's course, or to do whatever we need to in order to stop it now. It seems there is a danger that this thing could mutate into something that resembles the 1918 influenza, which could cause it to go out of control.

I think we need to stay the course for the time being. If it mutates, we could be in deep trouble. Getting things completely back to normal will have to wait for a while.

Is a Worldwide Alert Necessary for an Influenza That is No More Dangerous Than the Garden-Variety Flu?

Now that more information is known on the swine flu that is going around the world, and it seems to be no more dangerous to humans than the flu that hit over the winter, is there a reason that we shouldn't allow it to run it's course?

Researchers say that the virus is missing a key component that was present in the dangerous 1918 influenza that killed tens of millions around the world.

And now they're saying that they will have vaccines ready within a matter of weeks.

I'm no medical expert, so I'm asking this: is there a reason not to resume normal business and school operations around the country, and around the world? If it's no more dangerous than a normal flu, is there a danger in dropping our defenses? Is there a chance of a mutation that will actually make it dangerous?

These are questions that should be addressed by public health authorities. We don't want to drop our guard too soon, nor do we want to take steps that are medically unnecessary and scare people, schools and others into overreacting, which some are clearly already doing. Four hundred schools were closed on Friday due to H1N1 fears; 98% of them were false alarms, sparked by "suspected" swine flu fears.

There's more questions than answers right now. Hopefully they'll get a handle on this soon so we know what this virus IS and IS NOT.

Obama's First 100 Days Are the Most Expensive 100 Days in Human History: 1,360 Days to 2013 Inauguration Day and Possible New Administration

Obama's first 100 days were the most expensive 100 days in human history.

There's no other way to look at it. Even Reagan's massive arms build-up in the 1980s doesn't even come close to matching the amount of money that Obama has managed to commit to "fixing" the banking system and the economy in his first 100 days in office. His spending plans are expected to add $9.3 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office; Reagan took the national debt up to $3 trillion over eight years.

And Obama's $3.6 trillion budget next year won't even touch paying down the debt. It's all spending, with over 9,000 earmarks that he promised wouldn't be in the bill. Instead of running up the debt, he should be paying it down.

That's what I see when I look at his first 100 days; that's a bigger issue than his kissing up to communists and international gangsters, like the Saudi king and Hugo Chavez.

Arlen Specter Joins the Democratic Party: All Pro-Choice Republicans Do the Same Thing

Pro-choice Republicans should follow Senator Arlen Spectre out the door and join the Democratic Party.

They're closet Democrats anyways.

The only part of his defection that I disagree with is that he isn't resigning his seat and running under his new party's banner, as a few others have done in the past.

The following senators decided to switch parties and resigned before running for the same seat under their new party (and won the special election):

Wayne Morris (Oregon)
Strom Thurmond (South Carolina)

The following Representatives did the same thing:

Albert Watson (South Carolina)
Phil Gramm (Texas)

Specter was getting killed in the polls against his primary challenger, so this may be a large part of why he's doing this now. And for giving the Democrats their supermajority, they may have offered a deal to Specter in exchange for his defection.

Good riddance.

Nancy Grace Is STILL Going On and On Over the Anthony Case, and I Keep Flipping the Channel: Did Anything Else Happen in the World?

Nancy Grace over at CNN is STILL going on and on over the Caylee Anthony murder case, and I keep flipping the channel as soon as I see the word "Anthony" on the screen.

Yet when I go over to her web site, she has a TON of interesting stuff that never makes it onto the air. Her program would be MUCH more interesting if she didn't beat one case to death, daily, and for months on end.

I can't believe she's spent this much air time on ONE case.

Didn't anything else happen in the world that was newsworthy? Not judging by the content of her program.

Army Battallion Spends Two Weeks in Iraq, Then Receives Orders to Go to Afghanistan

Wow.

An entire Army battallion that arrived in Iraq in the last few weeks just got orders to head directly to Afghanistan, where their skills set is badly needed.

This doesn't happen too often, where a unit is deployed to one war zone, then gets orders to go to another. The Army logistics people say that it will take between 40-60 flights to get the soldiers, vehicles, and equipment from the 4th Engineering Battallion from Baghdad to southern Afghanistan.

I'm surprised that it actually hasn't happened more, but it appears more likely now that the U.S. military is carrying out their orders to bump up the force in Afghanistan while reducing the size of their force in Iraq.

I think this is a good move as the mine-clearing capability of the 4th Engineers is needed to reduce the number of IED attacks on coalition forces. 60% of coalition losses are now from IED and mine attacks in Afghanistan, and they need to turn that around.

Obama Kisses Chavez's Exterior Posterior: SHAME on Obama for Putting His Weakness on Display!

Obama's disgusting ass-kissing continued unabated at the Summit of the Americas, where he took turns kissing Chavez and Castro's exterior posteriors.

Is he going to start waving a piece of paper around saying "Peace in our time" like Neville Chamberlain did before Hitler's armies started rampaging across Europe?

Venezuela needs to be put into its proper place, not appeased. Chavez will use his massive arms buildup to arm insurgents all across South America and make the drug war in Mexico look like a picnic. He's already been accused of sending arms across his border to topple governments that he doesn't like.

Making friends with Hugo Chavez? I'm afraid to find out what Obama's going to do next. I'm not impressed with his making friends with soon-to-be-bankrupt Venezuela and it's communist leader. He's handed Chavez a HUGE propaganda victory.

I don't think this is fitting behavior for a U.S. President.

Tea Party Media Coverage Shows How Far Liberal Networks Have Fallen: Their New Format Sucks

The liberals seem to be very upset that their "monopoly" on grass-roots movements was thrown into the toilet. The Tea Parties went ahead as planned, and all the liberal media could do was criticize the people who went there, call them a bunch of racists, and make sex jokes.

It shows how inept the media has become.

While conservative media outlets dutifully covered liberal protests, like the Sheehan protests at former President Bush's ranch in Texas and the 700,000 out of a million-man march, and other liberal "grass-roots" (rent-a-mob) protests, such as the illegal-immigration protests, the liberal media didn't even cover the Tea Parties from a neutral standpoint.

MSNBC and CNN took the lead in denouncing the Tea Parties as white power racist protests against President Obama. I saw a lot of non-whites at the Michigan Tea Parties. Are they racists too?

MSNBC isn't even reporting the news anymore; the paradigm has shifted so radically there that it makes Fox News look like a pure news program with it's mix of news and personality-based political programs.

This pure aggression coming from MSNBC and the other liberal outlets won't help their ratings; it will appeal only to their own audiences. To prove the point, take a look at the ratings from April 15th: (credit: tvbythenumbers.com)

Live + Same Day Cable News Daily Ratings for April 15, 2009

P2+ = viewers over the age of 2

(25-54) = Adults 25-54 viewing

(35-64) = Adults 35-64 viewing

Prime Time = 8-11pm

LIVE+SD: The number that watched a program either while it was broadcast OR watched via DVR on the same day [through 3AM the next day] the program was broadcast. For more information see Numbers 101.

1. Scratch = when a show’s audience fails to meet minimum Nielsen reporting levels. For more information go here.

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 1,589,000 viewers
CNN – 711,000 viewers
MSNBC –479,000 viewers
CNBC – 249,000 viewers
HLN – 400,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 3,390,000 viewers
CNN—1,070,000 viewers
MSNBC –1,210,000 viewers
CNBC – 167,000 viewers
HLN – 909,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC –444,000 viewers
CNN –207,000 viewers
MSNBC –150,000 viewers
CNBC –59,000 viewers
HLN- 173,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 864,000 viewers
CNN –290,000 viewers
MSNBC –388,000 viewers
CNBC – a scratch w/ 45,000 viewers
HLN – 334,000 viewers

35-64 Total Day
FNC –732,000 viewers
CNN –321,000 viewers
MSNBC –241,000 viewers
CNBC –111,000 viewers
HLN- 217,000 viewers

35-64 Prime Time
FNC –1,406,000 viewers
CNN – 404,000 viewers
MSNBC –603,000 viewers
CNBC –86,000 viewers
HLN –487,000 viewers

Morning programs (6:00AM-9:00AM) P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
FOX & Friends –1,049,000 viewers (335,000) (581,000)
American Morning- 518,000 viewers (202,000) (305,000)
Morning Joe-395,000 viewers (119,000) (200,000)
Squawk Box-210,000 viewers (53,000) (120,000)
Morning Express w/ Meade- 348,000 viewers (162,000) (198,000)

6PM - P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
Special Report w/Bret Baier – 2,401,000 viewers (541,000) (1,927,000)
Situation Room—942,000 viewers (280,000) (427,000)
Ed Show —563,000 viewers (118,000) (233,000)
Mad Money—228,000 viewers (75,000) (111,000)
Prime News—341,000 viewers (135,000) (199,000)

7PM - P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
Fox Report w/Shepard Smith– 2,185 ,000 viewers (531,000) (943,000)
Lou Dobbs –870,000 viewers (265,000) (426,000)
Hardball w/Chris Matthews—737,000 viewers (182,000) (321,000)
Kudlow Report —238,000 viewers (62,000) (123,000)
Issues– 644,000 viewers (226,000) (329,000)

8PM - P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
O’Reilly Factor —3,980,000 viewers (927,000) (1,623,000)
Campbell Brown—892,000 viewers (209,000) (346,000)
Countdown w/Keith Olbermann —1,499,000 viewers (483,000) (707,000)
CNBC Reports – 203,000 viewers (53,000) (95,000)
Nancy Grace –1,336,000 viewers (454,000) (669,000)

9 PM - P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
Hannity– 3,239,000 viewers (866,000) (1,348,000)
Larry King Live—1,292,000 viewers (349,000) (449,000)
Rachel Maddow Show —1,149,000 viewers (363,000) (550,000)
American Greed—198,000 viewers (95,000) (a scratch w/ 48,000)
Lou Dobbs Tonight- 590,000 viewers (327,000) (189,000)

10 PM P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
On the Record w/Greta—2,947,000 viewers (799,000) (1,243,000)
Anderson Cooper—1,026,000 viewers (311,000) (417,000)
Countdown w/Keith Olbermann —981,000 viewers (317,000) (552,000)
On the Money – a scratch w/ 99,000 viewers, (a scratch w/ 33,000) (69,000)
Nancy Grace –848,000 viewers (379,000) (492,000)

11 PM P2+ (25-54) (35-64)
O’Reilly Factor —2,090 ,000 viewers (741,000) (1,063,000)
Anderson Cooper—663,000 viewers (214,000) (286,000)
Rachel Maddow Show –609,000 viewers (231,000) (354,000)
Mad Money—a scratch w/89,000 viewers (a scratch w/ 35,000) (a scratch w/ 50,000)
Showbiz Tonight– 561,000 viewers (290,000) (308,000)

For other days cable news ratings click here.

----------------

Judging by the above numbers, the liberals need to change their tactics. After all, they created the very environment that Fox News now excels in, due to their catering their programs to liberal Democrats and trying to demonize the other side. And all they can do is CRY about Fox News and the success that it enjoys.

But the new format that they seem to have adopted will backfire. We really need the networks to get back to reporting the news AS-IS, without fanfare and without Nancy Grace-ing it to DEATH.

U.S. Navy Rescues American Captain Being Held on Lifeboat: Navy Did a Great Job

The American being held hostage by Somali pirates was freed earlier today, after he managed to escape them, and the pirates subsequently tangled with waiting U.S. Navy SEALs, who were itching for a fight with the pirates. Three of the pirates were killed in the shootout, and the fourth was taken prisoner.

Captain Phillips was unharmed and thanked the SEALs and the Navy for rescuing him.

I'm very glad to see this crisis resolved, thanks to the professionalism of the Navy, and the willingness of President Obama to do what must be done to deal with these thugs.

The various world navies need rules of engagement that allow them to take action against the pirates.

The Law of the Sea Treaty seems to be hindering international action to secure the shipping lanes along Somalia's coast. Something needs to be done about this so that order can be restored on the high seas. It seems to me that long-held American objections to this treaty are justified, as the treaty's weaknesses are now on full display for the entire world to see.

I don't expect any U.N. action to be taken to correct the problem. They are less likely to agree on a course of action than ever before.

Navy Can Safely Disable Approaching Pirate Ships: Pirates Must Not Be Allowed to Make It to Shore With Their Hostage

The Navy is concerned that seized international ships that are manned by pirate crews are going to interfere in the ongoing hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia.

It doesn't have to be that way. I'd rather see the Navy shoot out the engine rooms of the pirate vessels and set them adrift too. Or blow off a screw with a well-placed torpedo. Then make them the same deal that they're currently offering to the pirates in the lifeboat.

The Navy cannot allow the pirates to succeed.

White House Denies Presidential Bow to Saudi King: Putting a Spin on this Miscue Makes the Situation Worse

The White House attempted to put a political spin on President Obama's deep bow to Saudi King Faud while at the G-20 summit in London, saying it wasn't a bow at all.

Horsecrap!

What the hell was he doing way down there? Giving King Faud a presidential blo...never mind.

Of course not. But they would have us believe that it was ANYTHING but a bow to a foreign ruler, in spite of this serious breach of protocol being caught on video and in pictures. They ought to admit that the President screwed up, apologize and move on.

But instead he's having his spin doctors try to hoodwink the rightly-offended American public---of which nearly 60,000,000 people didn't vote for him---and his strategy isn't working. Now he's got two screw-ups to fix instead of one.

I don't even want to think about what he would do if he met with Kim Jong Il or with Uncle Fidel, who the Congressional Black Caucus likes very much. There's enough drivel coming from that group of lawmakers to make me SICK!

I'm waiting to see if the White House attempts to squirm its way out of the first two problems, or if they come clean.

Obama's Bow to Saudi King is Latest Example of How Weak of a Leader Obama Is: U.S. Heads of State DO NOT BOW to State Terror Sponsors

I'm seriously annoyed by President Obama's kowtowing to Europe and to the G-20, with particular regards to France and Germany.

Obama kissed so much ass that it was sickening. And his bow to the Saudi king was the last straw.

Below is two different bows to two different sovereigns. The first bow to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip was totally appropriate. The second bow to King Faud was not. What the hell was he doing?



Then there's the speeches that Obama made to the public over in Europe to score points. Denouncing his own country and his own people while representing them while in foreign territory was the dumbest move that I've ever seen a President make.

And what of his stated foreign policy goals for this trip? It's been disaster after disaster; the Europeans manhandled President Obama with relative ease. He's going to have a lot of explaining to do when he gets back home. The media needs to do their jobs and put President Obama on the spot to explain himself and his gaffes.

Forget about Bush, Obama is the most devisive leader we've had in living memory. I am not in agreement with any of his policy statements; there's no common ground between him and the conservative opposition-at-large.

He needs to quit putting Karl Marx's book into practice. We don't like it, and we don't want it.

North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile Over Japan: Why Are We Still Pussyfooting Around With This Commie Runt?

North Korea went ahead and launched a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, in total defiance of the international community and the UN Security Council, which prohibited North Korea from playing with it's military hardware.

And the end result of this anger that's been building against North Korea? Absolutely nothing, from a do-nothing Security Council.

We can end North Korea's missile program right now. All Washington and Tokyo have to do is declare North Korea's missile launching facilities as weapons testing ranges for the United States and Japan. Whenever a missile is set up for launching by North Korea, the two countries conduct missile and bomb testing on the North Korean missile while it's still on the ground. Or they shoot it down while it's in the air, denying the North Koreans their research data.

We need to quit pussyfooting around with North Korea and start throwing serious punches at North Korea's missile development program. North Korea is too childish to be trusted with advanced military hardware and cannot be trusted under the current regime.

They're already launching missiles over Japanese territory, which doesn't make other nations in the region very happy. And they're continuing to rattle their sabers at Japan, the U.S., South Korea and the United Nations.

It's better to deal with them now before they develop the means to put a nuclear warhead onto their ballistic missiles and they can actually hit something without their missiles falling apart in mid-flight.

Political Correctness Crowd on the March: First "Retard," Then What? "DUH?"

Retard!

That's the latest word (and all it's variations) that the political correctness crowd is going after.

I was hoping it would be something a little more interesting so I could draw my line in the sand, but since "retard" is the target that they've chosen, it is the word I will defend, on principle alone. I don't really care if it's quietly dropped from the American lexicon or if people use it.

But I will jump on the person who jumps on someone who's exercising their First Amendment freedom of speech and freedom to be a retard.

I respect Special Olympics, but they're getting into a political movement that they have no business taking their organization into.

Why Did John Murtha Receive a Navy Award? He Has Yet to Apologize to the Haditha Marines for Falsely Accusing Them of "Cold-Blooded Murder"

Before he left his office a week ago, Secretary of the Navy Don Winter quietly awarded Congressman John Murtha the highest Navy civilian award (the Navy Distinguished Service Award) for his loyalty to members of the Department of the Navy.

As word as gotten out, the veterans have started to react very negatively to the award.

Murtha has yet to apologize for falsely accusing Marines from the 3rd Battallion, 1st Marine unit of murdering Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq. During the 2006 midterm elections, he accused the marines of "cold-blooded murder", even as they were being arraigned on the charges. He found them guilty in the media before the courts-martial commenced.

Two years later, with six of the eight Marines exonerated, the seventh found "not guilty" and the eighth still on trial, he hasn't recanted any of his statements, which were widely seen as a political speech to ensure a Democratic take-over of Congress as the mid-term elections were approaching.

I agree with the veterans. Murtha's actions and refusal to apologize to the innocent Marines for his ill-considered and hurtful statements should disqualify him from being awarded this award.

ANOTHER $1 Trillion Bailout? Congress Should Ban This Bill From Even Making It Through the Front Door

At last we come down to the nitty gritty.

The Obama Administration now wants to relieve the banks of their failed leverage debts, and clear the decks of Wall Street's Folly.

The cost: $1 trillion or more.

No, ABSOLUTELY NOT! The banks need to get on a payment plan and start paying off their own problems, instead of Uncle Sam coming to the rescue. Again.

The homeowners who defaulted are not at fault for the banks accumulating so much leverage debt. That's the fault of Wall Street, and they should be held to account for their own actions, the same as everybody else.

What's to stop them from doing the same exact thing, when the economy is roaring along again?

Any member of Congress voting for this cockamamie plan should RESIGN! Enough is enough! Congress should be screaming bloody murder, despite what Wall Street thinks. After all, it's Wall Street that fueled the engine that took us straight off the cliff in the first place. They were originally opposed to this course of action, as I recall from earlier posts. Why are they so enthusiastically in favor of it now?

The banks are going to proceed at the same pace regardless of what happens with this piece of garbage proposal. If they get it, it'll take months to restore the credit lines; if they don't, it'll still take months. Both courses of action will take us to the same place, so why shouldn't they take care of their own mess?

The entire Congress should walk out of the Capitol to protest bailing out Wall Street's Folly before unanimously rejecting it.

South Africa's Refusal to Allow Dalai Lama to Participate in Peace Conference Actually Encourages Bad Chinese Diplomatic Behavior: They'll Do It Again

South Africa set off a wave of protests and threats of boycotts of it's soon-to-be-held peace conference when it knuckled under to Chinese diplomatic pressure and refused the Dalai Lama to participate in the conference by denying him a visa.

Former South African President FW De Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu announced that they were boycotting the conference until South Africa reversed its position and allowed the Tibetan leader to come.

South Africa is more worried about the 2010 World Cup, and its own interests, rather than the interests of the peace conference that they're hosting. They've lost a lot of credibility around the globe while earning China's praise. Costly move, because now the Chinese government knows it can bully the South African government around whenever China's interests are at stake.

For a democracy to cave in to China is disturbing. De Klerk said it best: "South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democracy and should not allow other countries to dictate to it regarding who it should, and should not admit to its territory - regardless of the power and influence of the country."

Perhaps South Africa should ask another nation to host this peace conference.

Paparazzi and Media Should Leave Octuplet Family Alone: Story is Boring Anyways

The news media and the paparazzi should let the octuplet baby story fade from the headlines, but they're not ready to do it let. They're milking it for all that it's worth.

And now that the paparazzi are in on the act, any hope at decency and calm is gone. They were climbing on the family's vehicle in an attempt to get photographs of the first of the babies coming home. And they were inside the garage as family members were screaming "get out!" The police were called and had to clear 250 people out of the area.

This lady has enough problems, and I hope that they (the media) dial down the coverage to an absolute minimum. And the magazines should completely drop their coverage too, so that the paparazzi have no further financial reason to hang around there.

Frankly, this story has pretty much run its course; whenever I see coverage of it on the news, I flip the channel to one of the other stations carrying more interesting stuff.

State of Michigan Should Reject 11% Rate Hike Proposal From Power Companies: Companies Shouldn't Be Raising Rates as Economy Flatlines

Power companies Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison want to hike the rates of Michigan customers by 11% in order to pay for upgrades to the electrical system to bring them into compliance for federal emissions standards.

The rate hike request has been sent to Lansing for consideration.

Michigan's legislative committee that approves or rejects such proposals should reject these rate hikes and the power companies should delay the projects.

Michigan has sufficient electrical power to handle the current needs of the state. While the upgrades are important, they don't have to be made all at once; it can be done a little at a time while minimizing the impact to families that are already having trouble paying for their winter heating bills.

As the economy improves, they can do more and ask for more money, but not when the economy is still in a nosedive and more people lose their jobs.

Congress Passes Bill That May Not Be Constitutional: Is This Really the Best Way to Deal With Golden Parachutes?

The House of Representatives passed a bill that severely taxes those companies that accept federal bailouts on one hand but pay out golden parachutes (bonuses) to their past and present executives on the other. The bill is designed to address public anger over AIG and other companies paying out millions of dollars to the people that got us into this mess in the first place.

While I think that the companies have earned the public black eye that they've gotten over the last few weeks, the measure passed in the House may not pass Constitutional muster. Hasn't the Constitution been shredded enough over the last eight years? Has anyone even heard of "due process" in Congress? And targeted severe taxes on specific companies and not any others, which is prohibited in the Constitution as a "bill of attainder?"

The Democratic Congress and the Administration are messing things up good. They're acting quite hastily, and the kind of legislation born in haste usually ends up being really bad legislation.

I disagree with any measure taken by Congress that violates the Constitution.

Detroit City Council Makes Fools Out of Themselves Again: Ingrates Demand Leno Do an Additional Free Show

What happens when you put undereducated people in charge of a major metropolitan area?

You get people wearing tiaras like they're fairy godmothers or princesses, one member of the group calling another "Shrek," the same member getting into physical confrontations with the media and with the police, and getting into arguments with school children over how she behaves in public.

This same person insulted someone else over their health and hearing aid, and called the kettle black when she said that the member she was insulting was "undereducated." And when she didn't get the type of hotel room that she wanted prior to the Democratic National Convention, she called 911 to solve the situation.

Welcome to the Detroit City Council. The council member in question above is the current President of the Council, Monica Conyers. On to more recent history:

Jay Leno decided to go out of his way to bring a little bit of comic relief to the Detroit area, and when he announced that his free show would be at the Palace of Auburn Hills, instead of organizing buses to transport people going to the show, City Council President Conyers and Council member Reeves brazenly demanded "Where's ours?" and phoned Leno to demand that he hold another show within the city of Detroit, and that it be free as well.

Would they like some cheese with all that whining? Little wonder that Detroit is in such a mess, and it has nothing to do with the economy either, despite the 22% unemployment rate. The tween twit in charge of the council really needs to crawl back into whatever hole she came out of and grow up for another twenty years. She's too incompetent to be in charge of Michigan's largest city.

Leno went along with it, scheduling the additional show during his vacation time. The theatrics of the Detroit City Council is an embarassment to the entire state, and not just to the people of Detroit.

Would the people of the city PLEASE turn these people out at the next election?

President Should Come to Michigan With His Advisers and Talk to People Standing in Unemployment Lines About Economic "Turnaround"

Looking out the window again, I can see the cue building up at the unemployment agency across the street, and the place doesn't open up for another couple of hours.

Perhaps President Obama and his advisers should come to Michigan and pay a few visits to these unemployment agencies--in Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids and Detroit in particular--and tell the people standing in line that the economy has turned around. See what their reaction is to that tidbit of political good news.

Time for a reality check, Mr. President.

GOP Senator Tells AIG Leadership to "Resign or Commit Suicide": This Man Needs a SHRINK!

Is GOP Senator Charles Grassley out of his friggin' mind?

He was expressing his extreme displeasure with AIG executives over the fact that they're talking about giving out millions in taxpayer-funded dollars to themselves for a very poor job, when he committed a HUGE blunder.

He said in a radio interview that they should either resign or go out the "Japanese way", meaning killing themselves.

I'm very unhappy with these idiot companies too, but I can't and won't agree with someone telling someone else to kill themselves, under ANY circumstances. I have no respect for Senator Grassley or for what he said.

If he can't get a handle on his emotions, perhaps he should resign and let someone with MUCH more maturity and self-control take charge of his seat. His spokespeople are out doing damage control now, but some things are best left unsaid to begin with. He SCREWED UP, and offended God knows how many families who are dealing the issue of suicide.

Suicide is too touchy of an issue for it to be thrown carelessly around by a politician who probably knows nothing about it, is insensitive to the needs of others, and can't communicate without revealing his utter stupidity.

Idiot!

Obama Administration Says Economy's Turned Around? What Planet Are They On??!

The economy is sound, eh?

All I have to do is look out the front window of my house to the state unemployment office across the street and see the line extending out the front door to know that this economy definitely ISN'T sound. And the cars parked in front of my house with the drivers walking over there to join the line just reinforces this observation.

The economy is a LONG ways from turning around. What planet is the Obama Administration broadcasting from, because it certainly ISN'T this one!

Just because the stock market is up over the last five days doesn't mean A THING! It's still down 6,947 points from a year ago and down 3,000 points since President Obama took office. What's causing the stock market to rise is Obama not issuing press releases or having press conferences.

When the line isn't running out the door at the unemployment office and the cars aren't piled up in front of my house, and Michigan workers aren't losing their jobs left and right, THEN I'll believe his rhetoric, but not now.

What I'm watching out my own front window doesn't square with the rhetoric.

Pentagon Rethinking Two War Strategy: It's About Time!

The Pentagon appears to be rethinking it's policy of being prepared to fight two major wars simultaneously and still having enough force left to put up a fight somewhere else.

This policy has been in place since World War II and has been the cornerstone of American military strategy . But they're re-examining the policy now that America has had two wars going on for over six years, and their resources are stretched mighty thin.

With 170,000 soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, we don't have the necessary conventional ground forces to stop a North Korean attack on South Korea or a Chinese attack on Taiwan if trouble were to break out in that part of the world right now. The Navy and Air Force would have to carry the fight to the enemy until ground troops could be redeployed in a huge hurry.

Secretary Gates is engaged in a top-to-bottom review of every aspect of planning for wars of the future. Budgeting, weapons purchases, staffing, training, and the entire gambit of planning that goes into equipping a military force is being looked at.

I'm relieved that they're looking at this, though I am troubled that it's taken six years for them to get around to it. This should have been talked about much more thoroughly before troops were sent into Iraq.

The sooner the military wraps things up in Iraq, the sooner balance can be restored to the international scene. A threat of military force against an aggressor is only effective if there is muscle behind it. North Korea has realized this, and has effectively called our bluff. They realized that no American army will materialize to threaten them if they rattle their sabers around a bit while we're still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iran is playing the same game; so is Venezuela. "When the cat's away the mice will play" seems to be the strategy being employed by North Korea, Venezuela and Iran; pretty soon the cat will be back, and those mice are going to start running for their lives.

Then we'll see how much they enjoy our undivided attention.

Former Detroit Mayor Has Been Punished: Does Releasing the Rest of His Raunchy Text Messages Serve a Purpose, Other Than to Punish Him More?

Former Detroit Mayer Kwame Kilpatrick was released from jail within the last few weeks and his former Chief of Staff is to be released from jail on Monday, following convictions of perjury and witness tampering.

So someone in the Detroit Clerk's office decided now would be a good time to release 6,000 more text messages; some are sexually explicit.

The cover story is that the text messages were released to determine if Kilpatrick did anything else. That smells of a witch-hunt. Why release the text messages publicly, instead of turning them over to the prosecutor's office? And why now, and not before the trial took place?

Or are they planning on keeping this man and his sordid affairs front and center for the news media to sell more papers?

Kilpatrick has since filed a $100 million retaliatory lawsuit against the cell phone carrier who released the messages originally. But I don't think it's going to go anywhere, since the monthly bill was paid by the taxpayers of Detroit and therefore falls under the auspices of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). That part of the story will be interesting to watch.

As far as everything else goes, it looks and sounds like someone taking revenge against Kilpatrick, who got what he had coming to him.

Either charge him, or get off his case.

Another Point on Last Post

I'd like to add another point to my last post about Pelosi not flying commercial like everybody else.

In my humble opinion, international terrorists will leave Nancy Pelosi alone so that she's inflicted on us if they manage to take out the President and Vice-President. The Speaker of the House is #3 in line of succession.

God help us if Pelosi winds up in charge for ANY reason. Stay healthy, Mr. President and Mr. Vice-President. Please.

Pelosi & Co. Need To Stop Treating the U.S. Air Force Like It's Their Private Airline: If They Want Their Own Aircraft They Should Purchase Them

Speaker Pelosi & Co. are in Judicial Watch's spotlight again, and it's an old tune that the Speaker and her friends haven't grown tired of yet.

They keep requesting military aircraft to fly them around the country, rather than flying commercial like everybody else.

If they want all of these aircraft at their disposal, then perhaps they shouldn't be cutting the military budget. The U.S. Air Force is not their private airline. If they don't like that, perhaps they should contract with the Yankee Air Force or some other private organization to fly them all over the place.

I thank the Air Force for not cooperating, whether it was intentional or unintentional. They've got more important things to do than fly these Congressional airheads around.

Congress ought to fly commercial, just like we have to.