Larry King Asks A Question

Its a good one - one I've often wondered myself. The question was posed to Nancy Pelosi last night:

President Johnson, toward the end of Vietnam, he didn't run for reelection, exhibited extreme torture himself. You see it in all the tapes that have been released, the look on his face. And he died soon after leaving office.

Why do you think this president doesn't appear to exhibit that kind of pain over all this public opinion against?

Why indeed? Pelosi's answer is really unimportant.

US to Negotiate With Iran, Syria/Bush Doctrine is Dead

Washington’s decision to participate in talks with Damascus and [Tehran] for the stabilization of Iraq could lead to the unblocking of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria and also influence the Lebanese crisis.

Yes, its another BushCo bald lie, but I am, for once, encouraged. Maybe the administration just talks tough then resorts to old-fashioned diplomacy. Is that the MO? Who knows, because we certainly know that talking tough has led to the disastrous invasion of Iraq.

The Neocons must be shell-shocked. First North Korea, and now THIS? Poor Bill (The Vampire, aka Nostradumbass) Kristol must be mumbling to himself. I just went to the Weekly Standard, WSJ Opinion Journal, Instapundit, and Drudge sites. Amazingly, no one is talking about a diplomatic meeting with Iran and Syria. I await their fussilades.

But Frank Gaffney, at NRO, quickly and neatly sums up the right-wingers position:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s announcement Tuesday that the United States was now prepared to begin negotiating directly with Iran and its proxy, Syria, over the future of Iraq is the latest evidence of the complete unraveling of what was once a principled, coherent American approach to foreign and defense policy. Today, the Bush team’s motto seems to be: Anything goes. Among the things that are poised to go over the side is the nation’s security.

I can't argue with Gaffney that the Bush Doctrine is Dead. And I guess he's also right that the position was principled and coherent. Someone sticks a gun in your face in the name of stopping the winnebagoes of death is pretty easy to understand. Of course we now know that those RVs were pure fiction, but what the heck. That just messes with the right-wingers view of the world. Ain't nothing changing that.

Jerry Falwell Says Global Warming is Plot by Devil

Jerry Falwell speaks:

The Reverend Jerry Falwell says global warming is "Satan's attempt to redirect the church's primary focus" from evangelism to environmentalism.

Keep 'em comin', Jerry.

Romney's Campaign Strategy Leaked

I've long considered Romney to be dead-meat politically. His Mormonism just won't fly with too many So-Cons, and his flip-floppery will be used against him in a big way.

That's one thing. But, Romney's advisors put together a memo on Romney's perceived weaknesses - and someone went and leaked the info to the Boston Globe. D'oh!

The 77-slide PowerPoint presentation offers a revealing look at Romney's pursuit of the White House, outlining a plan for branding himself, framing his competitors, and allaying voter concerns about his record, his Mormon faith, and his shifts on key issues like abortion.
Dated Dec. 11, the blueprint is wide-ranging and analyzes in detail the strengths and weaknesses of Romney and his two main Republican rivals, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York. The plan, which top Romney strategist Alex Castellanos helped to draft, charts a course for Romney to emerge as the nominee, but acknowledges that the "electorate is not where it needs to be for us to succeed."

Iraq War Poll - How Low Can It Go?

The latest ABC News/Washington Post opinion poll has grave news for BushCo and merry warmongering band of neo-conservatives. 64% now say the Iraq War was not worth fighting, and 56% now say US forces should withdraw - even if civil strife doesn't end. I believe this is the largest margin by which Americans say they are completely fed up with the war and its incompetent management.

Its time leave. Starting now.

Edit: Dan Froomkin covers the poll story today, and adds this snippet:

* 63 percent feel they cannot trust the Bush administration to honestly and accurately report intelligence about possible threats from other countries.

WTF? We Are Supporting the Sunnis?

Seymour Hersh once again proves he is one of America's best investigative journalists. Writing in the New Yorker, Hersh traces a significant change in American foreign policy - towards confrontation with Iran.

Its an incredibly risky strategy, in essence doubling down on a losing bet in the Middle East. BushCo's foreign policy has turned Iraq into FUBAR within enigma, so why not try to mess with Iran in an attempt to straighten things out?

One little matter is we are giving aid the Sunni nut heads* who have killed far more American soldiers than the Shiite thugs have managed to do. It would be beyond ironic if Al Quaida jihaddis were to start killing US troops with weapons meant to battle Iran.

Unfortunately, the occupation of Iraq has strengthened Iran's hand substantially. Most rational thinkers have seen this for years - since the Iraq invasion and occupation. BushCo has finally caught a clue, but instead of attempting to use positive diplomacy - as the Baker/Hamilton commission suggested - there appears to be a real attempt to create a modern-day Gulf of Tonkin.

The new Middle East strategy revolves around the BushCo-Saudi Arabia-Israel alliances. Scott MacLeod blogging for Time, refers to Prince Bandar bin Sultan as our new Secretary of State.

This is all extremely unsettling. Thankfully, congress is no longer supine in the face of grave and dangerous administration incompetence. While congress cannot stop BushCo from their instance neo-conservative foreign policy, they can at least hold a light to the administration's activities.













* When I refer to 'Sunni Nutheads' I mean the ex-Baathist insurgents as well as the AQ Jihaddis.

Some thoughts on the 2008 Presidential race

To me, the most interesting part of the race for 2008 is the Reeps do NOT have a pre-ordained candidate for the party to rally around. Not since the bitter Ford-Reagan run in 1976 has this been the case. Sure, there have been challengers along the way - Bush I in '80, Buchanan, the leg-pressing preacher - but these were all outsiders.

Here's the list of pre-ordained Reeps:

'80 - Reagan
'84 - Reagan
'88 - Bush I
'92 - Bush I
'96 - Dole
'00 - The Shrub
'04 - The Shrub

There's no way McCain can fit that bill, though he is certainly trying. Pat Dobson has already ruled out McCain. Romney is running hard to the right, but his religion and his past positions weaken him substantially. Then there's Guliani - America's Mayor. Guliani will have a tough time getting through the primaries as many of his positions are too liberal.

There are a number of second-tier candidates - Huckabee, Newt Brownback, and Duncan (or is it Hunter?). I just don't see any of them gaining traction. Hagel is an interesting candidate, as he is the only reep to go against the war (he's been against that mess from the start). However, in the process of being proven correct, many party faithful regard Hagel as a Judas. Unless, Iraq blows up into a full-blown regional war, I can't see Hagel gaining traction within his own party.

The Dem side is also interesting. Sure, they have had some pre-ordained candidates - both Mondale and Gore come to mind. But, who remembers the 1992 'seven dwarves' battle that eventually saw Bill Clinton take the crown? Kerry also came out of nowhere. So did Dukakis.

Hillary is trying really hard to put everyone down early so she can win the nomination. However, Obama is for real and Edwards never stopped running after 2004. Hillary's position on Iraq is going to bloody her for some time. However, she can take some solace knowing that Iraq will likely doom McCain, too.

The wild-card is Al Gore. I just read that Gores has the dosh to self-finance himself into the race. The door is potentially open - particularly if Obama, for whatever reason, falters. Gore is in the process of achieving rock-star status. He could conceivably catapult an Oscar win into a strong presidential bid.

There are minor dem candidates. Biden shot his foot off, so he's a non-starter. Richardson, Dodd, Wes Clark, Sharpton, and Kucinich are other possibilities. However, some of the minor players are already dropping out - notably Bayh and Vilsack.

So the race is on; there are six major players, three on each side. I can envision one additional candidate making a run - Brownstone or Newt on the right, Gore on the left. There will probably be a couple of "issues" candidates who stay in. So, some 20+ months before the general election and the field is at once wide open - and limited.

Al Sharpton's ancestors were owned by those of Strom Thurmond

This stuff could not be made up. No way.

In a revelation that will stun the nation, the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of America's most powerful black leaders, has unearthed a shattering family secret - his ancestors were slaves owned by relatives of the late South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond.

It is an ironic twist of fate that inexorably links one of the most vocal civil rights activists and an icon of Deep South segregation.

NY Daily News

I can't even begin to imagine what its like to have a family legacy in slavery - either as slaves themselves, or slave owners. But here we are with two of the more famous political personalities in American politics (though Strom finally, finally, finally had the good sense to go away and die). The article is interesting not only for its bizarre factoids and involvement of these two political celebrities, but also in Sharpton's personal reactions to the news of his family's roots. The facts are important, but the human story really rounds out our understanding.

I was listening to an NPR program a couple of weeks ago. The person being interviewed said that as recently as 250 years ago, 3/4 of the world's population were slaves - or their equivalent. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. However human trafficking is still a serious affliction. Accounts of women being sold as sex slaves (Cambodia and Eastern Europe) and of migrant workers being bound to employers due to massive debts (see here, here, here.

Another slavery topic was in the news recently. Both houses in Virginia's legislature expressed "profound regret" over that state's role in slavery. This is notable, as Virginia is the first state to officially apologize, although both Maryland and Missouri are considering doing the same. Also notable is this measure passed unanimously in both of Virginia's legislative houses!

I'd call this another chip in the wall. There is still a long way to go towards fully ending racism in our country. But Virginia is taking a good first step in attempting to reconcile past actions. Perhaps South Carolina would like reconsider the state flag.

Iraq today

The Dick is at it again in Australia. First he runs the old canard up the flagpole, that is, the democrats (plus Chuck Hagel) = al-Qaida. Then he says that the Iraq war is a "remarkable achievement[.]" I guess he is right if remarkable means the worst foriegn policy decision in US history.

You can read about Cheney's exploits here, here, and here.

How many months, days and minutes until the Shrub and the Dick are out of office?

Rolling Stone has the top 5 Keith Olbermann rants.

http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/?p=943

My brother-in-law

My brother-in-law lives in Orange County (California). My wife and I helped him out by loaning him $$ for a down payment two years ago on his first house. We were very happy to help him out, while karmically repaying my deceased grandmother who did us the same favor over a decade ago.

Now, he's all antsy to move out of his home and go back to the much trendier town (where he used to rent). His real estate buddy has found a "great deal" on an ocean front house that's going for a little over a million.

Of course, my brother-in-law thinks he has to have this house. He even had the chutzpah to ask my wife for $200K (Like we have $200 fucking K laying around just waiting for the moment he has some boffo investment idea), not even bothering to mention the $$ we loaned him to begin with. He claims he can afford an $800K mortgage, but is "uncomfortable" with that amount. If we loan him the $200K he can manage with a $600K mortgage. And this is a "great deal" that we can't miss out on because ocean view homes in Laguna Beach are hot, hot, hot! Whatever.

I am looking forward to breaking the news to him that his "uncomfortableness" is what the rest of us euphemistically call, "I can't fucking afford that million dollar house." What is it with this attitude? Sure its a great deal. There are all sorts of great deals out there. But what is the point of even considering this you can't afford it to begin with? I sure don't get all wigged out when a Gulfstream goes for a song.

Plus, I want my god damned down payment back, oh ungrateful cur of a brother-in-law. I have a bad feeling he is going to hit up his parents for the money. His parents don't have that kind of dosh, but I can see them taking out mortgage, or some other similarly stupid plan to make sure baby son gets what he wants.

Yes, I am pissed at my stupid consumerist brother-in-law (I think you've got the crux of that biscuit). But his attitude is depressingly familiar in many parts of California - especially including the supposedly Bohemian San Francisco Bay Area.

Our hyper-consumer society feels way out of control. Yes, its planned obsolescence; yes its the god-awful packaging; but above all, its this insane idea that we all somehow innately deserve to drive top of the line Beemers, use fizzy glacier water for rinsing toothpaste out of our mouths, and must live in million dollar homes with mortgages bigger than the cliffs they sit on.

Just don't ask me to pay the bills for someone else's frill's, err needs.

Things that piss me off

I've started a list of things that piss me off. George "Dubya" Bush certainly tops the list. I've usually referred to him as Dubya, but I will honor the late, great Molly Ivins and simply call him the Shrub for the next month.

Perhaps I will start of list list of Shrub-isms that have really pissed me off over the years. Certainly, "bring 'em on," has to top the list. I believe that even this heartless cretin wants a mulligan on that one.

I'll spend some time researching some Bushisms - and I'm not even going to bother with his mangling of the English language. That's quite unfair (plus, I manage to misspeak often enough mysefl). No, I want to concentrate on matters of substance - like the gratitious lies to the American public before the 2006 mid-term elections about not shit-canning Rummy (Rummy was summarily dismissed one day after the election).

My First Blog Post

This is the first blog post from me. I plan to analyze politics, society, our modern world. Yeah, I'll post pictures of my family. I'm learning this on the fly, so expect the initial results to be sketchy. Hopefully, thing will firm up over the next few months.

--Ron