First of all, I want to apologize for my absence to the tens and tens of you who occasionally check out my blog. February is a boring and miserable month where usually nothing that is particularly interesting happens. This year is no exception. Despite my feverent following of black history month, the championship round of curling in the Winter Olympics and several big name acquisitons by the New York Mets- I couldn't think of much to write about-- until today.
As most of you probably know, a trained killer whale decided to murder (that's right, I said it) it's trainer in the middle of a show before a captive audience (including children) at SeaWorld in Orlando Florida this week. But in spite of the tragedy that unfolded, there is something to be learned from this unfortunate incident.
The Whale suspect, Tilikum has been linked to two previous human deaths-- which makes one wonder why SeaWorld would allow a wild 6 ton animal with a propensity for violence against humans to be used at a show in the first place. Perhaps SeaWorld should conduct more stringent whale background checks.
Certified fringe lunatics at outfits like PETA are going to point to this incident as evidence that animals should not be held in capitivity for show, and that the now departed trainer is partially to blame for the whales behavior-- or at the very least should have known better-- after all, the whale was just fighting for it's freedom. These same individuals also believe that the movie "Free Willy" is a documentary and that Avatar is based on a true story. Of course, claiming that the whale in this case was mistreated, or that the trainer had it coming is utter nonsense. I'm sure that the trainer was very kind and humane to Tilikum.
However, I can't help but compare to this incident to the way politicians treat their consitituents-- at least from a basic and fundamental standpoint. We, the people are whales in capivity. Our elected officials are the trainers and puppet masters directing the action. The company/ organization that controls everything is the government-- (SeaWorld). They toss us some fish, we let them pet us and in the end the audience (the media) makes a judgement call on the climate of the country based on how we behave.
We are trained and conditioned via the political process to react to our elected officials in a particular way. Of course when things are going well and we get the halibut or tuna we like, everything is wonderful. Maybe we are willing to endure more stringent training, longer hours, sharing a tank with the squids, or kids throwing empty soda cans into our tank. So, we are supposed to take the bad with the good. I mean--without the government interjecting itself into our lives and feeding us, making sure that our water doesn't get too cold and monitoring our biological capacities so that we can mate suitably-- we might end up starving or overeating, freezing, screwing ourselves to death (or getting whale chlamidia), or never finding Mr. or Mrs. whale of our dreams. So in terms of the best possible outcome for all of whalekind, what we experience is for our own good.
Elections merely change the whale trainer, but we remain in captivity. Now, short of mauling or drowning our trainers, we can make our displeasure known without engaging in violent/ destructive behavior. The audience can discern how we feel and what we want based on our reaction to the trainers and the overall quality of our performance.
I feel that your hardcore liberal wants to be in captivity under the control of the whale trainer. We can sit around doing nothing, eating fish and don't have to worry about our survival. Your hardcore conservative wants no part of the trainer and would rather die on it's own than have a trainer feed us and pick our mate. As I have said many times, most Americans probably fall somewhere in between those two extremes. For one thing, I would want to live on my own and fend for myself-- but rather than have the trainers control us, I would want SeaWorld ( The government) to prevent people from polluting my home, fishing away my food and hunting me.
When the Republicans have the power, they wield their position as whale trainer from a standpoint that in many respects is easier for Americans to swallow. They seem to have a "father knows best" attitude and exercise control over invisible enimies and foreign influences-- National defense, security, crime prevention etc. These are all things that people can't do themselves and that in reality don't want to do themselves. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want an armed militia patroling the streets of NYC or invading Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. However, when the republicans reach for too much power in these areas, and we the whales buck up-- we are told that we are "biting the hand that protects us".
When the democrats have power, they wield their position as whale trainer from a standpoint that in many respects is very difficult for the public to swallow-- at least from the perspective of the silent majority which is largely comprised of your typical middle class American. The very rich and "educated" whales seem to get it. The indigent whales who are too sickly or stupid to be trained seem to get it because they get free seaweed and scraps from the trainers. The left governs their position as trainer from a "government knows best" attitude and they exert their power over our liviehood and basic necessities-- Taxes, services, what we eat, how we earn a living,where our children go to school, how we take care of ourselves etc. These are all things that people need the government to do, but in strict moderation. Taxes are necessary for basic services such as police, fire, fixing roads-etc. However, taxing the middle class to death in order to prop up corrupt and ineefectual government programs so that the ever expanding beauracracy can maintain its stranglehold over the public ( in the name of helping the less fortunate whales of course) is nothing short of criminal. When (as now) the democrats attempt to grab too much power in these areas and the whales voice their displeasure through grunting at the audience or by refusing to balance herring on it's nose-- we are told that we are "biting the hand that feeds us." ( or that whales are simply not smart enough to think for themselves).
Throughout history and across the globe we have seen the whales revolt against their trainers repeatedly. Most of the time the revolt is temporary and can be calmed by merely switching trainers through elections or by changing the organization that employs the trainers (system of government). However, in several bloody instances the whales have reacted to their trainers the same way Tilikum reacted toward the now deceased Dawn Bancheau.
As the financial meltdown continues and whales across the world become more and more disenchanted with their trainers, the potential for violent backlash is increasingly possible. While I'm sure that PETA would not react favorably to human beings engaging in the violent overthrow of the government (unless it was to save chickens or worms, of the fungi that eminates from sawdust), I am almost positive that the argument they would make on behalf of animals turning against their trainers is that no matter how nice or humane you are to an animal-- an animal will always be an animal and animals are meant to be free.
In my opinion, whales are whales-- and human interference with whales should be kept to a relative minimum. The same is true of human beings and the government. Hopefully as time moves forward, elections will suffice in quieting the discontent of the whales-- I mean people-- ( I forget what we were talking about) and unfortunate incidents like the one that occured in Orlando will be limited to whale/ human interactions as opposed to human/human interactions.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Random Obeservations 2/9/10
On sitting extremely close to strangers on the subway and other bouts of daily discomfort==> Like when your on the subway and a seat opens up that looks like it might be a bit snug—everyone stands around and looks at it and eachother--- today two identical tight squeeze seats appeared directly across from one another---. Seat A was next to a morbidly obese man with brown stained teeth who was dripping sweat from his forehead. Seat B was next to a group of unruly teenagers that were play fighting. Those of us wearily standing between two regrettable positions eyed one another to see what our fellow adversary would do next. For three stops the half dozen or so of us darted glances between the two seats, the stop on the train and each other. Luckily everyone, including the fat guy and the rowdy teenagers got off at the final stop on the train to kill the tension. A truly, monumental showdown was averted.
On cleanlieness and courtesy ( and why I hate dealing with city employees): Frantically spraying hand sanitizer onto her hands, she offers me a seat. She remarks if I’m wondering what the hell is wrong with her. I respond that I assume her use of hand sanitizer is to prevent the spread of germs. “That last guy had a bad cold, I don’t wanna catch his germs.” Half way through the meeting, her phone rang. In the middle of her conversation, she took out a nail clipper and started clipping her disgusting finger nails onto her desk. Very hygienic, I thought to myself. It was definetly one of those Larry David seinfeldesque moments.
On second chances, looks over substance and the stupidity of your typical male: After the attractive young star bucks associate noticed the screwup of my order, she fixed it by dumping chai tea into an already prepared caffe latte and mixing it about before handing it to me. I expected the taste would be less than palatable. Sure enough, it was inedible. It tasted like a cross between a cup of bad expensive coffee that used chai latte flavoring instead of milk or sugar. Fortunately, I was several blocks away when I made this discovery. I suppose that staring at her eyes and breasts had prompted me into the false hope that the obviously bad cup of tea I ordered would somehow be less disgusting.
The next morning I felt she was entitled to a second chance. Luckily there were no other patrons in the starbucks except yours truly. I made the same exact order and I anticipated better results. This time the concoction tasted like burned, steamed milk with a single drop of chai tea that was barely detectable. Every sip began with the expectation of a CHAi latté and ended with a frothy taststeless ride to nowhere. In addition, the ride to nowhere was ice cold after taking 5 extremely disappointing sips.
As I cursed the 5 dollars wasted from the shitty starbucks gift certificate someone gave me for Xmas on tea that I can barely bring myself to drink--I wonder…Is it possible that her pretty face has earned one more opportunity to ruin my hot morning beverage on a cold winter day? Definitely not. Well, maybe. As long as it's on the gift certificate and I'm not paying for it.
On jobs and salary:- What would happen if waiters, waitresses, strippers, bathroom attendants, valet parkers, delivery boys and bartenders worked only a solid base salary and the rest of us worked only on tips? I think that my food would be cold, my drink would be watered down, my car would would be scratched,the lovely young lady on the poll would not even pretend to laugh at my bad jokes and the service at my favorite resteraunt would be awful--- But as far as the rest of the product and service industry goes, American industry would be top notch. Anyone who could afford to be a professional anything would definetly be the very best at what they did. Although I suspect that the edcuational industry and other leeches in academia would promptly open up 4 year colleges offering degrees where B.S. stands for Bachelor of Serving or Bachelor of Stripping and B.A. would stand for Bathroom Attendant.
On cleanlieness and courtesy ( and why I hate dealing with city employees): Frantically spraying hand sanitizer onto her hands, she offers me a seat. She remarks if I’m wondering what the hell is wrong with her. I respond that I assume her use of hand sanitizer is to prevent the spread of germs. “That last guy had a bad cold, I don’t wanna catch his germs.” Half way through the meeting, her phone rang. In the middle of her conversation, she took out a nail clipper and started clipping her disgusting finger nails onto her desk. Very hygienic, I thought to myself. It was definetly one of those Larry David seinfeldesque moments.
On second chances, looks over substance and the stupidity of your typical male: After the attractive young star bucks associate noticed the screwup of my order, she fixed it by dumping chai tea into an already prepared caffe latte and mixing it about before handing it to me. I expected the taste would be less than palatable. Sure enough, it was inedible. It tasted like a cross between a cup of bad expensive coffee that used chai latte flavoring instead of milk or sugar. Fortunately, I was several blocks away when I made this discovery. I suppose that staring at her eyes and breasts had prompted me into the false hope that the obviously bad cup of tea I ordered would somehow be less disgusting.
The next morning I felt she was entitled to a second chance. Luckily there were no other patrons in the starbucks except yours truly. I made the same exact order and I anticipated better results. This time the concoction tasted like burned, steamed milk with a single drop of chai tea that was barely detectable. Every sip began with the expectation of a CHAi latté and ended with a frothy taststeless ride to nowhere. In addition, the ride to nowhere was ice cold after taking 5 extremely disappointing sips.
As I cursed the 5 dollars wasted from the shitty starbucks gift certificate someone gave me for Xmas on tea that I can barely bring myself to drink--I wonder…Is it possible that her pretty face has earned one more opportunity to ruin my hot morning beverage on a cold winter day? Definitely not. Well, maybe. As long as it's on the gift certificate and I'm not paying for it.
On jobs and salary:- What would happen if waiters, waitresses, strippers, bathroom attendants, valet parkers, delivery boys and bartenders worked only a solid base salary and the rest of us worked only on tips? I think that my food would be cold, my drink would be watered down, my car would would be scratched,the lovely young lady on the poll would not even pretend to laugh at my bad jokes and the service at my favorite resteraunt would be awful--- But as far as the rest of the product and service industry goes, American industry would be top notch. Anyone who could afford to be a professional anything would definetly be the very best at what they did. Although I suspect that the edcuational industry and other leeches in academia would promptly open up 4 year colleges offering degrees where B.S. stands for Bachelor of Serving or Bachelor of Stripping and B.A. would stand for Bathroom Attendant.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
DOG IN WET RUST--- Artificial Laws for world filled with trap doors
Random thoughts-->
Note to self: If there was ever any question as to whether law is man made or god made consider this—Getting caught with an illegal gun in NYS is a mandatory 2 year jail term regardless of the situation or circumstance (1st time offender etc.). However, the NYPD has a policy where individuals can go to their local police precinct and receive cash back for their illegal gun on the spot. The sign even says “No Questions Asked”. The NYPD also has gun drives where entire communities can come out to an organized illegal gun buy back with the police. Individuals can get anywhere between 100 and 300 bucks depending on what condition the gun is in. So I ask—What if you are arrested while bringing a gun to your local precinct, or are en route to one of these organized gun buy back events? How can the police with good conscience can put you in jail and comparatively, how can an arrestee realistically convince the cops that they are carrying a concealed fire arm in good faith? The answer—it’s all chance, it’s all luck, it’s all bullshit.
Another scenario to ponder is this—In NYS you must retreat if possible before physically defending yourself, a rule that is not followed by the majority of states.
Now, when considering the aforementioned stringency of NY’s gun laws, imagine a scenario where you are carrying an illegal fire arm. Maybe you live in a bad neighborhood, maybe your on the way to drop the gun off at the precinct, or maybe you’re a local business owner bringing the days take to the bank. The circumstances really don’t matter for all intents and purposes. Say an individual or group of individuals accosts you and pulls out a gun. What do you do? Are you going to turn your back on someone who is threatening you with a gun and run for daylight, all the while praying that the perpetrator has bad aim? Maybe the guy threatening you has a crowbar, or a knife, or a machete—what then?
Some people would cower and pray, others would run, some would try to fight their way to safety. However, if you had a loaded pistol in your possession and feared for your life, why hesitate to use it?
Now, assuming you were justified in your actions, and you kill or injure the other guy—What becomes of the gun that according to NY law you should not have been carrying in the first place? Does the choice become death, or 2 years in jail? Beats the hell out of me.
Note to self: If there was ever any question as to whether law is man made or god made consider this—Getting caught with an illegal gun in NYS is a mandatory 2 year jail term regardless of the situation or circumstance (1st time offender etc.). However, the NYPD has a policy where individuals can go to their local police precinct and receive cash back for their illegal gun on the spot. The sign even says “No Questions Asked”. The NYPD also has gun drives where entire communities can come out to an organized illegal gun buy back with the police. Individuals can get anywhere between 100 and 300 bucks depending on what condition the gun is in. So I ask—What if you are arrested while bringing a gun to your local precinct, or are en route to one of these organized gun buy back events? How can the police with good conscience can put you in jail and comparatively, how can an arrestee realistically convince the cops that they are carrying a concealed fire arm in good faith? The answer—it’s all chance, it’s all luck, it’s all bullshit.
Another scenario to ponder is this—In NYS you must retreat if possible before physically defending yourself, a rule that is not followed by the majority of states.
Now, when considering the aforementioned stringency of NY’s gun laws, imagine a scenario where you are carrying an illegal fire arm. Maybe you live in a bad neighborhood, maybe your on the way to drop the gun off at the precinct, or maybe you’re a local business owner bringing the days take to the bank. The circumstances really don’t matter for all intents and purposes. Say an individual or group of individuals accosts you and pulls out a gun. What do you do? Are you going to turn your back on someone who is threatening you with a gun and run for daylight, all the while praying that the perpetrator has bad aim? Maybe the guy threatening you has a crowbar, or a knife, or a machete—what then?
Some people would cower and pray, others would run, some would try to fight their way to safety. However, if you had a loaded pistol in your possession and feared for your life, why hesitate to use it?
Now, assuming you were justified in your actions, and you kill or injure the other guy—What becomes of the gun that according to NY law you should not have been carrying in the first place? Does the choice become death, or 2 years in jail? Beats the hell out of me.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
My favorite columnist nails it again
Defund the KSM terror trial: It's the way to tell Obama to stop trivializing the war
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/01/29/2010-01-29_defund_the_ksm_terror_trial.html
Charles Krauthammer
NY Daily News--
Friday, January 29th 2010, 4:00 AM
The real scandal surrounding the failed Christmas Day airline bombing was not the fact that a terrorist got on a plane - that can happen to any administration, as it surely did to the Bush administration - but what happened afterward when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was captured and came under the full control of the U.S. government.
After 50 minutes of questioning Abdulmutallab, the Obama administration chose, reflexively and mindlessly, to give the chatty terrorist the right to remain silent. Which he immediately did, undoubtedly denying us crucial information about Al Qaeda in Yemen, which had trained, armed and dispatched him.
We have since learned that the decision to Mirandize Abdulmutallab had been made without the knowledge of or consultation with (1) the secretary of defense, (2) the secretary of homeland security, (3) the director of the FBI, (4) the director of the National Counterterrorism Center or (5) the director of national intelligence (DNI).
The Justice Department acted not just unilaterally but unaccountably. Obama's own DNI said that Abdulmutallab should have been interrogated by the HIG, the administration's new High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group.
Perhaps you hadn't heard the term. Well, in the very first week of his presidency, Obama abolished by executive order the Bush-Cheney interrogation procedures and pledged to study a substitute mechanism. In August, the administration announced the establishment of the HIG, housed in the FBI but overseen by the National Security Council.
Where was it during the Abdulmutallab case? Not available, admitted National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, because it had only been conceived for use abroad. Had not one person in this vast administration of highly nuanced sophisticates considered the possibility of a terror attack on American soil?
It gets worse. Blair later had to explain that the HIG was not deployed because it does not yet exist. After a year! I suppose this administration was so busy deploying scores of the country's best lawyerly minds on finding the most rapid way to release Gitmo miscreants that it could not be bothered to establish a single operational HIG team to interrogate at-large miscreants with actionable intelligence that might save American lives.
Travesties of this magnitude are not lost on the American people. One of the reasons Scott Brown won in Massachusetts was his focus on the Mirandizing of Abdulmutallab.
Of course, this case is just a reflection of a larger problem: an administration that insists on treating Islamist terrorism as a law-enforcement issue. Which is why the Justice Department's other egregious terror decision, granting Khalid Shaik Mohammed a civilian trial in New York, is now the subject of a letter from six senators - three Republicans, two Democrats and Joe Lieberman - asking Attorney General Eric Holder to reverse the decision.
Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins had written an earlier letter asking for Abdulmutallab to be turned over to the military for renewed interrogation. The problem is, it's hard to see how that decision gets reversed. Once you've read a man Miranda rights, what do you say? We are idiots? On second thought . . .
Hence the agitation over the KSM trial. This one can be reversed and it's a good surrogate for the Obama administration's insistence upon criminalizing - and therefore trivializing - a war on terror that has now struck three times in one year within the United States, twice with effect (the Arkansas killer and the Fort Hood shooter) and once with a shockingly near miss (Abdulmutallab).
On the KSM civilian trial, sentiment is widespread that it is quite insane to spend $200 million a year to give the killer of 3,000 innocents the largest propaganda platform on Earth, while at the same time granting civilian rights of cross-examination and discovery that risk betraying U.S. intelligence sources and methods.
Accordingly, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Frank Wolf have gone beyond appeals to the administration and are planning to introduce a bill to block funding for the trial. It's an important measure. It makes flesh an otherwise abstract issue - should terrorists be treated as enemy combatants or criminal defendants? The vote will force members of Congress to declare themselves. There will be no hiding from the question.
Congress may not be able to roll back the Abdulmutallab travesty. But there will be future Abdulmutallabs. By cutting off funding for the KSM trial, Congress can send Obama a clear message: The Constitution is neither a safety net for illegal enemy combatants nor a suicide pact for us.
letters@charleskrauthammer.com
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/01/29/2010-01-29_defund_the_ksm_terror_trial.html
Charles Krauthammer
NY Daily News--
Friday, January 29th 2010, 4:00 AM
The real scandal surrounding the failed Christmas Day airline bombing was not the fact that a terrorist got on a plane - that can happen to any administration, as it surely did to the Bush administration - but what happened afterward when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was captured and came under the full control of the U.S. government.
After 50 minutes of questioning Abdulmutallab, the Obama administration chose, reflexively and mindlessly, to give the chatty terrorist the right to remain silent. Which he immediately did, undoubtedly denying us crucial information about Al Qaeda in Yemen, which had trained, armed and dispatched him.
We have since learned that the decision to Mirandize Abdulmutallab had been made without the knowledge of or consultation with (1) the secretary of defense, (2) the secretary of homeland security, (3) the director of the FBI, (4) the director of the National Counterterrorism Center or (5) the director of national intelligence (DNI).
The Justice Department acted not just unilaterally but unaccountably. Obama's own DNI said that Abdulmutallab should have been interrogated by the HIG, the administration's new High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group.
Perhaps you hadn't heard the term. Well, in the very first week of his presidency, Obama abolished by executive order the Bush-Cheney interrogation procedures and pledged to study a substitute mechanism. In August, the administration announced the establishment of the HIG, housed in the FBI but overseen by the National Security Council.
Where was it during the Abdulmutallab case? Not available, admitted National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, because it had only been conceived for use abroad. Had not one person in this vast administration of highly nuanced sophisticates considered the possibility of a terror attack on American soil?
It gets worse. Blair later had to explain that the HIG was not deployed because it does not yet exist. After a year! I suppose this administration was so busy deploying scores of the country's best lawyerly minds on finding the most rapid way to release Gitmo miscreants that it could not be bothered to establish a single operational HIG team to interrogate at-large miscreants with actionable intelligence that might save American lives.
Travesties of this magnitude are not lost on the American people. One of the reasons Scott Brown won in Massachusetts was his focus on the Mirandizing of Abdulmutallab.
Of course, this case is just a reflection of a larger problem: an administration that insists on treating Islamist terrorism as a law-enforcement issue. Which is why the Justice Department's other egregious terror decision, granting Khalid Shaik Mohammed a civilian trial in New York, is now the subject of a letter from six senators - three Republicans, two Democrats and Joe Lieberman - asking Attorney General Eric Holder to reverse the decision.
Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins had written an earlier letter asking for Abdulmutallab to be turned over to the military for renewed interrogation. The problem is, it's hard to see how that decision gets reversed. Once you've read a man Miranda rights, what do you say? We are idiots? On second thought . . .
Hence the agitation over the KSM trial. This one can be reversed and it's a good surrogate for the Obama administration's insistence upon criminalizing - and therefore trivializing - a war on terror that has now struck three times in one year within the United States, twice with effect (the Arkansas killer and the Fort Hood shooter) and once with a shockingly near miss (Abdulmutallab).
On the KSM civilian trial, sentiment is widespread that it is quite insane to spend $200 million a year to give the killer of 3,000 innocents the largest propaganda platform on Earth, while at the same time granting civilian rights of cross-examination and discovery that risk betraying U.S. intelligence sources and methods.
Accordingly, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Frank Wolf have gone beyond appeals to the administration and are planning to introduce a bill to block funding for the trial. It's an important measure. It makes flesh an otherwise abstract issue - should terrorists be treated as enemy combatants or criminal defendants? The vote will force members of Congress to declare themselves. There will be no hiding from the question.
Congress may not be able to roll back the Abdulmutallab travesty. But there will be future Abdulmutallabs. By cutting off funding for the KSM trial, Congress can send Obama a clear message: The Constitution is neither a safety net for illegal enemy combatants nor a suicide pact for us.
letters@charleskrauthammer.com
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A third party?
I think that by and large the majority of Americans are moderate to liberal on social issues, fiscally conservative and do not favor big government.
With that being the case, why is it almost impossible to find a politician (let alone a President) that fits the model most of us want in an elected official? If the government is elected by the people for the purpose of serving the people, why is it that Washington is filled with con artists and blood suckers that refuse to serve the best interests of the people?
I think the answer is self evident. Take the election of Barak Obama for instance. GW Bush was a disaster. He expanded the size of government, increased the deficit,made several questionable decisions from a foreign policy standpoint, and at times appeared to be totally incompatent. In addition, many Americans took issue with the measures implemented by the Bush administration after 911 to fight terrorism and last but not least, the financial meltdown occured on his watch (although in my opinion the democrats in the Senate are just as culpable).
Furthermore, by world opinion standards ( where America is blamed, ridiculed and hated for anything that happens anywhere anytime anyway) Bush jr. alienated the world community. In terms of executive experience, GW was the former Govenor of Texas and also ran the Texas Rangers MLB franchise. Lets also not forget the things about GW that make the hyper-educated sophistos on the Upper East Side of Manhattan spit out their non-fat soy mocha lattes all over their abercrombie chinos in contempt-- The Texas drawl, the evangelical born again schpiel, the cowboy hat, and other assorted American red neck stereo types. Can you imagine them twisting their faces? "Ewww, he's not my president!" Last but not least, there is GW's blue blood background.
So now, we have the anthiesis of GW Bush. A young, good looking, suave, sophisticated Black former constitutional law professor from the South Side of Chicago. No blue blood line here. Obama is a former community organizer and activist who's given birth name was Barry. However, Barry Obama became Barak Obama in order to get in touch with his African roots. Also, Barak Obama's middle name is Hussein. And don't worry about Obama being one of those evangelical born again types. Reverand Wright's position as Obama's spirtual advisor for the past 20 years complete with lovely sermons about the evils of Whites, Jews and America in general really helped shape Obama's ability to connect with your average American ( Insert the font for sarcasm). Obama's daddy was never President of the U.S. either. In fact, it appears that Obama did not have much of a relationship with his muslim father at all. Well, at least members of the media won't have to refer to him as Barak H. Obama just in case people get confused about which President is being discussed. Last but not least, Obama was elected President despite the fact that he had zero executive experience in the public or private sectors. Obama went from state senator, to junior senator, to President in the blink of an eye.
So we went from one extreme-- A milky white trust fund retard (who appears to be the only one in his family with a down home Texas accent)that could connect with your average American TO Barak Hussein Obama, an ivory tower revolutionary with a similar name to the loveable middle eastern dictator America has gone to war with twice in the past two decades. Whereas Bush gave many speeches where he sounded as if he was in the middle of auctioning off a donkey on Green Acres, Obama is a brilliant speaker and orator of the highest caliber. Obama is, or was rather, the annointed one, the American dream, the biggest celebrity in the world--- For a while it seemed like Candidate and then President Obama was just like the banks and insurance companies that he opted to donate several billon dollars of our tax money to. Obama was too BIG to fail.
Not only that, for a while it appeared that Obama was too popular to fail. He went on apology tours across the globe to engender good will with valuable allies such as Egypt ( again insert sarcastic font) and staunch defenders of freedom and democracy such as France. He also made it a point to kiss Iran's ass and deflect the nasty rhetoric that eminated from GW's administration. Obama wanted to reset the relationship with Iran and change American policy. No more refusals to engage Iran at the bargaining table! Also... no more mean spirited and divisive antedotes such as the "Axis of evil"!
Now that the date rape drugs have worn off from the election and America is starting to pay attention to what Obama is doing, is he any different from GW Bush?
Last November we went out and picked up the woman of our dreams. Sure we drank a little bit more than we should have. But it's tough trying to forget about a long term ex girlfriend. When we got home and woke up the next morning, the same exact girl that had just broken our hearts for 8 years was laying next to us.
The size of the US government is now out of control by even your most liberal of standards and the deficit has increased exponentially ( GW's excuse was fighting two wars, Obama has managed to skyrocket it even further-- his excuse is a bad economy). Just as many in this country did not want the war in Iraq and GW pushed for it anyway--- Obama has done the same exact thing with domestic legislation. GW screamed about National Security--- WMD's, an imminent threat and other such hogwash about Iraq. Obama yelled and screamed and toured the country insisting that if the stimulus bill et al. was not passed, all hell would break loose. Using a big scary emergency to dupe the American people is a tactic politicians have been using since this country was founded. One used terrorism as an excuse to vastly expand the government and increase the deficit and the other is using the economy as an excuse to bankrupt the country.
As far as promises go, Obama claimed Guantanamo would close-- It hasn't and I am betting that it won't-- at least not during the time he's in office. Obama claimed that oversight in the private sector would be increased, especially with respect to banks. So what did he decide to do in order to acomplish that end? He kept most of the Bush apointees and made Tim Geithner our treasury secretary.
PS-Obama's sucking up tour has done absolutely nothing to help America in terms of foreign policy or improving our standing in the world. For starters the Olympic trip was an embarassing moment for this country if there ever was one. As millions of American's turned on the news to watch video footage of a teenage honor student being beaten to death in the streets of Obama's home town, he and the first lady were abroad unsucessfully lobbying the international community to have the Olympics in Chicago. In further developments;Iran is sprinting toward a nuke, the Coppenhagen summit was a disaster,the Islamic community still hates us and has done absolutely nothing to take it's foot off of the throat of women or free speech, Russia has blatantly refused to assist us when we have asked for help, Pakistan is on the verge of collapse, Afghanistan is turning into Vietnam and North Korea is as defiant as ever. When the President of France stands before the UN and chastises the President of the United States for being reckless and unrealistic in his approach toward an agressive dictatorship that is in the process of creating nuclear weapons, it's time to pinch yourself to make sure your not having a nightmare.
So, Bush was all balls and Obama is all brains. Bush appealed to your average American, Obama appeals to the young and progressive. Bush was agressive and Obama is passive.
But as stupid as Bush appeared to be, and as smart as Obama pretends to be, look at their records after one year. Tranparency, hope, change= Nonsense.
Are you noticing a trend? Two completely different men, two completely different appearences, two totally different personalities, but the same exact bullshit.
Incompatence (Im not even going to start a tirade on the comical Obama apointees that have been indicted, forced to resign or that are under investigation- or the rampant fraud and waste from the stimulus bill), arrogance, fear mongering, and bad results.
But you know what? We only have ourselves to blame.
The American public was so angry with Bush and the GOP and so obssessed with Obama, that Obama could have chosen Charles Manson as his VP, and nobody would have batted an eye.
The problem is that the American public behaves like a small child. Fickle in temperment, easily fooled, obsessed with big shiny objects, larger than life personas and absurd promises-- America has a short memory, an even shorter attention span and loves style over substance. American culture is one of excess and extremes.We took one bad extreme in Bush, gave him two terms ( largely because Kerry was an even more sickening proposition)and when he failed, we replaced him with a 180 degree opposite with the childish belief that the other side of the lunatic fringe would somehow fix the country... Well, it should have worked-- right? I mean Barak Obama is clearly not GW Bush.
We ignored the questionable personal associations,political allies such as the bride of Frankenstein Pelosi and Scrotum face Harry Reid, the lack of experience and the ultra liberal voting record and instead got caught up in the celebrity status, the big stupid slogans and punishing the party that was at the helm when the financial meltdown unfolded. Like a child who fell asleep playing video games instead of studying for the spelling test the night before, we needed someone to blame-- And so we chose to direct the anger toward Satan himself, GW Bush.
Like so many small children do, we cut off our nose to spite our face. We were not paying attention and now we are paying the price.
The recent increase in the publics collective conciousness with respect to holding our elected officials accountable is quite refreshing. The Senate election in MA demonstrated irrefutably that people are not going to blindly vote D or R just because they have done so in the past. Independants elected Obama and they won the MA Senate seat for the GOP-- effectively derailing Obamacare (for now anyway).
My sincere hope is that the recent popularist backlash is a permanent shift in the way Americans vote during all future elections on the city, state and federal levels. If this latest shift in the publics attitude is just another mindless trend that is going to leave just as quickly as it entered, then we, and by we I mean all American's, should just shut up and keep eating the bullshit we are being fed by our politicians.
If we are not willing to take an active interest in the people that we put into power, then we deserve to be taken advantage of. No more mindless D or R button pushing--- It is time to plant our own flag in the ground and make our voices heard. The excuse that there isn't a viable third party candidate isn't an excuse anymore. Independents are deciding Senatorial, Congressional and Presidential elections. If there was ever a time in this countries history to make the political landscape a three team race, it's now.
With that being the case, why is it almost impossible to find a politician (let alone a President) that fits the model most of us want in an elected official? If the government is elected by the people for the purpose of serving the people, why is it that Washington is filled with con artists and blood suckers that refuse to serve the best interests of the people?
I think the answer is self evident. Take the election of Barak Obama for instance. GW Bush was a disaster. He expanded the size of government, increased the deficit,made several questionable decisions from a foreign policy standpoint, and at times appeared to be totally incompatent. In addition, many Americans took issue with the measures implemented by the Bush administration after 911 to fight terrorism and last but not least, the financial meltdown occured on his watch (although in my opinion the democrats in the Senate are just as culpable).
Furthermore, by world opinion standards ( where America is blamed, ridiculed and hated for anything that happens anywhere anytime anyway) Bush jr. alienated the world community. In terms of executive experience, GW was the former Govenor of Texas and also ran the Texas Rangers MLB franchise. Lets also not forget the things about GW that make the hyper-educated sophistos on the Upper East Side of Manhattan spit out their non-fat soy mocha lattes all over their abercrombie chinos in contempt-- The Texas drawl, the evangelical born again schpiel, the cowboy hat, and other assorted American red neck stereo types. Can you imagine them twisting their faces? "Ewww, he's not my president!" Last but not least, there is GW's blue blood background.
So now, we have the anthiesis of GW Bush. A young, good looking, suave, sophisticated Black former constitutional law professor from the South Side of Chicago. No blue blood line here. Obama is a former community organizer and activist who's given birth name was Barry. However, Barry Obama became Barak Obama in order to get in touch with his African roots. Also, Barak Obama's middle name is Hussein. And don't worry about Obama being one of those evangelical born again types. Reverand Wright's position as Obama's spirtual advisor for the past 20 years complete with lovely sermons about the evils of Whites, Jews and America in general really helped shape Obama's ability to connect with your average American ( Insert the font for sarcasm). Obama's daddy was never President of the U.S. either. In fact, it appears that Obama did not have much of a relationship with his muslim father at all. Well, at least members of the media won't have to refer to him as Barak H. Obama just in case people get confused about which President is being discussed. Last but not least, Obama was elected President despite the fact that he had zero executive experience in the public or private sectors. Obama went from state senator, to junior senator, to President in the blink of an eye.
So we went from one extreme-- A milky white trust fund retard (who appears to be the only one in his family with a down home Texas accent)that could connect with your average American TO Barak Hussein Obama, an ivory tower revolutionary with a similar name to the loveable middle eastern dictator America has gone to war with twice in the past two decades. Whereas Bush gave many speeches where he sounded as if he was in the middle of auctioning off a donkey on Green Acres, Obama is a brilliant speaker and orator of the highest caliber. Obama is, or was rather, the annointed one, the American dream, the biggest celebrity in the world--- For a while it seemed like Candidate and then President Obama was just like the banks and insurance companies that he opted to donate several billon dollars of our tax money to. Obama was too BIG to fail.
Not only that, for a while it appeared that Obama was too popular to fail. He went on apology tours across the globe to engender good will with valuable allies such as Egypt ( again insert sarcastic font) and staunch defenders of freedom and democracy such as France. He also made it a point to kiss Iran's ass and deflect the nasty rhetoric that eminated from GW's administration. Obama wanted to reset the relationship with Iran and change American policy. No more refusals to engage Iran at the bargaining table! Also... no more mean spirited and divisive antedotes such as the "Axis of evil"!
Now that the date rape drugs have worn off from the election and America is starting to pay attention to what Obama is doing, is he any different from GW Bush?
Last November we went out and picked up the woman of our dreams. Sure we drank a little bit more than we should have. But it's tough trying to forget about a long term ex girlfriend. When we got home and woke up the next morning, the same exact girl that had just broken our hearts for 8 years was laying next to us.
The size of the US government is now out of control by even your most liberal of standards and the deficit has increased exponentially ( GW's excuse was fighting two wars, Obama has managed to skyrocket it even further-- his excuse is a bad economy). Just as many in this country did not want the war in Iraq and GW pushed for it anyway--- Obama has done the same exact thing with domestic legislation. GW screamed about National Security--- WMD's, an imminent threat and other such hogwash about Iraq. Obama yelled and screamed and toured the country insisting that if the stimulus bill et al. was not passed, all hell would break loose. Using a big scary emergency to dupe the American people is a tactic politicians have been using since this country was founded. One used terrorism as an excuse to vastly expand the government and increase the deficit and the other is using the economy as an excuse to bankrupt the country.
As far as promises go, Obama claimed Guantanamo would close-- It hasn't and I am betting that it won't-- at least not during the time he's in office. Obama claimed that oversight in the private sector would be increased, especially with respect to banks. So what did he decide to do in order to acomplish that end? He kept most of the Bush apointees and made Tim Geithner our treasury secretary.
PS-Obama's sucking up tour has done absolutely nothing to help America in terms of foreign policy or improving our standing in the world. For starters the Olympic trip was an embarassing moment for this country if there ever was one. As millions of American's turned on the news to watch video footage of a teenage honor student being beaten to death in the streets of Obama's home town, he and the first lady were abroad unsucessfully lobbying the international community to have the Olympics in Chicago. In further developments;Iran is sprinting toward a nuke, the Coppenhagen summit was a disaster,the Islamic community still hates us and has done absolutely nothing to take it's foot off of the throat of women or free speech, Russia has blatantly refused to assist us when we have asked for help, Pakistan is on the verge of collapse, Afghanistan is turning into Vietnam and North Korea is as defiant as ever. When the President of France stands before the UN and chastises the President of the United States for being reckless and unrealistic in his approach toward an agressive dictatorship that is in the process of creating nuclear weapons, it's time to pinch yourself to make sure your not having a nightmare.
So, Bush was all balls and Obama is all brains. Bush appealed to your average American, Obama appeals to the young and progressive. Bush was agressive and Obama is passive.
But as stupid as Bush appeared to be, and as smart as Obama pretends to be, look at their records after one year. Tranparency, hope, change= Nonsense.
Are you noticing a trend? Two completely different men, two completely different appearences, two totally different personalities, but the same exact bullshit.
Incompatence (Im not even going to start a tirade on the comical Obama apointees that have been indicted, forced to resign or that are under investigation- or the rampant fraud and waste from the stimulus bill), arrogance, fear mongering, and bad results.
But you know what? We only have ourselves to blame.
The American public was so angry with Bush and the GOP and so obssessed with Obama, that Obama could have chosen Charles Manson as his VP, and nobody would have batted an eye.
The problem is that the American public behaves like a small child. Fickle in temperment, easily fooled, obsessed with big shiny objects, larger than life personas and absurd promises-- America has a short memory, an even shorter attention span and loves style over substance. American culture is one of excess and extremes.We took one bad extreme in Bush, gave him two terms ( largely because Kerry was an even more sickening proposition)and when he failed, we replaced him with a 180 degree opposite with the childish belief that the other side of the lunatic fringe would somehow fix the country... Well, it should have worked-- right? I mean Barak Obama is clearly not GW Bush.
We ignored the questionable personal associations,political allies such as the bride of Frankenstein Pelosi and Scrotum face Harry Reid, the lack of experience and the ultra liberal voting record and instead got caught up in the celebrity status, the big stupid slogans and punishing the party that was at the helm when the financial meltdown unfolded. Like a child who fell asleep playing video games instead of studying for the spelling test the night before, we needed someone to blame-- And so we chose to direct the anger toward Satan himself, GW Bush.
Like so many small children do, we cut off our nose to spite our face. We were not paying attention and now we are paying the price.
The recent increase in the publics collective conciousness with respect to holding our elected officials accountable is quite refreshing. The Senate election in MA demonstrated irrefutably that people are not going to blindly vote D or R just because they have done so in the past. Independants elected Obama and they won the MA Senate seat for the GOP-- effectively derailing Obamacare (for now anyway).
My sincere hope is that the recent popularist backlash is a permanent shift in the way Americans vote during all future elections on the city, state and federal levels. If this latest shift in the publics attitude is just another mindless trend that is going to leave just as quickly as it entered, then we, and by we I mean all American's, should just shut up and keep eating the bullshit we are being fed by our politicians.
If we are not willing to take an active interest in the people that we put into power, then we deserve to be taken advantage of. No more mindless D or R button pushing--- It is time to plant our own flag in the ground and make our voices heard. The excuse that there isn't a viable third party candidate isn't an excuse anymore. Independents are deciding Senatorial, Congressional and Presidential elections. If there was ever a time in this countries history to make the political landscape a three team race, it's now.
Update to yesterday's blog about the KSM trial in NYC
http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=137876@wcbs.dayport.com
Copy and paste the above link into your browser.
One billion dollars. Yes, you read that correctly. One billion dollars to put a cockroach on trial in NYC. One billion dollars and the Mayor does not want the trial here in the first place.
During yesterdays farce of the union Obama said that this countries elected officials were put in power to serve the people. Which people are those? Khalid Sheik Mohammad?
The mayor announced that he is going to cut 4000+ city jobs. People don't have money to pay their rent. National UE is above 10%, and the price tag to protect our citizens from this piece of shit is 1 billion dollars?
This situation is so absurd it's almost funny. Unfortunetly, it's also very tragic and nauseating.
Copy and paste the above link into your browser.
One billion dollars. Yes, you read that correctly. One billion dollars to put a cockroach on trial in NYC. One billion dollars and the Mayor does not want the trial here in the first place.
During yesterdays farce of the union Obama said that this countries elected officials were put in power to serve the people. Which people are those? Khalid Sheik Mohammad?
The mayor announced that he is going to cut 4000+ city jobs. People don't have money to pay their rent. National UE is above 10%, and the price tag to protect our citizens from this piece of shit is 1 billion dollars?
This situation is so absurd it's almost funny. Unfortunetly, it's also very tragic and nauseating.
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