Open2Debate

Recent Stock Market Events

2007-08-23T18:45:00.000-06:00

The steep, breathless reaction of the stock market to the escalating defaults in the mortgage market was rescued by a Federal Reserve cut in the discount rate. The fall in stock prices, almost 10% in one month, was exaggerated by two factors. First, hedge fund liquidations, the extent of which we will never know, were in the trillions of dollars. Second, panic in the mortgage market began spreading into other credit markets because other banks and corporations were unsure of the risk in each other's investment portfolios. As a result, they became hesitant to loan money to one another, even over night.

On Tuesday 8/20, the Fed encourage 5 of the nations largest banks to borrow from the discount window. Normally, this is an embarrassment for a bank, like borrowing money from your grandmother. The goal is to break the gridlock in intra-bank lending and to signal banks in the short run that the discount window is open for business.

What has not been mentioned in the media as far as I can tell is the underlying catalyst for the collapse in the mortgage and real estate markets. According to IRS data, real incomes have failed to rise for most of the 2000s. To make up for this shortfall most families have relied upon the increase in equity of their homes and credit cards to suppliment their incomes.

The strategy worked well, of course, when home prices were rising. However, home prices began to stall 2 years ago and we have just now begun to see the death of the creative financing that kept people upside-down in their homes. The real crisis is still ahead; supporting 2007 homes prices on year 2000 incomes.

The second bell of the credit crunch has yet to ring. Banks have been just as reckless with their credit card lending practices as they have with their mortgage lending if not more so. Capital One has already begun raising the cost of credit citing “business and economic factors." Should the rate of default begin to increase on credit card debt as well, banks can be counted upon to panic in an equally vigorous way. This could be a combination of raising interest rates and/or calling in existing balances in full bringing a collapse in upon themselves.

The unregulated growth of both mortgage lending and credit card debt has much to do with the Bush economic expansion. According to IRS data - "The growth in total incomes was concentrated among those making more than $1 million a year. The number of such taxpayers grew by more than 26 percent, to 303,817 in 2005, from 239,685 in 2000. These individuals, who constitute less than a quarter of 1 percent of all taxpayers, reaped almost 47 percent of the total income gains in 2005, compared with 2000." These fortunate few had little to do with economic growth over the past 6 years. Rather it was optimism and the hope of economic growth by the average citizen the fueled the expansion.

The most efficient way to redistribute this bulge of wealth is for the Federal Reserve to inflate the economy. To do so runs contrary to its primary mission. However, it may be the lesser of evils. Because the economy, like everything else touched by this adminstration, has been so grossly mismanaged, a radical approach may be required to jolt the balance of wealth back into equilbrium.

Mistico Tribute

2007-07-29T23:27:00.001-06:00

I am not sure who this wrestler is but staged or not he is a remarkable athletic.

El Presidente

2007-07-12T08:45:00.000-06:00

President Bush had a news conference today. Hasn't anyone told that guy he is cooked? The man really needs to change his vocabulary. Radicals and extremists, embolden al-Qaida, Iraq is a young democracy, as commander and chief I have an obligation, we continue to support the military, we can't afford to fail, that's an interesting question, it's been hard work; the man makes me nauseous. His arrogance is self-destructive.

If we learn anything from his presidency, one qualification we should look for in our leadership is the person's ability to flipflop. The ability to make corrections midcourse. Admit a mistake, take your licken, cut your losses and move on. It is a sign of maturity, not a sign of weakness. Ask anyone who has ever been successful at anything, they have made a lot of mistakes and learned from them.

9/11 Revisited - Richard Gage, AIA Architect - Part 2

2007-07-07T20:05:00.001-06:00

Everybodys Gotta Learn Sometime 1.0

2007-07-07T02:58:00.001-06:00


Version 1.0 This is a medium resolution quicktime version of the film.

Moving Forward 9-11 Truth

2007-07-07T01:44:00.000-06:00

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece?"

Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany.

That is understood.

But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."

"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."

"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.

All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.

It works the same way in any country."

Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

Finally, slowly, eyes begin to open. The truth of 9-11 just won't go away. My expertise is in finance and as a result I find comfort in statistics. Real modeling, by engineers and architects without an axe to grind will be out soon. I was surprised to learn that Mr. Gage just became aware that WTC Bldg #7 imploded in on itself during the 9-11 attacks even though it was not hit by a plane. I get the impression he is pissed.

The second film is 1 hour and 12 minutes long but very entertaining. After seeing it, my first thought was "thank god for the internet." I encourage you to take a look.

Turning Green - Part II

2007-07-03T17:06:00.000-06:00

For some reason, the idea of going green will not let me treat it silly and as a consequence won't leave my mind. If one extends the abstraction that our political elites are mutating to thrive upon the rising levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and apply it to us all, the implication is a black hole in the fabric of metaphysics.

Suppose you are in the back seat of a car full of people powering over a Texas hill country highway late at night. The driver has the habit of looking at the person he is talking to. You are not sure how much he had to drink at the party. Everyone else seems comfortable so you try to relax. But you can't relax.

Behind the wheel, the thin, long, haired boy with a filament-mustache, turns around and asks if anybody needs a beer. Then you become angry, not with the boy, but with yourself. Your brother had offered you a ride but you left with a stranger to be with your girlfriend, Caitlyn, who has suddenly acquired a talent for palm reading when her new boyfriend asks how many children they will have.

You notice a guardrail to your left and beyond a rocky, moonlit canyon. The beige and blue Ford Bronco snaps past a road sign on your right warning of falling rock. As you wonder if the young driver has noticed, he accelerates into a straightaway. No one else in the car seems to care. The two girls in front introduce themselves as Jessica and Ashley. The driver, Michael, is Jessica's boyfriend. He turns and smiles, "How do you do." You think he should lose the mustache. Jessica and Ashley ask if your girlfriend can really read palms.

As you scold yourself for being such a prude, you see deer. They look frail and uncertain as the Bronco barrels towards them. Finally, a large doe, the mother, springs into a treetop gully followed by her fawn and disappear into the abyss. Somebody opens a beer and turns up the radio. Another road sign, this one yellow and black and shaped like a diamond. It shows hard turns left and right and below it there is a small triangular sign that says "Good Luck."

Straight ahead, another guardrail this one with reflectors look at you with an evil eye. "Michael!" you blurt. He turns. Maybe the mustache is okay, you think. "Watch your driving."

The Bronco explodes through the guardrail.

For a moment, the catclaw, lantana and blackbrush being crushed under the floorboard tickles your feet. Michael desperately forces down on the breaks. You hear Caitlyn exclaim "Oh my God, we are going to have five children!"

"Ya know" Caitlyn's boyfriend says, "my best friend died in a wreck like this. The ones in the back seat lived though." Chaos ensues. "Or was it because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, I can't recall but don't worry honey."

You want to be angry with Michael. You trusted him, put your life in his hands and now he has killed you.

How careless.

At least Caitlyn will have a big, beautiful family.

It's Not Easy Turning Green

2007-07-02T15:36:00.000-06:00

Only the most rabid science denier can argue against global warming. As to whether or not humans contribute to temperature rise, if the end of the world is divinely inspired, I suppose it doesn't matter. For the rest of us, the clock is ticking. There is even a vague notion that the time may have passed to fix the bit of gas we have created in Mother Nature's digestive system.
Our federal government, which so often meddles in affairs which are none of it's business, refrains from leading during a national crisis when leadership is clearly needed. There is probably a reason for this; professional politicians thrive on excessive carbon dioxide. They are among the first homo-sapiens to adapt to this new environment. Soon they will mutate to be completely dependent upon breathing carbon dioxide. Taken from this perspective, their actions make perfect sense.

Paul sings Nessun Dorma high quality video/sound

2007-06-13T16:18:00.001-06:00

We are so use to seeing arrogance on our airwaves. Humility is a breath of fresh air.

Terrorist Support Family Values

2007-02-24T19:39:00.000-06:00

The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11—D’Souza’s new book validates so many neocon beliefs in plain and simple terms that it’s become an embarrassment for them. The book’s core assertion is that liberals are responsible for the events of 9/11. Loose morals are to blame. Our society’s drift from Old Testament law enrage Muslim sensitivities in the same way it does their fundamentalist Christian brethren. D’Souza does not advocate flying airplanes into buildings because he does not have to. Punishment for such crimes as homosexuality and adultery are clearly stated in Old Testament Biblical Law.

Although many conservatives are distancing themselves from this well paid intellectual from the Olin Foundation, The American Enterprise Institute, The Hoover Institute, some like Glenn Beck are in agreement. From a Feb 21, 2007 quote of Mr. Beck –

BECK: You know, there`s a new poll out that Muslims, the higher educated Muslims in the Middle East are more likely to be extremists? More and more Muslims now hate us all across the world, and it really has not a lot to do with anything other than our morals.
The things that they were saying about us were true. Our morals are just out the window. We`re a society on the verge of moral collapse. And our promiscuity is off the charts.
Now I don`t think that we should fly airplanes into buildings or behead people because of it, but that's the prevailing feeling of Muslims in the Middle East. And you know what? They`re right.

I wonder when reading arguments like this to what set of charts the writer refers. They must be exclusive graphs available to a chosen few because the holders of these charts are reluctant to produce them for peer review. Never the less, Beck throws in with the idea that Islam “hates us for our freedom.” The implication being that the only way to save ourselves is to become less free by joining a fundamentalist Christian mega-church and adopting a strong set of morals.

Bin Laden has said that his reason for attacking America is due to our presence in their holy lands. He accuses America and Israel of conspiring to take over the Muslim world. By definition according to the Koran, anyone who is not a Muslim is unholy and immoral. This makes D’Souza’s argument, that if America was occupied by conservative Christians, fanatic Islamists might be our friends, contrary to what Bin Laden has said.

To quote D’Souza –

“Islam is notorious for the harshness of some its punishments, such as cutting off the arms and legs of thieves, flogging adulterers and executing drug dealers. In this respect, one may say, with only a hint of irony, that Muslims are in the Old Testament tradition.”

D’Souza skirts the issue that one of the foundations for Abrahamic religions is a fanatical fear of human sexuality. Embedded is this religious tradition is an assumed definition of what constitutes the difference between a moral and immoral society. This ancient tradition is never questioned by D’Souza. In fact, he embellishes it by citing bin Laden’s November 2002 “Letter to America” which calls on us “to reject fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling and trading with interest.” With the exception of trading with interest, D’Souza and fundamentalist Christians agree that bin Laden correctly identifies immoral behavior.

In doing so the core of D’Souza’s arguments are mute. First, Democracy is a system which empowers people. The rights of women and homosexuals are a slow but natural outgrowth of our system. It is our system that needs to be changed in order to encourage Americans to conform D’Souza’s definition of morality. What he is really arguing for is the Dominionist Doctrine of replacing our constitution with biblical law. That is, if we want to encourage terrorist to be our pals and generally have peace on earth.

In many ways his ideas are already being implemented. Our privacy is subject to government scrutiny, for the first time in our history torture is an accepted practice, Habeas Corpus can be suspended by presidential decree and kidnapping is a tool of law enforcement. The morality of these policies fits into D’Souza’s implied definition. It is something that Muslims and Christians both do and compliment Old Testament law. Kidnapping, spying and torture are well established traditions of both cultures.

D’Souza prefaced his book by saying –

“In this book I make a claim that will seem startling at the outset. The cultural left in this country is responsible for causing 9/11. … In faulting the cultural left, I am not making the absurd accusation that this group blew up the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I am saying that the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the nonprofit sector, and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world. The Muslims who carried out the 9/11 attacks were the product of this visceral rage—some of it based on legitimate concerns, some of it based on wrongful prejudice, but all of it fueled and encouraged by the cultural left. Thus without the cultural left, 9/11 would not have happened.
“I realize that this is a strong charge, one that no one has made before. But it is a neglected aspect of the 9/11 debate, and it is critical to understanding the current controversy over the ‘war against terrorism.’ … I intend to show that the left has actively fostered the intense hatred of America that has led to numerous attacks such as 9/11. If I am right, then no war against terrorism can be effectively fought using the left-wing premises that are now accepted doctrine among mainstream liberals and Democrats.”

He treats his accusations as though they are derived from some unique insight involving an unparalleled quest into depths of human thought. However, conservatives have blamed liberals for everything from slough to gluttony; adding terrorism to their list of accusations is a normal progression. Because D’Souza is well kept by partisan institutions like the Olin Foundation, The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, he is free to amble around ideas unrestrained by facts. The major theme of this book has little to do with D’Souza. It is one of many products being manufactured by neocon institutions desperately trying to divert public attention from the failed policies of their past.

Bush - State of the Union 2006 -

2007-02-24T01:58:00.001-06:00

Bush Foreign Policy

Blindly Following Where Man Has Always Gone

2007-02-23T21:02:00.000-06:00

Today at Townhall.com neocon pundit Larry Kudlow reminds us of those lying Clintons and the terrible times we experienced during President Clinton's term in office. here To quote -

-- Clinton lied under oath to a Federal Grand Jury. (That’s perjury, of course, and perjury remains a felony.)
-- Clinton continues to lie about his 12-year affair with Gennifer Flowers.
-- Clinton still denies he sexually harassed Paula Jones. (Even though he paid her $850,000 in hush money.)
-- Clinton persists in dismissing the Whitewater scandal as a “land deal where I lost money.” (Despite the fact that a dozen of his close associates landed in jail over the matter.)
-- Clinton illegally obtained FBI files on his political opponents, and lied about that, too.
-- On the golf course, Clinton has an incredibly difficult time playing his ball where it lies. According to close observers (Tiger Woods among them), Clinton exhibits questionable math when he tallies his scorecard.
-- And according to Washington Post reporter John Harris, Clinton was so upset about his inability to lose weight in 2000, that following his annual physical he instructed aides to release a bogus number that made him five pounds lighter.

The intent of Kudlow's article is to remind us of the anxiety and bedlam during the Clinton Administration. Surprisingly, he didn't accuse the former president of murdering his best friend Vince Foster. It must have slipped his mind. Re-writing history takes a lot of concentration. Without propaganda the neocons would not have succeeded as a viable political movement and Kudlow is among the many think tank pundits who keep the minions on task.

Not all of their accusations are so stale. This week, for example, a brand new spin term was introduced into their rhetoric; slow bleed. It's about time, the absence of cut and run left a gaping hole in their political jargon. The mainstream media embraced slow bleed like a newborn and treated it like their own. Kudlow, on the other hand, was reaffirming neocon distortions of American history. By accusing President Clinton of lying about his weight or shaving strokes off his golf game, Kudlow smugly imagines he has polished his argument to a brilliant sheen.

Even during the height of the Lewinsky scandal, polls showed that most Americans outside the Beltway considered it a petty, political battle. Kudlow thinks citizens are unaware that neocons spent $80 million, hired 2 special prosecutors and tormented Clinton throughout his presidency in order to catch him with a stain on his tie. Clinton will never "admit to" participating in the Whitewater Scandal because there wasn't one. Just ask Susan McDougal, who spent a year in jail because she refused to lie about Clinton under oath. here This interview must be off limits to true believers in neocon narrative. She is clearly a causality of their hatred and a person of honor and integrity.

A month before the invasion of Iraq, Kudlow wrote this in the National Review -

"Military troops are being put in place in the Iraq theatre. Special forces are on the ground, preparing to capture the oil fields. The mightiest air-bombing campaign in history is being planned. A government-in-exile, one pledged to develop a representative democracy with social pluralism and true human rights in Iraq, is being organized. War, it appears, is on the way.

And now it is time for action. Most Americans today are waiting for President Bush to once and for all pull the plug on Saddam. The nation has placed its trust in the commander in chief. There is no doubt that we will succeed in this venture. There is no doubt that the dominos of freedom and democracy will fall throughout the Middle East after Saddam’s removal. And there is no doubt that international terrorism will be dealt another mortal blow."

It appears that while criticizing President Clinton for errors in judgement Kudlow was making a few of his own. Oddly, Kudlow and his cohorts rant hysterically about Clinton but still fail to recognize shortcomings of their own. Minds like this would have invited Monica to bring her friends to the Whitehouse for a long weekend and then invaded Cuba.

History may reveal whether neocons believe their aberrant assertions or they are purposefully spinning tales. As their partisans diminish in number and ideas, even old stand bys like smearing President Clinton lack the zeal it once had. The movements ability to compartmentalize it's contradictions is demoralized with every new failure. The day will come when not even Fox News and a tricky phrase like "slow bleed" will be able to save them.

Smearing Honest Abe

2007-02-14T21:50:00.000-06:00

Today Frank Gaffney has a column in The New York Post. His point of view is consistent with his credentials as one of the founding members of the neoconservative movement. Therefore, he assumes a special set of rights unavailable to normal citizens. Mr. Gaffney’s unique view of the past allows him to build upon a solid foundation of failure without the slightest bit of embarrassment or remorse. Surrounded by like-minded media owners, Mr. Gaffney continue to serve up his unabashed opinions to a mass market.

What makes his article unique today is his authoritative view of our constitution and our history. Quoting Lincoln for saying:

Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged.

Mr. Gaffney agrees. Disagreement in any form with the failed policies of President Bush should be stifled and punished by exile or hanging. Specifically, Senators Levin and Rockefeller for their public comments about Douglas Feith and his unintentional, mistakes as Under Secretary of Defense. His reports were the foundation for the invasion of Iraq.

It is one thing to error in favor of invading a sovereign country quite another to criticize Feith’s work as sloppy and contrived. In the case of Senator Levin and Senator Rockefeller, their treasonous, criticism "damage morale and undermine the military" and should be put to death. In this opinion President Lincoln clearly agrees.

Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com wondered about the context of President Lincoln’s quote. On checking he discovered Lincoln said no such thing. The neoconservative founder, Frank Gaffney, made another mistake. By doing so he’s able to advocate that Senator Levin and Senator Rockefeller be put to death. http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/

Glenn Greenwald wonders if anyone in the mainstream media will report on this bizarre breach of ethics. He concludes that we probably won’t hear much about it. It takes a lot of brain power for neoconservatives to run the country and they can’t be distracted by silly mistakes.

2007-02-11T14:33:00.000-06:00

Neocon Dream of Miracles

2007-02-10T00:37:00.000-06:00

Reverend Haggard's deliverance from gayness is not surprising. To a mind conditioned by faith, miracles are good exercise. Fundamentalist Christian, conservatives rely on miracles to fix embarrassing errors and ommissions. Miracles are handy for avoiding the consequences of your actions. The power of faith steers their power of reason. Non-believers dwell outside, in the vast spiritual void leading to judgment and damnation. Relying on facts is proof of their ignorance. Miracles only happen to Christians.

President Bush denies that Haggard was a highly regarded advisor, consistent with the ritual of shunning those who have fallen. Scooter Libby is being sacrificed. Another trustee suffers public humiliation. Atoning for the sins of his master, Libby’s faith is being tested. The sea of Bush believers evaporates into a rancid pool. Positive proof of climate change should be passed onto government ministers.

The faith of the hardcore 30% is being tested. Bush think-tank, supported defenders are dumping their best bile on the heathen hordes of Democrats and unfaithful. The message of the last election strengthened their resolve to prove that incompetence and corruption are a matter of preception. Bush enablers have escalated to hysterical rants modeled on masters like Pee Wee Herman. Dreaming dreams of regaining majority status the same way Pee Wee found his bike.

Last week they attacked Speaker Pelosi for using a government plane to commute. These suddenly, frugile, neo-cons fired Stuart Bowen last October. The Republican appointee who uncovered billions of dollars in waste and corruption in Iraq. The Pelosi accusers so eager to save government money, gladly paid full retail prices to drug companies for Medicare Plan D. Between vacations they packed more pork into spending bills than any congress in history. So arrogant they boldly financed a $223 million bridge to nowhere in Alaska: a national embarrassment. Generations will pass before the gold metal records of waste and corruption set by the 109th Congress will be broken.

Also, more hysteria; John Hawkins of Townhall.com wrote "Liberals vs The Troops."
He asserts -

"But, the truth is, despite their politically motivated protestations to the contrary, the majority of liberals genuinely do not like or support our troops. They view them as dumb, brainwashed, sadistic Bushbots who only deserve support if they're trashing the war, trashing Bush, or if they're deserters like Ehren Watada."

More bile spews from the pens of aloof, wealthy pundits with their egos as skin in the game. This is the quality of thought coming from the current base of Bush support. An article accusing Democrats of hating the troops. Many of whom have loved ones serving in Iraq. This week Democrats voted to restore veterans benefits neo-cons cut to give tax breaks to wealthy Americans. They also opened an investigation into why our troops were ordered into battle without proper equipment. Neo-con deeds betray such vile accusations. It was their hero, Rumsfeld, who said "You go to war with the army you've got." Unless the war is optional.

This process is dismantling the Republican Party. Their selective, adolescent screening of realty keeps them from understanding the extent of their wounds. It may be wiser for real conservatives to change their name rather than attempt to revive the corrupted Republican Party.

Haggard Cured!!!

2007-02-09T21:01:00.000-06:00

Cured!!!!

Reverend Ted Haggard emerged from and undisclosed clinic in Phoenix on Wednesday after three weeks of intense counseling. He promptly announced another miracle; he’s been certified not gay. Victoria Slulum was quoted at “The Onion” saying “It's true. I saw that press conference where reporters tempted him by waving a bunch of meth-covered cocks in his face, and he didn't even flinch."

The speed of his progress may be a result of divine intervention. After years of deriding and belittling gays as founding Pastor of the New Life Church in Boulder, CO, Reverend Haggard has undoubtedly learned that most of his dispersions were true. His experience proves that gayness is a choice easily overcome by a few weeks in therapy.

When asked if Haggard had received any special attention one of his doctors said “No, we treated him the same as all the other cock suckers around here.” The treatment which Haggard underwent is similar to the one used in “A Clockwork Orange.” Instead of using drugs, electrodes are implanted into Reverend Haggard’s unit and shock him when aroused by watching gay porn. He’ll continue to wear them until his wife Gayle tells him he can take it off.

Gayle Haggard has stayed by her husband’s side in the hospital. While Reverend Haggard was reconditioned, Gayle was trained on the proper use of a strap-on. “Technique is everything” Gayle said while doing leg lifts in the gym. “At first I resented the accusation by church leaders that Ted was driven to other men because I’m sexually prudish. Men know better what other men like. I’m learning.” Gayle’s first love is still homemaking but she has learned that sometimes a woman’s place is on top.

Soon Gayle and Ted will be moving from their home in Boulder, Co. During Haggard's treatment in Phoenix, his doctors discovered another problem yet unsolved. Besides gayness, they also diagnosed Reverend Haggard to be a pathological liar. Like many people of faith, he believes his own lies. Treatment for truth- avoidance condition will take much longer. As a consequence, Reverend Haggard has been encouraged to continue aggressive therapy.
If neglected, he will continue to regress deeper into fantasy. Believing anything he wishes with no foundation in reality, its rumored Reverend Haggard thinks he’s a super hero with the power to throw farts.

Today In History

2007-02-09T02:07:00.000-06:00

Two years ago today, Jonah Goldberg of the National Review offered to make the following bet with anti-war crtic Juan Cole -

Since he doesn't want to debate anything except his own brilliance, let's make a bet. I predict that Iraq won't have a civil war, that it will have a viable constitution, and that a majority of Iraqis and Americans will, in two years time, agree that the war was worth it. I'll bet $1,000 (which I can hardly spare right now). This way neither of us can hide behind clever word play or CV reading. If there's another reasonable wager Cole wants to offer which would measure our judgment, I'm all ears. Money where your mouth is, doc.

Very soon Mr. Goldberg's new book is due to be released on the public; "Liberal Facism." It's pundits like this that make me want to be a Democrat. Here's his publishers description of the book -

LIBERAL FASCISM offers a startling new perspective on the theories and practices that define fascist politics. Replacing conveniently manufactured myths with surprising and enlightening research, Jonah Goldberg shows that the original fascists were really on the Left and that liberals, from Woodrow Wilson to FDR to Hillary Clinton, have advocated policies and principles remarkably similar to those of Hitler’s National Socialism. . . . he boldly illustrates the resemblances between the opinions advanced by Hitler and Mussolini and the current views of the Left.

My comment -

Mr. Goldberg has corrupted genuine conservatism to represent a self-serving, political philosphy leaching the life out of the Republican Party. I doubt that his analysis of political, history is much better than his forecasting victory in Iraq. Self destruction by the Republican party, may lead to the one party system he dreads Senator Clinton will create.

In Bed With Texas

2007-02-06T22:27:00.000-06:00

Texas lawmakers spend a lot of time thinking about sex. Frank Corte from my district, for example, recently introduced a bill allowing pharmacists to refuse selling the morning after pill. In 2005 Texas State Representative Al Edwards (D-Houston) proposed a bill that would reduce state funding to any high school that allows "sexually suggestive" performances by its cheerleaders. It passed. On November 8, 2005 a constitutional amendment, Proposition 2 passed by an overwhelming margin. The outcome was a ban on gay marriage.

When Texas Governor Rick Perry signed the bill to create the referendum, he did so at a Christian evangelical school alongside what he called his pro-family "Christian friends." When asked why he supports the ban, he replied, simply enough: "I am a Christian and this is about values."

Proposition 2 was a response to the Supreme Court declaring Texas sodomy laws unconstitutional in November 2003. Until then, it was illegal for gay couples to have intercourse.

(1) In Texas, "Deviate sexual intercourse" meant:

(A) any contact between any part of the genitals of one person and the mouth or anus of another person; or

(B) the penetration of the genitals or the anus of another person with an object.

(2) "Sexual contact" means any touching of the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of another person with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.

(3) "Sexual intercourse" means any penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ.

A crime was committed if a husband inadvertently penetrated the wrong orifice making love to his wife. There are no statistics on how many law-abiding husbands turned themselves over to the authorities for this infraction. Not many I’d guess. Laws like these invite lawbreaking and disrespect for those who made them.

Texas legislators believe that the Bible empowers them to regulate sex between consenting adults. It’s something they can point to as proof of their high moral values. Their constituents agree. Texans are eager to relinquish freedom over their sex lives to regulators who know nothing about it. Arguing otherwise makes you suspect to deviant behavior.

Sexuality is a subject that people with good morals just don’t talk about. Without question, good Christians accept that homosexuality threatens the sanctity of marriage. A class of citizens is discriminated against as a result. Gays are not eligible for the legal benefits enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

Still, Texas has one of the highest divorce rates in the country. Texans divorce at an annual rate of 4.2 per 1000 according to the census bureau. The lowest is Massachusetts with 2.1 per 1000. The divorce rate among born-again Christians is 50% higher than the national average. Atheists and agnostics have the lowest rate of divorce.

More laws protecting the sanctity of marriage are probably coming. There’s political pressure to make divorce much more difficult. Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D. of Andrews University, explains - God’s original plan consists of a man and a woman being united in a marriage bond so strong that the two actually become one flesh (Gen 2:26; Matt 19:6; Mark 10:8). The "one flesh" unity of the couple is reflected especially in their offspring who partake of the genetic characteristics of father and mother, and the two are absolutely inseparable. Jesus affirms that it is God Himself who actually joins together a couple in marriage and what God has joined together no human being has the right to separate.

Our lawmakers in Austin are also considering bills that would outlaw any sexual position except missionary and doggy-style. One study group has proven that loose morals come from chlorine in our water supply. A representative from west Texas believes cable television is to blame and wants to outlaw premium channels.

Laws to protect the sanctity of marriage and punish sexuality are made by men who are insecure about their own sexuality. To justify imposing their values they quote scripture. The Bible in which they claim everything written is true. Sometime soon, I plan to take a closer look at these verses to see why this Old Testament history is the basis for so many laws.

Red Neck Hunting

2007-02-03T19:03:00.001-06:00

A couple of congressman from the Texas State Legislature

"Collapsing it over there, so he can collapse it over here."

2007-02-03T11:16:00.000-06:00

Military expenditures, USD
Date of information - 2005
—
World Total
900,080,500,000
—
1

United States
522,000,000,000
2005

2

People's Republic of China [1]
70,480,000,000
2005 (est.)
3

United Kingdom
60,388,574,400
2006/07
4

France
45,000,000,000
2005
5

Japan
44,310,000,000
2005
6

Germany
34,100,000,000
2004
7

Italy
28,182,800,000
2003
8

Saudi Arabia
25,400,000,000
2005
9

Russia
23,470,000,000[2]
2006
10

South Korea
21,050,000,000
2005

The Monroe Doctrine

2007-02-01T22:51:00.000-06:00

“To Abolish the Monroe Doctrine”: Proclamation from Augusto César Sandino
The “Monroe Doctrine” of 1823 warned European powers to stay out of Latin America, including Central America, which had a particular importance to the United States because of its proximity. By the early 20th century, U.S. companies dominated the economies of Central American republics, including Nicaragua, controlling most of the banana production, railroads, port facilities, mines, and banking institutions. The United States intervened in Nicaragua repeatedly to protect U.S. economic interests. In 1912 U.S. marines landed once again to maintain a pro-American government; this occupation lasted until 1925. Augusto César Sandino, a nationalist and leader of Nicaraguan peasants and workers, refused to accept the U.S.-sponsored peace treaty that kept U.S. influence and economic power intact. He organized an army of peasants, workers, and Indians to resist thousands of U.S. marines and the U.S.-trained Nicaraguan National Guard. Sandino’s 1933 proclamation called upon all the nations of Central America to oppose U.S. imperialism. From 1927 to 1933 Sandino waged a successful guerrilla war against the United States with support from Mexican and other Latin American anti-imperialists.

U.S.Imperialism

2007-02-01T16:31:00.000-06:00

Mark Twain, The Greatest American Humorist, Returning Home, New York World [London, October 6, 1900]

"You ask me about what is called imperialism. Well, I have formed views about that question. I am at the disadvantage of not knowing whether our people are for or against spreading themselves over the face of the globe. I should be sorry if they are, for I don't think that it is wise or a necessary development. As to China, I quite approve of our Government's action in getting free of that complication. They are withdrawing, I understand, having done what they wanted. That is quite right. We have no more business in China than in any other country that is not ours. There is the case of the Philippines. I have tried hard, and yet I cannot for the life of me comprehend how we got into that mess. Perhaps we could not have avoided it -- perhaps it was inevitable that we should come to be fighting the natives of those islands -- but I cannot understand it, and have never been able to get at the bottom of the origin of our antagonism to the natives. I thought we should act as their protector -- not try to get them under our heel. We were to relieve them from Spanish tyranny to enable them to set up a government of their own, and we were to stand by and see that it got a fair trial. It was not to be a government according to our ideas, but a government that represented the feeling of the majority of the Filipinos, a government according to Filipino ideas. That would have been a worthy mission for the United States. But now -- why, we have got into a mess, a quagmire from which each fresh step renders the difficulty of extrication immensely greater. I'm sure I wish I could see what we were getting out of it, and all it means to us as a nation."

The neo-conservatives share the conviction that Americans crave global expansion. Our recent tendency toward isolationism is a concern. When President Bush delivered a strong warning against isolationism in Tuesday's State of the Union address, he was speaking to a recent and dramatic turn in public opinion. A recent Pew Research survey found a decided revival of isolationist sentiment among the public, to levels not seen since post-Cold War 1990s and the post-Vietnam 1970s. However, rightwing pundits expound that over time Americans will return to Imperialism once the stinging mistakes in Iraq are soon forgotten.

Our history proves their point. America formed by revolution and war continues to be a tool frequently used since our founding. War keeps us strong. The military, industrial-complex nourishes. During hard times, war puts us to work. Today, despite the perpetual fumbling of the Bush administration, Iraq feeds the machine of the American economy. It is not surprising that in today’s New York Times, David Brooks asserts –

“Americans are having a debate bout how to proceed in Iraq, but we are not having a strategic debate about retracting American power and influence. What’s most important about this debate is what doesn’t need to be said. No major American leader doubts that America must remain, as Dean Acheson put it, the locomotive of the world. . . .”

Knowing our history, why would Mr. Brooks think otherwise?

Free enterprise left unencumbered is a creative, resilient system. Despite its faults, it is the most plausible way to encourage jobs, growth and efficient use of resources. Meddling by the Federal Reserve control of interest rates and tax law imposed by Congress are the primary reasons free enterprise temporarily breaks. Although war is always good for business, President Clinton showed that peace and prosperity are compatible for at least 8 years.

The neo-con assertion that America will continue to expand its power and influence may be true but is a topic that deserves debate. Meddling in other people’s governments backed by the threat of war is a model that has worked at too high a human cost. Other approachs needs consideration. Free enterprise is an aggressive system. The use of state sponsored force is a practical way to get what you want but the expense of doing so needs a true accounting.

Creating friendly governments with which to do business damages the citizens of that nation. With few exceptions, power and wealth concentrate to the ruling elite at the expense of the people and their natural resources. Our interference create nations of enemies when homegrown governments such as Venezuela educate their population to understand how they have been had.

One cost yet expensed is horrors like 9/11. Gradually, citizens of the world are becoming hostile toward us, often with good reason. As a consequence, Americans are in increasing danger. The comfort of our overwhelming military power lessens as the violence we’ve imposed on others turns on us. As a result our military requires more of our resources to protect us from increasing, more sophisticated threats. Thus the spiral continues as we become increasingly fearful, wasteful and well fed.

The company with the lowest costs for labor and material wins. Interjecting political and military force to accomplish that is not part of capitalism but extraneous to it. No company that is profit driven would reject using a tool that aids in competition. It is the job of American citizens to question if using force to lower the cost of production is worth the consequences. So far, it has been. However, the model which has served us so well is the past is beginning to fray. We have options besides funding our military. Those resources could be put to better use.

Surge of the Power Morons

2007-01-20T18:09:00.001-06:00

International Response To The Surge

El Presidente Follows His Urge To Surge

2007-01-20T17:24:00.000-06:00

Also, last Thursday, Jan 18, a group of retired generals testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. All of them said in their own ways that the current plan for a "surge" into Iraq is too little too late. Gen. Barry McCaffrey called the idea "a fools errand." Lt. Gen. William E. Odom said, “There is no way to win a war that is not in your interests.” One general warned that even a plan to start withdrawing American forces from the country carried the risk that the armed Iraqi population will step up the level of attacks. “We will be shot at as we are going out.” said Gen. Jack Keane, a former vice chief of staff of the Army.

Being led by a group of inexperienced, rich kids, who don't know how to deal with mistakes is taking a costly toll on our nation. President Bush and his small group of enablers are demonstrating their flawed attempts to fix a mistake once again by compounding the error. My hope is to limit the damage they do until the end of George W's term and repairing the damage they have done can begin.

Then these people can be marginalized to the fanatical fringe where they belong, trials for their lawbreaking can begin and our country can refocus it's resources on solutions that really work. Until then, this dark time for our country continues. Like children who don't understand the meaning of the word "no," these people of privilege are emotional cripples, experts at capturing the oppourtunity of leading but incapable of leading.

Denying your failures and fixing problems with money may work in their personal lives but in a position of responsibility this lack of maturity is disasterous. Their power fading, this is when they become most dangerous and all we can do right now is try to prevent ourselves from falling with them into the abyss. These next 2 years will be the most dangerous of our time.

By now one would think that able-minded persons would realize their mistakes. Not so with the affluent. The born to wealth class elude many of the practical experiences most of us deal with in the process of maturing. The lesson that fire can burn you, for example, is never learned. To the upperclass fire is a form of entertainment. Normal rules of physics, behaviour and etiquette don't apply to them. Growing older means you have to throw your temper tantrumns behind closed doors or better yet, spin them into a quality of leadership. And any enterprise at which they fail is caused by others who are less competent. Consequences are things that other people suffer and even "the good ones" will betray you.

SWAT

2007-01-19T20:22:00.001-06:00

Highly Trained DEA Officials Dropping In On Ice Cream Party

DEA Surge On Ill In LA

2007-01-19T17:19:00.000-06:00

The Bush Adminstration is once again asserting itself with authority. This time, a major medical marijuana bust in Los Angeles County. Five dispensaries in West Hollywood were raided with the other six in Venice, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills. Agents in bulletproof vests, sunglasses, gloves and face masks looked really scary. Their message was clear; establishments that despense pain releaving marijuana to the seriously ill should leave that piece of business to the drug dealers.

Busting people who are sick and often times wearing nothing but tee-shirts, shorts and sandals, makes a poor contrast to the tanks, automatic weapons and bulletproof outfits worn by the DEA. Shutting down marijuana dispensaries refocuses the War On Drugs back on minorities who dress better and are better armed. In additon, keeping drug money illegal removes it from taxation and allows better deployment of the funds on bitches, cars and bribing public officials where it belongs.

When asked, "Why didn't you just send a couple of people in suits to serve the warrant and load up the stash?" Sarah Pullen, spokeswoman for the DEA's Los Angeles field division, said agents seized large quantities of marijuana-laced edibles that included "anything from ice cream bars to lollipops to cookies to candies and candy bars. We didn't want to miss a chance to gun down someone with a brain tumor baking cookies."

Unfortunately, the only resistance came from a handful of protestors. Officials said that more than 20 people were detained for questioning but no charges have been filed. One nursing home and a hospice as yet unidentified are suspected of generating the core of dissenters. Leary of being accused of profiling, officials denied any correlation between illness, pain-relief and medical marijuana. "Drug fiends will do anything for a marijuana fix," said an unidentified source inside the DEA, "we've seen perfectly, normal, terminally-ill people who'd do anything to get their lips around a mary jane lollipop."

Bold Proposals For Difficult Times

2007-01-18T18:27:00.000-06:00

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) Utah began the session by praising the DOJ for it’s diligence in fighting terrorism and then spent his remaining 6 minutes demanding that they crack down on pornography. It is unclear why Sen. Hatch finds pornography such a threat that it requires more of our national resources.

There are rumors that the link between national security and pornography is significant. For example, many of the 9/11 perpetrators liked lap dances. The uninformed might think that naked people are less difficult to search and unlikely to conceal WMDs; however they may pose another kind of classified threat only the highest echelons of government are privy to knowing. Personally, I’ve had some experience with porn and even have a few movies which I plan to review in detail for latent signs subversive activity.

Sen. Hatch praised the recently passed "Adam Walsh Act" (guided through Congress by its main sponsor, Republican Congressman Mark Foley), but then insisted that whole new laws and far more substantial efforts were required to battle the perverse and destructive wickedness of sex films. He wasn’t specific as to what kind of “destructive wickedness” that pornography causes. Most likely he wasn’t at liberty to disclose that information. He made it clear that more laws are needed but didn’t give any specifics.

Another issue Sen. Hatch neglected to mention is what to do with pornographers once they’ve been convicted. The U.S. already jails more of its citizens than any country on the planet. It’s possible he’s considering x-rated quarters at Guantanamo Bay. Prisons for the unclothed might also be part of his plan. One benefit would be a low percentage of escapees.

Pouring government money and law enforcement resources into punishing the sex film industry is an idea that can only come from our most experienced elected officials. Since the invention of the Gutenberg Press, pornography has been second only to the bible in reader popularity. Putting an end to this linkage is a bold step. Ultimately, terrorists are sure to take note once they hear of Sen. Hatch’s plans. Even President Bush has noted that the terrorists “hate us for our freedom.”

And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon

2007-01-16T21:36:00.001-06:00

WASHINGTON POST (1/16/07): The United States has a smaller proportion of people who accept evolution than any other country except Turkey, according to a 34-nation survey by researcher Jon D. Miller of Michigan State University.

For the record, 40 percent of American adults said that the following statement was true: “Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals.” In Romania, 55 percent agreed with a similar statement. Iceland led the 34 nations, with 85 percent acceptance. The UK scored 75 percent.
When I read surveys like these the same thought comes to mind; we need to make education a higher priority in this country. Right-wing issues like gay marriage and abortion should be put on hold for awhile until a majority of our citizens are educated enough to make rational decisions. Laws based upon superstition that affect large groups of American citizens are inherently unfair. Even if our elected senators and congressmen are better educated than their constituents, they are still expected to vote the will of people who believe in the bogyman.

The Rapture - Are you ready?

2007-01-16T02:32:00.001-06:00

MenThat Speaketh Froward Things

2007-01-15T16:24:00.000-06:00

According to Proverbs -
The two elements of a morally perfect character:
1) "Mercy," shutting out all forms of selfishness and hate.
2) "Truth," shutting out all deliberate falsehood, all hypocrisy, conscious or unconscious.

When is the last time you heard a Christian preach morality from this point of view? At the very least, those who put themselves in a position to judge should have these two attributes.
The wise man reserves what he has to say for the right time, place, and persons. The fool can't keep his opinions to himself and is quick to judge.

Proverbs 10:32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

A Few Missed Return Dates

53 AD
Even before all the books of the Bible were written, there was talk that Christ's return had already taken place. The Thessalonians panicked on Paul when they heard a rumor that the day of the Lord was at hand, and they had missed the rapture.

500
A Roman priest living in the second century predicted Christ would return in 500 AD, based on the dimensions of Noah's ark.

1524-1526
Muntzer, a leader of German peasants, announced that the return of Christ was near. After Muntzer and his men destroyed the high and mighty, the Lord would supposedly return. This belief led to an uneven battle against government troops. He was strategically outnumbered. Muntzer claimed to have had a vision from God in which the Lord promised that He would catch the cannonballs of the enemy in the sleeves of His cloak. The prediction within the vision turned out to be false when Muntzer and his followers were mowed down by cannon fire.

1809
Mary Bateman, who specialized in fortune telling, had a magic chicken that laid eggs with end-time messages on them. One message said that Christ was coming. The uproar she created ended when an unannounced visitor caught her forcing an egg into the hen's oviduct. Mary later was hanged for poisoning a wealthy client. History does not record whether the offended chicken attended the hanging.

It is not difficult to distinguish between the boisterous fools who continually criticize and are bloated with certainty of their beliefs and those who rarely speak but do good things from a pure heart. The bible is filled with good advice on how to live. It continually documents how greed, deception and arrogance lead to an unsatisfactory life. At the same time, Christian leaders are blind to it's teachings. Why they are so excited for Jesus Christ to reappear is a tribute to their blindness because they will be the first to swim in the eternal lake of fire. Promoting the myth of the rapture fills church bank accounts. Those who believe fear being "left behind." At the same time, good Christians gleefully wait for the moment when "they" will float into the clouds and witness Christ slaughter 2.5 billion non-believers. This Christ will be filled with anger and blood lust. Vengeance and retribution with replace his former teachings of peace and love for mankind. This new Jesus is angry that we haven't conformed and except for the chosen few who are raptured the rest of us will be condemned to hell. Meanwhile, those who've extrapolated this horror from the bible are getting rich. Not only by selling immunity from persecution but also incorporating the end times into videos, books and movies; judgment day has become a very big business. Vengeance and retribution sell very well to the self-righteous. After all, Jesus has given us plenty of chances. Soon it will be time for him to kick some serious Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, pagan, atheist and all other non-believer ass. As to the time of Christ's return, it's a bit uncertain. He's missed over a hundred deadlines. Why hurry with all that tax-free cash flow pouring in, there's so much good that Christians can do.

Papa George and the Feds

2007-01-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

Andrew Sullivan, 13 Jan 2007 01:34 pm

...Sources among the heroic community of pro bono lawyers who are defending some of the innocent and some of the guilty at Gitmo tell me that Stimson's comments are not isolated, that there has been a full program dedicated to the harassment of Gitmo lawyers - surveillance, pettty harassment, pressure on their law firms. Now ask yourself: why would a government that has competently captured and detained dangerous terrorists not want good legal defenses for them to show beyond a doubt that they have been fairly detained? The Bush administration acts and sounds like a defensive police state when it comes to terrorism detainees. Maybe that's because, in many cases of competely unfair detention, they are.

Jesus Crazy Liberals

2007-01-13T13:18:00.002-06:00

Mike McCurry, Clinton's former press secretary is intensely interested in the question of how to get the Democratic party to express its religious side....

...McCurry believes the Kerry campaign has come around to the need to show a little spiritual leg. "All of a sudden, values is big in the campaign. So there's a realization that they can't tip toe around it."

Why has the party struggled so? McCurry believes it's that Democratic hyper-sensitivity to offending minority groups, especially, in this case, Jewish voters. "Because we want to be politically correct, in particular being sensitive to Jews, that's taken the party to a direction where faith language is soft and opaque."

McCurry and other Democratic brainiacs are mixed up. They are confusing the fundamentalist Christian ability to politically organize and force minority opinions upon the rest of us with their dogma which if ever fully exposed would permanently relegate them to the lunatic fringe.

Fundamentalist Christians have managed to focus media and congressional attention upon issues dear to themselves. Gay marriage, abortion and creationism have taken precedence over our political discourse since George W. was elected. Occasionally, we are treated to an expose on our crumbling infrastructure or the need for alternative fuels, but our daily dose of news is monopolized by the Christian agenda.

2007-01-13T09:58:00.000-06:00

2007-01-12T21:27:00.000-06:00

George Bush accused the media of treason, and he took a photo op away from them. The mainstream media has aided and abetted the White House's little un-American activities for six years now, and finally it's biting them in the ass. Some guy loses habeas corpus and the media yawns. They lose their little photo ops and suddenly it's a high crime.

January 12, 2007
Mr. Dan Bartlett
Counselor to the President,
The White House
Washington, D.C.

Dear Dan,

On behalf of the White House Correspondents’ Association, and in conjunction with the White House News Photographers Association, we are writing to express our outrage that still pool photographers were denied access to the White House library on Wednesday evening. As you know, following weeks of preparation and the White House build-up leading up to the presidential address, this was a significant foreign policy speech. Forcing newspapers and magazines to rely on a “screen grab” photo from the Fox News network pool feed is simply unacceptable.In recent months, there has been a growing pattern of restricting pool photographers to White House events, but the situation Wednesday night for this important speech to the nation is the most glaring.We expressed our concern to Tony Snow and Dana Perino earlier today, and join the WHNPA in asking that this practice end. These photographers provide a vital service to wires, magazines and newspapers around the world, while also serving as a lasting historical record to the events of our times. In addition, a White House photo release is never an acceptable substitute for independent news coverage. Therefore, in our strongest terms possible, we want to express our disappointment that a decision was made to keep even a single pool photographer from the room, and ask that it never happen again.

Regards,Board of Directors -

WHCASteven Scully,
C-SPANAnn Compton,
ABC NewsJennifer Loven,
Associated PressPeter Maer,
CBS NewsSteve Holland,
ReutersDoug Mills,
New York TimesKen Walsh,
US News & World ReportKen Herman,
Cox NewspapersMike Allen, TIME

Skiing accident ... this is CRAZEEEE !

2007-01-09T23:13:00.001-06:00

Skiing Might Be Nice

What If The Whole World Farted At Once?

2007-01-09T18:45:00.001-06:00

Now that my 4 kids are getting older and Rosie's 3 kids are getting older, as a parent my concerns for them are beginning to change. They'll all be educated soon with college degrees of one kind or another. My oldest three kids are well into their careers and my daughter just got married. Oddly enough, I'm a little bit worn out. Odder still, I've been so focused upon their growth and well being all these years, now that the mission is fairly well accomplished I've come to a standstill.

I've been working straight since I was 14 years old and began having children when I was 24. So most of my adult life I haven't made any major decisions without considering what effect it would have on my kids. My life up until now has been all about them; including where to live, how to live, what to do for a living and what to do in my free time. Having 4 children with a stay at home mom has kept me very busy until now. Looking back, I do not begrudge the experience. On the contrary, raising children has been one of the best parts of my life.

Children are uniquely qualified to mold you in ways you never imagined. Helping them become the best that they could be, brought out the best in myself. What a surprise that was! As a father I wanted the best for my children, things I didn't even want for myself. And creating a safe, healthy environment for them to grow up became the major focus in my life.

Never was I one to imagine myself rearing lots of children when I thought about my future before marriage. It just worked out that way. Prior to that I was considering a life similar to Ernest Hemmingway. I'd actually had a few articles published and was told by people in the business that I was a promising young author.

That is why I am here now, writing, hoping to get back into practice and trying to see if writing is something I want to pursue now that I have the time. It's the one thing I keep coming back to as a source of enjoyment so I think I'll keep on putting words to paper in the hope that the enthusiasm I once had returns. Every stage of my life so far has been a new adventure. I'm 58 years old now and I'm beginning to understand that longevity has a great deal to do with passion. I'm very lucky to have found Rosie my wife.

It took me 49 years to find her but she has completed me in ways I never imagined. I love her everyday and even the things about her that should make me angry, don't. She is the kindest, most loving person I've ever met. It's a natural gift with her, part of her make up. I see her same traits in some of her family but her ability to be in a generally good mood almost all of the time is truly unique. She's a blessing to me. To know her and have her as my mate is something I never expected to happen.

When my oldest son was first born, he opened my eyes to things that only a father can understand. I'll never forget how stunned I was by the depth of my love for that child. After him, my daughter came and I learned that love compounds. It's been the same with all of the kids. They've all helped show me the meaning of love. Each of them borrowed until they were raised.

I remember reading that somewhere when I was in college; that children are a gift from god that we love more than ourselves and can never keep. The whole point in having children is to raise them and then set them free or better yet, they set themselves free. And that is precisely what has happened, it's been a great experience.

To find a mate with whom I felt the same intense, selfless passion is something I never expected. If I believed in god, I'd think she was a gift. Although some coincidences feel very contrived at times, they are beyond my comprehension. Not all mysteries need to be solved but sometimes it's fun to speculate about them and to contemplate ideas like everyone in the world farting at the same time.

There's something revolting about people who claim to have answers about things that cannot be proven. Not only are they lying and often times delusional, the mystery is belittled. Instead of something wondrous and magical, it becomes flat and uninspiring. It's challenging to avoid truth. You're forced to remember explanations and theories and logic that intuitively doesn't fit. My good fortune in finding Rosie is beyond explanation. I'm happy seeing it that way.

This new situation of having free time, making choices without the pressure of necessity, pushes me in a way I would have never expected. It's something I've been striving for but never really I'd accomplish. Now that I have I don't want to get out of bed. It's possible that I'm lazy. Now that there is no reason to work, I don't. More likely, this is a stage I'm going through. I believe motivation will return. I've just never had the luxury of relaxing. Now that I'm seeing the finish line, it occurs to me that the end is coming soon enough and I can take my time. To do what? I've never had the luxury of asking the question.

God, Inc - Episode 1

2007-01-07T00:30:00.001-06:00

The miracles of modern technology.

Evolution or Highway to Heaven

2007-01-06T19:33:00.000-06:00

That Christians want to teach creationism as science in our schools is well know. However, the bible has other statements about the nature of our world that would most likely soon follow:
1. The Bible Says the Sun Revolves Around the Earth
2. The Bible Says the Moon is a Source of Light
3. The Bible Says the Sky is a Dome
4. The Bible Says the Stars Are Little Lights Fixed in the Sky-Dome
5. The Bible Says the Earth Is Small, Flat and Supported by Pillars
6. The Bible Says You Can Get to Heaven by Building a Really Tall Tower
This from a book which claims to be the inerrant word of god. If I were advising Christians, I'd tell them to embrace the concept of evolution. Evolution could be the foundation for explaining why the world is so different today than it was when the bible was written.

Disney/ABC radio affiliate KSFO, take a listen.

From the New Republic Online -
INCAPACITATED:

Sorry to be a downer, but this NPR report on Jose Padilla is easily one of the more disturbing things I've read all day. Padilla, as we've learned, has basically gone insane during his time in U.S. military custody, after four years of stress positions and "total sensory deprivation." But here's the government's defense:

The government maintains that whatever happened to Padilla during his detention is irrelevant, since no information obtained during that time is being used in the criminal case against him.

Er... so there was real no point in holding him indefinitely, without charges? Is that what's being said here? Not exactly:

Indeed, there are even some within the government who think it might be best if Padilla were declared incompetent and sent to a psychiatric prison facility. As one high-ranking official put it, "the objective of the government always has been to incapacitate this person."

Digby points out that the Soviet Union had a term for this: Psikhushka, psychiatric hospitals, which were used to "isolate political prisoners from the rest of society, discredit their ideas, and break them physically and mentally." Here's Wikipedia: "The 'treatment' included various forms of restraint, electric shocks, a range of drugs... that cause long lasting side effects, and sometimes involved beatings." As with Padilla, the objective was always to incapacitate the person. But hey, comparing U.S. policy with Soviet Russia is overly shrill so maybe we should just drop it.

--Bradford Plumer

Clearly this sort of conduct is contrary to every ideal upon which this country was founded. An innocent man, tortured for 4 years until he's insane, cannot stand trial because he is incompetent to stand trial because he was tortured. Generally I agree that it would be a mistake for Democrats to move towards impeaching George W. There is time in the future to put him on trial for his misdeeds. However, Democrats do need to put a stop to the inhumane treatment of terrorists suspects. Who knows how many innocent people are currently locked away and receiving the same treatment.
Significantly, George W. also issued another signing statement saying he believes it's within the law to open our mail. Yet another blow to our privacy and freedom from government tyranny. I'm convinced this is being done to further the Dominionist cause and not in defense of terrorism.

Amerians Debate God

2007-01-05T22:11:00.002-06:00

It's true, we can't find Bin Laden but our justice system sure put the hurt on Martha Stewart. I'm curious as to why we never found out the names of the people who bought put options on the airline stocks prior to 9/11. I spent some time looking for them today and found nothing as to who they are or what law enforcement has done about them.

I spend time off and on debating various subjects on Sam Harris' website here. His original claim to fame was his book "The End of Faith" which is a very well articulated argument about the dangers of religion. I've learned a great deal about the history of the bible from people who are very well studied in theology; some by Jesuits others by Dominions and others self-schooled. I've been a member for just over a year and there are a handful of Christians who enter the atheist debates off and on, some with stubborn consistency. I think they believe they'll get extra point with St. Gabriel if they're able to convert an atheist to Christianity. Their arguments for the existence of god usually center around our inability to disprove that god does not exist or that the universe is ordered and something had to order it or the classic "god exists because it says so in the bible." Christian views on sexuality are equally dysfunctional. I thought I'd share some Christian logic along with a few atheist retorts, all the posters are anonymous:

Evidence

"That's true, the universe could be randomly ordered or ordered by accident. But imagine yourself walking through the desert and coming across a working watch. You could believe the watch came about by a random assembly of sand, wind, and various other materials, but doesn't it seem more likely that the watch came about because a watchmaker made it?"

or

"It shouldn't. I totally support skepticism when it comes to these claims. But, first: the number of people that claim to have experienced or encountered God in some way -- overtly, subtlety, or whatever -- far, far, far outweigh the number of alien encounter reports. Not even close. Second: in Portugal in 1917, a group of 70,000 people reported seeing a vision in the sky in accordance with the prediction of three little girls. I don't know about you, but if three little girls predicted an alien encounter witnessed by 70,000 people, I'd be revising my beliefs in aliens pretty damn quick. It is almost impossible not to take this seriously."

Gays

" So what? Men check out men all the time. You just want rights because you are too chicken to have a sexual relationship with a women. You're wedding would be like an episode of Monty Python and the Flying Circus.
I can't wait for another good laugh. You are emotionally attatched to your mother so none of that "I love men" crap applies."

"You have the same rights as me, but you want more rights than me because you think your "special" for having a sexual relationship with a male. You are imagining and describing symptoms to regular behaviour. Keep on parrading your individuality untill you figure out your exactly the same as everyone else."

or

"It was one of my philosophy profs who came up with this little bit of "self examination" - it's a "hard-on measure" - (surely there's an equivalent test for females). He said something to the effect that if you can get a hard-on by looking at or thinking about another man, the chances are pretty good that you are gay. If you get a hard-on thinking about or looking at a woman also, then you are probably bisexual, however, if you can't, then you are definitely gay. "

The Bible

" Wayne, we simply don't have the bandwidth here to list all the stories in the Bible that boldly reveal God's bloodlust for mankind. I'll just assume that you, like most Catholics, have never actually read the whole book. Would I be correct in guessing you believe that any tales of God murdering men, or ordering their murders, must involve a misinterpretation of the scriptures on our part, or that it was just a myth or a parable to teach us a lesson, while not really spilling any actual blood?

As to your notion that God might have swept in at the last moment to save people in the flood, after stating clearly that he intended to kill them all -- this makes you the worst sort of apologist, the kind who makes excuses for his father's violent ways. The Bible supports all variety of brutality against women, children and men, but my point would be that I don't. I am more moral than your god, and all I need do is read the Bible to remind myself of that. The god of the Bible is cruel, greedy, spiteful, jealous, capricious, misogynistic and relentlessly bloodthirsty. Any love he has to offer comes only after the beatings, just as in any disfunctional abusive relationship.

p.s. There were no 'survival suits' in Noah's day, nor any evidence that once God commanded the death of a given tribe, that he sent in 'lifeboats' to save the infants among them. Your supposition is sadly and absurdly childlike. Or worse."

or

" But God approves of slavery, silly, and even demands it. The Bible is filled with statements by God/Jesus, where he lays out very specific commands regarding how to handle your slaves, and how slaves must in turn behave towards their masters, or else be put to death. That means that in abolishing slavery in America, we have defied God's plan.

Have you forgotten that according to the Bible, God requires us to love and serve him, or else we will be punished for eternity in a burning lake? Hence we are ALL enslaved to this deity, further verifying that slavery is at the very foundation of God's sacred order -- God rules over man, man rules over lesser men, all men rule over animals. . . but it all begins with God as slavemaster #1."

Probably the most interesting threads on this website are the deconversion stories, people were raised as Christians and for one reason or another took a giant step looked objectively at what they assumed to be true, their faith. These brave hearts have some wonderful stories to tell. One is currently in the Austin American Statesman.

Culture War Recruiters

2006-12-27T17:00:00.000-06:00

Today while slogging through the neocon blogs I came upon a delusory article written by Dennis Prager defining America's cultural wars as being between those who believe in biblical law (see my Dec. 25 post) and those who do not. After reading Mr. Prager's article, I'm reminded not only of the sociopaths by which the cultural wars are being fought but their methods of doing so.

To get a sense of how revolutionary the political fight for power in the U.S. is, we need to look at a few quotes from what has been dubbed, "Paul Weyrich's Teaching Manual," the Free Congress Foundation's strategic plan on how to gain control of the government of the U.S. Written by Eric Heubeck, and titled, "The Integration of Theory and Practice: A Program for the New Traditionalist Movement," the document is no longer available at the Free Congress Foundation's website for obvious reasons. But excerpts are published at the Theocracy Watch. The excerpts explain the rules the Dominionists use; the tactics they endorse are sheer Machiavellian:

1) Falsehoods are not only acceptable, they are a necessity. The corollary is: The masses will accept any lie if it is spoken with vigor, energy and dedication.

2) It is necessary to be cast under the cloak of "goodness" whereas all opponents and their ideas must be cast as "evil."

3) Complete destruction of every opponent must be accomplished through unrelenting personal attacks.

4) The creation of the appearance of overwhelming power and brutality is necessary in order to destroy the will of opponents to launch opposition of any kind.

The article posted on Hugh Hewitt's website, "The culture war is about the authority of a book" written by Dennis Prager clearly illustrates his training. The tone of his article comes off like a benign statement of facts instead of assertions with no point of reference. He clearly believes that if you assert something with authority, conviction and innuendo that people will be swayed by the power of your convictions. Notice, for example, the following subtlety:

"Many members of all these different religions have found it quite remarkable how similar their values are to those of members of these other religions. An evangelical Protestant who might regard Mormonism as nothing more than a heretical cult will find himself seated next to Mormons at a rally on behalf of the Boy Scouts."

Implying, it would be highly unlikely to find an atheist, agnostic or non-bible believer at a boy scout meeting. Then of course, there are the clear, outright lies which all good Dominionists are trained to triumph on any given day:

"Which is exactly how most conservatives regard most leftist beliefs, such as: there is nothing inherently superior in a child being raised by a mother and father rather than by two fathers or two mothers; men and women are not basically different, but only socially influenced to be different; Marxism was scientific; that the Soviet Union was not an evil empire; it was immoral for Israel to bomb Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor; morality is relative to the individual or society; there is no moral judgment to be made about a woman aborting a healthy human fetus solely because she doesn't want a baby at this time; material poverty, not moral poverty, causes violent crime, etc.

This divide explains why the wrath of the Left has fallen on those of us who lament the exclusion of the Bible at a ceremonial swearing-in of an American congressman. The Left wants to see that book dethroned. And that, in a nutshell, is what the present civil war is about."

I will leave it to the readers' discretion to judge the merits of these views. Personally, I do not recall ever hearing a liberal claim any of these things. As to using the Bible to swear in an American congressman, the Bible has never been used for such a purpose. The official swearing-in ceremony is done in the House chambers, with the Speaker of the House administering the oath of office en masse. No Bibles or other holy books are used at all.

Dominionists Ultra-Retro or Just so Modern?

2006-12-25T19:13:00.000-06:00

Jack Handey's "Deeper Thoughts,"

You know what's probably a good thing to hang on your porch in the summertime, to keep mosquitoes away from you and your guests? Just a big bagful of blood.

The Dominionists (Christian Fundamentalists) suffered a setback on the November 7th elections. It would be a mistake to underestimate their staying power. They are entrenched, well organized and well financed. Their goal of replacing our Democracy with a theocratic state is not diminished in any way.

Numbers 31:17-18 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

Theonomy (Greek for "God's Law") includes the concept that "God’s revealed standing laws are a reflection of His immutable moral character and, as such, are absolute in the sense of being nonarbitrary, objective, universal, and established in advance of particular circumstances (thus applicable to general types of moral situations)." _6,7 Thus, each of the 613 laws given to Moses and recorded in the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures) are binding on people of all nations, cultures, and religions forever, except for those laws which have been specifically rescinded or modified by further revelation.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm

One of the most tenaciously held beliefs of Christian Dominionists is that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and must therefore be restored to its biblical roots. "The Christian goal for the world," Reconstructionist theologian David Chilton has explained, is "the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics." Scripturally based law would be enforced by the state with a stern rod in these republics.

Those who would face execution include gays, blasphemers, heretics, apostate Christians, people who cursed or struck their parents (my favorite), females guilty of "unchastity before marriage," "incorrigible" juvenile delinquents, and adulterers. And that's to say nothing of murderers and those guilty of raping married women or "betrothed virgins."

The Biblically approved methods of execution include burning (at the stake for example), stoning, hanging, and "the sword." Gary North, the self-described economist of Reconstructionism, prefers stoning because, among other things, stones are cheap, plentiful, and convenient. Punishments for non-capital crimes generally involve whipping, restitution in the form of indentured servitude, or slavery.

This needs to be worked-out beforehand. Otherwise something like the bar scene in "Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure" will likely ensue. If you recall, it took an inordinate amount of time for the bikers to decide how to execute Pee Wee after he knocked over their choppers. Remember also that Pee Wee almost tricked them into letting him go with his remarkable ability to throw his voice.

A Few Thoughts, Friends, Things That Really Matter

2006-12-22T22:49:00.000-06:00

"Even while understanding that friendship includes a great number of important advantages, it must be said that it excels all other things in this respect: that it projects a bright ray of hope into the future, and upholds the spirit which otherwise might falter or grow faint. He who looks upon a true friend, looks, as it were, upon a better image of himself. For this is what we mean by friends: even when they are absent, yet they are with us; even when they lack some things, still they have an abundance of others; even when they are weak, in truth they are strong; and hardest of all to say, but also most deeply felt: even when they are dead, in truth they are alive with us, for so great is the esteem of a true friend, the tender recollection and the deep longing that still abide with them."

- Marcus Tullius Cicero, De amicitia, lib. vii (ca. 45 BCE)(my transl.)(in the Loeb edition of the works of Cicero, vol. 20, p. 132).

I have learned over the years to use the term friend sparingly. A friend will never betray you, will celebrate your successes and lament your failures. I've had friends do things that I believed were completely contrary to their best interests and I've told them so if they've asked. But whatever their decision, they are still my friend.

The greatest gift you can give a friend is to never judge them and to be available for them emotionally whenever they need you. Most import, friends will never reveal one another's secrets. They can confide in one another their most intimate thoughts and feelings and know they'll be locked away forever in the friendship treasure box.

Betrayal is friendship's dagger. I believe it is a character flaw that many people can never overcome. The ability to keep information confidential is like eating broccoli and not becoming nauseous for some people, it's just not possible. That is why friendship proceeds tentatively, cautiously; we've all experienced the sickening pain of that dagger and it's a pain like no other.

But for those of us who know true friendship, we forgive and forget and keep trying. It's worth it. Those few jewels in my life that are real friends of mine are simply amazing.

Confessions

2006-12-18T23:03:00.000-06:00

Thursday, December 14, 2006

U.S. Government: You can't believe Jose Padilla when he says we tortured him because he's crazy from all the things we did to him.

This argument has been used by authoritarians throughout the ages. During the Inquisition, when a woman was accused of being a witch, she was tortured until she admitted to witchcraft and then put to death. The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch Hammer), first published in 1486, was used as a guidebook for the Inquisition, and was designed to aid Inquisitors in the identification, prosecution, and dispatching of Witches.

The Bush Administration is empowered by the Patroit Act and suspending habeas corpus and is encouraged to cover up its mistakes by simply ignoring them because it can. Since he was jailed in May 2002, Padilla has been held in isolation and most likely subjected to "severe psychological stress." So much so that a government psychiatrist, Dr. Angela Hegarty, has stated that Mr. Padilla is incompetent to stand trial due to post-traumatic stress disorder. The trauma being his incarceration. If Jose Padilla were found competent to stand trial, his allegations that he's been tortured at the hands of the US government may also be true.

The Bush Administration originally arrested Mr. Padilla because they suspected him of planning to blow up apartment buildings with natural gas. In fact, John Ashcroft advertised him as "The Dirty Bomber" when they arrested him 3 1/2 years ago. However, that charge was dropped last November when he appeared before a Republican appointed judge in Miami. The judge also disparaged the government's case as "light on facts." The governments case is now so fundamentally weak that he will most likely be acquitted if he ever gets to trial.

Jose Padilla is suppose to have his day in court in January 2007. By then, it appears almost a certainty he'll be incompetent to stand trial.

Great Moments in History

2006-12-17T19:29:00.000-06:00

Source: Anderson County News, May 24, 1913
contributed by Susie Bullock

Both Eyes Shot Out
Joe Wilson Shot At Briceville By Wife Sunday Joseph Wilson a young miner residing at Briceville was shot by his wife Sunday morning while seated in the door of their home.The ball entered the temple near the eye passing through the head dislodged both eyes from the socket.The wife claims the shooting was an accident: that she palyfully took the revolver from the mantel and pointed it at her husband in jesting spirit. The husband told another version of the affair claiming the shooting was intentional.They had not been dwelling together in harmony lately.The wife was arrested and allowed bond pending her husband's condition.

Now he only has eyes for her.

Source: Anderson County News, October 23, 1915
contributed by Susie Bullock

Tragedy At Caryville
A deadly pistol duel took place at Caryville last Saturday evening in which Deputy Sheriff Harvey Murray of Campbell county was shot twice and killed by Wilburn Leach, who in turn received a severe wound in the intestines.Both men it is said drew their pistols and fired at the same time.Murray was shot in the forehead and breast.Deputy Murray had arrested his slayer Sunday on charges of being drunk and placed him in Jacksboro jail. Later in the afternoon friends secured his release and he returned to Caryville when the duel occurred.Both men were married.Murray is about forty and Leach is ? years of age. Bad feeling existed between the men for years/Leach was taken to a Knoxville hospital for treatment, and chances are he may recover.

That's one way to handle harassment by the local authorities. Mr. Leach still has that drunk and disorderly charge to deal with though.

Source: Middlesboro Daily News, Middlesboro, KY April 4, 1923
contributed by Angela Meadows

JELLICO CHIEF IS SHOT BY BROTHER OF SLAIN ROBBERS

Everett Perkins, 15, Takes Revenge on Chief of Police Heatherly - Victim on Churches, Assailed from Rear

Reports Says Perkins Mother Carries Gun for Officers

JELLICO,Tenn., Apr. 4. Chief of police George W Heatherly was shot and perhaps fatally wounded at 2:45 clock yesterday afternoon by Everitt Perkins, 15 year old brother of Walter and George Perkins, who were slain March 2, in a battle with a prohibition posse, of which Chief Heatherly was a member. Chief Heatherly was shot three times, first in the right heel, then in the right breast and the third time in the right arm. His boy assailant is believed to be at the home his parents near here, but no effort has been made to arrest him. The chief was going down Main street by the aid of his crutches. Fifty yards in front of him was Everett Perkins, the 15-year old brother of the slain Perkins brothers. The boy saw the chief and stepped into a restaurnt until Heatherly had passed, then followed when he had shortened the distance, which at first was about 50 feet, witnesses say, the boy drew a revolver and fired at Chief Heatherly, the ball hitting Heatherly in the right heel. In an instant Heatherly had swung round on his crutches and had drawn his own revolver. As he wheeled the Perkins boy fired again, the shot taking effect in Heatherly's right breast about on a level with his heart. Although weakened by the shot and by his old wounds, Heatherly was able to keep his feet under him, and began firing at the youth, who dodged behind a brick building. The next bullet from the boy's pistol hit Heatherly in the right arm. The next bullet from Heatherly's gun smashed a plate glass window near the Perkins boy, who beat a retreat along a cross street towards the mountains. It is generally understood in this vicinity that Mrs. Perkins, the mother of the two brothers who were killed and of the third boy who shot Chief Heatherly yesterday, had carried a pistol herself since the shooting March 2. She is said to have declared that she was on the lookout for the officer's and would shoot them if she saw them. Chief Heatherly had been warned of possible death If he returned to Jellico and Everett Perkins is said to have made threats against Heatherly but on account of his youth Chief Heatherly did not take the matter seriously. The first public appearance here of Chief Heatherly after his return from Knoxville was at the revival at the Baptist church, of which he is a member, conducted by Rev. F. F. Brown of Knoxville. The wounded chief has a wife and three children.

Is it ethical to shoot a man 3 times when he's on crutches? There ought to be a law.

Intellectual Honesty

2006-12-13T21:53:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas, December 25, the birth of Jesus Christ. Coincidentally, Dec. 25 happens to be the day when the "pagan world celebrated the birth of their Sun Gods-Egyptian Osiris, Greek Apollo and Bacchus, Chaldean Adonis, Persian Mithra-when the Zodiacal sign of Virgo (the sun is born of a virgin) rose on the horizon. Thus the ancient festival of the Winter Solstice, the pagan festival of the birth of the Sun, came to be adopted by the Christian Church as the nativity of Jesus, and was called Christmas" (Crosbie).

The choice of December 25 was probably influenced by the fact that on this day the Romans celebrated the Mithraic feast of the Sun-god (natalis solis invicti), and that the Saturnalia also came at this time(Collier's Encyclopedia).

I mention this because the war on Christmas might very well be taking place at the wrong time. Now that the conspiracy has been uncovered here it seems only reasonable that it should take place under the proper time frame. Constantine and the Roman church did Christianity a great disservice by incorporating the pagan Babylonian, Greek and Roman system into the Christian faith around 321 AD. Jesus was probably born in the Fall.

You Can Spin To Win Until You Lose

2006-12-11T20:32:00.000-06:00

It appears that Republicans interpret the Nov. 7 election from inside the same bubble they watched their defeat. As a consequence, our country is still left without a major political party that represents conservatism. Redefining conservative to mean the union of neoconservatism and fundamentalist Christianity, is an illusion only Republicans can see. A bleak prospect for voters who still believe in a small, unobtrusive, government. As a result, libertarians have a real opportunity for transforming into a major political party. Moderating their platform may come as a natural consequence of real conservatives migrating to the party.

The other possibility is that Republicans will continue blundering towards the political fringe and lose the party to a conservative coup. Either way, it appears the change will be dreadfully slow. Hoping for a spark of self actualization after the Nov. 7 election was unrealistic. Republicans are so throughly embedded in their own perceptions they've lost the ability to look at themselves critically or to listen to anyone but the small interest groups they represent.

Americans recognize how poorly they were represented. Even though their message was clear, the party continues a bizarre, ritualistic dance around ideas that have nothing to do with the facts of their defeat. They are blaming the Iraq's for missing their chance at democracy and impatient American citizens for losing the war the party won't admit to losing. They are responsible for the unprovoked invasion of a sovereign nation. First to rid Iraq of WMD's and then spun to the idea of bringing them democracy. This would be a good starting point for analyzing their defeat.

Instead, Republicans continue to ignore the deep seeded corruption, the flagrant incompetence and fiscal recklessness so evident under their management. The party is desperate for honest answers to the obvious question of how they allowed this to happen under their reign. Blaming forces beyond their control has stopped working as an excuse. Yet, they haven't been able to face that conclusion.

Blaming someone or something for your mistakes is a behavior most parents try to discourage in their children. Republicans still flay admitting mistakes and once exposed automatically shift to blame and denial. Rationalizing defeat, their post election attacks on Clinton, Democrats who aren't even in office yet, the press and the voters who rejected them; Republicans still believe rhetoric can substitute for truth. To many of us who were looking forward to a rebirth of conservatism this has been very discouraging.

James Kim Was Never Alone

2006-12-09T12:28:00.000-06:00

"Death is sad enough when we have to face that it's random -- Death is indifferent to our wishes -- but when we're told to believe that it happened "for a reason". . . ??? You can only swallow so much of that crud before you throw it back up.
In talking with friends tonight about James' loss, we all agreed that our emotions had been helplessly invested in the story of this stranger, more deeply than we quite understood. Yes, it has something to do with the fact that he was an Everyman, just a nice working/family guy off on holiday with his wife and two sweet babies. He could have been any one of our friends. . . On the other hand, how many Muslim peasants died in violence over the past ten days, and had their families ripped apart under circumstances no longer even remotely within their control? My heart cringes for them. . . yet not in the same way as it did for this man, James, who was trying to rescue his family after a lovely holiday trip went horribly wrong.

I don't understand exactly why this is the case, why empathy can run much deeper when we relate to the people involved. . . but I suspect that, while it does not speak well of how broadly or constantly I'm able to extend intense, tear-inducing empathy, it also doesn't make me unique. We can be very tribal when it comes to what we have emotional capacity to focus on. . . and James was part of my tribe, I guess? Can anyone help shed light on why we do not, or cannot feel equally grieved over each and every being who dies under what we think of as unjust circumstances? Certainly the media helps it along, with pictures and backstories that deepen the investment. . . but it's more than that, isn't it? Help me pin it down, because I'm bothered that I didn't spare the same amount of emotion today for some Iraqi infant in who got blown to pieces by one of his terrorist brethren.

I feel so dreadfully for James' wife. I know her hope must have been stretched almost unbearably thin by the time she got the news, but it never matters how much you brace yourself for the worst. Losing your mate is the end of the world, at least for a very long time afterwards. Kudos to her brave husband for giving it the best try he possibly could. "

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:33 am By Mia on "The End of Faith"

Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for ten years and hiking much of that country, I too was particularity moved by the death of James Kim. The beauty of that country can mask it's underlying brutality especially to the uninitiated.

Mia's eloquent observation speaks to us all in a uniquely feminine, insightful way. At one time or another we've all wondered why it is that as human beings we attach more "emotional capital" to a death like James Kim's than we do to others. Truly, it is tribal in nature and transcends the other slim divides between us like religion or race. James Kim could have been any color. Yet our instinct for empathy with his death is not diminished, because we see the circumstances of his life so clearly in our own.

We personalize his desperation, his anger and dismay that somehow those silent, jagged rocks could outwit him. Wondering for hours back to the same place, if his family was suffering the same fate, the injustice of dying in that place; we attach ourselves so clearly to the death of Mr. Kim. His life was so much like our own. His nemesis, whimsical, unjust; foreshadows us.

No heart is colder, less forgiving than the mountains in which he died. Even the least inclined of us takes pause and is in some way reminded of our own mortality. Truly, this is the source of our empathy. Despite our best efforts to comfort ourselves, we see the same end and feel the same sense of injustice and rage. The cold, indifferent, mountains still stand even paved and manicured, damned and diverted or climbed and conquered. Like Mr. Kim we are lost. Angry at the indifference and our lack of understanding; no matter our strength or determination we too succumb, wondering where is our family.

We find answers most often by asking the right question. Mia wonders , "Can anyone help shed light on why we do not, or cannot feel equally grieved over each and every being who dies under what we think of as unjust circumstances? " It is questions such as these that increase our humanity. Perhaps the quality of debate in our country is so poor because we are simply not asking the right questions. By not asking the right questions we are reduced to contemplating that which does not serve us in pursuing those things which we can control.

Beginning with respect as a basis for what is and humility for what we do not know, questions like Mia's are profound to us all. So much of our social and political interaction is based upon questions whose answers we think we already know. A psychological trick to reinforcing our own illusions, it is understandable but a trick none the less. Asking questions about which you truly want answers, in and of itself is an exercise in humility. Oddly, humility is often perceived as a form of weakness. Yet the consequences of arrogance are debilitating.

Marginalizing arrogance, emphasizing curiosity, humanizes us and leads to collective progress. Take a look back 10, 20, 50, 100 years at how our society has progressed. Technology, because science is the art of genuine curiosity, compounds upon itself. At the same time, the quality of our social debate remains unchanged. As a consequence we are dealing with the same problems using different tools.

Technology adds a layer to our illusion. Humanity has progressed not at all. Asking questions about what we assumed to be true about the physical attributes of what is around us led to "the miracles of science." There are lots of other miracles waiting to happen if we only do the same for ourselves.

I Wonder if Bill Conroy is Part Indian

2006-12-08T14:14:00.000-06:00

The local press here in San Antonio, The Express News, hasn't mentioned a word about a local freelance reporter, Bill Conroy, who's been writing about Homeland Security and the DEA's alleged involvement in the "House of Death" scandal. Conroy who at some risk to himself, has gone to great lengths to cover this story and is a local resident here.

In better times, the involvement of a US government agency in the torture and murder of 12 people would be front page news all across the country. Before all of our major media outlets were owned by The Big 8, multinational corporations and businessmen weren't making the decisions for the news people, Bill Conroy would be receiving a great deal of media attention. Now, he's not even mentioned in his hometown newspaper, owned by the Hearst Group. If there was ever any doubt that mainstream media, as an oligarchy, is screening what stories it chooses to show Americans, their choice to ignore corruption that goes to the very core of the radicalism of the current Administration is on more piece of evidence to the contrary.

If Bill Conroy disappears, we'll know to address our condolences to his quarters in Guantanamo Bay. In one way or another we're all going to pay a price for the rights we've relinquished in the name of fear. It's usually our heroes that are the first to suffer the consequences because they are the first to act against attacks on our Democracy.

There's a Right and a Wrong Way to Love the Stones

2006-12-07T19:57:00.000-06:00

Pictures make home schooling so much easier. Especially when you are teaching your kids that the earth is 6,000 years old. Dennis Lindsay, president of Christ for the Nations Institute believes every word that is written in the bible. Once a science buff, Rev. Lindsay's attitude only began changing on a mission trip to Mexico in the early 1970s, where he ended up spending two weeks under the tutelage of a Canadian archaeologist in Puebla who happened to be a creationist.
“If it’s true that the earth is millions of years of age and that death has always been a part of creation,” Lindsay says, “then death is just a natural cycle. Therefore the Bible is false, because the Bible says that death came as a result of man’s sin.

This rationale has driven Reverend Lindsay to write 15 volumes on the subject, with five more on the way. Some of the volumes have been translated into Spanish, Russian, Japanese and German. One of his most compelling pieces of evidence for the young-earth theory; space dust. The absence of “space dust,” which he says can be distinguished from earth matter and continually falls on the planet. “There isn’t enough on the earth to support an age of a billion years old,” he says. Furthermore, he claims, the astronauts found relatively little on the moon–barely enough to plant their flag in.

Oddly, I could not find one peer-reviewed scientific study that backs the "space dust" claim. Neither could I find any evidence to support the assertion that the natural cycle of birth and death is a result of "sin". However, people like the good reverend may be doing the rest of the population a favor. They are proudly and boldly segregating themselves from the rest of society. If and when the U.S. emerges from the darkness and re-enters the age of reason, the purveyors of myth should be easily identified.

We need to encourage these people to marry outside their immediate families. I suspect that genetically, they have too much in common. Professionals in psychology and sociology need to be brought to bear on this problem. First, the idea that people are free to believe what they choose is amiable and kind, but the destruction wrought by fundamentalist Christian beliefs affects us all. Their influence is stripping away at our democracy, putting our youth at risk and threatening the very planet we live on.

Reason and intellect cannot be ushered into our society until we are willing to reject the ideas of Reverend Lindsay and the people who believe in him. Clustering into voting blocks and forcing their beliefs on the rest of us has to stop. The best way to start is through confrontation, not acceptance, of their beliefs. Americans are basically a kind people who try to respect one another's beliefs no matter how bizarre. In the case of fundamentalists Christians, this has to stop. Every moronic illusion, from the rapture to young-earth, should be challenged publically and the believers mortified. This one change in attitude could be enough. After all, the Flinstones aren't real, right?

Surrounded By Cowards

2006-12-06T20:10:00.000-06:00

Many American Indian cultures believe that respect is the base on which all values are built. It is key to the development of the character. From this foundation stems the four values of fortitude, generosity, bravery and wisdom. It is a way of life passed down from generation to generation not because it is demanded by a holy book or federal statute, but due to a matter of practicality. It was an effective, meaningful way to live.

Today while having lunch with a client the subject of "The House of Death" article in the Sunday Observer, a UK publication, came up. There has been almost no coverage of our Homeland Security's involvement in paying an informant $220,000 per year while he murdered and tortured at least 12 people in the name of the War On Drugs. here

Curiously, while my client and I were chatting about this over fish and chips he off-handedly mentioned something that shocked me. He echoed exactly what I was thinking. Our country is being run by a bunch of cowards. People who are afraid of taking personal risks, people who try to cover up their mistakes rather than admitting them and who don't think twice about hurting other people who are weaker than themselves.

Worse still are their enablers. The media voices and scribes embedded with company management. The intellectuals in the comfort of their think tanks who are funded from a distance by the moneyed elite who imagines every scenario that somehow, somebody will figure out how to take their fortune away. Thus, we have the War On Drugs. Created by the finest propagandists money can buy and funded by American citizens to be used against American citizens only in cases of extreme emergency. Keeping the infrastructure in place all the while lubed with the lives of the poor.

Then today after lunch, I discover that we have a local hero right here in San Antonio. A writer by the name of Bill Conroy who is an editor with the local Business Journal turns out to be the man who as a freelancer uncovered the original story of the "House of Death" years ago. Turns out the article in The Observer plagiarized his work from an website called The NarcoSphere. here. Turns out the DEA paid Mr. Conroy a visit a couple of times. More than likely he must have been concerned about being classified as an enemy combatant.

It's nice to know there are men like Bill Conroy in journalism. I'm wondering if he might be part Indian.

Could You Say That Again?

2006-12-05T22:52:00.000-06:00

More than 100 Southern Baptist leaders gathered in Arlington at Cornerstone Baptist Church today. They put aside issues like aid to the poor, tutoring low income children or winter homeless shelters and instead focused on the pressing problem of speaking in tongues. Evidentially, this issue threatens to split Pentecostals from the Baptist side of the family. Prayer language, as described in 1 Corinthians 14, could be the answer to any number of social problems including global warming. Personally, I still haven't mastered conversational Spanish so speaking to god is something I consider completely out of my league.

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

2006-12-05T20:57:00.000-06:00

The issue of the M-16 jamming during the Vietnam War was never really settled in my mind. I remember hearing about it off and on mostly from my anti-war friends during my college days. Somehow, the idea that the armed forces would supply it's soldiers with faulty rifles seemed prosperous and I wrote the idea off as urban legion.

As a matter of curiosity, I did a web search today and came across a two part autobiography by a retired marine by the name of Dick Culver. here Sadly, I was wrong. Anticipating a firefight knowing that your weapon will more than likely completely shut down at some point would have been enough to convince me to apply for Thailand citizenship. Particularity after reporting the problem after seeing your friends dying in combat and being told that you are the incompetent for not keeping your rifle clean.

Who knows how many American boys were slaughtered during the years it took for the military to admit first, that it had made a mistake and second, to correct their error by supplying the troops with the correct ammunition. We are seeing the same sort of behavior with today's leadership and their enablers in the press with an added twist; character traits like honor, integrity and fairness are completely foreign to them. As a result, their style of leadership is based upon the only way know, fear.

Distractions

2006-12-04T18:24:00.000-06:00

John Bolton resigned today. In a statement President Bush exclaimed that he is "deeply disappointed" that a handful of senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved. Somebody needs to tell President Bush that he is using worn out spin vocabulary. With us or against us, cut and run, fight them there or fight them here; these are all deflated 109th congress think tank expressions. If the Heritage Foundation or AEI can't come up with something new, then the president needs to find a part time articulator until they do.

In the case of John Bolton, something like "pull my finger" seems an appropriate response to the senate blocking his nomination. John Bolton bullied and belittled his staff, a style known as management by personality flaw. His strong suit was a knack for the petty and a volatile temper. It's no wonder Hugh Hewitt and the guardians of truth were prepared to raise money for his salary and put it in trust should Ambassador Bolton once again be appointed during recess. There are only a handful of people in the country who know everything. It's only natural that they should want to stick together.

Once again, the media and our people are distracted with a poor decision that should have never been made. In the meantime, no mention today of the real problems our country faces at home and internationally. Mexico, for example, appears to be slipping further into chaos. From my perch in San Antonio, I receive a rather unique view. My mother and father-in law were both born there and visit on a regular basis. Rose (my wife) and I, are also visited regularly by relatives from different parts of Mexico. As a non-Spanish speaking Englishman, I started from scratch learning about the Mexican culture.

One thing we are always hearing is how violent Mexico is becoming, more so than at anytime in the past. This they attribute to the ever increasing concentration of wealth, lack of jobs and the enormous increase in the drug trade which got an extra boost when the U.S. pushed the production of methamphetamine into Mexico. As a result, there are a number of drug cartels all vying to fill our voracious appetite for recreational drugs.

Mexico's central government, who's newly elected head is conservative president is Flipe Calderon was just sworn into power on Dec. 1 of this year. Add to that a shadow government headed by liberal Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who refused to concede defeat after the last election and claims to represent to poor and unemployed, and it would seem to an untrained geopolitical eye like my own that our neighbor to the south may be facing an unstable if not explosive situation.

So much for Michele Malkin's idea of Reconquista; why exactly would Mexico want to occupy the Southwestern U.S. with their unemployed citizens? Best to give the Gringos what they want.

How Should The Government Proceed When They Decide They Need Information About Us?

2006-12-03T13:49:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to create this blog for a long time and today I've finally gotten started. My reason for doing so is over time I'm hoping to create a dialog between libertarians, conservatives and liberals that explores issues we can all agree on. Politically, I've been a libertarian my entire adult life. As a consequence, I'm use to compromise. However, at this juncture neither conservatives, liberals nor neoconservatives are even meandering close to the libertarian point of view. On the contrary, we are seeing more government intrusion into our lives and being told it is for our own protection.
As a libertarian, this is a source of great irritation for me. So irritating in fact that for the first time in 40 years I voted for Democrats this last election. Being that I've heard absolutely no open debate on this issue on the floor of the House or Senate, I'm interested in the point of view of any conservative or liberal on this issue.
My attitude is that if the government is going to monitor my telephone calls, for example, I need a through explanation as to their reasons why. I would like to hear an extended, open debate on the floor of the House and the Senate. I would like to hear the testimony of the best and brightest constitutional scholars in our country. Finally, I would like to see the legislation voted down.
To my way of thinking there is no level of terror that is worth relinquishing my constitutional rights. To the people who say "Let them listen to my telephone conversations, I've got nothing to hide" I say to you how quickly you dishonor those who have died to protect those freedoms you so flippantly put aside. Are you truly that disrespectful or are you afraid?
I'm interested in comments on this issue. Let me know what you think. Today the news is Homeland Security has been profiling airline passengers for years. The really bad news is, if they make a mistake it's almost impossible to change it. Random thought, these are the same people responsible for Katrina emergency relief.
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