Imagine if...

Bush was the fascist everyone made him out to be. For all of the rhetoric being thrown around you would think that people are being prosecuted just for their writings. Where is the international outrage. For those who do not wish to read, a publisher is in Turkey is facing multiple years in prison for printing a book which describes some Turkish quarters as dirty. Seems reasonable to me. Turkey has some serious house cleaning to do before they should be considered for entrance into the EU.

NY STRIKE

First, I don't see how the union plans on winning this one. They are alienating the people of NY by striking this close before Christmas (not to mention the weather), a judge has imposed a $1 million a day fine???? I think that the Government should either not allow unions for government employees or let them strike. If a union is not allowed to strike then are they really a union. Sort of like the Chinese being referred to as communists. You cant be a free market communist! If a union cannot strike, how is it a union?

Intelligent Design

It seems that the court ruled right in this case. Intelligent design has no place in public schools, it is not hard science, it is not testable therefore leave it to the parents.

Sharon Vs Likud

Sharon has pulled out of the party he helped form and has embraced Shimon Perez an old political foe. It is too early for me to have an informed response but I will have much more to say because this is a huge development. My gut reaction is to believe Sharon has Israels best intersest at heart, but he is a politician.

Hate Crimes

I am no fan of hate crime legislation because I believe it is dangerously close to criminalizing thoughts. That being said, if it is law is should not be applied selectively. It seems the legislation is only intended for white criminals. For example, about two weeks ago six Mexican immigrants were killed by three African Americans, yet the police are quick to say this is not a hate crime. I wonder how law enforcement can tell the motives of the murderers so quickly. (In the interest of full discolsure, I am an American of Mexican descent. There is no doubt in my mind that if the suspects were white this story would be front page of every paper and tv show. As it is, I only heard of this story about 4 days ago. If hate crime legislation is good for the whites then it should be good for minorities, as well.

Sorry Roy

Seeing how I am the major reader of my blog, I would like to apologize to myself for not posting regularly. I have been having an extremely busy semester at school with alot of reading and writing assingments. I will try and be more dedicated (once I get time).

China gains another ally

China has been running an excellent PR campaign the past few years and now it seems to be paying off. Australia has recently begun to seperate its policy on China from that of the U.S.
"in general terms it was made clear that in the unlikely event of a conflict over Taiwan, the US doesn't automatically expect military support from Australia."

At this point I am not so sure the U.S government is ready to tussle over Taiwan. The government rhetoric has been greatly toned down over the past few years. In October of 2004, Colin Powell said
"There is only one China. Taiwan is not independent. It does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation, and that remains our policy, our firm policy."

If I were in Taiwan I would not hold my breath for U.S support. They need to go nuclear and fast. If we do nothing while China takes Taiwan by force then we can kiss all of our Asian influence goodbye. (South Korea, and bases in the "Stans")

California Bans Junk Food in Schools

Begining next fall students at California schools (elementary-high school)will no longer sell soda, candy or other junk food. The lunches will also begin having more fruit and vegetables.

It is about time! I think it is horrible the way the schools feed the children. If only parents would take an interest in the food their children eat we might not have to put every child on ridalin.

Palastinians Murder Arafat

Palastinian militants drug Moussa Arafat out of his home and murdered him in order to punish him for alleged corruption during his days as a seurity chief. The militants claimed they punished him because Abbas did not and that they will be enforcing gods law. Abbas needs to gain control over this country with force. He must disarm the terror groups operating in Gaza and the West Bank. If he cannot control the groups then he needs to call on his Islamic friends, (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia ...) to provide troops and help him dismantle these groups. His plan to bring these terror groups into Palastinian politics could be disasterous. He is showing weakness and they are pouncing on his weaknesses. Of course all of this could be playing right into Israels hand. If Gaza descends into furhter chaos there is no way Israel can give up the West Bank.

Chaos in N.O

After witnessing the total incompetence to control the situation in New Orleans, one has to wonder what would happen if there were a terror attack using WMD's. The total lack of preparation seems ridiculous. The federal and state governments have allegedly been preparing for massive terror attacks yet they cannot get this situation under control?

If people are raping, looting and causing hhavok what would they do after a WMD attack. Maybe it is a good idea to purchase a gun if you have not already done so.

Bush Flooded New Orleans!!!!

Or so I have been reading on the internet. I did however find this article from 2000 which discusses the levee system.

This did not come out of nowhere, these levee's haev been an accident waiting to happen for years so to blame Bush or the war is nonsense. Here is the most telling quote.

"If it were left to residents and city officials, the status quo would prevail. One city official says of the flooding and subsidence, "We are below sea level and we do get floods sometimes, but it's not a real serious problem. You can still purchase flood insurance." Another city official expressed faith in the current levee system."

So my question to all of you Bush haters is, have you no shame?

New Orleans Parish Prison

I must admit I am a news junkie, but there are two stories I cannot get into natural disasters and missing person stories. It is not that I do not symapthize with the victims of Katrina or that I do not believe it is news worthy it just bores me. It is not news that the south east has hurricanes so people live there at their own risk. It is not as if this is the first year of hurricanes. That being said it is probably not the time to debate this as there are still many people suffering through this disaster.

Interestingly enough there was one story which has been buried which is interesting. There are reports that inmates at New Orleans Parish Prison have taken control of the prison and have a guard, his wife and four children hostage.

The problem is that there is no media in this area to confirm these reports. IT appears the inmates want food, water and survival. I am no prison apologist but I do believe that it is human nature to survive and do whatever it takes to survive. If these prisoners have been left to their own device to drown or starve then taking control of the prison seems to be a logical step if they just want food and water. If they are attempting to exploit the situation by rioting and hoping to escape they should be severely punished. However rioting for food, water and survival seems to be alright to me. If I was left in a flooded building I would do whatever was necessary tro survive.

SUV's

Andrew Sullivan.com is going OJ on SUV's today. The general crux of the aruement is SUV's use more gas and therefore they directly help in the funding of roque nations such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Andrews site is even having a contest for the best anti-suv bumper sticker. Is this an accurate assesment?

I think not. There is no doubt that America is a gas loving and consuming nation. We consume enough energy for many nations. If we were to begin monitoring and conserving oil then we could start to untangle our country from these bad regimes. On its face it sounds good, but it is a little naive.

Asia is consuming energy at enormous rates and there consumption will surpass ours in the near future. Their demand for energy can be seen in China's willingness to pay more than market value for an American energy company. The market for oil goes way beyond SUV's and America.

America divorcing themselves from less than friendly oil nations would do nothing to solve any problems going on in the Middle East. To be sure the countries would feel a slight hit if we stopped purchasing their product but there are plenty of addicts to make sure they have large bank accounts. Am I supposed to believe that without US dollars the region is magically going to become a peaceful region? Maybe if we quit purchasing their oil they will begin to direct their anger at Asia?

The most likely scenario for the Middle East with out American engagement is a worsening of human rights violations (if possible)and a further disconnect from the rest of the world. Picture Africa, no oil nobody(no Americans) cares what happens in the Sudan or Liberia or anywhere in Sub-Sahharan Africa. This would truly be a tragic event.

Oil is the only connection the Middle East has with the rest of the world if they did not have this connection then we could grant these compassionate anti-war protestors their wish and allow the Middle East to terrorize their public without so much as a 1 minute headline sandwiched in between a celbrity break-up and missing person story.

Zarqawi Aid Killed!!!!

Iraqi forces have killed a top aid of public enemy #1 Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

I must be in the wrong business, Zarqawi has more top aids than a CEO of an evil multinational corporation. Unfortunately for Zarqawi it seems that good help is hard to find they cannot keep themselves alive long enough to get promoted.

State of Emergency in New Mexico

New Mexico's governor Bill Richardson declared a state of emergency due to the lack of border control. Richardson claims there are drugs being smuggled in, cattle being attacked and crimes being committed due to illegal immigration.

Props to Richardson for taking this bold step. I say bold not because the people reject this plan but because his party and liberal base do not support closing the border. Of course the majority of Americans and especially us living in the border states completely support this move and welcome the rest of the border state governors to do the same.

This came after a huge battle in SoCal over illegal immigration. Unfortunately the hispanic left came out to call everyone who supports sensible border measures a racist. As an American of Mexican descent it embarrasses me to no end to see the hispanic left. Void of any arguments and reduced solely to name calling. I believe the majority of clear thinking hispanics want sensible border policies. Illegal immigration hurts Mexicans more than anyother group of people. This is because the legal immigrants must compete directly with illegal immigrants.

Anyone that lives in a state consumed by illegal immigration realizes that the illegal immigrants are taking jobs that Americans due want such as construction,
painting and landscaping.

Republicans should beware of the democrats outflanking them on immigration thereby taking many voters who care deeply about this issue.

I said no salt

It appears that wife beating is a national sport in sub-Saharan Africa. The NYT reported that a majority of men and many women believe that beating your wife is justified if she is disobedient. Here is the best quote in the article.

"To Kenny Adebayo, a 30-year-old driver in Lagos, the issue is clear-cut. "If you tell your wife she puts too much salt in the dinner, and every day, every day, every day there is too much salt, one day you will get emotional and hurt her," he said. "We men in Africa hate disrespect."

This is multi-culturalism I can dig!

T.O

It seems as Terrell Owens is now public enemy #1, the talk show callers have decided TO needs to stop being greedy and be a man and honor the contract he signed. The only problem is the people who are saying this are ignorant. I have not heard one of these ignorant people calling in and saying the owners need to be men and honor the contract they sign. For example, Peter Warrick was just informed he needs to accept a pay cut or be cut from the team. Or is a contract only a contract when the player signs it.

Next the issue of greed. Are athletes greedy? Sure, but so is the management and every other red blooded capitalist. I have season tickets to the Oakland Raiders and the parking, concessions and ticket prices are always being raised. The owners are not an altruistic bunch of people just looking to help innercity kids become wealthy.

The same hysteria was made about Ricky Williams suddenly retiring before last season. Ricky was made out to be the biggest piece of crap around. People said he betrayed the Dolphins, he betrayed his teammates, etc... I would like to know how much notice Ricky was going to receive when the Dolphins were done with him. Certainly not 1 year, probably not more than 1 month if that.

Where are all the critics going to be when TO is cut before he ever gets to collect the money back loaded in his contract?

Private Property????

A homeowner in Wisconsin placed a blue big bird on his roof. The neighbors complained and went to the city officials to get the bird removed. The man was threatened with a fine of $100 a day.


Laws like this are the threat to private property, they can force certain lawn standards, or forbid flags or birds. The immenent domain ruling by the Supreme Court was only the next logical step. People are so concerned about property values they see nothing wrong with forcing their rules on their community they should not be upset when the courts rule against private property in order to raise money.

ACLU sues NY

The ACLU has sued NY over the random bag searches, claiming they are unconstitutional. The ACLU had better hope that the subways do not get bombed because if they are the ACLU might be lynched. I am not a fan of random bag searches, I believe profiling should be used to determine wether or not someone should be seatched. For example,a 90 year old lady should be profiled as not a terrorist. Profiling may be not be fool proof but it is better than random searches.

Isreali soldier

An Israeli soldier who had deserted his post in protest of the Gaza pullout went on a shooting spree against Arab-Israelis. The soldier was killed by the crowd of horrified onlookers. Arab-Israelis are claiming the police did not sufficiently stop the soldier.

Unfortunately this could be a more common occurance if governments are unable or refuse to provide legitimate security for its population. If you recall last September 12 workers from Nepal were murdered in Iraq and the Nepalese people went ape shit, burning Mosques, sacking muslim owned stores and chanting anti-islamic phrases. If there is another significant attack here I think we will see an increase in vigilante justice.

The Arabs are claiming this is a terrorist attack and were outraged. If only they could be so outraged when it is the Jews who are being bombed, then this problem could be over sooner rather than later.

Gray on Friedman

John Gray takes some shots at Friedmans book "The World is flat".

I must admit that I am a fan of Thomas Friedman and his "neo-liberal" view. I believe that globalization and free markets will lead to a more peaceful and more just world.

Gray writes "Over the past two hundred years, the spread of capitalism and industrialization has gone hand in hand with war and revolution. It is a fact that would not have surprised Marx. Why do Friedman and other neoliberals believe things will be any different in the twenty-first century?"

This is a classic canned argument that can be used against any theory or any time period. Why? Because there have always been wars and revolutions! Violence is a function of humanity. Evidence of wars can be found in every culture on every continent in every time period.(except maybe Tibet, but then we see how good that worked out for them)

Pat Buchanan and CAFTA

Pat Buchanan weighed in on CAFTA which now appears to be a reality.

"And the seductive song the White House is singing sounds familiar. It is the NAFTA theme song. CAFTA will ease the social pressures that have produced waves of illegal aliens. CAFTA will increase U.S. exports. CAFTA will not cost U.S. jobs. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

As a supporter of CAFTA as well as NAFTA I feel I should respond. First off CAFTA will not stop illegal immigration nor will it ease our trade deficit. It will encourage companies to move to Central America. I do agree with Buchanan on these points but I do not think it is bad.

People in Central America, South Asia, China and everywhere in the world need jobs. It is better for the US to encourage countries to intergrate their economies with the civilized world. CAFTA does that. It unites countries by providing similiar rule sets in which to trade. Outsourcing is fact of life, I hate to say it but you isolationists out there have lost! Globalization has united much of the world and is even soothing the savage beast that is China. The only way these 3rd world countries will ever rise out of poverty is through foriegn investment not through foriegn aid. It is better for everyone in the world if more people have jobs, wealth, and open and intergrated economies.

Free trade is not going to instantly drag people out of the sewer but America used to be the cheap labor capital. Workers were paid pennies and corporate giants got wealthy beynd their wildest dreams, (the money they made is still in their families Rockafellers)but slowly but surely workers began to organize and wages grew and our society is better for it.

I find it hilarious that there are people who love capitalism but hate foreign competition. All one has to do is observe China or India to see the benefits of free trade. China and India are much more stable and they are able to feed their societies without welfare from the US. I do not see the world economy as a zero sum game. Other countries can make money while we make money as well.

Next Buchanan resorts to tired scare tacticts:
"Henry Kissinger tipped the Trilateralists' hand in 1993 when he wrote that NAFTA was the "architecture of a new international system," a great "step forward toward the new world order."

People speak of or write of the New World Order as if it is some scary world government coming to enslave us all. I see it as a break from radicalism, a step towards universal human rights and a way towards world peace. The WTO, NATO and various regional orginizations are forms of this NWO. Countries that have economies intergrated with the rest of the world tend to have more rights for women, minorities, gays and basic civil rights. This happens because women, minorities contribute to the economy therefore they are needed. Once a country experiences a growing intergrated economy such as China an India they do not want to go back to their old ways. Countries with intergrated economies do not start wars (exept for us).

Like it or not free markets & free trade are the NEW WORLD ORDER!

Quote of the Day

“… What people call good and evil betrays to me an ancient will to power”

Nietzsche

Gun Control Quote of the Day

I read this in the NYT today and had to laugh!

"The bill would grant gun manufacturers, distributors and sellers an unreasonable degree of immunity from civil suits by families or communities harmed by gun violence. It would even require that lawsuits already filed be dismissed."

Oh the shame of a person being shot by a criminal not being allowed to sue the manufacturer. How do we expect these low-lifes to ever earn a decent living if they are not allowed to sue.

Good signs from Asean confrence

Apparently concerned by Burmas lack of freedom or maybe the civilzed worlds reaction to having a dictator chair the organization the Asean countries have forced Burma to forgoe their leadership positition until they have democratic reforms.
The 10 countries in the organization are :Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,Vietnam

The civilzed world needs to keep up pressure on these rogue leaders. There should be no room for dictators in the 21st century. Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America your time is coming the world can no longer look the other way while repressive leaders remain in place.

60 Minutes

"And if some of that useful information is gleaned by torture, that's OK?" asks Scott Pelley 60 Minutes corespondent.

"It's okay with me, I'm responsible for protecting Americans" said former senior CIA official Michael Scheuer.

If George Bush said that his poll numbers would jump 10 points. As for being angry that terrorists are being snatched and returned to their homeland, that is ridiculous, the left better not try to make that a campaign issue.

If an American criminal is caught in Egypt my guess is he would be extradited to the US for punishment. Logic tells us that if an Egyptian criminal is caught then that person should be brought back to Egypt. The people that the CIA are kidnapping are not human rights activists but terrorists. Torture is a tactic they promote therefore I shall shed no tears for them. If the CIA was taking American citizens to Egypt for torture that would be completely different. If the CIA was not doing this they would not be doing their job.

Is London Inviting Terror Attacks

After the 2nd attempt to blow up Londons transit system. I have to ask is London inviting attacks? The day of the original attacks the Mayor of London made unwavering remarks against the terror attacks. Now just two weeks later the mayor sounds like Chamberlin.

Every newsreport reminds us that the Brits are dealing with these attacks bravely and honorably. This is starting to seem like bull shit to me. Their own laws wont let them deport a radical cleric who went on tv and said he hates the UK and that they are going to get more of these attacks.

When you get hit in the mouth and turn the other cheek that is weakness not bravery. Weakness incites more attacks. The radicals are attempting to spread their ideology through violence and fear, this is the same way gang bangers, convicts or any predators spread their message.

It would do the Brits some good to get pissed off and put an end to radical clerics in their country. At the very least get pissed off. It seems many consider the expression of anger to be weak. It is true that anger is usually fear or hurt but it is still a usefull emotion. It is usually people who have been raised in a nice safe suburban setting and have never been hit in the mouth that think this way. Anyone who had to fight growing up knows you have to fight back to bullys or it just insights more violence against you.

Where are the soccer thugs when you need them?

Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock...

Like I said before it wont be long until China joins the civilized world. The economic prosperity China almost garauntees that in 15yrs China will not be the same China we know now. Here is one more brick in the wall.

Just What England Needs

A Muslim unity convention in Manchester on Aug.7 planned to have Yusuf al-Qaradawi, 79, speak at the convention. al-Qaradawi openy supports suicide bombings against the Jews and the West. This is just what England needs one month after the suicide bombings in London. There are growing cries for the government to ban him, like the US has done. If the euros really allow for this to happen then I fear they do not have the political will to help win this war. The Brits are our strongest ally and they cannot let this happen.

Could it be a Hispanic

Who oh who will it be? I for one am hoping Bush nominates Judge Emilion Garza. I would love to see a American of Mexican descent on the court. I dont know if this makes me a racist but I dont think so.

Venezuela

Everybodies favorite new heroe, Hugo Chavez, seems to be insourcing medical care. Apparently he is giving Cuba 90,000 barrells of oil a day inorder to have their doctors come over and treat the poor.

It seems to be that at $50 a barrel and 90,000 barrells a day, that is enough money a day to help all of the poor in Venezuela.

More of this will help...

Sir Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain said they had received the latest news from the police with "anguish, shock and horror".

He said: "It appears our youth have been involved in last week's horrific bombings against innocent people.

"While the police investigation continues we reiterate our absolute commitment and resolve to helping the police bring to justice all involved in this crime of mass murder. Nothing in Islam can ever justify the evil actions of the bombers."

These kind of stamements can only help the Muslim community. So often these statements are followed by a but or if... Only through complete condemnation will the shadow leave their community. That does not mean the arab world has no valid complaints. What it means is the time to address grievences is not after a terror attack. When people do that it suggests a partnership in ideology.

Chinese Activists Demand Apology

Chinese-American activists in the Bay Area and across the world have been united in oppossing Japans elevation to permanent member of the UN Security Council. They are demanding that Japan apologize for the atrocities they committed during WWII.

Have you no shame!!!! How can any Chinese person demand another country apologize for their past behavior while their current behavior on Tibet, Taiwan & free political expression remains so poor. If it wasnt true it would be hilarious!

ITS ALIVE!!!!!

Just when you thought it was dead the EU constitution rears its ugly head. Luxembourg voted to affirm the constitution with 56% in favor.

I am not sure of the significance of this vote yet but I am starting to believe the EU along with European leadership will try and bring the cosntitution in through the back door. The rational will be a majority of countries voted for it therefore it should be majority rules. So will the people allow this to happen?

Muslims must solve their own problems...

I hate to admit it but I am agreeing with Tom Friedman more and more. This article only reinforces my recent agreements with him.

This is the way to die-hard

The family of Die hard Pitt. Steeler fan, James Henry Smith, gave him a send off he deserved. Instead of viewing him in a casket, they had him on a recliner in front of a TV watching Steeler highligts, classic!

The London Left

Norman Geras a pro-war Brittish liberal details the reasons he supports the war.

Is the UK Spain???

So will the Brits stand up or do the spanish face down ass up dance? Personally I think the UK will not fold, these attacks are nothing compared to the bombings they suffered from NAZI Germany. It will be interesting to see the political fall out.

The Euros PT2

Maybe the Euros have some good reasons to want these illegal immigrants out of their country. New Zealands only muslim MP claimed the Koran was right in saying gays should be stoned to death. Dont you just love diversity.

Fraternal Triplets Seperated by 13 Years!!!!!

In what is the longest wait in the history of triplets. Jeffery & Carleigh Beasley are 13 years old and entering junior high while their sister Laina is just five months old.

Captor or Murderer

Just as reports linking newly elected Iranian president with the 1970s hostage situation die down, Austria has begun investigating the new pres. on the murder of a Kurdish-Iranian exile.

Gay Pride in Jerusalem

An orthodow Jewish protestor was charged with attempted murder after stabbing three people taking part in the gay pride parade in Jerusalem.

There was nothing I loved more than violent peace protestors, now add violent religious protestors to that list.

I love the French

Well at least for now. Speaking to Russian & German leaders Chirac said
"The only thing the Brittish have ever giving farming is mad cow." & "You can't trust people who cook as badly as that," he said. "After Finland, it's the country with the worst food.

Blair responded by saying, "Particularly at this moment I don't want to get tempted down that path."



Classic! Chirac is to much, just once I would love to hear Bush say something like that!

The Euros

I am constantly being told the US needs to be more like Europe from my liberal friends & Family. Well if Europe keeps this up maybe I will agree. The big 5 European countries have agreed to join forces and combat illegal immigration.

Immigration was a big factor in the recent NO votes (by no means the biggest) and the growing distrust of the proposed constitution. The problem is Europe has declining growth rates and needs immigrants in order to keep the economy running smoothly.

Fox News

You have got to love FoxNews, first they report all morning that both Idaho children have been found then when they are contradicted they act as if they never said it. Would it kill Fox to stop covering Hollywood & missing persons and cover some real news!

The First Shots

"If the president nominates someone who threatens to roll back the rights and freedom of the American people, the American people will insist we oppose that nominee, and we will do so," Ted Kennedy said.

"Ronald Reagan was arguably the most conservative president of our time and he chose someone who was confirmed with a vote of 99-nothing," Senator Dodd said. "That's the standard."

Oh how soon we all forget or so they think. Just because everyone was kissing Reagans ass when he died doesnt mean we forget all of the abuse they dished out at him while he was president. It is funny to see the dems rush to use the Reagan card.

Let the games begin!!!

The resignation of Sandra Day O'Conner officially marks the start of all of the phony posteruring and ridiculous rhetoric from the donkeys and elephants. It does make for good television.

1970's Hostage Crisis Awakens

Although I was alive I was much to young to remember the Iran hostage crisis in the 70's. Well all of us that missed it might be watching the second birth with new reports that the newly elcected president of Iran is a former captor.

Four former hostages have come out and said this is him while one former hostage says no. Retired army colonel Chuck Scott told AP news agency, "There's no question about it. You could make him a blond and shave his whiskers, put him in a zoot suit and I'd still spot him."

This is far from confrimed, but if FoxNews can stop covering the missing in Aruba story maybe we could actually find something out.

Aid to Africa

President Bush announced today that the US would double its aid to Africa by 2010. I think Bush was exactly right when he said that aid alone is not going to do anything. Hopefully countries pooring aid into Africa can find a way to make the leaders accountable for their spending. Aid is not the answer it only amounts to welfare payments, which these states become dependent on. For Africa to thrive they need significant foreign investment, which will not come until there is some stability.

Unfortunately most americans react one of two ways to foreign investment. 1. I don't want to lose MY job to a foreigner. 2. Foreign investment is just a corporate rip off. I wonder if people begrudge foreign companies for investing in America? Africa, the Middle East, parts of South & Central America & Asia will not prosper or be able to get themselves off of international welfare until they attract foreign investment. They will not do that until there is stability and protections for corporations willing to invest there money in these regions.

Yet one more for China

As I said in a previous blog, states that are more connected with the outside world tend to have more rights for women, minorities, etc...This is because women and minorities are needed in the workforce and people that contribute to the economy are protected because their contributions are needed. Economies cannot fully develop without participation from all groups in society.

China is moving to outlaw sexual harrasment for the first time. Currently China has no such laws on the books even though polls suggest it is a wide spread problem. This reinforces my argument for CAFTA, it is superior to have states connected with the outside world.

I repeat it wont be long until China is free. I am fearful of the Taiwan situation, but I think it is the Taiwaneses country to lose. Both Taiwan and the US should ease pressure on China and let it come down from within.

Even though I believe Taiwan should be independent, now is not the time for them to push the issue. It would be a big mistake for them to give the Chinese government a foreign enemy to focus the countries attention on instead of the oppressive government they currently have. If Taiwan can just sit back and wait for the people to bring it down then their job will be significantly easier. The same goes with the US government we should kill them with kindness and watch the fun!

China Connected

Like I just said I believe it is only a matter of time before the last bastion of communism (if it can still be callled that) will fall and here is more proof.

This goes back to my CAFTA arguement. The more connected a society the more chance that they will be peaceful and respectful of individual rights (although my arguement was greatly influenced by Thomas Barnett). China will have to face the music soon. The only way the government could go back is to stop all of this recent economic advancement and that will not happen. It wont be long now!

The time is coming for China

As I have recently said it wont be long until China is outsourcing their labor to somewhere cheaper. There was another riot in China, the riot was caused by a traffic dispute but it is said that incidents like this are on the rise in China because of the growing gap between rich and poor. It wont be long until the Chinese are rioting for better pay and more self expression. These riots remind me of the riots in the US in the late 19th and early 20th century.

I no longer believe China to be the big threat they are made out to be. The all mighty dollar will bring them around. Can you say the grip is loosening.

More on CAFTA

Another argument against CAFTA, "The promise(NAFTA): higher exports of consumer durables would lead to an increase in manufacturing jobs in the US. The reality: the US has suffered approximately 800,000 NAFTA-related job losses in the manufacturing sector."

The American manufacturing industry will never be as it once was the sooner people accept that fact the better off we will all be. This has nothing to do with CAFTA OR NAFTA, it does have to do with global free trade. One reason NAFTA has not produced more jobs or higher wages in Mexico is because China is still king of cheap effecient labor.

After decades fighting the spread of communism with both money and lives, it seems many Americans cannot bring themselves to support the idea that developing countries deserve jobs not just international welfare. Capitalism is not perfect and for countries experimenting with free-markets there will be kinks but they can be worked out. US history is proof of that.

Iraq

While many Americans are beginning to sour on Iraq, hopefully Bush can get his lazy ass in front of the cameras and help sell the war more often. He should be holding these primetime speeches every two months until this war is over. The only way we lose this war is to lose it at home.

Comment of the day

"You make a lot of assumptions about CAFTA - namely, that it actually is a free trade agreement, and that it will be a boon to the average Central American. I think both assumptions are questionable at best."

I guess you missed my main assumption that CAFTA will make Central America more connected with the rest of the world and that is always a good thing. Regions more connected with the rest of the world tend to have more rights for women, minorites and basic civil liberties. Regions disconnected tend to have no such protections for example, Africa, Middle East, (parts of)Asia.

I hate to agree with a democrat but ...

Barrack Obama, the Illnois Senator wrote: "I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator," Obama said. "As a law professor and civil rights lawyer and as an African-American, I am fully aware of his limited views on race. Anyone who actually reads the Emancipation Proclamation knows it was more a military document than a clarion call for justice."

I completely agree anyone who reads the document knows that nowhere in the document does it mention freeing all the slaves, just the ones from the states in rebellion.

For honest Abe to be portrayed as the great emancipator is crap. To imply that he is the main reason for the end of slavery is to spit in the face of the thousands of white and black people who dedicated their lives to fighting Slavery.

CAFTA PT3

An anonymous blogger wrote, "Among other corporate give-aways granted under CAFTA are "investor" protections which allow corporations to sue local governments over estimates of *future* lost profits." To bolster that claim the anonymous blogger wrote, "For example, waiting eagerly for the passage of CAFTA is Harken Energy, which has a lawsuit pending against the government of Costa Rica. Harken's proposal to drill for oil Costa Rica's rich marine eco-systems spectacularly flunked environmental review by the democratically elected government of Costa Rica. So Harken has a lawsuit against Costa Rica for $57 billion - that's right, *billion* - dollars. This is to cover the $12 million Harken already invested in the venture, as well as what it estimates are its lost future profits."

Although the person makes some good points, I would respectfully disagree. Underdeveloped countries such Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honderus, etc... stand the best chance of becoming economically developed if they allow foreign investment. Significan foreign investment will never happen as long as these countries do not play by the same rules as the rest of the world. For example, many companies were hesistant to invest in Russia when it first became free. The reason is because there were not sufficient rules or laws in place to protect investors.

Here is another part of the comment against CAFTA, "CAFTA is actually highly protectionist - that is, it protects the rights of the transnational corporations who basically wrote it, to the detriment of local democracy. For example, CAFTA seeks to protect the pharmaceutical industry from competition by legal generic brands."

This goes back to what I said about common set of rules. Of course these countries are not going to be able to rip-off the formula for new drugs and create generic drugs much cheaper. They will have to wait just like anyone else. There needs to be protections on intellectual properties and patents.

Sure all of the international laws might not be good or they might be exploited but if the alternative is the world pretending these undeveloped countries do not exist this is a much worse scenario. The comment also complains about a pending lawsuit against California by Canada. Canada feels free to invest here because they know they have some recourse if something bad happens. Just because someone sues does not gaurauntee that they will win the law suit.

The more people play that by the same rules, the more people that play! Transnational corporations will be the people investing money into underdeveloped countries to make them developed, they should have protections.

CAFTA II

When Pat Buchanan and Michael Savage agree with the left-wing of the democrat party you know something is up. Savage has been railing against CAFTA for quite sometime and he has lots of liberal company. Here is Nancy Pelosi's take:

"...most Democrats are opposed to CAFTA on the grounds that its labor provisions are not strong enough. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said on Thursday that 90 percent of party members in the House could vote against the pact." From the Washington Post.

Savage always say when the dems & repubs agree the people are getting screwed, well the same could be said about this. There is no reason to shut out Central America from the rest of the world. Free-trade agreements allow countries to begin implenting international rule sets for trade and start intergrating their economies. This can only be a good thing. Outsourcing is a fact of capitalism, it is not a bad thing.

It must suck to lose a nice paying job to someone in another country but other people need jobs too. Many complain about giving so much in foreign aid every year, well foreign direct investment is private money and is superior to the US giving welfare to the poor nations. Historically companies have tended to invest in North America, Europe and South Asia. The poor regions, Central America, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia have had a much lower investment levels. Now thanks to these free trade agreements Central America can begin to enjoy more investment and hopefully a better future. We should hope that these poor countries can lift themselves out of the global gutter and begin to fully support themselves.To end the welfare payments we need to help bring these other nations into the WTO and begin allowing them to compete in the world market.

The problems these poor nations face is the same as the problems poor people face, that is coming up with money to use in order to create proper infrastructure and proper security to support economic growth. At the end of the 90's foreing direct investments had outpaced official developmental aid by $4-$1. This means the most efficient ways to get poor regions such as Central America is through foreing direct investments.

I am not so naive to believe that CAFTA alone is going to solve the problems of Central America, just as NAFTA did not turn Mexico into a thriving economic power. That being said this the first positive step in the right direction. Undeveloped nations need to become more connected with the rest of the world not less. The WTO is a great place to start the connection.

Once the US was the cheap labor capital of the world, soon China will be outsourcing, if we play are cards right hopefully to a more intergrated Africa and Latin America. Only then will the inequality in the world begin to shrink.

Former Klansman gets 60 years

Former Klansman,Edgar Ray Killen, an 80 year old Mississippi man was sentanced to 60 years in prison for his role in murdering three civil rights workers in 1964.

Good ridance, it is always nice to see scumbags taken off the streets!

San Francisco Fire Chief is a Husband Beater!

My how times have changed. Who would have thought that the police would receive an emergency call from the spouse of the fire chief for spousal abuse and the spouse is the Husband.

It is rather ironic the cities first female fire chief would be accused of beating her husband. I thought women were going to bring more common sense and less testosterone.

AIDS = Diabetes?????

Andrew Sullivan wrote an excellent piece in the advocate. Here is my favorite line: "But the bottom line is that HIV is fast becoming another diabetes."

He wrote this article in response to a this quote. "People are in such denial about how serious HIV is. Unfortunately, the best prevention is seeing people die.”
—Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Even though I honestly did not know that HIV was so treatable that statement is wrong on so many accounts. It seems that people really want to use revolutionary tactics and rhetoric no matter the cause. It is a shame because it makes the AIDS Healthcare Foundation appear radical. I can say the campaign against HIV has scared the crap out of me and I only have hetrosexual sex. I will not pretend to be an expert but I can say as a product of the Nancy Reagan (I do Love the Gipper) Just Say No! campaign. Most of what I learned about drugs turned out to be half-truths and scare-tactics, so I would not be surprised if the same thing is going on here.

I also did not realize that HIV patients use steroids. Andrew claims the steroids have bulked him up to weigh 190 lbs although he did not say how much he weighed previously.

All Hale Supreme Court

The Supreme Court in all of its wisdom ruled today (5-4) that cities may sieze private property from residents in order to sell that property to a business to use for commercial purposes.

What a disgrace!!!!!!!!!!

10 Years and Loving It

Congratulations to Al Davis who ten years ago today signed a letter of intent to bring the Raiders back to Oakland.

Woman sues for 100 Grand

Apparently, Norreasha Gill 28, of Kentucky is not only a gullible idiot but she also does not have a shred of dignity. Gill was the tenth caller in a radio station contest for which they said she would receive 100 Grand. When she picked up her prize it was a 100 Grand CandyBar.

Of course she had no choice but to sue for breach of contract. What a loser! How much of a leech do you have to be to sue over a radio statio prank. I can only imagine the type of values this lady is teaching her three children. Welfare here they come.

Bull Shit is Full of Shit

"The main problem with the Patriot Act is that it gives law enforcement power to do things that it hasn't been able to do before," Marsha Hoffman said on an episode of Penn & Tellers Bull Shit. Penn then implied that this is a sane and correct position.

Excuse me, wasn't that the whole point of passing the Patriot Act? It is perfectly reasonable for law enforcement to have the ability to tap cell phones, the sneak and peak provision is common sense. If law enforcement were to inform a terror suspect his house had been searched the suspect would get rid of anything incriminating and could alert fellow accomplices of the investigation. This is the dumbest argument I have heard and to Penn & Teller I call Bull Shit!

I do think there should be judicial oversight before law enforcement performs any type of search, such as sneak & peak home searches or tapping of cell phones.

Hypocrits of the Week

It seems that this has been the year of the hypocrit, there have been several conservative republicans outed as gay and now we have two PETA employees, Andrew Benjamin Cook 24 & Andria Joy Hinkle 27 both of Virginia, charged with 31 felony counts of animal cruelty. Apparently these two PETA employees have been dumping dead cats & dogs in the local dumpster. Police found 18 dead animals in the dumpster and 13 more in the PETA van. FullStory

I hope it is time for PETA to shut up. I love animals and I believe anyone hurting them should go to jail, but these guys take it to far. My favorite is when they claim to be a vegetarian for humanitarian reasons but fail to recognize plants as living things, which can feel pain and be killed.

Iran Elections

Today Iranians went to the polls to choose a new president. I believe it is a shame that there is not the same outcry denouncing these elections the way the Iraq elections were denounced. Turnout will be key to this election. Many students and human rights activists are calling for boycotts of this phony election.

France's Hypocricy On Front Street

It seems the other leaders in Europe have seen the hypocrocy in the recent statments of Chirac calling for the UK to refund their EU rebate while claiming France's farm subsidies are off the table. FullStory

Schiavo Results

The resluts have come out and Terri was in a persistent vegetative state. The autopsy also cleared the husband of any wrong doing. I do not understand how the doctors can tell how she got in this state so many year later.

I would never want to live like that and would definitely prefer to be dead. It seems that all of the people who said she was not in a vegetative state were wrong. I have not heard many pundits or politicians rushing to report how wrong they were. (no surprise)It was awful the way Terri was exploited for personal gain. Her "husband" should also count himself as one of the people who should feel like a scumbag.

His argument was since he is the husband he should get to decide her fate. On the face of the argument I have no quarrells. But under the surface it seems different. Mike Schiavo claimed he neeeded the millions he was suing the hospital for because he was going to take care of Terri for the rest of her life. When he does not get the millions (he got 1 million) then he remembers that Terri told him she would not want tolive like that. Their is no sanctity in a marriage where one partner has kids and has been living another person for a decade. I believe the parents should have had the legal decision making power for her, but in the end I think it was right for her to be allowed to die. I only wish she would have been allowed to die with dignity.

Child Sacrifices??

The BBC reports that the African and Asian communities are importing children to the UK in order to sacrifice them. Some in the African community believe if they sleep with children they will be cured of HIV. FullStory

EU Leaders At it Again

Wow these EU elites must be taking a page out of the democrats play book. They have decided to extend the deadline to ratify the EU constitution FullStory.

Extend the deadline? These guys are really out of touch. It seems that they know what is best for Europe even if the people in Europe do not know it yet. This just reinforces my belief that the UK must hold the referendum, in order to kill this constitution once and for all.

Grandpa Adoption Goes Bad

Last year Giorgio Angelozzi placed an ad in the paper looking for a family to adopt him. After offers came in from across the world, he accepted an offer to join a family in Spirano. Now he has fled and is accused of stealing checks from another family. I cannot believe the situation did not work out. FullStory

Chinese Riots

Chinese riots between farmers and men in camouflage wearing hard hats. The dispute is allegedly over land, which an electric company bought in order to put a power plant there.

This reminds me of the America at the onset of the industrial revolution. It wont be long until Chinese businesses begin outsourcing labor to countries that can provide cheaper labor.

Not Guilty

I cannot believe that MJ got cleared on all counts I thought or sure he would be convicted on at least some of the charges. I do believe this was the right decision because the prosecution never proved this case. Many say it was completely the mothers fault, but that is BS. Every witness the defense called was tainted, with tabloid money, lawsuits or changing stories.

The media seems to blame the jury for acquitting MJ, it is not the jury's fault the DA did not prove their case. The jury was not deciding if he is a child molestor but rather did he molest Gavin. People should direct their anger at the prosecution for putting on an extremely weak case.

EU Debate on UK Rebate

"It is very difficult," Tony Blair said. "The meeting I have just had with President Chirac was immensely amicable, but obviously there was a sharp disagreement.

"I think it is difficult to see these differences being bridged, but of course we continue to talk to people including the presidency about it."

Chirac expects the UK to return their refund negotiated by Thatcher, while Chirac claims farming subsidies, which France is the main benefactor are off the table. If Chirac is unwilling to give back his subsidies why would the UK even consider giving back the rebate. The EU is reeling, I still think the UK should move forward with their referendum just to kill the EU once and for all.

More on Mike Tyson

“You guys define me as a fighter. You know, I look at my fans and they don’t love me. They don’t know me well enough to love-.they love what I do. I’m a professional- they come to be entertained. I’m an entertainer. They won’t let me into their house; they won’t let me marry or go out with their daughters. I entertain them.”

Not true, Mike you have an open invitation to my house. Your true fans don't want to see you fight any more, do missionary work and be happy.

Mike Tyson

"I do not have the guts to be in this sport anymore," Mike Tyson said. "I don't want to disrespect the sport that I love. My heart is not into this anymore. I'm sorry for the fans who paid for this. I wish I could have done better. I want to move on with my life. It's time to move on with my life and be a father, take care of my children."


It kills me to see Tyson go out like this but everyone paying attention knew this was coming, although most did not think McBride, a fighter hand picked for Tyson to KO instantly, would finish Tyson off. Hopefully Tyson learns to manage his money because this is sure to be his last big pay day.

Not even the biggest Tyson fan can realistcly believe Tyson could beat any fighter in the top 50.

Is it only me??

Am I the only one who finds it somewhat ironic that people are spending hours each day blogging about the urine on the Koran. The Arab street is pissed off (news flash)& many Americans are as well. I find it sad no one is as outraged at the bombs going off in Mosques. This seems much worse than pee on a koran which was given to a muslim by the infidel US government. Until the Arab street realizes that bombing Mosques is worse than pee on a Koran they will be in trouble.

HYPOCRISY GONE WILD

The state of Texas convicted a 19 year-old on two counts of murder Monday, sentencing him to life in prison. Gerardo Flores intentionally terminated his girlfriends four month pregnancy of twins at her request. The state of Texas did not and could not charge Erica Basoria 17, of any crime because it is her right to terminate the pregnancy. Flores' lawyer argued it could not be determinned whether the blows from Basoria or Flores terminated the pregnancy therefore he should get off. The jury disagreed.FullStory

EXCUSE ME!!!! The woman cannot be charged? There is no sane argument that can be made in defense of such an injustice.

Let me get this straight, a fetus is a life when the boyfriend strikes it, a crime punishable by life in prison. If the woman decides she is not ready then she can decide it is not a life and have a doctor perform an abortion. I have been pro-choice all my life but this is unfair and the woman should not have a constitutional right to do whatever she wants with the fetus. The fetus is a seperate entity and if it is a not a life when a woman or a doctor terminate the pregnancy then it is not a life when a man does it.

Why the French Lose Wars

"The masculine ideal is being completely modified. All the traditional male values of authority, infallibility, virility and strength are being completely overturned," said Pierre Francois Le Louet, the agency's managing director.

Yikes, metrosexuality is running wild, at least in Europe. No matter how hard they try I will never be ashamed of my masculinity. It seems as though some would like to do away with the differences among men and women.

I believe men do need to refocus our gender but not towards feminism, leave that for the women.

Nevada Gives Free College Education

The last bastion of socialism in Nevada lives. Any resident of Nevada will continue to recieve a free college education as long as they maintain a GPA of 2.75 and students do not even need a social security number to get the scholarship.

It is a little troubling since I am paying $12,500 a year to go attend the school. I have no problems with Nevada residents getting free educations, (although I believe they should raise the GPA up to 3.0) but it is a little disheartening to see illegal immigrants recieving a free education while I have to pay extra because I am from another state.

But you know what they say, life is not fair.

For what its worth

"The scale of this killing was so extensive, and its nature was so indiscriminate and disproportionate, that it can best be described as a massacre," Human Rights Watch [HRW] said in its report, presented at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday. (In reference to the Uzbekistan Protestors killed)

I wonder what would happen if the pysho-protestors in this country actually protested in a country that banned free speech, like Uzbekistan, my bet is they would be silent.

The Intellectual

Wouldn't you know it. John "The Intellectual" Kerry released his college grades and there were 5 D's. Let the libs tell it and W is a moron for getting a C, looks like we dodged a close one.

Hezbollah Ticket Sweeps S Lebanon?????

This is the moment all of the anti-war liberals have been waiting for. Democracy appears in the Middle East and a militant theocracy is elected.

OOOPS, they only won 17 seats, but at least the control 17 out of the 128 seats available. We all knew the Shia would vote in Hezbollah in the south but we also knew Hezbollah will be marginalized in Lebanon after the elections.

It is the other Euros I cannot stand

"We have to evaluate the message from the people to us... then I think we have to continue the ratification," Luxembourg's foreign minister said.

The message from the people is to stop ratifying the constitution. These EU elites dont know how to say "No Mas".

That being said it appears that the British should vote on the constitution just to be clear the message is being received. A no from Britain would definitely KO this constitution.

Love the British (just not in boxing)

"I may no longer practice medicine, but I can tell a corpse when I see one and this constitution is a case for the morgue if ever I saw one - this is a dead constitution," Jack Straw told British MPs.

He said this in response to chirac & Schroeder claiming the ratification of the EU constitution should continue despite the no votes.

Couldn't we be more like Europe.

Scary Thought

In the NYT, Betsy McCaughey claims that 1 out of 20 hospital patients contract an infection during their hospital stay, while hospital infections kill 130,000 people each year, more than AIDS, breast cancer, and auto accidents combined. And this is only in the United States.

Bob Herbert Rises to Dumb-Ass

Herbert wrote in the NYT about the increasingly difficult time Americans are having rising out of their social standing.

It seems that some will never be able to forget those Bush tax cuts. I know there are lots of people out there that feel the rich should have to pay at least 70% of their income to the government.

To you, I say, get a damn job and quit worrying about it being hard. Herbert seems to have done alright for himself, but us normal peons could never dream of being as smart or hardworking as Bob.

Conservatives 4 Pot

Well, well if anyone ever says you can never count on a liberal, believe em.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against medical marijuana and not one of the rat liberals voted for medical marijuana. True conservatives understand the value of states rights, it is a shame liberals want the federal government to have complete control over everything.

Supreme Court Says No to Marijuana

The Supreme Court delivered a fatal blow to the marijuana movement ruling the federal government could prosecute people legally prescribed marijuana by their doctors under state law.

Although the fight is far from over Marijuana advocates need to regroup. I believe the fight should be contained solely at state levels until many more states legalize medical marijuana. Next, a state will have to attempt to completely legalize, not for medicine but for recreation, then there will be a chance. Sane decisions have a way of taking time to pass.

The Bull Shit is the court used the interstate commerce objection to strike down the law. Never mind that they were reviewing people who should be growing marijuana for their own personal use not to sell especially out of state.

If a person go to the bar and legally drink 5 shots of Tequilla then a person should be able to smoke a bowl.

Ricky Hatton

So Englands little darling finally fought and beat somebody tough. Isn't that cute! Get over it Manchester he still sucks and he loves to fight bums. Please fight Chico next!

The Koran

So the Pentagon has just announced that the Koran was in fact somewhat mishandled. Who cares?

If mainstream muslims believe this is significant and would like to join the Jihad after hearing that news then they deserve to blow themselves up. I don't believe this news is going to make the muslims go ape-shit.

The Euros

Wow, the Euro elite seems determined to ratify the constitution no matter how many states vote no. EU officials are now saying the two no votes does not mean the constitution is automatically dead. What? They would not have the audacity to back door the European people would they?

The new constitution would give the EU a foreign minister and a full time president. The constitution is also worded in such a way that it would have to be serious changes in Europe down the line. There is a clause that says:

"The Union shall have competence to define and implement a common foreign and security policy, including the progressive framing of a common defence policy." (from BBC)

The EU officials swear that common foreign policy does not mean common just sort of common.

People opposed the constitution for a variety of reasons, for example many French voted no because they do not want free markets. Others did not want to give their sovereignty to Brussells. What ever their reasons I am happy to see it rejected.

The U.S of Europe is dead. Props to Europe!

CNN

It appears CNN is attempting to change things up. I flipped on today and it was Judy Woodruff's last day, next, Crossfire comes on the air and announces this will be the last show (about time). Hopefully CNN decides to do some serious news stories and much more international stories. There is definitely a void in the cable news market for a serious news channel. Fox news is a complete joke, half of their stories are naked women or celeberity stories. Fox is supposed to be a right-wing station, yeah right, Fox has gone Hollywood, they suck!

OOOPS

Sorry Arthur Anderson you were screwed. Unfortunatley, there is nothing that can be done now. This whole situation reminds me of an old west hanging. The guilt or innocence was not the question, someone needs to be punished so someone is hung.

NON

Viva La France!!!!!

XBOX

I have been meaning to post more lately but I have become addicted to my xbox and more specifically Fable! Hours of fun, highly recommended.

Sanity Prevails

Finally the military has come correct. Murder charges on Lt. Pantano have been dropped. Charging soldiers with murder during combat situations in wartime makes no sense. It is sad that it had to go this far. Is it any wonder there is a huge recruitment problem in this country?

The Compromise

Well its Tuesday and nothing happened. The flowers are blooming, the sun is shining and the Senate is open for business.

I wish the Republicans had made the democrats filibuster for at least a week. This battle clearly is not over. Whoever Bush nominates for the Supreme Court will most likely get filibustered and then the Republicans will need to do change the rules.

No way were these bunch of lazy ass senators going to do any tough work.

Dutch Appear Ready to Vote No on New Constititution

According to the BBC, a recent poll in the Netherlands showed only 30% support the new EU constitution. The election on June 1st is purely for consultation since the Parliament has the real vote on the new constitution.

The mounting opposition to the EU might suggest the EU is trying to do to much to fast.

Torture

Andrew Sullivan has been pushing the torture angle and has exposed (if the examples are true) what appears to be a wide spread problem. There is evidence in Afghanistan, Abu Grhaib and Gitmo. It seems the presence of torture in these different locations suggests torture is official US policy. The outrage many have expressed also suggests many people believe this is something new, or an extension of Vietnam. I think it is naïve to believe treating POWs or enemy combatants harshly is something new rather than a side effect of war.

I believe this type of treatment and behavior is a natural effect on some people who exposed to death and destruction on a consistent basis, which is why some people are against any war. We constantly praise WWII and the heroes that fought as the greatest generation. I believe it is extremely naïve to assume negative treatment did not exist in that war. I was watching a program on the battle of Iwo Jima, US soldiers would use flamethrowers to burn the Japanese soldiers as they were running out or hiding in caves. Certainly, today this would not be an acceptable practice. Likewise, my girlfriends grandfather brought back pictures from WWII of Japanese soldiers with their heads chopped off. This was acceptable then because society was more homogenous and people understood this type of behavior was neccessary to squash the threat of Japan and Germany.

I do not believe we should condone or accept this behavior but neither should it be public record. The military should constantly monitor soldiers in charge of corrections and replace soldiers more rapidly. Soldiers who are not mentally tough enough to handle the horrors of war should not be prosecuted but receive counseling and other assignments as quickly as possible. For us in the United States to stand in judgment of soldiers who lose their moral foundation in wartime is extremely arrogant.

Should France Vote to Affirm the EU Constitution?

According to the BBC, new polls in France were 53%-47% in opposition to the new EU constitution. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski joined Jacques Chirac in an all out campaign to plead with the French to vote yes on May 29. The BBC reported that 59% of the french left were against the constitution while 61% of the right were for it.

I believe this vote will give an insigt into the psyche of the French people. The new constitution is economically bad for the French especially in the short term. They stand to lose much of the farm subsidies they currently enjoy. Also many French see the EU becoming an extension of Anglo-Saxon social values and identity. France is not the only EU member hurt by the new constitution, in fact much of the current EU member states are losing in the short term. Greece is going to lose subsidies because the new member states are poorer than Greece which means they will be receiving much of the subsidies Greece now receives.

This new constitution clearly has short term economic impact and could threaten some of the sovereignty European states possess. What would motivate people to vote against their economic interests? First off, not many states actually allowed the people to vote directly on the issue the way the Spain and now France will do. Second, a larger strengthened EU becomes a larger player internationally. In April Chirac said a no vote would would halt the European project in its tracks and pave the way to an unregulated, uncontrolled free-market world dominated by the United States.

Does a united European Union threaten US supremecy? Slightly, they would definitely have more bargaining power as far as international treaties and trade. Many Europeans have been outspoken in their desire to have another super power to balance the US and this does seem to be the way. The term balance implies they would be in opposition to US policies, which suggests their interests run counter to ours.

The problem is there are other states on the rise such as China and India. China already has significant political clout and could be considered a super power. They are modernizing their military and attempting to flex their political muscle in Asia via North Korea and Taiwan.

If China became a significantly bigger political player, then would the EU side with the United States swaying political power to the West? For all of our disagreements Europe and the US still have much more in common than Eastern Countries. This is all hypothetical and years ahead but the vote May 29, will go a long way in exposing the values of the French people and determining the legitimacy of the EU.

Steroid Hearings

My first reaction to the congressional steroid hearings was they were a waste of time. After watching the hearings today with the various pro--sports commissioners my position is changing.

There is billions of dollars waged on athletic events every year and the leagues make even more. Allowing legal gambling on sporting events opens them up to regulation. If I am gambling on an event I would like to know it is fair.

As a fan I like to watch big homeruns, hard hits everything that steroids improve so I am still on the fence. However I do think the drug policies in Baseball & Basketball are pathetic. Watching David Stern defend the NBA drug policy is quite amusing.

Steroids is real problem not only in professional sports but sports in general. I do think tough steroid policies in professional sports would go along way to curb the problem.

Star Wars Anti-Bush?????

So the new Star Wars movie is filled with subtle attacts on Bush & the War in Iraq or so everyone says. Let me be the first to say, I DONT GIVE A SHIT!! I am going to see this movie on opening weekend & possibly a few more times before it is out of the theaters. Please people try & remain calm, everything is going to be alright.

Shut up Buchanan

Pat Buchanan is on Hannity & Colmes he said "if Clinton were doing what George W. Bush is doing letting this country be invaded every year 500,000 illegals coming in we would be impeaching Bill Clinton ..."

Did I miss something? Illegal immigration is nothing new and has been around long before Bush & Clinton.

Are Unions Still Relevant

The NYT reported the president of the largest union (Service Employees International Union) in the AFL-CIO is threatening to pull his union out of the organization if the federation’s president, John Sweeney, is re-elected. The Times reported that membership in the private sector has fallen to 8%, the lowest in 100 years.

This leads me to the question are unions still relevant? In the interest of full disclosure, my Dad, all of my uncles and my grandfather were teamsters. I come from a union family, we would not cross picket lines and my father was always on strike, at least it seemed that way to me.

For me unions are completely irrelevant, for starters, working one job for my entire life does not sound appealing. I would like to wear many different hats and in the union seniority rules. To the person switching companies every five to ten years, seniority means being consistently passed over for promotions in favor of someone who has worked at the company much longer. I would like to see promotions and pay based on merit not seniority.

The problem is most unions are labor unions. This is a problem because labor is moving overseas where it is less expensive. As a former warehouseman, I am no stranger to physical labor but I never had an opportunity to join a union. The problem to me is the union is not a work organization, but rather a lifestyle organization seeking to control members politically. That is not an attractive option for me. My politics are for me to decide, if I want to place my ideological opinions ahead of my unions interest that is what I am going to do. The pressure to conform turns me off.

Russia Displays Stolen Art

Russia recently opened a display of the art they confiscated from the Germans during WWII. The exhibit includes many ancient Greek bronzes and vases as well as Roman and Etruscan art. Many of the pieces they took after the war were part of German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann collection. Schliemann, a avid fan of The Odyssey sought out the ancient city of Troy, to prove the tales true. He acquired many ancient artifacts which the remained German property after his death.

The Germans are upset and believe Russia should return the art to them. Sorry Germany but the art is from Greece so if anyone should have the art it is the Greeks. If the Greeks don’t get it then the Russians should rightfully own the art. Germany caused much damage in Russia during the invasion this is compensation.

I beleive no matter who controls it everyone wins. These are awesome pieces and they deserve to be on display where ever that display may be. Included in the pieces is a vase depicting Agamemnons death. Truly a treat for the world because these pieces had previously been locked away.

Galloway Senate Hearing

Although I completely disagree with his politics it is nice to see someone putting those pompous senators in their place.

I always get mad watching those senate hearings, the senators act like complete asses they through their weight around, cut off guests, make rude comments, I always want to someone to tell them off, now someone has.

Even the Jobs the Blacks Won't Do

OUCH! Vicente Fox claimed the Mexican immigrants are coming here to do work even the blacks won't do, imagine if a American politician said that. Never mind that it is a complete lie, the reason people won't do landscaping, dishwashing, etc is because the illegal immigrants have driven down the wage to nothing.

Is America an Empire? PT 2

In response to my earlier post Joe wrote:


"America is not an Empire in the traditional or historical sense. That is, they are not a colonial empire that occupies another country and exacts "tributes" in the form of taxation. However, I think the argument can be made that they are indeed an economic imperialist empire.

In the modern world there is no need to occupy foreign countries and collect taxes. All you need to do is get a control over the economies of those countries and manipulate them to your own ends.Sure we send our tax dollars there, but that is really an investment in "human capital". It doesn't hurt to have a military base or some other military presence near-by to protect your interests. You then overwork and underpay the people. Your return is much more than you could ever expect to collect from taxes, because you can take the fruits of the labor and turn around and sell them.

This is precisely why we are interested in the middle east. The whole Iraq, Afghanistan thing is all about protecting our oil, and making sure that someone else (Russia, China) doesn't get control of it. "

MY RESPONSE:
Great point! I do agree with some of the statement. But to say the U.S controls and manipulates foreign economies in the Middle East is a stretch. I am not so naïve that I believe the US is in the Middle East completely for altruistic reasons but rather looking out for our economic interests, but I think controlling and manipulating economies is going too far. I do believe that it is in the entire world’s interest (Russia, China, Etc..) to have stable governments in the oil rich regions.

I do not draw a connection between private foreign investments by American companies benefiting the government. To be clear, I do realize the business connections in Democratic and Republican administrations. The cabinet is usually a who’s who in the business world. The problem is the majority of our cheap labor high hour workweek is in China. The Labor is so cheap that companies that left America for Mexico after NAFTA, have left Mexico for China. Certainly, we are not controlling and manipulating their economy. Rather China is manipulating our economy and purchasing our debt.

I do understand our government has military bases strategically placed around the world. We have them throughout Europe and Asia. I believe we chose these sites not with economic imperialism in mind but rather for military reasons. It is easier to mobilize troops for combat in China if we have 30,000 in South Korea & about 45,000 in Japan. We did have bases in Saudi Arabia but I believe those were for stabilizing the world’s oil supply and keeping the oil out of extremists’ hands.

As for Iraq & Afghanistan, we definitely do want a foothold in the region because of China’s growing energy needs. This should definitely concern our leaders if not we as citizens would need to be concerned. But if there were no such thing as Islamic terrorism then we would not be in Iraq or Afghanistan. For example, many say the reason the violence in Africa is ignored is because they have no oil. I believe the reason no one gives a shit about the violence in Africa is because they internalize their violence while the Islamic radical externalize. If poor Africans were blowing up building across the globe, people would notice. It is not just about the oil. I also was unaware of companies lining up to open their businesses in Iraq, cheap labor or no cheap labor.

Quote of the Week re-visted

"Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the demon of men. Let them have everything - health, food, a place to live, entertainment - they are and remain unhappy and low-spirited: for the demon waits and waits and will be satisfied. Take everything from them satisfy this, and they are almost happy - as happy as men and demons can be..."Nietzsche

Military Closures

The Pentagon announced plans to close approximately 62 major bases and about 775 minor closures and realignments. The Pentagon is seeking to combine multiple bases into larger multi-purpose bases. The Pentagon has also requested some overseas bases be closed as well.

My first reaction was negatively but after careful consideration it makes sense to do this. The military will save about 5 billion a year, which could be spent equiping troops and developing weapons.

The Pentagon wants to expand bases in Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado would see expansions due to cheap land.

3 Days and A Wake Up

Nine hours and four Star Wars movies later I am ready for Episode 3. Regardless of what people say, I believe the new DVDs episode IV, V, VI are awesome. I love all of the new effects. The space scenes are all redone there are new ships and it looks great.

Owner of TB Bucs Meeting Resistence in UK

Malcolm Glazer owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has allegedly reached 75% ownership in the Manchester United, the most popular soccer team in the UK.

The fans in the UK are going into a frenzy, threatening to boycott games, sponsors and the fan club has already lost 10,000 members.

Glazer gained noteriety after securing Jon Gruden in a trade from Oakland and winning his first Championship. The Bucsa have had about 5 successful seasons in there existence. United fans be afraid, be very afraid.

NewsWeek Goofs

Newsweek reported last week, US interegators flushed a Koran down the toilet in order to get prisoners to talk. This reported sparked riots throughout the Middle East leaving 17 dead, OOPS.
The reaction of the Middle East tells all. The have few civil rights, fewer political rights while muslims are murdering there fellow muslims for seeking democracy and prosperity yet the Koran being desicrated sets them off to riot.
To be fair, we have a host of crazies ready to protest, smear shit on the sidewalk, throw fake blood on themselves and make idiotic statements. I would like to know what proportion of the Muslim population is more outraged over the Koran being desicrated than they are over their current social situation.

Winky Dominates Tito

In a surprisingly easy victory, Winky Wright scored a unanimous decision over Tito Trinidad, 120-107, 119-108 (2 cards).
Tito entered the rinag among thousands of fans screaming their appreciation. Surprisingly Winky appeared to be bigger when the fighters were in the stare down.
Winky began round 1 throwing the jab, which appeared to frustrate Trinidad. Tito could not answer Winky's right jab. Wright threw it early & often, quiting the crowd in round two.
Winky kept his hands high all night that made it unusually tough for Tito to land punches. Anxious Tito fans would cheer for meaningless punches while Tito appeared to be gun shy and scared.
Scattered chants for Winky became more audible after about round 5.
Trinidad needed to put together combinations if he was going to have a chance of keeping up with Winky. Unfortunaely, Tito could not seem to make Winky respect his power and his lack of a back-up plan made the end result inevitable.
As much as I hate Tito, by round 8 I was feeling sorry for him. Tito eyes had the get me out of here look. By that time the fight was so one sided it was not even interesting, I began to imagine Winky versus Ouma and Tito versus DLH, the rematch.
Great night of boxing.

Desicrating The Koran

Muslims through out the Middle East are once again outraged, this time about US interigators allegedly desicrating the Koran. President Bush claims their is an investigation into the matter.
An investigation? Am I missing something, is it a war crime to desicrate a holy book? Is this approaching torture?

We should definitely exploit the cultural weaknesses of the enemy enemy during interrogations. To say that this is crossing the line is ridiculous, anyone ever arrested in the US know that the police try all sorts of tactics to break suspected criminals. In a past life I to was a "suspected criminal" and I was forced to stand in a booth all night so when they questioned me I was tired and my mind could not process information quickly. I am sure everyone has heard of good-cop bad-cop, this is another psychological ploy cops use to extract information.

Perfectly legal in my book. Furthermore if we are not exploiting the enemy's weaknesses, such as having female interrogators, desicrating the Koran, etc... then we are not doing our job.
While it is true that we are not in a war with Islam, the people at war with us are all islamic. I do believe that we should definitely keep information like that private because it is bad PR.

We are in a real war that we could definitely lose, we need to win first and PR second. It seems that in Vietnam we became concerned with PR more than winning and as a result we lost (at least politically). If the sane bunch of the Arab world is more concerned with the US desicrating the Koran than they are with a small portion of their population attacking innocent muslims in Iraq as well as other attacks across the globe than that is a powerful statement in itself. Personally I do not believe the majority of the Muslim world is fixated on Guantanamo Bay. It is the small minority of extremists who lick their chops for a chance to protest the great satan. It is really sad to see people without freedom, power, money, or a future be manipulated into such trivial issues.

For all of the hysteria about the US turning in to a theocracy buring a bible will not land someone in jail while in the Middle East they want authors who question the Koran executed. This is their issue, we cannot constantly make concessions that we do not accept as legitimate in our county, such as it is illegal to burn a holy book.

US Places Quotas on Chinese Imports

The US decided to reinstate quotas on Chinese textiles just one year after removing them.
The quotas will be on cotton pants, cotton shirts and underwear. The US fears that increased levels of Chinese imports negatively impacts our textile industry to the tune of thousands of jobs a year.

This is a tough one for me. I am not a free trade diehard, but I am also not against out-sourcing. I believe that foreign direct investment does much more for underdeveloped countries than foreign aid has ever done. Through out the 90s something like 95% (not completely sure on exact # but got the figure from T. Barnett's book) of the worlds conflicts involved countries with an average income below $3,000 a year. Outsourcing jobs to underdeveloped countries is a quicker way to raise per capita averages. Foreign aid ends up in the hands of crooked leaders not the people.
Tough decision but I think it is for the best, unadulterated free trade cannot be good for us as a nation, minor limitations would help manage our growth more effectively. Quotas need to be placed on China especially while questions linger about the Chinese living up to all of their trade obligations.

Bill Mahr

Wow how the mighty have fallen. Mahr has went from a host of a national tv show on ABC to a host of a show on HBO making hysterical conspiracy claims. He will not ask a tough question of any psychotic liberal while he will definitely go hard on guests such as Jeff Gannon. He let Gore Vidal go on and on about Bush stealing the 04 election. What a joke! Way to go Bill.

$40,000 for a number

The NYT had an article on the escalating prices professional athletes will pay for th jersey with their favorite number. Brian Jordan bought the 3rd base coach a motorcylcle, Eli Manning paid for the punter and his wife to have a 1 week vacation in Fla, while Plaxico Buress is giving that same punter a new outdoor kitchen set for his new number.

Tito Sucks

Saturday night Tito Trinidad and Winky Wright hook up for one of the most anticipated fights of the year. The fight has lost some steam after the inspiring preformance witnessed last week by the boxing world. While Trinidad is the definite favorite, I belive Winky could steal the decision if he is able to handle the power of Trinidad. Trinidad enjoys coming straight at his opponents, his style is almost like a Pit Bull, while Winky boxes utilizing head movement and the jab. Winky needs to establish the jab early on if he is going to win. Please Winky KO this piece of crap!

Newt & Hillary

Surprise, surprise, Newt & Hillary are buddy, buddy. What a bunch of phonies. I do think it is good politically for both of them. Maybe it will help shed the extremist image they both have.

Good Sign

The Washington Times reported the investigating officer, charged with investigating a soldier accused of double murder has recommended Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano have his charges dropped. The investigating officer found that the charges were baseless & motivated by revenge. It is injustice just to make Pantano face these charges. He shot two insurgents approaching after they refused his order to stop. The military also charged Pantano with destruction of private property for disabling their car! Could we have ever won any of our previous wars under these current rules?

Was WWII worth it?

Was WWII worth it? Pat Buchanan makes a compelling argument about WWII, whether or not it was worth the death and destruction. Buchanan argues that if the goal of WWII was to liberate the Eastern European governments then one must consider WWII a failure because the allies did not achieve these goals. Buchanan argues that these countries simply transferred from one brutal regime to another. He certainly does have a point, there were around 50 million people killed by WWII and none of those eastern nations were liberated. Buchanan main argument is that communism was worse than the Nazis, he said:
“Where Hitler killed his millions, Stalin, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot and Castro murdered their tens of millions.”
The problem with this logic is that it assumes that Pot, Stalin, Minh, Mao and Castro would not have gained power if the Nazi’s had been allowed to stay in power. Stalin was already the controlling Russia, certainly Buchanan cannot be implying Stalin would have been a peaceful ruler had Hitler remained in power.
It seems more possible to me that the Germans would have taken the lead much the way the Soviet Union did during the cold war. If the Soviets had an ally as strong as Nazi Germany, we might not have won the cold war. Furthermore, the cold war might have become the hot war. Stalin and Hitler did have a pact before the war. If Churchill and FDR had not taken out the Germans when they did, the relationship between Hitler and Stalin might have blossomed into a real alliance, that’s scary.

Did Britian & France instigate WWII???

It is becoming increasingly dificult to be a supporter of Pat Buchanan. In response to President Bush's speech in Europe in which Bush said the pact at the end of WWII which gave the Soviets control over the Eastern and some Central European nations was a grave mistake and not a moment of celebration to those countries. Buchanan said:
"If the West went to war to stop Hitler from dominating Eastern and Central Europe, and Eastern and Central Europe ended up under a tyranny even more odious, as Bush implies, did Western Civilization win the war?"
This is a valid question, I believe that the world was much better off without the Nazis. Buchanan suggests that it was Britain and France that forced Germany into a larger war by declaring war to defend Poland from Germany. Furthermore, Buchanan suggests thatBritain lost the war because they entered it to defend Poland which ended up in communist rule anyways. On a certain level Buchanan could be considered correct that Britain did not achieve its initial goals. But I think it is extremely naive to believe that the Nazis were not attemping to control more of Europe. Remember Poland was not the firs country that Hitler invaded.
As for Buchanan raising the point that Hitler was elected therefore the German people did not need to be liberated from their elected leader. This is a common misconception. Sure Hitler was elected, but not until he gained power of the electoral system. The elections were far from free and fair. Still Hitler did have a measure of popularity with the German people. His popularity did plunge after he got Germany involved in a war with the entire continent. Gemanies top military leaders unsuccessfully tried to assasinate Hitler on many occassions. Make no mistake Buchanan makes a good argument but it is wrong. The French and the British were obligated to get involved because the war was in their back yard. I could not imagine a situation where the United States let a country take over Mexico or Cananda. To suggest that France and Britain instigated the war with Germany by not allowing Germany to militarily dominate and occupy the entire region is ridiculous.
Europe and the rest of the allied countries had no choice but to completely break the German people, military and political system, and that is exactly what they did.
I will answer his other question on who was worse the Soviets or the Nazi's later today.

Michael Jackson part II

this is Taryns repsonse to my earlier post:
I must agree. This trial has made a complete mockery out of our judicial system. The entire case has been so blatantly based on the character of Michael Jackson, not the alleged molestation. The prosecution should be reprimanded by the courts for bringing this case based on the lack of credible evidence produced in court. Aside from their neglect to address the accusations of the molestation, the prosecution’s case has been characterized by a long list of un-credible witnesses. Most of the witnesses called have testified that they have brought frivolous suits against Jackson in the past, all of which concluded with Jackson’s innocence, and in one case an award of over 1 million in damages to Jackson. Many witnesses on the stand, mostly past employees of the Neverland Ranch, were their to testify to nothing other than the character and behavior of Jackson, confessed on the stand to have created and reported false stories about Jackson, in order to receive money from tabloids. Other witnesses have been convicted of theft from Jackson, and others appeared bitter from lost wrongful-termination suits. Early in the case, the prosecution focused almost exclusively on rebutting the defense’s assertion that, “the boy was coerced into making the allegations by his mother” (paraphrasing). Sneddon proved this by bringing several witnesses to testify to the aggressive demeanor of the boy’s father. The prosecution was even able to attain a credible witness this time, Comedian George Lopez, to testify on their behalf. And what did Mr. Lopez represent to the court? Just that he and his wife were personally victim of the scheming Arvizos. Lopez testified that the family accused the million dollar man of stealing $300 from Gavin, a child he was actively trying to help. Lopez testified that he personally witnessed the father of the accuser aggressively intimidate the boy into saying the money Lopez allegedly stole, actually existed. He went on tell how the relationship had to be terminated because of the numerous calls to the comedian’s home, and threats made to his family. So the point of Lopez testifying was to prove that because the boy was coerced in the past by dad, to lie in order to receive money, it is impossible that he could be coerced by his mother for the same reason?Aside from the fact that the prosecution witnesses were biased and not credible, they had absolutely nothing to offer to prove or disprove the molestation of Gavin.When Gavin testified to the alleged abuse, he could not recall a timeframe during which it occurred, nor the number of times that it happened. He was unable to provide any incriminating details about Jackson, or about any one incident to cement that anything inappropriate did happen. The accuser’s testimony was unbelievable at best. He came across as coached, combative, and selling a story. The defense should not give this case the validity of a response. They should rest their case, and the Courts should punish the district attorney personally, for his suit against Jackson, who is an obvious candidate for schemers like the Arizos.

Should we prosecute

For the last year, the government has been prosecuting the soldiers involved in the Abu Grhaib scandal. I do not believe the government should prosecute these soldiers. If we ask people to volunteer to fight and kill on our behalf then we need to understand that constant exposure to death & destruction causes some people to react incorrectly. Military officials should definitely monitor military prisons and remove soldiers who cannot perform their duties professionally but we should not prosecute. I understand the objection to torturing human beings but I believe it is extremely naïve to think that torture is new to this war. Torture is an unfortunate side effect of war. This is why many people oppose all wars. To be sure, torture should not be US policy, but we should subject enemy combatants to some coercion methods. Sleep deprivation, threats, playing music, even shooting near a combatant are acceptable practices to me. I know all of the studies say that torture, usually has the reverse effect, well I call bullshit. Sure the person being tortured might not talk but the person who just now gets arrested will be more apt to talk. Examine many of our POWs coming home from Vietnam, many of these people felt like they betrayed the US for giving up information or repeating Vietcong lies. These studies that say unequivocally that torture does not work are in the same class as those studies, which say that standing up to bullies leads to worse consequences than walking away. Anyone that has ever stood up to a bully knows this is BS.

Quote of the week

"Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the demon of men. Let them have everything - health, food, a place to live, entertainment - they are and remain unhappy and low-spirited: for the demon waits and waits and will be satisfied. Take everything from them satisfy this, and they are almost happy - as happy as men and demons can be..."
Nietzsche

Empire??????

Is America an empire? Lately many people would say yes. I disagree. Examine any empire Roman, British, Spanish, etc... there is a common denominator in all of these empires, they tax there subjects. We all know the story of the British colonies in America and the rebellion because of high taxes, but I digress. The US does not tax the countries we have defeated in battle Afghanistan, Iraq, Japan, Germany, Kuwait etc... Rather we send our tax dollars over there to help their country. I cannot find a single instance of empires sending tax dollars from the capital (Rome, London, etc) to the newly conquered land except to fund wars. We are sending billions of dollars to Iraq & Afghanistan to rebuild these countries, just like we sending billions to many countries that are less fortunate.

The Filibuster

I am sickened by the senate, IMO they are just a bunch of phonies! Instead of using the nuclear option (majority rules), I would like to see these idiots sit in the senate whenever there is a filibuster until one side concedes to the other. It is outrageous that senators can just invoke the filibuster without actually having to carry it out. I don’t want to hear that work needs to be done. The senate needs to resolve these issues and if both sides feels strongly enough on an issue then they should sit in the senate until it is resolved. After all that is why we pay them.

TO & The Eagles

I know most people believe that Terrell Owens is a spoiled brat and should shut up and play but I disagree. First a contract is not a concrete deal in the NFL like it is in other venues. NFL teams consistently cut players that are currently under contract. True many times NFl teams and players sign deals, they intentionally sign longer deals that both the team and the player know neither side will live up to. They do this for salary cap reasons. If a player gets a $6 million signing bonus it is spread throughout the life of his contract, so if he gets a three year deal it is 2 mil a year, but if that player gets a six year deal then it is only a million a year. That is not the only time that teams cut players. They will cut players whom they believe are making too much money but are underperforming. This happens many times every year. If the NFL teams can cut and sign players at will then I see no reason that the players should be held to a higher standard. TO is one of the top 2 receivers in football yet he is not even in the top 10 in pay! That is BS, if TO was the number 2 paid receiver but was not one of the 10 best the Eagles would cut his ass. It goes both ways, get your money TO!