The Lesson of Tuscon

Am I the only one to feel intimidated by somebody in a Arizona Safeway parking lot openly carrying a 9mm Glock? That individual may be one of the "law-abiding citizens" I've heard about.

An Arizona state senator, Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu, wants to allow students, professors and visitors to carry concealed on college caampuses. Although presumably for self defense the idea of it scares the hell out of me. How do I know if that individual is a troubled young man or someone who potentially could protect me from harm?

I remember coming to live in Arizona over 20 years ago and being shocked to see people carrying sidearms. I thought that it must be part of the allure of the Old West celebrated in Arizona. Still, I never got used to it. To this day, it makes we wary to see the person in the parking lot carrying a pistol.

Even Wyatt Earp wouldn't allow guns inside city limits.

Proposition 102 and Other Absurdities

Our own Declaration of Independence states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.", except if you are gay. Somehow the freedom of religion granted to our citizens can be used to discriminate against a group of other citizens. When does the Bible trump our most honoored document, the Declaration of Independence?

Is it really the right of a democracy to pass, by popular vote, a law discriminating against our own citizens?  Just because we can vote does that mean we can pass amendments to our constitution that deny others the same rights that we enjoy under that constitution? 

I have been married for 28 years to the same woman. It is my only marriage. I'm proud of that fact, since it is more than most of my friends can say. Yet many of those same divorced friends speak of the "sanctity of marriage" as their justification to deny others their "Pursuit of happiness". Practice what you preach. 

Constitutional discrimination ought to be an oxymoron. 

Obama's the Candidate

Will Bill Clinton have the courage to put aside his enormous ego to benefit the party? If you are like me you probably wonder. It was never about Hillary. It was always about the over sized shadow of Bill Clinton. Indeed Bill was a good president, but a flawed man. His appetites got him into trouble over and over. Were it not for that he'd have been a great president.
Now the question of him removing the venom from his supporters fangs begs for an answer. Will he stand aside or will he continue to make the kinds of comments we have come to expect from Bill?
As a former supporter of Bill, but never Hillary, I've watched as he has systematically destroyed his image. His image was always partisan but above the fray. That is now gone.
As an Obama supporter, I have found a candidate who speaks to me about what I find important. Change, Iraq, less partisan and getting Washington back to the people. YES WE CAN!

Please Tell Hillary She Lost

The lady in the pantsuit has sung. Somebody needs to have the balls to tell Hill and Bill they are toast. After a big win in West Virginia (no surprise there), now would be a good time to bow out and swing behind the Democratic nominee.

I know, I know...All the votes need to be counted, yada, yada, yada. McCain is just laughing. With all the attention on Barack and Hillary, he can continue taking his afternoon naps. Oh, you say, but it is good to have such a great rivalry. I hear ya but when is it good to see all the perceived warts and blemishes so gleefully presented by Hillary. Barack doesn't do white folks, Barack doesn't do shots in a working man's bar, Barack can't do swing states and so on and on and on. Geez, lady, give it a rest!

After all, Hillary is not known for bipartisanship. Hillary managed to get almost nothing done while in the White House. In her defense however, what with ducking sniper fire in Bosnia she was probably too busy though. Maybe that last comment was a bit snarky but you get the drift.

We all need to support our nominee and help defeat Bush III. So, please, give Hillary the memo. Time to put the pantsuit in mothballs.

President Cheney

We now learn that President Cheney wields enormous power in the economic policy of the Cheney Administration. Huge deficits coupled with outrageous spending have created a nation of debtors that will pass on to future generations the debt of a "free market" economy.

Banks have made big profits built on unsustainable credit policies. Mortgages to credit challenged individuals has led us to the current situation. Banks are writing off billions of dollars in sub-prime loans that they had been more than willing to provide while the housing bubble was being built. At some point reality had to set in and the result is now being seen, and more importantly, felt by a wide range of Americans.

What is of greater concern for most everyday folks is the value of their home. When they perceive that they are unable to get the same returns that they expected, they retreat into their cave. The fact that the housing prices had reached a level that fewer people could afford hasn't seemed to dawn on homeowners. The only reason that many folks could afford to buy that expensive house was that the credit was available through the sub-prime market. 

All of this is being felt while we watch the dollar fall, oil prices increase and the continued erosion of  American manufacturing and, increasingly, the outsourcing of white collar jobs.

It is the economy, stupid! 

The Iranian Drumbeat

Well our good friend Mr. Bush, is busy trying to drum up the support to bomb Iran. Since we do not have the troops available for a ground offensive, it must be an air war. The rhetoric has been ratcheted up to the necessary levels for Americans to be worried.

However, the good news is that most of the right-wing commentators are too busy with the Anna Nicole story to say too much. One can almost hear Sean Hannity doing his finger pointing routine with the famous " But what, sir, if you are wrong?" line about the use of the IEDs, followed by the "But first, lets talk to Anna Nicole's second cousin with shocking accusations about her affair with the pizza delivery boy." Sex or War, a conservatives dilemna.

The Economy, Stupid

I don't know about anybody else, but I for one am sick of hearing how the Dow is up, therefore all is well. The American Middle Class are not an investor nation. We are consumers. The fact that the Dow is up means little to most Middle Class. We don't have millions or even thousands invested. We are in debt up to our eyeballs. Middle Class jobs have been replaced with service based jobs which are not going to pay the bills. The guy who worked at the Ford plant for 20 years, until it closed, now works for Wal-Mart at not even half what he earned before. The same clowns who proudly state the new jobs being created don't bother to tell you of the net income lost between the old Middle Class job and the new Debtor Class job. C'mon people, get real! We tell those whose jobs were lost that they need to be retrained into the jobs of the 21st Century. Oh, really, we need to be trained to work in the Garden Center at Home Depot for just over the minimum wage? Helllloooo! There is nothing wrong with working at Wal-Mart or Home Depot but don't equate that with a well paying job. Oh, I forgot, the Dow is up and all is well. Silly me for saying otherwise.

What Have We Learned in 2006?

The question begging to be asked after the midterm election is; What have we learned? A few things come to mind.

• Most folks appear to be against gay marriage or anything ringing of gay partnerships/unions/whatever.
• The minimum wage needs to be adjusted and if the Feds won't do it the States will.
• Americans want out of Iraq, plain and simple.
• Although the stock market is up and unemployed is down, there is concern about jobs and what kind of jobs (see minimum wage).
• "Get something done!" is loud and clear to both the donkeys and elephants.
• Absolute power breeds abuses absolutely.
• Incompetence will not be tolerated (Katrina, Iraq, Scandals, Iraq, Iraq, Iraq)

If the Democrats can somehow stop fighting each other and the Republicans can stop trying to beat up on the Democrats, there is a chance something can get done. However, I am somewhat pessimistic about the progress being made. The 800 lb elephant in the room; President Bush! If he digs in his heels as he has so often done and is stubborn just to be stubborn then we are all in for it. Time will tell.

Money and Power, Same Old Story

A fight for love and glory. Washington is run by corporate elitists. Access is power. Power is money. The hell with the people. I am sure that this is not new in human history. Every era throughout time has seen the same stunts pulled by the same groups to accomplish the same things against the same people. Not wishing to be pesimistic but this stuff isn't about to change. The Voting Rights Act is delayed, there is no timetable to get the hell out of Iraq before we kill another generation of American youth in a senseless war, we can't protect our borders from an illegal invasion of cheap labor, we are wiretapped and spied on by our own government, our elected leaders lie to us, the minimum wage is the same but Congress votes itself a wage hike, foreigners try to buy our ports and we ship all the jobs out of the country and the list goes on.

Pensions in the USA

Verizon announced it would stop contributing to pension plans that will affect 50,000 of its managers. Seems the new corporate buzzword for getting rid of those pesky benefits for employees is called "restructuring". For 50,000 people, their retirement plans have been "restructured" into non-existence.

While I certainly understand that workers need to plan for their own retirement, if wages remain basically stagnant, the question of where the additional funds will come from is unanswered. If the US is a consumer nation whose economy is based on spending, then, conversely, saving for retirement will diminish spending and the economy will slow. The pace at which companies are "restructuring" their pension plans has accelerated in the last 5 years, coinciding with the Bushies administration. Bush can make all the speeches about the need for companies to honor their pension promises but the real agenda of the administration is in line with the Conservatives stated policy of eliminating governmental regulations for retirement programs.

Apparently Verizon was not listening to our president since their announcement came just 1 day after Bush's speech. Coming on the heels of his speech, I'll bet the Administration is feverishly working the spin on the issue. Good luck on that one!

Looking to 2006

It is very likely that we will see Immigration as the BIG issue of the election in 2006. It is one of those issues that can divide, and does divide, our nation. We can say they are illegal aliens, undocumented immigrants or any of a multitude of other terms either more or less pejorative, but these labels have been with us longer than I can remember. Yet what are the real roots of this issue? Is it a fear that the Norte Americanos will be left out of the future? Black, White, Asian or whatever group will be smothered by an avalanche of Latinos?

Somehow I don't think that border security is the primary focus of the people calling for tighter borders. If that were true we would be saying that we need to secure our northern border with Canada. Something else is at work here. I admit to wanting a non-porous border, a controllable border, a border that is safe of drug smugglers, trafficers of human cargo, criminals and potential threats. On both sides of the issue are well intentioned people who want to be heard. There are so many constituencies involved that it defies the ability to list them all here.

We, as Americans, should feel honored that others are willing to give up all they know in order to come to this country. The truth is we probably don't really feel that way, mostly out of fear, I suspect.

Bush Speeches

Has anyone else gotten tired of the photo ops and speeches for Bush always being held at a military base? Probably the only place on the face of the planet that he is safe from hecklers. Those in the military ought to protest being used by Bush to both cover his ass and try to boost his image as a warrior. So predictably lame.

Sex or Money?

Republican’s get caught with their hand in the public cookie jar and Democrat's get caught with their pants down. While this may seem overly simplistic sometimes the simple answer is the best answer. What brought this to mind was the story about Calif. Congressman Cunningham who admits taking bribes . Seems our Mr. Cunningham, a bit of a macho, swaggering war type got caught pigging out on other folks money in exchange for his influence. This is on the heels of the DeLay, Frist and others investigations.

This story goes to the heart of what each party is about. Democrats are more people oriented and Republicans are more money/power oriented. Again, overly simplistic, but it does seem to be the case. Now I am not trying to hold the Republican’s feet to the fire, although singeing them a little is okay, rather I am making the broader point. Conservatives are too uptight to get involved in a good sex scandal. Now the Democrats, on the other hand, are more than willing to dip their big toe (or some other parts of their body, if you catch my drift) in a little scandal. Democrats are too preoccupied with the sex to go after the money. Now money, why that is a sacred word to our Republican brethren (better if it is yours or maybe even tax free or better yet, a write-off) and they are too busy making it or spending it or doing something with it to get involved with a, ughhh, sex scandal. Money…Sex… quite the quandary. It is, however, somewhat predictable.

Letter to the Editor

A Letter to the Editor in today’s Arizona Republic stated. “Whether the reasons to go to war were flawed or not, the fact still remains that we are at war against an enemy that has no face, no boundaries and no conscience. The time to debate the reasons to go to war has come and gone. We are at war! Let's close ranks behind our commander in chief and prosecute it until we bring these terrorists to justice or eliminate them. Freedom is priceless.” While an admirable statement of purpose, it is ultimately unachievable for the very reasons listed in the letter itself.

The question in Iraq is how the hell do we declare we won and get the hell out? Despite all the rhetoric about why we got there it remains that we are there. What are the goals to be achieved and how do we achieve them? How do you fight an enemy that in the writer’s own words “…we are at war against an enemy that has no face, no boundaries and no conscience.”? An Iraq veteran, in another article on his homecoming, said the insurgents “owned the roads.” How do you fight an enemy such as this? It is utterly moronic to spout patriotic nonsense about freedom, closing ranks and winning a war when you don’t know who you are fighting, where to find them, being unable to travel safely on the roads to get the troops to an objective and not being able to interact with the residents you are trying to liberate. I am sure that this question has been raised in the War Room on more than one occasion.

Seems to me that we beat the British using a lot of these same tactics in the Revolutionary War. Please don’t misunderstand, I am in no way equating our own struggle for destiny with the Iraqi insurgents battle. I am stating that our guerrilla tactics and those used in Iraq are similar. You can’t beat a well trained army by classic war maneuvers but you can bleed them to death by controlling the roads (supply lines), shooting from behind walls, planting IEDs and other guerrilla actions. You can’t shoot what you can’t see and you can’t stop civilian traffic or search every house or detain everybody you meet.

The answer is to hold the upcoming elections, declare our job is done, warn the Iraqi’s that we will not put up with any shit in the future, and gather our people together and GET THE HELL OUT!

While We Were Sleeping

A very interesting article in the New York Observer about Iraq Reporting of the News. It is a sanitized war that fails to inform or show the cost to our citizens. That cost comes in the form of loss of life, wounds and disfigurements beyond description for our wounded veterans, huge deficits, lack of credibility and perhaps most important the loss of respect from our world neighbors.

But what can be done with reporting when it is nearly impossible to get a story? All the parties are protecting their turf. The Army doesn't want reporters roaming around unsupervised. The insurgents just want to lop off their heads. The Media itself looks to the bottom line and is unwilling to take chances. Images of war can show the heroic, the messiness of war, the good, bad and everything in between. At this point we are getting nothing.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has never been one of my favorite holidays. Oh, don't get me wrong the four day weekend created by this event has always been one to look forward to just before Christmas. I have always had good memories of Thanksgiving but it just never really hit it off for me.

Anyway, I am thankful for a few things but I was wondering what it would feel like to have those same memories while I was in some damn piss-ant place just trying to survive. Ring any bells? Our soldiers deserve better. The cost of freedom is kinda high for these folks. I am grateful that I live in America. Would be nice though if we actually started acting like America. Draft-Dodger DickCheney ought to be thankful as well as Rummy and all the other gang. Thankful that they never had to go where they are sure willing to send their children. Well, not their children but rather their country's children.

JFK Assination

Yesterday was the anniversary of the events in Dallas in 1963. On that morning, as I was sitting in my 3rd period class on the second floor of Bellermine-Jefferson High School in Burbank, CA, the announcement was made that President Kennedy had been shot. The entire school was stunned to silence. A short time later it was announced over the PA that Kennedy was dead. There is probably no one of my generation that does not have a vivid memory of where and when they heard the news. My most remembered sight was of a teacher who asked me if I knew how important this day was and how it would be remembered. He was crying and I remember thinking I had never seen a grown man cry before. I never thought then that somehow that day would ever slip my mind until today when I realized I had forgotten that it had happened on the 22nd. I am ashamed to say that I had forgotten.

Jean Schmidt - Wacko

We now know that the Marine quoted by the Congresswoman from Ohio wishes that she had never spoken his name during her tirade on the floor of the House recently. The stir created by Jean Schmidt is proving once again that freshman members of Congress need to learn the ropes before dumping on more senior members. In the same vein as the Anne Coulters of this world we can now add the name of Jean Schmidt. One more wacko out there on the right.

Cal Thomas Editorial

Cal Thomas' editorial today took the view that Iraq and Vietnam are similar from the standpoint that the terrorists need only wait out the American resolve to win."We lost the war in Vietnam when we lost our will and failed to implement a plan for victory."Mr. Thomas goes further to state that there were no lasting effects from our withdrawal from Vietnam."There were no lasting negative effects on the United States, other than 58 thousand dead Americans, but that failed effort is one of several post-World War II withdrawals by American forces prior to achieving objectives that inspired Osama bin Laden and his bloody terrorist brothers to believe that we are weak and so can be made to precipitously quit Iraq."What is needed is to remove our troops before there are 58,000 dead. The effects of Vietnam are still with the generation that fought there. We know that we will leave Iraq. We know that young people will continue to die until we do leave. We know that as soon as we do leave it will fall due to civil war or to its neighbors. We know that the Middle East has been unstable and will continue to be unstable regardless of our best efforts or intentions. We know that a democracy in the region is, at best, a distant hope. We know that this war is not going as planned and there is no better alternative besides staying longer and watching the American death toll continue to rise.It is time for an honest assessment of our involvement in Iraq and to reach the conclusion that we have now become the very catalyst for what it is we wanted to prevent. Terrorism has taken the hope for democracy hostage.

Cheney on Murtha

Isn't it nice that Dick Cheney thinks so highly of John Murtha. I was so afraid that Dick would have said he was a coward. My how the rhetoric has diminished in the last few days after the performance in the House last week. Perhaps some of our elected officials, on both sides of the aisle, have gotten the word from their constituents that we have just about had enough from these folks. The partisan flavor in our government is ear shattering. There seems to be no room left for the middle ground. Yet it is still a country that is inhabited by middle ground people. Most of us are centrist in our beliefs, that is to say we may feel strongly liberal on a issue and conservative on another yet we are willing to try to find the common areas and reach a consensus. We have many important issues to be resolved in the future and it would be nice if we could be nice. I know that sounds corny but the sentiment is a good one. Americans need to come to grips with the problems we are facing without wasting our time defending ourselves from verbal attacks by the other side of the question. For whatever reason, Dick Cheney is at least trying to engage in civil discourse. At least for the moment anyway.

Bob Woodward

On Larry King tonight, Bob Woodward was the guest of the evening. Mr. Woodward used to be an investigative reporter of some renown. What he is today is unclear but nonetheless, he is part of the Plame Game. He reported that a source told him that Ms. Plame was a CIA analyst. Woodward further stated that in his experience CIA analysts were not undercover agents. That is fine except that it isn't a question of what Woodward knew but rather what Woodward's source knew. Whether Woodward knew that Valerie Plame was an agent is not the story. Did the source know? If the source was high enough in the Administration they better darn well have known. Since when did Bob Woodward the reporter become Bob Woodward the participant? If he knew, while commenting on countless news programs, that he had information and was a participant in the story beyond what the public knew, it would seems that he should have recused himself from the story once the investigation was started. What Woodward knew is not the crime. What the source knew might be indictable.

Iraq Reporting

It is amazing to me to know that the foreign terrorists in Iraq regularly read American newspapers. It was a fact pointed out to me by none other than Secretary Rumsfeld. On Fox last Sunday he reported that the terrorists see the debate in America and think that if they wait it out they can win. Boy howdy, those guys are pretty darn smart and have access to the NY Times, Washington Post and all the other media outlets. Somehow it strains the imagination that these guys in Iraq are reading their Blackberrys for the latest left wingnut call to figure out a plan to either win or get out. It does not seem likely that a terrorist is waiting for the satelite feed of the Sunday morning gabfests in order for them to gauge the American failure to "stay the course". The old bugaboo about "aid and comfort to the enemy" just doesn't hold water. The terrorist we are fighting are committed to their cause and would fight to the end no matter what was said on Face the Nation. The old "Hanoi Jane" scare tactics are nonsense. How many North Vietnamese suddenly enlisted with Uncle Ho after seeing Jane Fonda in Hanoi? Not many Iraqi's are going to become suicide bombers because some Democrat questions why we went to Iraq in the first place. We are told that we must fight them there in order to prevent fighting them here. I fail to see why having our soldiers in Iraq is preventing an attack in London, Madrid or New York. Is it because they will be too busy killing Americans in Iraq to come to the US and kill them? What are the terrible consequences that we will face if the Iraqi's fail to have a stable government? What were the terrible consequences from having North Vietnam conquer South Vietnam? We now have tourism with Vietnam so what were the dire results that were predicted if South Vietnam fell? Lay out a case for staying in Iraq that does not include the tired cliches and labels we have seen for so long. Have a real debate not a series of sound bites. I, for one, am willing to listen.

The Tone of Debate

The tone of the debate on Iraq seems to be softening on the part of Bush. His remarks while on the China visit had previously been agressive in the defense of the administration's actions in Iraq. Perhaps this will signal a more honest debate of the course of the war rather than an assault on the patriotism of the war critics. However, more than likely, it another example of the Spiro Agnew line of defense which states that the president can soften the body blows of his attack dog while still allowing the misstatements to stand. We saw this line of defense taken to full throttle during the Nixon Administration. Somehow this approach seems to work time and again. God cop, bad cop style that works in the movies seems to work in real life too. Are we, as a people, really that stupid? Seems we must be.

Late Thoughts

A little followed news story is the statements made before the Senate recently by Big Oil. The assembled big shots denied taking part in Cheney's little energy confab early on in the administration. It says two things neither one of which is flattering to either Cheney or Big Oil namely that somebody lied or Cheney didn't use the talents of Big Oil. An investigation into the statements made before the Senate should be convened but no doubt it would end up with the quibbling, as seen on the neocon news shows on Fox, that will undoubtedly be used in the Libby defense of the indictments. Somebody is lying, and it smells a lot like the Administration's fat hitting the fire. What is the big secret about who participated in the energy conferences? How would that limit the ability of Cheney to get the views of our energy leaders?

Current State of Affairs

Having followed the recent Congressional fiasco I was wondering how it is that a freshman congressman from Ohio can manage to put her foot in her mouth so quickly. Most Members of Congress manage to wait a while before entering into the hoof-in-mouth arena. Ms. Schmidt has gotten into the partisan swim of the Beltway in no time. Must be a quick learner. In the interest of bi-partisan politics, I would like to suggest that the Republican party has become the party of draft dodger hawks and country club society matron patriots.