Bum Rushing Pirates

"They were kids. The story is out, I don't know if it's true or not, but apparently the hijackers, these kids, the merchant marine organizers, Muslim kids, were upset, they wanted to just give the captain back and head home because they were running out of food, they were running out of fuel, they were surrounded by all these US Navy ships, big ships, and they just wanted out of there. That's the story, but then when one of them put a gun to the back of the captain, Mr. Phillips, then bam, bam, bam. There you have it, and three teenagers shot on the high seas at the order of President Obama."-Rush Limbaugh

This is some pretty glaring hypocrisy even for Rush. I can only imagine the mental gymnastics the brains of his listeners must have done, whom I'm sure up until that very moment thought those Somali pirates got exactly what they deserved, until hearing this, now mourn those poor children, killed to feed Obama's bloodlust.

What does the far right want? Does Limbaugh actually believe that the pirates should have been let go? Is that how we respond to someone who hijacks ships and take hostages? Just let them go? Who cares if they were between 17 and 19 years old? Live by your actions.

It's a shame kids so young do this, but these Republicans didn't blink an eye about the captives held in Gitmo, many of whom were younger than the pirates. And these folks Bush threw in Gitmo were held in detention, without due process for years. Even the mere mention that we should look at their cases caused conservatives to froth at the mouth.

And these Republicans don't give a damn about black teenagers in America who commit violent crimes and are charged as adults. Why all the sudden compassion for human rights? I think even the far leftist liberals would agree that if pirates hijacked a ship, took hostages and threatened to kill them that there should be punishment.

I think except for the far left peace-niks who never want war, most Americans want sensible war policies, want a president who will defend our country and they are willing to support a president who they feel has good judgment. Obama campaigned as being a pro-war (when necessary) candidate and he won. Obama never, ever said that he was against all wars and promised only peace.

If there is evidence of terrorists in Somalia then Obama has a responsibility to investigate and take the necessary actions to protect this country. Obama does NOT have the right to invade Somalia because he wants access to that country's livestock and bananas.

The Adventures of Dick and Turdblossom

In his interview with John King, former Vice President Dick Cheney said of President Obama's national security policy, "He's making some choices that in my mind, will in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack."

The hubris of these people is nothing short of incredible. And the fact that anyone would believe anything that comes out of the former Bush Administration's mouth boggles my mind.

Noting that the former V.P. no longer gets daily intelligence briefings, Jon Stewart of the Daily Show espoused the frustration that many of us feel.

“The guy’s vice president for eight years, you barely see a whiff of him. He lives in some subterranean lair, literally has his house removed from Google Earth,” Stewart said. “Then when he’s no longer accountable to the American people he’s popping up everywhere. I can’t get him off my TV. He’s like the Mario Lopez of doom now.”

The main stream media is still the same. Not doing their job and not asking the right questions. And I know why. Because they had failed to do their job for years. Because they failed to watch and report. Because they failed in their lack of diligence to report what most of us out here knew.

To give these criminals a venue for their continued lies says everything about the corporate media. They are simply caricatures of journalists while a satirical news program that comes on after a show about foul mouthed 4th graders, is left to do the real reporting.

G.W. Bush's former political strategist Karl Rove, dubbed Turdblossom by the 43rd president, is also starting to feel the heat at no longer being protected by cronies in the justice department. 

“What the Obama administration has done in the last several days is very dangerous,” Rove said. “What they've essentially said is if we have policy disagreements with our predecessors... we're going to turn ourselves into the moral equivalent of a Latin American country run by colonels in mirrored sunglasses and what we're gonna do is prosecute systematically the previous administration, or threaten prosecutions against the previous administration, based on policy differences. Is that what we've come to in this country?”

Yes, it is. When your policies are illegal, this is what we come to.

Rove then went on a diatribe comparing Obama to a Latin America dictator, adding, “It may be the way that they do things in Chicago, but that's not the way we do things here in America.”

That's right, Karl. Here in America we out undercover agents whose husbands endanger our desire to go to war. God forbid we investigate and possibly prosecute officials who may have broken laws.

Karl Rove and Dick Cheney think that "good" and "evil" and "democracy" and "truth" and "compassion" and "torture" are, like all other words, mere sounds you make in order to get people to do what you want. Bush himself remains too stupid to think anything of consequence as he has always lived in a world of unquestioned family and class privilege.

Rove and Cheney, along with the ex-president in hiding, all know they are guilty, and we will see them and their media enablers become increasingly desperate as the hour of judgment approaches. This was their greatest fear and I think they really thought they were going to get away with it. Hell, so did I.

Since the congressional GOP has shown they aren't going to behave reasonably, Obama should not waste time soliciting their support anymore. It's time to do what must be done to restore the trampled honor of this nation.

The New Face Of Terror

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Glenn Beck of Fox News.

Mr. Beck used the G-20 riots and the "tea parties" to say that people are rioting against Obama. Beck went full on paranoid by claiming that we are heading towards the totalitarian state of affairs as described in the book "1984". Some of the interesting things about Glenn Beck’s shtick can be seen in his contrived fear of the end of America. There is the dramatic presentation and the alarm sounding dialogue, Beck even conjures up tears as he blubbers his way through yet another rant on the apocalypse about to befall our once great nation.

Exactly where is the evidence that Obama is moving the nation towards fascism? If he really was moving the nation towards fascism, then how is a critic like Glenn Beck still on the air? Why do we still have democratic institutions? Americans are so upset with Obama that they sent him a ringing rebuke by only giving him a 66% approval rating.

The GOP's "Rovian" use of projection that takes the worst attributes of the GOP and blames the opposition of the very same traits is pretty basic. One only has to look at their "born again" conservative values toward to the budget. Every GOP President has run deficits since Reagan, without exception. Deficits don't matter to the GOP as long as they fund their ideology. Deficits do matter when it comes to funding policies that they don't approve of. This is especially true of the auto industry.

What the pundits whom decry the government's firing of GM's CEO have conveniently forgotten is a fundamental tenant of capitalism. The money they invest is at risk, the risk of failure and loss. TARP represents socialism of losses, not fascism. Essentially we lose together but still retain the ability to gain on our own. If we the people had not bailed out everyone, these folks would be in bankruptcy and would not have their jobs. We the people, as shareholders, have every right to demand that heads roll.

The real villains are those that setup and allowed the creation of the hazards that thrust the entire world into recession. The pain and suffering these people have caused billions worldwide so that they could line their own pockets with gold is most certainly reprehensible.

We the people have failed to call out the lies so liberally spread by the likes of Fox News where people like Glenn Beck should never be taken more seriously than the pair of clown shoes he really is.

Pride In Willfull Ignorance

In a recent trip to South Africa, Pope Benedict told reporters that AIDS, "cannot be overcome by the distribution of condoms; on the contrary, they increase it."

It is a statement that once made makes you wonder if this guy is really serious because it would seem to go completely counter to what the latex product was designed to do. In fact, Merriam-Webster define a condom as, "a sheath commonly of rubber worn over the penis (as to prevent conception or venereal infection during coitus)." I would like to repeat that definition as it seems to be vaguely important. "To Prevent Venereal Infection During Sex".

Long ago it was important to have as many children as possible because the chances of these infants surviving to adulthood were pretty slim. There was no understanding of germs as the cause of disease and there were also no anti-biotics or vaccines. Diseases that a shot or a tablet can eradicate today claimed many young lives in the Middle-Ages.

An ancillary benefit to all of this fornication and procreation was a swelling of not just genitals but also of populous. Strength in numbers played a vital role during the Crusades which in turn increased the wealth of the Church and the power of the Papacy.

Fast forward to 2009. The Church still teaches that fidelity in a heterosexual marriage and abstinence are the best way to stop AIDS because condom use somehow promotes loose morals. Meanwhile, health experts say there is no scientific evidence showing that condom use spurs people to take more sexual risks and in fact studies show that condom use reduces the risk of acquiring HIV infection. To make any claim contrary would be disingenuous, misleading and just plain wrong.

But who would know more about sex than the people not having it.

Win, Lose or Draw?

President Obama's trip to Europe left many Americans with a bittersweet taste in their mouth.

His inability to secure commitment from any European nation to help with the fighting in Afghanistan was viewed by many as a colossal failure, especially in conjunction with the fact pretty much all of Europe disagrees with the size and scope of the White House's plan to jolt the global economy out of recession.

The President was however able to signal to the world the United States is no longer interested in the "go it alone" strategy that marked much of the Bush Administration stance on foreign policy. In cities from London to Prague to Istanbul, Obama received a raucous welcome to his promise to listen and consult more, as he took his first turn on the world stage as president.

Then there is the whole issue of whether or not Obama bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The bow should not be viewed as anything more than a show of respect. What some Americans need to understand is we are in the dawn of a new era and we can no longer afford to treat the rest of the world with contempt and disrespect.

I'm proud of our President for being so considerate of other peoples and cultures and those peoples' leaders. It's a highly intelligent course of action, to treat others with respect. I guess after eight years of conservatives labeling everyone they met with brown skin a "terrorist," it's hard for people, especially conservative journalists, to accept such mature behavior.

Fifty Two Card Pick-Up

The financial deck of cards that was built into a house came crashing down due in large part to lack of over site and understanding of regulation.

This was accomplished systematically by the Clinton Administration toward the end of the 90's and brought to a whole new level by the Bush White House.

During Clinton's 2nd term in office an attempt was made to increase loan accessibility for low-income buyers which resulted in Fannie Mae, the nation's largest home mortgage underwriter, relaxing credit requirements on the loans it would purchase from other banks and lenders.

To review:

Sub prime Lending= loans to high-risk borrowers with poor credit.

High-Risk FICO score= 620< lower credit risk characteristics of the typical sub prime borrower.

Sub prime loans can offer borrowers with poor credit a chance to own a home or repair damaged credit, but comes at a price of higher interest rates and increased fees. It is not by chance when a person is hit with late fees on their credit card account causing overdrafts to their credit limit, resulting in overdraft charges. These higher fees offset the lender for the increased costs associated with servicing high risk clients.

Everyone has dirt on their hands for the degradation of the financial system. Sub prime predatory lenders and the continued lack of effective government oversight have taken the brunt of the blame in the media but others also at fault are mortgage brokers for guiding borrowers into irresponsible loans, appraisers for inflating housing values and Wall Street investors for backing sub prime mortgage securities without verifying the strength of the underlying loans.

Borrowers should also be criticized for entering into loan agreements they could not fulfill and were only approved for the loan because of falsified and unverified financial records.

We seem to be on a ten to fifteen year cycle of booms and busts. Maybe the answer is curbing growth in annual GDP by increasing taxes and creating a larger safety net for citizens willing to take high risks.

The lesson here can be summed up in the words of Thomas Jefferson, "A nation that expects to be ignorant and free, expects what never was and never will be."

Give Stem Cells A Chance

I’m not going to get into an argument about whether or not I think an embryo is a human life. I will argue that the majority of the representatives in the House and Senate voted to allow the federal funding of stem cell research of human embryos.

These representatives of the people were stopped by one man who knew all too well the pen is mightier than the sword.

George W. Bush made it his personal mission to stop the federal funding of stem cells because of ideology. Good for him, he stuck to his guns. Unfortunately for the rest of us the former president didn’t have his finger on the pulse of the nation and with one fell swoop of the veto pen, ended the discussion.

George Washington understood the importance of getting fresh blood and new ideas into the executive office. This is evidenced by his willingness to relinquish power after only two terms. Without that precedent being set it is possible that term limits would never have been established and G.W. Bush could terrifyingly be serving out his third term. The very idea makes me shudder so let's be rid of such egregious thoughts and move on to greener pastures.

From the East Wing of the White House, President Barack Obama announced recently the removal of restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research put in place by the Bush administration.

“At this moment, the full promise of stem cell research remains unknown…but that potential will not reveal itself on its own. Medical miracles do not just happen simply by accident. They result from painstaking and costly research,” Obama said.

Stem cells are the body's master cells, the source of all cells and tissue, including brain, blood, heart, bones and muscles. Embryonic stem cells come from days-old embryos and can produce any type of cell in the body. Scientists hope to exploit the transformational qualities of stem cells to treat a variety of injuries and diseases including cancer and cystic fibrosis.

The goal is to quickly undo the legacies of the Bush era that Obama sees as holding back progress, particularly those motivated by politics or religion. The decision was a clear repudiation of the approach taken by the current president’s predecessor.

There is this guy I keep reading about. His name is Albert Einstein and he is known to have espoused many profound thoughts in his time.

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind,” Einstein said.

But I’m sure Bush has a better comprehension of the cosmos than the a**hole who proved space is curved.

Tell me which way to the ranch cause I hear there's some brush that needs to be cleared.

Ahh, somewhere in Texas a village finally has its idiot back.

The Pull-Out Method

The way the United States has dealt with Iraq is a lot like the results of a teenage grope fest and a broken prophylactic in the back seat of a car.

First we enter under false pretenses, get drunk on power, suddenly realize we don’t have nearly enough protection but still decide we’re already here so we might as well just pump and pray. The problem is that when we finally decide to pull out, a few thousand soldiers are always left behind.

In his first official statement about how he intends to end one of the longest and costliest wars in U.S. history, President Obama said he will bring the war in Iraq to an end but with a caveat. Not everyone will go home.

The Marines of Camp Lejeune, N.C. had a front-row seat as the president laid out his vision for Iraq over the coming months and years.

His plan is to have all combat troops out of the theatre and on their way home by the end of August 2010 with a contingent of 35,000 to 50,000 troops remaining behind to assist in non-combat roles.

Theoretically these non-combat personnel will aid in training Iraqi security forces, help carry out counterterrorism missions and protect U.S. military and civilian personnel. The distinction between combat and non-combat is somewhat of a misnomer. The threats U.S. forces face will be just as real a year from now as they are today. Remaining troops will be armed with more than just flower power and a peace pipe.

The liberal left decries that we aren’t leaving soon enough, the neo-con right wishes we could stay forever. Me? I’m just happy that we are finally going to allocate our military resources where they belong, like searching for Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Let’s go after those guys. It’s got to be safer than blowing our load on the Iraqis.

Palestinian Aid Summit

Here we go again...

With closed borders, a bombed out infrastructure and civilian casualties mounting everyday, the people of Gaza are crying out for aid.

The international community has come together in an attempt to help the Palestinian people who were left shattered in the wake of the Israeli offensive into Gaza that occurred in January.

World leaders are attending a conference in Egypt to discuss the future of Gaza and the Palestinians are hoping for a little more than $2 billion in reconstruction aid. The United States, European Commission and the Gulf Arab States have pledged more than $3 billion, but with carrots and sticks attached.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said the first goal is to open the border crossings so aid can be received by Palestinians, but said it was imperative that illegal weapons don't flow into Gaza.

As I am writing this, reports are coming in that Hamas has again begun lobbing rockets into the south of Israel essentially ending the cease-fire.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that reconstruction aid was part of a larger picture of pushing forth peace in the Middle East.

“Our response to today’s crisis in Gaza cannot be separated from our broader efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace…that brings us close to our shared goals,” Clinton said.

Israel and the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip were not invited to the summit against Egypt’s wishes, which was hosting the event.

While conventional wisdom may hold that you bring in the two pugnacious states to work out their differences, the international community has obviously decided that both countries are acting too childish and at least for now don't deserve a seat at the table.