Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Alito vote

Four Democrat Senators voted to confirm Alito. They should be drummed out of the party. They are Nelson, Johnson, Conrad, and Byrd.

Can democracy survive a Supreme Court so far the the right? I wonder. Alito would seem to believe in the supremacy of the executive branch, with the legislative branch the weakling of the triparte system. This is not what the founders of our country wrote into the Constitution.

Will democracy be replaced by theo-fasciscm? Is this what the majority of citizens want? It wouldn't be the country I grew up in and have grown old in.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Democracy for Bush

Landslide for Hamas -- limbo in Mideast
Leaders say Israel won't be recognized

Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service

Friday, January 27, 2006

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/27/MNGBEGUHCF1.DTL&hw=Hamas&sn=001&sc=1000

Bush says that he believes in democracy for the Mideast, (don't get all choked up here) so now that he's got it, what is next?

Is there anyone out there naive enough to believe that Bush's policies and the Iraq war haven't hugely contributed to the Hamas landslide in Palestine?

Disasters multiply. More questions are raised. Is there a voice of reason out there to provide answers?

Thursday, January 26, 2006

A funny story with a sad truth

Gleaned from the internet: 
Canoe Race 
A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day the Japanese won by a mile.
Afterward, the American team was very discouraged and depressed. The American company decided the reason for their crushing defeat had to be found. A Management Team made up of senior executives was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. They discovered that the Japanese had 8
people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and one person rowing.

The American Management Team hired a consulting firm to assist in analyzing this data, happily paying their considerable fee. After six months of hard work, the consulting firm concluded that too many people were steering the Americans' boat, while not enough people were rowing. So the American Team acted:  To prevent losing to the Japanese again the following year, the team's management structure was totally reorganized, to include 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the Rowing Team Quality First Program, with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. In an all-out attempt to further provide empowerment and enrichment's to the rower, new paddles and medical benefit incentives were
promised in exchange for a victory in the next competition. The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the American Management Team laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. 

The money saved was distributed to the senior executives as bonuses for a job well done.

A zenith of incompetence

PATIENTS SNARLED IN MEDICARE MESS
New prescription drug program plagued by delays and confusion over coverage

Headlines in the San Francisco Chronicle, Thursday, January 26.

Read all about it on the link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/26/MNG24GTB8U1.DTL

How many more examples of government incompetence do the voters need before they revolt? Iraq is degenerating into an unmitigated disaster. The Katrina response was pathetic in it's timing and scope. And now millions are suffering on the alter of "privatization" of the drug prescription industry.

Oh well, what the hell, it's mostly poor people who would have voted for the Democrats anyway.

 

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

"Bush Aide Says Abramoff Photos Coincidence"

The above is a headline to an article in today's San Francisco Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/23/national/w045250S00.DTL&hw=Abramoff&sn=001&sc=1000

If the Abramoff scandal had erupted during the Clinton presidency, and pictures surfaced showing Bill and Jack together, I can just imagine the clamor by the Republicans calling for a special prosecuter to investigate the relationship.

They used to call Reagan the "teflon president" because nothing thrown at him would stick.  Bush must be "super-teflon".

Monday, January 23, 2006

todays headline: "Bush to go on offense on secret listening"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/23/MNGBNGRIFI1.DTL

How long will it be before "secret listening" goes from strictly national security to spying on political opponents? The temptation to use wiretaps to spy on the "domestic political enemy" is often too difficult to overcome. Power corrupts patriotism, and turns it into a justification to take measures to preserve that power.

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
-- Samuel Johnson (Boswell's Life of Johnson)

(The Ben Franklin quote in the previous post also applies)

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Feds Seek Google Records in Porn Probe

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1522501

The Bush snoopers want Google to turn over files , ostensibly to study child porn access. Would it stop there? Would any and all searches become government property? How about searches that may show signs of dissent with Bush policy, domestic or foreign?

Liberty and freedom may be under attack here. Support Google in their efforts to resist the  snoopers.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Vote for Democracy

I believe that it's time for every Democrat Senator to stand on principle and support a filibuster of the Alito nomination.

It seems to me that Judge Alito does not believe in the tripartite, equal division of powers that the founders of our country wrote into the Constitution. It appears that his thinking goes more to the power of the Executive branch trumping the Congress, and making the Judicial branch the willing handmaiden of the Executive.

This is absolutely contrary to the intent of the writers of the Constitution who had just concluded a War of Revolution against England and the power of the King. Alito would turn back history and cancel the genius of our Constitution and it's guarantees of liberty and freedom for all. He would support the concept of "Big Brother is watching you", as is exemplified in Bush's belief that warrants issued by a court are not necessary to spy on United States citizens.

This is a slippery slope that eventually will end in the pit of fascism, and will signal the end of "The land of the free and the home of the brave".

Monday, January 16, 2006

Uncle Walter has spoken

Yesterday's headline:

Cronkite: Time for U.S. to Leave Iraq

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

Sunday, January 15, 2006

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/15/entertainment/e154744S99.DTL&hw=Cronkite&sn=001&sc=1000

We were mired in an impossible situation in Vietnam when "Uncle Walter" gave his opinion. He was right then, He's right now. Is anyone listening?

Monday, January 9, 2006

Samuel "Machinegun Sammy" Alito

The Senate is considering the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.  One of the stranger cases he has ruled on in a lower court involved machine gun possession. Alito believes that Congress has no right to regulate machineguns. Below is the link to an article on this and a quote from the article.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/02/MNG0DFHNR71.DTL

"Whatever role machine guns play in nationwide crime, Alito said, the mere act of possessing one within a state is no more of an interstate, or economic, activity than possessing a gun near a school. "

----------------------------------------------------------------------

As I understand it, it's against Federal law to grow, possess and use marijuana. Using Alito's machine gun logic, if the pot you grow, possess and use never enters into interstate commerce, the  Feds should have no regulatory rights.

What am I missing here?

 

Sunday, January 8, 2006

National debt and private debt

Two headlines from the San Francisco Chronicle Business section, Sunday, Jan. 8th.

Click on the headlines to link to the articles.

Americans saving less than nothing
Spending could outstrip income in 2005, which hasn't happened since the Depression
- Tom Abate

U.S. hovers close to its debt ceiling
Treasury boss says government business could be affected
- Tom Abate

This is damnfool economics on both government and personal level. No good can come from such stupid behavior. People better wake up before it's too late.

Saturday, January 7, 2006

Is there no honor among thieves?

Try to imagine how nervous some congressmen must be since they learned that Duke Cunningham was wearing a wire for a short time.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20060106-23413300-bc-us-cunningham-crn.xml

There truly is no honor among thieves. A palpable atmosphere of fear and suspicion must hang over every conversation between some of these people.

We elected them, and they are supposed to be working for us. NO WAY! Many of them are going to the highest bidder, and the voter is left behind.

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

"So are they all, all honourable men" Shakespeare

Jack Abramoff has no friends anywhere now. His ship is sinking fast and the rats are deserting even faster.

How far do the evil tentacles of the octopus extend? How many in high places are in the grip?

Tom DeLay would seem to be one of the major beneficiarys of Abramoff largess. It's on the record that 2 of Tom's fervent supporters are Bush and Cheney. How deep are they immersed in this cesspool of corruption?

For democracy to survive and thrive, honorable men must hold the reins of power.

 

 

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

How the mighty have fallen,----------------

-------------or are about to.

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT,  as paperboys used to shout on street corners as they tried to sell a few extra papers in their bag.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/03/national/a073843S42.DTL

Jack Abramoff is singing like the proverbial canary as he tries to reduce his legal liability to something less than life in prison.

"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely". The Republicans have let their power blind them to their sworn duty to the country, and instead have concentrated on self aggrandizement. This must stop, and we must hope that those who follow the fallen into power will have learned a lesson, and put duty to country before self.

Posted later: Listening to the talking heads bandy about the huge sums of money involved in this case caused this thought.

There can be no doubt that we have the best government money can buy.

Abramoff is rolling over on members of Congress, probably including Tom DeLay. Will Tom roll over on someone very high in the food chain? And if so, who might that be?

Abramoff said a curious thing in court today. One of his statements referred to forgivness by the "Almighty" Is it God he's referring to, or some mortal being with the power to pardon? Is there a subtle and veiled threat here?

Verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Interesting!