Saturday, August 26, 2006
By, Pluto!
This past week, a group of astronomers, meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, removed Pluto from the list of planets in our solar system. We now have only eight planets. I was sort of saddened by this, but I guess it is of no real consequence to us, who live on earth, millions of miles away!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Middle East Tension
Israel violated the ceasefire arranged by the United Nations, by sending in troops to destroy certain targets, which Israel stated were reinforcements sent by the Syrians and Iranians.
In my opinion, any member state of the United Nations, which deliberately works to counteract a UN-sanctioned resolution, should be expelled. If Syria and Iran are working to re-arm Hezbollah, then their delegation to the United Nations must be suspended and sent out of New York. Basically, they forfeit their membership status for violating this agreement that has maintained a peace in this region for almost a week now.
It's incomprehensible.
In my opinion, any member state of the United Nations, which deliberately works to counteract a UN-sanctioned resolution, should be expelled. If Syria and Iran are working to re-arm Hezbollah, then their delegation to the United Nations must be suspended and sent out of New York. Basically, they forfeit their membership status for violating this agreement that has maintained a peace in this region for almost a week now.
It's incomprehensible.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Bush Defeat
Today, a Federal court enjoined the illegal wiretapping program being conducted by the NSA. The judge, in this case, stated the cause of justice must be tempered under the liberties and rights held by the Constitution. She alluded many times to the fact of engaging in these types of programs, we were, instead, defeating the purpose of protecting liberty and instituting tyranny and the rule of the few of the many. I concur whole-heartedly in this decision.
The Bush Administration, of course, has appealed this case to the circuit court. I believe the cause of justice and Constitutional law will be affirmed by the appellate court.
The Bush Administration, of course, has appealed this case to the circuit court. I believe the cause of justice and Constitutional law will be affirmed by the appellate court.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
1 a.m.
Tonight, at one a.m., the world will see if the fighting stops in the Middle East. Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah have agreed to the cease-fire, that was adopted by the United Nations Security Council yesterday.
Will it work? I think the fighting will stop for a while, but it depends on how committed the Lebanese are to maintaining sovereignty over their own land. If they send 15,000 Hezbollah soldiers to work with the UN peacekeeping forces, then probably not. But if Lebanon works to root out Hezbollah, then yes, peace is a great possibility.
We will wait and see...
Will it work? I think the fighting will stop for a while, but it depends on how committed the Lebanese are to maintaining sovereignty over their own land. If they send 15,000 Hezbollah soldiers to work with the UN peacekeeping forces, then probably not. But if Lebanon works to root out Hezbollah, then yes, peace is a great possibility.
We will wait and see...
Lieberman's Defeat and the Next New Deal
Joe Lieberman lost his re-election bid last Tuesday to a new term as Connecticut's senator. What does this mean?
Of course, he was a Democrat, in name, but not in principle. He was a supporter of the Bush Administration. He supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to no end. What happened to him? He lost!
I think this is a very good sign for Democrats. Democrats are going to win back Congress this fall. I can feel it in my bones. Then in 2008, we are taking back the White House. Now, it's not simply enough to have Democrats in Congress or the White House. We need real progressives, who will work to truly better this country. We need to strengthen our economy by putting the consumer first again. It's time that big business stopped out-sourcing and came back to the United States, or suffer trade fines for products manufactured outside the United States when they are imported into our country. The war in Iraq must be systematically abolished. Our position as a world power, who cares, must be renewed. The US is often times the only agent that can speak for peace, but that voice has been weakened by Bush's wars.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Franklin D. Roosevelt created programs, through the New Deal, that put the people first. He developed ways of using out-of-work men, and women, to the benefit of our society. He didn't put the business world first, by giving them multi-billion dollar contracts, providing them with tax breaks, and then allowing them to out-source the jobs. We had initiatives like the REA, which brought electricity to the most remote parts of our country. If it hadn't been for this initiative, there are parts of eastern Kentucky that would probably still be burning coal oil for light, because big business isn't interested in our niche. Just think, we could use the same idea to create an Internet program that brings the Internet to every person in the United States, just like electricity. We could use unemployed Americans to do it. The government would subsidize the program and provide the materials necessary to complete it. Not only would hardworking Americans have jobs, but people would be receiving a new modern service. Instead of awarding contracts to big business to siphon the cash off and then not implement the programs, we give them to the people who have an investment in their communities. How about that? Did you know there are remote parts of southern Louisiana that have never had telephone service? And I mean, never! This isn't because of hurricanes or anything of nature. It was the big phone companies who said, "Ah, screw it. They don't matter anyhow. We will concentrate on our big metropolitan markets."
In the end, we must salvage our society and renew it. The majority of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are now suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome as a consequence of their failed bid to "Bushize" those parts of the world. We will have to salvage them as well. Yes, we have to simply leave Iraq and say to the people, "We're sorry, but if you want your country, then you have to defend it and protect it on your own. We are leaving immediately." How do we stop failed tyrannical presidential administrations in the future from doing the same? We pass legislation that limits the authority the president has to wage war. We reign in our carte blanche that gave the president so much authority. Under the Constitution, the president cannot simply send forces out into the world to do his bidding. The Constitution gives that power to Congress. Only they can authorize a war. Then, the president can wage it as commander-in-chief. Also, Congress can recall the soldiers at any time. The president has no authority over this. Once they are recalled, his role as commander-in-chief has ended. Over the past 50 years, Congress has given many of their powers over the armed services to the president. They say he can fight small battles without their authorization. In essence, he can decide what is best for all 300 million of us. I don't know why they would do this. It's not like they are so overwrought they couldn't think about an international conflict, no matter how small it is. The failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will serve as a reminder, to Congress, not to be so trusting and gullible in the future, when the president demands a war. I am more than certain they will look at the facts more closely and demand more information to underpin their vote of authorization.
November 2006 is the end of a regime.
Of course, he was a Democrat, in name, but not in principle. He was a supporter of the Bush Administration. He supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to no end. What happened to him? He lost!
I think this is a very good sign for Democrats. Democrats are going to win back Congress this fall. I can feel it in my bones. Then in 2008, we are taking back the White House. Now, it's not simply enough to have Democrats in Congress or the White House. We need real progressives, who will work to truly better this country. We need to strengthen our economy by putting the consumer first again. It's time that big business stopped out-sourcing and came back to the United States, or suffer trade fines for products manufactured outside the United States when they are imported into our country. The war in Iraq must be systematically abolished. Our position as a world power, who cares, must be renewed. The US is often times the only agent that can speak for peace, but that voice has been weakened by Bush's wars.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Franklin D. Roosevelt created programs, through the New Deal, that put the people first. He developed ways of using out-of-work men, and women, to the benefit of our society. He didn't put the business world first, by giving them multi-billion dollar contracts, providing them with tax breaks, and then allowing them to out-source the jobs. We had initiatives like the REA, which brought electricity to the most remote parts of our country. If it hadn't been for this initiative, there are parts of eastern Kentucky that would probably still be burning coal oil for light, because big business isn't interested in our niche. Just think, we could use the same idea to create an Internet program that brings the Internet to every person in the United States, just like electricity. We could use unemployed Americans to do it. The government would subsidize the program and provide the materials necessary to complete it. Not only would hardworking Americans have jobs, but people would be receiving a new modern service. Instead of awarding contracts to big business to siphon the cash off and then not implement the programs, we give them to the people who have an investment in their communities. How about that? Did you know there are remote parts of southern Louisiana that have never had telephone service? And I mean, never! This isn't because of hurricanes or anything of nature. It was the big phone companies who said, "Ah, screw it. They don't matter anyhow. We will concentrate on our big metropolitan markets."
In the end, we must salvage our society and renew it. The majority of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are now suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome as a consequence of their failed bid to "Bushize" those parts of the world. We will have to salvage them as well. Yes, we have to simply leave Iraq and say to the people, "We're sorry, but if you want your country, then you have to defend it and protect it on your own. We are leaving immediately." How do we stop failed tyrannical presidential administrations in the future from doing the same? We pass legislation that limits the authority the president has to wage war. We reign in our carte blanche that gave the president so much authority. Under the Constitution, the president cannot simply send forces out into the world to do his bidding. The Constitution gives that power to Congress. Only they can authorize a war. Then, the president can wage it as commander-in-chief. Also, Congress can recall the soldiers at any time. The president has no authority over this. Once they are recalled, his role as commander-in-chief has ended. Over the past 50 years, Congress has given many of their powers over the armed services to the president. They say he can fight small battles without their authorization. In essence, he can decide what is best for all 300 million of us. I don't know why they would do this. It's not like they are so overwrought they couldn't think about an international conflict, no matter how small it is. The failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will serve as a reminder, to Congress, not to be so trusting and gullible in the future, when the president demands a war. I am more than certain they will look at the facts more closely and demand more information to underpin their vote of authorization.
November 2006 is the end of a regime.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Hilton Chain goes Celibate
Good for Paris Hilton. Maybe she can join a convent and become a nun. I know this is the news that America really wanted to hear. No joke! It's #1 on the CNN.com "Most Popular" list! It's even above the BP Alaska pipeline getting shut down, the war in Iraq, and the violence in Lebanon.
Good setting of priorities, America!
Good setting of priorities, America!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
Exodus
It would seem the US is pressing the Cuban people not to leave en mass from their homeland. What the heck are they talking about?
From what I see on tv and read, the Cubans who live in places like Havana, are perfectly happy with where they are. They seem to love Fidel and hope that he recovers. Now of course, I realize some of this is propaganda (because as Americans, we should be experienced with it). But I believe most of it is genuine. These people have lived with Castro as their "father" for almost fifty years now. It's like old Queen Victoria as she lay dying, Prince Albert came in to see her and wept uncontrollably. What's my point? Even though, he had hoped she would die soon, so he could be king, when the moment of truth came, he was overwrought with his bond to his controlling, bitter mother who fully dominated the first sixty years of his life. Cubans will be feeling the same nostalgia if Fidel dies or does not recover. Luckily, for them, they will retain a piece of him, through his brother, Raul.
So what's the real story the United States is sending Cuba? It's this: Cubans! Comrades! Your leader is dying, or already dead. Now is the moment you seize democracy! We are your friends. We seek to mold you and shape you in our image. We stand ready to flood your impoverished nation with many American dollars and to rebuild your economy. Why not just go ahead and concede defeat and communism's demise? The "Old Man" is already dead!
The thing the United States doesn't understand is this: Cubans, who have lived in Cuba before and since 1959, have no idea what democracy is. I dare say, we as Americans, are quickly forgetting what democracy is ourselves, which is the real tragedy here!
From what I see on tv and read, the Cubans who live in places like Havana, are perfectly happy with where they are. They seem to love Fidel and hope that he recovers. Now of course, I realize some of this is propaganda (because as Americans, we should be experienced with it). But I believe most of it is genuine. These people have lived with Castro as their "father" for almost fifty years now. It's like old Queen Victoria as she lay dying, Prince Albert came in to see her and wept uncontrollably. What's my point? Even though, he had hoped she would die soon, so he could be king, when the moment of truth came, he was overwrought with his bond to his controlling, bitter mother who fully dominated the first sixty years of his life. Cubans will be feeling the same nostalgia if Fidel dies or does not recover. Luckily, for them, they will retain a piece of him, through his brother, Raul.
So what's the real story the United States is sending Cuba? It's this: Cubans! Comrades! Your leader is dying, or already dead. Now is the moment you seize democracy! We are your friends. We seek to mold you and shape you in our image. We stand ready to flood your impoverished nation with many American dollars and to rebuild your economy. Why not just go ahead and concede defeat and communism's demise? The "Old Man" is already dead!
The thing the United States doesn't understand is this: Cubans, who have lived in Cuba before and since 1959, have no idea what democracy is. I dare say, we as Americans, are quickly forgetting what democracy is ourselves, which is the real tragedy here!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Cuba
Why is the United States so worried about Cuba? Is it like Cuba is going to invade Florida and annex that state from the rest of the US? I doubt it.
Do we even remember the reason hate for Cuba is so ingrained in our brains? I don't think we do. We just do it, because it's what we were told to do. I don't hate Cuba. I could care less about Fidel Castro. He is a piss ant in the world political theater. Let's devote our minds and attention to the Middle East, instead of some benign, stagnant, 47-year-old regime on an economically crippled Caribbean island. That just screams world domination, doesn't it?
As for those cheering mobs in Little Havana that we all see on television, I doubt 85% of them have ever set foot in Cuba. As for the rest of them, they were so concerned about the plight of their people, the direction of their country, and the oppression of Fidel Castro, they defected to the United States, where they could live in virtual safety and forget their troubles.
That says "patriot" to me.
Do we even remember the reason hate for Cuba is so ingrained in our brains? I don't think we do. We just do it, because it's what we were told to do. I don't hate Cuba. I could care less about Fidel Castro. He is a piss ant in the world political theater. Let's devote our minds and attention to the Middle East, instead of some benign, stagnant, 47-year-old regime on an economically crippled Caribbean island. That just screams world domination, doesn't it?
As for those cheering mobs in Little Havana that we all see on television, I doubt 85% of them have ever set foot in Cuba. As for the rest of them, they were so concerned about the plight of their people, the direction of their country, and the oppression of Fidel Castro, they defected to the United States, where they could live in virtual safety and forget their troubles.
That says "patriot" to me.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
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