Senator Robert Byrd

Today, Robert C. Byrd (D), who is the senior senator from the state of West Virginia, became the longest serving member in the history of the United States Congress!

He has served in both the United States House of Representatives and Senate for 56 years, 320 days (20,774 days). He surpassed the service of former Arizona Democratic Senator Carl Trumbull Hayden as the longest serving member of Congress.

Term Limits in Congress

Some Republicans in Congress think that its members should be constitutionally limited to terms. One proposal is to amend the Constitution to limit members of the Senate to two terms and members of the House to three terms.

Is this going to happen? It is unlikely! However, the Republican members of the United States Congress may feel completely free to limit themselves unofficially! That would be perfectly fine with me.

Walt Whitman & Levi's

I wonder what American writer Walt Whitman would think of Levi's Jeans using excerpts of his poetry to peddle their wares?

I'm a little confused by it, personally.

Whatever happened to civil rights in America?

Some people are going to say I am a sex offender, but I am not; I am an American, who believes in the Constitution and the rights of everyone, even those who have been in trouble with the law. Yes, felons, big and small.

I read a very disturbing article on CNN.com related to people who have been convicted of and served time for various sex crimes. Police are making it their personal mission to stake out the residences of sex felons tonight, who have paid their debt to society, and threaten them. As a tax payer, I believe they should be watching murderers and thieves, too. No matter their status with the legal system.

Let's face it, not only could I be raped out on the streets, I could be bound, tortured and killed by a psycho, or have my Halloween candy robbed at gun point by a thief. There are so many potential dangers out on the streets on a night like tonight--for adults and children alike.

So, while the cops are staking out the homes of rapists and child molesters, every other criminal element will have free reign tonight. That sure does make me feel great!

Oh, I forgot to mention those kids who are going to be out egging everyone's cars and homes. But that's okay. It's just kids!

Public Health Option

Republican members of the United States are asking whether or not Americans are ready to shoulder the burden of a tax hike.

Hmmmm. Where were these senators when George W. Bush was flushing our economy down the toilet by taking us into two wars we will never win? Now, they have the audacity to criticize Democrats for putting forth a plan to help Americans in America. Instead of working to make this plan possible, they are going to strike more fear into the hearts of Americans. How does fear help the 40 million Americans who have no healthcare coverage? Let's end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and funnel those monies into taking care of people by paying for their healthcare.

There is a simple way to solve this entire problem. The United States should nationalize healthcare. That will put big business out of business when it comes to healthcare options. All Americans will receive the same free care. But, as we know, health insurance lobbyists are working overtime on Capitol Hill.

Senator Mitch McConnell put that in your crack pipe and smoke it.

Balloon Boy Hoax

Yes, just as I suspected, balloon boy is a hoax. That family looks creepy. I'm not sure what they wanted out of setting a large homemade balloon free and then claiming their young son was aboard it, while he was actually hanging out in the home's attic.

Not everyone is for Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

Some say Barack Obama doesn't deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, because he lacks accomplishment and distinction, but I disagree.

The United States is finally coming out of a long, bleak period of history under the regime of George W. Bush. The countries of the world see President Obama as the antithesis of Bush's xenophobic and backward international policy. The world can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Let's allow the wounds of yesterday to be healed by the promise of tomorrow. If anyone deserves the distinction for progressive ideas and policies it is Barack Obama.

Death Penalty in Ohio

The governor of Ohio, who granted a temporary reprieve for a man sentenced to die by lethal injection, has made me think of my own first actions as future governor of Kentucky. I would enter an order ending all capital punishment in the state.

***

I, Jackson Leslie Ingersoll, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, extend greetings;

Whereas, pursuant to Section 77 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky do hereby enact the following order;

Whereas, as Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, acting pursuant to aforementioned, declare all persons previously sentenced to capital punishment by a Court of the Commonwealth of Kentucky have said sentence commuted to life imprisonment;

Further, all persons convicted and sentenced for a capital offense by a Court of Law, during the course of the term of this order, shall have their sentence commuted to life imprisonment;

Whereas, I cause my name and the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to be affixed on this fifth day of October, 2009.

/s/

###

Rio gets the 2016 Olympic Games

I think it is great that Rio de Janiero, Brazil, was selected to host the 2016 Olympics. Chicago suffered a defeat in the first round of voting, but that is okay. It was about time that a country/city in South America was selected to host the Games.

Africa is next!

(Europe and North America have dominated the Olympics since their resurrection in the 19th century.)

"Stranger than Fiction."

This movie should be called "Dumber than Fiction!" I hadn't even heard of this movie title until yesterday afternoon, and I wish I still had never heard of it.

I found this movie in the DVD collection, and I thought, "I've never seen this one, so why not?" After all, Will Ferrell is a pretty funny guy.

This movie is horrible.

First, who is going to believe that you are going to be receiving secret messages through your wristwatch, except for maybe a schizophrenic? (Subsequently, which was addressed in the movie.)

Second, the plot was bogus and not even mildly amusing. The poor guy worked for the IRS as an auditor. He falls in love with a Harvard Law dropout, who now runs a bakery and refuses to pay the last quarter of her taxes. "She's stealing from the government," duh! But she still bakes Will Ferrell some cookies, which he perceives as a bribe. (He's a G-Man to the end.)

On to more tragedy from this alleged comedy.

I knew we were in trouble when Queen Latifah showed up and told the eccentric writer, who was standing on her desk, imagining what the breeze would feel like just before you died after leaping from a building, that she was there to help her secretly finish her novel. (Who's buying that farce?)

I did not finish the movie. I pressed stop and stepped away. To even insult this movie further, I was mostly drunk while watching it. I'd had five gin and tonics. Being drunk leads me to believe everything is funny. There was no laughter directed at this movie.

Ebert & Roeper gave it "two thumbs way up!"

Whatever!

President Obama addresses America's youth

I don't understand why parents think that addressing students about their goals and education, by Barack Obama, is an act of socialism. I think it is an act of caring about our future. I was told by someone at school that a parent had come to the school to say that if we showed the television address she would keep her child at home that day.

I hadn't really thought about it, but I think now that I will show it. It only proves that people need a little culture in their lives!

Former Bush Administration not immune from prosecution

In the months following 9/11, the administration of George W. Bush systematically threw off the confines of the United States Constitution in order to "fight" an unmonitored war on terrorism.

Almost eight years later, some justice may be rendered in the illegal activities of Bush's cronies, like former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Abdullah al-Kidd, an American born citizen, was held by for sixteen days by the FBI, which caused him to lose his job and family. He was part of a sting operation that monitored Muslim men. Mr. Abdullah al-Kidd is now suing Ashcroft for his illegal detention in 2003. I believe it may take some time, but the infrastructure of lies and deceit created by the Bush administration will slowly come apart, leading to the implication of many, many Bush cronies.

Baghdad Massacre

With 95+ people dead in a series of bombings across Baghdad, the Iraqi government is facing one of its largest tests since American forces scaled down troops and missions in key regions and cities over two months ago.

In all honesty, I believe this sort of attack will be the mainstay of Iraqi life for the foreseeable future. This is what the George W. Bush "democracy" model looks like in Iraq. It is based on intimidation, carnage, mayhem and death.

What do the days, weeks and months ahead hold for the innocent people of Iraq?

The Swearing-in of Sonia Sotomayor as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Emotional Poverty

I was thinking today about life. It is funny how things sneak into your consciousness. It can happen when you see something, smell something, dream something, anything really.

I had a personal epiphany, of sorts, today. It is really possible to have material wealth and suffer from what I call emotional poverty. What is true for me is one simple fact: I got so busy living that I forget to get a life. That may sound like an oxymoron, but they are two vastly different things.

There is a gaping hole in my life. I am essentially alone in personal matters. I attempt to fill the void in my soul with materialistic things and fantasies, but it does little good. I live in denial every single day while pretending as if my life is wonderful and couldn't be any better. In fact, my life is quite pathetic and bizarre. I judge myself much too harshly in areas where I should loosen up, which in turn may lead to personal happiness.

I'm not sure what people see when they look at me. Perhaps, they know I am compensating for something, or perhaps they have no clue. Sometimes I feel so naked to the world; it is like I am trapped in a glass cage from which I cannot escape and everyone is laughing and pointing at me. When in reality, they probably don't notice me at all.

I am a narcissist, I admit it freely. I think of myself much too highly on the outside, while I cower on the inside. I am much too critical of those in my world. Unfortunately, that world is shrinking and growing dimmer. It's like a madness that drains the spirit of feeling while begging to experience a slight, caring touch. The harder I try to make the world like me, the more it eludes me.

I'm babbling on and on. I am hysterical, even. But I am calm on the outside. One day, just maybe, my outside persona will project my internal nature. It is the cruel duality of my existence.

Sonia Sotomayor confirmed by Senate to U.S. Supreme Court

Sonia Sotomayor will become the 111th justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, after being confirmed by the United States Senate earlier today. She will be the third woman to sit on the court, and the its first Hispanic.

The final vote by the Senate was 68-31.

Bill Clinton & North Korea

President Bill Clinton took it upon himself to secure the release of two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had both been found guilty of spying and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in North Korea.

The mission of President Clinton was successful, as North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, granted the two journalists a pardon on humanitarian grounds.

This goes to prove that if you work with your enemies, rather than sit across the world and threaten them, you will get much more productive dialogue. This is the direction the United States was heading at the end of the Clinton administration in 2001. Unfortunately, these promising results were destroyed by the George W. Bush administration.

Did Bill Clinton make a promise to Kim? The White House adamantly says, "No!" I believe, however, that a degree of concession had to come from the Obama administration in order to release these two individuals. It wasn't done on purely humanitarian grounds.

Jon & Kate Plus Hate

Anyone who watches this abortion of a show should have their head examined. I tried watching it before they went all destructive. I found the wife to be smothering, demanding and degrading, and the husband to be a jellyfish of compliance and cowardice. It wasn't worth the five minutes I gave it.

I certainly wouldn't watch it now! I don't know why TLC keeps this show going. Oh I do, it's called money!

Beer at the White House

Tomorrow, President Barack Obama has invited the Harvard professor and policeman involved in last week's scandal in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the White House.

Why?

Apparently to shoot the breeze and have a beer. I think the Office of President is an important job that doesn't involve this type of meeting. President Obama stated the Cambridge police officer in question behaved "stupidly" in his attempt to ascertain if Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was the property owner or not.

I believe it can be left there with that statement. There is no need to hold a special meeting over the incident.