I have been trying to get some enthusiasm for a Democratic candidate- any Democratic candidate. But I just can't find anything to be enthusiastic about. I wanted to see Howard Dean's reaction to the capture of Saddam Huessein so I went to Dean's blog (http://blog.deanforamerica.com/) to check the response. To his credit, Dean did say "this is a great day for the Iraqi people, the US, and the international community" but then continued: "This development provides an enormous opportunity to ...
The guiding principle of General Semantics is that "The map is not the territory." Maps, like words, are symbolic representations. That is to say, what we call a thing doesn't change that thing. But in politics, the words we use sure do change the perceptions of people and things. When a word is used too often and too abstractly, it loses all meaning. It can mean anything and also nothing. Liberal and Conservative are perfect examples. They mean so many things, describe so many positions, tha...
Ronald Reagan died today, at age 93, after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease. His legacy is a complicated one, but I would just like to share my thoughts as a person who lived through his two terms in office as the President of the United States. Let me preface any further remarks by saying, candidly, I voted against him not once but twice. Despite that, I must say that the United States was a better place after his two terms in office. His accomplishments cannot be underestimated and w...
The longest journey starts with a single step.This is it!
I have written several posts about the conflict in Israel. In one of them entitled "What Do We Do About Hamas?" I argued that the members of this terrorist organization have a vested interest in keeping the pot stirred up and little personal incentive to negotiate a peace, as that would mean abrogating their ont-inconsiderable power. You can see the original article at http://kupe.joeuser.com/index.asp?AID=194 Today I attended an educational seminar put on by B'tselem which defines itself as ...
Let me begin by saying I worked for George McGovern in 1972. It was a disaster, much worse than the man deserved. It was a severe setback for Liberal politics in America. I see Howard Dean falling into the same pattern now. In 1972, Richard Nixon was the incumbent President. Our nation was involved in the Vietnam war, which had become highly unpopular by that time. The nation was polarized around the war. The Democratic party favorite seemed to be Hubert H. Humphrey, who had served as our Vic...
Family values oriented Republican Sen. David Vitter of New Orleans, accompanied by his wife, has refuted charges that he had relationships with New Orleans prostitutes. He did not deny that he may have relations with prostitutes in Washington D.C., where his name appears in the telephone records of the "D.C. Madams" escort service. We aren't sure about New York or Los Angeles or Vegas. But never in New Orleans. At least not while he was sober. I mean Sen. Vitter is a family guy. ...
The Independent, a British daily news "rag", has published an article comparing the Virgin Mary to today's Palestinian women. The lead paragraph of the article refers to the Virgin Mary as a Palestinian beginning "In two days, a third of humanity will gather to celebrate the birth pains of a Palestinian refugee in Bethlehem." This is outrageous, slanted Pro-Palestinian propaganda, pure and simple. The New Testament states that Mary was related to Elizabeth wife of Zacharias. Elizabeth w...
In the face of evidence presented at the Little Green Footballs blog site, Reuters has had to withdraw a photo that greatly exaggerated Israel's bombing of Beirut. The photo contained plumes of smoke and entire buildings that were "cloned" in Photoshop to exaggerate the severity of the damage. The falsified image: Go to Link to see how it was uncovered. Reuters retracted the image: You have to ask why Reuters published this photo in the first place. The photo was taken...
"We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace. We know that oppressive governments support terror, while free governments fight the terrorists in their midst. We know that free peoples embrace progress and life, instead of becoming the recruits for murderous ideologies." -George W. Bush, Speech to UN General Assembly, September 21, 2004 One of the tenets of the Bush administration is that the proliferation of democrat...
I wasn't home last night to hear the President deliver the State of the Union, but I read the transcript this morning. That sound you heard last night was the sound of the Democratic platform being yanked out from under them. "We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We will also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn but from wood chips, stalks,or swit...
The headline might read: Suicide Bomb Rips Through Train; Unknown Number of Civilans Killed and Wounded Not too long ago we would have assumed that such a story originated in Tel Aviv or Haifa or Jerusalem. Today it could as easily be London or Cairo or Madrid or Rome or New York. Welcome to the New Millenium, where terror knows no national boundaries. We grow used to armed soldiers at airplane gates. We think nothing of being asked to take off our shoes before we board a plane....
The Terri Schiavo case is a no-win situation for the Democrats, yet they have once again accepted (maybe "embraced") an unpopular position that will cost them votes. They have done this because, once again, they have underestimated their opponents. By reflex and without thought, the Democrats have accepted a position that puts them in opposition of not only the Republican Party, a natural course of events, but of the will of the people. There is no good outcome for the Democratic Party in ...
If you are looking for a rant that George W. Bush "stole" the election in 2004 (or in 2000, for that matter) you have come to the wrong place. Move along now, nothing to see here. My contention is that George W. Bush IS a liberal, in the strictest sense of the word. Please note that I didn't say "Democrats" won anything, I said Liberals. The Reader's Companion to American History says that the modern definition of "Liberal" in American politics comes from FDR. Quoting from that source, ...
My esteemed colleague, Island_Dog, recently posed the question as to what Senator Obama's actual accomplishments have been. I have posted a reply on that, but let me take things one step further. I am going to offer that, regardless if you are Conservative of Liberal, if you actually compare the records of the two men, especially in light of the current crisis facing America, not only is Barack Obama the logical choice, John McCain is positively a scary alternative. Here is Senator McCain's v...