*Mad George, mad at George - My brother has a science background and has often told me that he does not believe in coincidence. There are 30 days in September and the Bush administration has selected the 11th for General Patraeus to give his Iraq report. If Bush could sell peace as well as he can sell fear he would be seen as Martin Luther King instead of King George III. In 1776 America revolted against Mad George III.
*View from the Canadian Rockies – Transitioning from a big eastern city to the mountains, lakes, parks, ice fields and glaciers of Montana, Alberta and British Columbia was quite an experience. The spectacular scenery and exhilarating vistas were a reminder of nature’s grandeur, power and interdependence. I was amazed to learn that the Columbia Ice Field melted over a triple continental divide flowing to the Artic, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The resulting rivers flowing to the Atlantic and Pacific nurture vast areas of wheat production and provide water and electricity to millions of people. I was saddened by the thought that our federal government has been so lax in protecting our environment and ignoring the effects that poor planning and policing will have on our future. It is as if these leaders, these elected officials, these watchdogs at the Departments of Agriculture, Interior and the EPA do not have children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters and neighbors. Perhaps there is truth to the characterization that government employees are automatons that are produced in labs and factories. Where is the sense of responsibility? Where is the sense of humanity?
*Traveling to Canada requires a passport but I felt right at home reading the news:
-General Motors of Canada Ltd. will eliminate 1000 jobs (they employ just over 3000) at a truck plant in Ottawa. The U.S. market is the destination of 85% of this plant. This follows a cut of 2000 workers by Chrysler in Windsor Ontario earlier this year and the permanent shutdown of dozens of auto parts plants that supplied Detroit automakers.
-Three Canadian legislators are being investigated for influence peddling and misuse of funds.
-Millions in aid money by the Canadian government in Afghanistan has gone astray. There has been an absence of oversight. The Senlis Council, a think tank that examines security and development issues, has been working in Afghanistan for 2 years and says it is hard-pressed to find positive results of the $139 million expended during that time.
-Canadian Forces (CF) (air force) paid millions of dollars for maintenance work on its Airbus fleet that was never performed over the last 5 years. An audit showed that the CF are not supervising the elements of the contract that have been awarded to contractors. The audit did praise the quality of the maintenance work that was performed.
-In Calgary I saw a political ad on a park bench for the man running for 5th Ward Alderman. I thought that he had the quintessential name for a politician – Pay Jones. Later in the day I was disappointed to learn from another park bench with the same ad that Mr. Jones’ first name had been vandalized when someone painted over the right leg of the “R”.
*John Ibbitson writes a column about America for the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail. With Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig all over the news for soliciting men in a restroom Ibbitson asks, “What is it about conservative politicians that drive so many of them to destroy their lives in pursuit of illicit sex?” He opined that many political careers begin in high school or college before they are fully socially or sexually mature. Because they advocate tolerance, liberal politicians have room to adjust their lives to their adult reality. But conservatives must adhere to the Victorian ideal at odds with their internal urges. They learn to rationalize public positions and embrace party platforms. This denial becomes corrosive. Ibbitson says, “People who lie to themselves (a life unexamined) are poor stewards of the public trust.”
*Larry Craig’s voting record on gay issues:
Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)
*Still under scrutiny 1 - Sen. Ted Stevens (Republican from Alaska) infamously known for the Bridge to Nowhere and more recently for multiple corruption investigations once again comes under our scrutiny. In June, the House of Representatives voted by a wide margin to stop subsidizing new logging roads in the Tongass National Forest, our nation’s largest national forest. Over the last 25 years, more than 1 billion taxpayer dollars have been spent to clearcut and build roads through this irreplaceable forest. Stevens is now working to offset this House decision as well as to shield the National Forest Service from the courts for dereliction of duty. Fortunately, there are organizations such as Earthjustice that work through the courts to protect our natural resources. You can sign a petition to your congressmen to neutralize Stevens’ efforts at this link: http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/Tongass_Alert_Sept_2007/wdn67ig24enet57?
*Still under scrutiny 2 – Rudy Giuliani continues talking about his impeccable role of hero following the attacks of 9/11 on the World Trade Center. He wants us to believe that this qualifies him to be President of the U.S. Robert Greenwald interviewed experts, police, firemen and their families to see if the Mayor’s claims have validity. You can be the judge. The link to the short video is: http://therealrudy.org/facts
*It has been 2 years since Katrina devastated New Orleans. In the days that followed I remember our president standing in the French Quarter and telling the citizens of New Orleans and the United States that America would help to re-build the city and help get its citizens back on their feet. What did follow were too many empty promises, incompetence and graft. Senators Dodd and Obama have introduced the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 aimed at addressing the inadequacies of the Bush plan. You can sign a petition urging your elected representatives to support this bill and force Bush to administrate responsibly. The link is:
http://pol.moveon.org/katrina07/petition/?r_by=&rc=paste
*At least it ain’t guns - Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican from Kentucky, is the Minority Leader and front man for the Bush administration. He recently approved an $8.3 million contract for a company to provide iPod-like devices to Afghani tribesmen. McConnell’s former aid Hunter Bates was paid $200,000 for his connection to McConnell. Bates, representing the company, helped McConnell raise $120,000 in contributions from his clients. It is comforting to know that when the tribesmen’s laptops go down they can listen to Eric Clapton singing Cocaine while working the poppy fields. It is less comforting to know that too many of our country’s elected leaders continue to be low-class prostitutes earning high-class fees and the only ones getting screwed are the constituents.
*Obscene – would be the word to describe what federal authorities have allowed credit card companies to do with interest charges and policies that at one time would have been illegal under usury laws. The Federal Reserve Board is considering new rules favorable to consumers although not likely to put a reasonable ceiling on interest rates. You can sign a petition supporting rule changes that are more consumer friendly at:
https://secure.npsite.org/cu/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr007=xozg932f81.app7a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1647
*The longer we stay the ‘longerer’ we stay - I recently watched part of a C-SPAN interview of Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter. He observed that the escalation and continuance of the Iraq War could result in an enlarged war that could last for 20 years in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. The conventional wisdom is that Bush will leave the settlement of the Iraq War to his successor. The question now becomes how many successors?
*Crunched by the numbers – In 2006 the Iraqi ministries of defense, health and interior reported Iraqi civilian casualties to total 12,357. The U.N reported that the casualties were 33,717. Embarrassed by the high reported death toll, the Iraqi government refused the U.N. access to Health Ministry statistics in 2007.
*The devil takes many forms - In 2003 the Defense Department started an anti-terrorism data base called TALON to protect military bases in the U.S. It soon strayed from its intended mission and expanded the database to include reports by local law enforcement agencies and military security personnel about nonviolent demonstrations and anti-war rallies, activities protected by the First Amendment of our constitution. In 2006 the ACLU filed a lawsuit against this activity and it was just announced that the Pentagon will shut down the data base of secret information on peaceful groups. This is an excellent example of what can happen when government is allowed to conduct domestic spying activities with no oversight and guards. To those who advocate ceding freedoms to protect us from terrorists I would suggest that ceding freedoms ushers in equally dangerous threats.
*I dreamt in a dream – The war in Iraq is now costing $3 billion per week. With this amount of money how many children could receive health insurance, how many roads and bridges could be repaired, how many border guards could be hired, how many alternative fuel projects could be funded, how many diseases could be cured, how many …?
*He dreamt in a dream - Progress (definition): positive development; development, usually of a gradual kind, toward achieving a goal or reaching a higher standard - We will hear progress used frequently this week as Bush forwards his Iraq fantasy. Bush has claimed progress since 2003 while lacking a plan, a goal or a standard.
*Why I decided not to purchase Exxon/Mobil products – A report last February by 600 scientists from governments, academia, green groups and businesses in 40 countries concluded, "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Worse, there was now at least a 90 percent likelihood that the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels is causing longer droughts, more flood-causing downpours and worse heat waves, way up from earlier studies.” StopGlobalWarming.org reports that, “A conservative think tank long funded by Exxon/Mobil has offered scientists $10,000 to write articles undercutting the new report and the computer-based climate models it is based on.” Rather than garnering its vast resources to research and develop fuels more compatible with the environment and healthier for the human beings living on this planet, Exxon/Mobile has chosen to dig in its business-as-usual heels and obstruct both the truth and the progress for a better global community. Equal culpability belongs to our government which has been a tool of big oil interests rather than a progressive influence for constructive, positive change. Not to be forgotten in this equation is you and me. We have not been sufficiently pro-active in demanding better leadership from our elected representatives. AND, I am ticked that Mobil has stopped supporting Mystery Theater on PBS.
* ”Perhaps Special Places exist only in the minds of the observer, the special places where the human spirit joins freely to the movement of the land, where happiness within is expressed in the beauty without.”
Tom Willock, Canadian photographer
Showing posts with label Robt Greenwald. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robt Greenwald. Show all posts
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
8/26/07
*Iraq Report Cliff Notes - Republican senator from Louisiana David Vitter (recently embarrassed for procuring prostitutes) just returned from a trip to Iraq and announced that the surge is working. Vitter said, “The United States has made significant strikes against Al Qaeda terrorist forces and reduced sectarian violence in the nation.” It was quite the productive visit. He was actually on the ground in Iraq for somewhere between 10 and 14 hours according to accompanying colleagues. Republicans praised his report.
*Iraq Report Unabridged Edition – Republican senator from Virginia John Warner is one of the Republican party's most prominent senators, a former Secretary of the Navy, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and consistent supporter of Bush policy. He just returned from Iraq with his assessment of the circumstances on the ground based on conversations with military commanders and intelligence personnel. Warner concludes that the crisis on the ground is so severe that it is time to begin an "orderly and carefully planned withdrawal…as part of a long-term strategy to extract U.S. troops from a distant and dysfunctional quagmire" The Republican National Committee is highly critical of Warner’s statements and the right-wing pundits have launched an assault against him. For the Republican party “team player” trumps the interests of America, its citizens and especially the men and women in the military.
*Abortive leadership / Catatonic citizenry - It has been well documented that this administration’s support of the troops has been short on performance and long on rhetoric. The Pentagon shares culpability. One example is their goal by end of year to supply the troops with 3500 mine-resistant vehicles. Only 1500 will have been delivered. In another disgraceful assessment on the people running this war we learn of a Department of Defense inspector general report from June. “The Pentagon awarded contracts for the vehicles to companies that failed to produce them on time despite knowing that there were other contractors who could have supplied some more quickly… resulting in increased risk to the lives of soldiers”. Are we so inured by federal incompetence and corruption that we no longer express outrage? Is memory of the Viet Nam war protesters a reason why this administration opposes a draft?
*Good governing (Skeptics, this is not a typo) – It is not often that we have an opportunity to praise good government in action. Let us savor the moment. Medicare instituted a program that encourages hospitals to practice increased defensive medicine against preventable errors, injuries and infections. Health-care providers will not be reimbursed for extra costs of treatment and extended stays resulting from errors and avoidable infections. And, patients cannot be billed for the additional care. More good news! In Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is improving on this concept by requiring health-care providers to report errors and mishaps (I believe to a public data base) and adds the incentive of higher state reimbursements for improved safety performance. Kudos to Medicare and Governor Rendell.
*MSNBC host Tucker Carlson recently sat around with 3 other white men discussing whether Barack Obama is Black enough. Not Obama’s position on foreign policy or health care or immigration. Black enough? Next week these same four MENSA males will be asking a woman in her second trimester if she is pregnant enough.
*Immoral, Psychologically Damaging, Counterproductive - That’s the conclusion reached by the American Psychological Association on many of the interrogation techniques used by the Bush administration on suspected terrorists. I have no doubt that there have been times in the past and there will be times in the future when information must be obtained using any method possible to avert a catastrophe. However, the national policy for a civilized society should not include torture and detainment without legal recourse. It is not the ethos that I want for America.
*Russia’s Putin mentors Bush - A White House guide called the Presidential Advice Manual, gives specific instructions to administration staff for dealing with protesters during President Bush’s speaking engagements. If they absolutely have to be there protesters should be placed in a designated protest area where President Bush cannot see them. I guess this falls under the category of executive privilege superseding the Constitution of the United States of America.
*Fear, FEar. FEAr, FEAR - Joe Lieberman, with his pompoms flailing, is not satisfied with war fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rumbling threats of attacking Iran. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Lieberman says, “…we must now focus on disrupting the flow of suicide bombers – and that means focusing on Syria…” McClatchy reports that since 2003 seven suicide bombers in Iraq have been identified as coming from Syria. Fifty-three have come from Saudi Arabia (the same country that spawned many of the 9/11 hijackers). Syria is now in the neocon bomb sites but I predict that the Saudi oil shield will protect them from the Lieberman kryptonite and the Bush/Cheney death ray.
*Faux News Redux – Prior to the Iraq War FOX News beat the war drum parroting every justification to attack Saddam that flowed from the disingenuous lips of the Bush/Cheney cabal. The “show” returns with Iran now the target. Robert Greenwald, who has exposed this symbiotic relationship before, has a new 2 minute video (taken from 4 hours of FOX broadcast footage) that would be comic if not so lamentable. The link is: http://foxattacks.com/iran?utm_source=rgemail.
*Atlanta plumbers to be forced out of business - Baggy pants that show boxer shorts or thongs would be illegal under a proposed amendment to Atlanta's indecency laws. The proposed ordinance would also bar women from showing the strap of a thong beneath their pants and they would also be prohibited from wearing jogging bras in public or show a bra strap. I surmise that topless dancers will not be subject to this crack down.
*Not ready for prime time 1 – Former actor Fred Thompson is a likely Republican presidential candidate. He recently gave a speech to Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said, “the nation needs to rebuild its military to fight global terrorism because the leaders took a holiday in the 1990s after the end of the cold war”. Say what? Thompson must have experienced a blackout. He failed to mention the damage inflicted on our military over these past 5 years. Our nation needs serious leaders for serious times, not actors who cannot remember their lines.
*Was there ever a prime time? In a speech to the VFW Pres. Bush said, “U.S. forces have killed or captured an average of more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists every month since January”. That would seem to be a substantial number of al Qaeda guys. A NY Times rough estimate last month had 5000 al Qaeda fighters in all of Iraq. The LA Times says that of the 19,000 detainees in custody in Iraq, 135 are foreigners. Doesn’t seem to add up, again.
*Not ready for prime time 2 – NJ Attorney General Anne Milgram has directed state and local police to ask all suspects charged with serious crimes about their immigration status. If it is believed that the suspect is in the country illegally they are to inform federal authorities. NJ state judges were informed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not set up to receive large-scale immigration referrals from local authorities. Since there are 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States “large-scale” is a relative term. “Ineffective” is an absolute term.
*Happy Birthday Mac, hold the cake – McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich is celebrating its 40th birthday. It became a part of our pop culture with the jingle, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun". Each year 550 million Big Macs are sold in the U.S. At almost a half pound it contains 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. Its introduction marked the beginning of “super-size” in fast food marketing. With epidemic obesity, diabetes and heart disease weighing heavily on the health of Americans and the American health-care system perhaps there is not much to celebrate.
*The math of politics, seeking the lowest common denominator – Scott Howell and Co. is an advertising agency with a specialty in political campaigns. The Bush campaign in 2000 hired them for the South Carolina primaries to trash John McCain. This ad agency did the same in 2006 to Harold Ford in the Tennessee senatorial race by creating ads with racial overtones to frighten off white voters. Rudy Giuliani just hired them for his presidential run. This is the perfect ad agency for the former NYC mayor who in radio ads in Iowa claims that he “turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion dollar surplus.” Independent fiscal monitors say that Giuliani left his successor Michael Bloomberg with a bigger deficit than what Giuliani inherited in 1994. Reference serious leaders for serious times. Reference disingenuous lips.
*Vibrator control, no batteries needed – In Alabama you can buy a gun as easily as a corndog with a side of grits. But the deep thinkers in the Alabama legislature have banned marital aides in an effort to protect the morals of its good citizens. I was raised to believe that I was responsible for my soul. I never imagined that I would have so much assistance.
*Looking ahead – It appears that the Bush administration is working in front of and behind the scenes to oust Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in favor of Iyad Allawi, a non-sectarian Iraqi legislator and in 2005 interim Iraqi Prime Minister. Allawi has strong ties to Bush and Cheney. While in exile he urged the U. S. to invade Iraq and since the attack he has worked very hard to be Iraq’s leader. It was learned this week that Allawi has hired a lobbying firm with strong connections to the Bush administration, Barbour Griffith & Rogers, to lobby for Malaki’s ouster – the man Bush has supported as the duly elected leader of Iraq. The compelling question is whether there is any individual or group of individuals that can lead Iraq out of the black hole in which it exists?
*I never met a man who thought his thinking was faulty. 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne
*Iraq Report Unabridged Edition – Republican senator from Virginia John Warner is one of the Republican party's most prominent senators, a former Secretary of the Navy, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and consistent supporter of Bush policy. He just returned from Iraq with his assessment of the circumstances on the ground based on conversations with military commanders and intelligence personnel. Warner concludes that the crisis on the ground is so severe that it is time to begin an "orderly and carefully planned withdrawal…as part of a long-term strategy to extract U.S. troops from a distant and dysfunctional quagmire" The Republican National Committee is highly critical of Warner’s statements and the right-wing pundits have launched an assault against him. For the Republican party “team player” trumps the interests of America, its citizens and especially the men and women in the military.
*Abortive leadership / Catatonic citizenry - It has been well documented that this administration’s support of the troops has been short on performance and long on rhetoric. The Pentagon shares culpability. One example is their goal by end of year to supply the troops with 3500 mine-resistant vehicles. Only 1500 will have been delivered. In another disgraceful assessment on the people running this war we learn of a Department of Defense inspector general report from June. “The Pentagon awarded contracts for the vehicles to companies that failed to produce them on time despite knowing that there were other contractors who could have supplied some more quickly… resulting in increased risk to the lives of soldiers”. Are we so inured by federal incompetence and corruption that we no longer express outrage? Is memory of the Viet Nam war protesters a reason why this administration opposes a draft?
*Good governing (Skeptics, this is not a typo) – It is not often that we have an opportunity to praise good government in action. Let us savor the moment. Medicare instituted a program that encourages hospitals to practice increased defensive medicine against preventable errors, injuries and infections. Health-care providers will not be reimbursed for extra costs of treatment and extended stays resulting from errors and avoidable infections. And, patients cannot be billed for the additional care. More good news! In Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is improving on this concept by requiring health-care providers to report errors and mishaps (I believe to a public data base) and adds the incentive of higher state reimbursements for improved safety performance. Kudos to Medicare and Governor Rendell.
*MSNBC host Tucker Carlson recently sat around with 3 other white men discussing whether Barack Obama is Black enough. Not Obama’s position on foreign policy or health care or immigration. Black enough? Next week these same four MENSA males will be asking a woman in her second trimester if she is pregnant enough.
*Immoral, Psychologically Damaging, Counterproductive - That’s the conclusion reached by the American Psychological Association on many of the interrogation techniques used by the Bush administration on suspected terrorists. I have no doubt that there have been times in the past and there will be times in the future when information must be obtained using any method possible to avert a catastrophe. However, the national policy for a civilized society should not include torture and detainment without legal recourse. It is not the ethos that I want for America.
*Russia’s Putin mentors Bush - A White House guide called the Presidential Advice Manual, gives specific instructions to administration staff for dealing with protesters during President Bush’s speaking engagements. If they absolutely have to be there protesters should be placed in a designated protest area where President Bush cannot see them. I guess this falls under the category of executive privilege superseding the Constitution of the United States of America.
*Fear, FEar. FEAr, FEAR - Joe Lieberman, with his pompoms flailing, is not satisfied with war fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rumbling threats of attacking Iran. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Lieberman says, “…we must now focus on disrupting the flow of suicide bombers – and that means focusing on Syria…” McClatchy reports that since 2003 seven suicide bombers in Iraq have been identified as coming from Syria. Fifty-three have come from Saudi Arabia (the same country that spawned many of the 9/11 hijackers). Syria is now in the neocon bomb sites but I predict that the Saudi oil shield will protect them from the Lieberman kryptonite and the Bush/Cheney death ray.
*Faux News Redux – Prior to the Iraq War FOX News beat the war drum parroting every justification to attack Saddam that flowed from the disingenuous lips of the Bush/Cheney cabal. The “show” returns with Iran now the target. Robert Greenwald, who has exposed this symbiotic relationship before, has a new 2 minute video (taken from 4 hours of FOX broadcast footage) that would be comic if not so lamentable. The link is: http://foxattacks.com/iran?utm_source=rgemail.
*Atlanta plumbers to be forced out of business - Baggy pants that show boxer shorts or thongs would be illegal under a proposed amendment to Atlanta's indecency laws. The proposed ordinance would also bar women from showing the strap of a thong beneath their pants and they would also be prohibited from wearing jogging bras in public or show a bra strap. I surmise that topless dancers will not be subject to this crack down.
*Not ready for prime time 1 – Former actor Fred Thompson is a likely Republican presidential candidate. He recently gave a speech to Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said, “the nation needs to rebuild its military to fight global terrorism because the leaders took a holiday in the 1990s after the end of the cold war”. Say what? Thompson must have experienced a blackout. He failed to mention the damage inflicted on our military over these past 5 years. Our nation needs serious leaders for serious times, not actors who cannot remember their lines.
*Was there ever a prime time? In a speech to the VFW Pres. Bush said, “U.S. forces have killed or captured an average of more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists every month since January”. That would seem to be a substantial number of al Qaeda guys. A NY Times rough estimate last month had 5000 al Qaeda fighters in all of Iraq. The LA Times says that of the 19,000 detainees in custody in Iraq, 135 are foreigners. Doesn’t seem to add up, again.
*Not ready for prime time 2 – NJ Attorney General Anne Milgram has directed state and local police to ask all suspects charged with serious crimes about their immigration status. If it is believed that the suspect is in the country illegally they are to inform federal authorities. NJ state judges were informed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not set up to receive large-scale immigration referrals from local authorities. Since there are 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States “large-scale” is a relative term. “Ineffective” is an absolute term.
*Happy Birthday Mac, hold the cake – McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich is celebrating its 40th birthday. It became a part of our pop culture with the jingle, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun". Each year 550 million Big Macs are sold in the U.S. At almost a half pound it contains 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. Its introduction marked the beginning of “super-size” in fast food marketing. With epidemic obesity, diabetes and heart disease weighing heavily on the health of Americans and the American health-care system perhaps there is not much to celebrate.
*The math of politics, seeking the lowest common denominator – Scott Howell and Co. is an advertising agency with a specialty in political campaigns. The Bush campaign in 2000 hired them for the South Carolina primaries to trash John McCain. This ad agency did the same in 2006 to Harold Ford in the Tennessee senatorial race by creating ads with racial overtones to frighten off white voters. Rudy Giuliani just hired them for his presidential run. This is the perfect ad agency for the former NYC mayor who in radio ads in Iowa claims that he “turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion dollar surplus.” Independent fiscal monitors say that Giuliani left his successor Michael Bloomberg with a bigger deficit than what Giuliani inherited in 1994. Reference serious leaders for serious times. Reference disingenuous lips.
*Vibrator control, no batteries needed – In Alabama you can buy a gun as easily as a corndog with a side of grits. But the deep thinkers in the Alabama legislature have banned marital aides in an effort to protect the morals of its good citizens. I was raised to believe that I was responsible for my soul. I never imagined that I would have so much assistance.
*Looking ahead – It appears that the Bush administration is working in front of and behind the scenes to oust Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in favor of Iyad Allawi, a non-sectarian Iraqi legislator and in 2005 interim Iraqi Prime Minister. Allawi has strong ties to Bush and Cheney. While in exile he urged the U. S. to invade Iraq and since the attack he has worked very hard to be Iraq’s leader. It was learned this week that Allawi has hired a lobbying firm with strong connections to the Bush administration, Barbour Griffith & Rogers, to lobby for Malaki’s ouster – the man Bush has supported as the duly elected leader of Iraq. The compelling question is whether there is any individual or group of individuals that can lead Iraq out of the black hole in which it exists?
*I never met a man who thought his thinking was faulty. 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne
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