Census and Kurdistan

Sorry I didn't get around to the blog last night. I was busy doing the nation's business until almost midnight. The bureau of the census had sent its questionnaire to us the other day, and I had laid it aside. And then I got a note telling me to get it done right away. The instructions said that it takes only 38 minutes to complete, so I got on it. 2 1/2 hours later, I finally finished it, but I was burning mad. I was expecting the usual stuff about who lives in the household, marital status, etc. What I found was more like "Big Brother is Watching You". Why would they need to know the street address (with zip code) of the client I worked for last week? They also wanted to know the value of my home, the cost of taxes and property insurance, the amount of my electric, gas, and water bills for the last 12 months. There were questions about my income (including interest and dividend income, no matter how small), and they asked extensive questions about my health care. This outrageous incursion into my privacy has to be part of Obama's attempt to control everything, because it certainly has his touch. I can see this happening in Cuba or Venezuela, but it shouldn't be happening here in my beloved America. Oh, I meant to tell that there is a law that says I have to fill it out, with a reminder that there is a substantial fine if I do not comply. The forms I had to complete might not be the questionnaire that everyone else has to fill out; it is called the American Community Survey (Obama's administration is good at assigning innocent-sounding names to their nasty programs). Now I only have to worry about an IRS audit if the questionnaire doesn't quite match my Form 1040, or I might get lucky and only receive an ominous call from the Acorn people.
Something I doubt you have heard in the traditional media - the United States is in very serious negotiations in Iraq to establish three large military bases in the Kurd-controlled northern part of Iraq. The U.S., the Iraqi government in Baghdad, and the powers that be in Kurdistan are evidently in agreement about the bases, so it is probably a done deal. All parties involved have a lot to gain from such an arrangement. No doubt this can be traced back to the Bush administration, because Obama wouldn't have thought about it. If you didn't already know about this, remember - you heard it here first!

Invest in GM

Remember a few days ago when I said I was tempted to invest in General Motors stock? Well, I got to thinking about it, and decided, why not? So I took the $500 that President Obama so generously sent us and bought 425 shares at $1.17. Normally, I wouldn't be interested in a risky investment like this, but I hadn't asked for the money, and I don't think it should have been sent to us. Since we didn't need the money to meet our budget requirements, it won't be disastrous if we lose it all. It will just be fun to see if we make a buck or two on it. I will give you progress reports if something interesting happens.
Speaking of investments, one of my pet peeves is that our education system doesn't teach students enough about the stock market, or even the principles of how compound interest can work for or against you. Some time ago I tried to get a couple of the grandkids interested enough to set up an imaginary portfolio on one of the internet sites, and then follow it for a while to see if it made any imaginary money. "This is too boring," they said, and went back to listening to music and playing video games. There are a lot of young people who actually earn pretty good wages, yet live like they don't have a pot to pee in. They claim that they can't afford to put $100 a month into a savings plan, but if you ask for an accounting on how much of their income is spent on beer, for instance, or cigarettes, they would not be able to tell you. Hand to mouth, day to day is all that they know. In reality, they could put away the first $100 for themselves, and still have enough left over for some beer and smokes. The basic rules for investing are - start when you are young, be steadfast, and put a pencil to it so you know what you will end up with when retirement comes around. And here is probably the best advice I could give a young person - Ask your grandpa if he has any ideas!

Iran's Government Strikes Back

The powers that be in Iran have announced that they must bring "justice" to all those who dared to question the June 12 election. As you know, hundreds of troublemakers have been gathered from the rallies and the streets and thrown into prisons. Their "crimes" included carrying a cell phone or a camera, and in many cases, just being near the action. Moussavi hasn't made any public appearances - he might be under house arrest, or sitting on a straw mat in some dark dungeon. I really doubt that any of those that have been detained are going to get any kind of "justice". I imagine that some of them may lose their lives, others may lose an appendage or two. Others will be persuaded to confess to having some sort of tie to the U.S. or Britain. I doubt if interrogation methods would be anything that would please the ACLU. Herein lies the lesson to us on the outside. If a central government becomes so powerful that citizens have no say in it, that government will take advantage of the power it has, and do everything necessary to keep itself in power, rights of the people be damned.
I find it hard to believe that average people on the street don't have a clue what their government is up to. But, I'm seeing disturbing evidence that we are falling into that same trap here in America. How about all the "Czars" that Obama is appointing? A Czar, as I understand it, is putting one person in charge of some operation who answers only to the President. Wouldn't this bypass some of the checks and balances that we are supposed to have? Why does Acorn need to be involved in the Census? Why does the government have ownership interests in the banks and car companies? Is the Cap and Tax legislation worth what it is going to cost you in higher energy expenses? We need to be alert to what might be happening in our country. Our Annointed One is willing to sell his soul to stay in power. If he brings up the idea to do away with Presidential term limits (like his buddy, Chavez), I'm going to be really worried.

Sorry - No Blog Tonight

I attended a faimily gathering tonight, and got home too late to get something prepared. As you know, I scour the news for a subject that I have feelings about. Today was Michael Jackson Day and I have absolutely nothing to add. Tomorrow should be a better news day - see you then.
GR

Health Care

President Obama has delivered his major blitz to get his health care plan underway. In one of the hallmarks of his reign, he wants to have it passed right away, without being completely fleshed out. (At over 1200 pages, could some of that flesh be pork?) So far as I can tell from his comments, he still doesn't know within a half-trillion dollars what it is going to cost, and has only a vague idea of what will be covered. Also typical is his accepting input only from the wild-eyes in his own party and the interests of those who paid for his election. Is he really so dense that he doesn't understand how his decisions will doom this plan to failure? If he severely reduces payments to doctors, won't an increasing number of students decide that it is not worth the cost and effort to become a doctor? Soon there will be fewer doctors spread over more and more patients, and the quality of health care will definitely decline. And I truly believe that slapping a tax on everything that moves to pay for this mess will be a terrible drag on businesses that are trying to grow and on individuals that are just trying to keep their head above water. One more giant obstacle on our road to recovery.
I do have a view on this. Ross Perot, in his bid for President several years ago, came up with a plan for health care that sounded pretty good then, and sounds good now. He said he would gather the smartest men in the country, including doctors, hospital managers, insurance company CEO's, accountants, economists, successful business men, government representatives, etc., and lock them in a room (figuratively). He would instruct them to work out a plan that would be satisfactory for each of them, then they could knock on the door and he would let them out to explain what they came up with. He would take their proposal and make it law. At least the end product would be the best that experts in each field could come up with. Compare that with what is going on in Congress right now. There isn't one expert among them, and they want to be trusted with over a trillion dollars! There are a couple of things I would do if it was necessary to proceed on a step-by-step approach. The idea of putting all the medical records on a data base sounds good to me, so I'd get right on that. If you have ever had to go to an emergency room for treatment, you will have noticed that the ER might be full of poor people waiting to see the doctor for what might be a minor problem. Not long ago, I had the pleasure of going to the ER to have an irreguler heart beat checked out. I sat in a room with a monitor attached for four hours, and was presented with a bill for $5,200. Now, if the government was getting billed $1,300 per hour for the treatment of the poor people in the ER, that would amount to a lot of money. So, my suggestion would be to set up minor medical clinics in the areas of town that have a poorer population. Staff them with Physician's Assistants, and students from the Med School (with proper supervision, of course), and keep the expenditure on equipment to a minimum. If someone came in with a really serious problem, you could still refer them to the hospital, where they have more capable staff and equipment. In an effort to appease the lawyer lobby, who also helped pay for his election, Obama refused to consider putting a cap on medical malpractice lawsuits. Every doctor I have talked to says that his malpractice insurance is his biggest expense, and lawsuits are one of his biggest worries. So, I would put a cap on the lawsuits. Obama himself says that administrative costs make up a substantial part of medical expenses. Since a lot of these costs relate to government compliance, it should be easy enough to trim these back.
Well, this gives you some tidbits to think about. Thank you for your kind attention.

Gov. Sanford

The mystery is over. Governor Mark Sanford showed up at the Atlanta airport, having just returned from Argentina where he had a date with his mistress. In one of the dumbest press conferences I ever saw, he tearfully apologized to everyone for his affair. Strange, I don't remember whether he said that he broke it off, but he did say that he and his wife were going to work it out. Whatever happened or didn't happen, he really screwed up his life. News junkie that I am, I couldn't wait to check out MSNBC. Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow were drooling all over themselves - another Republican has dished up enough scandal to take up two weeks of broadcasting. Their main goal, of course, is to ruin his reputation and career, and to drum him out of office in disgrace. They will probably be successful.
My view is that although he ought to do some suffering for his misguided love adventure, that alone should not keep him from finishing out his term as governor. But, I do think that he committed a grave, irresponsible error in being absent without leave for five days, and for this he should lose his job. He simply disappeared without leaving emergency instructions to his staff, or disclosing his whereabouts, thus leaving his state in an extremely vulnerable condition. If he were a Democrat, this would be quickly glossed over and forgotten; you all could easily come up with several examples of what I'm talking about. But, Republicans have a record of policing their own camp (as they efficiently did with Mark Foley, for instance) and I predict this will happen sooner, rather than later with Mark Sanford. His days are numbered. I was really behind him when he wanted to reject the bailout money, and I liked his conservative politics. He could possibly have been a credible candidate for President in 2012, but that is definitely out the window now. He made the dumbest of mistakes, and now he has to suffer some consequences. I don't feel sorry for him at all.

Cap and Trade - Now?

I have to admit that I only know what what the news has reported about Cap and Trade. Not that I didn't want to find out more (I did find the bill on the Internet), but, for heaven's sake! It was over 1,000 pages huge! So, I heeded the little warning box on the computer that said the file was extremely large, and opted to forego the download. Anyway, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are doing everything they can to push the bill through and have called for a vote this Friday, just a couple of days away. It just seems so strange to me that such a large, important bill has to be processed on a "rush" basis. You would think that in putting such a bill together, you would want all the input that you could get, including some Republican ideas, and then take whatever time it needs to hash out any problems. Are we dealing with concrete facts? I have heard that bovine flatulence is a leading source of pollution, but I haven't seen any comparative analysis between, say, 100 cows and a coal-fired electrical plant. The next time I watch the National Geographic channel and see a vast herd of wildebeests thundering across the Serengeti, I won't be able to keep from thinking about their emissions output. And I'm wondering about the cost. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the program would cost a family about $175 a year; the Republicans estimate $3100 a year. Since neither figure is definitive, we could use the rough average of about $1640, or about $136 per month. Supposedly, this is the additional amount we would have to add to our energy costs to keep our household running. I don't know about you, but adding that to the $230 per month that I pay now would seriously affect my lifestyle. And remember that every time you buy a product that has used energy in its manufacture or transport, you will be paying embedded costs that have been passed on to you. Our cost of living will shoot up dramatically.
I just don't think that our government should be laying such a large burden on us right now, while we are beaten down so bad with the recession. It may be that there is a real problem with the environment, but let's get the unemployment rate back to 5 % first; let's get a substantial part of our lost investment savings back, and let's get the economy back on its feet first. We can't take much more punishment. Surely you were joking about the 14 % value added tax, weren't you?

Slow Day in Iran

There is probably no doubt that the police, the Basij, the Republican Guards and the Army could stop the protesting if they wanted to. From the government's standpoint, all the right things are being done now. They have the crowd control units out in full force, and it is difficult for the protesters to even get to the squares where the rallies were to be held. Cell phones and cameras are getting confiscated so that it is very hard to get any coverage out. Pro-Ahmadinejad supporters are having a rally or two to prove that there are two sides to the story. (You know, fair and balanced.) With the regular news reporting squelched, the state-run TV as able to play down the uprising, and give the impression that things are about to get back to normal. I hate to say it, but it looks like the government is going to get its way unless something extraordinary happens. We'll have to wait to see what tomorrow brings, since Moussavi has called for a nation-wide strike. If a strike actually happens, this will be the teeth that this movement needs to keep alive. There may still be hope.
The most difficult video to watch was the tragic death of the young woman called Neda, who died before our eyes on the television screen in the arms of her father. Nothing could be more heartrending. I have her and her family and friends in my prayers, and I hope you will join me. In only an instant, dozens of lives were changed forever. May she rest in peace.

After the Protest

So, in a post-revolution Iran, where does the United States fit in? It would be nice to think that the new government would come to us and ask us to help them to set up a democracy like we have. I would tell them they should write up a governing document just like our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and they would get along pretty well. They probably wouldn't want to adopt our 70,000 pages of Tax Code - nobody in their right mind would. But, there are a couple of reasons that we probably won't have a lot of influence over there when it is all over. We shouldn't forget that other countries have been doing business with Iran over the years, and already have their foot in the door. I'm talking about Russia and China, mostly, but I imagine there are at least a couple of European Union countries that didn't strictly observe the trade sanctions, and I don't know about India. And there is the indoctrination factor - for thirty years we have been known as the "Great Satan", and students have chanted "Down with America, Death to Israel", just like our students recite the Pledge of Allegiance. These words show up on banners is mosques and are painted on the sides of buildings. See it often enough and you might start to believe it. I think that at best we might end up being a friendly trading partner, and that would depend on how many billions of dollars we are willing to ante up. Maybe they would let us build an embassy there, or a McDonald's.
Seriously, why would the Iranians like us? Our reputation is not that good. We are the ones who backed the Shah, who was a hated despot, and treated the people terribly, until he was overthrown by such a revolt that is going on right now. When the Shiites rose up against Saddam Hussein in Iraq after the Gulf War, we just let them fend for themselves, in spite of all the promises and encouragement, and they were slaughtered. And after we helped get rid of the Russians in Afghanistan, we forgot about the help we promised and let them be taken over by the Taliban. We have allowed ourselves to be bad-mouthed by almost everyone over the years, even by our "allies" in Europe and elsewhere. Even the liberals in our own country have criticized our every move, especially since the war in Iraq. How many times has our own President Barak Obama said that our system is "broken"? Is it unrealistic to think that the Iranians might not consider our government a model worth copying?
We really have only ourselves to blame. We don't stand up for ourselves as the greatest nation on earth. We should, by all accounting, be remembered as the friendly country that bailed out Europe's butt in two world wars. We should be remembered as the country that gave up over 4,000 precious lives and a lot of treasure to give 50,000,000 Muslims a chance to savor the taste of freedom. Why do we stand idly by and allow others to call us "Imperialists"? Nothing could be further from the truth! I just want us to be known for the reputation we have earned and deserve, not the one crafted by those who don't know us, or don't have our best interests at heart, or just don't give a damn.

Iran Protest

I spent most of my Saturday following the extraordinary events going on in Iran. This started as a protest against a corrupt election and over a period of a couple of days escalated into much, much more. When 85 % of the eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots, this should have sent a message to the Mullahs that the folks had serious change on their minds. They would not have turned out in such numbers just to re-elect Ahmadinejad. If the clerics in charge had just allowed a fair election, maybe Moussavi would have been chosen, but they would still have been calling the shots. But, they screwed up the vote count to keep their little puppet in place, thinking the folks would just roll over and life could go on as before. Severe miscalculation!! The voters are mostly young people who weren't around in 1979 when Ayatollah Khomeni came to power. All they have known is the repressive regime they have grown up with. Enter the age of cell phones, the Internet and satellite TV, and suddenly the young people were seeing what goes on in the rest of the world. They decided they wanted a chance at change, so they turned out to vote in large numbers, not necessarily for Moussavi, but against Ahmadinejad. The crooked vote tally got them into the streets, even without a leader to encourage them. After a day or so, Moussavi realized that he could be their leader, and sort of stepped into the role. Leader by default, one of the pundits called him. But, by now he has grown into the position and is acting like the committed leader. In response to threats from the ruling clerics, he has called for nationwide strikes in retaliation if he gets arrested, or worse. He has even claimed to be ready to die for the cause, if it comes to that. So, the protests at this point are pretty much taking place in all the larger cities, and are no longer just about the election. People are shouting, "Death to the Dictator!" from the streets and the rooftops. They want a regime change - no less.
Whether they will be successful or not still remains to be seen. The Mullahs could ratchet it up a couple of steps, bring out the troops with tanks and machine guns, and bring it all to a quick, bloody halt. A rational leader would not want to govern in the aftermath of such a situation. He would rather work out some sort of coalition so that everyone got a little something and life would go on. But remember, these guys are Muslims and they like killing and lording it over the masses. Besides, they could blame the West for what they had to do, and claim that Allah made them do it. It is all right here in the Holy Book - see it?
I really want the protesters to win this one. Just think of the things that would change if they did. Iran would have a chance to join the rest of the world and enjoy a lifestyle that modern countries have known for years. Hizbollah wouldn't have any funds to keep stirring things up in Lebanon anymore. Without Iran's funding, Hamas wouldn't be able to buy rockets to fire at Israel, and they would just dry up and disappear. Syria, without Iran nudging them in the other direction, would make peace with Israel and they would live next to each other in harmony. (They might even find it in their hearts to come clean about all the weapons of mass destruction that they hid for Saddam Hussein.) See where I'm going with this? After a couple of thousand years, finally peace in the Middle East!! It is almost too much to hope for.

Exciting Times

The tension in the world has me on the edge of my seat! The Ayatollah gave his big speech, and it was just what we expected - no more protests, or we're going to spill some blood. The last I heard, between 8 and 15 protesters had been killed, and between 500 and 1500 have been arrested. With all the reporters and the internet shut down, it is hard to get reliable information. As I understand it, the Republican Guards haven't been called to the scene yet, but a group of thugs called the Masij, acting on behalf of the government, are the ones who are beating up on people and causing the violence. My favorite poster on the Al Bawaba Forum thinks these protests might actually lead to something. I don't know where he gets his information, but he says that there is considerable evidence that the armed forces can't be relied upon to do Khamenei's bidding. Twitter messages show quite a bit of friendly interaction between the police and the protesters, and the police have arrested a number of the Basij. If this is all true, the reign of the Ayatollah may be coming to an end. We'll keep our fingers crossed. Speaking of Iran - last night Iowa Public TV presented a Rick Steeves travelogue on Iran that about knocked my socks off. His tour covered Tehran and other cities and historic places. To my surprise, I saw bustling cities, a lot of cars and traffic, happy and friendly citizens, and lush green public areas. Rick has a real knack for interacting with people, and his interviews proved that the average person on the street doesn't hate us at all. They would like to see our governments get along so we could all be friends. If you missed it, you can Google Rick Steeves Iran, and you will be able to see the whole 56 minute show. It is worth seeing.
The drama of the rustbucket laden with who-knows-what is still unfolding off the coast of China. We now have added a destroyer to the observing forces, so now we have the teeth to do some serious intervening. The ship is currently following the China coast southward, which is a smart move. The U.S. wouldn't want to cause a stir in Chinese waters, because the Chinese didn't seem completely on board with the idea of stopping ships out of North Korea, and we wouldn't want to add another situation to deal with. Some pundit thought that there is a possibility that the NK ship wouldn't be able to able to refuel, and after it ran out of fuel, we could attach a rope and tow it to a port of our choice. Now, that is pretty fanciful. It would never happen. The next day or so could be interesting.
Closer to home, a great injustice has been done. Congress passed a resolution stating that there will be no investigation of Nancy Polosi's calling the CIA a bunch of liars. Where are the indignant Repulicans when we need them? I can't believe we are going to let this one get away.

Too Much Goin' On

Sorry I don't have much for you tonight. Tomorrow I will turn seventy years old, and my Lady Love and I went out to celebrate at the Golden Corral (my choice) tonight, a day early. Aanyway, I didn't allow enough time to do much on the blog.
Here are a couple highlights from a poll that was just released: 70% had concerns over the government's role in the economy, more that 50% oppose the closing of Guantanamo, and Obama's overall approval rating stands at 56%, down from 61% in April. 'Bout time the folks are catching on!
A big test is currently underway. North Korea has sent out a rusty old cargo ship presumably carrying missiles and/or nuclear bomb items, and is presumably heading to Singapore. We are keeping the ship under close surveillance at the present time. According to a retired military guy on the Fox channel, if our military attempted to board the ship on the high seas, it would be an overt act of war. Accordingly, the situation looks a lot better if we let the ship reach its destination and intervene at that point with the help of the port authority. Supposedly, the best outcome would be if the ship was unable to deliver its cargo, and would have to haul it back to its home port. This would be a terrible humiliation for the little dictator, and he would viciously rattle his sabres (again) in frustration. On the other hand, he is just crazy enough to lob a big bomb or some chemicals into Seoul and kill a couple of million people. We have to follow this like a hawk, and be ready to act.
In other news, the Supreme Leader is scheduled to make a major speech in Tehran tomorrow and try to straighten things out. According to Al Jazeera, there is a power struggle going on over there, and a change of clerics may be in the offing. To quote one of our leaders, "Change is good."
G'night.....

Making It Work

So, how is the big BO doing? I don't think he is doing well at all. He looks good (presidential), travels a lot, and spends more time on television than he spends at his desk. But, has anything of value happened yet? First flop out of the box, he signed an order to close Guantanamo, and now he has to go through with it. I saw a poll today that said an overwhelming percentage of Americans now think closing Gitmo is a mistake. Remember, the mainstream media brought up the issue of the prison in a blatant attempt to discredit George Bush. Obama jumped right in because he could use the controversy to get votes. Even a marginal thinker like me could see the problems in trying to figure out what to do with the prisoners. Well, it is biting him in the butt now, and I don't feel sorry for him. He just didn't think it through. I'll bet we won't find out how much we taxpayers will be paying as bribes to whomever agrees to take a prisoner. Who do you think is footing the bill for the luxury vacation that the Uigurs are enjoying in Bermuda? One reporter asked them what was the worst thing that happened to them in Guantanomo. Their worst experience was the day when the Americans allowed the Chinese to interrogate them.
In spite of all the money that is being spent, do we have anything to show for it? Are the banks making a profit yet? Are the American car companies starting to ramp up their factories, hiring people and building cars? Are the unemployment figures starting to decline? Where are all the alternative energy projects that should at least be started by now? Do all the countries that hated Bush now love and respect us? Is our Dollar, the benchmark of the world's currency, still held in high esteem?
Like I said, I don't think we are getting our money's worth out of this guy. He has waved off all of the proven cures for a flagging economy, opting instead for what is in effect an experiment; an out-and-out gamble. But, he is gambling with our money: the only skin he has in the game is his ego. I would feel a lot better if he would somehow come up with enough humility to say this ain't working - we'd better try something else before we flush this country down the sewer.

North Korea Weighs In

Before I get into the NK story, here's a quick comment about Iran. It looks like they are still rioting over there. Lots of noise, but I don't see anything beyond the noise. I guess I would be happier if the rioters got some weapons, took a few hostages and made some demands, or if they had a credible leader. I have said that the U.S. should stay out of it, but maybe I'm wrong. The current government hates us, so if we back the rioters, are they going to hate us more? We may be missing a chance to make a big difference over there. I have always thought that our leaders in Washington are smarter and more experienced, and have more information at hand, so they are in a better position to make such decisions. I don't have much confidence in them right now.
Yesterday, while I was surfing the foreign news sources, I couldn't help wondering what the North Koreans were saying about the United Nations Security Council sanctions. According to the official news source, there was a rally in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang that drew about 100,000 people. Here is a sample of the fare that is fed to the folks over there. Kim Ki Nam, of the Workers Party of Korea, in a speech said that "the UNSC finally adopted an anti-DPRK 'resolution on sanctions' at the instigation of the U.S. over the DPRK's second nuclear test, another grave provocation. This is, in essence, a wicked pressure offensive launched by the U.S. imperialists to disarm the DPRK, strangle its economy, and undermine its ideology and system." Pak Jae Gyong, speaking on behalf of the Korean People's Army, vehemently denounced the UNSC "resolution" as a serious provocation, a wanton violation of the sovereignty and dignity of the DPRK and its people. He warned that the KPA will mercilessly frustrate any attempt to check, inspect, examine and blockade any ship and object for which the sovereignty of the DPRK is exercised with powerful military retaliatory blows.
Pay attention to this next bit, because it says quite a lot. Under the present situation where the KPA is technically at war with the U.S. imperialists as the Armistice Agreement has lost its legal binding force, the KPA will promply exercise the right to preemptive strike to beat back the enemies' slightest provocation. It will deal telling blows at the vital parts of the U.S. and wipe out all its imperialist aggressor troops no matter where they are in the world.
There is more to this article, but I think I've hit the high points. It would almost be laughable, but these guys who said this actually sit high up in the government. If any red buttons get pushed, these whack-o's are the ones who do it. Did you catch the part where they no longer consider the Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War to be binding? Our government has no choice but to take these threats seriously, crazy though they may be. They actually consider themselves to be in an active war with the U.S.!! Obama may have turned this over to the UN, but I hope we have a bunch of firepower lined up, just in case.

Go, Rioters!!

First, I may owe you yet another correction on the number of young people in Iran. On Mark Levin's radio show today, he stated that 1/3 of the citizens of Iran are under 30. Originally, I really thought this was a noteworthy statistic, but maybe nobody knows for sure. Maybe there are only a hundred or so and they are hanging out under the bleachers at Tehran's soccer field trying to see if the girls are really wearing Prada shoes under their burkas. It probably doesn't make any difference.
In my never-ending quest to come up with contrasting viewpoints on a popular issue, I spent part of this evening checking out foreign newspaper articles. Since the riots in Tehran are in the news today, I decided to check out the Tehran Times.
TEHRAN (Press TV) - Thousands of people staged a rally in central Tehran to show support for defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi despite the fact that the Interior Ministry refused to issue a permit for the rally.
Reports say there was not enough time for the Mousavi headquarters to inform the people of the cancellation of the rally.
Our correspondent reported from Enqelab Street that Mousavi and another defeated presidential candidate, Mahdi Karroubi, attended the rally to prevent any possible conflict between pro-Mousavi supporters and anti-riot police.
The rally was peaceful and protesters avoided provocative slogans.
You see, the powers that be seem to have forgotten that even though they booted out the foreign reporters, shut down cell traffic and the internet, there are now so many ways to stay in touch and get the word out, that it is impossible to keep a lid on such a volatile situation. The leaders still believe that the folks are so stupid and gullible that they will swallow anything that is fed to them. It is possible that this time the anti-Ahmadinejad movement could grow legs and actually force some change. One can only hope.....

Enjoying School

I may owe you a correction. In one of my recent posts I noted that 70,000,000 of Iran's citizens were under the age of 30. Today I read that Iran has 70,000,000 inhabitants, 2/3 of whom are under the age of 30. In either case, that is a pretty large number. Just reporting what I read.....
Since there is really nothing new to report on the riots in Iran, I decided to check on an amazing 17 year old girl who attends school in Mosul, in northern Iraq. In her latest blog, she tells about studying and restudying for her exams coming up on June 20. Doing well in school is of extreme importance to her, because she wants to become either a pharmacist or an engineer. She has had to put up with quite a bit of inconvenience to get the job done, but she is still hanging in there. Once, a bomb destroyed part of her house,and she has had to find different ways to get to school to avoid insurgent attacks in her neighborhood. In this blog, she tells about she and her fellow students pooling their money to buy some gas for the school generator, so they could have lights and power for a fan. Evidently it gets warm in the summer in Iraq. I can't help but contrast her attitude with those of many students in the U.S. Our students get a free education in an air-conditioned school, with free lunches and trained teachers. In the face of all this largesse, an apalling number cannot even motivate themselves to go to class, let alone graduate. Motivate is probably the buzz word here. The girl in Mosul calls herself "Sunshine", and I think this name describes her positive attitude. She is definitely motivated because she can see a bright future for herself, but she knows it won't happen without a big effort on her part. My heart goes out to her, and I wish her every success.

Iran Election Reaction

My prediction was right that there could be a volatile reaction to the rigged election in Iran. Crowds turned out in droves to protest the declaration that Ahmadinejad was the winner by an overwhelming majority. Fires were set, windows were broken, cars were damaged and the riot police mercilessly beat anyone they caught with their nightsticks. Well, here is another prediction - this unrest is not in the interest of the powers that be, and it will be quickly and efficiently put to rest. Already communications such as various Internet access and certain phone lines have been shut down. A strongly enforced curfew will probably be next, followed by arrests of the supposed leaders. In short order, the ones who are so worked up now will decide that it is just not worth the grief, and that will be the end of it. I sincerely hope that I am wrong, and that the opposition to this regime will continue, even if there is retaliation. Maybe there is a resistance leader there somewhere who who can persuade the people that they don't have to put up with the crap, and eventually can take their country back. One can only hope. The U.S has to be careful not to meddle in the affair. Ater all, they are Muslims and have a hard time grasping the Big Picture.
North Korea is still in the news, with their nutty little dictator threatening anihilation of the rest of the world. My guess is that he has one of his big warheads trained on Seoul, S.K., just in case he gets "provoked". He would have to choose a target that is close, so he has a chance of hitting it. I have an idea that the U.S. military has a plan of action that could take out the million-man army before they got out of their barracks. The thing is that we have to be in hair-trigger mode and ready to act in seconds. The stakes are incredibly high. I'm sure we have it all worked out.

Interesting Information

The big news from the election in Iran is that Ahmadinejad won by a two-to-one margin. Now, why am I not surprised? This news was delivered by the state-run news service, the votes were counted by the state-run drones, and the results will never be verified by an independent party. I guess I mistakenly thought that all of the excitement in the run-up to the election actually meant something. But, who did I think I was kidding? Out of the couple hundred potential candidates, only four were approved by the big guy with the turban. And you better believe that these chosen four would toe the line regarding such things as pursuit of nuclear power, destruction of Israel, and hatred of the West. So, no matter who is declared the winner, it is very improbable that there would be any change. One thing does keep fluttering through my mind, though. It isn't hard to imagine that with all the enthusiasm shown during the campaign, surely some group might be bold enough to question the results. Maybe there could be a popular revolution; how could anyone with a brain be satisfied with such a repressive government?
I don't want to make a habit of copying things for you to read, but I found this post by one of my favorite people on the Al Bawaba forum. Here it is:

Author: yolee usa Date: 12-06-09 06:26
Top Ten Myths about the Middle East Conflict – Jonathan S Tobin – www.aish.com Sixty-one years after the birth of the State of Israel, the Jewish state continues to be assailed by its enemies. From the halls of the United Nations to the classrooms of major universities and in the pressrooms of major newspapers and magazines, attacks on the legitimacy of every move by Israel -- and even of the state's existence itself -- continue to be made. What lies behind the calumnies and canards that are constantly thrown at the one Jewish state on the planet? In the Arab and Islamic world, the notion that any portion of the Middle East could be placed under Jewish sovereignty is anathema. Elsewhere, some of the brickbats thrown Israel's way stem from prejudice and hatred rooted in classic anti-Semitism. But what about the American press, much of which is Jewish, and other American opinion-makers for whom the anti-Semitic tag doesn't really apply? The reasons for much of the slanted commentaries about the Middle East and biased news coverage has less to do with the ancient hatreds based in Europe than it does with sheer ignorance. For all too many members of the press (as well as other Americans who like to think of themselves as being informed about the great issues of the day), lack of knowledge about the underlying facts of the Middle East conflict is commonplace. Myths about the State of Israel, its origins and its actions have found their way into general discourse in the academy and the media. Those who seek to stand up for Israel need to recognize that many of the problems that Israel has in getting its case across stem from a failure to debunk these myths and to answer them with the truth. So here is a list of the top ten myths about Israel and the Middle East conflict. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it is a good start to understanding the heart of the problem. Myth #1: Jews have no historic connection to Israel/Palestine. A key element of Arab and anti-Zionist attacks on Israel is the notion that the Jewish presence in the country is a remnant of 19th century imperialism in which Europeans colonized and exploited parts of the third world. But far from being outsiders there, the Jewish ties date back 4,000 years to the very beginning of Jewish history recounted in the Bible and verified by much of the evidence of archeology that has been discovered. Though the Romans expelled most of the Jewish population from the country, Jewish settlement continued without interruption throughout the last 2,000 years. In all this time, the Land of Israel remained a constant in thoughts and the hearts of Jews throughout the world, as it was remembered in their daily prayers and in their dreams. Myth #2: Jews have no unique claim to the ancient and holy city of Jerusalem. Though both Christianity and Islam have holy sites in the city, the Jewish ties predate that of any other existing religion. King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel 3,000 years ago -- 1,700 years before Islam was even founded. Jerusalem never served as even a provincial capital during the centuries of Muslim rule. The entire city is sacred to Jews; only the Dome of the Rock has religious significance to Muslims. Moreover, in the modern era, Jews have been the majority of the population of the city since the 1840s. As for freedom of worship, the only period during which all faiths have been free to worship in peace has been since 1967 when the city became unified under Israeli sovereignty. Myth #3: The Zionist movement was never prepared to share the land. From the very start of the Jewish return to their historic homeland in the late 19th century, it has never been the goal of the Zionist movement to uproot the Arab population or to create a state where only Jews could live. In 1922, the League of Nations' Mandate for Palestine was partitioned by Britain, with the east bank of the Jordan River reserved for Arab rule (it eventually become the Kingdom of Jordan), and the area between the Mediterranean and the Jordan being designated as the Jewish National Home. Dating back to the 1930s, every subsequent peace plan that has been proposed involved some sort of partition of the Western portion of Palestine. Though all of these schemes involved painful concessions for the Jews, the leadership of the Zionist movement and subsequently the Jewish state always accepted this principle of sharing the country. Myth #4: The lack of an independent Palestinian Arab state is the fault of the Zionists. In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine between a Jewish state and an Arab state. The response of the Palestinian Arabs, as well as the rest of the Arab and Muslim world, was a categorical rejection of any scheme that allowed a Jewish state on any part of the land, no matter what its borders might be. No effort was made to set up an independent Arab state in the part of Palestine allotted for that purpose. In the aftermath of Israel's War of Independence, in which it repelled the invasion by five Arab armies, the West Bank, Gaza and half of Jerusalem, were left in Arab hands. But for the next 19 years when these territories remained under Arab control, there was never any consideration given to creating an Arab state there. On the contrary, the focus of the Arab world was on extinguishing the fledgling state of Israel that existed in the truncated borders left by the 1949 armistice lines. In the years after the 1967 war, Israel has maintained a willingness to negotiate a peace deal based on the concept of "land for peace." Indeed, at Camp David in July 2000 and the following January at Taba, Egypt, Israel offered the Palestinians a state in these lands as well as part of Jerusalem. The answer from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was "no," and he followed up that refusal by launching a terrorist war of attrition that resulted in over a thousand Jewish deaths and even more suffering on the part of his own people. Myth #5: The plight of Palestinian refugees is a special case of dispossession that must be redressed by international action. In the aftermath of World War II, millions of refugees were created by the partition of India, the re-drawing of the map of Europe, as well as by the war brought on by the Arab refusal to accept the UN's partition of Palestine. Only in the case of Palestinians who fled their home during the course of Israel's War of Independence, was there a failure to re-settle the refugees. The Palestinian refugees, whose exit from the country was caused more by a general fear of the war sweeping over the land than by any action on the part of the Israelis, were the only refugees who were kept in camps and not allowed to integrate into the populations of the Arab countries that received them. They were kept homeless as a means of maintaining the illusion that the creation of Israel could be undone. Subsequent generations of this population have been raised in these camps and inculcated in an irredentist ideology whose premise is the rejection of any Jewish state. They remain the wards of a UN agency (the United Nations Relief Works Agency) that is devoted to perpetuating their status as refugees at a cost of billions of dolllars on international aid. On the other hand, several hundred thousand Jews living in Arab countries were evicted from their homes during this same era and forced to flee to safety in Israel or the West -- where they were integrated into society. Myth #6: The occupation of eastern Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights in 1967 was the result of an Israeli war of aggression. In May 1967, Egypt launched a blockade of Israel's southern port of Eilat. Egyptian and Syrian forces massed on Israel's borders. Egypt demanded, and got, the UN peacekeeping force that separated their army from Israel in the Sinai, to withdraw. Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdul Nasser and other Arab leaders told their peoples that they would soon launch a battle of annihilation that would result in Israel's destruction. When international diplomacy failed to get the Arabs to back down, Israel decided that it would not wait to be attacked and launched a defensive war to forestall the Arab assault. After the war ended in a sweeping Israeli victory, Israel stated its willingness to make peace, but an Arab summit conference a month later answered with three no's. No peace. No recognition. No negotiations. Myth #7: Jewish settlements are the main, if not the sole, obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Though many legal sources claim that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are illegal, the fact remains that the right of Jewish settlement in those lands was guaranteed by the Mandate for Palestine of the League of Nations. This territory was never part of any other sovereign state and its final legal status is subject to negotiations that must be concluded between the competing parties. Until such time as there is a peace accord which gives one side or the other sovereignty in this territory, it is inaccurate to refer to this land as belonging to one side or another. Twice before, Israel has shown a willingness to uproot Jewish communities for the sake of peace: in the Sinai (given back to Egypt in the 1979 Peace Treaty) and in Gaza (from which Israel withdrew unilaterally in 2005). The existence of settlements in these areas is no bar to a peace deal under which they might be withdrawn. Myth #8: The failure of the Oslo peace process was the result of actions by hard-line Israeli governments. The Oslo process was embraced by Israel in the hope that an offer of land would be met with genuine peace. However, the result of years of negotiations and various Israeli withdrawals has not been peace. From the start of Palestinian Authority rule in the West Bank and Gaza in 1994, Palestinian leadership has encouraged terrorism against Israel and fomented hatred against the Jewish state -- while "peace education" is promulgated in Israeli schools. Throughout the 1990s as Israel signed several agreements that gave the Palestinians more autonomy, the corrupt PA leadership continued to tolerate and even fund terror groups. In 2000, Yasser Arafat refused Israel's offer of a Palestinian state in virtually all of the West Bank and Gaza as well as part of Jerusalem -- and launched the terror offensive known as the Second Intifada. Though all Israeli governments have, at times, been forced to reply with force to terrorist attacks from Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, all have stated a willingness to negotiate a peace. Today the Palestinians are split between the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas which is too weak to make peace and Hamas, the rulers of Gaza, who reject it under any circumstances. Both factions reject the legitimacy of a Jewish state. Myth #9: The Arab-Israeli conflict is the key to all of America's political, diplomatic and military problems in the Middle East. The battle over Israel/Palestine is but one of many disputes in the Middle East. The rivalry between the two great Muslim religious strains, Shia and Sunni, has been the source of more wars and more bloodshed than any battle between Arabs and Jews. Similarly, the tensions between Persians (modern day Iran with its Islamist rulers and nuclear ambitions) and Arabs is another perennial conflict that predates the renewal of Jewish sovereignty in the region. Even more to the point, the conflict between radical Islamists who seek to impose their religious and political views on the rest of the Muslim world, and those who oppose them in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, has nothing to do with Israel or the Palestinians. It is this schism which is at the core of the rise of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. It is this battle for the soul of Islam that gave the impetus to the 9/11 attacks, not the dispute over the borders of the Jewish state. Though Israel's foes claim that resentment over its creation fuels Arab and Islamic resentment of the West, such sentiments long predate the rise of Zionism. The clash of civilizations between Islam and the West was the cause of wars between European nations and Muslim countries for centuries with no Jewish involvement. Linking world peace to a resolution of the Palestinian conflict is just another tactic of rejectionist groups bent on perpetuating the conflict and diverting attention from the real issues. Myth #10: American support for Israel is the result of the manipulations of the U.S. government by Jews. Support for the return of the Jews to their ancient homeland dates back to the very beginning of American history. Sympathy for the idea of a renewed Jewish state is rooted in the faith of most Americans, as well as in their belief that the persecuted Jewish people were entitled to find a new life in their old home. From the very beginnings of the Zionist movement, it found both a welcome and support from large numbers of Americans. In the aftermath of the Holocaust that support became even greater. Today, the overwhelming majority of Americans of all faiths and both major political parties see Israel as a friend and an ally. They need no prodding from a Jewish lobby to understand that the alliance with the Jewish state is based on common values and a shared belief in democracy. While Israel's supporters in Washington are vocal and proud of it, their financial clout is dwarfed by that of an oil industry and other factions with a vested interest in appeasing Arab dictators and monarchs. But the American people's identification with Israel and their sense of solidarity with it have prevailed because these ideas are rooted deeply in American history and tradition. SO EAT that one, you anti-semite fkr's...

Will Cheney Run?

After being beat up for the last eight years, why would Dick Cheney be interested in running for President? There you go, jumping to the wrong conclusion. I don't mean Dick Cheney, I mean his daughter Liz Cheney. After Dick weighed in on the enhanced interrogation methods debate, Liz came on the scene to defend her father. Lately, she has been interviewed on just about every news program there is, and, at least in my opinion, making a very good showing for herself. I have to admit that I haven't been able to catch more than a couple of minutes at a time, but I am really impressed with what she has to say. Last night, Larry King paired her up with James Carville and it was no contest. Carville would answer every question with the officially sanctioned left-wing talking point reply, and Cheney would counter with an in-your-face direct answer, delivered with a velvet hammer and a smile. She made Carville look like the idiot he is. Seriously, she has everything I would like to see in a candidate. It looks like she has the same conservative views as her father, but she is able to present them in a non-confrontational manner. It is obvious that she is very intelligent, and is quite comfortable in front of a camera and microphone. I think she matches Obama's ability to connect with the people she is trying to reach, and she doesn't seem to need a teleprompter. Anyway, I think she deserves watching. I don't know if Liz is the daughter who is gay, but if so, that would cost her some votes. I could overlook it.
Speaking of getting elected, there is a big election taking place in Iran tomorrow. Moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi seems to be in a good position to oust Ahmadinejad from the presidency. If he wins, I think it would be remarkable in one very important sense. His main backers seem to be young people, some of whom drive around town at night shouting, with radios blaring and waving banners. Unknown to me before now, the young people are really into Facebook on the internet, and Mousavi is making good use of this connection. After his victory, he would just about have to cater to this contingent. After all, there are 70,000,000 young people under the age of thirty in Iran. Ahmadinejad, with his strict interpretations of the Koranic law, probably wouldn't appeal to these young voters. Of course, the clerics, who wield a lot of power, would still have a lot to say about how open the government would be allowed to be. Then, too, they are all muslims, which would take rationality out of the picture. And who's to say if the election will be fair? Muslims........

Fire the Car Dealers?

I am really confused about why cancellation of a car dealer's contract is a good idea. Under normal circumstances it should be considered an advantage to have more people selling your product. If I understood an interview I heard with a dealer whose franchise was revoked, the dealer has to ante up his own money buy the cars from the company, and to pay for all the expenses involved in running his business. If this is the case, it would be sheer lunacy to close them down. Since I don't know the facts, maybe I should just let it go. I'm just trying to apply some common sense to the problem. Have you heard about unintended consequences? This situation looks like it will have a bunch of them. The first that comes to my mind is that most dealerships employ 40 - 50 workers. If the dealerships closed down, these laid-off employees would add to the ever expanding total of the unemployed. Bailing out the car companies was supposed to save or create jobs. Many of the dealers that lost their franchise were actually quite successful and had a really good operation. These guys probably won't just roll over and assume a fetal position. They have the showroom, the lot, the staff and the financing. All that is missing is a line of cars to sell. So, they will be looking at lines offered by the Japanese or the Koreans or the Germans. And don't forget that India and China are about to be big players in the car manufacturing game. (China has had a plug-in electric car for over two years now, three years ahead of the Volt from GM.) The way I see it, this move will mean a larger share of the market for the foreign manufacturers, at the expense of our domestic brands. I don't think that is a good thing. But behind it all, it seems to me that something is going on behind the scenes that is not supposed to see the light of day. Obama's "machine" is pushing really hard to get this over in an unrealistic short time, and I always say that when someone tells you to rush, that is when you need to slow down and study. This administration is not beyond being untruthful, misleading, heavy handed or downright ruthless.

Day off

Normally some bit of news gets reported that has me seething all day. For a blogger, this is a good day. But when all you get on the news is stuff that has been hashed to death for the last several days, that is a bad day. Really, they have about run the gamut on Sotomayor, so I have tuned out on that. So, I have decided to rejuvenate myself overnight, and come back tomorrow full of you-know-what and vinegar, and find something interesting to write about.
Remember the other day when I conjectured about taking my $500 stimulus payment and buying GM stock at 61.5 cents per share? It closed at $1.50 today, and my 813 shares would now be worth $1219.50. If I calculated right, that would be a 244% gain in just a couple of days. Let's see, if I bought $500 worth of GM stock at $1.50, it would have to go up to $3.00 for me to double my money. I wonder.......

Good News in Lebanon

For the moment, the news from Lebanon looks encouraging. The official results show that the U.S. favored democratic party now holds 71 seats in the Parliament to 57 for the opposition. The new Parliament will be seated on June 20th, when they will work on the budget and a host of other hopeful programs and reforms. All this will be accomplished in the spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation. Even Sayyed Nassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbullah, said that he recognizes that the democratic party now has the majority, and that he plans to work closely with the new government in every way. However, it seems he may have a reservation or two. In a televised speech on Monday, Nasrallah said, "I urge all opposition leaders to renew their pledge and their commitment to all their popular bases, to continue with their plan." I can guess what he means by this statement. In an interview with Agence France Presse, Hizbullah MP Mohammad Raad also had this to add: "The majority must commit not to question our role as a resistance party, the legitimacy of our weapons arsenal and the fact that Israel is an enemy state." Does this sound like whole-hearted cooperation to you?
You know, before the "Opposition" came on the scene, that country was a very attractive tourist destination, and with a healthy business atmosphere, it was doing very well indeed. The cities were pretty darned nice, with great hotels, restaurants, night life, culture, lush parks, etc. And there was a lot to see in the mountains and countryside outside the cities as well. Evidently, Hizbullah wasn't happy that things were going so well, and kept stirring things up until the whole country was a war zone. Buildings were bombed, they started a war with Israel, people were being intimidated and killed, businesses were ruined and it was not safe to be outside. But somewhere in the dak, a candle was still burning. Amid all the chaos, there were still those who felt that Lebanon could rise again. Maybe what we are seeing with this election is that the people are finally ready to turn that candle into a flame that is bright enough to illuminate their future. (Is that eloquent, or what!?)
Anyway, Hizbullah, the Iran-backed terrorist organization, was dealt a significant blow today, and I feel good about it.
Still waiting for Nancy Pelosi to bring forth some evidence to prove the CIA lied, and now she seems to have disappeared. Maybe she is hiding out with Charlie Rangle (or is it Wrangle?) who also "doesn't want to talk about it".

Fairtax - Part I

If you watched any coverage of the Tea Parties, you would have noticed that there were a lot of "Fairtax" signs in the crowd. Tea Parties and Fairtax have an important idea in common; they both are grass roots efforts to drastically change the way things are done in Washington. The Tea Parties want to insure that the concerns of the citizens of our country are being addressed by the people in the government who were elected to do just that. Power to the people!! Fairtax would completely change the way revenue is collected by the government, and this is monumental. Here are a few highlights of the Fairtax plan. It would completely replace the entire income tax collection system, and would actually repeal the 16th Amendment, which allows the govenment to tax income. Under Fairtax, a simple percentage amount would be included in the price of all goods and services that are sold. This percentage amount would be calculated every year, based on current data. Figures for 2006 put this amount at 23%, based on what it would take to generate the same amount of revenue the government was taking in at that time with the current system. Now, this, taken in isolation, sounds like a large amount, but consider that everything you buy has about 22% (same year figures) of tax costs embedded in the price of the item or service that would disappear. Almost a trade-off. So, what about the poor people, who would now have to pay tax on food and other things that are now exempted? This is handled by a feature in the Fairtax called the "Prebate". A formula will be developed to determine what the poverty level is for the period, and the amount of the Fairtax that would be spent by a family unit earning at that income level. This amount would be pre-bated in the form of a monthly check sent to the family which, in effect, pays the tax for them. A check in this amount would be sent to everyone, rich and poor alike, with no favoritism. After all, it is Fairtax. That is about all I'll tell you about the nuts and bolts for now. I just wanted to capture your interest.
But, there are a couple of things about Fairtax that are worth considering. Without the high corporate taxes (that will have been repealed), our businesses would be in a better position to compete in the world market. We would go from a country with the second highest corporate costs to one with the lowest in the world. Companies that have moved out of the U.S. to avoid the high taxes would now want to move back home. Foreign companies would want to set up their businesses here to take advantage of our tax system. The trillions of dollars that are now hidden in offshore accounts could now be integrated into our economy because with no income tax, there would be no reason to hide the income. It is fair in another way - the rich will pay more because they spend more; the poor will pay less because they spend less. In a sense, you get to decide how much tax you want to pay. Don't forget all the people who don't report their income now, like criminals, drug dealers, or illegal aliens who work for cash. Under Fairtax, they would be paying their fair share every time they spent their ill-gotten gains. And above all - there will be no more IRS and no more income tax to file. April 15th will be just another nice spring day.
Don't expect politicians and lobbyists to just roll over and let their golden egg be taken from them. The current tax code is what they use to gain advantages and grant favors, and they use it incessantly. How else could it have grown to almost 70,000 pages?
Fairtax is not new. Years ago, a group of experts from several walks of life started out with a blank slate and a mandate to create a tax system that would be fair to everyone, easy to administer, and simple to execute. They came up with Fairtax. It was first introduced as a bill in the House and the Senate in 1999, and has been re-introduced every year since. Each year it gets more co-sponsors as legislators come on board, but it still has a long way to go. As I said, our elected officials aren't really interested in changing the law at this time. I really think we citizens need to find out all we can about Fairtax and then pressure our representatives in Washington to get on the bandwagon. I wrote to Sen. Ben Nelson and he wrote back with an answer that said two things; he was against it, and he hadn't read the bill. I used to like him.

O Omaha

I really had a nice day today. My friend Dale invited me to try out the new pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River. In spite of my fear of heights, I agreed to go. Well, it turned out that the bridge wasn't scary at all, and the view from the top was pretty exciting. A lot of people were out today; cyclists, dog walkers, families with little kids and walkers just out for the exercise. From the bridge you can see how the riverfront walk leads south to the beautiful Heartland of America park, and to the west is the Quest Center, and beyond that, the city skyline, which now includes a couple of skyscrapers. In the lot below us, the Taste of Omaha festival was in full swing. It was about lunch time, so we went down to see what would tickle our taste buds. There was certainly a lot to choose from, but we settled on a bratwurst and an alligator skewer, with a glass of beer to wash it down. I wasn't expecting to find alligator on the menu, but it was really good. Contrary to what you have heard, it doesn't taste like chicken, but, it has a distinctive mild flavor and is moist and tender. I would eat it again - it is quite pleasant.
It occurred to me that the new Omaha is really a destination city, a place where travellers would enjoy spending a good part of their vacation. Imagine the terrific draws we have. Our zoo is world class and improving every year. I used to like going to Larimer Square in Denver because of its unique attitude, but our Old Market area is just as endearing. For culture, we have the magnificent Holland Arts Center, The Orpheum Theater (where we saw "Phantom of the Opera" and "Wicked"), the Quest Center (where I saw Andre Rieux and his orchestra and where Berkshire Hathaway holds its annual meeting with 30,000 attendees), and the beautiful Joslyn Art museum. These are some of the things that you might see listed in a travel brochure. But to me, Omaha's neatest attractions are a bit more subtle. I like to take walks in the neighborhood just north of Memorial Park, for instance. (You could spend a couple of hours just in the park, with its impressive memorial, the rose garden, the large grassy hillsides and all the different species of trees.) These are all beautiful older homes with shady sidewalks and pretty landscaping. The Dundee Village business district is just a few blocks from where I live, and is an area where people get out of their cars and walk around. There are sidewalk eating areas and benches to just sit and people-watch. The main intersection has a large clock that chimes every quarter-hour. There are numerous restaurants and coffee shops here, and a bakery or two. And on every intersection, a basket of flowers hangs from an old-timey, unique to Dundee, street light pole. It is just a great place to hang out and relax, especially on a warm, pleasant evening. Do I sound like I am happy here? You betcha!
My wife and I do a lot of travelling, and when we pick a destination we look for the very things that I have just described to you. So, I suggest to you out-of-towners to come to Omaha and visit a very beautiful city. And those of you that live right here, it is time for you to get off your duff and rediscover your home town. It is a great experience!

Media Power

I have to admit that I haven't listened to the whole speech that President Obama gave in Cairo. However, I have heard from endless talking heads on Obama's bandwagon describe how wonderful it was. Evidently it was extremely well-crafted, eloquently delivered, received with adulation and lots of applause. But, how would I know? I didn't hear it, so obviously I have no basis for judgement. It would be easy enough to just accept the reportage and use that knowledge for my opinion. Sadly, this is what many people do with news, accept it without analysis. For myself, I do not trust the media enough to let them tell me what to think. Too many of them have their own agenda and twist their reporting to promote their own ends. One should remember that the media has immense power to influence the way people think, and it is important for us to remember that the media knows this. I'll give you a couple of examples. How big was the Abu Graib scandal, really? There was a handful of miscreants who mistreated a handful of prisoners. The guilty persons were quickly apprehended, put to trial and punished. The whole story warranted a headline or two, granted, but in an effort to discredit anyone and everyone, even the president of the United States, the media kept it on the front burner long enough to cause some real damage. I shudder to think how the terrorists used this reporting to recruit new members, and in the end, how many of our soldiers lost their lives because of it. Do you remember the Haditha scandal where some soldiers were ambushed, but managed to kill the ambushers, and supposedly some civilians as well? Just after it happened, one of the sources on the Forum of albawaba.com told the whole story, which turned out to be true. The media definitely was not kind on this one, either, and after long and highly publicized proceedings, the military dismissed the charges. But, the damage was already done. Why did the New York Times run with the story about the wire taps after the President asked them to withhold it? In every report, the paper used terms referring to domestic wire taps, which was not accurate at all, and in the end caused us to lose a valuable tool in our fight against terrorism. They used the term "domestic" in a blatant attempt to twist opinion. And we are fools to fall for their devices.No wonder we are called "sheeple" and "Kool-aid drinkers".
There are enough other sources of information so that we can have an informed opinion based on our own interpretation. So where do I get my news? Here are a few of my sources: Fox news, Albawaba.com, Xinhua (China), Arab News, Jerusalem Post, Pravda, Lebanon Daily Star, and even the official news site from North Korea. During the day, I do listen to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck. Sometimes they have something worthwhile to say, but if they start harping on a subject that I'm getting tired of, I switch them off. Sometimes I like to tune into Keith Olberman, just to watch the hate ooze from his pores. He is definitely not to be taken seriously. It is amazing that everybody all over the world pretty much reports on the same stories.
So, the next time you tune into a news program, ask yourself, "Am I being manipulated?" And you always have the choice to leave the news and watch reruns of Gilligan's Island.

4 1/2 % Solution

Well, we have thrown billions of dollars at our faltering economy and it hasn't shown any improvement that I can see. The stock market seems to be inching up a bit, though, but that is not a result of anything the current administration has done. Unlike the days of the Great Depression, a lot of investors who had pulled their money out are sitting on bunches of cash and are getting antsy about putting it back to work. There are quite a few devalued viable companies out there, and the investors are starting to dribble their money back in to snatch up the bargains. It is a wild thought, and I haven't done it (yet), but I thought about buying some General Motors stock at 61.5 cents a share. (Not too much, no more than I could afford to lose.) With the full faith and trust of th U.S. Government behind the company, the stock might get as high as $1.23 and I could double my money.
I'll have to think on that awhile. I just remembered , I just got $500 in the mail!!
I know it will never happen now, but the Republicans sponsored a bill that would set the interest rate at 4 1/2% for anyone that wanted to buy a new home or refinance an existing mortgage. The bill was instantly shot down by the majority party for whatever reason I will never know. But I was thinking, what would this do for me? My current morgage is 5.625 %, not too bad a rate, but if I was to refinance at 4 1/2%, I would have an extra $70 in my pocket, each and every month for the next 30 years. This isn't big money, but I don't have a large morgage. And you can bet that $70 would end up in the economy somewhere. But think of the big picture. This low interest rate would definitely be an incentive to stimulate the housing market, which would put a bunch of carpenters to work. When that happens, lumber manufacturers, truckers, cabinet makers, and a host of other enterprises would have something to do again. I believe I would include some language in the deal that would require the participants to be able to pay back the loan. And here is a novel thought; this would actually reward the people who have done things right. I'm afraid that I would just let the irresponsible people lose their homes. Deadbeats they are, and deadbeats they shall remain. So, how long would it take to feel the effects of this kind of stimulus? Immediately, maybe two months, tops.
Ah, this is too simple. No wonder it was shot down!
This afternoon I unearthed a notebook that I had forgotten about. Just after the stimulus bill was passed I wrote down what I thought about it. It was not written by the same mellow fellow that now sits at the keyboard. When I get to know you a little better, maybe I'll let you read it.

Amos saw it coming

This will be a short post. My wife and I have a bible study class tomorrow morning, and I still have some reading to do. Last week we studied the book of Amos, who lived about 2700 or so years ago. The Lord asked him to be a prophet, to leave his sheep and fig trees, and to head up north to Israel and bring them some bad news. You see, the Lord knew that the Israelites had turned away from the ancient covenants, and had come up with a new and different set of rules to live by. The evil rich leaders had cheated and lied to the poor people of the land, and were living the life of luxury at the expense of the poor. The leaders countered that they couldn't see that they were doing anything wrong; after all, the general ecenomy was in good shape, the crops were bountiful and everybody (especially the leaders) seemed pretty happy. And as for all the immoral goings-on - a little debauchery kept the tensions loose. No big deal. "Not so," said Amos. "You have screwed up big time, and it is too late to escape the consequences." And he went on to decribe how they would suffer and become weak, and how the neighboring countries were going to come in with their armies and have them for lunch. Sure enough, it all came to pass. Normally, our church doesn't want us to get into political discussions, but we all saw the correlation to our present conditions, and our instructor let us spend some time delving into it.
Interesting!
By the way, whatever happened to Nancy Pelosi after she called the CIA a bunch of liars? I thought someone was going to find out if the CIA lied or if maybe Nancy just had a chip on her shoulder and made it all up. Inquiring minds like ours need to know!
See ya!

Is there hope for the Republicans?

Someone said that today was a nice spring day. Evidently we had enough rain so that the lawn sprinkler didn't come on, and then it cleared off in the afternoon and remainsed cool. I wouldn't have known, because I spent the day laying floor tile in a basement with the curtains drawn. If my knees or my back start to hurt, I don't like this kind of job at all. On the other hand, if I don't have to put up with the pain (as was the case today), I can let my mind wander and think of any number of things. My thoughts today, as on most any other day, seemed to center on the situation in Washington. I truly believe that the spending and heavy-handed politics that are being practiced by the Democrats who are in charge there are handing the Republicans a golden platter of opportunity to regain control. The question is, how can they do it, and which Republican leader can pull it off?
One of the cable news channels put up a list of nine prospects that have shown interest. During the campaign, I was impressed with Sarah Palin because of her conservative values, a proven ability to govern, and especially her amazing ability to excite a crowd. I attended her rally when she came to Omaha, so I know whereof I speak. Maybe she is just biding her time, but I wish she would start making some noise! Newt Gingrich was on the list, and I think I could easily get behind him. He is an orator second to none (even without a teleprompter), he has been around and has a deep knowledge of how things get done in government, and is also a bona fide conservative. Whether he chooses to walk the walk or just be satisfied to talk the talk remains to be seen. Jindal's name keeps coming up, but I think he shot himself in the foot with his lame speech following Obama's big extravaganza. He evidently has no idea how to present himself, and that is going to be of major importance in the next election. At this point, and I know it's early, I favor Mike Huckabee. In last year's primaries, he won all the debates (at least in my opinion). His answers were always right on and quick, and he never seemed to get rattled. As the primaries progressed, he seemed to get better and better. For some reason, though, he never won favor with the conservative talk show hosts, and at one time, Rush Limbaugh even off-handedly called him an idiot. I think he has a good chance now, because he is no longer an unknown. One of his biggest draws right now is his commitment to pushing the Fairtax to replace our current tax system. I have read the Fairtax book, and it makes a lot of sense to me. Actually, if we had enacted Fairtax instead of spending mightily on the bailouts and the Stimulus plan, we would be well on our way to recovery by now. You can check it out at www.fairtax.org.
As I said, the Republicans are being fed an unbelievable amount of ammunition to take back both the White House and Congress. It is now a matter of how much they want to do it. I would like to see Michael Steele be a little more effective. He seems to be a real likeable fellow, but he needs to grow some teeth.
OK, that's it. See you on the nest post.

First Post

Most of my posts will probably have to do with politics. As of right now, I am not a fan of our President Obama. When he made his speech before the Democratic Convention in 2004, I was really excited because here was a young man who said the right things and was able to electrify an audience. He was known then as a "Rising Star". It was after he was elected to the U.S. Senate that I started to have my doubts. Now he was saying the same things that all the way-left Democrats were saying, and I certainly did not agree with them. By the time he started to run for President, I knew that he was completely wrong for the job. I was luke-warm about McCain, but really got excited when Sarah Palin came on the scene.

So, how did Obama get elected? First and foremost, he ran an almost flawless campaign and was able to raise unprecedented amounts of money. The media was solidly behind him and promoted the "Rock Star" image that drew huge crowds and a lot of attention. Because his followers were so besotted with him, they ate up his talking points; no more George Bush, tax the evil rich, tax cuts for 95% of the people, close Guantanamo, government health care, clean energy, etc. To sum it up, the people voted, and now we are stuck with him.

To quote Jeremiah Wright, "The chickens have come home to roost". We now have a debt that is impossible to pay, our creditors are having second thoughts about lending to us, and bone-crushing inflation is just around the corner. The inflation alone is enough to ruin the life of someone like me, who thought he had saved enough to retire.

The sad thing is that it seems he cannot be stopped. Things will get a lot worse before they get better.

I thought it was kind of strange that the stock market was up over 220 points today, the same day that GM, one of our oldest and largest companies, declared bankruptcy. To me, it seemed like a sigh of relief.

Well, this was a bit of a history lesson, but I wanted to set the scene. Future posts should be more focused.