Teacher accused of sex assault of 17-year-old student...

This teacher, a man, is a bandleader at a high school in Broomfield, CO. The student was a 17 year old female. No need for me to go into details. He says he was "having a relationship". This begs the question: will he get the same punishment as all these women teachers having sex with male students around the same age? I'm skeptical!!! He'll probably get the max sentence, while the gals get less. I don't think this crime is to be treated lightly, whatever gender is involved. On the other hand, it is not the same as those pedophiles who prey on tiny children! But most certainly, he should be banned from working in the school... I'm sorry but I feel people who work with children need to be held to a higher standard.

The stakes?

The last post begs the question, what happens when we do withdraw and if the fragile Iraq government does collapse?

This may happen regardless of our staying there a while longer.

Well, right now Iraq is not a big oil producer - nor would it be under chaotic conditions. Though they were notably absent in helping in the current "reconstruction" of Iraq, you can bet that Iran and Syria will step in to become major power brokers. Saudi Arabia and other Sunni dominated countries may step in to defend that minority of Iraqi's. Kurds in both Iraq and Turkey will push for an independent Kurdistan.

Iraq in chaos and perpetual civil war may have little impact on the West unless unrest spills over into the entire region. A big consolidated theocratic government in the mold of Iran may pose even larger threats to Israel - though Israel is well prepared for conventional military attacks. What is of greater concern is terrorist camps moving in amongst the chaos. I think they are already there.

All I hope for is stability. Iraq may well look like Yugoslavia in the future, which is acceptable only IF the violence ends. I'm not too concerned over the form of government which comes - I hope it respects human rights, but Americans have to realize they can not impose their way of life on everyone. More than likely is some kind of harsh and repressive government that moves in to control everyone.

On the positive side, a lowered American footprint in the region may work to quell resentment against our dominance. I look forward to the world's countries moving deeply into renewable energy. This way, when we do not depend on the region, we can let the respective peoples sort things out themselves. You can not convince me that we would be there had there not been oil in the region...

The return of Hanoi Jane...

What???!!!! I read that Jane Fonda showed up at the recent anti-war demonstrations. So, now is she going to Iran to meet with Ahmadinajad? This doesn't help the anti-war cause as I believe most Americans view her in a negative way. I would hope so, anyway!

Zim's Rants has advocated a responsible end to this war. Let us hope that Iraqinization goes better than Vietnamization! No, it has not dragged on as long as Vietnam - nor should we let it! It is the stated goal of just about everyone that the Iraqi people take charge of their country. It is just a debate about when.

The troop "surge" is going to happen, so all I feel I can do is wish the troops well and hope it is a quick success. Give it another year or two, maybe I will be out there demonstrating!!! In the mean time, Zim's rants advocates patience...

State of the Union??? Err......

I give Bush decent marks for his speeches. I don't particularly enjoy his speaking style, but he does do that folksy down-home stuff that a lot of people like. You have to expect these speeches will have an optimistic element - though I doubt there is much he can say about the funk called Iraq. After getting fooled about the "yellow-cake uranium in Niger", I don't take much of what he says too seriously.

So he wants us to cut gas consumption by 20%? Well, geez, I kind of scrapped the hydro-gen idea when gas dropped to $2 per gallon. Health Care? There are supposed to be some tax breaks in the works.We'll see what actually comes out of Congress for his signature...

Steve is gone!

It's hard to believe, but he isn't here anymore. Seems like I just met him! It must not have been terribly comfortable to be all bloated and heavy like that. I'm sure, though he didn't profess any religion, that he is in a better place. Send us a sign, Steve!

Steve's Page

Continuation on the last post... after Bush's speech...

Looks like I'm hearing from more experts who are against this troop surge than for it. I didn't start this war so don't know how to fix it... A lot of people think that this 21K surge of troops won't solve a thing. And then I hear things about how the gutless Iraqi government is privately against it as well.

Obviously, the deployment is going to happen. The Commander in Chief has spoken (the same one who flew jets over Houston) and his will shall be done. But what is dangerous is the stretching out of the already thinly stretched military.

Let us hope I am wrong. Perhaps, if this yields some fairly immediate and dramatic results, support will grow for it. Hopefully the military actions will couple with some substantive political breakthroughs. For now, it just looks like Al Maliki is simply telling Bush what he wants to hear...

I can just see it now....

In 2008, some Republican candidates are going to blame the Democrats for loosing the Iraq war. Because Nancy Pelosi and Congress are balking at Bush's troop surge for Baghdad, all blame will be shifted to the Dems. That's what would have happened if Kerry had won the Presidency in 2004.

I say, as long as the duration is limited, they could give the troop surge a try. This is only if other conditions are met, such as cooperation from the Iraq government and a detailed plan for stabilizing Baghdad. They should also implement some of the recommendations of the Iraq study group as well.

Is this a lost cause? Perhaps... But if they give up now, it is guaranteed to be lost.

Nancy should say to Bush: "O.k., Mr. Pres. - we'll go along with your plan for a while. If no results are apparent at the end of the year, we will NOT renew funding and continue this war forever. This gives the Dems political cover - the blame rests squarely on Bush, where it belongs.

Israel denies report it plans to use nukes against Iran

Supposedly, they were going to use low-yield "bunker buster" bombs... Hmm... Well, if they were going to do it, they'd better be precise and destroy everything. It's bound to incense the Iranian people and cause a LOT of problems.

I'd like to see a rushed development of thorium-based technology. This way, everyone can have nuclear power, but building bombs will be difficult. Also, what about neighboring Pakistan and India? Aren't they in the nuclear club?

Editors Note: No, I don't want Israel to attack Iran... I'm just speculating on what might happen if they did try an attack, like they did on the Iraqi reactor. Hopefully this will not happen.

Surgery on Girl Raises Ethical Questions...

My god, they removed all that stuff! I can see a preventive surgery IF there are VERY high genetic risks of something, but I can't believe they would remove the uterus, the breasts, the appendix and so on... Just to keep the girl from developing.

What concerns me more is the doctors that approved this ethically... What were they thinking??? O.k. to be fair, I've just skimmed over the articles, but I still think this is sick... And she is not old enough to know if she would have wanted to develop normally.

Pat Robertson: God told me of 'mass killing' in 2007

Well, there he goes again! I'm not saying it couldn't happen. And I'm not saying he doesn't have a halfway decent track record; albeit with a few misses. I think he was silent on whether the Republicans would retain control of congress this year - though I know he can't bear the thought of them loosing it. Sure, the Bush re-election prediction in 2004 came true, but even this author felt fairly certain of that. Kerry did better than I expected, actually. Nobody told me, it just was my feeling based on current facts.

Jerry Falwell, as seen in an earlier post, condemns this kind of speculation. You can bet there will be more and possibly bigger terrorist attacks. It may happen this year or next or ten years down the road, but it WILL happen. And then all kinds of natural calamities can happen at any time. Speculating and fear-mongering do no good. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen! Intimidating people to try and convert them to your religion is a bad policy. Why don't they have the idea that if we all think positive thoughts or pray for positive things, that they might come to pass??? I'm not saying that Christian preachers should stop talking about sin or repentance altogether, but they shouldn't be obsessed with it either! Let's get some positive energy out there...

And the part of us being a superficial friend to Israel is a bit off - heck, we're probably the only true friend they have! You can tell that Rev. Robertson believes that Israel should occupy ALL the land and the Palestinians should just disappear because God gave the land to the Jews! Of course! That's why Ariel Sharon had his stroke! Because he withdrew from the Gaza!

Dangerous Downtown

I'm really ashamed for our city and the tragic death of Broncos player Darrent Williams. If those guys are getting gunned down, then the damned downtown isn't safe. There are a lot of interesting new features to downtown Denver, but if gang bangers are going around doing drive-bys, then who needs it! I'll look for the details of this incredibly stupid act and hope they can round up the punk that did this...