Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Gates says 2nd carrier in Gulf is 'reminder' to Iran

Duh! What the heck else would one think that the carrier is there for??? How is this going to stop the flow of weapons and terrorists across the porous border with Iraq? Well, perhaps Secretary Gates knows more than I... With my limited scope of knowledge, I'd suggest trying to do a better job of intercepting that flow across the land border...

I think Iran is trying to humiliate the U.S. into leaving. But they have to realize that a destabilized (like it ain't destabilized enough already) Iraq is not in the best interest of Iran. Yes, I'm sure the Mullahs don't want a mighty Western power next door. They have to realize that soon things will change. If it settles down, the Americans will want their troops home. Maybe even then the U.S. presence will be too much for them to bear. But is this trouble making worth the death of so many more Muslims???

If Iran talks to P.M. Al Malaki, then they should be honest with him. Realize that the horrible conflict with Saddam Hussein is long past. If your rhetoric says you want to be a good neighbor, then back it up with deeds!

Rev. Wright goes under the bus!

Re: Obama "outraged" by Wright's remarks... WTF? Can't the man speak for himself? Do all my friends say things I agree with? Heck no! But I would defend their right to be different from me. I wouldn't throw them under the bus. Obama is just as phoney as all the other politicians!

As for Rev. Wright. Yeah, they quickly picked out the controversial things he said. I am not offended, but then I LIKE listening to colorful personalities. So I imagine we are supposed to listen to a bunch of mealy mouthed P.C. mush from now on. No thanks!

As for Obama, yes, if I were him, I'd be a bit miffed that the Revrend tries so hard to steal the spotlight. He's being an attention whore for sure!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Rev. Wright speaks.... Cool!

Re: His Nationally televised speech on CNN...

I tend to like his fiery oration... I'm not sure exactly what he said. Something about people being different, not deficient???? OK... People are diverse. Races do have their differences... I get the point, I think!?!?

One thing I did take note of is that he said good things about Jews, Muslims as well as Arabs. And he did point out that Arabs were of all religions, as well as being Atheists. He loudly said Barack Hussein Obama three times to make his point. He even mentioned gays.

Well, his speech could rub some the wrong way. His talk about people's differences could alienate people looking for unity. I'm glad he spoke at length so people could judge for themselves. Frankly, I like black preachers. Another good one is Pastor Jake! Nobody wants to be lulled off to sleep by a boring sermon!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

"Illiterate Peasants"

Hmmm.... Doug Bruce loves controversy. Yeah, many qualify as peasants and some are illiterate. But this is a wide swath to paint with that brush. I'm seeing real hatred towards illegals, particularly Mexicans.

Let me be clear: I don't hate Mexicans. Yes, I wish they didn't pour across the border. But they are not evil for trying to survive. Yes, the flow needs to be cut. But I don't believe you'll ever stop them completely (unless Mexico somehow experiences a miraculous end to poverty). My opinion is that all this hatred will just breed more hatred. Lots of people from Latin America are here legally. Most Mexican people (I have no idea which ones are not here legally) are nice to me and the traditional culture is a good one. Except for the language and a few other small things, I don't find people from Mexico a whole lot different than us. But yes, the biggest thing is that the overwhelming "surge" of people putting a strain on our government. Hating people, I'm afraid, does not solve a thing!

Now I'm afraid I may not be able to even go to Mexico or pass through an ethnic neighborhood because of the color of my skin. And it's a pity, because there are times I prefer to be around anyone but WASP Americans!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

I'm not sure how I feel about this thing...

Re the FLDS (polygamist) scandal... I can't exactly pin down my stance on this. Of course I would never endorse the forced relationships and rape of underage girls. And yes I believe these women are brainwashed in this cult. I have nothing but contempt for leaders of this group.

But how will they sort everything out??? Who is who's child and where are the underage "wives" involved in this thing? I heard something like 300 lawyers were to descend on this rural area.

What are the implications for the right to privacy and civil liberties??? I'm sure alleged child molestation requires that the officials intrude on these people, but unless this can be proven and stand up in court, it only makes things worse.

Don't get me wrong, I don't condone it. I think that one partner is enough. And I endorse the "age of consent". People should not be coerced into relationships or brainwashed. Aside from all that, it is their right to practice their religion and have their beliefs. Bunch of freakin nutjobs, but I defend their right... Unfortunately, with all these people abusing their freedoms, eventually they are going to tear apart the Constitution. Pity...

Monday, April 14, 2008

"The World's Big Story"

Food prices skyrocket and riots occur... This is only a taste of the future. I can think of a few short term remedies, such as increasing oil production by OPEC. But long term planning is more complicated. There are lots of factors, such as the distribution of food that come in to play. And don't forget the climate. Whatever the so-called Global Warming is doing, it is screwing up the weather patterns.

Humans will either learn to adapt to the increasingly scarce resources or population will decline. Actually, the population decline would not be a totally bad thing. But seeing people in misery is a hard thing. It will be worse for people like me (or any American), if it gets bad here because we are so soft. I mean, some people on this planet never knew anything but poverty, while we were rich by comparison. Perhaps some of those seeds that Toan is stowing away will come in handy. Toan is a good survivalist role model. He escaped into the jungle when the Communists took over Vietnam. Cleared his own land, built his own house and grew his own crops! The only reason he left is that they wanted him to go fight in Cambodia.

And speak of bitterness...

Seems to me that some Republicans are somewhat bitter these days. It is just shy of the four years ago that Bush got his mandate. He had a cooperative Congress and also got to reshape the Supreme Court. In '06, things were going badly with the war. Unlike 2004 (when there was more hope in Iraq), the election was NOT about lesser stuff like gay marriage. It was about the war. Now, success in Iraq is fragile and the economy is crapping out. And while the Democrat controlled Congress looks quite inept, little they would pass will overide the President's veto, anyway.

I think some wish that Obama would get in and be another Jimmy Carter. I think things are so bad that we can't afford another crappy President, no matter what party. So, regardless of who wins, I will wish them the best and root for them.

Windows is 'collapsing,' Gartner analysts warn

This does not surprise me. Forget Vista, I have enough troubles with XP!!! Anyway, I found this article from another blog: Windows is Collpsing

Of course I'd like to try a Mac product. But the way things are going, the whole freakin' Internet might collapse!!!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Clinton: Not 'relevant' the last time I fired a gun... or went to Church!

I agree. You don't have to be a sharpshooter to be President. And you don't have to live in Church. Like I keep telling these idiots: I don't give a damned what religion a candidate is (if they keep it out of their job) and I don't in fact care if they can shoot!

What is more important to me would be their position on gun ownership. I have a moderate stance on such. I believe in the right to own firearms, but not the totally unrestricted right. Heck, you aren't just supposed to hop in an automobile without a license or insurance, are you? So, duh, gun ownership should have some inherent restrictions. But like cars where people drive without a license or insurance, guns are sometimes owned by those who are not responsible.

Frankly, I value owning a car more than a gun! But as I said in the previous post, sometimes guns are a good idea in rural areas (well, then again, it depends on who owns them)...

Denver in the top ten most miserable sports cities...

Hmmm.... Was this list compiled by someone back East??? Look, I'd be the first to admit there were those horrendous Superbowl blowouts, but this was redeemed by two back to back championships. The professional hockey was an instant success, so then there was the misery of waiting for another championship.... And then there was last year's World Series sweep against the Rockies...

Well, at least there have been a couple of triumphs in all that misery. And besides, I don't live back East, so crying in my beer does not seem so painful. I could look at the bright side and be glad the Rockies even made it as far as they did.

I don't feel miserable at all, in fact!!! There are enough sports teams here now that one can look forward to the next one's season when another one falls short!!! Besides, I'm not that much of a sports fan anyway. Fishing season is beginning!

Almost over the hump....

This time of year is the last of the snow season. On average, Colorado's snowpack tends to melt out in the last of April through May. Problem is that in some places it has been melting out in March. This March looked similar, but a few recent shots of snow helped boost us over normal. I think the state snowpack is like 120 % !!!

It would be nice if the rest of my life could see "normal" weather, but I don't believe there is such a thing.

A tad bit of truth to it....

Now, Obama is in the dog house. His remarks about rural voters riled quite a few feathers. It didn't seem like a good thing to say: that they cling to religion and guns and are bitter. Well, there could be a tad bit of truth to this. But I don't look at rural people as bitter in general. Like here in Colorado, sometimes rural voters dislike the liberal state capitol, Denver, and feel that it has too much power. There's room out in the boonies to have hunting and frankly if you live in a remote area, owning a gun might not be a bad idea. People in rural areas tend to have more traditional values, though all of them do not necessarily go to church.

What I have noticed is a definite libertarian streak there. This is less talked about than the religion aspect. Due to their self-sufficient nature, there are those who feel the government has no business in their lives. But lest I be accused of stereotyping people, many people rely on the same entitlement programs in rural areas as they do in cities. Also, big corporate farms rely on government subsidies to grow their crops.

That last part is a contentious issue with many people. I, myself, don't know enough about it to know if these subsidies should be eliminated. This is a subject for another post.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

I know his take on it, now the candidates....

Army Gen. David Petraeus was grilled by Congress. I believe he gave an honest assessment of the fragile situation there. McCain, Clinton and Obama questioned him along with other Senators. I haven't yet heard it all, but woke up to McCain giving his .02 cents about it. The Senators always give a speech before asking questions.

What is important to assess here are the questions that Clinton and Obama asked, which I haven't heard yet. I don't need to go over McCain's questions/views. He supports the General and a continued presence for some time there. How the Democrats handle questions to the General, who is at odds with them, is key. One thing I did read about is that Obama thinks we should call on Iran to help stabilize Iraq. Who knows? Maybe this idea is a good one? Regardless, Iraq will not become stable with the U.S. efforts alone.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Clinton: Bush should not open olympics...

Hmmm... Well I tend to sympathize with these pro-Tibet people. I see no problem in Bush just not showing up. But we learned lessons in boycotting the Olympics in general. I recall the L.A. Olympics when the Soviets boycotted them. This was due to us boycotting their Olympics...

Umm, I don't see where Mr. Bush will be missed. In general, the world dislikes him. I, myself, will not have much of an interest in seeing pictures of Beijing. But I'll root for the good ol U.S.A.!!!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Hothead McCain??? Hmmm....

I want to be fair to the guy. I'll scour YouTube for videos of him blowing up. And I don't believe that just yelling at a reporter or using the F-word on a fellow senator qualifies. I kinda like the F-word at times, actually.

What concerns me more is the connection of the word NeoCon with the Senator. Now don't get me wrong, I favor a strong and effective military. And I favor standing up to rogue or terrorist nations. But I think we must be pragmatic here - we just don't have the might or the allies to get into another war. If "hothead" means recklessly invading yet another country, then I am concerned.

Yes, strengthen the military!!! Yes, take care of the veterans!!! But use our precious resources wisely. They were smart enough not to overly provoke North Korea and get them to stand down a bit. You would hope that the Senator, who has seen the horrors of war, would be cautious about subjecting our overstressed troops to more agony!

Yes, I will be fair. I never saw the "hothead" side of him. He always seemed rather gracious and diplomatic to me. So I'll follow him, see who he picks as V.P. and listen carefully. But I'm leaning away now. The analogy with the Roman Empire, who also overextended their reach, rings too true to me. The only way to keep this from happening is to reverse this dangerous course!