Osama bin forgotten

Now that he has poked his nose into this election, what effect is it going to have? As of now I believe none. Who doesn't think this crackpot should be , at least, neutralized? We all rally around the "Osama be gone" cry. So I don't think this appearance of the prince of darkness will have an effect on the election.
I don't believe anyone Dem or Repub wants him around. It's more a matter of who is focused enough to get rid of him. I believe the Dems can focus on eliminating the threats we face. I believe the neocons (not the Republicans), have an agenda that is getting in the way of their focus.

GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An Election Like No Other

I personally think that if the polls actually are a prediction of the outcome, that will be the big surprise. Under normal circumstances using the last election and the previous election and the previous election would give you a pretty good idea of the outcome of this election.
This one is very different.
I think we could have a landslide one way or the other. I see a landslide that puts Kerry in. But it can go either way. There are 10,000,000 unpollable (hope that's spelled right) voters. I believe those voters are, customarily for the challenger.

KERRY/EDWARDS

Go out and speak your mind. I don't care who you vote for. Get out and vote. Try to be as informed as you can before you do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I sooooo think I'm right, but it's democracy at work. Let the chips fall where they may.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Dead Iraqi civilians -- U.S. vs Saddam

In the 18 months since the fall of Saddam 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died. It is alleged that Saddam killed 300,000 which has been suspect since only 5,000 have been found in mass graves. But let's say that the 300,000 is a correct figure. The U.S. has killed 1/3 (in 18 months) as many as Saddam did in 24 years.
According to an extensive survey by Les Roberts and Gilbert Burnham found that the vast majority of deaths were by aerial bombardment which they found especially hard on women and children.
Juan Cole -- Professor of History at the University of Michigan said this:
"I personally believe that these aerial bombardments of civilian city quarters by a military occupier that has already conquered the country are a gross violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 governing the treatment of populations of occupied territories."

QUOTES AND THOUGHTS

Quote -- Chicago Sun Times (Quick Takes)
News Item: Osama bin Laden remains at large.
News Item: Al-qaida recruitment up worldwide.
New Item: Bush administration to request $70 billion more in Iraq war funding.
Remember the one about the drunk looking for his lost car keys under the street lamp instead of near his car across the street because "the light's better over here"?
President Bush evidently doesn't.

THOUGHTS
Considering this president has such a questionable record and is still running a competitive race is kind of scary. If Bush should win this election you can say goodbye to any political news other than spin politics.

Abortions climbed during the Bush administration. Abortions dramatically fell during the Clinton years. I think we all have the same goal, in theory, but let's think logically not idealogically.

that's what i think

IS IT SAFE?

Well, all seems to be going well in Iraq as it becomes so much safer. Over the weekend nearly fifty Iraqi police trainees were ambushed and killed execution style by a bullet to the back of the head. These guys were unarmed and on their way home after training. al Zarqawi claimed responsibility and it is suspected that it was an inside job, as it was known that they were unarmed and their location was known.
Add to that some 380 tons of explosives have been reported missing. Now, I said just reported, not just discovered. These explosives have been unsecured since the beginning of the occupation. Considering that we were there for fear of weapons of mass destruction, don't you think you might secure these sights, even though they are not considered WMDs. These are the kinds of explosives that have been used against our troops and civilians. This administration has shown no interest in securing materials tied to the old Iraqi Nuclear Program. Prior to the war the International Atomic Energy Commission and European Union officialswarned Bush that these sites needed to be safeguarded.
Consider that to move these explosives it would take ten large trucks. How do we let that get away? It almost seems like you'd have to turn a blind eye to let it happen. One pound of this stuff brought down a jetliner in Lockerbie, Scotland. So I would think that 760,000 pounds could keep you supplied for some time. Plus, it is a stable explosive so it can only go off by being detonated. Dropping it or mishandling it will not detonate it.
The materials from the old nuclear weapons program are likely in Iran (my opinion), and the possibility of some getting into this country is a strong possibility. Remember, our borders are pretty porous -- U.S,/Mexican border, shipping docks, etc.
Is it safe?

POLITICS AND MEMETICS

"An idea is something you have;
An ideology is something that has you."

A meme is a pattern of information embedded in your memory that you are able to replicate onto the memory of someone else. Typical memes include slogans, ideas, catch-phrases, fashions, etc. I may sound a bit sinister, this idea that people are hosts for mind-altering strings of symbols, but in fact this is what human culture is all about.

MEMES AND THE SUICIDE BOMBER ---
In practice, some people are going to be all too ready to commit any new meme that comes along, even if it should turn out to be deadly nonsense, like:
JUMP OFF A CLIFF AND THE GODS WILL MAKE YOU FLY.

Such memes do evolve, generated by crazy people, or through mis-replication. This meme may have a lot of appeal. The idea of magical flight is so tantalizing, maybe if I truly believed . . . 72 virgins in the afterlife.
This is a vital point: people try to infect each other with those memes which they find most appealing, regardless of its value or truth. The carrier of the cliff-jumping meme may never take the plunge, but continue to infect other people, inducing millions of gullible fools to jump.

I suppose if I have a point here it's that the memes that are spread in the Islamic fanatics promise the 72 virgins in the afterlife (some, if not most, buy into it), enough to keep the bombings coming. The memes that are spread by the neocons is that danger lurks around every corner but have no fear, just trust us to protect you even if we need to take away some freedoms to ensure security.
Ben Franklin said something to the effect:
If you give up feedom for security, you deserve neither freedom nor security.
In closing -- DON'T DRINK THE KOOL AID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Global Polls

According to a recent poll taken by 10 of the world's leading newspapers, including the London Guardian, Japan's Asahi Shimbun, France's LeMonde, Canada's La Presse and Australia's Sydney Morning Herald there is a profound overall disillusionment with the U.S. and a contempt for the Bush administration. The British, closest historically to Americans, would vote 50% for Kerry and 22 percent for Bush. Sixty percent say they don't like Bush. That figure rises to 77% among those under 25 years old.
South Korea showed a 66% support for Kerry due to fears of a pre-emptive strike against North Korea, that would also threaten the south.
British commentators are openly questioning Bush's mental stability. Columnist Andrew Stephen wrote, "George Bush often searches an agonizingly long time, sometimes in vain, for the right words. His mind simply blanks out at crucial times. He is prone, I am told, to foul-mouthed temper tantrums in the White House. His handlers now rarely allow him to speak an unscripted word in public."
So far, by most accounts, these feelings are directed at this administration and not at the American people. But I think that if we elect this administration for four more years that hostility will be directed at the American people. We must wake up even if this administration can't or won't.

Martha Stewart

This is something I wanted to talk about a while back but probably was preoccupied. Martha Stewart -- don't particularly like her -- but I think she got shafted. Let's cut to the chase. She got five months in prison. I personally don't feel that justice has been served. Throw her in jail for five months and what do you get. I'm not sure. But would all this have been more constructive if ..... Martha was to give classes to underprivileged females --- maybe pregnant teenagers -- maybe battered housewives. She would better serve our communities as a role model. I do not equate her to a ken lay, et al. I believe that if she were able to work along side underprivileged females teaching them the entrepreneureal ways she has bloomed under we all would be better served. Do the numbers. She takes ten kids under her wings for 30 days. She does this five times. I believe that out of fifty kids she's going to effect at least 10. If she only effects one it's worth the effort. I think Martha is going to come out of this a better person but I think she could have come out a better person with many better persons behind her. And that's what I think.

ELECTIONS

ELECTIONS

There are to be elections here in the United States on November 2nd and there are to be elections in Iraq some time in January 2005. According to Donald Rumsfeld the elections in Iraq will be held come hell or high water, while here in the United States, though not mentioned a lot, we may have to delay them in the event of a terrorist attack. I'm not sure how they are going to have elections in Iraq under the current circumstances. The "green zone" is supposed to be the safest place in Iraq. It was bombed the other day. I'm not even sure how reliable any reporting out of Iraq can be. Who's going out in the field to do the reporting. You've got soldiers being ordered to deliver contaminated fuel in unsafe vehicles over dangerous supply lines. They refuse to go due to the "suicide mission" dangers.
Then you've got the election here. Republicans, The Voter's Outreach of America, have been caught shredding Democratic voter registration forms in Las Vegas. They will not be corrected before the election. In Philadelphia Republicans have been changing polling places at the last minute, confusing certain voters.
President-appointed Bush seems to think that he is the only one that can protect the American people from the bogey man. Be afraid but understand that I can protect you from all those evil-doers out there. Consider this statement:
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said that President Bush views America as a "10-year-old child" in need of protection provided by a parent.
I guess my point is that this guy and this administration will do anything to be elected. President Bush believes that he is on a mission from God. That is the thing that bothers me the most. We talk about Osama bin Laden hijacking Islam to further his agenda. Think about it . . isn't George W. Bush hijacking Christianity for his agenda.
My fear is that our President is playing into the hands of the enemy and making this the apocolyptic good vs evil fight.
This man feels he must be elected. I think they will do whatever it takes for him to get another four years.
VOTE AND HE WILL BE GONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Presidential Debate #2

Well, this debate was definitely more animated and heated than the first. But it seemed to kind of re-hash some similar issues from the first debate. Anyway some things that I picked up on from this debate. He said that he listened to his generals on the ground before the war and gave them what they needed. General Shinseki asked for approximately double the troops he was given, but Rumsfeld laughed that off saying they did not. Shinseki was gone. I believe Tommy Franks wanted more troops but backed off. He talked about all the terrorism in Iraq like that was a reason to go there. All the terrorism that you have in Iraq now has come there since the war not before. As bad as Saddam was those borders were sealed. Now terrorists come and go as they please. Iraq is becoming a homebase for terrorism similar to the way Afghanistan was with the Taliban. I think Kerry said it best last night when he said that the military wins wars but the president wins the peace. One job was done well the other isn't even close.Lastly, Bush was asked to name 3 mistakes he's made and how he would remedy them. He said he made some bad appointments but would not name them to save them from embarrassment. He still doesn't get it.

Debate #2

Bush and Kerry square off again tonight for debate #2 and I think it is going to be very interesting to say the least. They are going to be taking questions from some 100 undecided voters. With Bush/Cheney's obvious disconnect with reality on Iraq about the only argument they have left is whether we are going to believe them or our lying eyes.

Supporting our troops?

Something has been bothering me about supporting our troops. Consider this. During the Viet Nam war we had the draft. The draft drew its troop strength from single, able bodied, not yet rooted males. Not to slight them, but this group, for the most part, is composed of men with no established responsibilities. They served their two years, usually only one over seas unless you volunteered. The troops we have fighting in Iraq are older, more established individuals. They are married, some with children or careers who signed up for the National Guard or Army Reserves for an education or extra money for their families. When you call on these guys to do 12 to 24 months active duty you are disrupting, if not destroying families. Try to support a family on their pay. The second largest force in Iraq is the private sector or mercenary army who receive substantially more pay than our N.G or A.R. Plus they volunteered and most likely had their affairs much more in order before they left not to mention being better off financially to handle the situation. I think we would better serve our troops if we spent money on taking care of their families and obligations than paying the private sector troops 2-3 times what they get. Support our troops? When you say it realize what it should mean. More than lip service.

JER

JOHN

EDWARDS

RULES

Kerry's health care plan -- Bremer oops disclosure

A Bush ad claims Kerry Health care plan would put big gov't. in charge of medical decisions instead of the insured or their doctors. In fact, the plan would leave 97% with the same insurance that they have now and up to 27 million who aren't insured would gain coverage. Go to factcheck.org for details.

Today Paul Bremer confirmed that we did not have enough troops on the ground after the fall of Saddam. The looting and chaos could not be taken into control. I think that atmosphere of lawlessness has perpetuated itself ever since.

In yesterday's posting I said it would be a KO for Kerry tonight when, in fact, I meant to say Edwards. Same team different guy.

yesmen

I saw a film yesterday called the yesmen concerning a prank to be played on the WTO. The strange and eery thing about the prank is that it was never taken as a prank by the WTO. I recommend this movie. Reviews by Roger Ebert or Michael Wilmington are recommended. I predict John Kerry delivers a KO by the 45 minute mark. We shall see.

debates #1 cont'd.

The president says stay the course, don't waiver, don't change horses mid stream, be resolute. I don't think anyone would disagree if everything was going right in Iraq, if you're getting the result you want why change. But if everything is going wrong and you keep doing the same things expecting a different result, I think by definition that is insanity. Consider the CEO of a large corporation, or the head coach of a football team making the same decisions that constantly lose money and quality employees or lose games and constantly injure players. But the CEO or the coach keep making the same decisions and repeating the same mantra. I think that CEO or that coach would be out of a job. When this president was in the private sector I believe his business ventures did not succeed. I think the same thing is happening with this job. I think it's time to fire the head of this company before so much damage is done that we can't recover. Four more years? I say no way!!!!!!!!!!

going upriver

A new movie came out on friday called -- Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry -- and came away with a new appreciation of John Kerry. The movie chronicles his life from child (a small part of thedocumentary), to his time served on the swiftboats in Vietnam and finally during the Vietnam protests of the early 70s in Washington. If Fahrenheit 9/11 was meant to show why Bush does not deserve to be President, Going Upriver is a testament to why John Kerry is the best choice for President. When I went in to see this film I was of the mindset -- anyone but Bush -- I came out feeling that we have the best candidate for the job. I recommend reading reviews by Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun Times) and Michael Wilmington ( The Chicago Tribune).
These are the final statements made at the end of each review:
Wilmington -- The film is an admittedly sympathetic portrait made by a long time friend of Kerry's, it's still a film record -- full of riveting interviewsand remarkable archival material -- that anyone who intends to vote this November should make every effort to see.

Ebert -- Will this film change any votes? Doubtful, since most members of the audience will be Kerry supporters. It is sad but true that a 30-second commercial, which any literate person should instinctively question, can shift votes but the truth cannot. Not that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth know much about truth.

debate issues --- #1 flip flops

Flip flop #1 -- Kerry voted for the war then voted against the war (this is a sound byte that has been repeated so many times that it becomes the truth if you don't check it out). President Bush asked for authorization to go to war with Iraq. He said he would use this authorization only after he had exhausted all diplomatic options to build a multilateral coalition. War would be the last resort.
Here's what Kerry said on the Senate floor before voting to give Bush authority:
Kerry (10/9/02) Let there be no doubt or confusionabout where we stand on this. I will support a multilateral effort to disarm him (Saddam) by force, if we ever exhaust those other options, as the President has promised, but I will not support a unilateral U.S. war against Iraq unless that threat is imminent and the multilateral effort has not proven possible under any circumstances.
Flip flop #2 -- Kerry voted for the $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan the voted against it.
Kerry voted for an alternative resolution that would have approved $87 billion in emergency funds for troops and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it was conditioned on repealing Bush's tax cuts, and it failed 57-42. On the key, up or down vote on the $87 billion itself Kerry was one of only 12 senators in opposition, along with the man who became his running mate, John Edwards.

Analogy #1 -- A parent gives the keys to their teenage son who is wcaring for his young siblings while the parents go out for the evening. He is only to use the car in case of an emergency. The parents leave the house for the evening and the teenager immediately jumps in the car and wrecks it leaving the younger siblings at home alone.
Analogy #2 -- Your brother-in-law needs $20,000 to help in expanding his business. You agree to give him the $20,000 under the condition that he not be so frivilous in the way he handles the finances of the business. Brother-in-law takes the money, goes to the racetrack and bets it on a horse. Great if he wins, but I think we all know the likely outcome. Now he argues that you agreed to give him the money, and now you want it back.