The Rant

   Iran will take a break from its busy terrorist development programs in the Middle East to chair the UN Development Program .  The UNDP (United Nations Dictators Program) sometimes referred to as "Dollars for Dictators" will put about 9 billion dollars under the control of those wacky, ideosyncratic mullahs at the helm of Iran.   With Iran in charge, the program will again be renamed to "Moolah for Mullahs."  Iran has demonstrated itself as qualified to lead in the development of successful political organizations.   Remember Hamas in Gaza, Hexbollah in Lebanon.  Iran knows how to develop terrorist networks like no-one since Dr. Evil.   Hope and Change.  

     Net loss of 144,000 Californians last year .  This high taxes, high regulation zone doesn't seem to be working out too well. Not to mention the budget problems and public employee pension time bomb.  Don't hold your breath for that tax refund either. (Not that I ever get one).     When I retire, I wonder which state I should move to.  

Proof that Hamas is becoming desperate.  

From the Wall Street Journal   Hamas knows one thing: the goal of annihilating the Jews.  Israel has other concerns:  public relations, humanitarian concerns, the economy, internal politics, world politics.       Does Israel still have the will to fight for victory? 

"If someone was sending rockets on my house where my daughters were sleeping at night, I would do everything to stop it, and I would expect the Israelis to do the same thing."   -  Barack Obama.    from Atlantic Monthly   If people in Mexico started firing rockets towards San Diego, what would the U.S. do?  

    Western religions teach that God is a jealous God who hates heretics. No wonder that in Western religions, warfare is a common means of settling religious disputes.  Currently one may watch this in Israel where people of the same blood who allegedly worship the same God continue to kill one another in the name of minor theological disputes.  When the Moslems are not killing Jews, they start killing one another (Shiite vs. Sunni) over microscopic theological differences.        What kind of God would encourage such bloodshed?  Is not such religion pathetic?  Is it not enough to make you cry?  Is there the slightest objective evidence that actual god approves of any of this conduct?  Of course not.         Too bad it is not possible to abolish such religion completely, but efforts to do so have always failed.  People enjoy killing in the name of God and will not have their pleasures taken away by grown ups. 

       An increasing amount of climate research suggests a possibility of global cooling.  "Recent solar changes suggest that it could be fairly severe, perhaps more like the 1880 to 1915 cool cycle than the more moderate 1945-1977 cool cycle."  A more drastic cooling could plunge the earth into a mini ice age, but only time will tell if that is happening.  The cause?  Probably George Bush.  

   General Motors, like the other two geezers of the Old Three, is a vast retirement home with a small loss making auto subsidiary.  The UAW is the AARP in an Edsel; it has three times as many retirees and widows as "workers" (I use the term loosely).  GM has 96,000 employees but provides health benefits to a million people.   Mark Steyn      And the State of California, with its numerous, powerful Public Employee unions, is following close behind.  Welcome to the new World courtesy of the New Democratic Party, in Charge.   The Democrats promise to provide money to the majority at the expense of the minority GOP (business owners, workers etc.).  This scheme will not last as long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  

     Nothing is more peaceful than the celebration of Holidays for the religion of peace.  For example in Copenhagen,  "Police used pepper spray Monday night to dispel up to 300 Muslim young people who caused disturbances outside Fisketorvet mall in downtown Copenhagen.  The youths had gathered at the shopping centre in connection with the celebration of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.  But several of those present got out of hand, according to police. Bicycles were thrown onto the nearby S-train tracks, shoppers at the mall were harassed and rocks were thrown at police who arrived on the scene.  Officers managed to split the group in two and drive them away from the mall.  Five youths were eventually arrested as a result of the fracas."   Ah the happy exuberance of youths!

   Recently, the news was filled with stories about an attack by religious fanatics against the Indian town of Mumbai.  Fanatics with automatic weapons attacked two five star hotels, a restaurant and a Jewish center, killing at least 174 people and injuring hundreds.      For twenty points, identify which religious group the terrorists were affiliated with?    A.  Sinister Shakers B.   Angry Amish C.   Crazed Christians D.   Cooky Catholics E.   Militant Mormons  F.  The Religion of Peace (i.e.  Islam) 

From David Barstow of the New York Times In the spring of 2007 a tiny military contractor with a slender track record went shopping for a precious Beltway commodity. The company, Defense Solutions, sought the services of a retired general with national stature, someone who could open doors at the highest levels of government and help it win a huge prize: the right to supply Iraq with thousands of armored vehicles. Access like this does not come cheap, but it was an opportunity potentially worth billions in sales, and Defense Solutions soon found its man. The company signed Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general and military analyst for NBC News, to a consulting contract starting June 15, 2007. Four days later the general swung into action. He sent a personal note and 15-page briefing packet to David H. Petraeus, the commanding general in Iraq, strongly recommending Defense Solutions and its offer to supply Iraq with 5,000 armored vehicles from Eastern Europe. ...

I am enjoying my second art class at Long Beach City; Life Drawing.  The nice thing about a picture is I have some control over it. Whether it's good or whether it's bad, I have no one to blame but myself.  I can work on improving my technique, or just keep practicing, and no one can stop me.  With politics, this is not true. No matter what I do, I will probably have little effect on World Politics, let alone American politics.  This is one reason I enjoy my art more than arguing about politics.  Let's say I am trying to persudae J.D. to change his mind.  I haven't had much luck here, but it is always possible.  We can discuss things and there may be change.   But when you increase the number of people involved to say ten, I would have to persuade nine people to change their minds, a much more difficult project.  The population of the United States is much larger than ten.  To make a dent in public opinion would require nothing short of a miracle (or perhaps a Hitler si...

    Libertarians want more money from the government too!  TOM SMITH explains the Libertarian argument for Obama, in a slightly tongue in cheek article. 

ACORN is bringing out the vote . Dead people, fake people, all for President for Life Obama.  For example, in Lake County,  Indiana, some 5000 applicants filled out were submitted. The first 2100 analyzed were all fraudulent. All.            One good thing.  Mickey Mouse finally gets to vote.   I would add a link to the Tampa Bay newspaper that published the voter registration sheet showing this, but it mysteriously disappeared. Perhaps it is just overwhelemed with traffic, because it was mentioned on the Drudge Report.  Once the Democrats are 100% in charge, I predict that the next step will be that dissent is quickly liquidated.  For one thing, we can bring back the so called "Fairness" doctrine which prohibits the free expression of opinion on the radio.   Any expression of opinion must be "balanced"  by assigning someone to give the "opposing view" as if there are only two views on any topic.  Who decides who should be allowed to speak?  Good question...

Or is he a total contradiction ?  

Usually, I would not complain about the fact that Congress has done nothing, as nothing is better than most Congressional action.  But this ineffectuality is why Congress is so popular.  It does nothing and talks too much.  Bush and Paulson are at least trying to come up with something.   Posture before the press, make outrageous accusations and statements, pass laws and regulations that are at least part of the problem and then do nothing.    Congratulations Congress, for doing it to us again.  

If so, who was it. Well, now that you ask.  As a matter of fact, some did raise the issue; and some doubted the problem.  Was there any one party that was more often correct or wrong?  Apparently, the Republicans did foresee a problem .  The Democrats said: "Nothing to worry about."   W atch the video and judge for yourself. 

I was at a party last night that included conservatives and liberals.  I raised the question: Is America better off for having attacked Iraq?  The universal answer seemed to be "no."  Some felt that Iraq was better off(although liberals doubted even this).  But no one seemed convinced that America was better.         Virtually everyone felt that America could not afford to assume the role of the world's policeman and attack every dictator who was doing evil.   This being the case, I believe that Obama will probably win the election.  He seems very inexperienced to be President, but I wish him well.  I worry that he is a closet socialist and his true colors will come out when he is elected.  If we have a Democrat Congress and President, there will be no counterbalancing forces slowing down the belief that more government can solve any problem.   That is my worry.  I also distrust the idea that we need to save the world, and worry that McCain's next project would be Ir...

As to the bailout, I am struck by how greedy and short sighted the average person is. This seems to apply across the board, Democrat and Republican, businessman, working stiff, etc.  You would think that bankers would know a little more about basic economics than all these CEOs who led their companies to ruin.    Once again, I am amazed that human beings have lasted this long. 

Well, it appears that both candidates are posturing and playing politics to get the upper hand.  What a shock.          There did seem to be some substantial differences between the candidates, at least on foreign affairs.   Senator McCain defended the war in Iraq.   Obama condemned it as a waste of blood and treasure.   McCain said America will exit with honor and dignity.   Obama said it was a waste of lives.    There were also differences about negotiating with Iran.   Obama is eager to engage with Iran, which McCain called naive and dangerous.       You may agree with one or the other, but at least the debate did outline clear differences, so you have a rational basis for making a choice, other than which candidate postures the best on television.