Wednesday, June 25, 2008

A Side Dish

Have you ever bought milk at Costco? The square one gallon containers?

Ever try pouring a glass of milk from one of those babies?

Yeah, if your like me, you’re either glad you have a dog or cat or you spend a lot of time cleaning up the inevitable spill that such an exercise produces.

Even when I’ve tried being real careful about it, the spill happens.

My dog is re-a-a-l happy.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

FISA And The Fourth Amendment

In an article entitled “Who Voted 'No' to Protecting National Security?” the conservative website Human Events had this to say:
Posted: 06/20/2008
HumanEvents.comIn an article entitled:

The following congressmen voted 'no' or did not vote on today's important FISA Amendment Act.

The only Republican to vote against the bill, Rep. Tim Johnson (Ill.), is listed in italics. HUMAN EVENTS spoke with Johnson's press secretary as to why Johnson voted against protecting our national security with the FISA Amendment Act. He responded that Rep. Johnson "feels he voted that way in protection of our civil liberties…the powers that Department of Justice and other law enforcement officials need already exist. That system is working quite effectively."

My headline would have read:

Who Voted 'No' to Crushing Our 4th Amendment Rights:

(Link to 4th Amendment: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment04/ )


This newer version of the FISA amendment is the bill that gives amnesty to the telecoms that enabled the Bush administration to eavesdrop on American citizens without a court order under the prior version of this act (even though the administration had up to 3 days to get a court order from a secret court that had been specifically set-up to handle this program) after the wiretapping had already commenced. That the telecoms never asked for or demanded the court orders on the 4th day or later is, at the least, a criminal act).

By passing this new version, those that voted yes to this amnesty for the telecoms also voted to give themselves amnesty for going along with the first FISA Amendment and its’ assault on the 4th amendment.

I’m sure each of the following representatives want to get the bad guys too, but it can be done without our changing what WE stand for as Americans.

Voting NO
Abercrombie (Hawaii)
Holt (N.J.)
Olver (Mass.)
Allen (Maine)
Honda (Calif.)
Pallone (N.J.)
Andrews (N.J.)
Hooley (Ore.)
Pascrell (N.J.)
Baldwin (Wis.)
Inslee (Wash.)
Pastor (Ariz.)
Becerra (Calif.)
Israel (N.Y.)
Payne (N.J.)
Blumenauer (Ore.)
Jackson (Ill.)
Price (N.C.)
Brady (Pa.)
Jackson-Lee (Texas)
Rangel (N.Y.)
Braley (Iowa)
Jefferson (La.)
Rothman (N.J.)
Capps (Calif.)
Johnson (Ga.)
Roybal-Allard (Calif.)
Capuano (Mass.)
Johnson (Ill.)
Ryan (Ohio)
Carnahan (Miss.)
Johnson E.B. (Texas)
Sánchez Linda T. (Calif.)
Carson (Ind.)
Jones (Ohio)
Sanchez Loretta (Calif.)
Clarke (N.Y.)
Kagen (Wisc.)
Sarbanes (Md.)
Clay (Miss.)
Kaptur (Ohio)
Schakowsky (Ill.)
Cohen (Tenn.)
Kennedy (R.I.)
Schwartz (Pa.)
Conyers (Mich.)
Kilpatrick (Mich.)
Scott (Va.)
Costello (Ill.)
Kucinich (Ohio)
Serrano (N.Y.)
Courtney (Conn.)
Larsen (Wash.)
Shea-Porter (N.H.)
Cummings (Md.)
Larson (Conn.)
Slaughter (N.Y.)
Davis (Calif.)
Lee (Calif.)
Solis (Calif.)
Davis (Ill.)
Levin (Mich.)
Speier (Calif.)
DeFazio (Ore.)
Lewis (Ga.)
Sutton (Ohio)
DeGette (Colo.)
Loebsack (Iowa)
Thompson (Calif.)
Delahunt (Mass.)
Lofgren Zoe (Calif.)
Tierney (Mass.)
DeLauro (Conn.)
Lynch (Mass.)
Towns (N.Y.)
Dingell (Mich.)
Maloney (N.Y.)
Tsongas (Mass.)
Doggett (Texas)
Markey (Mass.)
Udall (N.M.)
Doyle (Pa.)
Matsui (Calif.)
Van Hollen (Md.)
Edwards (Md.)
McCollum (Minn.)
Velázquez (N.Y.)
Ellison (Minn.)
McDermott (Wash.)
Walz (Minn.)
Eshoo (Calif.)
McGovern (Mass.)
Wasserman Schultz (Fla.)
Farr (Calif.)
McNulty (N.Y.)
Waters (Calif.)
Fattah (Pa.)
Meek (Fla.)
Watson (Calif.)
Filner (Calif.)
Michaud (Maine)
Watt (N.C.)
Foster (Ill.)
Miller (N.C.)
Waxman (Calif.)
Frank (Mass.)
Miller George (Calif.)
Weiner (N.Y.)
Gonzalez (Texas)
Mollohan (W.V.)
Welch (Vt.)
Grijalva (Ariz.)
Moore (Wis.)
Wexler (Fla.)
Hall (N.Y.)
Moran (Va.)
Woolsey (Calif.)
Hare (Ill.)
Murphy (Conn.)
Wu (Ore.)
Hill (Ind.)
Nadler (N.Y.)
Hinchey (N.Y.)
Napolitano Neal (Mass.)
Hirono (Hawaii)
Oberstar (Minn.)
Hodes (N.H.)
Obey (Wis.)
Not Voting
Brown-Waite Ginny (Fla.)
Cannon (Utah)
Gilchrest (Md.)
Gohmert (Texas)
Jones (N.C.)
Paul (Texas)
Peterson (Pa.)
Reynolds (N.Y.)
Rush (Ill.)
Stark (Calif.)
Tiahrt (Kan.)
Visclosky (Ind.)
Weller (Ill.)

The $4.00 A Gallon Trip Wire

So now we have the Saudi’s promising to up their oil production to ease fears and concerns about the impact of high oil prices around the world.

We also have John McCain pulling a move to have offshore oil drilling along the coasts of America, a change in stance so drastic that a devotee of the game Twister would be left with their jaw agape.

Seems that the $4.00 a gallon trip wire has emitted a tune so sour when it was plucked that desperation and exasperation have merged to provide an impetus so strong that to match it would require the combined strength of both Hercules and Superman.

At $4.00 a gallon alternate fuel sources and their development look good. OPEC wants none of that, so they’ll pump more, just enough, to keep the price at $3.00 to $3.50 a gallon. It won’t happen as soon as we think, some are even saying that we’ll have to get a lot nearer to the $200 a barrel price before we’ll see anything in the way of serious decreases, perhaps the first effects in 6 months or so, but that’s where it will settle.

Could you imagine rolling up to the pump and having 3 or 4 energy sources to choose from to fuel your car? OPEC wants to make sure that scenario remains an expensive dream to develop.

Does the idea of having these many choices at the pump sound crazy? For those of a certain age, I’ll remind you of a time when there was only one phone company and it was hard to imagine a second or a third.

At $4.00 a gallon, we have, in addition to John McCain, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (who by this move shows he REALLY wants to be McCain’s VP) & South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham (BIG McCain supporter/reminder/corrector) both attempting to get whiplash by changing their long standing positions AGAINST offshore drilling.

All three cite the need to lease these areas ONLY with a state’s approval, (which might cause a problem if a bordering state says yes and its’ oil spill washes up on the shores of a neighboring state that said no – but I digress) and offer this as a plan for the beleaguered American taxpayer.

Or is it really just a case of pandering to potential campaign donors who own lots of oil stock (who are flush with cash) by handing out even more leased land to the oil companies before Bush leaves office? More land NOT to explore and develop in addition to the huge amount that these companies currently have and do nothing with already.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Russert: A Significant Sign Of Respect

The two leading candidates for president, McCain and Obama, gave a small, but significant, tribute to Tim Russert today at his funeral mass, they sat side by side.

With the ramping up of the general election rhetoric and the staking out of familiar positions by both campaigns, it was refreshing to see that all of the flotsam and jetsam was set aside so as to allow for the civility of the moment to show through.

They will return to their respective ramparts in short order, no doubt, but for a few moments the decency of both allowed for the underlining of the respect they and so many others had for Mr. Russert.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

On Russert

While I and many other devotees of Meet The Press, and in turn, admirers of Tim Russert will miss him a great deal, I do believe that the on air tributes, as deserving as they are, needn’t be stretched over 2 days.

I understand that his death has/had a real “kick-in-the-teeth” essence to it to those who worked so closely with him and I admit that I cannot ever recall having a boss who deserved such devotion.

However, there has to come a time for those who worked with him to stop and listen to what they themselves are saying about how he influenced their professional lives and get up from behind the desks and go out and actually get back to doing what he guided them with – reporting.

As a long time viewer, I have the sense that he wouldn’t want all this attention focused on him, that he would have wanted the current floods or the recent deaths of 4 soldiers in Iraq, etc. covered instead, rather than having these talented reporters sitting around for 2 to 3 days telling stories about him.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Hillary: An Amazing Speech

I listened to the formal concession speech today that many thought was going to be given this past Tuesday night when it became fact that Obama was going to be the Democratic Party’s nominee.

Hillary undid whatever damage the Tuesday night “rant”, as some were calling it, with this heartfelt, dignified exit, that when done, left a sweeter taste in the mouths of all who had been disappointed with the previous effort.

I do believe she will work to get him elected in November, I do believe that she has been able to provide a path to all of those who put 18 million cracks into the last and highest of glass ceilings.

She has my respect and admiration for what (and how) she delivered today – both herself and her supporters to help unify the party.

We’ll see her again, I feel and I think she will be met with a much better reception after today’s speech.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Day After

On this the day after, she hesitates to formally concede, thinking that somehow there is leverage in the delay.

There is none.

Those that have supported her on the issues will wind up supporting Obama, simply because their mutual stances on so many topics are so closely aligned.

Those that supported her just because she is a woman (couldn’t that be called sexism?) will not find any comfort in the likes of John McCann – a guy who could very well appoint Supreme Court justices that will erode some, if not many, of the rights that have been gotten as they relate to women’s issues. Staying home in November will accomplish the same for McCann.

If Obama had lost and delayed like this in conceding, and for him to think that I, a supporter, was a bargaining chip of some sort for him to use while he pouted and contrived to improve his own person position, he’d been sadly mistaken. I do not blindly follow nor do I willingly cede my vote for anyone else’s view without my consent.

Does Hillary think her 18 million are any different – if so than maybe they need to reconsider their allegiance.

I won races and lost a close race (7 votes the other way and I would have an unbeaten record of 4-0). Losing sucks, especially close ones. I went through 1 recount – to settle my mind that an 8 wasn’t seen as a 3 or a 7 taken as a 1.

This is the first time Hillary has lost a race with her name on the ballot. As they say, the first cut is the deepest. I’d give her 72 hours to talk and concede and then gracefully move on with or without it.

He’s been bending over backwards to give her the room to sort things out, but that, like the primary campaign needs to end.