VISUAL FLIGHT RULES NOT OK?

Doesn't it strike you odd the amount of furor caused by the potential of full body scans as an invasion of privacy while entering an airport, yet no one so much as bats an eye at taking off their shoes, belt, etc. and getting patted down any more?

BTW, the picture above shows why we need everyone to go through the scanner....the person here was concealing (or at least attempting to conceal) a handgun.

Let's face it folks, an airport screener will be bored to tears looking at the outlines (and pantie lines) of the sea of humanity going through the screening lines each day. Like the average airport terminal doesn't look like the before pictures of a Jenny Craig commercial anyway.......

T.W.A.K. 2009 DOUCHEBAG OF THE YEAR

Plenty to pick from this year for the coveted douche bag of the year award....liars, crooks, thieves, morons. Partisan politicians wishing bad will on the country, calling the President a liar, and traveling thousands of miles in order to cheat on his wife. Talk show hosts sleeping with his employees and cheaters abound.

But one has elevated himself to a very lofty status. Working in tandem with his P.R. firm to create a public persona of a straight laced, principled man...a family man, devoted to his mom, and desperately missing his father. Strong, driven, devoted newlywed and new father, dedicated in his off time to various charities, including the one he himself founded (photo op...photo op...photo op).

It isn't just that he cheated on his wife, it isn't just his reality so opposite the perception he worked so hard to maintain. It was the manner with which he sought, the manner in which he stalked, the manner in which he used whatever porn star, waitress and bar hag he could find to suit his fancy. He was and is a sexual predator of the lowest order.

Sources closest to him have intimated he thought these trashy women were just part of the perks of his profession, existing only to gratify him sexually as long as he chose to consume them, an appalling capacity for arrogance.

When he was finally caught, when his sexual house of cards finally crumbled down, he did what a little boy does...cower in fear and said nothing. Remains hidden away in his shell to this day, instead of meeting his problems head-on, such as David Letterman had, or as expected from the son of no less than a Green Beret. Of course we now know he is a mere fraction of the man his father was.

Add to this the knowledge that this was not an isolated slip-up or two dalliances, but apparently a pattern of behavior that extended throughout his marriage, and during his engagement as well.....and you have another record for him to put in his trophy case, for slime. And left in the wake of his backwash is a loving family; an ex-model who gave him two lovely children, a charitable foundation completely lacking in credibility, corporations who spent untold millions of dollars hiring him as their spokesmen now back peddling through a public relations fiasco, and an elderly mother held hostage of a rabid press seeking every morsel of his sordid affairs.

For all of this, and probably more which is as yet undiscovered, I nominate for the 2009 Douche bag of the year......Eldrick "Tiger" Woods.

THE CONGRESS IS OUT OF ORDER

Say what you want about the health care bill, it certainly is not perfect, and should be corrected once they merge the Senate and House bills, but as you watch the videos, one has to wonder what on earth is happening to the professionalism of our Congress floor?

The video below is enough to make ones skin crawl....Joe Lieberman, veteran public servant getting slammed for an extra minute of cloture by Saturday Night Lives Al Franken.


Which prompts John McCain responding to the objection (remember Lieberman is a long time friend of McCain, and bunk mate on the McCain for President campaign). according to McCain, he has never seen an objection such as this on the Senate floor.



Which of course fires up the tape library at MSNBC, who knew immediately that McCain not only had heard of objections such as this, but made them himself in the past.....

Here is McCain again with a diatribe about the number of lobbyists slime-ing up the Senate building, and basically the entire manner in which the health care bill process has taken shape.

I could show video after video of Congressmen going after each other during this debate, and before. Let me say that I am not trying to slam John McCain here. His actions were somewhat provoked, to be sure. I will save you the ten minutes of the McCain Baucus heavyweight fight, which is conducted in much the same manner. And these are indicative of the general tenor of Congress today.

My point is, where is the civility that used to be shown each other (at least publically on the floor)? For gawd sakes, this is the highest legislative body in the land. This is the same floor where Lincoln, Douglas and Henry Clay debated. This is supposed to be this countries shining example of how democracy works. These Senate hearings are supposed to be conducted in a dignified, parliamentary manner. And it just isn't this latest row over health care...this has been happening over the past decade.....so much so, one Congressman actually heckled the President during the State of the Union speech (remember...."You lie!!").

My point.....are they looking over these tapes over their holiday break and seeing the errors of their ways, and do they know...really know how completely disenchanted and ashamed the American people are with them over the course of the past decade? Entertaining drama aside, this simply cannot go on. They must make up there mind who they want to be....the highest legislative body in the land, a bad Belushi frat house movie, or worthy of an hour long Jerry Springer special?

Say what you want about our recent Presidents, it is our Congress that is the biggest failure, no matter who is the majority party...they spend like drunken sailors, they pull completely partisan games (there barely is anything held to an up or down vote), they stick unrelated pieces of pork onto everything, and they are a swear word away from a Korean congress type brawl on the Senate floor. Hopefully they all will receive a copy of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for Christmas this year.....

And just when you think things can't get any worse......here comes Speaker Reid to prove us wrong......who surmises that if you are against the health care (which by the way is NOT the Obama health care bill anymore since about ten committees have picked over its dead carcass), you are in fact, A RACIST. See the video below....

HEALTH CARE BILL : A TRIP TO THE SAUSAGE FACTORY

"There are two things you don't want to see being made...

sausage and legislation"

This morning the Senate got what President Obama desperately wanted, 60 filibuster breaking votes on the Senate's version of the health care proposal. Hailed as a success for the President, who achieved what could not be achieved in over 6 decades (any health care reform legislation), and the leadership of Senate speaker Harry Reid, once thought to be an oxymoron.

The bill passed is a behemoth 2,700 pages, which is estimated to cost nearly $871 billion over 10 years, starting in 2014. It will benefit 31 million uninsured Americans, half through an expansion of Medicaid and S-chip programs. It will be paid through a combination of payroll tax increases for our richest Americans, a tax on premium health insurance policies, and cuts in medicare growth in the future. Proponents say the measure will actually begin to reduce the deficit in 2011.

Of course, to get a bill this size through required negotiations, and some "pay for play" vote acquisitions....and not with the opposition party....amongst the Democratic party itself. Nebraska's Ben Nelson got additional medicaid for his state and tighter rules on abortion coverage, additional funds going to Vermont (for Bernie Sanders, an Independent), Connecticut's Lieberman flipped flopped his way to an elimination of the public option to the senate bill, and Baucus of Montana got asbestos coverage for his residents, a victim of working in Montana's mines.

These considerations to maintain the 60 vote margin draw its share of animosity on the Senate floor. Lindsey Graham, never at a loss for words said they reminded him of "seedy Chicago politics" OUCH. Oklahoma's Tom Coburn said "what the American people should pray for is that somebody can't make the vote." How God was supposed to make that happen...car crash, blizzard, heart attack...wasn't specified, but so much for the power of prayer...everybody showed.

To reach these levels of animosity on the senate floor, you would have to go back to the civil war era. Over 100 filibusters, the reading of a proposal which took the senate floor nearly all day, and objections to unanimous consent requests for additional meetings to floor debate times.

"...if the Republicans want to exercise every single right they have under the rules,

they can keep us until Christmas eve, no doubt about it.

But to what end, I ask? To what end?

We're going to have the vote at 1am that requires 60 votes, and then why stay here until Christmas eve to do what they know we are going to do?"

a little Iowa common sense from Tom Harkin

What is left in the Senate bill is not 100% approved by anyone, as substantial changes had to be made. Ted Kennedy's widow described it perfectly, when she was quoted as saying her late husband knew..."a half a loaf is better than no bread at all."

Now that the senate version has achieved the last important vote requiring 60 votes, it will be merged with the major differences in the House version, then will require simple majorities in both Houses, and the Democrats have those votes virtually sewn up. What it will end up looking like is any ones guess, but clearly, like sausage, it will contain components distasteful to some, and sickening to others. Public options, market place competitions, real tort reform, freedom to shop for health insurance policies out of state, even how it will be paid for is all on the table. One thing for sure, the Republicans will not go down without a fight....should be very interesting, indeed.

THE FALL FROM GRACE

"Wake up with a stranger, it's not something you plan,

One night in a world of pain, and you finally understand,

Not all the kings horses, not all the kings men,

Could put it back together again"

Stevie Nicks Fall from Grace

Tiger Woods, the prodigal son, the intensely loyal son and family man. Strong in habit, strong in will, standard bearer for self-discipline, Tiger Woods. What a character corporate America built. The King of endorsements and America's champion.

But what we did not see was what was lurking behind the tears shed over the loss of his father and the pride he displayed over his wife and two newborns. What we didn't see was a secret life allegedly so sordid, so against the grain of the mainstream, that the fall from the top he is enduring may take weeks in a slow motion free fall unlike any other American icon.

If one is to believe the daily reports from the parade of wanton women and porn star prostitutes, in addition to his personal mea culpas, Tiger Woods began his philandering before and throughout his marriage. Where it begins and where it has ended is anybodies guess; the latest report being sex parties on his boat with 10 to 15 women at a time. What transpired in the privacy of his multi-million dollar yacht will be speculated for years to come. My guess is, anything goes...sex, drugs, alcohol, whatever. My speculation is, the worse is yet to come.

So what now? He has broken no law, only the hearts of millions who idolized him, and the game he so dominated. Needless to say, many of the reports, if true cannot be ignored, and quite possibly never forgiven. His penance began almost immediately with legions of press dogging his every move, and television coverage 24/7, which has yet to recede three weeks later.

For the record, I cannot place the blame for his predicament on anyone but Tiger himself, but I can tell you one thing....on the professional golf tour there are bags of temptation only equaled by the bags of money you can make. Temptation and boredom is a killer combination. Add to this legions of predators waiting to get their hooks into him, and it spelled disaster from day one.

Temptation any man would be weakened by, let alone a boy struggling to become a man. A boy coddled and propped up on a pedestal by his father, and his every action quietly controlled. And when the controls were lifted, he succumbed to (apparently) every temptation available to him. The prodigal son has fallen from grace, and with everyday of his gutless silence, his reputation and stature falls a little more towards the depths.

Strange and ironic, this self imposed exile from the public that loved him and lifted him to the lofty status of an icon. For someone next in lineage of a full blown Green Beret to meekly hide behind his web site as his sole source of communication is as ignorant as it is yellow. The American public....YOUR American public deserves much more from you, Mr. Woods. This is as good a time as any to become a man, sir. And a man stands up and faces the music...it's what you father would have done. Of course you are a mere sliver of a man your father was. Your post accident actions (or inaction) proves that you have indeed betrayed everyone in your life; your wife, your children, your family, and with your gutless hiding, the very public you will soon want so despirately to forgive and forget.

Everyone makes mistakes, but a man owns up to them. It's called character, look it up. For unlike golf, in the game of life, not many get mulligans.

HONESTY IN POLITICS

HAS THE WORKFORCE STABILIZED?

As you can see from the chart above, unemployment, although unacceptably high, seems to have stablized, and for the first time in over the two years of recession, we have attained a level of stability in the workforce. As was the case in October, the leading positive was in the temporary help sector, which nonetheless indicates a need to increase workforce levels based on demand. Needless to say, retail with the holidays nearing have played its part as well.

President Obama has held a forum on economic growth with the nation's top business leaders focusing on job creation, which is the next step to a full recovery. But can or will jobs be created if the banks are hesitant to loan capital?

Say what you want about President Obama (and I have said plenty), we do seem to be weathering the storm under his leadership, whether a result of his efforts, or despite them. With elections fast approaching, and his opposition hoping for his failure, I would say he is doing about as well as can be, or could be expected. He was put into a situation unlike no other President in recent history, and little historical success stories to draw examples from. For now, FOR NOW, I vow to leave him alone and let him keep on with his agenda. I think we all should reserve judgement until at least the second quarter and see if he can spark some economic growth.

Let's be fair about this....he was thrown headfirst into an economic quaqmire for which many would not have been quite as successful as he has. For his (nearly) first year, I would rate him a solid C+

HOLIDAY WISHES

"Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever,

his faithfulness continues through all generations"

Psalm 100: 4-5

Happy Thanksgiving to all

Kimba

Apple won't repair Macs if owners are smokers | News | TechRadar UK

Apple won't repair Macs if owners are smokers News TechRadar UK: "The reputation a lot of Mac fans have of being smug and holier than thou certainly won't be helped by the news from the US that Apple is apparently refusing to repair computers that show signs of cigarette smoke.
According to reports from Mac owners seeking repairs under warranty, the company claimed evidence of cigarette smoke inside the machines in question constitutes a 'biohazard'.
One, presumably ex-, Mac user was told that 'Apple would not require an employee to repair anything deemed hazardous to their health.'
As the company's Applecare warranty does not specifically exclude machines showing the presence of smoke or nicotine from repair, it's likely that Apple will fall back on its 'extreme environment' clause that lets it off the hook."

THE MISTAKEN NOTION THAT WE CAN POLICE THE WORLD

One month into the Obama administration, SOS Hillary Clinton gave the following quote when asked of the U.S. role in Chinese affairs...."human rights should not interfere with other issues in a bilateral relationship." And as repugnant as that is to say, I had hoped that this would mark some semblance of reality in U.S. relations around the world. Obviously, we are counting on China to continue to prop up our economy through the purchase of US bonds, and in doing so we are entering into a deal with the devil; the price of which is our lack of power or ability to criticize China for their human rights stances.

As a nation, we have long taken on the role of the world's watch dog and the world's policeman of sorts. We have toppled dictators, and we have propped up others. In the case of Saddam Hussein, we have done both, until we finally took him down.

Our role in the Middle East has less to do with 9/11 than with the Bush administrations desire to achieve regime change in no less than four Middle eastern countries (the now famous Rumsfeld white paper). But where has this involvement gotten us? Do we feel safer now than ever? There has been no subsequent 9/11-like attacks, but is this a direct result of our fighting two civil wars?

What it has done is killed our armed forces, divided our country and helped to put our own economy in a very precarious footing, to say the very least.

Sometimes, our views and foreign actions make no sense whatsoever...we do business with China with its human rights violations, but continue to embargo Cuba for its human rights actions...an action which has not achieved a regime change, but has seriously hurt the day to day standard of living to most Cubans.

President Obama ran on a "change" platform, let's see some. He ran on the promise to end our involvement (and vast money drain) in the Middle East, let's see it. Let's see some of the promises fulfilled. Let's see a change to our hypocrisy, let's see a less dictatorial foreign affairs stance, and a more humanitarian overview.

We need to stop the bleeding in Iraq and Afghanistan (literally and figuratively), we need to decide what to do with Gitmo, and we need to open up relations with Cuba by years end. And we need to turn a less blind eye towards our own peoples need before squandering our resources outside of the country. Do I support a new Monroe Doctrine? Of sorts. we need to roll up our borders to immigration, we need to raise import fees, and we need to force Americans to buy American. We need to tell the world we will not fight the good fight all over the world while they sit blithely by. We need to stop helping others...at the expense of not being able to help ourselves; and if that sounds Lou Dobbsian, so be it. When our economy eventually rebounds, we can rethink our foreign affairs posture, until then, we need to focus our attentions domestically for the good of the people.

And that is the world....."the World According to Kimba." Thanks for reading (or listening).

THE HOT TICKET

They are the hottest toy of 2009, an $8.00 interactive hamster that makes 40 sounds and squeals, and inhabits many, many accessories.....all at an extra price, of course. They are ZhuZhu pets, and they go forward, backward, drive a car, and roll around your floor in its own ball. Check out the video and watch the toy that is...no COULD take over the world like tribbles took over the U.S.S. Enterprise...

Only one problem, the stores (Walmart, ToysRus, Target, etc.) are completely out of them. No one, but no one has them, believe me I have checked...over and over again. The clerks are sick of me asking. Getting one of these is like winning the lottery, except for one place, the mighty Internet.

Oh, they are available on the Internet, EBay and on line retailers, except what would be $8 at Walmart are fetching upwards of $50 a piece, and more for the highly coveted three pack, in different breeds / colors / names of course.

The manufacturer Cepia Toys, a very small manufacturer, is straining to produce more before the holidays, and it says shipments are increasing up to the holiday shopping season. They just had no idea these would prove to be so popular until they test marketed them in Arizona, and by that time the die was cast.

OBAMA'S CHINESE TRUMP CARD

President Obama will embark on an Asian tour next week to visit the major players of the Asian community, with China in the forefront. Potential hot button topics with China include their involvement or help in reducing; global warming issues, North Korea's nuclear capabilities, trade imbalances, and China's money system (Yuan) which undervalues their currency through devaluation and makes it impossible for us to compete around the world with them in trade.

Although we all hope Obama can make some headway, many if not most journalists are warning us he has no clout to push any agenda at all, thanks to our current situation. Our economy is tanking, it is hypocritical for us to talk about pollution, the trade imbalance is largely of our own doing, and our cold war mentality over the past eight years with foreign countries hostile to us has exacerbated situation with leaders hostile to us.

Yup, we have zero clout.........no wait. We (Obama) has the ULTIMATE cloud over China. China holds over 800 Billion dollars in bad debt from this country, in the form of American bonds. If we tank, they take it in the shorts. China has a huge stake in this countries success, or failure, and they know it. In fact, China has been begging us for three years now to guard the value of the dollar with a death grip. They have counseled us on over-spending and building enormous deficits. In fact, one might say they seem to care more about the health of our economy than our own government, which is more than willing to spend and spend, regardless of which party is in the White House, Bush or Obama.

So, unless they are looking to foreclose on our country, they better had listen to us. or accept pennies on the dollar for their 800 BILLION dollar investment in our little country. Take that and put it in you lead based paint, suckers.

WHY I WOULD HAVE VOTED NO

Late last night...late on a Saturday night, the House vote on health care took place, which to no ones surprise, passed by a narrow margin. One.........yes, one Republican voted for it. Most, but certainly not all Democrats voted for it, no surprise. The bill now goes to the Senate for its up or down vote, which in Obama's mind should take place by the Christmas break. Speaker Reid came out and declared he would not be driven by a time line, a guarantee that we are looking at late January.

Most would think that I, a left wing liberal would stamp my vote of approval on this bill and send it to the Senate, were I a member of the House. And while I am not unsympathetic to the plight of the uninsured, I would have voted no...for the following reasons.

1. It's too soon. What's the rush? This is not the nations highest priority, not in a sour economy.

2. We have elections coming up next year we need to win. Any whiff of taking on more debt right now will go over with the American electorate like a fart in church.

3. It has failed to garner any bi-partisan support, and will appear to be ramrodded through by the liberals, who will be solely responsible for its success or failure.

4. It uses taxpayer funds to perform abortions (although severly hampered by an earlier vote, it still gives loopholes).

5. You have failed to convince the American taxpayer it will be revenue neutral.

6. It is anemic on tort reform.

7. It's too big...1900 pages big.

8. It mandates forced health insurance on people...we are supposed to be free.

9. It will hurt small business.

10. It makes government bigger, not more efficient.

11. It does little for wellness other than provide talking points.

12. The tax increase on millionaires need to go towards more productive agenda items.

13. It has dominated Congress for months, when they should have been focused on the real issue killing the nation, and the nation's economy...JOB GROWTH.

14. and most importantly: It will put a smile on the Botox supported mug of Nancy Pelosi, the joke of the Beltway.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE

After numerous arguments with conservatives about the Obama one year job performance...I challenge anyone who actually thinks the country would be better off if Bush and Cheney were allowed to add one more year to their last term, to click on the word "comments" immediately below this post and explain it to me. I am a fairly open minded person...convince me Bush and Cheney could have turned it around...or tell me what they would have done differently, and how the nation would have responded.

WHY HE TOOK THE PRIZE

"Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free of nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is now confronting. Diplomacy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the leading spokesman. The committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

INFLATIONARY LUNCH

Reprinted from www.TMZ.com

The economy hits some, but not others

check out this lunch bill...

Italian food and fine wine for 12...

$47,221.00 !

Of course that includes a manditory tip tacked on of 20%,

but not to worry, they also added $5,000.00

for the service staff.

Police: SC state attorney caught with stripper | ajc.com

I have been in a recent blogging slump.....perhaps the longest blogging slump since I started blogging. But thanks to those wacky Republicans, I am back. Big time. Those wacky, sex starved, perverted, family value lovin', holier than thou conservative Republicans have struck blogging gold once again....here is the latest from, you guessed it...the South Carolina GOP.
"A deputy assistant attorney general who said he was on his lunch break when an officer found him with a stripper and sex toys in his sport utility vehicle has been fired, his boss said Wednesday. Former State Rep. Roland Corning, R-Richland, was fired from the State Attorney's office Tuesday, after being found with a stripper in a Columbia cemetery. No criminal charges were filed. Roland Corning, 66, a former state legislator, was in a secluded part of a downtown cemetery when an officer spotted him Monday, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act."
As the officer approached, Corning sped off, then pulled over a few blocks away. He and the 18-year-old woman with him, an employee of the Platinum Plus Gentleman's Club, gave conflicting stories about what they were doing in the cemetery. The officer then searched Corning's vehicle and found a Viagra and several sex toys, which Corning stated he always kept in his vehicle "just in case."
Corning was a republican state legislator during the late 1980's into the early 1990's.
Of course, Mr. Corning hails from the sex scandal state of the nation South Carolina, most notably due to the sexual escapades of its Governor Mark Sanford. Perhaps instead of a cemetery, Mr. Corning should have taken his whore up to the Appalachian Trail.....

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

LIBERAL BLOGGERS A "PAJAMA PARTY?"

According to the Sunday edition of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, anchorman, and John Harwood, Chief Correspondent.

"HOLT: In general when you look at the left as a whole, have there been conversations about some things they thought would have been done but haven’t?
HARWOOD: Sure but If you look at the polling, Barack Obama is doing well with 90% or more of Democrats so the White House views this opposition as really part of the “Internet left fringe” Lester. And for a sign of how seriously the White House does or doesn’t take this opposition, one adviser told me today those bloggers need to take off their pajamas, get dressed and realize that governing a closely divided country is complicated and difficult."

Mr. President, I am fully clothed, and I can tell you if you think you will get a blank check of approval from liberal bloggers out of party loyalty, you are sadly mistaken, sir. It isn't difficult for us to go back into our primary and election posts to recall all of those promises you made to get elected.
If you recall, these include force reductions in the Middle East, gay rights, changes to our tax code, improvements to our educational system, and Guantanamo Bay. You have a lot to "change" Mr. President, at least the country "hopes" so. Maybe it is time you stayed home and in your pajamas, forgot about the Olympics bid for Chicago, let Congress do their work, somehow get your comatose and ineffective Vice President to make some modicum of a difference, and chip away on some of the many promises that made up your election platform.

ROOTING FOR AMERICA TO FAIL

the quote as reported (paraphrased) in Religio-Political Talk ,

a superior read and well worth your time

for an opposing view to mine

In an interview with the political blog Politico, DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse stated the following charge...

"The Republicans cheered when America failed to land an Olympics bid for the city of Chicago, and now they are criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, an award he did not seek but that is none the less an honor in which every American can take pride--unless you are a member of the Republican party."

"The 2009 version of the Republican party has no boundaries, has no shame and has proved that they will put politics above patriotism at every turn. It's no wonder that only 20 percent admit to being Republicans anymore--it's an embarrassing label to claim."

Win at all costs? I believe it, and many others do. They have thrown daggers at the health care efforts, all but guaranteeing its failure, and the continued lack of health care for over 40 million Americans. Some conservatives have jumped onto the bandwagon such as Bill Frist, himself a heart surgeon, however he is no longer in politics. If he were, he would follow the present GOP line and oppose it as well.

GOP reaction to the Nobel Peace Prize? Rush (as usual) says it best. "Obama's head is so big his ears actually fit. Carter, Gore and Obama...all Democratic sell outs. What this is all about is forcing Obama to reject the notion to send additional troops to Afghanistan, to not engage with Iran.....and to ruin America as a super power." "he is emasculating our country....they love a weakened, neutered America, and this prize rewards him for his efforts." "This is a hand grenade that has been lobbed at our domestic and foreign policies...we just got blown up."

Spin it anyway you would like...this prize is for the extraordinary efforts of Obama towards diplomacy and detente as much as it is an indictment against the Bush / Cheney occupational form of foreign affairs. Let's be clear...the Nobel committee and the world itself rejects the combined Bush families aggressive version of foreign affairs and wanted to recognize the efforts of one man away from these doctrines to a foreign affair philosophy towards diplomacy and peace building. Get over it conservatives....your sour grapes make you look petty and only serve to emphasize your continued efforts to ensure Obama, and this country fail until the next elections.

And that is the world...."the World According to Kimba." Thanks for reading.

A TRUE STIMULUS TO RIGHT THE SHIP

As the nation rapidly approaches 10% unemployment, the President promised yesterday to target JOBS for the remainder of the year. Good thinking, sir. Where you been? Jobs is what will turn this nation around, and your previous discussions in regards to creating green jobs is right on target, but in and of itself, will not create the momentum we need.

My occupational bias aside, this nation feeds on real estate and construction. Yes, health care, medicare and social security is draining our economy, as well as our two wars in the Middle East. But, if you want immediate job creation, immediate growth, construction is where it is at. We as a nation are not huge manufacturers anymore. It is a stain on our nation, but it simply is not happening. We cannot compete with cheaper labor, which even overshadows manufacturing products long distances away and shipping them here. We need to end this.

What I am proposing is a 2 year, short term fix for our economic jump start. It involves an ten step plan; a temporary plan which will kick things into gear. It will be funded largely by the 60% of the economic stimulus package as yet unspent.

1. allow a temporary 10% reduction in the minimum wage for all new jobs created. If the market will bite on these jobs, so be it. They will be better than nothing, and allow for businesses to begin to hire back employees currently on unemployment, especially in the food and retail industries. With this, we double the fines for the employment of any employee who is here in the country illegally.
2. allow any legal American to purchase Medicare who is over the age of 40. Suspend all federal funding for anyone here illegally, and absolve the medical industry of the duty to treat anyone here illegally for free (emergency rooms especially will benefit from this, and lower all other costs on legal citizens). With this, we mandate that in order to be a native born American citizen, at least one parent must be a legal citizen prior to birth.
3. the creation of 10 year, low interest construction loans, new construction or retrofitting of existing properties (including single family homes), subject to green (LEEDS) qualifications.
4. capping gross profits from the insurance and financial sectors to 15% of sales. They do not produce anything other than paper, and should not be able to raise their rates in the astronomical manner the health insurance companies have in the previous ten years. Additional oversight needs to be given the petrochemical industries to insure they do not receive windfall profits, and are reinvesting their profits in re drilling and exploration of domestic potentials, or venturing into more greener energy solutions (wind and solar).
5. demand, and make public the progress payments made by all recipients of the stimulus and TARP funds distributed thus far. We want the money back, we want it as soon as possible, and you will incur the wrath of the American taxpayers until you do so.
6. continue with the cash for clunkers program for non-energy efficient water heaters, HVAC units, and large kitchen appliances. The only stipulation will be that the new units be energy efficient and American made.
7. the immediate suspension of the Bush tax windfall program for our wealthiest 3% of Americans.
8. a two year moratorium on the early withdrawal penalty for the first 25% of any IRA, 401K, Roth, or other ERISA eligible retirement vehicle. There will be no retirement or hardship requirements. The only stipulation is the financial organisation overseeing the funds must immediately deduct 35% as an income tax prior to the investors receiving their funds. The investor will receive their cash and a withholding statement, and the government will receive additional tax revenue to be applied to the deficit only.
9. all government programs and federal and state budgets will be deficit neutral period beginning in fiscal 2011, period. If any state fails to balance the budget, all federal funds will cease until they do.
10. a 2 year suspension of NAFTA.

FIGHT THE FIGHTS YOU CAN WIN

Fight the fights you can win.....advice the President would do well to take. Right out of the blocks, the President implements his stimulus package, the largest package spent since the WPA.

And while the country was reeling with the enormity of the package, and the fear which comes with creating the largest deficit in the history of the country, he runs straight to a health care package of gargantuan proportions. Why the rush? It could have waited a year or two until our economy got back on it's front legs, at least.

The debate which ensued as a result of the health care packages on the table has further polarized the nation, despite his calls pre-election to bring us all together.

As if that were not enough, Obama decides to make a potential Olympics hosting for Chicago in 2016 his responsibility. He invites Oprah (natch), the First Lady and takes Air Force One to Copenhagen for the selection process. We know know this was a dismal failure. And why not? Our economy is absolutely tanking since the previous administration, the country is divided like never before, and the citizens are in an uproar. Add to this Latin America has never hosted one. Slam dunk....we never had a chance.

And Obama notches another public defeat.

And all the while, the President we should have elected gets rave reviews for her work thus far as our Secretary of State. Could you see a Clinton administration making these bonehead mistakes?

Traipsing around the world in an attempt to convince the Olympic selection committee to make Chicago a host city?

Trying to rush a health care program through as fast as possible while the country is reeling from the trillion dollar deficit created from a stimulus package she created?

Getting involved in a local police matter, slamming the police department, then having a public beer party with the participants?

My party loyalty gets thinner and thinner the longer he serves.

OVER-REACTION @ PITTSBURGH UNIVERSITY

A FAIRLY GOOD WEEK

I get it. We are spoiled Americans. We are spoiled and demanding, and if you happen to be our chief executive, damn near impossible to please. We Americans have taken criticizing our leaders to a near Olympic sport. And while there are many better at the endeavor than me, I think I should at least get a bronze for it myself.

So when President Obama kowtowed to the Russians and cancelled plans for installation of a U.S. missile shield in Poland, I was one of the ones taken slightly aback....until I remembered it was U.S. built and probably didn't work anyway, so who cares. Besides, screw Europe, kissing Russian and Chinese asses should be the top priority anyway.

But Obama has rebounded. The U.S. has made two decent level terrorist arrests on U.S. soil, so i guess he could take some of the credit just as the conservatives do when they say Bush kept us safe after 9/11. Nice to see we haven't let out guards down.

And two days ago in a speech at the U.N., he gave a tough speech on a variety of subjects........telling the world to stop expecting us to carry the water alone in the world, a push for more trade parity and cures for climate issues, but these were the easy issues. He also demanded that Israel stop bulldozing and creating more settlements, which will destroy any hope of a long lasting peace agreement with the Palestinians.

And that wasn't the biggest issue on his plate this week, he also spoke tough to Iran. At the G20, he spoke tough to Iran with other leaders fully behind him; France, Britain, Germany and yes, Russia, but with the full expectations that China will join in and align themselves with us once and for all in regards to their big time trade partner, Iran. Maybe this diplomacy stuff works?

You see, the CIA has been monitoring a huge nuclear site in Iran for the past four years now (what the hell was Bush doing...still stuck to the chair in that elementary school classroom?). They have been monitoring it, it is embedded into a mountain range, and by all accounts, it is massive. Too massive for any peaceful purposes.

So solid was the evidence, Iran even admitted they were building it, a giant step in dealing with the nuclear issue in the Middle East. At least they can now speak candidly.

So next week when talks with Iran begin in earnest, Iran will realize they are running out of any meaningful friends in the world, and should consider a plan "B." Next week, they will see that the threats of embargo's and sanctions are real, and their backs are against the wall.

All in all, a pretty good week (for once) for our chief exec. Keep up the good work. And that is the world...."the World According to Kimba." thanks, as always for reading.

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SO SIMPLE

"Anyone wishing to purchase health insurance through the Medicare program can do so with no restrictions on age, or preexisting health condition(s). Health coverage shall be free for children under 12 years of age and adults over the age of 70. Health insurance rates will be levied on a sliding scale dependant on personal assets and income. From this day forward, Medicare will be completely self sufficient and will operate as an independent financial organisation. These individual rights will be guaranteed for any legal citizen of the United States, and cannot be denied by any agency of the US government."

Instead we will get a watered down tribute to the insurance companies, who will reap the benefit of their political contributions, and can anticipate a share of 40 million new customers; financed by the federal government, with absolutely no competition or compulsion to do the right thing for their insured.

The insurance companies will reap record profits, as will the drug manufacturers based on their new spoon-fed customer base. They will continue to raise rates despite providing no value or service, and will continue to control costs by denying medical tests and services, as well as dropping anyone in need of expensive medical treatment.

Because something is better than nothing, right Mr. President?

This is not about the uninsured anymore...this is about saving face (yours). Hillary tried to rewrite the health care system herself, and failed. You learned from her mistakes and instructed Congress to come up with their own plan, and it failed. Now we have found a bill that will pass...one written extensively by the insurance lobbyists, completely devoid of any sense of competition to them, or giving them any impetus to act in a humane, less greedy fashion.

In the words and wisdom of Toby Ziegler......

"I am so sick of Congress, I could puke."

D.C. MARCH ON HEALTHCARE--NOT EXACTLY A MENSA MEETING

Massive crowd marches against Obama's agenda -- la times.com: "Tens of thousands of protesters marched on the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, airing a wide range of grievances rooted in a shared sentiment: seething anger at President Obama and his far-reaching agenda.
Led by a fife and drum corps in period costumes, the demonstrators filled Pennsylvania Avenue and swarmed the Capitol grounds with a sea of bobbing placards and hand-lettered signs that spelled out a catalog of dissent.
There were antiabortion protesters and term-limit advocates. Critics of financial bailouts and the federal investigation into CIA interrogation techniques. Marchers who were worried about rekindling inflation and upset about the soaring national debt. Pickets opposed to Obama's health care reform plan and challenging the legitimacy of his election.
'Is This Russia?' one sign said. 'Traitors Terrorists Run Our Government,' read another. 'Don't blame me. I voted for The 'American,' ' a third stated.
The protest -- touted by organizers as the largest-ever outpouring of political conservatives -- was organized by a loose-knit coalition of anti-tax, small-government proponents, and widely promoted by sympathetic voices in the blogosphere and on TV and talk radio. Park police declined to provide an official crowd estimate."

Not exactly a MENSA convention judging from some of the signs pictured above....."Obama care....hands off my body" (yes, we are for mandatory abortions and want to dictate which doctor you go to), "you can't fix stupid," "save freedom, stop Obama" (save freedom by limiting CHOICE on health care--obviously an Aetna employee), "armed and dangerous...with my vote," and "the greatest communist President ever."

There hasn't been a larger collection of morons since the last graduating class at Arkansas High School. But, at least they want to be heard, they care, and there were no Obama pics with Hitler mustaches.

What we need desperately to see is a group of uninsured families to assemble and march on Washington, complete with their children. Then, and only then will you see that Obama is desperately trying to protect good people, good citizens and their kids health. Then, and only then will you understand what the fight is all about. Not taking away rights, not insuring illegals, not federally funding abortions, and not deciding who lives and who dies. Just speaking out for Americans....40 million of them who need a little help providing healthcare for their families, and providing a little competition with the insurance companies who actually ARE getting away with murder (financially at least).

TAKING THE CHAMBERS TEMPERATURE

"I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last"........and with that President Obama, arguing for his political life, laid down his health care plan, incorporating elements from each parties preferences.
Seeking to clear the air of the rumors and half-truths and seeking to address the American people once and for all with one cognisant plan, Obama called a joint session of Congress to lay his cards on the table, as it were.

The speech was truly Obama-esque, taking on the role of leader and teacher, author and facilitator, and at times taking the assemblage to the cloakroom for a good old fashioned scolding. "I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than to improve it." To those who have sought to make short term political gains.....to those who characterized this initiative with calls of death panels.....those are outright lies."

While the audience was mainly civilized, it was this last inference that brought about a significant amount of boos from the conservatives in the chamber, but this was not the topper of the evening. Promising that his bill would not mandate guaranteed coverage for illegal aliens, Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, shouted "LIE!" One could only wish the Representative would have missed the speech, opting for a hike along the Appalachian Trail with his counterpart, Governor Sanford.......no such luck.

The bill as outlined by the President, will be a bi-partisan bill, if not due to the Republican votes it garners, but the Republican wishes it contains. No funding for illegal aliens, no funding for abortions, real tort reform, a guarantee of no additional additions to the deficit due to this plan and a renewed free market sense of competition between a not-for-profit public option and the individual insurance companies, especially in regions where there is none. The remainder of the bill re-established previous wishes of the President....no cancellation due to pre-existing medical conditions and no coverage caps in coverage.

Will one speech garner support from Republicans? Probably not, but then again, he won't need their votes, as long as he was able to solidify his party solidly behind his plan. Will the conservatives answer his call to join him in a unified, bi-partisan effort to finish off the details of this bill? Time will tell, but without question, the pressure will be on them to quit bitching, roll up their collective sleeves, and get this done. For me, on a scale of one to ten, ten being best, I would give it a nine for content and a twelve for leadership skills. This is the man this country has been waiting to rally behind, confident, assertive and up lifting. I for one, was impressed.

And that is the world...."the World According to Kimba." thanks for reading

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Random thoughts on current situations while Congress was enjoying a 40 day vacation....

1. I love the town hall process. Every Congress member should be forced to hold one town hall meeting every month so we can all attend and yell things at them, at the very least.

2. I am so sick of hearing about the health care issue, I am literally getting sick, only I couldn't afford the ludicrous $50 co-pay over the weekends, so I manned up and stayed home.

3. Who the hell gets a 40 day vacation from work?

4. Two groups of people who need to be taken out of the health care system...lawyers and insurance companies.

5. So Sarah Palin quit...am I supposed to care?

6. Say what you want about his alcoholic days, Teddy Kennedy gave his heart and soul to this nation. His death deserved the attention.

7. Not to be cruel, but I am so happy they have laid Michael Jackson's body to rest. There must have been easily twenty thousand hours of programming just on his death alone.

8. While i am on the subject, Larry King has made a career going from one freak issue or celebrity death to the next...OJ, MJ, Heath Ledger, and on and on..........

9. There hasn't been enough talk of the positive economic indicators so far after Obama's first 200 days. He has stopped the bleeding, and can move on to other things.

10. Cash for clunkers didn't work...my clunker didn't qualify.

THE ULTIMATE PARTY TRICK BY AL FRANKEN

DON'T LET YOUR STUDENTS GROW UP TO BE LIBERALS

Reagan, Bush and Clinton did it and there was barely a peep out of anyone. No protests, boycotts or concerns. What did they do? They gave a public address to American students extolling the benefits and importance of education. So when president Obama prepared to do the very same this week, the administration was dumb founded at the hysterics that ensued in anticipation of the speech.

Will he be actually pushing the "liberal" agenda, or perhaps sending subliminal messages to our youth turning them into socialists and fascists? This is the cumulative intelligence of a large swath of our nation, including our educators. The paranoia surrounding president Obama is as palatable as it is ignorant.

Local school districts are scrambling to react to parental concerns; pre-screening of the video prior to allowing their students to view it, the creation of acknowledgement and permission slips, and creation of non-viewing rooms, safe havens for students wishing to avoid the Vulcan mind meld certain to be attempted by our leader. Ridiculous.

Here is the introductory message from http://www.whitehouse.gov/. ".....the President will talk directly to students across the country on the importance of taking responsibility for their education, challenging them to set goals and do everything they can do to succeed."

Seems innocuous? Of course it is. Rather than worry about what innocent attempts made by the President to motivate and set priorities for our children, maybe...just maybe the school districts should worry about the true road blocks towards the development of our children's minds.....their association with closed minded and ignorant parental role models, who seek only to demean the prestige and history of the Presidency, as well as push their paranoia towards a black man / socialist / Hitler fascist in the White House. They say the apples never fall far from the trees....for the sake of our country, I hope they hit the ground running and roll far, far away from the tree.

Face it, our children will hear a myriad of voices out there; some intelligent, some foolish and yes, some dangerous. If you have foregone imprinting your personal issues on your child's mind and concentrated on creating thinking, rational human beings, they will be able to come to their own reasonable conclusions.

Have a little faith in our leaders, and a little more in your childrens ability to separate the chafe from the wheat. And let's put an end to the silly season that only distracts us from making our own reasonable conclusions to the important issues our nation currently faces.

And that is the world....the "World According to Kimba" Thanks for reading

XMAS LIST FODDER

Looking for an educational, vocational learning toy for your child? Consider the Pole Dance Doll coming to a store near you. She doesn't start dancing until you turn her on and the music plays, but once you do it will be a Joyous Christmas experience indeed.

And, there are two versions to pick from....

This is the version marketed towards children and...
this is the adult version. Glad I could clear this up.
Just the kind of amusing public service I like to render
from time to time in the
World According to Kimba, aptly subtitled
"observations on a world gone mad."
And, if any of these dolls sell at all, it will come true indeed.

THE ANGRY TYPE

As if our priorities weren't mis-aligned enough, here is a hot topic issue for some people causing quite a bit of uproar, including a petition demand on the Internet.

We are waging two wars, the economy was in the tank (and coming around slowly), people are so upset with proposed health care bills in Congress they are actually becoming violent, but what is the number one issue for some readership? IKEA, in their newest catalog changed the font on their cover from sans serif to verdana (see covers above). Shocking, isn't it?

They have a good mind to call their Congressman......no wait......they apparently don't have a good mind at all. Get over it folks. First, you are making a mountain over a molehill over a type face, and two, you are considering buying build it yourself furniture which comes complete with picture only directions only a cryptographer would understand. And that doesn't even take into account the furniture will come complete with fasteners which only fasten for the first year or two.

If I had two months to type it and two blogs to contain it, I would tell you the store of how the first thing my bride and I did after getting married was to go and purchase an entire master bedroom worth of furniture from IKEA. Up until that point, she thought I never cursed or became angry......what an eye opening weekend it was for her; witnessing my trying to put that crap together! That was fifteen years ago, and my knuckles are just about healed by now.

TAKE THE PLEDGE

Whatever your views are on celebrity twitterers, or the famous jumping into the political world or in any way using their celebrity to push a cause, or raise an issue....I think you will all agree, regardless of whatever your individual political stance is, or how you define yourself, that this is a pretty cool idea. I hope it spreads.

I am taking a pledge. Not sure what it will be for the long term, but I am going to make a pledge and leave it in the comments section below. I hope you will watch the video, and do the same. thanks, Kimba

HERE WE GO AGAIN

There are some yearly perks when you live in the foothills of Southern California; July 4th fireworks, the Academy Awards, the Rose Bowl.......all great stuff (did I forget the occasional mudslides and earthquakes?). I live in northern So Cal, basically in a bowl made from mountain ranges, and once a year, we get forest fires. This time, at least so far, I am out of the woods, if you will permit a very poor choice of words.

Twice in the last five years I have had them close enough...well, almost close enough to feel the heat. Been in a voluntary evacuation, and had my community closed to traffic (I found a way to get in). I have witnessed water dropping helicopters refilling from a lake at a local golf course, and last year I witnessed a DC-10 make a water drop, which was incredible to see such a huge (and I do mean HUGE) plane flying so close to ground.

If you have never experienced a forest fire up close, you have never witnessed one of the most out of control, living breathing monsters of nature known to man. A forest fire goes wherever it wants, as fast as it can find something to burn, and given a gust of wind, reverse course at the drop of a dime. But let me tell you, the fires we have going this time are as awesome and out of control as I have ever witnessed. Not only tremendous in scope, but it is burning in a path that is virtually impenetrable to man, other than by aircraft.

It is the first week and it has destroyed 53 structures and over 100,000 acres. The forest service guesstimates they have it 5% contained, and full containment may take over two more weeks. Surely this inferno will wreak its devistation on a wide swath of land, and unfortunately take more than its share of structures. This folks, is the real thing.

Watch the video to see what I mean. It is time lapsed, takes 6 minutes, and incorporates an early 24 hours of its living, breathing destruction.

McCAIN GOES ON THE RECORD AGAIN ABOUT CHENEY AND TORTURE

John McCain on Face the Nation: "I think the interrogations were in violation of the Geneva conventions and the conventions on torture that we ratified under President Reagan. I think these interrogations, once publicized, helped Al Qaeda recruit. I got that from a top Al Queda operative in a prison camp in Iraq....I think that the ability of us to work with our allies was harmed. And I believe that information, according to the FBI and others, could have been gained through other members."

Despite his willingness to oppose and disagree with former Vice President Cheney, who has been in complete denial over the course of a two month media blitz (this morning he got the usual Fox news full body massage from Chris Wallace), McCain does not agree with Eric Holder's appointment of an investigation team.

I think the President was right when he stated that we should be looking forward, and not backward. I worry about the morale and effectiveness of the CIA. I worry about this thing getting out of control and us harming our ability to carry out the struggle we are in with radical Islamic extremism"

Interesting choice of words from the senior Senator from Arizona...."I worry about this thing getting out of control...." Do you mean tying up the beltway with a nasty investigation? The former administration claiming executive privilege for everyone but the janitor? How about criminal prosecutions? How about John Yoo and Jay Bybee sweating bullets as they are getting grilled by Al Franken and the Senate judiciary?

How about the truth coming out? We tortured. We tortured the enemy just because we could in some cases. We tortured people hundreds of times each in a couple of cases. And yes, we tortured people to death. Obviously, former VP Cheney has the stomach for this...he has stated as much on numerous occasions, even going so far as to say he is proud of this work. Obviously, McCain is not proud of it at all, and who knows more about torture and being held in captivity than John McCain?

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives,

and the dreams shall never die"

THE TEDDY MOST NEVER KNEW

But for Chappaquiddick, he most certainly would have been a President of the United States. What kind of President? Ultra-liberal to be sure. Heavy on civil rights, human rights and on social programs, much in the same manner as his brothers.

What the name Teddy Kennedy will conjure up is largely a manifestation of your political views. For conservatives, Chappaquiddick will overshadow everything. For liberals, their post-seventies memories will focus on a lifetime of public service and as the family patriarch of the Kennedy family; the glue that held them all together, through unprecedented heartaches.

What many do not know is the childhood young Ted, the youngest of the clan was subjected to by a family obsessed with over-achievement and perfection. A childhood spent in the shadows of brothers smarter and more handsome, and ultimately more successful. Ted was the victim of parental low expectations from early on, and how could he not be considering the powerhouse siblings he followed.

Ted was never an outstanding student (he received numerous letters from his mother Rose in regards to his proper use of English), never as driven as his other family members, and perhaps his biggest Kennedy cross to bare...pudgy. As driven as the Kennedy family was to perfection, they were equally driven to paint a picture of a happy, healthy athletic family, and Ted just never fit the picture in any way.

So when I think back towards the perils of Uncle Teddy, and there were many......I like to think of his troubled childhood, the monumental grief and loss he experienced, and the total tonnage of expectations that were heaped upon him. Expectations and a troubled childhood that were the precursors for his bouts with drugs, alcoholism and womanizing that were made on a very, very public stage.

When I think of Teddy Kennedy, I choose to remember a lifetime spent in the Senate championing the causes of the little guy and the disadvantaged; health care for all, curing education issues, and fighting for equal rights for all minorities, despite the pressure he surely received back in his lily white Massachusetts. This is especially true for his work on immigration, not a favorite topic with the Irish Catholics in the boroughs.

Remember what you will. I choose to remember one of the larger than life figures in the history of the United States Senate, and someone who made a demonstrable difference in the lives of millions.

MORE $ FOR MORE CLUNKERS?

Considering the arguable success of the "cash for clunkers" program with the auto industry, the Energy department is gearing up for a cash for clunker program involving "high efficiency" appliances; dishwashers, refrigerators, washer / dryers and the like.

The focus being to spur on business for appliance manufacturers and retailers, and getting rid of energy guzzling appliances in favor of Energy Star rated appliances. The nation boosts sales, and reduces energy consumption.

The trouble with this concept, is the big box retailers have already reduced profit margins on all appliances with little to no effect. Also, consumers do not have any concept of, or appreciation of the energy consumption their older appliances gobble up; and in fact, the savings is marginal for a single user as opposed to the effect on the nation as a whole.

In my humble opinion, any additional "cash for clunkers" program must be green related to justify its existence....dual pane windows, rebates on residential solar panel systems, tankless water heating systems, and the like. This will decrease our nation's energy consumption, and increase revenues to manufacturers that will have to create jobs to fulfill the demand.

As vulnerable as the appliance manufacturers are at present, they have to downsize and get over it....at least until they come up with innovations the consumer cannot live without...that's their challenge to survive.

As I have noted before in previous postings, if there is one business sector that has benefitted from the economic downturn, it is any one who takes an existing product and repairs or alters them to be like new (appliance repair, tv repair, computer repair and upgrades, shoe repair, auto mechanics, etc.). Clearly we have emerged from the "everything is disposable" period and realized that repairing can make financial sense. And in my opinion, the government should not spend money trying to change this paradigm.

LICENSE, REGISTRATION & MAKE A FIST

This new Texas law allows the police to obtain a blood draw without a search warrant if you are involved in a traffic accident under three conditions...you have a child in the car, you have previous DUI convictions or if someone is injured in a crash.


Needless to say, if you are looking for stories of a state reducing personal liberties and attacking the constitution, all you need to do is look to Texas. But my liberal views aside....if this saves one life, I am OK with it (grimace), as concerned as I am to give law enforcement more power. Not only power, but police will be taking the blood draws themselves.....this is a very controversial new law that is going to be headed to the Texas Supreme Court like a bullet.
The most interesting part of this new law? Texas' laws on the books currently which are extremely liberal on (loaded) gun possession and open containers in vehicles......

HE PAINTED A LIFE WITH PICTURES

I knew him for over fifteen years, but not very well. In retrospect, I wonder if anyone did. We worked together in the same company, and the same region. Saw each other once a month; hey how's it goin'?

He wasn't a ray of sunshine, but he was smart, well dressed, and didn't make waves. Funny at times.....well more sarcastically amusing more than funny. He called me a few times for a translation into the latest corporate directions at work. He was old school and needed someone he could be honest (and sarcastic) with without committing career suicide. I was glad to be that guy at times, although I wondered if he truly confided in me. I was always a leader of the group. Probably thought my ties with upper management were stronger than my ties with him. He was right.

We weren't really friends, more like associates, but I thought he was a good man. A family man who always displayed more than the usual amount of family photos around his desk than most. I liked that. When he talked about his family, he seemed to change in demeanor in a good way. Talk of work got him down, as if he had more than the usual managerial weight on his shoulders. people cope with pressure in different ways, I told myself. He'd survive...he always had, he always would. Sitting at his desk and peering over the vast amount of family pictures around his office wall told me what I needed to know about Mark, he had his priorities straight....do what you needed to do at work, then go home to the family he apparently loved so dearly.

I think about those pictures a lot lately. He had so much to be proud of, or so I thought. He had at least a dozen compared to my two or three...what is wrong with ME? I have to admit, I always wondered of the public photo gallery wasn't a bit over the top in the work place...

He had so much to live for. He had a lot going for him, at least personally. Professionally he had hit the ceiling. So when he left the company for something new and promising, I was glad for him. He had paid his dues, and deserved something more. Unfortunately, it didn't pan out, so he returned to us in a lesser position....for a couple of days, then he left us. And that was the last I heard from, or of Mark.

I don't know what happened first..... life gave up on Mark, or Mark gave up on life. A little of both i would suspect... I don't know the details and I am not about to ask. Wouldn't even know who to ask. We found out about his funeral in a local paper. Many attended, I could not. Too busy...besides, we weren't close. There must have been people closer to him that would pick up my slack. Someone he played golf with, knew his family, was there when he needed a friend. I hope so. It wasn't me, or anyone I knew.

He had no right to give up on life. I don't know how anyone gets to that place. He had family, I think he had friends. I knew he had people who would have helped him....I was one of them.

He had no right to give up on life, not with people in his corner unwilling to give up on him. I have no clue what led him to believe life would be better without him. I don't know what events led up to stripping him of his self esteem and self worth. I don' get it. I just don't get it. Maybe it was because he no longer had his desk with all those family pictures to look at each day.

I am afraid to die, I freely admit it. Don't want to go. I intend to go kicking and screaming. Doesn't mean I will give up my bad habits, or start eating All Bran and jogging ten miles a day, but I don't want to go.

He had no right to give up on life, but from what I heard, he did. And as fast as a bullet can pierce your body, he was gone. I don't get it. All I know is what little I have heard, and I don't have anyone to ask. Found out about his funeral services in the local paper a day before they were to be. Obviously, he had gone fifteen years working with us, and we never got to know him. Hey Mark, how's it goin'?

Who knows what is hidden behind the walls we put up as we go through life. You think you know people, you show a casual interest, and go on with your life. We walk by so many others like unfeeling zombies, thinking we know each other. Not knowing some of them need help. Never knowing until it is too late. He had no right to give up on life. Not when he had so much going for him. Not when those pictures clearly show he had others counting on him....depending on him.....loving him. He had no right to give up on life and I just don't get it. How's it goin? I wish he had really answered the question...

TAKE THE HEALTHCARE QUIZ

The Democratic health care plan will....

pay for abortions

allow the country to decide who lives and who dies

will pay for illegal aliens

will be unaffordable

will put the insurance companies out of business

will reduce the quality of physician care

will force you to wait months for an M.R.I.

will be an exact carbon copy of England's and Canada's

will require new taxes

will leave Americans with no choice for their health care providers

DO A LITTLE RESEARCH AND MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND

Liskula Cohen Forces Google To Reveal Anonymous 'Skank' Blogger's Identity

Liskula Cohen Forces Google To Reveal Anonymous 'Skank' Blogger's Identity: "Model Liskula Cohen sued Google in January in the hope of forcing the company to reveal the person responsible for allegedly defamatory comments on a blog called Skanks in NYC, which was hosted by Google's Blogger service.
'I would have to say the first-place award for 'Skankiest in NYC' would have to go to Liskula Gentile Cohen,' the anonymous blogger wrote. 'How old is this skank? 40 something? She's a psychotic, lying, whoring, still going to clubs at her age, skank.'
Cohen, who is actually 37, believed the posts were defamatory but was forced to take action against Google in order to unmask the blogger's identity before she could take further action."

While I certainly believe anyone should be able to get relief through the courts for slander and libel, I am concerned about the frivolous, minor law suits this precedence may instigate. Although I never held that I had the right to blog in complete anonymity and believe I post in a forthright manner, I am concerned that this will effect others who use Blogger to publish their blogs. Short of this type of cyber bullying (the blogger only posted five posts, all involving incendiary comments about Ms. Cohen), I would hope that the identity of bloggers be left unpublished, if so desired, unless egregious and malicious text has been found.
What can this type of precedent lead to? The defense states this could "open the floodgates" for all sorts of blog related civil actions. One example? In January, a landlord filed a law suit against a Chicago woman when she tweeted that her apartment was "moldy." The suit claimed the tweet damaged the properties reputation, even though the woman only had 20 followers at the time.
Will Blogger comply with the courts direction, or choose to seek relief and reversal in a higher appeals court? Only time will tell.

SCALIA QUOTED IN DISSENT TODAY

"This court has never held that the constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who has had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince habeas court that he is "actually" innocent. " SCOTUS today in re: Troy Anthony Davis writ of habeus corpus

SPIN THIS

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRDS SCREAM

At base level I am at heart a child of the seventies with a love of all things political. The memories of Vietnam protests are still burnt in my memory, which helped form my deep love of politics...so much so I majored in political science in college.

I grew up with the Weather Underground, Abby Hoffman, the Chicago Seven trial and the SLA. I have seen this country go from Kennedy and King to the election of the first Black President, and everything in between. I have seen the devastation and aftermath of natural calamities and I have cowered in front of the television as my parents watched live reports of the Watts riots, an area all too close to where we lived. The act of protest is, and always has been, a part of free speech and an engaged electorate. But until now I had yet to detect the stench...the palpable stench of fear I see that exists across this country at present.

As I watch each health care town hall meeting, I have seen the usual protests, of course. But I have also seen fear. I have witnessed American citizens who still bare the scars from 9/11 in fear. We have all seen these angry, out of control citizens screaming and interrupting the meetings out of fear, and a desperate sense that this time..... this one time they have to be heard and they will be heard, because this once great republic they grew up loving is at risk. At risk, and they are terrified. Possibly for the first time in their adult lives, they are scared that the dream of this great republic might be in jeopardy. And these for the most part, are not organized nut jobs. A lot of them are tax paying good guys who are scared. Scared and ignorant, pushed and emboldened by the bully pulpit media who tell them to fear. Fear and hate, and that is a dangerous combination. The kind of fear, hate and ignorance that gets large groups of people to listen, and believe damn near anything.

This is about more than just health care. This is about broad stroke philosophies of government that strike at the core of our nation. The majority of these town hall protesters aren't political savvy operatives. I get the feeling many of these voices are coming from concerned citizens suddenly awakened, and suddenly engaged. These are good people answering a clarion call from extremists who have been given a pulpit over our airwaves, and because they have these public pulpits, it gives them a degree of legitimacy, and a perceived level of intelligence they may or may not hold.

I say it's time for America to get a grip on their emotions and stop listening to every ignorant voice on the Internet and in the media. Stop listening to the ignorant voices who claim Obama is both a socialist and fascist (an impossibility by definition, by the way), and a Hitler incarnate.

It's time for the base of America to do a little research and listen to some saner, quieter, more intelligent voices. The ones who don't preach hate and gloom and doom. Maybe this is the only way for America to get its collective confidence back, and maybe even a little of its swagger back. There is nothing, but nothing that will slow down the economy faster, or prolong the recession than a nation without the confidence to re-enter the market and the confidence to go out and spend a couple of bucks.

I see positive signs already in the market......I see an administration that cares, and wants to find a middle ground, a bi-partisan effort to get this country back on its feet. I also see an opposition that wants it to fail. Wants it to fail because it is the best way for them to win, even if it results in additional body blows to our countries well being.

Things are getting better... or at least aren't getting any worse, and that is a blessing in itself considering where we were headed a scant 200 days ago.

True recovery will take time, but we should have a little more confidence in our government, and the people we have elected to serve us. At least we should have a little more confidence in our Senators than we do in these radio and TV zealot entertainers and reactionaries who are trying to convince middle America and our middle class that we are turning into Fascist Germany, for gawd sakes.

We have all heard the famous quote..."the only thing we have to fear...is fear itself." I am not sure if that applies any more. The only thing we have to fear, is fear and ignorance itself. Wake up America. Wake up, have a little confidence, and do a little research. And believe. Not in hope, not in change, but in a still proud nation that won't let a little hard times destroy it, or get us down. We still are that proud nation. We still are that world leader that everyone looks to when times are a little rough. And I'll be damned if I am going to let eight years take that away from us. We'll be back. Bigger, brighter, and healthier than ever. And I for one, am going to take that confidence to the bank. God bless you, and may God continue to bless America.

And that is the world...."The World According to Kimba." Thanks for reading.