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.

2 GOVERNMENT PONZI SCHEMES THAT NEED FIXING FIRST

A ponzi, or pyramid scheme is really very simple. You take investors money promising a payoff in the future, and pay the oldest investors off with revenues from the newer investors. Works well, as long as the new investors out number the older, existing investors. Unfortunately for Social Security and Medicare, the newer investors are starting to not outnumber the older investors, thanks to a generational "baby boomer" bubble which hit last year.

While it may be a bit of an over exaggeration to call these two government programs ponzi schemes, comparisons can certainly be drawn. Social Security has been saved due to the reduction of benefits, and an increase in the ages you can receive benefits......a clever twist to be sure; keep moving the target date in which your older investors can start to realize the benefits they were promised initially. Even with these changes, older investors will begin to outnumber newer investors in 2016, and if left alone, will go bankrupt in 2037.

Medicare is another story entirely, it kicks in when an investor reaches a certain age and officially retires from the workforce. Medicare has been paying out more than it is taking in already (starting last year), and experts say Medicare will go under in 2017. These estimates are drawn on the inevitable fact that the bubble of investors reaching retirement age is ever expanding through the baby boomer generation, and will statistically get worse over the course of the next decade. The only possible saviors to Medicare are three fold.......an increase in workers delaying retirement and working into their seventies (which is happening), an increase in investor deaths before the age of 65 (which is not), or raising additional revenue through taxes (which may be inevitable to insure the programs solvency). A fourth option...an almost unthinkable option is to withhold tests and health care services through the authorization process, thus saving money.

This year alone, medicare is covering over 45 million of our elderly and disabled citizens, and without this program it would be a health care crisis for them of staggering proportions. Clearly as more and more Americans, who have paid into this system in good faith begin to retire, we must take steps to insure they can reap the benefits of a program they have paid into every time they have drawn a pay check.

That being said, with these programs reaching insolvency relatively quickly, it must be asked why we are even considering a health care insurance system prior to tackling these hurdles. I have yet to hear this argument expressed in Congress (at least by any GOP leader...unfortunately a current oximoronic term), and should be voiced loud and clear amid the present low brow "Obama is Hitler" demonstrations at our town hall meetings.

President Obama has pledged to look into Social Security and Medicare as soon as we resolve our health care debate. I say we need to discuss the current programs before adding on another enormous program. I am all for a national health care system, but the timing is just not right. First things first.

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

PROOF POSITIVE THAT VOTERS PREFER THEIR PRESIDENTS TO BE LEFTIES

No, it's not idealogical....it's National Left Handers Day!! Towards this end, can you name the last 4 Presidents who were (are) left handed? You can find the answers by clicking on the word "comment" below.

Extra credit? OK, in the 20th century we have elected eight left handed Presidents...name them.

TOWN HALL MEETINGS BRING OUT THE NUT JOBS

I don't get it. One is a madman who orchestrated mass genocide on the Jews, and aspired towards world domination. The other is a man who wants to make sure everyone in America can afford to go the doctor without declaring bankruptcy. Could it be that you have drank the kool-aid and actually believe the scare tactics of an Obama death panel, a modern day Hitler T4 program (see the destruction of lives unworthy of life). Preposterous. It's preposterous to think the Obama administration is seeking a modern day genocide of the elderly through "mercy deaths." And equally preposterous that our government actually values the almighty dollar over human life.

Also strange is the caption "I've changed"...it's not like his desire to change our broken healthcare system wasn't a major focus in every single stump speech he delivered for over a full calendar year....so how has he changed? It is estimated that over 38 million Americans have no health insurance, a minimum of 9 million of those being children. So how can you not want to find an afforable program to cover them?

THE FINANCIAL TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA'S FIRST 200 DAYS

Anyone questioning the effectiveness of the Obama administrations attempt at righting the U.S. financial ship (which was taking on significant amounts of water pre-Obama), should read this article from London's Financial Times (link). Here is a portion of the article which clearly spells out the current state of financial affairs in the U.S.....

"...his stimulus bill has clearly made a significant contribution to stabilizing the economy since its passage in February. His cap and trade bill to reduce carbon emissions passed the House of Representatives in June. He has set in motion significant overhauls of the financial regulation and health care.

Second quarter gross domestic product declined by only one percent, compared to 6 percent in the first quarter. House prices have stopped falling, and in some markets, are actually rising; sales in new homes actually jumped 11 percent from May to June. Big banks are recovering, and some have made enough profit to pay back the borrowed TARP funds. The S & P 500 index is up 48 percent from its low in early March. Best of all, the nation lost the fewer jobs in July than most pundits predicted. The unemployment rate has actually declined slightly to 9.4% (much to the conservatives chagrin, who predicted 10%).

Are we out of the woods yet? Clearly not, although there is plenty of statistics to suggest President Obama has stopped the bleeding. Needless to say, the recovery program has involved significant amounts of spending, some of which, such as TARP and the bailout of some financial institutions, we fully expect to recover, and are already receiving some pay backs from the larger banks already. The much maligned "cash for clunkers" auto buy back program has proven to be a huge success, riding our landscape of older high polluting vehicles, getting cash back into the economy, and the only current issue is spot shortages of automobile inventories at local participating car dealerships. Is an income tax hike in the offing? Maybe. It would be a short term solution to reducing the deficit, although small enough on the lower to middle class to have a marginal effect on economic sales growth. Clearly, our financial health will get a much needed shot in the arm once we reduce the amount of money spend waging two "wars" in the Middle East, which has, and continues to be draining our economy.

Out of the woods? Not nearly, although considering the positive numbers in our economy today, it night be a decent time to consider moving a small portion of our portfolios back into the stock market in smart, conservative blue chip stocks. Anyone who follows the market has seen significant increases in some sectors, and anyone smart enough to buy B of A has reaped major profits.

The point being that it is time for the nation to get their chins up, and be more positive about the future. All of this negative rhetoric is only serving to delay our recovery. If we can achieve a paradigm change in attitudes, consumer confidence will grow and 3rd quarter numbers will be even more positive than the 2nd. Out of the woods? No, but we are clearly on our way.

PALIN FINDS WORK AS A POLITICAL MIS-INFORMATION TOOL

Wonder what Sarah Palin will be doing now that she has quit her part time position as Governor of Alaska? She will be a paid mouthpiece and personal political hatchet-woman for the GOP, specializing in misinformation, half truths and full-on lies.

For example...Palin last week...."I am quitting my job as Governor to protect my children from being used as political tools of the left." Pathetic to say the least. For the record, then candidate Obama never once addressed her family situation with her daughter's unwed pregnancy.

This week is even a bigger crock...."The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce health care costs, but as economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost, it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer most when they ration care? The sick, the disabled, and the elderly, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my child with Downs Syndrome will ever have to stand in front of Obama's "death panel" so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgement of their "level of productivity in society," whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."

It should be pointed out first and foremost, that she has now reached an enviable level of bullshit production, and more importantly, if this ludicrous scenario were to come to pass, a worthless piece of crap like Ms. Palin best not even get so much as a hangnail, lest the Obama death squad pass judgement on her own "level of productivity in society," a test she is now all but certain to fail.

The truly sad thing is, a lot of the elderly will believe this bad Twilight Zone plot. Good Lord, the level of the GOP's despiration is awe inspiring. When you get your ass kicked in the last election, you go back to what worked in the past....make them scared. Really really scared.

THE CLINTONS: POTENTIALLY AN UNBEATABLE FOREIGN AFFAIRS TEAM

Great article in MSNBC about the Clinton tag team being in motion once more. For those of you who have yet to read your evening paper...President Bill Clinton, foreign affairs expert and political genius, is currently in North Korea and has secured the releases of the two American Journalists tried and charged with espionage. Whether or not they deserve it is another story entirely.

Now for the three morons who hiked in Iranian territory and are about to be tried for spying; not even the genius of Bill Clinton could possibly get them clemency. Yes, we are a super power in the world, but these morons have to understand we simply cannot go around the world begging...or worse, bartering political capital attempting to secure their release after commiting incredibly stupid deeds.

I REALLY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY....

Long time, no blog my friends. I just have very little to say, or anything going on that holds my interest at all....sorry. Palin quits for the promise of a radio show? Who cares? Health care stuck in, and being completely watered down in congress? Doesn't matter. I don't even think Obama wants a health care package to pass...he needs the issue more for his congressional libs to get elected on next year. Wants to hang any failure on the conservatives...that's why he is shotgunnin' so many large initiatives into the congressional hourglass.

Iran? Iraq? Pakistan? Let's get out of the way and let them kill each other. Glenn Beck says Obama is a bigot? He isn't worth my time. Harvard prof fails the cop attitude test and gets arrested? The cop and the prof share a table and a beer on the White House lawn? Whatever....really ignorant...but whatever.

It's August now, and something will happen for sure. August is never quiet. Did you know more wars are started in August than any other month? Something will come up; but for now, I am in a heavy election / inauguration / depression hangover. Kind of like a slumbering bear. And that's the world...according to Kimba.