BORDERING ON RACISM? A TOUGH ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW PASSES.

You may have heard of the bill recently passed in Arizona which establishes increased penalties and enforcement capabilities involving illegal immigrants. The bill, Arizona Senate bill 1070, contains sweeping changes in policy, and has drawn much ire from liberal groups, up to and including the President himself. Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney went so far as to call the mandate to show legal papers to prove legal status in this country bordering on "Nazism" (your papers, please).

Here is the bill in a nutshell...

"a law enforcement officer, without benefit of a warrant, may arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that a person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the United States"

"...it is unlawful for a person who is unlawfully present in the United States to knowingly apply for work, solicit work in a public place, or perform work as an employee or independent contractor"

"...it is illegal to transport an illegal alien if they know or recklessly disregard this law"

"it is illegal to conceal, harbor or shield an alien from detection in any building or means of transportation..."

"...an employer shall not knowingly employ an illegal immigrant, and shall keep records of all immigrant workers status for a period of 3 years through the federal e-verify program..."

The bill also contains a very narrow definition of entrapment on the part of law enforcement agencies, especially if the employer is "predisposed to hire such labor." It establishes strict fines, criminal penalties, and allows for the confiscation of motor vehicles in the case of blatant disregard for the laws. It also allows people to sue their local or state government agencies if they believe the immigration laws are not being enforced.

Will this lead to massive sweeps of known places immigrants congregate, especially where they have been known to look for work? Yes. Will this result in some citizens being forced to show proof of citizenship merely as a result of their appearance or heritage (racial profiling)? Yes. Will it require everyone be able to provide proof of citizenship on demand of any law enforcement agent, even if they are not presently involved in criminal activity? Yes.

And so you would expect a bleeding heart liberal such as myself to be screaming bigotry and fervently against such a bill. Better sit down...I cannot. Yes, in Arizona,this bill will severely effect Hispanics. If passed elsewhere, in Florida it will effect Haitians, in New York, it will effect Puerto Ricans,and on and on.

The bottom line is, this is a great country, and if you want to enjoy immigrant status here, carrying papers to prove you are here illegally is not to much to ask. If you are an employer who frequently hires illegal immigrants, you should be held to the law. I am not crazy about law enforcement agents in sting operations trying to catch you, but the courts will protect you from overt entrapment.

This is merely a drastic step to protect its citizens from the unfortunate situations on our Mexican border....illegal drug smuggling, illegal immigrant smuggling, Mexican criminals seeking refuge here in the United States, illegal immigrants here to commit crimes in the United States, and illegal gun and weapon smuggling in the United States. Carried out correctly, this will be a small thing. Will law enforcement take this way too far? Possibly, but if enforced judiciously and to the letter of the law, it will be yet another tool to protect our borders and weed out the criminals in our society here illegally. I am holding my nose slightly, and I am biting my liberal, card carrying ACLU bent somewhat, but I am 60-40 in favor of this bill. Good Lord help me....but I am siding with the GOP on this one....and praying I will not hear stories of massive abuse of this law by bigoted law enforcement agencies.

THE TEA PARTY: STEEPED IN IGNORANCE

I love protests, I love anyone in this country who cares enough to form an opinion....if it is an informed one. But criticism for criticisms sake with no solutions offered is just whining, which is exactly why I think these zealots either need to come up with a solution, or shut the f*ck up.

Take a portion of their platform...smaller government and a reduction of taxes. Makes sense to me, where do I sign up? AND this is easily done...we just have to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, avoid an armed conflict with Iran, raise the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare, and we can reduce the deficit and lower taxes...and reduce the size of government. Where do I sign up?

Oh wait, the Tea Party is actually against reducing Medicare and the raising of the age for Social Security (their supporters are..let's be kind and say "mature"), and FOR the dual wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as taking a hard line on Iran (and who knows where that will lead us)....so considering these are overwhelmingly our largest expenditures, how exactly does that work? Hello.....tea partiers, hello? Anybody?

They want to end any socialist program to help the poor and disadvantaged, yet seem to forget that is what Social Security and Medicare does (programs that do not pay for itself since long ago in the bubble generation)......how about we drop you sorry asses from these programs...it would save a fortune, and the savings could be used to reduce taxes for everyone.

They are decidedly anti-Obama (with insultingly immature signage and slogans) and his spending, but fail to remember his one year performance was overwhelmingly affected by the sorry state of the economy he inherited from his predecessor (and his multiple tax cuts, pathetically run wars with massive amounts of funds still unaccounted for, his unfunded mandate called Medicare-D, and two sorry attempts at regime change in the Middle East).

They want government to stop as they say "rewarding failure"....so I can only imagine this means an end to lunch programs in school, unemployment insurance, welfare, food stamp programs, and the like. And I can get on board....because my religion says screw everybody. I have long said this country would be better off with more people starving and living on the streets. More people losing their jobs, their homes, and watching their children go to sleep hungry. I am with you...where do I sign up?

Maybe I should ask your spokesperson, the Governor who quit her job and quit on the people who elected her for an all out assault on the American pocketbooks, as she refuses to even speak to an American college without six figures and a humiliating list of diva like demands. Where do I sign up....and do I have to be white to join? It seems all your members are white and middle aged. OK, I qualify. But do I have to mirror your bigotry? Maybe I won't join. I just can't get into your little protests and the insipid signage you carry, and the limited intelligence you possess.

Sure, I like to criticize...do it all the time. But at least I think of solutions in my own way. Maybe I won't join your little group. Cause I don't need to be a card carrying member of your little cult to aimlessly scream into the darkness.

IT'S OFFICIAL...WE HATE EVERYONE!

According to recent polling, you would be hard pressed to find anyone in politics today who poll favorables over 50%...especially in the Senate, where only 6 out of 50 poll favorables over 50% (and barely at that).

In early 2012 polling, Obama has dropped to 47%, Romney 44%, Gingrich 43%, Pawlenty, once thought to be a contender is at 42% in his home state, Huckabee is at 40%, and ex-Governor (and current public speaking / money ho) is at 37%, although polls incredibly high among the Tea Party cult. BTW, the Tea Party itself is polling favorables at 41%.

So does this mean we have yet to meet the next President, or the race is wide open? Not hardly. The only question is who Romney will take for his ticket, and (I hope not) if Obama retakes the invisible man Joe Biden once again on his ticket.

Clearly, anyone in politics today is about as popular as a child molester in a Chuck E. Cheese. Obviously, this dark period opens up all kinds of opportunities for fringes on both sides to organize and achieve some level of acceptance (witness the Tea Party). Anytime unemployment reaches double digits and the economy is sluggish as it is, the political scene will be rife with critics and 15 minutes of fame celebrities. But, as strong as the American citizens disapprove of both sides of the political scene, it will only mean a lower turn out at the polls. Clearly the fever pitch of engagement by the citizens is waning to say the least.

Can either side achieve any momentum in 2012? Not to 2008 levels in my mind. Clearly the right has the big "MO" at present, but if the economy continues to improve, the left can only benefit (and take credit), which would even the score by primary time.

But at present, the early numbers lead me to ask...who the hell do the American people want (or approve of)? The more I read, the more I wonder if they even know. As engagement decreases, so does knowledge on the behalf of the electorate, and this is a scary proposition to say the very least......as each party distorts and retorts the truth in order to curry favor. This is a scary time indeed.

THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OUR VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

Just kidding, the man ain't done shit.

At least he hasn't made the news by

saying something stupid lately.

What a great choice our Pres made.

The invisible man.

His only accomplishment has been standing next to Pelosi

and clapping during the State of the Union.

The only positive I can think of for Joe Biden is

he has good taste in women.

20+ REASONS TO APPRECIATE THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

stabilized the stock market

health care reform

expansion of SCHIP program

more money for education

stimulus package signage

no lobbyist rule

pay freeze for WH staffers over $100k

closed the secret CIA prisons

ended water boarding, no torture policy

freedom of information act

reversal of stem cell ban

more $ in college Pell grants

lowered taxes for middle class

higher auto fuel standards

credit card reform bill

increased earned income tax credits

new car purchase tax breaks

withdrawal of troops from Iraq

focusing on Afghanistan

assisting Pakistan to stay strong

DIPLOMACY

lifting restrictions to Cuba

recent job growth (165k)

BUNNING STRIKES OUT

I am a huge sports fan. I love the game of baseball, have since I was a kid. So, naturally I know the name of Jim Bunning. One of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game. Spent years taking the mound and mowing down thousands of opponents and sending them back to the bench, bat in hand.

Last week, Congressman Jim Bunning took the mound and mowed down another batter. Only this time, he threw a curve ball. Threw a curve ball, a change up, screwball and knockdown pitch all in one. Only this time, his opponent was not the opposition, it was the American unemployed.......the 9+% of America unable to find a job. Jim Bunning voted no to extending unemployment insurance for the American unemployed, and sent them back to the bench, only this time instead of a bat in their hand, they had a hat in their hands.

Jim Bunning suddenly woke up to the fact that the American government should reduce spending, and should not vote to spend any additional funds they could not afford to pay for. Good idea...only you should have had it when you had the majority in Congress...should have had it when you were voting in countless spending bills, one after the other, and another.

No, you decided to take a stand when your electorate, the nearly 12% of your constituents who are out of work, needed you most. Needed you to do what was right and compassionate for them. They voted you in time after time, and the one time they needed you most, you kicked them in the teeth. You kicked them while they were down, and that takes a very small measure of a man.

You see, at least in this area, Congress reached a bi-partisan agreement, to extend unemployment for those who need help in putting food on the table, and affording to heat their homes....and yes, to possibly afford their homes. But you saw this as a perfect time to take the mound as you always did, alone and make a political statement about spending at the worst possible time.

Time after time, you thwarted attempt after attempt to show some compassion towards those in need and you block passage of the bill. At midnight, they finally gave up on any hope of you regaining your senses...regaining any perspective on a vote that will help those in need. And for what...so you can get your name in the paper? To garner some publicity, to build the reputation as a hard line spending foe?

That day passed long ago, as you approved one drunken sailor spending measure after another. No, what you did was mean spirited and directed at those who are counting on your support in their time of need and uncertainty. You sir, have lost your mind. You are a very small measure of a man. You took the mound and did what no other pitcher had ever done on a pitching mound. You struck out. You struck out and struck a blow against the nearly 10% of American people who desperately need help. And for what? So you can reach a budget?

You didn't just vote no to unemployment, sir. You announced your retirement. Because if you think your base of supporters will sit blithely bye and re-hire you when you come up for re-election next time, you have lost full control of your faculties. The American people will not forget this, sir. Because in the end of the day, we have the final vote. We call the strikes and balls, we controls who stays in the game. And you sir, need to hit the showers.

That is the world....the "World According to Kimba." Thanks, as always, for reading.

A TRUE BI-PARTISIAN EFFORT

PLEASE GIVE UNTIL IT DOESN'T HURT ANYMORE

THE POLITICS OF FEAR

Elections are rapidly approaching, and it is officially silly season, and that is being kind. In fact it is officially the season of gross distortions and full on lies. Lies to make you fear the future. You see the deficit, conservatively estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5% of GDP, is apparently going to rob generations of any hope of a future, and the Chinese are currently scouting out locations for a new Tienanmen square, complete with a huge mural of Chairman Mao.

The simple fact is, running deficits in this economic time is prudent. Used correctly, increasing expenditures, such as in the stimulus package, will create jobs. Funds used to prevent AIG, the financial cyclops of the east, with its massive tentacles into ever financial sector...was prudent. Propping up financial institutions, thus preventing a run on banks with an ever increasing number of bank closures, was prudent. Increasing unemployment benefits and Cobra rights for the newly unemployed, was prudent. Small business loans will help as well.

The current propaganda stemming from the opposition is that the deficit is entirely Obama's fault, and the sooner every liberal is unemployed, the least likely we will fold up the national tent. The fact is, a goodly portion of the national deficit is caused by a lack of national revenue due to the economic times. Add in Medicare and Social Security, not to mention the massive cost of fighting not one, but two wars, and you now have a clearer picture of where we stand today. A condition most economists label not as a crisis, but as problematic. Nothing to be scared or fearful of whatsoever.

But in a country whose collective I.Q. is just above illiterate...a country who will collectively spend millions on something so completely benign as filling out a 1040E tax form (which requires two salient pieces of information...how much you made, and how much you paid in taxes), this tactic works. These are the people Sarah Palin likes to call "real" Americans, who clamor to her like the sheep they truly are. And distorting the facts and making them afraid...very afraid, is good politics. Wave the flag, mention God, and make them afraid.....it works every time.

Considering the caliber of candidates America is willing to send to Congress (actors, comedians, nude centerfold models and athletes), this little sportscaster from Wasilla just might have a bright future, despite having a resume thinner than her depth of knowledge....on just about anything. So she has hit the road, at $100,000.00 per speech, and is the new darling of the Tea baggers, and the "real" people more than willing to pony up her speaking fees.

Come to think of it, I am more scared than you are....not of the deficit, but of whom you might elect next. And that is the world....the "World According to Kimba."

OBAMA TAKES EM' TO THE WOODSHED

President Obama, normally bi-partisan to a fault, finally ended his conciliatory nature and took the do nothing GOP members of Congress to the woodshed for a well deserved spanking.

For a complete text of the State of the Union address, go onto http://www.c-span.org/, and for a video version, try http://www.youtube.com/, however I would like to focus on three paragraphs uttered by President Obama which I feel are indicative of the true State of the Union and completely self explanatory....

"...if the Republican leadership is going to insist that sixty votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions."

"Those of us in public office can respond to reality by playing it safe and avoid telling the hard truths...we can do what's necessary to keep our poll numbers high, and get through to the next election instead of doing what's best for our next generation."

But I also know this: if people had made that decision (the current GOP do nothing posture) fifty or one hundred years ago, or even two hundred years ago, we wouldn't be here tonight. The only reason we are is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and grandchildren."

Beautiful.......if I were Obama's speechwriter, I would have added only the phrase..."you gutless fat weasels...." Imagine...Americans are suffering through the worst economic downturn in their lifetimes.....the most disparaging, gut-wrenching, no end in sight economic downturn with no less than 10% of our workforce unable to find gainful employment, and nearly half of the United States Senate bands together to do....nothing. Nothing. But point fingers, place blame, and snidely smirk at the struggles of a party for whom none of this is their fault.

Their battle cry is "let this be his Waterloo," and wring their hands in anticipation of political gains two years down the road. While 10% of our workforce lies sleepless in their beds over the prospect of not saving their homes, not being able to afford health insurance, or their children's education; while the value of their 401K's slide into the abyss, while they struggle to put bread on the table...the GOP sits blithely by hoping their government fails them. In consideration of their efforts...their unfeeling inaction's and the pomposity of their schadenfreude, last nights scorn by our sitting President was holy inadequate.

So, has Obama reclaimed his testicles and decided to actually lead? To stop apologizing and push the agenda he was elected on through any means possible? Time will tell. One thing is for sure...any reference he made to both parties working together was nothing more than air. His scolding of the GOP guarantees it.

As he referred to earlier in his speech, it's an election year, and in my mind, it's time to start swinging away. And in his first real at bat, Obama hit a clean double. Not bad for a guy who has spent his first year in office taking pitches and hoping for a walk....

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

Thanks for reading.

STATE OF THE DIS-UNION

With the State of the Union speech to be delivered next week, President Obama will take center stage days after a crippling and awakening defeat in Massachusetts as his party lost one of the longest Dem Senate stronghold in the nation. So where does he go from here?

The overall theme must be "I hear you." I hear you, I understand your concerns, and as your leader, I am going to modify my vision of the nation to your wishes. In that vein, I am taking my short term and long term goals and agendas and revising them with the help of congressional leaders, both on the majority and minority sides.

First and most important is the state of the economy. Understand, I was catapulted into a situation that demanded immediate action. Not only demanded immediate actions, but demanded actions to save the economy that surely would be risky and wildly unpopular, and as your leader, I made them. I understand your concerns over the cost of the stimulus packages, but we had to do it to stop the economic downturn we were experiencing when I took office. Simply put, to do nothing would have crippled the nation. To let enormous conglomerates like AIG to go under would start a house of cards that would have effected every portion of the nation. To let the American car industry to vanish would have cost thousands and thousands of jobs, and take away a source of pride all Americans have enjoyed since Henry Ford himself. To let a majority of banks and financial institutions go bankrupt would have killed the savings of every American. I know it was spending money we couldn't afford...but understand...I was spending money we couldn't afford to spend. For the duration of my Presidency, this unfunded spending will stop. My goal is balanced budgets from here on in, and that will mean everyone biting the bullet.

Next is health care. I hear you. My dream was to insure every American...man, woman and child. You have spoken and I have heard you. So i am taking health care off the congressional floors, and back to committee. I am not saying "not ever," I am saying "not now." The new health care goal is to insure every American under the age of 16, a goal we can easily accomplish...together.

Starting today, I am calling for a rapid redeployment of troops from Iraq and into Afghanistan. By the end of the year, I will reduce these troops in Afghanistan by 50%...I will bring the majority of our troops home. The savings alone will bolster the American economy, and the remaining troop force in the Middle East will be more than adequate to keep the peace in Afghanistan, and in the region should events in neighboring countries warrant our immediate attentions.

That's it... a very good start of his state of the union speech. It should be simple and easy to understand, and be grandiose promise free. Achievable goals over a two year period. I hear you, and we are molding our platform towards your wishes when prudent. Let them see the orator of old, and not the mud-stuck leader you have been. then go from there.

REIGNING SUPREME

A recent Supreme Court decision overturned a 20 year precedent saying that corporations could not pay for campaign ads from their general treasuries and struck down a law saying corporations couldn't buy "issue ads," negative ads supporting candidates in all but their names, most commonly devoting scads of money in the very last days of closely held campaigns.

Due to this decision, corporations can unleash multi-million dollar assaults on targeted issues and candidates, especially those battling against special interest groups, or they can infuse campaigns with untold monetary resources to the candidate(s) of their choosing. With virtually no limits on their spending, groups such as Big Oil, health insurance companies and Wall Street banks (GOP's best friends) will try to drown out the voices of everyday Americans...much to the advantage of the Republican party.

GET IN ON THE GROUNDFLOOR OF THE LATEST FAD

First it was Governor Sarah Palin, who has since defiled herself and solidified her legacy as a mockery / mockingbird. Next Oprah, the big O, the Pied Piper of the midlife soccer mom crowd announced she would retire in 2011, then turned around and admitted she would start her own "O" television network. Shortly thereafter, Lance Armstrong announced his retirement in 2011, then Miley Cyrus walked out on the highly successful Hannah Montana franchise. Not to be out done, Tyra Banks announced she will quit her show, Simon Cowell will leave American Idol to concentrate on his very own (and highly lucrative) X Factor show coming across the pond very shortly, now Conan O'Brien tells NBC to take the Tonight Show and use it for an enema.

Let's all be cool, ride the latest wave

and quit our stinkin' jobs!!

NEEDLING (IN) THE BIG APPLE

How do you combat HIV and hepatitis in New York? Why by spending $32,000.00 on publishing an instruction pamphlet called "Take Charge, Take Care."

Then print out 70,000 copies and distribute them to drug addicts and "high risk" abusers. Basically, it is a 16page how-to of using...correction, injecting drugs into your body for maximum effectiveness. I would say the New York Health Department used their own advise before conceiving this little project.

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).