Got kids??

I have a child,, and this recent development concerns me. - The Selective Service has announced a test of their system.

If you have kids, AND you are prone to voting for republicans, PLEASE think about the type of GOPr you are voting for. At a national level, the GOP has been hijacked by the Neoconservatives who are nothing more than War Mongers and War Profiteers. This group of low-life elitists believe that mindlessly sacrificing our young men and women will help ensure our military dominion long past the time when we still are a country of great wealth, resource and enterprise. They believe that as China, Brazil and other very quickly developing countries grow and eventually surpass our capital output, the only way we can stay at the top of the global food chain is to have the largest, strongest and most leathal military in the world. They also believe that we must PROVE that our military is all that, which is exactly the experiment that we are currently living in Iraq. The main problem with the Neoconservatives plan is that our actions in Iraq have exposed a major problem and, they also did not prove our military to be unbeatable. For the record - NO military, no matter how efficient or powerful, can win an unjustified war. When war is fought for ideoligical purposes, and is fought without proper justification it is doomed to certain failure.

Bush/Cheney/Rumsfield/Wolfowitz (4 key members of the Neoconservative movement - aka "the project for a new american century") have proven by their massive failures in Iraq; that launching "wars of choice" are disasterous to our soldiers (almost 3000 dead and tens of thousands seriously wounded), to our entire foriegn policy (we have lost our good will after 9-11, and more countries hate us now than ever), to our national interests (Oil / gas prices at all time highs) and to the security of our great nation (we are NOT safer with the Iraq terrorst haven that we created). The problem is, that the Neoconservatives, in their infinite closed mindedness, will use their own failures as justification for even more military spending and build up. JUST THIS WEEK, Bush has ordered 3,500 more soldiers to be redepoyed to Kuwait to be "ready for changing conditions in the region" (?IRAN??). Bush is considering 20,000 to 30,000 more soldiers to "surge" into Baghdad and Bush has also asked the joint chiefs to increase the over all size of their troop numbers across all sectors of our military. THis last one will increase our ongoing military budget by at least $4 BILLION per year.

As for the draft, I believe that it never should have ended years ago. If you and I have no chance of our sons and daughters being sent to fight in unjustified wars, then there is a good chance a timely federal tax cut will keep our collective mouths shut (at least for a year or two) when ideologues decide to test their various "think tank" theories. But, if our kids are getting drafted, as in the 60's and 70's with Vietnam, then there is a good chance we will decide to get involved with the national debate and we will hold our leaders accountable for their foriegn fiasco's and little experiments in war gaming.

Here's and idea!! Bring back the draft and draft Bush's daughters first!!! Perhaps then we will see a REAL change of heart in the White House.... Ooops, Cheney could give a rip about the puppets' twins.. and DICK's daughter is too old, too gay AND too pregnant to serve.

Cest la vie!!!

EJ (and I) told you so,

Well, it official. The GOP stranglehold on our country has ended. I waited until now to post a new post for a number of reasons.

1. I wanted to leave the prior post up until election day as a way to show that I was serious about my point, believing in it so strongly that I wanted to keep my words out there, up front, right until the day that they were proved correct.

2. Because I am lazy.

3. Because I am busy... super busy.

Nancy Pelosi is third in line for the presidency,, Investigations and oversight can begin.. and Bush has many decision to make. Go down in history as the worst president of all time (all he has to do is "stay the course" on his behavior for that to occur) OR salvage his presidency by acting in a true bi-partisan manner. My guess is Bush stays stubbornly inept and unable to work with others, continues his divisive behavior and cements his legacy as the worst president we have ever seen. But trust me,, I dont want that as I dont want one more day of damage to America to occur.

E.J. ROCKS!!

This is likely the most well written op-ed piece that I have read this year.

(Please read the post below prior to this one for a better sense of reference and perspective).

E.J. Dionne Jr. is exactly on point. The conservative movement, which was excellerated in 1968 with (my father's hero) Barry Goldwater's rise in popularity, is now dead. The final nails in the coffin to be pounded in this November. The right are eating their own, just like the liberals did in the late 60's, and just like I predicted after Bush's re-election in 2004. I predicted that NOTHING he would spend his political capital on would get done, Congress would get nothing done, NO Social Security reform, NO boarder / immigration reform, NO tax reform, no positive legislation from this greedy, leaderless and incapable Republican congress

The end of the one party rule in American is near.

Here is the link to Mr. Dionne's article. Sums up my thoughts from yesterday quite nicely.

Rich plan, poor plan (do not pass go or collect $200)

...and lots of goodies (pork barrel giveaways to senators on the fence) for certain senators.

So, Republicans are now backing (for the first time ever?) a minimum wage hike. Why now? 2 reasons: 1. They dont want to face their constituents this fall and have to admit that they were part of the DO NOTHING congress that would not even pass a minimum wage hike (something that an overwhelming majority of Americans support), AND 2. The Republicans have cleverly TIED their favorite issue of GIVING MORE MONEY TO THE RICH (i.e. repealing the Estate Tax) to the wage hike.

My question is why are Republicans such Wusses?? If they really want this estate tax thing done, why cant they (who control everything) pass it on its own merits? Why do they have to hide it inside of another completely unrelated bill?

Because they are political hacks, and cowardly scum that have no back bone, no ethics and no compassion for anyone that does not have more than $7 million dollars.

YES, If you have an estate of less than $7 million dollars, this Estate Tax thing does not mean anything to you. This is STRICKLY for those in the $7 - $25 million dollar estate range.

This will COST U.S. tax payers up to $800 BILLION (teh lowest estimate is at least 263 billion) over 10 years. Guaranteeing more cuts in social programs (food stamps, medicare, etc.) that effect the poorest of us all.

So what is Dr./Leader/Senator/A$$hat/f&ck-stick Bill Frist saying ? THIS is basically what Bill is saying: "Here you go poor people (NOT including the poor that get tips), here is your $2 per hour (which you cant have for another 2 years) , thanks for helping us give billions more to those that don't even need it. This $2 per hour ought to cover for those benefit that we will be cutting soon (and have already cut).

Okay, so you say I am one sided on this issue,, okay, lets forget all the crap I said above and lable me a left wing whack job. But what about the basic point here.? Why can't the Senate debate each one of these unrealted issues on their own merits.? Why do the Republicans need to resort to old, tired political trickery??

Please, whatever you do, DO NOT VOTE GOP in November! Vote Green, Vote Libertarian, Vote Independent, write in someone (anyone, ME?), or (gasp) VOTE Democrat, but do not vote for the greediest of the greedy.

It is time for the one party insanity to end.

Zdrast-vuts-ya!

Greetings - from St. Petersburg Russia. If you get the chance, I recommend you go. It is a big city, the most populated northern city in the world. 5 million people. The sun does not set until 11:30 ish at this time of year. I say "ish because it goes down so slowly that you could say that the dusky time until about midnight is still prior to sundown. At 10pm, the sun is still high in the sky, just as it is at 6am.

It is amazing to me what people can get by with here. The average income is $330 a month. People here place a much higher value on family and relationships than they do on possessions, but that is changing slowly as capitalism takes a firmer hold. The yin and yang of commercialism and democracy are much easier to see when you are in the middle of the transistion to a democratic state. Putin gets high marks for restoring a much needed national pride and unity among Russians, however, his centralization of power (which has a very eerie resemblance to what the Bush adminstration is doing in in America) seems to go against the principles of todays modern democratic movements.

It seems that it is a difficult balance and one can only hope that Putin has the best intentions at heart. But by putting more and more of his (former) KGB pals in positions of power and shifting more and more of the organizational structure directly under his thumb, people here are rightfully torn.

One thing is for certain, this place, at times, is one of the most beautiful places and one of the most harsh places that I have ever been.

Sting is performing here in June, at the height of the white nights. I imagine that he has been here before and that he has already come to understand that not only do the Russians love their children too, but they may love them even more than we (Americans) do. I have come to believe this by seeing what little people are able to live on. Although they face many of the same problems that we do (social security for the elderly in trouble of shrinking funding, and an educational system that is in need increased improvement and resources, etc.,) they seem to have placed more political, ideological and social value on these and other basic neccessities of life. If they can get the corruption in check and if they don't let Putin and his cronies gain too much power, I think Russia will be one of the greatest countries in the world.

Dosvedanya!!

(still looking for my socialist party card and still working on my communist manifesto. One thing is for certain, The Republic of Ann Arbor will not be the same after my return!!!)

Blog

Blog, blog, blog, blog.

blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaog..

The accomplishments of our President

Collecting millions of American Citizens phone records, with out cause or a warrant. Making Tourture and Rendition routine American practices. Breaking treaties (like the Geneva conventions). Spreading distortions about Iraq WMD. Ignoring evidence that does not suit the Neoconservative Agenda of endless war. Outing a CIA operative that is working on WMD. VP Chief of staff lying to prosecutors. VP-Cheney and the energy task force meeting in secret = $3 a gallon gas = record profits for oil companies = Federal govt. subsidies (our tax dollars) to Oil companies. Haliburton = Billions in NO BID Contracts = $billions missing in Iraq = OVER CHARGING our own Government = Cheney still getting compensation from Haliburton. Ignoring the facts on the ground in Iraq and ignoring our own Generals but believing an Iraqi named "Curveball". Not enough troops to secure the peace in Iraq. Re-starting the cold war with Russia. Stripping US environmental protection acts, making our air less clean, giving away our forests to corporations. Drilling for more oil rather than investing in alternative / Green technologies. Katrina disaster = Fema = Cronyism = Incompetence = Over 1,000 poor Americans DEAD in New Orleans. Homeland Security = no security increases since 9/11. Thinking that is is A-OKAY to allow the United Arab Emirates to run our shipping ports. Letting Osama go. Letting foreign fighters INTO Iraq. Wasting millions trying to execute Zacarias Mousaoui. Arresting and detaining Americans ON American soil and holding them without charges for YEARS. Making Gay Mariage more important than Congressional or Executive office ethics, making it more important than American children without Healthcare. No Child Left Behind = unfunded mandate = robbing PUBLIC schools of funding. Spying on americans, listening to Americans on the phone without a warrant. Re-interpreting the 4th ammendment to the constitution (then calling judges activitst?). Dividing America and Americans along ideological lines. Making it feel like a treasonous act to question our president on ANY issue during wartime. Spending all of America's good will, causing most of the world to hate us. Continuing to spend more on the military than EVERY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD COMBINED!

Oh yeah,, lets not forget MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

and

2443 American Soldiers DEAD in Iraq

and

17,689 American Soldiers wounded in Iraq.

and

9,900+ Iraqi Security Forces dead - and - 100,000+ Iraqi Civilians dead.

Yer doin' a heck of a job Georgie!! (a message to you Georgie!!)

My People!?!?

Why did I post that last post, and then leave it there for over a week,, Because I am busy! (read lazy).. But why would I leave that last picture up there for so long? I could barely stand to post it much less see it two or three more times. Well, I am here (today at least) to make sure that this web site keeps moving along.. ...

I guess, this is simply my way of saying, THANK YOU, for stopping by again!! I know that the drivel that I write here gets read by only a small group of passer-by-ers.. ....But you are my PEOPLE....,

and I must be loyal to my PEOPLE!

For I have nothing else but my PEOPLE!!!

Hairstyle changes. (Who are you fighting for again?)

Not that this needs anymore attention, but.... just WHO are you fighting for Ms. McKinney?

This Cynthia McKinney thing seems more important than Tom Delay's un-ethical actions. Rush Limpbaugh actually had Delay on his show yesterday and Delay stated that he was considering filing ETHICS charges against her in the house,, OH the Hypocrisy!! And the Media continues to follow the stupidity. The Media is making this sound more important than Immigration, more important than the NSA Wiretapping, more important than the blond girl that is missing from Aruba!!!

Discussing this today, I have found out that Ms. McKinney has recently changed her hairstyle, one of the reasons given for the Capitol Hill Policeman's inability to recognizing her and then acting to stop her from entering the Capitol Building. If you dont know, she "punched" a Capitol Hill Police officer after he attempted to get her attention as she bypassed the metal detector at Capitol Sercurity. The asked her to stop and when she did not, the officer reached his arm around her to stop her from proceeding. She was NOT wearing her Congressional Pin ID which is the only ID that is required for a Congressperson to enter that Capitol.

This whole hairstyle thing got me thinking about the bigger picture.. I then started to think about how artists very often reflect the nature of the times and current events. And sometimes, things artists say decades or even centuries ago are very relevent to the here and the now.

"I changed my hairstyle, so many times now, I don't know what I look like!"

One of the best lines from "Life during wartime" an interestingly titled Talking Heads song from 1979. Although the verse seems to ramble a bit, it does add to what the title may be trying to say. War is chaotic, war is serious and war may exist all around you, in inner-city America. What has changed since 1979? Why do our politicians continue to ignore real AMERICAN problems right here IN America?

One thing is certain. Cynthia McKinney should know that, regardless of her hairstyle, she has been elected as a representative of a fairly large number of the American people, and as such, she has a duty to act in a manner which respects that poisition of representation. I certainly would not accept my United States Represtative to the US House of Congress acting in this manner.

Should ANY of us accept this??

What are you selling again?? (part 2)

(Or, Why should I buy an American car?? )

Michigan,, the worst economy in the US. Corporate greed and incompetence combined with a labor movement that pushed too hard and got too much is largely responsible. There is plenty of blame to throw around but one thing I am sick of hearing is this "you must buy American" attitude that is seems to be coming around again (remember the 70's?). What is a foreign car anyway, given that we now are living in the new world of a Global Economy??

Large corporations (that just keep getting larger by mergers and aquisitions) and our own government are supporting this transistion (it seems more like a drag race) to the new Global Economy.. Yet our governmental leaders and their CEO Cronies all fail to realize that one of the largest new opportunies in this new economy is the entire "Green" industry. Grean houses, Green buildings, green cars, schools, buses, you name it. The technology, the conversion to get to these new sources of energy and the consulting services alone will one day be large enough to rival the automotive industry for world dominance. Yet American policy makers want to ignore this entire opportunity so as to allow their corporate re-election funders continue to cash in on their traditional lines of energy business - ENERGY/OIL and CRAPPY GAS GUZZLING CARS -

SIDE TRACK/TANGENT ALERT!! - Back to the point...

If corporations are gaining due to this globalization shift, shouldn't we American consumers be able to also benefit from it? The largest corporations in the US and the world are playing (and profiting) on the global playing field, so why can't we consumers play as well?? (People call me a traitor for owning a japanese vehicle just so you understand the basis for my rant here). Shouldn't we be able to buy affordable, high quality cars that get 30+ miles to the gallon, last for 150,000 + with no major repairs and are extremely safe?? The only cars I know that meet these criteria are foreign.. But I ask the question again, what is a foreign car? My Subaru is made in Lafayette Indiana, and my neighbors' Ford pick up is made in Canada.

Why should I be loyal to any American company any more? I had a Jeep once, but they are now owned by Diamler Chrysler, a HUGE German conglomerate. Should I never buy a Jeep again now, even though they are still made in Toledo, by UAW workers?? If it is okay to still buy the Jeep, then is it still okay to buy the Chrysler M300 that is made in Canada? If you dont know already, you should know that MANY other Ford and GM vehicles are made outside the US. So I say SCREW GM and Ford, as they already decided to screw us decades ago.

I don't buy any of this "guilting of the American consumer". The corporate greed that views the global economy as the next way to increase their profit margin has gotten us where we are now.. Consumers should look out for themselves and their families, and make the best decision for their lives... ,, every man for himself!!... and then, there will finally be ARNARCHY!! and then the REVOLUTION!!!

VIVA LA REVOLUTION~!~!~!

Kiss me!! I'm Irish!!!

St. Patty's day is an AMERICAN tradition. Not that there is anything wrong with that! But lets not fool ourselves. The Irish get up on March 17th, go to church, MAYBE have a beer at the pub and then go home. Americans, however, love a reason to party and ole St. Patrick's feat of running the snakes out of town is one hell of a reason to drink soooo much green beer that you eventually find yourself pissing an algea colored stream off the side of the urinal and directly onto the Bruno Mali's of the guy at the next stall.

But GUESS WHAT! The snake story is bull shit! What Mr. St. Patrick REALLY did was save Ireland (and perhaps the world) from those hedonistic and evil Pagens. I often wonder what the world would be like if Christianity had been almost eradicated from the face of the earth like Paganism was a few centuries back. Seems to me that worshiping the ground we walk on is a better bet than following the self proclaimed prophets and messiahs of religions like Catholicism and Islam.

But, leave it to Americans to fuck all the back story bullshit and get right down to some serious drinkin'.

Well, I hope your St. Pat's was a good as mine,.. if not, I am sure there is another excuse for a party right around the corner..

Whatcha doin on April first???

C-ya,,

Cowabunga!!!

Sorry it has been so long since the last update... I hope I have not lost any of my multitude of readers due to my absence. But I was busy!.

Yes, that IS me (a very rare personal appearance on this blog) at the top of the cliff, just about to jump 45 feet into the warm Jamaican blue waters below. Dont get any ideas that I am brave or something. The main reasons I jumped were because I was too tired to take the ladder back down, I was a little drunk and I knew that the quicker I got back to the boat, the quicker I could get back to the Jerk Chicken shack back on the beach.

Yes, men are lead most by two senses. Their eyes and their noses (tastebuds).

Jamaica is a wonderful place. I HIGHLY recommend visiting the island if you get the chance.

Irie Mon!

Veto, Shmeeto!!

Bring it on Mr. Bush! You little bitch!

(Dont you hate that playground bully that is really just a little shit but has a few big brothers that jump in right when you least expect it? That is exactly how Bush acts. With out all is money and protections that he has had all his life, he would have (and he should have) had just enough ass whoopin's to tame his egomaniacal tendancies. Perhaps if someone had kicked his whimpy little ass back in High School or at Yale, we would not be in these messes that he has created for us (i.e. Iraq, Iran getting the bomb, Latin America turning against us, US Wages lowering, Health Care and Education costs increasing, good jobs leaving our country, crappy wal-mart jobs taking their place, reduced funding and support for social issues like urban housing, education, environmental safety, VETERANS services, etc. alas, I have digressed yet again!.)

You wont veto jack shit, Mr Bush! You have yet to veto ONE DAMN THING! You know why? Be cause you are a shit-talking political wimp, that is why.

Face it Mr. Bush, you are coward, you are all talk, and you are all about giving away America to the highest bidder and major backdoor deals for all your crony friends. You could give a rats ass about the average American. I bet you have not even talked to an average American since you left High School.

" Trust us! " That is all we hear from the Bush administration. Guess what! More than HALF of the people in the US no longer trust your administration, Mr. W. It is time for you to get a clue.

The cronyism must stop. This administration may have just pushed all of their chips on the table on this port deal. The cronysim is BLATENT on this one. Only a blind GOP loyalist who cares more about their party than their country would not be able to see and understand what is happening here (assuming that they had the basic facts.)

This is NOT about security, this is about money.. THAT is the root of every issue that Bush has gotten us involved in.

Here is a very interesting fact for you -

George W. Bush has nominated Mr. Dave Sanborn to serve as U.S. Maritime Administrator, a key transportation appointment reporting directly to Norman Mineta the Secretary of Transportation and Cabinet Member. Dave Sanborn's last job was a senior executive position with the global ports operator Dubai Ports World (the same company that Bush was secretly trying to give our American ports to.)

Just another coincidence?? BULL SHIT!! I call it yet another obvious indication of the blatent cronyism that has run rampant over our Federal Government, cronyism that has increased incrementally under the Bush administration.

PEOPLE! Please wake up!! It is time to say NO to getting ripped off!!!

Here is a short list of the people that have made billions thanks to Georgie boy being selected into the oval office.

- Haliburton - War mongers making money off of our soldiers (direct ties to DICK Cheney)
- Exxon/Mobile/Shell/ Big Oil and Co. - BILLIONS in subsidies, regardless of the BILLIONS in profits.
- CAFO's (Tyson Foods, Kraft, US Dairy, etc., with special access to the White house) getting major legislative changes in the EPA resulting in billions in savings.

And this list does not even get into the ineptitude issues that have resulted from the cronyism which has ended up causing people to lose thier lives (i.e. Katrina, Mine Safety, etc.)

...and the beat goes on...

So, BRING IT ON Mr. Bush! Please VETO the congress on their efforts to examine this Dubai deal! WE DARE YOU! So what is it going to be Georgie?? You gonna stay the course on this one, or are you going to "cut and run"?

So, what are you selling again??

First, it was Paris Hilton selling Carl's Jr. burgers,. Now, Burger King has invented the "Whopperettes".

It is surprising that it has taken this long for the others to catch on. It seems that Sex sells anything and everything including MADE IN AMERICA T-SHIRTS.

Interesting side story,, I had a burger at Sidetrack in Ypsilanti (consistantly voted in the top 20 burgers in the entire Metro Detroit area) this past Sunday in the middle of my Sunday afternoon errand run. Later on, I had to find a convenient place to relieve my bladder (poor planning on my part) and I had a choice between flushing on the Wal-Mart dime or Burger King's. I went with the King as I figured it would be easier to find may way through a smaller store (although I wanted so badly to piss all over Wal-mart.) And I was upset that there was no Kroger for me to piss on (#1 evil corporation of all time, in my book anyway).

I went in to BK and immediately was bombarded with the ongoing ranting of an in-line customer. "I can not believe that you only have ONE cashier! What kind of customer service is this!!". On my way out, I could not help but think that this was exactly the kind of service you get when you chose to buy a $.69 hamburger.

My $4.00 hamburger at Sidetrack earlier that day never tasted sooo good.!

Now, on with the SHOW!!!

(FYI - Cross promotion hits a new all time LOW! )

(BTW - I'll take whats on TOP!!!)

(BTW #2 - the pic at the top of this post is an ad for Puma. I can not verify if it has ever been used however.)

MONKEYS!!!

I love monkeys!

Who doesn't love monkeys?

C'mon, you gotta love monkeys~!!

(warning, the link above contains "hot monkey love" pictures and may not be appropriate for younger audiences. Browser discretion is advised)

My favorites are Zen Monkey and Party Monkey.

HOO, HOO, HOO!!!!

The GOP Mantra for 2006

It boggles my mind what the GOP'rs and bush backers will say when you debate them on the Iraq issue.

Afghanistan - we have drawn down troops and continue to do so. We also have reduced funding tremendously. But this is not a "Cut and Run" according to almost every right wing Bush backer.


Iraq - Dems call for troop draw down over a 6 month period - GOPrs call the Democrats' plan a "Cut and Run".

You can not have it both ways! It is either a draw down, like U.S. Rep. John Murtha suggested in Iraq, or it is a "Cut and Run" which is what appears to be happening in Afghanistan..

I dont think either is a cut and run, But I DO think that we have short changed Afghanistan. There are still many, many problems there, the taliban is still there and growing, suicide bombers are becoming more frequent, opium poppy crops are at an all time high and things are getting worse there, not better. We are pulling out troops and pulling funding (40% reduction this year) even though they have a much worse off country that Iraq, little infrastructure, little national resource, etc.

I think we should have stayed the course in Afghanistan, and did what we said we were going to do there before we went on to some other fight. Saddam was contained with the UN Inspectors and sanctions. We could have waited 12 months, built a real coalition and then invaded, if needed, with better intelligence, resources and preparedness. Did we learn nothing from our actions in Afghanistan in the 80's? When we propped up Usama bin Laden against the Soviets and then abandoned the country the day after the Soviets left, causing wide-scale breakdowns in law across the country and tremendous animosity toward the United States.

What gets me is that the righties can't even admit that there is hyprocrisy in this situation, they just stick by their party no matter what, refusing to consider that there may have been lies, that there may have been an unneccessary rush to war in Iraq, there may have been poor war planning and there may have been too much reluctance and political pride to even consider shifting our plans on the ground Iraq.

So, here is the new Republican Party Slogan for 2006!!!

"We are Pathetically partisan, consistantly putting party before country... and proud of it!!"

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Its cold in Russia.. In more ways than just Celsius. Its also cold in the former soviet states of Georgia and Armenia. and what is colder is the gamesmenship that is being played between mother Russia and the soviet step children (See recent events with the Ukraine) that have begun to grow their own relations with the West.

If you have not been watching, you may want to pay attention to the current energy crisis that is brewing in eastern Europe. Record cold has pushed southward past Moscow and into areas that normally see much more moderate winter temperatures. Highs in the negative teens to low -20's have caused significant termoil (including death) in the area. To make matters MUCH worse, it seems that there have been a few questionable "terrorist" acts that have "blown up" a few of the main oil and gas lines leading from Russia to newly independent states, Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine. It is quite obvious that Russia is not pleased with these former soviets states decisions to cozy up to the West, and one has to wonder if Russia has started to use their rather wide abundance of national resources as a political weapon. Russia, being the major supplier of gas, oil and energy to the entire region, has the ability to kill more people with the twist of a valve, than any dirty bomber or suicide terrorist could even dream of killing. Could this be a preview of things (wars) to come?

I have direct reports from St. Petersburg (considered to be Russia's artistic Gem and cultural capital) that many parts of the city have been without electricity for 3 days. They do have heat but for some unexplained reason, electricity has been a bit scarce. I am not really sure how this all adds up but it does start to be come unsettling when you think about the brown outs and black outs that we have seen here in the US in the last three years or so (California black outs and the east coast to mid west black out in 2004). While in St. Petersburg, black outs are much more of a common occurance, here in the US, we are just learning what wide scale power outages can mean to our economy, our sense of security and our way of life.

I certainly hope that these are not previews of our collective futures. The thought that the cold war could go from the threat of nuclear anihilation to energy hoarding that has the potential to literally freeze thousands and push fragile economies into chaos, is truley and frightening apocalyptic vision.

I have been puzzled as to the "friendship" that has sprung up between President Bush and Vladimir Putin. At first glance, it makes no sense that America should tolerate Putin's power grabing, totalitarian tactics and the traditional Soviet geopolitical manuvering. But, at these times of war, allies can make for strange bedfellows. In thinking about this subject, I would like to ask Mr. Bush if he could please take another look into Mr. Putin's eyes and to check to see if it is Putin's soul, or perhaps is it a mirror like image that he has seen? This is not to throw disrespect on Mr. Bush but is a reminder that there are two ways of looking at almost every issue. The two men seem to have drawn up an unlikely relationship that makes one wonder if it is a relationship of like minds or rather a relationship of current convenience.

Homeless... in America. Are you okay with that?

Is it just me or do most people agree that it is more than a touch shameful that we have a very significant homeless problem in America? With the highest GDP in the world, one would think that America could do better in this area. Don't get me wrong, there have been people and efforts that have done good work in this area, but overall, I think we are losing this fight.

Why? Well, I would point to two main reasons -

First, the over-simplifcation of our mental health programs and policies. It seems to me that for decades we took a much too guarded and strict approach to this issue, institutionalizing far too many people and treating these people as complete outcasts from society. In an effort to cut costs, many states, like here in Michgan, closed almost all of the state mental health hospitals and put many people in precarious positions. The liberals may have looked at this as redemption for all of the seemingly bad deeds of the past (lobotomies, electric shock treatments, outcasting of the mentally ill, etc.) and thus may have allowed these type of cost cutting efforts to be taken too far. For now we can see that many of these people that were in these state facilities that needed continuing assistance with their mental issues have become approximately 50% of the homeless problem in America.

Second, the cuts in funding that deal directly with the problem at hand - HOME-LESSNESS! Yes, NOT having a home is the problem. THIS is the problem for the other 50% or so that are homeless. So one solution is to build more affordable housing. So, how should we do that?? Hmmmm,, well we have this federal group called the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Perhaps they could provide affordable housing and thus provide some serious relief to the issue of homelessness. Perhaps if we had leaders that had any faith in OUR Governments abilities to be effective, then this would be a viable answer. Our current version of Compasionate Conservatives believe that smaller government is the answer to all our prayers and in general, want to de-regulate and un-fund everything shy of the military. Since 2001, our federal government has shifted funding and outright cut funding to HUD. They have countered their critics by stating that they (HUD, fronted by Bush Crony Mel Martinez, who will do whatever Bush and his admin wants him to do) have provided additional funding to Homeless assistance. But this funding is targeted to homeless shelters and NOT to building affordable housing (which is what HUD is suppose to be doing). So, ask yourself this, would you prefer a new or a second homeless shelter in your city, or would you prefer two or three mixed income (including low and mid income, i.e. not poor only/"projects") family developments in your city?

To put this all into a different perpective , did you know the following??

- The Iraq war is costing the American taxpayer 1.6 billion dollars a week or 83.2 billion per year, however in contrast, the proposed HUD budget is 28.5 billion dollars.
- Despite America's superpower status economically and militarily, this country has the highest poverty rate and the lowest success rate in reducing poverty out of all industrialized nations.

Are you proud of these two facts above?? Should we go on and on, cutting taxes, cutting social services and reducing the size of government down to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub (as some conservatives would like to do). Should we just let people suffer until the religious and charitable organizations come forth and "do what they are supposed to do" and help these people? Are we to forget these Americans and write them off as simply lazy, unproductive and useless?

Today is MLK day,, and in his spirit, I have a dream. A dream where all of america realizes and believes that many people in america need and deserve our help. And that we can ill afford NOT to provide that assistance to those that, for whatever reasons, have found themselves in lesser positions than the rest of us. That every american who wants a home can find a decent home and that America never again holds the top spot in the list of industrialized nations that have not, can not and will not provide enough to help its own citizenry.

Hero's

A short list of people that I dont know (or never knew) but still hold in high regard:

Lao Tzu
Benjamin Franklin
Paul Wellstone
Muhammad Ali
Ivan Lendl
Mahatma Ghandi
Teddy Roosevelt
Rosa Parks
Bono
Joe Henry
John Lennon
Bob Marley
Jesus Christ


Although I do not personally know these people, they have had some positive effect on my life and on the way that I look at the world.

2006 has begun...

and oh, what an interesting year it will be. It has started out fast and furious and I see no let up in the pace any time soon. Personally, I am looking forward to a fantastic 2006 with lots of new, fun and exciting opportunites. But then again, I am not a Republican...

Speaking of Republicans, I wonder how many of the "60 politicians" that Jack Abramoff says he can implicate, will indeed be Republicans. I find it interesting that the right wing pudits are coming out of the wood work to "alert" all of us about the many (a few) Democrats that have (may have) recieved money from Abramoff. I guess this WOULD be news seeing that Abramoff is considered to be a Republican Lobbyist.. But, to me, it looks more like another GOP deflection tactic.

Here is my stance on this whole thing. If ANY politician had dealings with Abramoff, or any other proven to be corrupt lobbyist AND we can prove that there was wrong doing, then lets indict that politician, try them in a court of law and convict them. And the sooner the better. Anything short of that and I really don't want to hear about it. And this is not partisan, as I really dont want to hear about Bill Frist's issues with the stock proceeds. If he is guilty, then lets let the courts decide. If Harry Reid DID do something illegal, then I am sure someone, somewhere can put together a case against him. Right now, it is all nothing but talk, which is what politicians do best.

My hope is that WE THE PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA will make a bold decision to, once and for all, clean up our Federal Government and rid our Congress and our Executive branch of the filth that we have allowed to breed there over the last few decades. You would have thought that the Nixon Era, the Democratic Era of corruption in congress (1982-1994), and the claims of the current GOP that they will hold the ethic standards high, would have been enough fuel for us to have actually made progress in cleaning house and ridding our Federal governement of con men, white collar criminals and compassionless fuckwads. Alas, it seems that we have made little to no progress in this area, at least not yet.

Even having said all of the above, I still remain positive for 2006 and beyond. Per the article referenced on Jack Abramoff, I have a new found respect for (make sure you are sitting down before you read on) Newt Gingrich. I respect the fact that Newt was the one that pushed for Republicans to take back congress on the ethics wave (back in the mid 90's), and that he is following through with his calls for Delay NOT to regain his seat as Speaker of the House. (But it IS hard not to continue to see Newt as a major hypocrite for his own unethical actions). For all that Mr. Gingrich has said and done in the past (the good, the bad AND the ugly) at least he is remaining consistant, and showing that he is not always partisan (at least not now) and showing that he MAY believe in the age old adage that "whats right is right". PLEASE don't get me wrong here. Newt is definitely a case of "the lesser of two evil's" (I hope that all of THIS about the Newtster is not true, but I am afraid that most of it IS roughly right). But we must crawl before we can walk and walk before we can run so if Newt can get us started, then we can shit-can his ass after the revolution has begun!!

I sense that this year will not be "A year of change" but "THE year of change". 2006 will be a year that will position us for radical change for the future (i.e. 2008 and beyond), a renewed focus on the domestic issues that have been long over looked and an increased understanding of how to get what we want to and need to accomplish internationally, WITHOUT pissing off every other country in the world.

"some people say that I am a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. Some day I hope you will join us, and the world will live as one." John Lennon.