May the Best Candidate Win

I applaud Sarah Palin for her decision to resign as governor for the greater good of her nation. By participating in the debate which will one day give birth to the new incarnation of the Republican party, she is an invaluable asset to all Americans. I do, however, see it as a sign of weakness that she would quit her job, an easy job, at that. It only can speak to her loyalty to the Republican party, or any party, or no party at all! Party on Garth and Sarah!

This has become the defining match of our time. I, for one am thrilled. I could not think of a better person to go up against Obama.

Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Blogging

This MLK Jr./Obama weekend was so good. People everywhere just feeling the beauty and freedom of the ideas that Martin espoused. Reading Martin Luther King, Jr., A Profile, edited by C. Eric Lincoln. Reading from the text of MLK's own speeches and writings from A Testament of Hope. Hearing San Diego's own Martin Luther King Choir. The assurance and grace that Obama is showing as our new president. Surely this has been a great coming-together of hope, peace and love for like-minded individuals across this fair land and indeed the world. We would not have another Republican president to follow the sadistic presidency of George W. Bush. But far greater than just that is the faith that we can place in Obama to turn to the monumental task of rebuilding our world and restoring the prestige and admiration of the peoples of the world to the United States of America. There is no better man qualified for the job. The democratic party has a new leader. God has indeed blessed the U.S.A.

The damage done by the Bush presidency has exceeded in reality the most dire predictions held deeply inside the minds of Bush's most ardent critics. Most of us predicted instability, insurrection and violence in Iraq, but few could have predicted the unprecedented level and persistence of violence. Most of us predicted an interruption in infrastructure and services, but no one could have predicted the dismal performances of U.S. military and contractors in providing these services. I guess the contractors were mostly concerned with covering their own asses. We all knew that American service personnel in Iraq would die, but we didn't guess the number would exceed 4,321. We could never have seen that the U.S. military would send so many innocent Iraqis to their death, or imprison and torture their finest young men. These are nightmare scenarios that can only come from the reality of the undiluted evil that was the flagship of the Bush presidency. And who among us can judge the number of dead, wounded and displaced that is acceptable as a trade-off for the gains that we have seen in Iraq. Personally, I don't see them. But we never had the right to tell the Iraqi people that this was the price which they must pay for freedom.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s thoughts on the Viet Nam war are as relevant today as they were 42 years ago. I highly recommend watching the video "Martin Luther King Jr., a Man of Peace in a Time of War." When others wrestled with their consciences about their support for the Viet Nam war, his voice came as loud and clear as thunder.

In our collective lives, our sin rises to even greater heights. See how we treat each other. Races trample over races; nations trample over nations. We go to war and destroy the values and the lives that God has given us. We leave the battlefields of the world painted with blood, and we end up with wars that burden us with national debts higher than mountains of gold, filling our nations with orphans and widows, sending thousands of men home psychologically deranged and physically handicapped... This is the tragic plight of man... So long as he lives on the lower level he will be frustrated, disillusioned and bewildered... Western civilization, like the prodigal son, has strayed away to the far country of segregation and discrimination. You have trampled over sixteen million of your brothers... In the midst of all your material wealth, you are spiritually and morally poverty-stricken, unable to speak to the conscience of this world.

So let us all give a hearty thanks to not only MLK, but to all those who came before him, all those who worked tirelessly with him, all those who put their own lives, safety and security on the line in Montgomery, Birmingham, Selma and Memphis and across this world from Ghana and South Africa to Poland and Germany. We do not live in a perfect world. But I live in a country where citizens of all colors, religions and persuasions have equal access to education, employment, housing and civil liberties. I live in a state peopled by all races of the world, which will one day soon no longer have a majority of European whites. It will still be the great state of California. Nothing can diminish that. And when one of our brothers or sisters gives in to the temptation to embrace racism, prejudice or hatred, it is that citizen who is to be pitied.

With Apologies to Willie Nelson

I heard that Joe the Plumber might need some good lyrics and material sometime soon, so I came up with this little ditty by the great one. If Joe can get permission to perform this one, it could be a country music chart-topper.

Mama don't let your babies grow up to be lib’ruls
Don't let 'em vote commie and drive ‘lectric cars
Make 'em cut taxes for plumbers and such;
Mama don't let your babies grow up to be lib’ruls
They'll never cut taxes, no matter the facts is
Even when times are tough.

Lib’ruls ain't easy to love and they're hard to understand
And they're always talkin’ ‘bout givin’ poor folks a hand;
Greenpeace bumper stickers and “Save the Whales” T-shirts
Each day they fight for the cause;
And if you can’t rig the Diebolds and close the polls early
They’ll probably let black people vote.

Mama don't let your babies grow up to be lib’ruls
Don't let 'em tax windfall profits for oil
Alternative energy totally sucks;
Mama don't let your babies grow up to be lib’ruls
They'll never drill offshore and dig up the ANWR
Even for the oil we love.

Lib’ruls like socialized medicine and clean air and water
Health care for seniors and children and illegal aliens;
And we that know better fight funding for college
The free market always works best!
They ain't just wrong, they's different from decent Murkins like us.

Deregulation: A Primer

This thesis was originally intended to instruct a child when the honorable senator, John McCain decided to suspend his presidential campaign to save the economy. It is here presented in its original outline.

Let us examine together the great financial crisis which so suddenly thrust itself upon an unwitting public last week.

1. I guess it's not a crisis until the banks themselves are forced to show their books. Never mind the American people facing foreclosure, these loans aren't worth what they should be to trade on the open market. The truth is that nobody who was holding a traditional mortgage would really be out very much money on a defaulted property, even if it had lost 20% of its value. On a typically amortized loan, the lion's share of the interest is paid upfront. Even if a loan goes into default, after two to five years of payments, no lender is going to come out upside-down. That's just what they want you to think. The loan is sold as an investment. The interest that has already been paid has already been pocketed.

2. The only historical precedent we have to this scandal unless somebody in the Hoover administration is willing to come forward is the savings and loan scandal of the late 1980's. See the "Keating Five" via Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_Five Deregulation allowed fund managers for savings and loans companies to invest in extremely risky junk bonds. When the losses came flooding, the government made savings accounts whole through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. At least that was a fairly straightforward scam, using existing laws in conjunction with deregulation.

3. As you can imagine, much like pool safety rules and regulations, regulation of industry is supposed to guard and protect the consumer against fraud, abuse and certain eventualities or outcomes that can prove very negative to the consumer. They are usually written by the good guys. They are not needless Lilliputian constraints place upon business as conservatives would have you believe. These are the laws that protect you and me from harm.

4. Deregulation is popular with conservatives, because it usually means businesses can get away with murder. Witness the deregulation of electricity in California. Good regulation could have easily prevented this crisis.

5. All of a sudden Dick and George thought up this bailout plan as the magic bullet as soon as they got the news? I don't think so. It's all part of a plan. They thought it up a long time ago. There's a reason it doesn't include helping out American families with ARM's. They want to give the money to their buddies on Wall Street. Bush resisted calls to limit the salaries, bonuses and golden parachutes of executives of these very companies that are supposed to be bailed out. That's just the way they do business.

6. I know, you're thinking. Money doesn't just disappear. What happened to all the money that was lost in this debacle? Who got to strain it through their baileen before it disappeared? Near as I can tell, they really don't know who exactly will benefit when these scams go down. I guess as long as it's a businessman and the consumer takes the fall, then it's allright. It must have been pretty chaotic this time around, but they know who will make up the difference. That's right. You and me, the American taxpayer.

7. McCain doesn't know what, if anything, that can be done. And indeed, has a track record of going along with this kind of stuff.

Why I am not on board with Obama and the greatest thing to happen in politics today

I am like many people, one who very quickly fell in love with Obama. I saw him give the keynote address at the 2004 convention. By the time I saw Obama girl, it should have been all over. Obama is an exciting, principled and powerful force. His ideas about restoring foreign policy and alliances soothed my ailing soul. But it didn't take me long to fall for Hillary in much the same way. The more that I actually heard her speak and debate, the more I liked her. Of course, we must put aside the differences of this campaign and unite as democrats behind Barack. Unfortunately, that may not be so easy. There is blatant hostility from both the HRC and BHO camps which is unprecedented in the history of our party. I have had to stand idly by while my party was criticized ruthlessly. I could say nothing because every accusation was true. The past several years, seen by most intelligent Americans as a damning record of the many sins of George W. Bush, are really a greater indictment of the collapse of the party that has consistently held dear the dreams of the rank and file American. In my opinion, Obama rises above this system-wide failure. But how do I know? It seems that the donkey has learned from the pig to trust in the joys of the feeding trough above all else. The failure of the 2002 congress to stand up to Bush' threat of war. The no less heinous failure of the democratically controlled congress to oppose any and all subsequent war funding measures. The insider control exhibited by the party elite which stood idly by or else pushed an Obama victory. These are not the earmarks of the party I understood to represent my best hopes. I have many times defended Obama against charges of under-handed attacks levelled at Hillary throughout this campaign. I didn't believe that he condoned or controlled the behavior of those campaigning on his behalf. But once that behavior has been examined publicly many times and yet continues, Obama does not get a pass. I can't ignore the outcry that he has caused in the feminist community. If he can't manage his own campaign, he will have difficulty with a conservative pentagon and CIA. I think he is naive and will get trounced if and when he gets to the White House, just like Jimmy Carter did. Little things count too. His cordiality seems to have a cynical air that he can't turn off. His apologies sound like he is apologizing for anyone simple enough to not understand that his statements were justified. I just don't like him that much anymore. Still I'm hoping against hope that he truly can unite our party and lead us to victory. What choice do I have? I haven't lost sight of what truly is at stake as have many of my friends. But he has wittingly or unwittingly alienated many in his own party.

When Government Interference Includes Surgery

Call me selfish, irresponsible or just plain crazy, I don't get my male dogs neutered. First and foremost, I wouldn't want it to happen to me, so I just don't have the heart. Secondly, it destroys their gender. How can anyone really be a man after that has been taken away. Thirdly, I don't believe it is healthy to upset the natural balance of hormones. I've seen a lot of lean, powerful, intact males, as well as several overweight and puny neutered males. Since most female dogs in my community are generally spayed, the only time problems come up is when someone is trying to breed a female. What a great way to meet your neighbors! We don't need the sweeping manadatory spaying and neutering described in the California Assembly bill passed just last week. We have no right to own horses, sheep, goats, llamas or even chickens within the city. Now they want to attack our dogs and cats. The alarming statistics are not a clarion call to legislate away our most cherished freedoms. It is a matter of personal responsibility. It will also make it a lot harder to find the dog of your dreams. If this gets through the Senate at all, never my how it is amended, I hope that Arnold steps up to the plate with a nice double to prove that he really is the governor of California.

Here's what I think of NBC Today Show

Dear Matt and Meredith, I just want to go on record as thoroughly disgusted, appalled and horrified at your choice to air portions of the video of the Virginia Tech shooter. Your apologetic qualification about your agonizing decision was phony and patronizing. You saw for yourselves how he glorified the Columbine shootings. There was no peaceful purpose in you taking advantage of your exclusive. This can only serve to further the violence. To say nothing of the feelings of the family members, students, staff and faculty. This is much greater than a shame on you. You have committed a journalistic crime akin to airing video of Osama Bin Laden. I am calling for a very public and widely disseminated apology. The harm you have done will not be undone, but you can confess your sin and perhaps show remorse. You have sunk to a new low. You have prostituted yourselves to the almighty dollar at the expense of loving and caring Americans. You have also placed many people in imminent danger. This is a guilty stain on NBC for the foreseeable future. I will never watch your show again. These videos should have been turned over to law enforcement and never again seen the light of day. Ugly, ugly, ugly. You are truly an example of the worst America has to offer. I hope you all lose your jobs and never work in news again.