Mitt Romney, the next Bush

Will stupidity never end? So now Mitt Romney, governor of MA, has joined the brain dead to gain political power via the ‘brain dead' of the religious right wing. I'm surprised that he is even aware of Orwell! Of course the prediction of 1985 never took place simply because most of the unwashed masses may be poor but aren't that stupid!

Fortunately in this case, the rest of the people of Massachusetts have overridden his wishes and stem cell research continues unabated in that state. It remains for them to fund the research as has been done in California - the most advanced state in this union!

Joe Lieberman - again

I've never seen such blatant hypocrisy by the Republicans to provide political support for Joe Lieberman who is ideologically different than they - except for his Jewish bias for the war against the Arabs!

Poor Joe, who is a nice guy but is divided between his being a Jew and America's current problems in the Middle East and thus impacting America's international relations. I think he should recuse himself from politics because he is very divided between allegiance with Israel and his own country! I'm sure that there are many American Muslims who are also so divided. And they too, are nice people but should not be in a position to make political decisions for all Americans.

Yet, the Republicans have actually dumped their Republican candidate in favor of Joe and enlisted the Republican propaganda machine including Jack Kemp to help get him re-elected! I guess that all is fair in politics, but should such behavior be rewarded? - I guess it remains to be seen.

What is most depressing is that the Republicans are in Iraq for her oil! They have no ideological nor religious nor even democratic interests in Israel or the Middle East at all! But they are certainly in the game to win!...

Kemp to campaign for Lieberman
Tue Aug 29, 7:43 PM ET

NEW LONDON, Connecticut (Reuters) - Jack Kemp, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 1976, will campaign in Connecticut on behalf of U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record)'s independent bid for re-election.

Lieberman said on Tuesday he had accepted an offer of help from Kemp after the former congressman contacted him this month following Lieberman's loss of the Democratic Senate primary to anti-war challenger Ned Lamont.

"We've been good friends for a long time," said Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, during a campaign stop in New London. "He called me after the primary, he's a good friend, and I'm grateful."

Many Democrats have turned their backs on Lieberman since his defeat by Lamont, a businessman who claimed the senator was too supportive of the Iraq war and too close to
President George W. Bush and Republicans.

Lieberman, who is banking on Republican and independent support to carry him to victory over Lamont in November, said he was not worried that a campaign visit by a Republican like Kemp would anger Democrats.

"I think if anyone complains about Jack Kemp coming in on my behalf, it just shows that they're still blinded by the old partisan politics," he said. "Jack's a devoted Republican, I'm a devoted Democrat, but we agree on a lot of stuff."

Lieberman is running for a fourth Senate term as an independent but has promised to remain a Democrat if he wins.

Kemp, a former star pro football quarterback, served in Congress from New York and was Housing and Urban Development secretary under the current president's father.

Kemp also was Republican Bob Dole's running mate in the 1996 election, which they lost to President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.

Israeli Paranoia, yet again?

Here is some more "good investigative reporting" for you to consider. This time it is going to be a mix of facts and memory - mine (plus a bit of opinion/conclusion).

Today I read the following AP release which is posted below. Shades of Lebanese ambulances!, has it happened again? Coincidence? Hmmmm....

One of the few advantages of being an old man who has not yet lost his memory - I'm sure it is coming, but not yet - and this incident triggered a memory years ago of an incident wherein it was reported front page by our mass media that Israel attacked an American ‘spy ship' which was cruising the coast of Israel gathering data during Israel's 1967 "six day" war with various Arab nations.

We were, as now, their ally, both militarily and economically, so they had no motive to attack one of our ships, spying or not. I suspect that they didn't want a documented record of possible atrocities they were committing - or perhaps they simply were and still are paranoid.

However, here is a news gathering agency, Reuters, being deliberately fired upon by Israel! I guess they don't believe in freedom of the press - seems pretty right-wing to me!

Anyway, knowing of the episode, it was easy for me to find the poop on Google, regarding the attack on the ship where thirty four American Navy personnel were killed in action and one hundred seventy three were wounded in action.

The ship itself, a Forty Million Dollar state of the art signals intelligence (SIGINT) platform, was so badly damaged that it never sailed on an operational mission again and was sold in 1970 for $101,666.66 as scrap.

But perhaps after you read the current events post below, maybe you should wade through some of:

War Crimes Committed Against U.S. Military Personnel, June 8, 1967. Submitted to the Secretary of the Army in his capacity as Executive Agent for the Secretary of Defense, June 8, 2005 at: http://www.ussliberty.org/report/report.htm

Bottom line: I've never considered the Zionist's as being "poor defenseless victims" who requires our total support against the evil Arabs (think, indigenous like American Indians). Rather, I think they are a people who think of themselves as a superior race - because of the superiority of their religion and their slight edge in IQ - so they are vicious when they don't get their way. Well, perhaps all people are like that - sometimes it seems so.

Therefore, if we are ever to gain any peace in the Middle East, we are going to have to be absolutely neutral in our policies with both the Jews and Muslims. AND we are going to have to get out of the middle eastern oil business! Certainly the Arabs won't hate us if they don't think our only interest in them is oil.

Of course in the short term we still need oil, but if we kiss the butts of the Venezuelans, buy North Atlantic and even Russian oil, we can get by until we become independent like Brazil. We're working on it - no thanks to our vice-President.

Israeli airstrike hits Reuters vehicle
By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft fired two missiles early Sunday at an armored car belonging to the Reuters news agency, wounding five people, including two cameramen, Palestinian witnesses and hospital officials said.

The Israeli army said it did not realize the car's passengers were journalists and only attacked because the vehicle was driving in a suspicious manner near Israeli troops in the middle of a combat zone.

The airstrike on the journalists' car came as Israeli soldiers backed by two dozen tanks, two bulldozers, helicopters and drone planes moved into an area just inside the Gaza Strip near the Karni crossing, witnesses and Palestinian security officials said.

The army said the troops were searching for explosives planted by Palestinian militants alongside the border fence and for tunnels under the border. After the operation began, groups of militants repeatedly gathered to try to attack the soldiers, the army and witnesses said.

The Reuters cameraman, Fadel Shama'a, 23, and Sabah Hamida, 25, who worked for a local television company, had the doors open and were about to get out of the armored vehicle in the nearby Shajaiyeh neighborhood to film the raid when it was struck by the missiles, according to Shamas Odeh, chief of Reuters TV in Gaza.

The cameramen, along with three bystanders, were injured with shrapnel wounds and all five were to undergo surgery, hospital officials said.

The front seats of the car were covered in blood and shrapnel had ripped up much of the inside of the vehicle. One of the bulletproof windows was completely destroyed.

The white sport utility vehicle was emblazoned with the Reuters logo and had "TV" and "Press" written on it in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

"This is a cold-blooded crime," said Mohammed Dawdi, head of the local journalists union.

Capt. Noa Meir, an army spokeswoman, said the vehicle was the only one in the combat area, was driving suspiciously and came near Israeli forces during the nighttime raid.

"That's why it was targeted. It was seen as a threat," she said. "There were no clear TV marks (on the car). At least we didn't see one."

"It's unfortunate when journalists get hurt, but that is not the intention," Meir added.

However, the area was an active battlefield and the reporters should not have been there, she said, adding that three Hamas militants attacked soldiers from the same spot 10 minutes after the airstrike.

During the raid early Sunday, aircraft repeatedly fired missiles into fields where Palestinian militants were gathering on the edge of Shajaiyeh, killing a Hamas militant, rescue officials said.

Ambulance drivers reported coming under fire from Israeli helicopters as they tried to retrieve the body. The army said it was checking the report.

During the raid early Sunday, aircraft fired missiles into fields where Palestinian militants were gathering on the edge of Shajaiyeh, seriously wounding one person, according to emergency officials. Helicopters also fired machine guns at gathering militants, witnesses said.

The army also told residents in three nearby buildings to evacuate their houses as bulldozers cleared land near the border, witnesses said. Soldiers also took over some rooftops and searched several houses, they said.

Israel has stepped up raids and airstrikes in Gaza over the past two months as part of a wide-scale offensive that began after Hamas-linked militants captured an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid.

In the West Bank, Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen traded heavy fire during a standoff at a fugitives' hideout Saturday, and doctors said a 16-year-old Palestinian was killed.

Twenty Palestinians were wounded in the clashes in the West Bank city of Nablus, the doctors said.

The Nablus standoff began early Saturday when troops surrounded a four-story apartment building where the army said two Palestinian fugitives were hiding. Troops called on the fugitives to surrender, but by mid-afternoon, they were still inside the building.

The army brought in bulldozers which started chipping away at the walls of the building and destroyed a water tank. At one point, the building came under heavy automatic fire by the army.

The troops also fired at a neighboring house, where gunmen were seen shooting at the force.

Bulldozers and army vehicles driving through the neighborhood were showered with stones.

The residents of the building were ordered to leave and some were questioned, the witnesses said. Troops also searched neighboring buildings, witnesses said, and soldiers carrying guns were seen moving between houses.The neighborhood appeared deserted and heavy gunshots were exchanged.

The army said Palestinians fired at the troops and in two cases also hurled explosive devices.

The wanted militants belong to the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Fatah. They are believed to be explosive experts.

Late Saturday, the army pulled out of Nablus without arresting anyone.

Solar Energy Legislation

This is a sign of the times - even long overdue! It is time for all states who have an abundance of sunshine to bite the bullet and support this vital alternative energy source. It seems that California, regardless of whether the governor is Republican or Democrat leads the nation in innovation and an eye toward the future!

Schwarzenegger signs solar power bill
Mon Aug 21

AN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday signed into law a bill that aims to make the state one of the world's biggest producers of solar energy.

The bill, which cleared the state Senate last week, calls for the installation of 1 million rooftop solar panels on homes, businesses, farms, schools and public buildings by 2018.

The solar systems would generate 3,000 megawatts of power and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 3 million tons, equivalent to taking 1 million cars off the state's highways and making California the third biggest solar producer after Japan and Germany.

The new law requires home builders to offer solar power to home buyers beginning in 2011 and allows utility customers who place panels on their homes or businesses to sell excess power back to their utility.

The law also extends the solar program to municipally owned utilities, such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest publicly owned utility in the United States.

The California Public Utilities Commission in January approved a $2.9 billion program to help pay for the solar program. The money will come from funds earmarked for solar energy and from gas and electric utility rates.

Nancy Pelosi ...

Boy, oh boy! I can't wait until Hillery runs! Won't God's Own Party (GOP) have a feeding frenzy then!

What a silly bunch of anal retentives they are. One would think that they wouldn't care one way or the other since the ‘Rapture' is due any day now and then they'll be able to sit up there with God and Jesus and look down on us poor miserables writhing in the ‘Agony.'

I do hope that we Democrats are wise enough to keep abortion, gay and rifle issues down to a very low, even non-responsive level since those are NOT the primary problems most Americans face - such as terror, healthcare, global warming and a foreign policy in the new flat world.

In the following article GOP raises specter of [Antichrist] 'Speaker Pelosi' who happens to be of Italian Catholic descent and practice...

By TIM WHITMIRE, Associated Press Writer

CASHIERS, N.C. - Facing a strong re-election challenge from Democrat Heath Shuler, veteran Republican Rep. Charles Taylor is going after a candidate who gets an "F" from the National Rifle Association and a perfect score from a leading abortion-rights group.

But that's not Shuler, a former NFL quarterback who hopes his pro-gun and anti-abortion positions appeal to swing voters and social conservatives alike in this mountainous district in western North Carolina.

Instead, Taylor's target this summer is Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the California congresswoman who has emerged as a "boogey-woman" of sorts for Republicans campaigning this year on the idea that Democrats can't be trusted with control of the House.

"Rookie Heath Shuler is following the playbook of San Francisco liberal Nancy Pelosi," an announcer intones as the noise of a stadium crowd and marching band plays in the background of a 60-second Taylor radio spot. "The Pelosi game plan: Elect Heath Shuler and others like him, and take over Congress with the votes of illegal immigrants."

These rugged, rural mountains, which couldn't be more different from Pelosi's San Francisco, aren't the only place Republicans want to make the specter of a Democratic House a key campaign issue.

_In South Carolina's 5th District, state Rep. Ralph Norman is challenging 12-term Democratic incumbent John Spratt and has repeatedly linked Spratt to Pelosi, saying voters should elect Norman if they want the GOP to maintain control of the House.

_Before announcing in April that he would leave Congress, former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay criticized the Democrat lined up to run against him as a tool of "liberal activists" like Pelosi, Barbra Streisand and financier George Soros.

_House Republicans recently released a document claiming that a Democratic House takeover would lead to committee chairmanships for several prominent liberal Democrats, including California's Henry Waxman, New York's Charles Rangel and Michigan's John Conyers Jr.

"Nancy Pelosi is one of the most stridently liberal politicians in recent memory, and insofar as candidates can draw a contrast between their record and Pelosi's record, (she) could emerge as a campaign issue," said Jonathan Collegio, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

For Taylor, it is so far the only issue the eight-term incumbent is talking about. It's been years since the timber and banking magnate faced a tough re-election challenge. He has rarely been pushed hard enough to have to campaign actively and almost never advertises until the final weeks of a race. But with some polls showing Shuler running ahead of the incumbent and the race considered a toss up, Taylor jumped into the campaign this summer with the spot linking Shuler to Pelosi.

Shuler's campaign calls Taylor's ad dishonest, noting that Shuler has repeatedly said he opposes illegal immigration and supports effort to strengthen the nation's borders.

"I'm a Democrat," Shuler said. "I feel that (Minority) Leader Pelosi and I certainly have different viewpoints on the social issues, but I feel like as a whole ... I'm a Democrat, kind of the old, Southern-style Democrat, certainly a more moderate-style Democrat."

Asked whether he would vote to make Pelosi the House speaker if he is part of a Democratic takeover of the House, Shuler responded: "Just as I was interviewed to run for this office, I will also do my interview process and pick the person that not only fits the best for our district, but also fits our party best."

Taylor often declines to speak with reporters, and calls to his campaign headquarters seeking comment about the ad were not returned. But Collegio, who pointed out Pelosi's campaign committee has given $4,000 to Shuler's campaign so far, said the ad "shows Charles Taylor is taking this race seriously."

Jack Pitney, a government professor at California's Claremont McKenna College, wonders how much good it will do. Citing a Gallup poll released earlier this summer, Pitney noted 40 percent of Americans surveyed either didn't know Pelosi, or had no opinion of her. Those who knew her were roughly split between positive and negative feelings, he said.

"Congressional leaders usually don't provide much ammunition to the other party," Pitney wrote in an e-mail interview. "In most cases, voters have only a hazy picture of the top Republicans and Democrats in Congress."

Conservative Democrats so far seem immune to claims that Shuler — with his anti-abortion positions and blaze orange "Sportsmen for Heath Shuler" bumper stickers — is a closet liberal.

"I say Heath Shuler is a man with his own mind made up," said John Leopard, a Cashiers, N.C., resident who attended a recent Shuler speech. "If he needed to vote with Nancy Pelosi, he would vote. If he had to vote against her, he would. That's the reason I would vote for him."

Asked recently by reporters how she felt about being painted as a GOP "boogey-woman," Pelosi said the tactic "represents a bankruptcy of ideas."

"I think that it indicates the Republicans don't have a positive agenda. They don't have anything," she said. "They have been in power with the House and the Senate and the White House; they could have accomplished so many things for the American people and they have failed. ... That is why they have to do their ad hominems, because they don't have anything positive to talk about."

Of course, there could be other motives at work. Pitney said while swing voters aren't likely to be moved much by anti-Pelosi campaigns, the tactic could succeed at riling up the Republicans' conservative base.

"Conservative donors might open their checkbooks to stop a Pelosi speakership," he said.

Lieberman

Well, this is the big news of the day and a turning of the tide. In many ways, Joe Lieberman is a good Democrat, I guess, but he certainly thinks more of his intellect than I do. I was not really very happy when Al Gore picked him to run as vice president - I thought there were several other people who would bring more to the ticket and in fact, be a better president if something were to happen to Gore.

We'll find out how "good" a Democrat he is if he pouts and runs as an independent and attempts to split the vote so that the Republican candidate wins...

His support of the Bush administration despite its abject failure in virtually everything it attempts to do was particularly dismaying because he makes the Democrats appear indecisive and without a plan - which is most certainly not true. The only question the Democrats have is WHEN to get out of Iraq, stop nation building and get on with the problems of international terrorism - certainly not whether to get out. Bush has no plans of ever leaving Iraq if for no other reason than having control of its oil.

Obviously we can't simply pack up and leave the country, but we do have to turn over the defense of the Iraq government to the Iraqi's and politically force them to get their religious factions together in reasonable harmony to avoid a civil war. We need to teach them that all successful government is balanced compromise.

If a civil war does erupt we do indeed have to get out of there as quickly as possible or risk the probability of being sucked down that never ending black hole.

Leave Cuba alone....

I wish we Americans would leave Cuba alone except to curb any attempts by the Miami malcontents to stir the military/political pot. Whether we like it or not, Castro has been a benevolent dictator of Cuba and most Cubans seem to be happy with his revolutionary government. Cubans have fared much better under his rule than they did with the sugar plantation economy and virtual slave labor before the revolution.

I remember that we thought that the only reason he survived was his support from the USSR, but when they collapsed Cuba kept right on prospering for such a small island with limited resources and very large enemies, primarily US!

Obviously, the country can take care of itself and it has many friends, especially in South America which is generally pretty sour on American attempts to dominate the continent by keeping the rich and powerful rich and powerful and the poor as poor as possible. We've always been good at that even here at home.

For example, compare Cuba with the sad plight of Haiti or even Puerto Rico which suffers from American corporate dominance. It is by any standard, a success story and a thorn in our side.