Happy Holidays...

I sincerely wish all of you a very happy holiday season. I don't care what religion you are (or aren't) or what you choose to do this time of year. I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas because that's what me and my family celebrate during this time of the year. If you are Jewish, please wish me a happy Hanukkah. If you are Muslim, please wish me a prosperous Ramadan, etc. I respect your traditions, even if your tradition is to have no tradition.

What I don't get is people fighting over what is appropriate to display or not to display. And don't get me started on the hypocracy involved in all of it. It seems that the same groups that are for "free speech" are the same ones tearing down the parts that they don't like. Free Speech is the right to offend. Free Speech is the right to criticize. Free speech is the right to give a message that others may not agree with. The ACLU will defend the right for anyone to say anything, but will make sure that citizens of a particular city or county can't display their traditions or their speech. The same people pushing for sexual educational messages in the public arena are the same groups that are pulling the religious symbols (or rather Christian Religious symbols) down. If it is not hate speech, or a vulgar obscenity, then why is there even a question? When I go into an old Italian neighborhood, I enjoy watching the old Catholic customs that they practice during a wedding or funeral procession. I would love to walk through a Muslim neighborhood during Ramadan and see the various lanterns on display of their faith. The feeling I get walking through a predominately Jewish neighborhood during the nights of Hanukkah gives me a sense of peace. Next, the ACLU will be taking away the ancient American Indian traditions in their communities in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. Losing the Christian traditions has exactly the same impact on our culture as it would if you took away those traditions from their respective cultures. A vital and important part of that culture would be lost.

Please, if you get the chance, take a look at a post at the Daily Kos. Read the descriptions of all of these religious symbols. Then read the one about the Christmas Tree, which in their opinion is the Christian Symbol for Christmas (I personally feel it is more secular). Why is it that all of the other symbols are very respectfully described yet the Christmas Tree (which is now apparently religious) is described like this: "We all know that the Christmas tree is really a pagan symbol adopted by our culture to honor crass commercialism at its worst. But in this instance it will stand in as a symbol of Christian rejoicing at the birth of the Savior and the enlightenment he tried to bring to the world."


This isn't just on the Daily Kos. This is the leftist blogosphere that you've been hearing so much about. There is no war on Christmas. There is a war on common sense by the looney left that has been slowly raging into the mainstream. To be honest, it pisses me off that these people are so far gone and dishonest with even the simplest of truths. What does something like this accomplish? Don't offend anyone's religion, unless they happen to be Christians.

I am sure that you will find the same kind of garbage of the far right loonies blogs as well. But to be honest, I don't know where they are because they are not spouted by the media as fact. There are a lot of right wingers that I don't agree with (You know who you are Ann Coulter). But other than her and a few like her, I don't know where to find this kind of unabashed spewing of hypocracy and hatred that is so prevalent on the left. If you know where, please let me know so that I can get pissed off about them as well. On the right, people like them are already thought of as crazies. Find me a normal right leaning person who agrees with the likes of Fred Phelps and his family of escaped mental patients (i.e. Westboro Baptist Church) and I will agree that they are far right crazies.

By the way you can visit their website at http://www.godhatesfags.com/ and read their page on why they are thanking God for today's bridge collapse in Nepal that has left many dead. In my opinion Westboro on the right = Loons on the left (Daily Kos, Randi Rhodes, Al Franken, Rosie O'Donnell).

Isn't it time we were honest with ourselves? I don't know if that will ever happen, but I do honestly have a wish for all of you (even Ann Coulter and Rosie O'Donnell). I wish you a very Happy New Year. And a special wish goes out to those Americans and other countrymen who are away from their families this year fighting for those all over the world. We hope you are all able to come home in 2008. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

mR

Don't Like the Time? Change the Clock!

It is official. Hugo Chavez has lost his mind. Starting next week, the time in Venezuela will move back 30 minutes. He's given everyone till next Sunday night to change it and there is a multitude of confusion both inside the government and outside whether the clock moves forward or backward. Venezuela will officially be what we have always known - in a whole time zone unto itself. (Reuters)

mR

Very Upsetting Story from Texas

I have always tried my best to give this administration and its staff the benefit of the doubt. But I have tried to be honest about its shortcomings. Even through the Blackwater fiasco, I tried. This story that I read about today is inexcusable. I'm going to post a link to a story that I read on ABC News.com via the Drudge Report today that makes me very sad and very angry. I can honestly say that I have never felt so let down as I do by the United States Departments of State and Justice. The legacy of former A.G. Gonzalez continues and a huge problem for which the Secretary of State must answer.

This is the kind of garbage that makes it difficult for our brave men and women overseas to do their job, to earn the respect of the world, and to earn the respect of the people and nations that they are serving. Iraq is a noble cause, but it has been so messed up by the present bureacracy and administration that I am embarrassed to have voted for them. I hope the story of this young woman leaves many people in Washington unable to sleep tonight. The screams of help from this young lady should ring in every politician's and Iraq contractor's head for a long time to come.

Rape Cover-up in Iraq reported by ABC News via The Drudge Report.

I've been very critical of the media throughout the Iraq War and I think it's more than justified. I think that very much has been made of very little. And I think that very little good has been reported of the abundance that has happened. But I do think that this story needs to be told--VERY LOUD, and VERY CLEAR. A young women named Jamie Leigh Jones deserves justice. It just goes to show that brutality is not only a quality of the extremists that our brave Soldiers and Marines are fighting. It is also a quality of a few who answer to no law in Iraq. Our goal should be to protect the innocent. It should not be used to shield the guilty.

Let me be clear. This - in no way - has anything to do with any group of people as a whole. Nor does this story have any relation to tactics used by the CIA in the questioning of terrorist suspects and enemy combatants. I do hope that leftist partisans do not try to draw this into the "torture" debate. But I am afraid that Harry Reid (political hack that he is) is going to blame the President and every other member of the Bush administration for every brutal detail. What is sad is that he might even get the support and sympathy of the media to go along with him. The administration is responsible for their inability to earn justice for this young lady. Only the men who perpetrated these actions (and possibly the company) are responsible for the crime.

KBR & Halliburton executives should be screaming from the rooftops for investigations and apologizing all over themselves. I am absolutely disgusted that these companies are American and continue to remain silent. The management of these companies verges on incompetency and its stockholders should be disgusted. If they are responsible for setting this culture in their organization, then they should also be punished to the full extent of the law. I would also hope that a free market would exercise its right to sell off their shares and/or replace the management if need be.

Am I speaking before I've heard all the facts? Yep. I hope I don't have to eat my words, but I could not keep silent on this.

My thoughts and prayers are with Jamie and her family.

mR

Picture Source: ABC News.com

Coming Back Online....

I have been bored with Politics over the last few months. Probably not so much bored as tired of the lies and the garbage, but it's getting too close not to have a voice. Please make sure that you use yours as well, if for nothing else but to vote in the primary.

The "Greatest" Generation

I always smirked at the older folks when they said that they didn't understand what was happening to kids these days. I always thought that we were fine and that the older generation just didn't know what they were talking about. We treated it as a "barefoot in snow, uphill both ways" story. Now that I've reached my early 30's I'm not quite sure if I look at their stories the same way. I don't think it's just my age, I think it's more than that. Society is going to hell in a handbasket, and my generation is one of the largest contributors.

At what point do we start looking at society and start worrying about the future. I'm not talking about global warming, social security, or even medicare. I'm talking about a lack of leadership in the generation that is coming up behind me and the new generation behind that. What is going to happen after my generation is too old to lead. What happens when we are the retired and aging generation.


We have only ourselves to blame. Parents of today are corrupting our future. For evidence look no further than Lindsay's, Britney's, and Paris' parents. All in the name of entertainment and free speech. There may be nothing wrong with educating our children about the real world, but what's lacking is the education. Allowing children to make the moral choices without education is a recipe for disaster.

Who is educating our children? Is it a representative cross section of society? Absolutely not. In 2001, 34% of educators claimed to be center of the road politically. That sounds great. Until you look at the other numbers. Only 18% claim to be right leaning. A whopping 48% claim to left leaning. That's a stunning statistic. It's all about freedoms and speech, etc. That's all well and good, but there is no such thing as freedom of speech inside the family.

Who is raising our children? Video games, cell phones, the internet, and television. Teachers are running movies like "Brokeback Mountain" in middle school classrooms. Recently a friend told me that their children were taking field trips to see Spiderman 3. When I was in school it was trips to a dairy factory, a museum, or a zoo.


Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with "Brokeback Mountain." Free speech should be alive and well and I personally found the movie boring and pointless. Even for a love story, it lacked content. But I don't think that a movie that is rated PG13 or R should be shown in a middleschool classroom setting. I don't want my nieces or nephews watching "Bachelor Party" or "Cruel Intentions" during English Class. They need to watch it at their friends house when their parents aren't around like we did. At least then we knew it was wrong. It wasn't legitimized by a teacher or a parent who says that kind of portrayed behavior is "OK".


Instead we end up with Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton filling the vacuum left by today's parents.

I Agree With Elizabeth Edwards--AHHHHHHHHH!

Crazies to the Left, and Crazies to the Right. That's the way the hacks (political and otherwise) are making me feel these days. I almost think that looneys on each side of the aisle are actually drawing those of us in the middle together--you know, the ones with the common sense.


I was listening to Fox News on my way to work this morning and actually caught some banter between Edie Hill and Ann Coulter criticizing Rosie O'Donnell's use of her daughter for political fodder. You probably know what I'm talking about. Playing guerilla dress up to make a political statement. We've come to expect this repulsive and looney behavior from Rosie. Putting your children into a political statement is irresponsible in my opinion. But "responsible" isn't a word I would use to describe Rosie anyway.


Leave it to crazy Coulter to use this attempt to criticize the entire gay community. I believe the quote was something like Rosie "has set gay adoption back 20 years." Well maybe that's what Coulter hopes would happen. But personally I don't see what one has to do with the other. There are good parents and bad parents. When are people going to learn that gross generalization is wrong regardless of what side you are on.

Shame on Edie Hill and Fox News for presenting this woman as an expert on anything other than selling books. Here's something I thought I'd never say: I agree with Elizabeth Edwards on this one. Coulter is destroying the debate by inserting hate, just as the looneys have been on the left for quite some time.

mr


P.S. Thanks to Bernie Goldberg for the "Crazies to the Left...." line.

I Want to be an Illegal Immigrant!

I apologize if any of you have already seen this. It's reportedly from an irritated native Iowan addressed to Senator Tom Harkin (D)-Iowa, on the topic of Illegal Immigration. I'm not a big fan of chain emails, so I thought I would post this rather than send it into your email boxes. I make no claim to the facts in the letter or its authenticity, but I thought it was amusing. I have not even had the chance to read the bill to see if the claims are true, so I am limiting my commentary on this one. I am protecting the name on the letter as I do not know if it is a real person or not. If you are the author, please let me know so that I can give you credit. --rm


Dear Senator Harkin,

As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.

Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien, I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.

Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent,
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx
Burlington , IA

Get your Forms (NOW)!! Call your Internal Revenue Service 1-800-289-1040. Please pass this onto your friends so they can save on this great offer!!!!

Is The Looney Left Falling Apart?

Three major blows to the Far Left happened these last weeks. I feel that their true colors are finally showing, and they aren't red, white, or blue. Is a self-imploding event finally happening. I fear not, although it is well overdue. People destructive to the cause (or Kos) are still out there to take up the slack for those that have bitten the dust.

Now, don't get me wrong. I consider myself a moderate (independent-use your own word here). I'm not celebrating that misguided people are crashing and burning. What I am pleased with is that these mainstream "newsworthy" (notice the quotes) hateful and destructive voices have been marginalized, or rather been shown for what they are.

Cindy Sheehan (pictured with Speaker Pelosi, below) is selling her Crawford ranch du-jour to move back to her home state of, wait for it, California. It seems that the left is not far enough left for her. Now, maybe the grieving process can finally get started and the healing can begin. While I have great sympathy for her sacrifice and respect for her rights to speak out. Sympathy only lasts so long, and she overstayed her welcome on our sympathies.

Perhaps the most notable (or is it notorious) collapse this week for the kos is the complete true-color exhibition by Venezuela president Hugo Chavez (pictured below) of what he is--a power-hungry dictator. Far left = free speech, right? Isn't that one of their pillars of truth or something? What is the opposite of free speech? Closing down an independent television station? I don't know how you could get more opposite. Other than maybe harassing those that are speaking out against you--wait, what? Oh, I guess that is happening as well. Yet I've heard no comment from far left angels Belefonte or Danny Glover. All praise to fidel!

The third implosion happened as Rosie O'Donnell quit mid-contract at The View. The Diva can dish it,

but walked away when the dish came back at her.

Now each event alone probably isn't worth writing about. Put all of these events together and within a two week period is almost apocalyptic. Are the Looney's falling apart? I sincerely doubt it. Debate is healthy. But, savage and hateful speech is deconstructive on both sides. It seems to be taking its toll on those involved in it. I just hope that some of the far left-speak activists are paying attention.

mr

Better Late....

I did want to see what the general reaction was to the Republican Debate on Fox News. I know this is old news, but I wanted to bring it up anyway. I was extremely impressed with Brit Hume, Wendell Goler, and Chris Wallace. Very fine journalists, I thought the questions were pointed and relevant. I also thought that they touched (and pressed) on issues that were important to voters regardless of party view. Was this a hack job? No. Good coverage, great job to Fox News!

I had real issue with the post debate coverage offered by Fox News. It may just be me, but I think Fox News seriously undermines it credibility when post debate coverage is lead by partisan (however "fair and balanced") personalities. Debates are a place for reporting. I hardly think that Hannity and Colmes are unbiased reporters. When the spin is not only spun by the candidates and their lackeys, but also by the network hosts, too much gets lost in the translation. People aren't allowed to follow the information for themselves. I said it about Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann at MSNBC. Alan played an Hannity-like impotent gotcha, and Sean filled in the sentences and spun for the candidates. As far as I'm concerned there is no place for partisanship at debates by the network. The spinning should be left up to the candidates.

mr

AAAm Update

I apologize that I haven't had a chance to post in the last couple of weeks or so. Finals were last week and I'm in the middle of a summer course that crams a 4 month semester into 3 weeks. That and I'm trying to do as much at the office as I possibly can. It's taking up a great deal of time. During the next few weeks, I may only be able to post once per week. But it won't be long before I get back to posting 2 to 3 times per week or more. I am also toying with the idea of posting an issue of the day, and a new feature "Political Hack of the Week."

I am also going to change the format of my posts. While they are currently quite long, I will shorten them up and get more to the point. I will have a couple of long ones in there as well. I haven't forgot and I am going to post the updates that I promised such as the followups on the Reasons we went into Iraq and why we may never win there. I will also start getting into the hot button social issues that will be the focus for many throughout the upcoming presidential campaigns. I have some views that won't be popular with either liberals or conservatives.

For those who have commented to me personally, I greatly appreciate your feedback. Please also feel free to comment online so others can see your thoughts. But as always, feel free to email me at middlerob@hotmail.com.

Middlerob

The Re-Segregation of a People

The purpose of this site is not to be politically correct. The purpose of this blog is to convey my views and what I think many other people are feeling as well. If you don't like what you read, you are welcome to comment or to go to another site. In the interest of full disclosure and so you know what my perspective is based on, the following is some information about me. I'm a 30ish Protestant white male in middle America. First and foremost I am American. My heritage is predominately English (caucasian) with German, Scottish, and Cherokee Indian thrown in for good measure. I was taught that there is no differences between skin color. I was raised to believe that your standing as a person was measured on your actions, not on your race. The below thoughts are meant to be sincere and honest.

The civil rights leaders of the 1960's did amazing things for their people. People like Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and others led a generation of Black Americans into their own and stopped unjust segregation in schools and universities, on buses, restrooms, and drinking fountains. Even after the 1960's, reforms continued addressing workplace discrimination, housing discrimination, and other important issues. There is still more to do for civil rights, but not at the expense of the black community.

My opinion: Civil rights leaders, specifically in the African American Community, promote segregation among its own people in order to make themselves more relevant and more powerful in society. In my opinion these leaders are hurting the community more than they are helping. Their efforts are doing nothing more than re-segregating the people that their predecessors freed.

The purpose of Civil Rights Leaders and their movements are to secure rights for people who are not able to secure rights for themselves. Civil rights leaders today are taking advantage of these communities. A large part of the goal of the 1960's was to show America that Black=White. At that point in this nation's history, equality was a very important point to make. For the most part, Americans understand that. There are those that never will, but no amount of protesting and marching is going to change that. What can change it? A more positive and diverse representation of the African American community.

“True equality” is not what makes America great. Just think how life would be if “true equality” were to become a reality. Everyone would drive the same car, live in the same house, dress the same, work the same, have the same intelligence, etc. True equality is not what we should strive for. We should strive for an end to discrimination--the end to judging the quality of a person simply on perceived physical attributes and characteristics that can't be chosen.

Discrimination separates people based on these physical characteristics, giving someone power over them. Racial discrimination is no longer only committed by people of another race. It can be done my members of one's own race as well. Using one's own people to further advance a political agenda, or to gain personal power, is discrimination. The only thing that men like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Malik Shabazz get from representing Black Americans is power, clout, and money. Instead of promoting Black=White, they are promoting Black=Black and re-segregating the black community. To let one of these men represent you, one only need have a single qualification: the color of one’s skin. Is that not a new form of discrimination?

What is it that makes a society great? For the United States it is a celebration of our differences. It is knowing that some are business leaders, some are teachers, some are artists, and others are humanitarians. Some work hard in factories, others work in offices, others work in fields, and still others work in countless other positions all contributing to what makes this nation great. We have people who have immigrated to the United States from all over the world, mixing cultures, ideas, and religions. But instead of celebrating those differences, civil rights leaders are segregating and homogenizing their communities into a political power structure that is elevating them and doing a great disservice to their people.

Some black civil rights leaders welcome people from all walks of life including felons, murderers, gang-bangers, and drug pushers. As long as they are African Americans, anyone can be a member of Jesse Jackson's or Al Sharpton's constituencies. There is one exception (and it is a big one): You must side with them politically. Jackson, Sharpton, Kweisi Mfume, Spike Lee, Harry Belafonte and other African American self-proclaimed civil rights leaders have made awful comments about black men and women that disagree with them. These men and women (even those in power) are minimized and ridiculed. They are called names like "Uncle Tom['s]" (as Spike Lee said about Clarence Thomas), or compared to a plantation slave (as Belafonte implied about Colin Powell). Do these civil rights leaders sound like they are uniting mankind? Is it right to attack or question a person’s race because you don’t agree with them? This is called discrimination.

The message by these leaders is loud and clear to the black community: If you do not agree with your black leaders, then you are not black. And if you are not black, then you have nothing. To a community that has been taught (brain-washed) by its leaders that being black is the only thing that defines them, this is a very difficult and unfair situation to deal with.

Jesse Jackson rushed to the aid (with cameras and microphones) of a young lady in Durham, NC who had allegedly been raped. Why did he rush to her side? She accused 3 white, wealthy students of the crime, and this event could be used to further segregate the African American community. Jesse Jackson cared more that the victim was a black women victimized by white men, than he cared about the truth. While I feel very sorry for this troubled young woman, I don’t feel sorry for her because she is black. I feel sorry for her because she is troubled. On that day or at a previously time in her life, something awful happened to her. For that, and that alone, she deserved sympathy. According to national statistics 200,000 women were raped last year. Where was Jesse Jackson after any of those women were raped? Of those 200,000, 13% of them were African American women (2000 National Crime Victimization Study). Of women that are raped, 80-90% of them are raped by a person of their racial background (US Dept. of Justice, 1994). Does Jesse Jackson not care about them? As with any other politician, they only care about what will give them power. If they don't need you, they don't care about you.

There is one thing that I hope that any African American person gets from reading this: Be proud that you are African American. But please know that there is more to you than just your skin color. If you want to be defined by your race, then Jesse Jackson is the man to follow. If you want to be defined by who you are as a person and what you accomplish, then find another man, or a women, or lead people yourself. Your community continues to be segregated by men that call themselves your leaders. While I consider segregation a crime, segregation by someone you trust is worse.

MR

One Equals Two

Nancy Pelosi among other of our fearless members of Congress decided on a recent fact finding trip to play diplomat to Syria, even delivering a message to the Syrians from Israel. Simple enough. One would think. Last time I read the Constitution the Executive Branch of the federal government was responsible for diplomacy and foreign policy. We'll I've been wrong before. She was chastised by the president for going and then by the Israelis for screwing up the message. Come to find out, our foreign policy is not to negotiate with terrorists or terrorist nations. Hmmm--Hamas, Hezbollah, terrorists sponsored by Syria.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that a single trip by democrat and republican lawmakers, led by the Speaker of the House, totally tried to reverse U.S. foreign policy. But it's OK, the 911 Commission said so. Huh?

Cut to this week....

Secretary Rice this week went to Egypt to an Regional "help us fix Iraq" conference which included diplomats from Iraq, Iran, Syria, and other nations. In the process, Rice did take the time to discuss Iraq issues with her Syrian counterpart.

OH MY GOSH! Condoleeza did the same thing that Nancy Pelosi did! You could see the left wing pundits turning red with excitement! Some of them even blogged about it. Some of them even spewed that crap all over cable news! Damn her! See--Republicans are doing it too!

Wait a minute....

Did I miss something? Last time I checked it was the Executive Branch's prerogative to change it's foreign policy when things weren't working. Didn't the State Department say a few months back that if paths crossed, then the U.S. would discuss specific issues with these terrorist states? You would think the gotcha crowd on the left had just found Deep-Throat. The difference is this--Secretary Rice is the chief diplomat for the United States. The president can approve or deny any action that the Secretary is going to do in reference to U.S. foreign policy. That is his/her job. Last time I checked, madame speaker's job was to keep the House of Representatives in order and work on legislation--not conduct foreign policy.

Next time maybe the speaker will realize that diplomacy on the professional level is best left to the professionals. She taught the Syrians and any future terrorist nation (i.e. Iran) a very dangerous lesson.

The Lesson:

If you want to talk with an Senior U.S. official and they aren't paying attention to you, all you have to do is open your borders to terrorists so that they can get into a country involved in a conflict with the United States to fight and kill American soldiers. All you have to do is continue to hold out long enough and keep your agents fighting long enough, keep sponsoring suicide bombings long enough and the Speaker of the House--third in-line to the presidency-- will make a personal appointment, listen to what you have to say, take a few photos with you, and legitimates your cause to the world, giving hope and life to your effort.

What I don't understand is that some Democrats and some Republicans just seem to be purposefully undermining this country's effort to do something good in this world. They can only be doing it because they are 1) ignorant of what they are doing, or 2) purposefully undermining this effort. To do this at a time when our soldiers and marines are in harm's way is unfathomable to me. Congressmen and women are elected to represent the people of the United States in the United States. Their place in this is in approving and denying funding and in confirming or denying the Secretary of State and other Executive Officers that represent us overseas. That's it, nothing less, nothing more.

Madame Speaker, we are weaker today because of you.

Chris Matthews? Really?

Now that both are finally over....

I don't think after watching all of the highlights of the Democrat and Republican debates this week that anyone actually stood out. And at this point in the process I really don't care. I have to admit, that I didn't actually sit down and watch either debate, I had more important things to do. MSNBC did achieve huge ratings for the Dem debate (Nielson). I haven't seen the Republican debate numbers. According to Media Week, it was MSNBC's best night since the start of the Iraq War in March 2003. While they won the prime time viewing hours, Fox did however pick up the night. Is MSNBC becoming relavent again?

Here are some of my random comments from each debate:


Democratic Debate:

Obama showed a serious lack of experience.

Hillary showed a certain amount of statesmanship.

John Edwards had fabulous hair!

Every one's gotta have a crazy relative: Dennis Kucinich who mysteriously gets re-elected in Ohio. I guess that makes sense, didn't George Bush mysteriously get elected in Ohio? That was a joke.

Under-rated: (even after a less than spectacular performance) is former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

Republican Debate:
Giuliani showed a lack of alignment with the Republican platform.

Romney showed he really has a presidential presence.

Tommy Thompson, has already called MSNBC and apologized for not hearing a question correctly (yeah, right). He's probably only on any polls because Law and Order fans can't remember the first name of the actor that portrays the District Attorney of New York County. (It's Fred Thompson by the way).

Every one's gotta have a crazy relative: Texas Representative Ron Paul.

Under-rated: (after a very impressive performance) is former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

The essence of news professionalism played a very important role in the Democrats debate moderated by Brian Williams. He's well respected, fair, and has a gentleman's disposition. Contrast the Republican debate. All the wisdom that MSNBC could muster was the brilliant and hardly non-partisan Chris Matthews. Then, who did the network pick to lead the debate analysis? None other than the completely un-biased (10, 9, 8, yeah--right) Keith Olberman. Oh--but wait! Who did the network's reporting from the spin room? NBC White House correspondent and Today Show wannabe David Gregory (I hope I spelled his name right). In case you didn't know, he's NBC's chief spin-meister that asks all of the ridiculous gotcha questions at the White House Press briefings. Am I complaining? Nah, just an observation.

The real winner of the debates: In my opinion, there were 2 winners. The first winner was the politicians who got their ego's boosted and all the attention that they could handle (and more than many deserved). The second and real winner was the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It is now listed on my "places to see before I die" list. It looks like an amazing place. Speaking of amazing, Mrs. Reagan attended with all of her poise and purpose and reminded many of us that we have our own royalty here in the colonies. And our royalty important to us Americans for life as well. And I wonder, will Hillary be as dignified after her political career is over? How will she be remembered? I don't know just yet...

And think, we only have another year and a half of this crap to go.

Almost American?

Today's topic: May Day Celebration!

I look with wonder at our country when all protesters are allowed to protest without molestation even if they have broken laws to get here. I think it is no wonder that people from all over the world look to the United States as a refuge from poverty, as a refuge from political and religious oppression. It is a day like today that I see that the doom-sayers are wrong. The United States of America is a great country!

Regardless of what the world thinks of the United States politically, they still would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. That is absolutely a cause for people to be in the streets today!

Many of us would like to be able to be a safe harbor for every person in the world: the hungry in Africa, the oppressed in Asia, and the poor in South America. But there are challenges that meet humanity all over the world. Some we can stop, others we can help, and still others that we cannot.

If you would like to help a good cause, visit http://www.one.org/. This organization partners with charities all over the world and gives your money to help where it can be most effective. This charity, headed by Bono, is bringing international attention to humanitarian issues all over the world. Please also remember those causes here in the United States that are well worth your support as well.

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I hate to change gears on you, but I can't let it go at that....

While all of us should be proud of what the United States stands for, there is a reason that thousands of illegal immigrants are walking around the streets of our cities today. They aren't legal citizens of the United States of America--but they think they are entitled to it.

While I feel their pain, there are millions all over the world that want to be American Citizens. Why should those that gain entry into this country by breaking our laws and cutting in line be rewarded with such an honor? First of all, we are a large country, but we aren't big enough to physically hold all of the people that want to come to the United States. Our infrastructures (including water, sewer, highways, housing, and others), our economy, health system, education system, government, and law enforcement would be completely overrun. The country we know today would become a third world country in very short order. The wealth of this country would disappear. Then who would be there to help those in Africa, South America, Asia, and other continents all over the world? Other developed nations could continue to help, but by how much without the help and leadership of the United States and its Citizens? Developing nations would fall, wars would rage, and our world today would be a distant memory.

The above scenario is perhaps an extreme, but I don't see any real reason why that couldn't happen (great reasoning for an argument, don't ya think).

My point is this. We are a nation of laws. You don't get to pick the ones you want to follow, otherwise, I would follow drivers that cut me off in traffic and put bumper stickers that read "Bushie at heart" over those "Kerry/Edwards 04" bumper stickers and one that reads "Flip-flopper--Doesn't sound so bad now, does it?" on the cars with the "W" sticker on their rear window.

There are people standing in line to get into this country. Proud, honest, hard working people waiting years to get their citizenship. They are ready to start their "Great American Story." Why should law breakers, drug runners, and worse get access before those that come here legally?

Yeah, some things need to change. Maybe the amount of immigrants allowed citizenship each year needs to increase. Or maybe we need to consider a guest worker program (which includes background checks) in areas where workers are needed. An open border policy is not what Americans signed up for. In this political climate there are too many extremes and not near enough coming together.

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In this bloggers personal opinion: I think a good trade off between the Democrats and Republicans would be to concede a point on both sides. Republicans should consider a non-amnesty immigrant worker program. But shouldn't Democrats start allowing legislation to limit the power and formation of organized labor unions?

To me, that's a "meet in the middle type-o-deal". Both have a positive effect on the job market. Unions are all but obsolete, and commerce and the consumers are the big losers. Companies won't be afraid to start up new operations in Union territory and will be able to afford increasing wages for entry level jobs enticing legal American workers to accept them.

Just a thought? What do you think? A place to start?

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Borders need to be controlled. The argument against this, I do not understand.

I have always thought that the only way to keep a problem from continuing to happen was to fix the root of the problem. Being that Mexico and Canada are sovereign nations, we can only affect where the problem begins in the United States--at the border.

One more problem: why are there sanctuary cities? I thought that federal law trumps local law. I think I read that somewhere. Why is it that the same people who are crying for the rights afforded in the Constitution to U.S. Citizens also be given to war criminals held on foreign soil, but when it's convenient they want to ignore the Constitution when it comes to enforcing federal laws.

Circumventing the law of the land is the same problem whether it be at the border or in sanctuary cities. The proper way (and the only way I know) to get around a law is to change it legally, not break it. Now you can say you read it somewhere.

A Letter to Our Civil Servants and Elected Officials

The legacy of our beloved former Secretary of Defense is back again. I sometimes wonder if our public servants get elected or appointed simply because they are incapable of doing anything else.

Case-in-point: Most media organizations reported recently on the inacuracies of the Pat Tillman and Jessican Lynch stories that were fed to the media during the early stages of the Iraq War. The ultimate authority in this case was ole Rummy. Why in the world did he allow the release of a story to the media that was completely flawed and untrue? Let me rephrase: Why did he allow the release of a story to the media which was almost certain to be disproved? Didn't he learn the lessons of the past decades? After all, he was in the Nixon Administration and I'm sure he read the papers during the Clinton Presidency. Public servants are hired or elected to do what is right. If they don't like it, they need to follow another line of work.

The refusal of people to change with the times just mesmerizes me. Rummy felt until the end that he was running a war from the 1970's. He still believed that if he didn't want the information to get out, he could stop it. He believed that people in general are stupid and will believe what their government tells them. How long will it take before our top civilian commanders realize that eventually most of the dirt and truth comes out? I don't get it.

For that reason (and others) I have started writing a letter to all of those who have been elected, appointed, or are planning such. This letter is written to all political persuasions. For we are pretty much sick of all of them. If you would like input, please post a comment. Here is what I have so far...

Dear Civil Servants and Elected Officials:

Gosh, how times have changed. They really haven't changed all that much, but we're giving you the benefit of the doubt. There are a few things that your loyal subjects want to remind you. First of all, we are not subjects, we are citizens. And unlike many of you, we have standards. Our standards are simple and are based on a few key underlying principles. Regardless of anything else, we want you to tell us the truth. We want you to uphold a common sense of humanity. We want to be able to trust you to make the decisions that need to be made, regardless of difficulty, for the betterment of society and our environment, both national and international. Below are a couple of suggestions that we make to help you do your job.

1. There is a media. The media is more driven, more savvy, more obnixious, and more corrupt that it has ever been before. The story is now more important than its readers and sometimes more important than the facts. If you know this, then you will know that anything you do is subject to the scrutiny of a competitor that is just as scrupulous as you are. You are held to a higher moral standard than anyone else. If you don't like this, then you might want to rethink your career path.

2. Tell the truth. Everything that you say will be twisted and turned around regardless of what it was that was originally said. But you will always be able to explain the truth--you will never be able to explain a lie.

3. Any lie that you tell, will be read back to you by a member of the oposition party, Chris Matthews, or worst case, Bill O'Reilly. If the truth is on your side, then you will survive.

4. Get a back-bone. Stand up for what you believe in. If you made a mistake, admit it and move on. The art of the cover-up is no longer available to you. Even non-coverups will be shown to look like cover-ups by media types who are opposed to you. (Questions about non-coverups? Ask Alberto Gonzalez and Scooter Libby.)

5. Don't do anything in your private life that you don't want the world to hold against you. If you don't want pictures of you with your intern splattered all over CNN, DON'T SLEEP WITH YOUR INTERN! If you get caught, take credit for it. Have a back-bone and don't lie about it. (See #1, 2, 3, & 4.) For questions on this one, I think you know who to contact. Hint: there isn't just one.

6. Appoint only people qualified for a job to that specific job. Don't appoint your boyfriend, girlfriend, lover, or best friend to a position unless they are the best qualified person for the job. Do not appoint a horse association president to the head of FEMA unless they have coordinated rescue and rebuilding efforts for 2 million horses and their homes in a hurricane. One last note: THEY HAVE TO HAVE DONE IT SUCCESSFULLY.

7. Only accept a job if you are qualified for it. If you don't know anything about Emergency Management, don't accept a political appointment as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. And if you weren't successful in a previous war, don't try to regain your reputation by screwing up another one.

8. Don't argue for the sake of arguing. Do what is right, even if you don't believe everything you hear about it. For example: If helping the environment is good for the environment, then it doesn't matter whether or not you believe in global warming. If you believe that social security needs to be improved--improve it! No one cares if it will go bankrupt in 15 or 50 years.

9. Don't stop legislation that is good for the nation simply because your name will not be on it or the competitive party will get credit for it. The heirarchy of your allegiance should be as follows: Nation, State, Party, Self. Those of you doing it any other way are traitors to your nation. Do what is best for all of us, not what will give you or your party the most credit. At what point did leaking information that is vital or even just merely important to our nation's success become an innocent bi-product of leaking information to discredit a political opponent or the opposition party. Leaking information is leaking information. When the outcome of the information is more important the the potential consequences, then it is O.K. And you will hear our praise from your jail cell. Here is another example - don't screw your soldiers in battle just to win the next election!

10. Be the bigger person. During a time when it seems like a race to the bottom, it's important to remember what is important. The glee in the voice or the light in the eye of those taking delight in our nations' defeat for the sake of political victory or "I told you so" is sickening. You may think that you are hiding it, but you are not. (Mr Schumer - we can see the sparkle in your eye even when you are giving us one of your heart felt scowls.)

I am sure that you already know this, but I just wanted to spell it out. You are not respected by the world. You are seen as little kids fighting back and forth. Our political landscape is starting to look like the silly battles in the British Parlaiment that we used to see on Sunday night television. Once a respected institution, the international view of congress has moved from respectful disagreement to a complete loss of respect for our political process. You should all be ashamed.

Worse than this, you have lost respect from your nation. It is truly a sad day when this happens. You are now no better than other nations that once looked up to us. We are no longer a bright beacon, but an embarassment to the world community. Not because of the stands we take, or our mistakes in a war, but because of the serious and juvenile division that you have created--not just in congress, but in the media, in your news conferences, and in the rediculous diatribes that you use to further your party's agenda.

Now that we have come to the end of my rediculous diatribe, I have one more thought. At present, many Americans are not dissatisfied with their particular representative, just with every other member of congress. Well, the time is coming when a majority of voting Americans will be willing to sacrifice their sitting member of congress for the betterment of the whole. I'm ready now. Let's throw them all out and start over.

mr

ABC used O'Donnell

I apologize, I have been out in Philadelphia this week and haven't had a chance to post. This will be short one ...

According to Rosie O'Donnell this morning on the "The View", her representation and ABC couldn't reach a "contract" agreement and she will be leaving the show at the end of the season in June. Rosie O'Donnell is a mouth piece and we have known that for years. ABC wanted to spice up it's ratings on the "The View" and found a controversial figure. They just followed the first rule of media--Controversy Sells. That's it folks. Nothing more, nothing less.

It's your choice whether or not to continue watching "Dancing with the Stars" or "The Bachelor."

Many recently have criticized ABC for a political bias. I really don't buy into the think that media organizations have a ideological bias. It's all about market research and power. If you think the NY Times has a liberal ideological bias, I hate to burst your bubble. They have a marketing bias that feeds the ideology of their target market. How many of their world wide papers would they sell if they told the unbiased truth? How many papers in Manhattan would they sell if they told you the complete truth? I, for one, don't watch that much ABC to begin with. My boycott of ABC would be less than effective and maybe even less than appropriate.

Now Mrs. O'Donnell is a different story. Rosie has the ideology and ABC was profiting from it. Am I upset that Rosie is gone? Absolutely not. Good riddens. But honestly, I didn't watch "The View" anyway.

I've made my choice and any other would be a little bit shallow. After all, I didn't stop watching Fox News when they brought back Geraldo Rivera.

Update - Friday April 20, 2007

Part 2 of the Democrats: "The War is Lost" will be forthcoming in a later post. For now, something from today...

Harry Reid's gaffe on Thursday was a big one. Why is no one covering this? John McCain's "Bomb" (which is of almost no consequence) is still in the news 2 days after it first broke. CNN doesn't even reference the Reid admission directly or on it's front page, you actually have to look for it. It's fallen off the Reuters page. But note that one of the top stories on CNN.com is "Will Bush still stand by Gonzalez?" On the New York Times website you won't find it on the Politics pages, only multiple stories of the AG's brush with Senate lawmakers, Republican problems with 2006 elections, and information about Edwards $400 haircuts. You'll have to go all the way to the Washington page at the bottom below the story about Wolfowitz's questionable activities with his girlfriend.

But don't get me started on the Gonzalez fiasco. What started as a political hatchet job has turned into a viable story--not because of any evidence of a wrong doing, but of the complete inability of our nation's top law enforcement officer to run his department with any semblance of order, organization, or procedure. This is why I am sure that this administration's own worst enemy is itself. I'm sure there is more to come on this. This is just another White House appointment blunder along the lines of Dick Cheney, Hariet Myers, Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld. I want to know who is making the appointment suggestions to the president. They needed to be thrown over the side of this sinking ship a long time ago. The best things to come out of this White House is Colin Powell, John Roberts, and Samuel Alito. Please, oh please, don't prove me wrong.

Democrats: "The War Is Lost"

It is indeed a sad day when a leader of the US government conceeds defeat to an enemy of our country. According to Reuters and Fox News, Harry Reid (NV), the top Democrat in the United States Senate informed the media Thursday that he had told the president that "this war is lost" referring to the Iraq conflict. Only just into the beginning of the ramp-up of U.S. forces into the country, he is ready to give up. Is that anything new? Of course not. The majority of the democratic party joined the extremist left and the media's white flag years ago.

I still don't know if I agree or not with Senator Reid. While I have a firm belief that it is imperative that we win this war, I don't know if we can win in Iraq but i'm hardly ready to concede.

There are too many things against us. And shame on the president that he didn't fix this years ago. This is a Almost Average American's take on why this war may never be won.

1. No one did their homework before this conflict began. Incompetent, god-complexed Rumsfeld put together the war plan. Don't be confused--our top generals didn't come up with that rediculous plan. Rumsfeld did, and rammed it down everyones' throat. The president trusted him and was too weak to fire him when things started moving from bad to worse. He may have waited to long to turn this around.

The president didn't know any better and followed Rumsfeld blindly into the desert. He sold a war to the public under points that turned out not to be true. Don't be fooled, the democrats believed those points too. They were just able to back off of them, deserting the president when our nation needed all of them to stand together. But no, they saw a way to win the next election.

There were 10 good reasons to take action in Iraq. It just so happens that the 3 the president used in his State of the Union and on his "Iraq War Bus Tour" were wrong. Our democratic friends seem to have forgotten this too. They want us to go it alone in Darfur, but when 1.5 million people were slaughtered in Iraq, we should have used diplomatic efforts and followed the good judgment of the UN. Yeah, good strategy.

I will try to address some of the reasons why the Iraq incurrsion was a good thing to do in an upcoming post. Things like putting an American base right in the middle of Syria and Iran. There's no Korea, Japan, or Germany in the Middle East. Things like ending the tyranical reign of a murderous dictator. Things like showing the Middle East up close that we are a benevolent society and aren't as bad as we are made out to be. Things like keeping a religious fanatical government from controlling the entire balance of power in a very dangerous part of the world.

2. Never admit your mistakes. The poor decision making at the beginning of the war continued to the middle of the war because our commander in chief was too afraid to admit that his administration might have been wrong. At what point are we so afraid to admit mistakes that our country and our armed forces must suffer for it? At the point where the looney nutso's of the fringe of any ideology are the people who hold the power.

3. Minority Rule. Just to complete a thought... We are at a point in our history where it's no longer "We the People." It's "We the Extremists." At what point did we allow Michael Moore and George Soros (not originally from the U.S.) on the left and Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell on the right to hijack our political process? Apparently at this point. When lawyers from Pat Robertson's school of law are working in powerful positions in the Justice Department. When eccentric billionaires born in other countries can effect U.S. elections, then is all hope lost? I hope not, but I wouldn't bet my measley net worth against it.

To Be Continued....

The Sadness of a Nation

I believe the only thing that needs to be said is that our thoughts and prayers are with the community of Virgina Tech this week.

May you heal with expedience.
You will hurt, you will cry, you will wonder.
We will do this with you as well.
We do not pretend to know how you feel, but we try.
Whatever our beliefs and opinions,
Today we are Americans, we are students, we are teachers.
Today we are with you.

The Media is Excited!

I couldn't help but notice something that started this last weekend. The all great and powerful Hillary Clinton announced that she would be putting some thought into deciding whether or not she was running for highest office in the land.

CNN lead with the story and devoted much (if not most) of the next several hours to it. I thought T.J. Holmes was going to wet his pants. Not since Walter Cronkite reported on a fateful day in 1963, have I ever seen a news anchor so emotionally involved in the story. He was almost giddy.

Fox News wasn't quite as giddy (almost to the point of downplaying the story) but Sean Hannity started in with his barrage of tiring "gotcha" questions to Clinton supporters. I enjoy Sean, but this line of questions got tiring after the 50th installment of similar questions to Kerry supporters in the '04 election.

Regardless of whether you support Hillary or not, the media coverage will be very interesting to watch. I will tell you, I will probably not be voting for Hillary. There is just too much calculation and positioning. I don't think that the American public will ever really know what she stands for. The Clinton smoke machine is hard at work and Hillary will stand for whatever the polls tell her to stand for.

-Middlerob

New Blog Coming Soon

I get tired of hearing the bitching back and forth of Liberals or Conservatives and find it hard to believe that everyone is so blind to a complete agenda. They destroy their credibility and personal morals for the sake of the cause.

Starting in the coming days, I am going to start my own soapbox with an emphasis on the stuff that just pisses me off. I hope to make sense. And when I don't, it's up to you to point it out.

-Middlerob