First choice, no Change

Barack Hussein Obama's first choice to start his cabinet picks should be a hint of what's to come. As Chief of Staff he picked Illinois crony, Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel's CV shows that change is not going to come in the form of the messiah's team. Bubba appointed Emanuel to Freddie Mac board. A Bubba appointee, not off to a good start. Emmanuel served on Freddie's board during the time when billions of dollars were misrepresented in profits in order to make the firm look better to investors. This was, many believe, the downward turn that brought the housing market crashing down, requiring a &$700 BILLION bailout from the taxpayers. The entire board that Emmauel sat on was criticized by the oversight group (OFHEO) in 2003. They also stated in their report that the board had been apprised of the suspect accounting tactics but "failed to make reasonable inquiries of management."
Now Emmanuel states that as Chief of Staff "he will work with President-elect Obama and his economic advisers to help ensure we protect taxpayers and homeowners." (quoted from Emmanuel's spokesperson). Where was his desire to protect the taxpayers and homeowners when it was his ONLY APPOINTED DUTY??? What exactly did he do while on the board of Freddie Mac? Apparently enough to rank him 10th on Freddie Mac's political campaign contribution list. Nacy Pelosi, ranked 7th, has assured Emanuel that there will be no investigations. BHO, the chosen one, ranked 2nd, only behind Dodd.
A bubba appointee who served under bubba (no pun intended, as far as I know) for 6 years as a top advisor. Known throughout DC as a tough "brass knuckles" and "sharp elbows" Chicago style political enforcer, this is who BHO has chosen as his first agent of Change. So much for that idea.

And so it starts

The people have spoken and apparently they have spoken with a drunken slur. The ignorant masses who vote on a whim instead of how it might best serve their country have elected a Socialist to run a Capitalist-driven country. Not just any country. Arguably the best country, unarguably the most powerful country ever on the face of the Earth. We are at a crisis juncture in our history and we need leadership of tested strength. The global economy is teetering, ours is on the brink of a new depression. Russia and Putin are feeling their oats again, working off of a new economy based on energy. We are in the midst of a world wide war on terrorism with our two fronts being Afghanistan and Iraq. The housing market is in shambles, and Wall Street is throwing fits. The leadership we got, however, is in the form of an inexperienced "community organizer" whose only skill is apparently campaigning for office. He truly believes that he can tax this country into prosperity and that we can rebuild our economy from the bottom up. He has blinded the lemmings by promising them money that someone else has to work for. His income redistribution schemes have the lower (non-taxpaying) quintile drooling over the thought of not paying for gas or making their mortgage payments. They believe that a candidate should be elected solely due to the color of his skin, using the twisted logic that "it's about time for a blck President". Not that it's time for a President with clear and elaborate goals on how to best serve. The same group that cries that poll lines are too long, or that ballots are not easily understood, condone the appearance of Black Panthers wielding nightsticks in front of Pennsylvania polling stations.
Of course you can't criticize the messiah or you will be labeled a racist. Skinny is a racist term when applied to Obama, but not to Calista. Socialist is a racist slur, and so is any other term used to describe his ridiculous policies. His campaign throws reporters off of his tour who dare to ask tough questions. He has lawyers issue cease and desist orders to tv stations running the anti-Obama ads by the NRA, threatening the stations with legal action. He cuts off two tv stations from future interviews for asking Biden tough questions. This is your President-elect. he has already made his distaste for the Constitution and shows it with his contempt for the First Amendment when it applies to his presidential aspirations. The First. The Founding Fathers thought it so important that they enumerated it as the first in line of given rights. Not rights given by man, or governments. Inalienable rights that all men possess. And your rock star treads it underfoot like so much garbage.
For the most part Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, Libertarians, are all taking the high road. They voice their displeasure with the election but state that they will give their support and respect to the new President-elect. A peaceful transition of power is the hallmark of a truly free society. I don't fall into that category. Have we forgotten the lesson the left gave us on the defeat of the blow hard liar Al Gore in 2000? Bush started his Presidency with the national media questioning his "mandate", and continued to hound him until after 9/11, when I think they all let out a sigh of relief that Gore was nowhere near the White House. Now they want us all to believe that a 4% victory is a mandate and that we should all play nice. Fuck them and Fuck playing nice. I am so tired of the media spinning this charlatan into some pied piper who is going to magically rid us of all our problems. it is going to be up to bloggers, and talk radio to keep the truth alive. The media has already proven where their loyalty lies and it is not in the truth about Obama. If they were interested in the truth they would have long ago exposed him for the impostor he is. Any Republican candidate with the baggage that Obama brings with him would never have made it out of the primaries. Especially any white male Republican candidate, although they tried their damnedest to discredit Governor Palin. How dare a woman with more experience than their savior have the audacity to claim she was a Republican!
Everything about the man screams for an in depth investigation, yet if you question anything you are labeled a racist and a crazy neocon. Ties to Domestic terrorists? Why he was only 8 when they bombed and killed. Ties to ACORN? Pay no attention to those huge sums of money he pushed in their direction. You also can't question his ties to Khalidi, a known spokesman for the PLO. Or his 20 year infatuation with Jeremiah Wright, a man he claimed to have the most influence over him. Year after year of listening to racist, anti-American rants that apparently he didn't actually hear. And don't question his ties to Rezco, Odinga, or his illegal alien aunt that we are paying the rent for.
Worse than his associations is his stated policies. Well, not really policies so much as a Socialist wishlist and a deathknell to Capitalism. Income redistribution on a grand scale. Not the New Deal, the Screw Deal. All of his promises have one thing in common. He can't carry through on any of them. The President can propose, he can veto, and he can sign into law. What he can't do is spend one red cent. For that he will need the help of his Democratic-led Congress. He can't give you a job, he can't fill your gas tank, he can't pay your mortgage. And the myrmidon on the left just ate it up.
I will do what I can, little though it may be. I hope the word gets out. I hope that the people come to their senses. I hope that the Republic can withstand this affront. I hope that the greatest economical experiment ever is able to recover despite the attacks it is about to undertake. I hope that the Congress will remember who they are elected to represent. not much of a chance, but I hope.

Father's Day

I don't really remember my Dad, he left when I was rather young, about three or so. I do know that he taught me several important lessons that I use to this very day. Don't start something that you aren't man enough to finish. Take care of your family, no one else will or should. Some things are worth fighting for. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Hard work is it's own reward.
My mother raised three of us on a meager salary in the 70's by herself. She was a tough woman and passed on everything good and moral that I know to this day. It would have been a lot easier with a father in the picture, but I think she did a good job none the less. My stepfather, Pop, was a good, decent man who took on someone elses kids when he didn't have to. He died when I was a senior in High School and I miss him. Lessons learned from Pop:
A job worth doing is worth doing right
If you don't clean that toilet you'll get diphtheria
When Father's Day rolls around, I think of Pop, not my father. And I hope I can be half the man he was.

One of Pop's favorite songs

Well my daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to Ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me Sue.

Well, he must o' thought that it was quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue.

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made me a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man that give me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue.

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is Sue! how do you do! Now you gonna die!"

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down but, to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said good-bye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's that name that helped to make you strong."

He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in your guts and the spit in your eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-biatch that named you Sue."

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me son,
And I come away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him...
Bill or George! Anything but Sue!

-Johnny Cash, "A Boy Named Sue".

Cracked him up every time. Happy Father's Day Pop

The definition of HERO

"In nothing do men approach so nearly to the gods as doing good to men." - Cicero
Hero. A word used way too often in these modern times. What defines a hero? Is it the firefighter rushing into a burning building? The cop who saves the day by placing his own life on the line against desperate criminals? Yes, I think those fit the bill. What about the athlete who pushes through the pain, or the single mom who works two jobs to support her family? Does it apply to the good Samaritan who got your car running when it stalled on the highway and then refused any kind of payment? Or what about the quarterback who scores the winning touchdown in the closing seconds of the Superbowl? As I said, the word has become overused and misused in almost every concept. I think that the word hero is best defined in two words - Irena Sendler. I could go on and on and rewrite what has already been written about her, but instead I'll just post the link.
http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=Holocaust_Celebrity_AP
Selflessly this brave young woman rescued over 2500 children from almost certain death from starvation, disease and genocide. She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and in a sane world the other contenders would bow out. (Of course in a sane world, Jimmy Carter and Arafat would never have been nominated)
This is the true meaning of hero.
For more info:
http://www.irenasendler.org/
http://www.auschwitz.dk/Sendler.htm

Memorial Day

It's that time of year again. Time for picnics and parades, a nice three day weekend. But let's not forget what today is really for. Let's not forget as we sit around the picnic table enjoying the company of family and friends, quaffing a cold brew and waiting for the steaks to be done, that there are sons and daughters in harms way. They are there to protect us, to preserve our way of life, to take the fight to our enemies, rather than fight them here. They are there out of a sense of duty, honor, and love of freedom and all our country stands for. They are there voluntarily, not drafted. These men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today joined up well after 9/11, knowing full well what may lie ahead. Despite your feelings on the war, you owe them more than you can ever repay.
And let's not forget those who came before them. The brave men and women who served in Vietnam and Korea, two highly contested wars on the home front, yet these selfless individuals fought and died to aid others. The remainders of the WWII vets, possibly the bravest men to have ever walked the earth. The scarifices these men made in order to halt Fascism and Imperialism from decimating our world are beyond description. WWI and beyond are but a twinkling in the memory of our young nation, yet the consequences of the actions of a brave few molded and shaped our country into what it is today. Take a moment and remember. Reflect on where we might be had it not been for their altruistic gifts of themselves. Thank a vet for his service, welcome them home and let them know you appreciate them. Not just today, everyday.

Random Ranting

Every time I think of a topic to write on I either get sidetracked or another even bigger issue comes to light and I have to scrap whatever I was thinking about or or it doesn't get done. In order to keep current I have decided instead to just write a few lines on several issues as often as possible.

Immigration Reform - The latest news has the feds doing exactly what they say they are not doing. The new bill they are floating has "Amnesty" stinking from it's pores. and yet the entire asshat assembly trying to push it through, including Senor Bush, are adamant about the fact that it is not an amnesty bill. Bush said the plan "will help us resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants who are here already, without animosity and without amnesty." It goes without saying that if you allow someone to commit a crime, then reward them for it, there is no animosity. However, the definition of amnesty is to forgive past wrongs. I'm sorry, Mr Bush, it seems as though your definition is wrong. As Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said this year, "My definition of amnesty is when you forgive and reward lawbreakers with the objective of their crimes."
Hear, hear Mr. King

Hypocrisy reigns - State Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco was involved in a 3-car collision this past Friday. "So what?", you ask. OK, involved may be a little easy. How about "caused" a 3-car collision? Still just kinda making it for you? How about if we add that she was driving her state-paid for SUV while chatting on her cell phone when she struck another vehicle, driving the 1t car into another? Still not enough for ya, huh? OK, one more addendum to the story. This was the very same Migden who last year voted for a new law that takes effect in July 2008 that will impose a minimum fine of $20 for anyone caught using a cell phone while driving without a headset, ear bud or other technology that frees both hands. 'Nuff said.

Johnny Taliban

I'm not prone to quoting the bible, but I will here.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his brothers (John 15:13)
There have been mighty tales told of great heroes making great sacrifices to save their brothers in the heat of battle. Medal of Honor recipients are few and far between. Living recipients even rarer. They are the bravest of the brave, and usually the most humble about their experience. Something about a man who performs such a selfless act inspires awe and respect, even without a medal.
Then you have people on the other end of the spectrum like Johnny Lindh. A misguided youth? Hardly. Wrong place, wrong time? Not likely. He left home and traveled first to Yemen to learn Arabic in order to read the Q'uran. Then a return trip to Yemen, followed by his entrance into a madrassa in Pakistan. After his schooling he journeyed to Afghanistan in order to aid the Taliban, which he stated was to help the only government that actually practiced Islamic law. He then joined the Taliban and was sent to a training course, issued weapons, and sent out to fight the enemies of the Taliban. Along the way, he not only met Osama bin Laden, but reportedly, shook his hand and received praise from OBL for joining the fight.
All of this took place prior to 9/11, and had that day never transpired the way it did, he would just be another Islamic fascist asshat. After that day, he became a traitor. Voluntarily choosing to remain and fight with Al Quaeda after 9/11 is exactly the reason he is serving a prison sentence now. It is the reason that he agreed to a plea bargain (stating at his trial,"I plead guilty. I provided my services as a soldier to the Taliban last year from about August to December. In the course of doing so, I carried a rifle and two grenades. I did so knowingly and willingly knowing that it was illegal."), knowing the penalties could have been much harsher. He was not captured trying to escape from the fighting. He was actually headed in the wrong direction for that. Instead he was actually moving with others to join another Taliban group for an attack on Mazar i Sharif. After being captured he had all the opportunity in the world to identify himself and chose not to do so. Instead he plotted along with the other prisoners, to attack and kill their guards. Mike Spann is killed during this conflict, and Lindh did nothing to prevent it, even though Spann had questioned him earlier after Lindh was pointed out as speaking English (they called him the Irishman).
Of course now we should feel sorry for him. He was in over his head, most likely scared and unsure of whom to turn to for help. We should give him leniency because he may have been tortured, or possibly questioned while under pain medication. Fuck him and everyone who acts like him. He knew full well what he was doing, as is evident from his response to a reporter asking him if he thought he had been fighting on the right side? "Definitely," was his answer. Or maybe he was on a spiritual quest that just went bad. What kind of spiritual journey includes military training and the issuing of AK-47's and hand grenades? The truth of the matter is that he is a traitor, and the price for treason should still be execution. Lindh doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as real heroes.