Here Comes the Anti Smoking Nazi’s

Picture courtesy of NPR

I’m entirely biased in this piece because I am one of the infidels that just happens to smoke. In Mass-a-two-sticks it is illegal to smoke in the workplace. Just another one of those nice laws to let the people know that the state is looking out for you…again!



Back in the old days Henry Ford was so anti drinking that I think that he demanded that there would be not one employee on his payroll that drank alcohol period. I may be wrong on that fact but good old Henry was looking out for his employees. Henry was the first I believe in corporate American history to be socially pro-active when it came to his employees because he had a problem at some point in his life with alcohol.

I can understand a supermarket chain not wanting its employees to smoke in the store, that is state law. Hell, I can understand them asking them to smoke in designated areas outside of the store, or only in sections outside of the building not seen by customers. What I don’t understand is the chain dictating personal paid break time behaviors when that time is mandated by the state.


Over at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette they have this to say about Big Y and its non smoking corporate policy…

Saturday, June 30, 2007
Big Y begins new no-smoking effort


By Craig S. Semon TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF



SOUTHBRIDGE— Chain-smoking and taking a drag of a cigarette has been snuffed out chain-wide at Big Y Supermarkets. In an effort to ensure a healthier environment, the company has implemented a smoke-free campaign to make cigarette smoking a thing of the past. As part of its health and wellness program, Big Y kicked off its new smoke-free workplace status as of July 1 by holding a companywide ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday afternoon. Big Y has more than 9,200 employees at 60 locations.


The company has joined with the American Lung Association, which trained 13 employees as “facilitators” who can hold smoking cessation classes at each store. “We’ve gone all smoke-free for the employees and it’s healthy for the customer,” Mary Voight, employer service representative for the Southbridge store, said yesterday. Not only have the 115 workers at the Southbridge Big Y taken a pledge to keep the store smoke-free (some with mixed feelings, Ms. Voight acknowledged), smoking has also been prohibited for workers during their paid breaks and 15 feet from any side of the buildings. - Telegram & Gazette


If the Big Y food chain has such an opinion against smoking then why do they sell cigarettes? It just amazes me that a company can preach the evils of smoking and yet they sell them at the front of the store. Just for giggles I wonder how many of the evil smoking heathen employees go up to the customer service counter and plank down a five dollar bill for a pack of the contraband their employer has made verboten (Forbidden)?

In this companies effort to save its employees from an uncertain future they have ostracized them as less than valuable employees. Much like the Nazi’s of World War II, the perfect race is dictated by the state and no exception is allowed. This is discrimination and corporations dictating who can work and who can not.

If the reporter for the Telegram wanted to really get at the truth of this piece he would have applied for a job at ten of the Big Y stores to see if smoking was asked on the application or during the interview process. Answering in the affirmative if questioned on the evils of tobacco products. Not getting the job at ten stores out of ten would have been the smoking gun part of this piece.


Discrimination starts little by little and each time it rears its ugly head and we ALL say it is okay then we have forgotten what freedom is really about. Start practicing the goose step and break out the needle and thread to put that Marlboro patch on all of your clothes if you are a smoker so the true race can spot you in public places.


We need to stop accepting that the government and big brother knows best or we lose the big picture of what America was founded on. Freedom.



As for Big Y, as a consumer and a frequent visitor to one of their stores, and a smoker, I won’t be buying my grocery needs there anymore. Take your buy one and get two free and smoke em!

Papamoka

***** Cigars has linked to this post...

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New England Heat Wave

Picture courtesy of National Weather.Gov

Choose your weapon. Ice Cream or Slush drink to cool you down when it is unbelievably hot?

Keep tabs on your elderly relatives and neigbors during these hot spells. Most of all make sure your little ones are drinking plenty of water and if they have to be out in the sun make sure you put sun block lotion on them.

I have to run, it's Midnight and the kids need to have on moon blocking ray protection. Also known as pulling the summer blankets up an over them as they sleep the night away.

Papamoka

Bush Chucks Congress the Finger!

Picture courtesy of the White House

President Bush made it loud and clear that he does not work for the American people today by refusing to hand over any documents to the Congress regarding the investigation of the nine fired U.S. Attorneys. This pretty much proves that he is not a President of the people but a Monarch.

I’m laying odds for all the Las Vegas houses on how long the President can withhold the documentation the subpoenas were meant for. Two weeks and five to one odds he turns them over on a late Friday afternoon. Nobody in Washington reads the late news on Fridays.

One thing that this President is good at is timing and delaying tactics. While he entertains Putin from Russia in Maine and soaks up the sunshine at the family estate in Kennebunkport the press and all of us bloggers will move on to yet another topic. Ten to one odds that a diversion tactic comes out of the Putin summit!

Over at the Washington Post they have this to say about the President using his first amendment right at flicking the bird at the spineless Congress…

Bush Won't Supply Subpoenaed Documents

By William Branigin and Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 28, 2007; 12:42 PM

The White House said today it would not comply with congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony relating to the firings of federal prosecutors last year, setting up a potential constitutional confrontation over its claim of executive privilege.

In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees, President Bush's counsel, Fred F. Fielding, said the White House refuses to turn over documents that were subpoenaed by the two committees on June 13. The deadline for handing over most of them was today.

"I write at the direction of the President to advise and inform you that the President has decided to assert executive privilege and therefore the White House will not be making any production in response to these subpoenas for documents," Fielding wrote in the letter to Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

"With respect, it is with much regret that we are forced down this unfortunate path which we sought to avoid by finding grounds for mutual accommodation," Fielding said. "We had hoped this matter could conclude with your committees receiving information in lieu of having to invoke executive privilege. Instead, we are at this conclusion."

The committees are seeking the documents to determine the extent of White House involvement in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year. That action by the Justice Department has caused an uproar in Congress and prompted many Democrats and some Republicans to call for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. - Washington Post

I get the feeling that no matter what laws are broken by this administration that there are a limited number of orange prison jump suits to go around. Our current Congress has no teeth or the desire to take a bite out of the Bush apple. No matter how much we all scream and shout about the iceberg dead ahead that is the crimes of this administration and demand it be corrected, the ship still steers full speed ahead with its collision course.

There is no shame in the Bush administration. As much as he holds his friends close he is not one that will ever let himself hang when someone closer to the gallows will take the rope for him. That is the key to the team of the Presidency that is driven by Cheney and propped up by the man supposedly elected to the highest office in the land.

Watch the news over the next couple of weekends to see the true hand of this President. Alberto will swing but it will be the President that will hand select the rope. Friends do that for friends I guess. At least that is what they do in our nations capitol. For now it will be shiny object over hear while something else is going on over there in the Bush camp.

Papamoka

Military Service Recruits Down Amongst Blacks

First statement I have is why is it that this piece in the Washington Post is focusing on just “Blacks” also known as African Americans or simply Americans. What about the amount of White Anglo Saxon Americans not signing up for service in our nations military? What about those folks from the Asian parts of the world that just happens to be an American too? What about those pesky Canadians that dared to dream to be American or for that matter what some people would say settled for the lesser of two evils?

Serving in our nations military is a volunteer based academic and lifestyle choice. It is a choice that a person makes based on many levels of thought and current political atmosphere on what the current President calls something that could be a thousand year war is not very appetizing to the pallet for signing up to serve your nation in the military.

This is what the Washington Post has to say on this issue that I personally found very racist…

Number of Blacks Joining Military Down

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
The Associated PressMonday, June 25, 2007; 12:18 AM

WASHINGTON -- The number of blacks joining the military has plunged by more than one-third since the Afghanistan and Iraq wars began. Other job prospects are soaring and relatives of potential recruits increasingly are discouraging them from joining the armed services.
According to data obtained by The Associated Press, the decline covers all four military services for active duty recruits. The drop is even more dramatic when National Guard and Reserve recruiting is included. – Washington Post

Let us just assume for argument sake that any family, no race needed to be divulged, parents love their babies and those same parents learned the mistakes of past wars. Wars fought for true freedom can be justified but wars for political friend’s business profits are just wrong. How many parents would be willing to sign up their child for service knowing that the profits from that child’s service are bank rolling friends of politicians? Nope, not doing it here! This matter transcends race across America that is filled with just… Ummm Americans.
More from the WA PO…

The decline in black recruits overall has been offset partly by an increase in Hispanic recruits and those who classify themselves as other races or nationalities.

This category could include people who consider themselves Portuguese, or of other European descent that are not covered by the main categories of white, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan, black or Hispanic. –Washington Post

(Snip-a-Roo)

At the same time, the military is opening the door to many recruits it has not welcomed in the past. That includes people who are a bit older; who score lower on aptitude tests; and who have medical conditions such as asthma or attention deficit disorders that can be controlled better now with medicine.

The Army, for example, increased its age limit for recruits from 35 to 42. – Washington Post

Somebody slap me up side the head and call me stupid! If African Americans are not signing up for military services then the standards for being in the service are lowered? What is the military saying about our friends in the African American community? Are they calling my friends in the African American community less than knowledgeable on the ways of the world when it comes to military service or complimenting them as an American?

I have to say that I encourage service in our military but I can not ask any parent to encourage belief in a war that our President has no plan to end other than opening his Presidential Library in Texas. Passing the buck is easy when you don’t care about the kids that will die for an imagined war with no clue as to how to offer a solution. Let the next guy or gal worry about it.

Then again, who are you voting for in 2008?

Papamoka

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Political Promises

I received this one in an email and just had to share...

Papamoka

Former FISA Judge Slams Bush

Picture courtesy of Smithsonian NMAH

Finally, there is someone other than the press and the blogosphere questioning President Bush use of warrantless wire taps. Who better than a former judge of the court that used to approve wire taps to speak out on this issue?

Even though the warrantless wire taps were labeled by the courts as technically illegal without the courts approval the President to this day uses them at his own discretion because the laws of the courts do not apply to him.

Over at the Washington Post they have this to say about it…

Ex-Surveillance Judge Criticizes Warrantless Taps

By Michael J. Sniffen
Associated Press
Sunday, June 24, 2007; Page A07

A federal judge who used to authorize wiretaps in terrorism and espionage cases criticized yesterday President Bush's decision to order warrantless surveillance after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"We have to understand you can fight the war [on terrorism] and lose everything if you have no civil liberties left when you get through fighting the war," said Royce C. Lamberth, a U.S. District Court judge in Washington and a former presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, speaking at the American Library Association's annual convention.
Lamberth, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, expressed his opposition to letting the executive branch decide on its own which people to spy on in national security cases.

The judge said it is proper for executive branch agencies to conduct such surveillance. "But what we have found in the history of our country is that you can't trust the executive," he said.
"The executive has to fight and win the war at all costs. But judges understand the war has to be fought, but it can't be at all costs," Lamberth said at the Washington Convention Center. "We still have to preserve our civil liberties. Judges are the kinds of people you want to entrust that kind of judgment to more than the executive." - Washington Post

Can we get an Amen from the choir?

President Bush using warrantless wire taps for expedience purposes was blown out of the water by Judge Lamberth when on 9/11 the darkest day of this century he approved FIVE warrants during the commute from his home to the court. Is that not quick enough for President Bush?

Papamoka

An Indecisive American People

In America today there is a strong and growing movement of people that once thought their voices did not count when it came to the policies of our government. There is some truth to the message that if you do not vote then you do not count but it is not the entire truth. Being an American does not mean that you have to vote, it simply helps the process of putting like minds in the offices you vote for.

Even if you do not vote, your government is still your government as a citizen. Your voice is still very important. Your life and your opinions matter. You are in fact a very important person in the ongoing experiment that is the United States of America. There is only one downfall to our form of government and that is when people believe that our government is not about them. That is the beginning of the end to our democratically elected servants to our republic. Or dare I say the beginning of an elitist government and society led by the needs of the few at the cost of the many.

As Richard Nixon tore down the respect of the political office of the Presidency, so has George W. Bush. Past lessons have been forgotten and the future of being respected as an American President will be up to future office holders to defend. Deciding what laws apply to the President alone when signing laws into effect is wrong and elitist at best. No American is above the law and never should be. We are a land of laws and rules that apply to all. Without them, we have anarchy and that is not a part of the American experiment.

In my mind, the office of President is not just about the power that comes with it. Being the President is about all of the people and sometimes it is about what the people want that is not to your personal liking. Yet it is the people that own the office and not the individual sitting behind the desk. If that was not the case then the descendants of George Washington would be a living and ruling Monarchy today. Am I wrong?

Get off the damn cell phone, computer, email or whatever seems more important and write or email your Representative in Congress on issues you care about. Tell them how you feel about any given issue. Be heard and wash, rinse and repeat.

Not doing that, then yes, special interest will walk away with our nation of laws that only apply to you. They get a waiver and walk away clean as a new born baby.

As an American you need to decide what you want from your leaders and more importantly what you do not want.

Papamoka

Gone Deep Sea Fishing

Picture courtesy of The Yellow Bird

Today I was blessed with a vacation day to go deep sea fishing. It was a great time! I grew up on a small pond and I can fish with the best of them. Show me a pond and I can show you how to catch a few dozen Sun Fish in less than an hour which basically means I suck at fishing. Today though was a fun an exciting time because it was done with a great group of friends and the laughs were non stop.

We pulled out of Hampton Beach, NH on a sixty foot boat called The Yellow Bird. Traveling out almost twenty five miles, every fishing poll available was casting down bait to the bottom to hopefully catch some whoppers. Let me tell you, it was a great learning experience.

There is a big difference between fishing with worms and fishing with deep sea bait. You could tell the "Been here and done that!" people from the "What the hell am I doing wrong now?" participants. Thankfully, I had a seasoned veteran of many fishing wars enjoying his retirement to walk me through the "do's and do not's" of deep sea fishing. While he was pulling in Haddock, Cod and an occasional Dog Fish we were pulling up non stop Dog Fish.

All of the crew were amazingly patient with us newbies and I appreciated it many times over. If they were not baiting some of the ladies hooks they were helping to untangle the lines of some of the super newbies who's Dog Fish seemed to weave in and out of respectable fishermans lines.

Captain Eric nicknamed the wife the "Dog Catcher" when she hit her eighth in a row. I managed to only pull in four Dog Fish due to the fact that I was of utmost importance in instructing the wife on tips from the crew of the Yellow Bird and my new friend of encyclopedic knowledge and his tips of wisdom that kept pulling up the keepers.

There was a storm that came up when we finally headed back in so everyone crowded into the cabin of the boat and that was the start of a laugh or be made fun of marathon. If you recall those old high school or college games of snooze you loose, I don't recommend any naps while returning back to port from deep sea fishing. Pictures tell a thousand words. Some of them true but most of them just made up for laughs. With all of that being said it was a great adventure that I look forward to doing again.

Now all I have to do is find that website for anti Dog Fish hooks that my retired fishing mentor was telling me about.

Papamoka

TRY, TRY AGAIN: THE GOLD-PLATED TURD OF “IMMIGRATION REFORM”

Picture courtesy of WelcometoUSA.gov

This post is courtesy of my good friend Michael Linn Jones. I have to say that he has swayed my opinion with his logic and articulate dissertation when it comes to the immigration issues here in America.

TRY, TRY AGAIN: THE GOLD-PLATED TURD OF “IMMIGRATION REFORM”

By: Michael Linn Jones

A long time ago, the impressionist David Frye came out with an album that poked fun at almost all the contemporary political figures. In one segment, a man is describing Richard Nixon’s decision to run for the presidency in 1968.
“He ignored the critics; he ignored the polls; he ignored the wishes of the American People.”

And so might be said about the latest moves by the U.S. Senate to breathe new life into a mockery of democracy. Combining “compassionate conservatism” with liberal dysfunctionality, the “immigration reform bill” is coming back for a second bite of the apple.

In plain English, where there’s a will there’s a way. Particularly when it comes to the U.S. Congress. President Bush threw a $4 billion bone to the wolves by applying it to border security. That’s easy to do since it, too, can be ignored as it has been since 1986.

Harry Reid is going to use some procedures that boil down to this: the bill is going to pass the Senate, and rumors abound that any unpalatable amendments (at least to proponents of amnesty) will be removed before it reaches the House for conference.
Considering the methods used, I would deem the legislation the “Suppository Act of 2007″ since every citizen and legal resident is going to get it whether they like it or not. It is felt that the “little people” enraged by this betrayal of the principle of obeying the law will be forgotten within six months.

To paraphrase Lincoln, you can screw all the people some of the time; some of the people all of the time, but not all of the people all of the time. This might be considered screwing most of the people for ALL time.

It has been said that George W. Bush doesn’t have to run for another election in his life so he is free to do whatever he feels is right, or expedient. Senators have six year terms, so each one weighs the negatives of an unpopular vote against the odds that the electorate will forget 4 or 5 years from now. Representatives, however, have to face the music every 2 years, and are far more sensitive to what their constituents say.

This may be politics, and it may be reality, but on a subject as critical to the future of this nation, could not these people look upon this whole thing with a bit of honesty? It’s a sham; not only a sham but an insult to anyone’s intelligence to say that the borders cannot POSSIBLY be secured unless amnesty is granted first.
What we are being told is that we need to renew the 1986 legislation, with the same false promises, and while we’re at it, grant another amnesty. So, it can be safely concluded that this entire exercise is for that one purpose, and everything else is just window dressing.

Some time ago I got into it with some rather conservative folks about the term “slow bleed,” referring to the Democrats’ Iraq War strategy. Now I can see that the term is appropriate; not in reference to the Iraq War, but to life here in the U.S.

Whether a person is killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, or killed by a drunk driver who just happens to be here illegally (and after having been deported numerous times in many cases), that person is still dead. Or maimed for life. It is happening every single day in this country, but like a low-grade fever never makes the headlines because the statistics are boring.

So, whether you put a loved one in the ground or watch them go through years of recovery, you are living through the “slow bleed” strategy of Washington politicians, regardless of their party. It is the consequence of total indifference to the welfare of the citizens of the United States. It is malignant negligence through opportunism.

Paint it any color you want, but that immigration bill is a turd and will always smell like one. And those who vote for it may retain its odor longer than the memories of the voters.

Michael Linn Jones

MLJ was a featured Blog Talk Radio guest over at Political Vindication on this issue.

Broken Hearts of Nine Firefighter Families

My heart felt prayers are with the nine families of the Firefighters lost in the fire in South Carolina. Out across the land many of American families will sit down to dinner tonight and Dad will be there. That will not be the case for nine families in South Carolina. When you sit down to your dinner table, say a prayer for those families. Pray for them to get through this difficult time as best they can, pray that they look to one another and embrace one another in grief and mourning knowing that the fallen firefighter in their family was a true hero. Not just any hero but an American hero.

Someone once said that God has no greater love than that of one that looses his own life to save another. I’ll be praying for the families of the lost firefighters. They need all of us now and it is up to all of us to remember the deeds of nine very brave men.

Over at the Washington Post they have this coverage on this tragedy in South Carolina…

S.C. Warehouse Fire Kills 9 Firefighters

By BRUCE SMITH
The Associated PressTuesday, June 19, 2007; 4:19 PM

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Fire swept through a furniture warehouse, collapsing its roof and killing nine firefighters inside _ the nation's deadliest single disaster for firefighters since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"Nine brave, heroic, courageous firefighters of the city of Charleston have perished fighting fire in a most courageous and fearless manner, carrying out their duties," Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley said at a morning news conference. "To all of their loved ones, our heart goes out to them." - Washington Post

Just as the nation grieved for the fallen six Firefighters in Worcester, MA we should come together as one people to think and pray for the nine lost in Charleston, South Carolina.

Call your local church and ask that the next service be in their honor. Above all remember to thank your local Firefighters for what they do every single day. When the alarm rings and they go out the door there is always the chance that some of them might never see the fire station or their families again. In Charleston they know that pain all to well today.

From the people of Worcester, MA we send our thoughts and prayers. May God bless them all.

Papamoka

Other folks talking about this tragedy...

The Rev. Chuck Currie

Hillary Clinton

Can Hillary Clinton be the best what the DNC has to give? Or is Barack Obama up for it? Toss aside the rest of the Democrat Candidates. I'll miss Bill Richardson but he has not gotten the game that is politics. All I am seeing is the me too candidates and it is not exciting the mains stream press by any means.

With the drive for super primary days in the future the field of political candidates in both parties will clear quicker than last call at the corner bar. The selection process has now been hi-jacked by the need to be first in the selection of candidates and that ends up with just one result.

Who can cash a billion dollar check made out by the next office holder of the White House?

Belly up to the bar special interests... both parties included. Sad.

Papamoka

Fathers Day and Real Dad’s

Fathers Day is here again and all I can think of is my own Dad that passed away in 2003. My Dad was a good man, an honest man, a hardworking man that happened to have seven kids. He was Irish and the television was broken so I’m not giving any excuses for a large family.

Dad loved his family and he showed it as best he could and the only way that he knew how. He never bought expensive toys for himself. No golf clubs, no motorcycles, no fancy clothes or shoes. Matter of fact he used to go to a shoe repair shop to get his heals and souls replaced. This was a Dad that dropped his paycheck in Mom’s hand and he hadn’t signed his own name on it in over thirty years. Mom signed, cashed, and paid the families bills. What the family needed he provided the means. Mom handled the details of how to get it done with the money they had.

I recall the good times more so than my older siblings and to me he just wasn’t the man that made and enforced the rules of a large family but he was also my friend. My Dad was not the same Dad that my sisters knew. Dad loved his daughters but he never understood how the female mind worked so he stepped aside and let Mom handle the alien species of the household. He wasn’t the same Dad that my older brothers knew either. With each one of his seven children he had only his own personal way of dealing with his children. He wasn’t a Doctor Phil Dad but he gave it his best shot. Where he may have failed in some of his children’s eyes he succeeded in others. Seven children are seven very different people. Each one of his children had a very different relationship with him. Some of us took to heart what he was all about and some of us chucked the bird at him for being over protective and concerned when Mom was crying.

We all grew up, we all survived Dad at his worst and Dad at his best. What I love to remember most is that he loved all his children no matter our faults and failures. We were and are all his babies and that is what a true Dad is all about.

Dad became frail after Mom died. He ventured back up north from Florida. When he started to decline we took care of Grampa Jack as best we could. When Alzheimer’s took over his mind I know that he and I were still a team. Till his last day on this Earth he still looked at me as a friend, someone he could be comfortable with and a calm place to be in a storm of confusion. He didn’t know my name but I knew his. That is all that mattered.

Being the baby boy it was he and I that bonded the most. I will never have a friend that will accept me no matter my faults like my Dad did and frankly I never want to replace the friendship that my Father and I had. Jack O’Keefe was my best friend and he was also my Dad. I loved him as a friend and also as my Dad. I can only hope that I can be half the man he was as a father.

Happy Fathers Day Dad!

I love you Dad and miss you my friend,

Matthew

Washington is Full of Methane Related Gas

Picture Courtesy of NREL

While both sides of the isle claim to be trying to resolve our nation energy policy the only thing really getting done is… well, nothing. Over on the right they are pushing for more oil drilling and over on the left they are pushing for alternative energy sources. What we end up with is… well, nothing.

It’s almost as if they need Moe from the Three Stooges fame to show up on the floor of the House and Senate and do his slap routine. Line up the entire crew and get a running start Moe.

Over at the Washington Post they have this to say about our nations lack of leadership on America’s energy policy…

A Wind-Powered Town, an Energy Bill and a Lot of Hot Air

By Dana Milbank
Friday, June 15, 2007

There's a certain irony in Washington's failure to devise a modern energy policy. This is, after all, the one place on earth that is powered almost entirely by wind.
Lawmakers are growing further apart on energy legislation, as Democrats demand alternative fuels and Republicans insist on more drilling. But for both sides, the ability to talk about energy is both plentiful and renewable.

Snip-a-roo

Talk about a large carbon footprint. The amount of CO2 emitted from the mouths of all these lawmakers, lobbyists and activists was enough to cause part of Greenland to melt into the sea.

"This bill's going to have a tough time," said Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), demonstrating his mastery of the obvious at one of yesterday's many news conferences. "My guess is there are many hours of lengthy debate ahead." That's a safe guess, given that the Senate plans for about eight days of debate on the bill -- and Republicans such as Craig are hinting at a filibuster that could derail the whole thing.

Snip-a-roo

"We do not believe in the president's theory, the Republicans' theory: Drill, drill, drill, more of the same," Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate majority leader, taunted. "It reminds me of Iraq."

The senators displayed a chart contrasting two families: The energy-efficient "Baileys," who spend $1,600 a year less than the inefficient "Martins." "You notice it's not just any old chart," said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). "There are families mentioned on that chart."

His colleagues had forgotten to tell Casey that the Martins and the Baileys were fictitious. - Washington Post

Rather than griping and pissing and moaning how dead wrong the other side of the isle is why don’t they all just meet in the damn middle of this legislation and call it a damn day? If everyone insists on the Bush mentality of governing (My way or the highway) then we as a nation are stuck with an energy policy that favors using more of what we have less and less of.

Papamoka

Gay Marriage is Safe in Mass a Two Sticks…

What happened in Boston today really was not about Gay or Lesbian people having the ability or right to legally marry. Although I am very much in favor of gay marriage, today was really about our state Constitution and keeping it intact as a living working document that is fair for all citizens of the state. Placing any language in it that bans the personal rights of any individuals happiness is not for the place of government at any level.

Over at the Boston Herald they had this to say about it…

Lawmakers defeat gay marriage ban amendment by five votes
By Casey Ross
Boston Herald Reporter
Thursday, June 14, 2007

The state Legislature has defeated a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage, ending a three-year campaign to overturn its legalization after several lawmakers switched their votes in the final hours of a dramatic legislative battle.

The proposed constitutional ban was defeated in a roll-call vote of both houses of the Legislature shortly after 1 p.m. today, triggering a thunderous ovation by gay couples in the State House. The final tally was 151-45, giving supporters of gay marriage a victory by 5 votes.

The vote means the ban will be blocked from reaching the 2008 ballot, and that gay marriage has survived its final challenge, barring an unlikely effort to resurrect the ban at a later date. - Boston Herald

For all the folks that were demanding that gay marriage be banned in this state I’d suggest that you look around at your own family. Chances are that someone that you love very dearly is gay. Would it ever be right to deny that person the happiness of having a state recognized lifetime commitment? We should define marriage as love between two people and leave it at that.

Now that the state is out of the peoples personal lives can we get something done about matters that are really important? Is it true that cats and dogs are living together. Now that just isn’t right.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Bring IT ON!

*****This post has been linked to at the Gun Toting Liberal

How is Coal to Diesel Fuel Bad?

Picture courtesy of the DOE

Somebody slap me upside the head as I pump the $3.00 dollar a gallon gas courtesy of our so called good friends in the Middle East and so called market driven supply and demand into the tank of my car. Is it a bad thing that we might think of looking at another source of fuel for the American Go Go machines we call cars?

When the price of gasoline is over the price of bread then there is a serious problem with the market and Wall Street and the CEO’s will reap the benefits of market based thievery. Start the egg timer because the first Billion dollar CEO benefit is just over the horizon and that is not a joke to laugh about.

Where some folks see the market as pure capitalism others see the market taking the bread off of our families tables to fuel the car that would have bought the bread.

Senate Democrats Propose Loans for Coal-Based Fuel Plants

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
Published: June 13, 2007

WASHINGTON, June 12 — As the Senate began debate Tuesday on a sprawling bill to reduce oil consumption, top Democrats were circulating a proposal to provide $10 billion in loans for plants that make diesel fuel from coal.

The proposal highlights the horse-trading involving powerful industry groups as Democratic leaders push for legislation that would require higher mileage in cars and a huge increase in the production of renewable fuels made from plants like switch grass.
But many environmental groups are flatly opposed. “We don’t think the federal government should be subsidizing liquid coal,” said Erich Pica of Friends of the Earth. “From a global warming and an environmental position, liquid coal is an unacceptable source of energy.”

The bill is being circulated by Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee and the energy bill’s lead author. Until this week, Mr. Bingaman had opposed big subsidies for coal-based fuels, saying that each new production plant would cost billions of dollars and that the economic uncertainties posed risks for taxpayers.

But in what could be an effort to fend off demands from coal-state lawmakers for bigger subsidies, Mr. Bingaman’s draft proposal would offer up to $10 billion in direct government loans for coal-to-liquid plants. - New York Times

I’m going to set the record straight here and now. As long as there is a Presidency that is hi-jacked by big oil in this nation then the rape of the people at the pump will continue. At this point in time the record breaking profits by all of the oil companies is not letting the so called leader of the free world walk away from the table that they have bought and paid for.

What I find truly and think that is ironic is that any Republican wanting to be considered for re-election thinks that this idea of Coal to Diesel is wrong. If the President claimed that we are addicted to oil then what is the problem with converting one of our nations largest resources to get away from oil dependence?

America will only be free when we find the sources for our energy needs from multiple sources that never have a knife at our throats. That requirement calls for alternative sources and research to make it happen.

Our nation is making progress on our energy needs despite the negligence of a President in the good old boys club. Wind energy is exploding, solar energy is exploding and the newest and latest moves away from oil dependence are happening regardless of the good old boy club.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Bring It On!

*****This post linked to on the Wall Street Journal

Is Bush Taking on Iran Too?

Picture courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense


In my own mind I can picture the President setting up his game board of the Middle East with his tin soldiers with the full intent of stamping the entire region as “Property of BIG U.S. OIL”. You can literally see the President staging the props for his next conquest and that target is Iran. Piece by piece he is building the set. Iran is building “Nuc’lar” weapons, Iran is funding the terrorists, Iran is going to wipe Israel off the map and as the President builds the set and arranges the lighting the stage and reasoning for his last “Preemptive War” is set.

It should be interesting to see him try and pull this one off now that the entire press of the United States and the world knows that his sources for information are not credible or reliable. His own personal reputation and his word is no longer acceptable as “Good enough for me too” amongst even our staunchest allies anymore.

Over at the Washington Post they have just a sound bite on yet another part to the Bush reasoning to attack Iran. I found it interesting that this information was released in Paris of all places…

U.S. Envoy Says Iran Is Arming Taliban
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 12, 2007; 1:10 PM

PARIS -- A senior U.S. diplomat accused Iran on Tuesday of transferring weapons to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, where NATO forces are deployed to bring stability to the country.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, speaking to reporters in Paris, said Iran was funding insurrections across the Middle East and "Iran is now even transferring arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan. - Washington Post

All of this preparation for the President to pull the trigger on Iran will give him the reasons he needs to tell the people why our sons and daughters will be fighting and loosing their lives on yet another front. I’m beginning to think this President hates all nations that start with a vowel!

Tell me that I am wrong but wasn’t this the same information we started to hear about Iraq before he gave the go ahead to invade. Was Iraq not lead by a leader that despised the United States so much that supposedly he too was building weapons of mass destruction. The list of accusations went on and on and most of them turned out to be false. Other than Saddam Hussein being a bastard to his own people there was no reason for our troops to invade Iraq.

With all of the suggested possibilities for reasons to attack any sovereign nation given by the Bush administration, I’m keeping a real close eye on them Canadians. They have to be plotting against us during them long cold winters. They might not have yellow cake but I’m pretty sure there just might be some biscuits hidden in a bread drawer somewhere up there.

Mexico is okay because nobody really lives there anymore but that is another discussion for another day.

Papamoka

Cross Posted at Bring It ON!

Alberto Gonzales is Cool With Mini Republicans

Just for giggles and chuckles let me put forth a hypothetical scenario that involves you. You are speeding way over the posted limits and a police officer pulls you over. You know what you did wrong and know the consequences of it but you have a get out of jail card up your sleeve. All you have to say to the police officer is “I don’t recall”. That and the card up your sleeve gets you off without so much as a slap on the wrist.

This is the same scenario played out in our nations capital with the man that is supposed to be in charge of enforcing the laws of the land. I do not recall is not the answer you want to give when you know your hand is glued inside the damn cookie jar. An oops might work but I don’t remember that I broke a dozen laws as Attorney General just does not fly.

Congress is a body of people that make the laws and if the Attorney General forgets what laws apply then a vote of no confidence is in order. President Bush was right in declaring the latest vote on Alberto Gonzales as politics. The only problem is that it is yet one more time that the Republicans fail to face reality that the current administration has been twisting the laws that apply to everyone else to suit what they want.

Over at Yahoo News they have this piece on the never ending deception and bait and switch that is the Bush administration…

GOP blocks Gonzales no-confidence vote

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON -

Republicans blocked a Senate no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Monday, rejecting a symbolic Democratic effort to force him from office amid blistering criticism from lawmakers in both parties.

The 53-38 vote to move the resolution to full debate fell seven short of the 60 required. In bringing the matter up, Democrats dared Republicans to vote their true feelings about an attorney general who has alienated even the White House's strongest defenders by bungling the firings of federal prosecutors and claiming not to recall the details.

Republicans did not defend him, but most voted against moving the resolution ahead.

Monday's vote was not the end of scrutiny for Gonzales and his management of the Justice Department — more congressional hearings are scheduled and an internal department investigation continues.

Short of impeachment, Congress has no authority to oust a Cabinet member, but Democrats were trying anew to give him a push. Gonzales dismissed the rhetorical ruckus in the Senate, and President Bush continued to stand by his longtime friend and legal adviser.

"They can have their votes of no confidence, but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government," Bush said in Sofia, Bulgaria, the last stop on a weeklong visit to Europe.

"This process has been drug out a long time," Bush added. "It's political."

The attorney general said he didn't plan on leaving anytime soon. - Yahoo News

Everyone should get the same turn at the wheel of justice that the President has in his pocket. For that matter I would prefer the laws that simply apply to political appointees by this President. Break any law you want and if Dick and George approve then it is okey dokey. Apparently, the Republican Party has no problem with that either.

One problem with this scenario is that each one of these people that refused to vote for a no confidence vote for the Attorney General also swore to defend the Constitution and as we all know, you might as well use is to wipe your back side according to President Bush.

Personal thanks to Achorn for this list of Senators with confidence in Gonzales...
Papamoka

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Paris is Better Than YOU?

Paris Hilton is all over the news and in some respects I truly feel sorry for this young kid. As a real parent I would not interfere with what is going on in her life because she honestly needs to learn the hard way that life is all about laws. Mom and Dad no matter how rich they are or you are apply to all!

Spoiled brats that think that Mummy and Daddy can get them out of any self induced dilemma will never happen. I applaude the judge in this case for stomping his foot down and letting it be known that a ruling on a case is in fact a ruling on the crime.

Paris Hilton is a train wreck waiting to happen and she has no clear idea what the laws of the land are. Reality for the people that call themselves celebrities is the same for all.

Down the road she might appreciate the strong arm of a judge over the soft wrist slap from parents that think a check written out to a lawyer will make everything better.

Face the facts and pay the price for your own stupidity. If I am not above the law then not one soul on this earth is. Face your demons and pay the price for your ignorance.

Bush Commerce Department General is Gambling Too?

Picture courtesy of Bally's Atlantic City

Is it bad enough that the President is overseas gambling with America’s future and throwing the political dice of what he thinks our nation is all about but then again back at home he has many other folks rolling the dice as well? Toss the dice and see what the latest Bush administration scandal is and you cant make this stuff up!


Suffice to say that the good old boy network in Washington D.C. is still up to its old games. There seems to be a non stop mentality that anyone in the service to the people in the United States Government can do no wrong even if it breaks all the rules you learned in first grade, second grade, and all the way up the ladder of your public education. Doing something wrong is no longer questioned by anyone in the Bush administration because they are learning from the best at it.


Take a few of your closest buds and subordinates for an all expense paid junket to Atlantic City to attend a conference (winky, wink). There is some really serious government business in the city of slots and gambling institutions. Seminars with one armed bandits to discuss military commerce and how to expand the ventures of American business owners in the ways of … umm separating the government employees on the clock from their money.


Somebody has to defend the slot playing politicos and defend the rights of subordinates to loan cash to their boss when he runs out when it comes time to hitting the old slot machines… umm I mean when his expense account runs low for the lectures.


If you ever thought that the Republican run government has hit the very bottom of the barrel then this article from the Washington Post says it all…


Commerce Dept. Inspector General's Casino Trip Probed
Lawmaker Claims It Was on Federal Time
By John SolomonWashington Post Staff Writer Saturday, June 9, 2007

Commerce Department Inspector General Johnnie E. Frazier, whose retirement was announced Thursday, took five subordinates attending a government conference last spring gambling with him in Atlantic City on federal time, a lawmaker alleged yesterday.


When Frazier returned to the conference in Philadelphia, he asked subordinates if he could borrow $100 and one assistant obliged, according to a congressional committee and an eyewitness.

Frazier retired while several congressional and executive branch investigations of his activities are pending. A report by the Office of Special Counsel last month recommended that President Bush punish him for violating the federal whistle-blower law by demoting two witnesses involved in the investigations.


(Snippet-a-roo)


The committee's staff also has interviewed an assistant in Frazier's office who gave her boss $100 after he asked subordinates if he could borrow money. An eyewitness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns about reprisal, said Frazier asked subordinates for money the morning after returning from the gambling jaunt. One obliged, the witness said.


The House panel also is investigating whether Frazier and others altered or deleted government records after the investigations began. One manager has told the committee he helped Frazier delete approximately 4,000 e-mails from his government account last October, the committee said.


"Mr. Frazier's decision to resign was a wise one," said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. "This investigation, however, is far from over." - Washington Post


Where does serving your nation in our government go from performing a task that is to find corruption within commerce become being corrupt yourself? I tend to think that it is a learned acceptance of government and we as the taxpayers are at the mercy of a check book that will never have a zero balance.


Corruption in our government is popping up everywhere and investigations are one thing but changing the ideology of what public service is all about will be a long road to travel. For the average person the word politician or public servant is now a very dirty word synonymous with a common street walker in the so called red light district. If a dollar is to be made then the risk of being caught is worth the chance of pulling the one armed bandit of public service.


What bothers me about this story in the Washington Post is that the Whistle Blowers that broke this latest scandal of the Bush administration are considered bastards amongst members of prominent public servants. In place of praise, they were demoted for serving the people. This gives the old saying “You can’t fight City Hall” a whole new meaning.


The United States Government payroll is the largest employer in the nation or a close second. Our nation supposedly encourages “Whistle Blowers” in one breath and yet time and time again in the next breath the people blowing that same whistle become the story and the ones to blame.


This leads me to believe that our nation is ruled by the select few for the purpose of serving just the select few and if you cross them then you will be subject to scorn and ridicule. Any skeletons in your closet become your excuse for ratting out corruption at any level and you become the bait and switch target. That is not right and it never should be acceptable to anyone if you call yourself an American.


If City Hall is asking you to loan them a hundred bucks due to a personal gambling problem and if you point it out as a “Whistle Blower” then I as an American appreciate your service to your nation. That it is not wrong.


Asking for the cash loan from subordinates is wrong! Taking your employees on a gambling adventure on government time is wrong no matter how you spin it.


Papamoka

Cross posted at Bring It On!

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Are all Fatwa Declarations Legitimate?

Picture courtesy of Guide Instanbul

Over the past few years we have herd of the term Fatwa from the Muslim people of the middle east and it intrigues me to learn what a Fatwa really is. Step in and correct me if I am wrong and please comment if I am wrong!

My former line of thought was that a Fatwa was similar to Jihad and yet now I find that they are two very different things. Seeing that we are at war with a nation and I presume an entire region I would think that it might be a good idea to educate ourselves as to what these terms that are thrown around by our so called enemies mean.

I don’t have anything against someone that chooses to be a Muslim or was born a Muslim. I don’t have a problem with someone born in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia or any other Muslim based theocracy and nation. Reading up on the faith that is Islam it is a very proud and non violent faith. Much like the Christian Bible, the Koran can probably be interpreted ten ways to Sunday and none of the interpretations is correct.

Take for instance the first Commandment of the Christian faith. Thou Shall Not Kill. If America is a religious Christian Faith society then according to this Commandment we should not have an army to defend us? No offense to all of my friends in service to our nation in the military intended. No pink slips will be issued to those in the military based on this post… Trust me on that one. My interpretation is very wrong but could the same mistake be made with the Koran?

Over at the Washington Post they explain what a Fatwa is from someone that should know…

Sheikh Ali Gomaa: When each person's unqualified opinion is considered a fatwa we lose a tool for reigning in extremism and preserving balance of Islamic law.
Almost two years ago the citizens of London were victims of a great atrocity. Those who perpetrated those crimes would like you to believe that they were inspired by the religion of Islam. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is nothing in Islam that could ever justify these blatant acts of aggression. Islam calls on Muslims to be productive members of whatever society they find themselves in. Islam embodies a flexibility that allows Muslims to do so without any internal or external conflict. This is why we see a vast variety of cultural, artistic and civilisational phenomena all of which can be described as Islamic, ranging from the Taj Mahal in India to the winding streets of Fez to the poetry composed by English converts that represents not only the rigor of English verse, but also encompasses the beauty of Islamic piety.

This flexibility is not just present in the cultural output of Muslims; it is an integral part of the Islamic legal tradition as well. In fact, you could say it is one of the defining characteristics of Islamic law. Islamic law is both a methodology and the collection of positions adopted by Muslim jurists over the last 1,400 years. Those centuries were witness to no less than 90 schools of legal thought, and the 21st century finds us in the providential position to look back on this tradition in order to find that which will benefit us today. This is one of the first steps in the issuing of a fatwa (religious opinion/ruling). - Washington Post

So I’m a little bit wiser today than yesterday. Fatwa is a religious opinion and or ruling on the religion of Islam. Islam is a religion that changes over the course of time and its history is relevant to the changes declared with a Fatwa.

So now I have to find out who is the equivalent of the Pope to find out how these Fatwa’s are issued and made part of the permanent Islamic law. Can anyone that is a Cleric issue a Fatwa? According to the article that is not the case. I’m wondering if the same rules apply as to all of those Jihad’s that everyone talks about in the Middle East?

My main point of this post is to think more about who we as a nation are as a target of Islamist misunderstanding of Americans as a people. If we can find the common links for change so two people can exist with understanding of one another then that is for the good of all people.

Papamoka

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Chell's Roost

Picture courtesy of Chell's Roost

Every once in a while you come across a great web site that leads you to many other interesting sites. Just by chance and by commenting on a piece here I found an unbelivably great site!

My first thoughts were that I wanted to put this great new site that I stumbled on up on my own site . Blogger is having technical problems and I can't add anything to my template page. According to the error message it is an Adsense problem that is effecting all templates. I hope to hell that somebody at Blogger is talking to the people at Google to fix this problem right away.

Let's get all the people from Blogger with pocket protectors and all the people from Google Adsense with pocket protectors in the same room and fix it quick

Please check out my newest contribution to my Links I Recommended list Chell's Roost. As soon as I can edit my template that is.

My personal thanks to Chell for linking here and at Raising Kids in America.

Papamoka

AWOL for Kids and You Go to Jail?

Picture Courtesy of Lisa Hayes Family Friends...

This story that the Concord Monitor reported on is one that will have your “Live Free or Die” blood boiling. Apparently, the New Hampshire National Guard will only bend so far when it comes to the troops serving our nation and their own personal need to make sure that their child is safe. When the safety of the child is evident to the local police and Mom is in Iraq serving our nation then rules have to bend. This Mom is on her second tour of duty in Iraq but according to her military superiors you can only stretch the patience of the military black and white rule book so far. No matter what the circumstances are.

Here is what the Concord Monitor has to say about this…

Guard member faces prison

AWOL soldier left for her daughter
Leave Runs out before case resolved

By Joelle Farrell Concord Monitor staff
June 03. 2007

A New Hampshire National Guard soldier could face up to five years in prison on desertion charges for leaving Iraq to gain custody of her 7-year-old daughter.Spc. Lisa Hayes, 32, of Rindge, was serving her second tour in Iraq when she was notified of two violent incidents between her ex-husband and his live-in girlfriend. Hayes's ex-husband had primary guardianship of their daughter, Brystal Knight.

Hayes, a soldier serving with the 3643rd Security Forces, asked for emergency leave in February to attend a court hearing and gain custody of Brystal. But the court proceedings aren't over yet, and Hayes's leave expired in March. Hayes has asked for a hardship discharge from the Guard, saying there is no one else to care for Brystal.

"I can't serve my country at my daughter's expense," she said. "I have to be here. There's no going back."

The National Guard helped Hayes file paperwork for the discharge and offered assistance from the family support program for deployed soldiers, said Lt. Col. Francine Swan, a lawyer with the Guard. Hayes's commander, Capt. Tony Gagnon, extended her leave three times to prevent her from entering AWOL status. He told her in a March 5 correspondence that she needed to better inform her superiors in Iraq about what was going on.

First Sgt. Michael Daigle, a spokesman for the state National Guard, said custody disputes during a deployment are not unusual, and the Guard tries to help whenever possible. He said Hayes has forgone assistance and ignored counsel, leading the Army to take action. - Concord Monitor

Let me be the first to say that this is not just a military problem but a New Hampshire Court problem. In the Live Free or Die state the speed of justice is right up there with molasses in the middle of winter. It just doesn’t flow. Expedience in justice could have been given to this woman and her child knowing that her service to our nation and our military is of utmost importance.

I honestly think that the National Guard could have cut her some more slack given the nature of her and her child’s situation and requested that her so called family need leave be added to the end of her actual tour of duty. It seems that there is more to this story and there is. Apparently, according to a close friend that called in to 96.9 FM talk radio to Eagan and Braude Show in Boston, Spc. Hayes went over her immediate commanders to get her leave of absence and that just might have pissed off the local good old boys.

When a wrong is present and your immediate report refuses to acknowledge your personal emergency then I commend Spc. Hayes for going over their heads. What parent would not do the same thing given the same situation.

How do we stop a train wreck that is about to happen here and save the little girl and her Mom that served two tours in Iraq? We call the state Congressional Members in New Hampshire and bitch. We call the Governor of New Hampshire and bitch. We call the State Senators of New Hampshire and bitch.

When a Mom that is in the military would risk her career for her children and her immediate reports don’t see the trees for the forest then there is a wrong that seriously needs to be righted.

New Hampshire State and Federal Government links...

Papamoka

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Another Lurch In the Global War On Diplomacy

Picture Courtesy of The White House

This post Stolen from Michael Linn Jones...

President George W. Bush is in Europe. And, he’s smiling. Why not? He’s not in the United States where his policies and actions have rendered him a rolling-up of the welcome mat in many places.

So, off to Europe for eight days of lecturing a number of nations in the fashion that he has become accustomed to back home. Like 70% of Americans, many around the globe just don’t get it. So President Bush is going to give another series of Jackson Square speeches that are, in the parlance of his native state, all hat and no cattle.

In trying to determine what President Bush’s strong points are, I find it best to use the process of elimination. It’s a long list, but mastery of the English language is not one. The ability to receive (let alone accept) contrary advice or opinions is another. Now I have to add diplomacy. Whatever is at stake is not going to be helped by this trip.

Jennifer Loven of AP has an article, BUSH: RUSSIANS HAVE DERAILED REFORMS .

Russian President Vladmir Putin has been in need of a lecture, and George W. Bush is just the man to deliver it.

“In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development,” Bush said, speaking at a conference of current and former dissidents.

The president asserted that this discussion of democratic backsliding in Russia under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin was just one part of a strong relationship. “America can maintain a friendship and push a nation toward democracy at the same time,” Bush said.

But the lecture, however gentle, was not likely to be well-received by Putin, already riled over what he sees as unwelcome meddling by the United States in Russia’s sphere of influence.
Most recently, Moscow has become increasingly irritated by U.S. plans to build a missile shield in Eastern Europe, on Russia’s doorstep.

U.S. officials have been alarmed by threatening statements from Putin and others over the proposed network. Russia believes the system — with a radar base to be sited in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in neighboring Poland — is meant for it. Putin has said he has no choice but to boost his nation’s own military potential in response.

President Putin may be a ruthless scoundrel. Then, he may not. He doesn’t appear to be a big proponent of democracy, and that is putting it mildly. But, to be fair, how would we react if the Russians established a “missile defense shield” in Cuba or Mexico, and reassured us that it was aimed at say, Bermuda instead of us?

Our president is telling the Russians that this shield is aimed at rogue states, such as Iran. He is also saying the Cold War is over. These type of statements might be addressed diplomatically. But what is regional or world stability compared to a good photo op?

There is a smell of Karl Rove to this; appropriate being that Rove is Bush’s Rasputin. There are, however, no more elections to be won. Only peace and stability and that is something that can be influenced diplomatically, but never by declarations.

Lecturing the leader of a nation like Russia is never a good idea, even in private. Doing so publicly is asking for trouble.

And I think it’s self evident that President Bush has already bitten off enough for other people to chew.

Great article Mike!!!

Papamoka

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