Very Bad News for Civil Liberties and America's Future

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! I admit that I avoided the news recently having spent some time out in the great outdoors enjoying the Western US, but unfortunately the news isn't very encouraging upon my return.

The worst news I came across this morning was in the New York Times where it is reported this morning that President Obama has quietly decided to continue the Bush policies of indefinite detention of terror suspects without charges - the unilateral disavowing of habeas corpus. Justice, law and the idea that all people are innocent until proven guilty seems to matter less and less these days.

We thought we voted for change, but I'm beginning to see that we were fooled in some areas.

The Obama Administration has decided to ignore Democratic leaders and the majority of the Democratic Party in a spurious claim of authority to hold "combatants." They claim - just like the corrupt Bush Administration - questionable authority under congressional legislation passed after the 9/11 attacks to detain people for national security purposes.

Bush detained Americans and foreigners for eight years while the judicial branch abandoned its responsibilities. We voted for Obama to end such practices, but unfortunately it seems we were duped. In some critical areas it turns out that "change" was just a sales pitch, a political lie to be chanted in stadiums, to motivate fools like me/us who still choose to believe in something bigger than ourselves.

To say that I'm let down is an understatement. Let's hope the judiciary comes through, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

As a civil libertarian, I think the whole situation remains out-of-control. The majority of Democrats voted for Obama to reinstate habeas corpus and the rule of law. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Obama didn't mention that he favored indefinite detention during the campaign. I'm beginning to wonder who the hell we voted for.

Ordinary Americans, especially Republicans, never seem to understand why civil liberties are important. Most seem to feel that as long as they're not doing anything wrong, it's not a problem. Unfortunately, that is very naive and represents a very slippery slope. Americans must consider the broader consequences of allowing our civil liberties to erode.

Justice Department reports show that "sneak-and-peak" warrants (another result of post 9/11 legal tweaks) are not being used to fight against terrorism but over 90% are being used against American citizens to catch common criminals. Why is that a problem you ask?

It's a problem because this country has done an excellent job compartmentalizing its civilian police forces from federal law enforcement. Those firewalls have kept America's government out of ordinary American lives for over 200 years.

If those firewalls begin to crumble, which many civil libertarians believe is the case, than we are exposed to all kinds of potential injustices. It may all begin with terrorism, but it could lead to all kinds of domestic intrusions.

Just think of the potential. What about religious zealots/Republicans? There's no doubt they would love to use private information obtained in bedrooms to abuse politicians and power in order to legislate morality. Don't forget, they are the ends justify the means crowd.

Unless we take it more seriously, random abusers of government authority could make J. Edgar Hoover look harmless, wielding personal dirt to blackmail those in power or out.

A lack of strong and enforceable civil rights laws puts America on the path to becoming an abusive police state, where local, state and federal law enforcement can work together to control all levers of power. Without strong laws, a strong judiciary and a strong press, who knows where it all may lead.

Politicians and law enforcement may ultimately work together to change the face of American domestic security. Big brother could be just a few years away. You may think I'm sounding paranoid, but the same thing has happened across the globe and through the ages. Why would we be immune?

You may think we're safe, but as fear [of a dangerous world] becomes ingrained in society, most experts agree the potential for abuses of power [at all levels] increases dramatically.

Think about it. Secret surveillance everywhere and anywhere, intruder-like home searches without your knowledge, monitoring your mail and communications, and even the removal of your personal possessions and DNA to check it at a lab without your knowledge. Does that sound like the America you know? It should, since it's the America of today.

It was the America created by George W. Bush and the Republicans.

The American people clearly voted for change. President Obama was supposed to deliver that change. Instead, we're getting more of the same. To those who think I'm overreacting, I would suggest you consider the history of most societies who took such things lightly. There's no doubt, world history is on my side.

What you may call paranoia I call nothing more than a healthy knowledge or perspective on world history and those who abuse power. We must remember the wisdom of the ages: if we forget the past we're doomed to repeat it, and knowledge is always power.

I beg you to take our civil liberties more seriously. Fear of attack is causing us to forget what is truly important. President Obama and our Democratic leaders must be forced to remember why we voted for change. We cannot allow them to continue the policies of the Bush Administration.

We Americans must risk death by attack rather then forfeit our civil liberties to a government capable of unwarranted surveillance, searches, seizures and abuses.

We should be patriots and be willing to die for our beliefs. Let's put the firewalls back. Stop being afraid of everything, even terrorism. Fight for our individual freedoms. Do not accept a permanent state of war. I beg you to join me in demanding a return to habeas corpus, real warrants and privacy protections.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

PS - Our Rants & Raves has a TAKE ACTION section if you decide to email and/or call your elected representatives and/or the Obama White House. Thank you!

Provocateurs, Saboteurs and Terrorists

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! There have been many great thinkers talking about the poor state of politics today, but the best and most recent was an op-ed by Frank Rich in yesterday's New York Times, where he discussed far-right fanatics in a way that put a lot of things into perspective for me. Thank you Frank!

He does a great job of showing the right-wing's lack of moral fiber when it comes to issues like domestic terrorism and political consistency. He points out historic examples where their radicalism and willingness to court violence - especially when they disagree with the Democratic opposition - surges far beyond mere political paranoia.

He talks about the "simmering undertone of violence" in our politics today. That is something I feel strongly about too, and wish more mainstream politicians - especially Republicans - would talk about. Their angry assault-weapons-carrying-nut-jobs are a real threat. Instead, they brush them off as honest, harmless patriots. It's obviously more serious.

The right-wing penchant for violence is clear to most of us. We lived through eight years of Bush and other Republicans talking and acting like great patriots - true lovers of freedom and democracy, but the truth is far less simple. They act differently when out of power. Some seem willing to take power when out of power.

The Republicans seem to have plenty of enemies. Al-queda, Iraqi Sunnis, the Taliban, Europeans, the French, and Democrats. The list goes on and on it seems. They question everybody's loyalty, or at least those who disagree with them. Who but Republicans would actually go so far as to question the legal status of a legally elected Democratic president? I can see questioning the election itself, but the man's birth certificate? What the hell is wrong with them? Let's face it, there are no limits to their political paranoia.

Frank Rich does a great job of describing the Republican inconsistencies of the past. He talks about how they have created an atmosphere of fear, where even the Secret Service feels militarily threatened by the right-wing nuts. Short of the radical Black Panthers back in the sixties, I can't remember guns being wielded at rallies. As far as I know Code Pink never carried guns. Purses maybe.

It's clear that most Republicans are tribal in their politics. They're only happy if their tribe is in power. If not, they see themselves more as the provocateurs, or worse, saboteurs. Possibly even political terrorists?

There is plenty of evidence. Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA) of Northern California had one of his constituents scream out "I'm a right-wing terrorist" at one of his rallies last week. Supposedly the Republican crowd applauded loudly in support while Congressman praised the individual for being a great patriotic American. That is scary people, and it's happening more and more.

Even the Bush Homeland Security Department issued security threat assessment reports warning of a rise of "violent right-wing extremism" once "Obama takes power." Sounds like foreshadowing to me. Subsequent assassinations and attempted assassinations have proven those warnings correct. Despite Republican demands for departmental apologies, we Democrats are more concerned about who will be next.

Whether it's FOX "News," Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Neil Covuto, Michael Steele, Glen Beck, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingram, or so many others, the right-wing is out-of-control and threatening the left with violence and retribution on a daily basis these days.

It doesn't even seem to matter how many times we play their own words back to them, since they always deny they said it. Truth be damned.

The blogosphere is rife with it too. Right-wing bloggers scream bloody murder anytime the left wants to do anything the majority supports. The lies begin shortly thereafter and ultimately cloud the issue so much nobody knows their ass from a hole in the ground when the dust settles. My favorite is when they claim Democrats have no right to spend federal money, since "lefties" don't work or pay taxes according to them. They really believe it too. What a bunch of tards!

Since Bush left it's become clear that all money belongs to the right. They don't want us to spend ANY money. NONE! Despite our desire to improve fiscal responsibility in government, the Republicans allow us no flexibility. Everything must be revenue neutral these days - a standard the Republicans never held while in power.

It's true the deficit ballooned over a trillion dollars in the fiscal year since Bush left office (the bulk of it spent by Bush himself), but that number pales in comparison to the $7 trillion or so Bush spent during his eight years in office - perhaps more, since most hasn't been tallied yet. It's pretty clear the Republicans ruined the country, and now they want us to go against our election promises and plans, lower taxes for the rich, pay the bills (btw, impossible when you lower taxes on the rich), and shut the bloody hell up.

Sorry assholes, that's not going to happen. IF the Democrats grow a pair, we're going to fix what you people broke, and you're going to pay your FAIR SHARE for a change!

The waste and ruin of past Republican administrations be damned, for it seems all that matters to the right-wing is how to keep the left from spending any money or changing any policy until they get back into power. They don't want to work with us, just prevent us from working. Once they regain power, all bets are off once again.

It's incredible! Their arrogance is outrageous! Their ignorance profound.

We Democrats are trying to solve real problems affecting real Americans. Incredibly, instead of cooperation, the Republicans and their militia are trying to shut down our efforts by ANY and ALL MEANS necessary. They even talk about armed revolt. It's true. It's a frequent discussion on the Sean Hannity shows - TV and radio. It's often when that fat-sack-of-shit-toe-sucker Dick Morris joins him. I swear, that man is a human-swine hybrid. He makes me sick.

Frank Rich also talks about the the Democratic backbone issue we discussed here last week. Rich says that it "would be shameful...if they [Democrats] catered to a decimated opposition party that has sunk and shrunk to its craziest common denominator." My God I agree with that statement. He goes so far as to call the Republicans a "paper muskrat" denying them the more impressive "paper tiger" status. I would say they're more of a PAPER RAT!

In the end Frank Rich lays out a very good case for why we need to stop playing games with them. They're not worth our time. We need to acknowledge the political climate and start talking about what is right. If we keep compromising with Republican demands, who now only represent the "whites in Dixie and the less populated West," and negotiating like idiots, then we deserve to lose.

Speaking of toughness, Barney Frank seems to be the only one with enough melon balls to fight back these days. Start talking more tough like him people! :)

It's time to put Reaganomics to rest. It never worked! It's time to start talking about how well government-run programs work, and how the Republicans are lying to the American people. It's time get off defense and back on offense people! Obama and the Democrats need to remember who put them in power, and stop being afraid to talk about solutions from a Democratic perspective.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

The Hug is BACK

You might recall back in the day that when you saw somebody you were friends with, loved, related to, had affection for, you gave them a hug and sometimes a kiss. Was that the birth of pornography? I don’t think so! Hugs seemed to go out of fashion and reserved only for funerals and holidays nowadays in the older generations. I miss the hug, getting one always made me melt and know that somebody cared enough about me to let me be embraced affectionately by them. Somehow the hug has or is making a huge comeback in our latest generation of kids and I couldn’t be happier.

If you were raised as a kid in the late fifties, early sixties, even into the seventies you grew up under the dark cloud of the Cold War. Did it scare the crap out of you then? It sure as hell did me! And for the record I never once was told to hide under my school desk during a drill. I was taught by my Dad what to do if the teacher told us we were under nuclear attack. Kiss the cutest girl next to you and then kiss your ass goodbye. It didn’t make sense to me at the time as a second or third grader but I always managed to sit next to the prettiest girl in the class just in case. Matter of fact, I think that life long lesson and logic followed me till I graduated High School.

Anywho, young teenage kids have lived under the Bush/Cheney Presidency where at any minute, terrorists would attack and 9/11 would look like child’s play. How would you like to be a kid with that on the news day after day for eight years? Your parents watching the news while you do your homework. What kind of fear did that instill in these kids? If you lose all your money playing online poker, you might just need a hug yourself

Over at the New York Times they have this piece on kids hugging in school and it nearly brought me to tears…

For Teenagers, Hello Means ‘How About a Hug?’

By SARAH KERSHAW
Published: May 27, 2009

There is so much hugging at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., that students have broken down the hugs by type:

Katie Dea and Henry Begler, both 14, at the Claire Lilienthal School in San Francisco, prefer a friendly hug to a high-five greeting.

There is the basic friend hug, probably the most popular, and the bear hug, of course. But now there is also the bear claw, when a boy embraces a girl awkwardly with his elbows poking out.

There is the hug that starts with a high-five, then moves into a fist bump, followed by a slap on the back and an embrace.

There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of three girls and boys hugging at once.

“We’re not afraid, we just get in and hug,” said Danny Schneider, a junior at the school, where hallway hugging began shortly after 7 a.m. on a recent morning as students arrived. “The guy friends, we don’t care. You just get right in there and jump in.”

Hug Snippet

“Maybe it’s because all these kids do is text and go on Facebook so they don’t even have human contact anymore,” said Dona Eichner, the mother of freshman and junior girls at the high school in Montvale. - New York Times

As the father of five daughters I can show some concern but I honestly think this is a generation of kids that are scared by the media reports of death always around the corner. My heart goes out to these kids and God bless them for showing that they love their fellow human being. Hugging is or should not be a prosecutable offense by school officials. Granted, to much of a good thing can lead to a bad thing where you have a grandchild on the way so some discretion and rules need to be applied. But still a three or four or five second hug is not or should not be a punishable offense.

Group HUG! Come on, gather the family, friends or hell hug the mailman or meter reader. Okay, leave the mailman or meter reader out of it if you want to avoid a restraining order but you get the idea. We need to show one another the appreciation of our combined existence in this world once in a while and there is nothing wrong with hugging somebody.

Who says the next generation can’t show us old farts something new?

Papamoka

Torturer Tortured by Torture News

When you have a retired FBI agent that was involved with the torture that the Bush administration authorized come forth and tell the world it was wrong, then it was wrong. Techniques used or as the right wing now calls them “Enhanced Interrogation Methods” did not offer up any more information than traditional criminal investigation techniques that are used legally even against US citizens. (Look for the word Torture morph into something more acceptable and easier on the ears in days to come) More or less it was a disgusting release for jerks acting like wild little boys that just wanted to put a firecracker up a frogs ass and light the fuse. Just to see what it would do to the frog. Isn’t that pretty much the same thing that the monsters of the Holocaust like Mengala did to the Jews and other undesirables of the Third Reich during World War II?

It is truly a sad day in America when we have people arguing over what the definition of torture is. I dare say to anyone thinking that they have a clever thought to this argument that defends torture, what if it was or is your brother or sister enduring these so called harmless torture methods? Can the local police now use these methods to gain information too? Where do you draw the line in the sand in the acceptance of these practices endorsed and defended by the right wing operatives and the former members of the Bush administration?

My point is this, if a precedent is established and set in stone, and it ignores the law of the land and the will of the people then who is to stop the next monster that thinks he or she is omnipotent and above all laws? Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent involved with the torture events has this to say over at the New York Times… (I highly recommend reading the whole piece)

My Tortured Decision
By ALI SOUFAN
Published: April 22, 2009

It is inaccurate, however, to say that Abu Zubaydah had been uncooperative. Along with another F.B.I. agent, and with several C.I.A. officers present, I questioned him from March to June 2002, before the harsh techniques were introduced later in August. Under traditional interrogation methods, he provided us with important actionable intelligence.

We discovered, for example, that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Abu Zubaydah also told us about Jose Padilla, the so-called dirty bomber. This experience fit what I had found throughout my counterterrorism career: traditional interrogation techniques are successful in identifying operatives, uncovering plots and saving lives.

There was no actionable intelligence gained from using enhanced interrogation techniques on Abu Zubaydah that wasn’t, or couldn’t have been, gained from regular tactics. In addition, I saw that using these alternative methods on other terrorists backfired on more than a few occasions — all of which are still classified. The short sightedness behind the use of these techniques ignored the unreliability of the methods, the nature of the threat, the mentality and modus operandi of the terrorists, and due process. - New York Times

This whole debate over defining what is justified torture is just nuts. One is an Almond, the other is a Walnut, and the other is a Peanut? They are all nuts and a nut is a freakin’ nut no matter how hard or soft the torturing shell is!

My Uncle Eddy fought through all of World War II in the US Navy and lived to see the victory over Japan. He went through hell fighting for what was right and managed to live through the entire Pacific campaign against an enemy that at the time had no value for human life what so ever. He died on his way home for good in an accident getting off a transport ship in the San Francisco bay. He slipped and hit his head, drowning in the bay. His body wasn’t recovered for three weeks. My Uncle Dick piloted a bomber plane over Nazi Germany on so many missions that he finally came home a total wreck but he never regretted a single flight. My own Dad served in the US Navy in the Pacific as a medic attached to the 3rd Marines and never regretted the horror he saw so many young men die from to protect America and what she stood for. One thing they all had in common was defending the way of the American people. Truth, Liberty, and Justice. Not one of these men would have defended torture in any form of captured enemy prisoners. It just isn’t the American way.

The more this topic on torture evolves, the more I understand how much the rule of our laws is important.

My thanks to Memeorandum once more for the news tip!

Papamoka

AIG Bonuses Returned by Employees

After the recent outrage all over the news about bonuses being dolled out like air at AIG there is finally some common sense coming into the subject at hand. Many of the folks working at AIG are returning the massive bonuses and to them I say thank you.

When it comes right down to it, there isn’t a law in the land that could tax them out of it, force them to decline the bonuses, or Constitutionally take the bonuses away from them. It took some pressure by the media and all of us little bloggers to force the issue on Washington and embarrass the President in doing so but it needed to be made right. And the ones making it right are doing it willingly and they work at AIG. Over at the New York Times they have this to say on it…

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York announced late Monday afternoon that 9 of the top 10 bonus recipients at the American International Group were giving back their bonuses.

He also said 15 of the largest 20 bonus recipients in A.I.G.’s financial products division had agreed to give back the money, for a total that he estimated at about $30 million. “Those bonuses will be returned in full,” Mr. Cuomo said during a conference call with reporters.

The attorney general noted that about 47 percent of $165 million in retention bonuses was awarded to Americans, accounting for nearly $80 million. All told, Mr. Cuomo said, A.I.G. employees have agreed to return about $50 million in bonuses. - New York Times

I have to say that the folks at AIG that gave the money back deserve a pat on the back but I’m sure they already know that. Doing what is right makes sense even if you worked your ass off to earn the bonuses. It’s fair to say that not everyone at AIG was a corrupt idiot out to make a fast buck but the public perception is what it is. All it takes is a few bad apples and the pie tastes like crap.

As far as the rest of the public showmanship in Washington goes, it needs to continue to reign in the rest of corporate America that thinks they can take part in their own little corporate crusade and think that it will not have dire circumstances down the road. Washington will never tax one business to the extent they were going to tax the AIG bonuses because the big money political machines will never buy it. Do you think for a minute that the executives at Exxon, GE, Dupont, and the like would stand still while the door was pushed wide open on taxing their future personal profits and gains? Not likely.

Thank you Memeorandum for the tip…

Papamoka

*****Yahoo News has linked in. Thank you!
*****Gun Toting Liberal has linked in. Thank ya bro!

McCain Camp and Fox News Sinks Lower… Why?

Let’s talk about drug use by politicians. Not that they are using them now but what they did ten, twenty or thirty years ago. Can we make this relevant to today’s election for President? Now lets throw in Fox News on the facts and break this story wide open as a drowning campaign that would push you under if the life boat was in reach. First class passengers have that right so don’t mess with them as you go under.

For the record, not once in this blog have I ever mentioned the wives of the political candidates for President in a derogatory manner. Other than reporting the facts that the possible future First Ladies were both highly educated woman that deserve due respect. In that thought process, I personally find it outrageous that anyone would attack them. I don’t care what Michele Obama did in the past, or for that matter what Cindy McCain did in the past ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. They are not running for President! Their respective husbands are. Throw a shot at the husband no matter how abusrd and it is fair game in most political circles. But the wives? Yes they would both look good as First Lady but that is not a political position you run for! It’s a given position by the people of America. There is a catch to this scenario of mine though, if the wife of a candidate for President inserts her influence in a legal matter against any media organization then it is public record. That opens up a Pandoras box onto itslelf. Hic-UP!

I’m not even going to try to make sense of this letter from Cindy McCain’s lawyer to the New York Times. It just screams of last minute desperation where common sense does not exist. Fox news has this to say on it… (They have an exclusive) The emphasis and Red High Lighting is part of the post at Fox News and not mine! Here it is…

“You have not tried to find Barack Obama’s drug dealer” by Greta Van Susteren

Gloves are off ….Big Time!!! Look for blood on the floor!! Mrs. McCain’s lawyer fires off a letter to the New York Times! See the letter to Keller of the New York Times below:

Subject: RE: Politico: Cindy’s lawyer to NYT: “You have not tried to find Barack Obama’s drug dealer…”

Note from me: I am told we have this letter independently – see below.

Dear Mr. Keller:

I represent Cindy McCain. I write to appeal to your sense of fairness, balance and decency in deciding whether to publish another story about her. I do this well knowing your obvious bias for Barack Obama and your obvious bias hostility to John McCain. I ask you to put your biases and agendas aside.

I understand that Cindy is in the public eye, but you have already profiled her extensively (Jennifer Steinhauer reported), written about her financial situation (including an editorial on her tax returns) and about her role at Hensley and Company.

I am advised that you assigned two of your top investigative reporters who have spent an extensive amount of time in Arizona and around the country investigating Cindy’s life including her charity, her addiction and her marriage to Senator McCain. None of these subjects are news.

Snip (it gets worse)

These allegations and efforts to hurt Cindy have been a matter of public record for sixteen years. Cindy has been quite open and frank about her issues for all these years. Any further attempts to harass and injure her based on the information from Gosinski and Clark will be met with an appropriate response. While she may be in the public eye, she is not public property nor the property of the press to abuse and defame.

It is worth noting that you have not employed your investigative assets looking into Michelle Obama. You have not tried to find Barack Obama’s drug dealer that he wrote about in his book, Dreams of My Father. Nor have you interviewed his poor relatives in Kenya and determined why Barack Obama has not rescued them. Thus, there is a terrific lack of balance here.

I suggest to you that none of these subjects on either side are worthy of the energy and resources of The New York Times. They are cruel hit pieces designed to injure people that only the worst rag would investigate and publish. I know you and your colleagues are always preaching about raising the level of civil discourse in our political campaigns. I think taking some your own medicine is in order here.

Snip (holy crap it's signed by a law firm)

Sincerely,
John M. Dowd
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
- Fox News

From this point forward, all family members are in question according to the letter on Fox News? I don’t think the McCain campaign wants to go that route. Obama may have had some indiscretions in his past as a young man and has admitted them publicly. He is not perfect, never has claimed to be, but he has stuck by Michele through everything they have faced together. John McCain has a past written into newspapers across America that could drag up the worst of issues as well as the best of issues. It’s a coin toss and Google searching is only a few typed key words away from researching the truth behind this latest mud to be thrown at the wall. Calling out for the drug dealer for Barack Obama is outrageous and frankly a bad idea. Counter point, who was Cindy’s drug dealer? For that matter, Senator McCain went through hell as a P.O.W. and how many prescription drugs is he taking now for that pain? How clear will his head be when that three AM call comes if he just downed a couple of pills for the pain?

The bigger question is who was your drug dealer when you were in High School and why is that person now a CEO of XYZ corporation? Double edged swords cut into the swing and back again and I don’t think the McCain campaign would like to see the full investigative services of any news organization that could hone and sharpen that sword. Whoever told John and Cindy McCain that it was a good idea to threaten the New York Times with a lawyers letter was not looking out for the best interests of the Senator and his wife Cindy.

And all of this has what to do with and about the economy, healthcare, jobs, tax breaks, and your life in America? Absolutely nothing! That is the point of this post. Somebody ask the McCain campaign why they want to know who Barack Obama’s drug dealer was? If there even ever was one? It makes no sense no matter how you look at it.

Pass the life vests around over at the McCain campaign. The ship is sinking and it is almost every man, woman and child for themselves.

Papamoka

Right Wing Spin Gone Mad

David Brooks of the New York Times has an opinion piece up and I’m here to tell you he is full of bull. Mr. Brooks opinion is biased in his lack of hope not for just America but the world when it comes to Barack Obama and his world tour. Apparently, Mr. Brooks life is fat and happy and he is not part of the population that worries about paying the bills from week to week and good for him. I have no ill will toward anyone able to make a good life for themselves. All the power to Mr. Brooks in the super disgusting paycheck he receives for writing drivel and condescending opinion on what a hack Barack Obama supposedly is.

Below is just a clip of his biased opinion and slamming of the Obama campaign for President…

July 25, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Playing Innocent Abroad
By DAVID BROOKS

Radical optimism is America’s contribution to the world. The early settlers thought America’s founding would bring God’s kingdom to earth. John Adams thought America would emancipate “the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.” Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush preached their own gospels of world democracy.

Barack Obama is certainly a true American. In the first major foreign policy speech of his campaign, delivered in Chicago last year, he vowed a comprehensive initiative to “ensure that every child, everywhere, is taught to build and not to destroy.” America, he said, must promote dignity across the world, not just democracy. It must “lead the world in battling immediate evils and promoting the ultimate good.”

In Berlin on Thursday, it was more of the same. Speaking before a vast throng (and a surprising number of Yankees hats), he vowed to help “remake the world.” He offered hope that a history-drenched European continent could “choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday.” He envisioned “a new dawn in the Middle East.”

Obama’s tone was serious. But he pulled out his “this is our moment” rhetoric and offered visions of a world transformed. Obama speeches almost always have the same narrative arc. Some problem threatens. The odds are against the forces of righteousness. But then people of good faith unite and walls come tumbling down. Obama used the word “walls” 16 times in the Berlin speech, and in 11 of those cases, he was talking about walls coming down. - New York Times

Mr. Brooks points out that there is in fact two America’s and the haves want to keep the status quo and the have not’s just want a step up. In that step up is the message that Obama is selling far better than the doom and gloom of Senator McCain’s message. One hundred years more of war in the Middle East and nation building in that region. One of the few Republican’s I do respect is Former Secretary of State Collin Powell, and one of his greatest quotes was that of America intent on nation building. Collin Powell was asked about America and nation building and his reply was that America has been in many wars in defense of freedom and the only land we asked for was enough to bury our dead. That quote is out of context but the end message is the same.

Senator Obama gave a speech in Berlin that will be marked in history as the change in not just America’s opinion on mankind but the worlds. There is nothing wrong with speaking of hope and all people coming together to solve many of our worlds problems. We are no longer a nation of one people but a member of the world community. Hate and anger have never solved anything but hope and discussions on issues with realistic goals can. Barack Obama is not telling the world or the American People that he can end global warming, the tragedy that is Darfur, our global energy concerns, or even racism of one people of one religion against the other. What Obama is offering is hope and discussion to change the status quo of us versus them that the Bush Presidency perfected.

This world is messed up and change is needed and in some peoples thoughts, we have been handed in this election the mind of Lincoln on a united people, the thoughts of Teddy Roosevelt on seeing a corporate America amok, the determination of FDR to never give up on the American People, and JFK on human rights not just here in America but all over the world. Like him or hate him, Barack Obama brings the message of hope and that is not far from what many of our greatest Presidents have given us throughout history.

When I kiss my daughters goodnight, I hope and pray that the next day and their future will be brighter than my own. That is the beginning of hope, it isn’t anything new to any parent but it is reality. There is nothing wrong with believing in hope. America needs to be cautious and careful when there is only one political party that is selling fear and doomsday scenarios to sell patriotism. Ask any Veteran if the nightmares they suffer and the thoughts of military action and what they have done to them as a person. War is hell and hell lives in the minds of all of the Veterans coming back from the war in Iraq. We as a people can not fix the Vet’s already damaged but we can end the war in Iraq based on the lies from President Bush. A war John McCain wants to continue. What is wrong with putting a little hope in the minds of our military sons and daughters? The end of this war in Iraq is foremost in most voters and Obama is talking about diplomacy to end it. And he is starting the end of the war with actually talking about diplomacy from America. That is hope, something to pray for and dream of.

What bothers me about this opinion article in the New York Times is that my children’s future was right back to the 1950’s. Fear sells well over on the right wing political ideology. I and my family would rather live in a world of hope and diplomacy where people talk out their differences and come to a resolution. Something that has been lacking for the last eight years of the Bush Presidency. I feel bad for David Brooks, somewhere along the way he lost his way and forgot his roots. I think he forgot what hope is because he just doesn’t get it or live it. Maybe Mr. Brooks parents made sure he lived a better life than they ever dreamed possible. Good for him but that isn’t the reality of the average American family.

Don’t ever give up on hope. In your efforts to make a better life for you and your family there is always hope and results from your hard work and just striving for the American dream are never unpaid. I’m all for hope and Obama is not wrong in selling hope. The alternative is not or should not be acceptable to you as an American.

Papamoka

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McCain Cries, Rockefeller and Obama Cave

Hold the freakin’ presses! John McCain takes offense to the truth? The latest hubbub is that Senator McCain was offended by remarks from another Senator simply because he spoke the truth. If that isn’t a Bushism then I do not know what is? McCain demanded an apology from the Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama simply because the Senator in question endorsed him?

How dare his fellow politicians say that McCain couldn’t spot a regular guy if they were cleaning the windshield of his car in DC. That would probably be a homeless PTSD Veteran but that is another topic for another day. Over at the New York Times they have this latest political blow out on McCain…

West Virginia Senator Apologizes for Comments on McCain

By KATE PHILLIPS
Published: April 9, 2008

Senator John D. Rockefeller IV personally apologized to Senator John McCain of Arizona on Tuesday after remarking in an interview that Mr. McCain’s years as a Navy fighter pilot would not have given him an understanding of everyday issues faced by Americans.

In an interview in his home state, West Virginia, on Monday, Mr. Rockefeller, a Democrat, told The Charleston Gazette that Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, could not relate to the everyday concerns of people on issues like health care.

According to the article, Mr. Rockefeller said: “McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit. What happened when they get to the ground? He doesn’t know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues.”

On Tuesday, the McCain campaign demanded an apology, not just from Senator Rockefeller, but also from Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, because he has received the West Virginian’s endorsement. - New York Times

Why don’t we all apologize for the plague in the fifteenth century and of course for that dreaded Cain and Able incident. Better yet lets be mega politically correct and apologize for the inquisition, Attilla the Hun, Alexander the Great, and just to be on the safe side, that dreaded New Coke mistake a few years back.

Senator Rockefeller and Presidential candidate Obama should not be apologizing for the truth. Was John McCain not a pilot that dropped bombs from thousands of feet up? Did John McCain ever see the effects on a personal level when those bombs dropped? Is it not a fact that John McCain wants the markets to find the “Floor” on the housing crisis thus proving he does not understand the middle and lower classes? Is it a fact that he has said himself that he is not well learned on the economy? Something that effects the common man every single day. It’s all true so why are they apologizing?

I’ll give McCain credit for his service to our nation in our armed services but that does not give him a free pass on the truth. While many of our citizens have served, just as many have not. Does military service make him immune from political questions? It’s freakin’ politics! Rockefeller and Obama blinked and it was an idiotic blink. It showed a wimp mentality in each of them simply because McCain played his military history card.

Where the hell was McCain when all the mistreatment of our military troops was going on at Walter Reed? I’ll tell you where he was, he was at Walter Reed again and again and again. He did nothing till the whistle blowers screamed loud and clear in the press. John McCain did nothing because it didn’t serve his cause till he needed to play it. Those troops in squalor didn’t matter till it was advantageous to McCain and then he spoke loud and clear on the air with Imus in the Morning.

It’s ironic that McCain is playing his military service card and demanding apologies. What about an apology from McCain for our troops still fighting to survive in our own nations military hospitals. What about an apology from McCain as a US Senator that allowed Veterans Administration funding be cut on his watch for all our aging veterans? What about an apology for WWII Veterans as they are told there is no place in the hospital for them? What about an apology from McCain for the current status of care for wounded veterans that only lasts for a few years and then they are screwed? Wasn’t he in the Senate when all of this bashing veterans benefits legislation was passed?

John McCain is a hypocrite hiding behind his military record. Being a soldier does not make you a God! Forgetting those that served and ignoring their needs while caving into the Bush administration makes McCain just as bad as the Concierge of the Hanoi Hilton.

My humble apologies to all Veterans but the truth is what it is.

Papamoka

Cross posted at To the Center

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Say Hello to MSYahoo

When it comes to corporations strong arming their way through any competition Microsoft is King. Once more Microsoft will obliterate yet one more great internet tool for all of us to use and insert themselves as the new messiah of the Internet. All the news about Microsoft buying Yahoo are officially over with the meeting of all the executives to find some common ground to get the deal done.

Pass out the billion dollar paychecks to all the Yahoo executives and wait for your Yahoo email account to suddenly become a Hot Mail account. Latest news from the New York Times on Yahoo being bought out by Microsoft…

Microsoft, Yahoo Execs Finally Meet

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 14, 2008
Filed at 5:42 p.m. ET

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. met with Yahoo Inc. to discuss the software maker's unsolicited takeover bid earlier this week, a breakthrough that could be the first step toward a friendly deal between the two rivals.

The meeting occurred Monday near Yahoo's Sunnyvale headquarters, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke Friday on the condition of not being identified because the preliminary talks haven't been formally disclosed.

No investments bankers attended Monday's meeting, nor was there any discussion about whether Microsoft is willing to raise its offer, initially valued at $44.6 billion, or $31 per share. Yahoo's board already has rejected that bid, arguing the company's Internet franchise is worth more.

Although it's unclear whether Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and his Yahoo counterpart, Jerry Yang, attended Monday's meeting, senior management from both companies were on hand. - New York Times

I’m doing my best to help out Bill Gates with his latest email tracking software but this situation calls for my full attention and yours as well. Bill sent me a personal email from his old Netscape email account and asked my thoughts on the new name for the former Yahoo. I’ve been scratching my head over it but this is what I have so far.

Yarightthebastid’sofferedusmoremoneythanGodcouldcountwaaahoooo!.com

Msminefuhrerhoo.com

Mswemadethemadealtheycouldnotrefuseboohoo.com

Yawesquashedthemhoo.com

Msborgyouwillbeassimilatedyahoo.com

Micascrewyooo.com

MicroYoowillonlyseewhatwewantyoutoseesoft.com

Yawewillownalloftheinternethoo.com

Let me know if you come up with some other names for the new Microsoft division soon to be formerly known as Yahoo. I’m under a hot deadline because Bill wants to come out with five versions and new releases that will lock up and close you out within the next year.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring It ON!

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Solar Power Research

Solar Power is going to be a big part of your future life whether you like it or not. With the cut throat politics of big oil, the future is going to be very different. America much like in the past will change the world with our direction. Not from some group in some far away lands demands, but on our own terms. American’s are a funny people, we will buy your product on our terms if it is affordable and reliable. That includes our energy needs. While the nice folks sitting on mega trillions of oil think that they have “We the People” over their barrel, creative Americans are turning those same barrels into wood stoves and home made bio-fuel tanks.

I love the New York Times and I have to thank my friend Jeff from Worm Town Taxi for turning me onto this story. The New York Times writer could not find his back side from his elbow on this topic. Rather than reporting on the true research they condemn solar power as a fad for this generation. Different paper, different generation but the same is true, Solar power is not good enough once more over at the NYT…

A link between Moore’s Law and solar technology reflects the engineering reality that computer chips and solar cells have a lot in common.

“A solar cell is just a big specialized chip, so everything we’ve learned about making chips applies,” says Paul Saffo, an associate engineering professor at Stanford and a longtime observer of Silicon Valley.

Financial opportunity also drives innovators to exploit the solar field. “This is the biggest market Silicon Valley has ever looked at,” says T. J. Rogers, the chief executive of Cypress Semiconductor, which is part-owner of the SunPower Corporation, a maker of solar cells in San Jose, Calif.

Mr. Rogers, who is also chairman of SunPower, says the global market for new energy sources will ultimately be larger than the computer chip market.

“For entrepreneurs, energy is going to be cool for the next 30 years,” he says.
Optimism about creating a “Solar Valley” in the geographic shadow of computing all-stars like Intel, Apple and Google is widespread among some solar evangelists.

“The solar industry today is like the late 1970s when mainframe computers dominated, and then Steve Jobs and I.B.M. came out with personal computers,” says R. Martin Roscheisen, the chief executive of Nanosolar, a solar company in San Jose, Calif.

Nanosolar shipped its first “thin film” solar panels in December, and the company says it ultimately wants to produce panels that are both more efficient in converting sunlight into electricity and less expensive than today’s versions. Dramatic improvements in computer chips over many years turned the PC and the cellphone into powerful, inexpensive appliances — and the foundation of giant industries. Solar enterprises are hoping for the same outcome. - New York Times

This is where the article should have ended but it didn’t. You can read the rest of it if you like but it is more or less if you can’t have the whole loaf of bread then you don’t want even one slice.

When it comes to our nations energy needs in the future you can no longer put all your eggs in one basket. You need to look at all options and Solar Power is just one option of many for your individual energy needs. There isn’t a person involved in the real life business of solar power that will tell you it will serve all of your energy resources. That kind of science and technology just doesn’t exist… YET! When you think of solar power you have to think of your vegetable garden, it offsets your grocery bill with food grown by your own hand that you know will help your family budget. It’s only the vegetables. As in the old commercials from long gone by political campaigns “Where’s the BEEF?”

The beef is in the current research that will mass produce the solar panels to the point where Joe and Joanne Sixpack can afford to install a solar panel on their home. That is where Moore’s Law meets the common consumer. That is where engineers and scientist break the back of OPEC and pretty much look at locations in the middle of the desert here in America with sunshine year round that are not in the Middle East for our nations electric power needs.

Solar Power was not a fad in the 70‘s, or the 80‘s, or for that matter in the 90‘s. It is and will be part of your life, it is only a question of what part it will be producing power for your families needs. Ten years from now you could probably pick up a whole house solar panel unit that you plug into your outdoor outlet that powers your entire home from Home Depot or Lowes. Then again Walmart might have those nasty falling prices and outsource the American designed technology to China to mass produce it. Any way you look at it, the technology will be cheaper and our nations energy needs will come from somewhere else and solar power is just one piece of the puzzle.

The only thing that will hold solar power back is the people most afraid of it and how much of their bottom line it will take away. Those are the people that this story in the NYT’s should have looked at more closely. That is when you will smell the sense of smoke in the air and new patents for new energy smoldering on the bonfires of big energy R us. Capitalism at its worst.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring IT ON!

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Move On Members Endorse Obama

When you think of a political ideology like liberalism then one of the front runners in that thought process is Move On. I like to think of them as my loony friends on the left simply because I love being a moderate liberal. I’m not an extremist but I believe in my heart many of the same thoughts that Move On proposes as they seek a progressive liberal agenda. They give a sense of direction for the political junkies amongst us and in that direction millions more that are not members or affiliated with Move On tend to lean on the fence post and listen, read, and form our own opinion.

Move On is endosing Barack Obama and over at the New York Times they have this little piece on it…

February 1, 2008, 12:11 pm
MoveOn Endorses Obama
By Jeff Zeleny

LOS ANGELES – Senator Barack Obama has won the endorsement today from the membership of MoveOn.

In a vote of the group’s members, Mr. Obama outpaced Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton 70 percent to 30 percent. The political action committee of MoveOn.org has 3.2 million members across the country, including 1.7 million members who live in the 22 states with Democratic primaries or caucuses on Tuesday.

“Our members’ endorsement of Senator Obama is a clear call for a new America at this critical moment in history,” said Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn. He added, “The enormity of the challenges require someone who knows how to inspire millions to get involved to change the direction of our country, and someone who will be willing to change business as usual in Washington.” - New York Times

After watching the love fest debate of Obama and Clinton on CNN in California several differences emerged between the two candidates. Politicians are sneaky and vague for the most part but one thing I noticed was the use of two simple words. When and If. Two little words but when they are used in a political debate they can portray a great difference between the candidates talking about the issues. Those two words play to the back of your mind and depending on the topic and how they are used can have a direct effect on how you subconsciously perceive the discussion.

In the debate I found it ironic that in many of the replies that Senator Clinton gave were started with “If” which opens up the question of doubt as to her ability to achieve the high goals she has set for her platform and candidacy. So many “If’s” seem to have to happen “If” she can deliver the promises she proposes in her universal health care plan. That in itself wreaks of a true politician telling you what you would like to have happen in our nation “If” we can overcome all the hurdles she spoke of. It almost seems that she is afraid to cross the secret line of politicians in Washington? You tell me?

On the other side of the cookies and milk debate was Barack Obama using the word “When” in many of his responses. Along with that word he used the word “We” which seemed more appropriate when you are talking about the political issues that will effect 300 million plus Americans. “When” we negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry for lower prescription costs and “When” we pass health coverage is just more believable. Backing it up with an insistence on CSPAN coverage of the actual debate on health care for all takes the closed doors discussion of screwing America out of the equation.

In the end the debate was not a debate in the sense where one politician calls another on the carpet on any issue. The questions were all softball lobs and played into both of the candidates best interests.

It’s all politics but I have to go with the majority of Move On members and believe that Obama is the path to a new America and the force for change in all of our lives.

Hillary can be very articulate in her answers to any question but she proved last night during the CNN debate that she can circle the question directly asked with the best of them and never answer the question asked. I tend to think that as things go, “If” Senator Clinton were the party nominee, and “If” she were to become President, then we could be faced with two many “If’s” and not enough “When” or “We“.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring IT ON!

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McCain Swift Boated in South Carolina

One thing that makes me sick to my stomach is very much personal attacks on a persons character and state of mind while in service to our nation in the United States armed forces. I’m not by any means a supporter of John McCain but I am a very strong defender of Veterans and our military troops. John McCain has no shame in his military record and his lengthy stay at the Hanoi Hilton was not and should not be up for discussion by extremist from any political faction.

How do you stomach anyone that attacks a man that was tortured as a prisoner of war, or POW for short if you are a political hack writer that thinks McCain was a coward in Vietnam for being tortured. I don’t think it is fair to compare John McCain to John Kerry but they are both and will always be men that served proudly in defense of their country. Now they are both Veterans of political hacks looking to toss the vote as well.

Over at the New York Times they have this to say about it…

McCain Campaign Responds to Attack
By Michael Cooper

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The polls had not even closed in Michigan yet when the McCain campaign worked Tuesday evening to repel an attack here in South Carolina, where a brutally negative campaign derailed Senator John McCain’s candidacy in 2000.

The campaign, which has vowed not to take any attacks lying down this time around, said in a statement that a group calling itself “Vietnam Veterans Against McCain” had sent out a negative mailing about Mr. McCain to South Carolina voters.

“Today, a shadowy political organization calling itself ‘Vietnam Veterans Against McCain’ launched a vicious attack on John McCain in an attempt to impugn his character in the closing days of the South Carolina Republican Primary,” Orson Swindle, who was a fellow prisoner of war in Vietnam with Mr. McCain, said in a statement put out by the campaign. “The group claims that John McCain turned his back on his fellow POWs in order to save his own skin.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Mr. Swindle, a former assistant commerce secretary, said in the statement. “I know because I was there. The truth is, the North Vietnamese offered John McCain early release, and he refused.” - New York Times

For all I know Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain attacking the Senator and his military record is just one guy with a computer. Then again maybe it is a few people with a grudge or a mission to wake up the Republican vote? I tend to believe it is the former as in the Catholic League with its one man protest against Kathy Griffin of the D List fame.

This reminds me that the Karl Rove (Who should be in an orange jumpsuit in prison) of the first W election is alive and well which leads me to wonder where the money is coming from to pay for this smear campaign against McCain? We all know what the Bush election people did with push polls to discredit McCain in 2000 and this will play into those same polls. I for one would not be surprised at the true source of the money but it would be wrong to speculate at this point.

Gerard "Jerry" W. Kiley is the founder of this group and I am not questioning his service in Vietnam. I’m proud of him for it but I don’t see how that service is relevant to his bashing of John McCain’s. John McCain was a Prisoner of War and Mr. Kiley was not. Maybe the main stream press like the New York Times and the Washington Post need to look into this mans background and simply report what they find. I’d send my crack team of reporters but my five year old with a crayon might need some help with her letters, staying in the lines and… well you get the idea.

I don’t care for yellow journalism and I care less for yellow bashing of any Veteran from any source. Republican or Democrat victims of this kind of politics is wrong. Even if the time they served was forty years ago or two hundred years ago. Being thankful for the service and sacrifice they all paid is who we as a people are today.

Holy Crap! I just defended a Republican. I’m off to church to say a few Hail Mary’s and Our Father’s. Up is down and Right is Left and cats and dog’s are no longer fighting.

Then again I’m thankful to all Veterans and McCain has and will always be a Veteran in my eyes no matter how nutty he can be. I’ll defend him any day over the nut jobs from any source when they attack his military service, be they illegitimate whacko’s on the internet or main stream press. John McCain has a voice in 2008 and not 1968 politics and that is what is important today.

That’s another ten Hail Mary’s for me… Thank you very much Senator John McCain.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Michael Linn Jones.com and Bring IT ON!

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Blue Gal, Red State (Amazing info packed post)

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Hunting Whales for Research is Bull!

Off the coast of New England is one of the greatest adventures that you could ever believe possible. Twenty or more miles off shore in the words of Scotty from Star Trek fame, “There be whales here.” I’ve only had the pleasure to have seen them once in my life and it was something to see that changes you for life. To see such a large creature up close and they are as much curious about us as we are of them was simply mind blowing. To see an animal bigger than a Greyhound bus that comes alongside the tourist boat and turns over so its eye can see all the folks on the boat simply takes your breath away. When the little whales act up and show off it makes you think that God is amazing to create such a wonderful thing. I watched as the little ones breached time and time again or faced head down and slapped their tail in the water at the surface so close that I got wet with the ocean water.

No disrespect to my friends in Japan but there is a game of cards here in America that we call Bull$hit. It’s a game where you have to catch your opponent in a lie and scream out that you know that they are bluffing. For Japan to claim that they need to kill whales for the sake of scientific research is simply Bovine By Product. Pick up the cards Japan because you are busted!

Two of the worlds largest producers of man made chemicals that resemble substances found in nature are the United States and Japan. Same thing goes for medical research from products found in nature that are synthesized into pharmaceutical products. Any real scientist worth their weight in the journal producing high fives of the Japanese chemist world are not the reason this hunt for whales is going on.

Japan Hunts the Humpback. Now Comes the Backlash.

By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: November 25, 2007

Vessels from the groups Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace tail and harass the whaling fleet, while strong protests are lodged by environmental groups, many marine biologists, and officials from the United States, Australia and other countries. But this year those complaints have intensified, largely because Japan has added a new animal to its planned harvest of more than 1,400 whales from seven species — the humpback, Megaptera novaeangliae.

Japan hopes to kill 50 of these endangered whales, which have long held a place in the public’s imagination with their other-worldly songs, habit of rocketing their 30-plus tons out of the sea and migrations of up to 10,000 miles a year. Melville once described the humpback as “the most gamesome and lighthearted of all the whales.”

Whaling nearly wiped it out, reducing the humpback’s numbers to perhaps a 1,000 by the mid-1960s. Today, estimates put the total at roughly 30,000. They are considered at high risk of extinction by the World Conservation Union.

“Humpbacks are some of the most wonderful and mysterious creatures in the ocean, with the longest vocalization produced by any animal, including humans, with their bouts of song that last up to 23 hours,” said David Rothenberg, a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and author of a forthcoming book on whale songs and science.

“We still do not know why they need to sing so extensively, and we ought to leave these whales alone for enough years to find out,” he said.

Once a top target of whalers because they swim close to shore, the humpback is now the centerpiece of another enterprise, whale watching, which by some measures is a billion-dollar-a-year business, making it larger in inflation-adjusted dollars than commercial whaling was even at its peak. - New York Times

If you think that just 50 Humpback Whales are going to be hunted then think again. This is one nations sanctioned open season hunting of an entire species including Humpback’s that will reap ten or twenty or one thousand times the “Scientific” (Bull $hit) research harvesting. There is no chemical product or scientific product that this hunt is undertaking other than the fact that some people in Japan and Asia are willing to forsake a species existence to simply eat whale meat.

This is an old link but if they are offering it to school kids for lunch what does that tell you about the “Research” (Bull $hit) behind the expansion of whale hunting Japan…

REUTERS
7:53 a.m. February 14, 2006

TOKYO – Whale meat is back on the menu in a growing number of Japanese elementary and junior high schools, Kyodo news service reported on Tuesday.

The board of education in Wakayama prefecture in western Japan, an area known as the birthplace of organised whaling in the country, is promoting the drive to put whale on school menus.

The board provided some 1,657 kilograms of whale meat for more than 100 elementary and junior high schools in Kyoto, Osaka and Nara prefectures and Tokyo in January of this year alone, Kyodo said, citing local officials.

The amount for January was about double the amount for all of 2005.

'We want (schoolchildren) to know Japan's traditional dietary culture through whale meat which was popular in the past,' it quoted a board of education official as saying.

Japan abandoned commercial whaling in 1986, in line with an international moratorium, but began catching whales again the following year for what it calls scientific research. - Reuters

I’m thinking that George, I’m busy with Iraq, to much on my plate, screw you Whale Watching Liberal nut jobs, does not think this is important. Whereas this just might come under diplomacy and the State Department you can pretty much chalk whale hunting up to persona non grata status. Diplomacy and Bush even with nations we consider a close friend is the ultimate in oxymoron definitions. Especially, since the whale oil market died off a hundred years ago!

If he is to busy then I think our nations Senators and Congressional Representatives should care. If you live in the Pacific Northwest then you should care about whale hunting. If you live in New England and the Atlantic coastline then you should care about whale hunting. If you live along the coast of California down into the south of Mexico then you should care about whale hunting.

All of the whales killed by the fleets from Japan at one time or another were off the shores of your neighborhood. These are animals that travel ten thousand miles in migratory patterns every single year. This is wrong on so many levels that it is not even funny. Whale watching is a billion dollar American industry and we like our worlds whales! Peaceful creatures with elevated intelligence should not be hunted or killed for any scientific research (Bull $hit) purposes.

Get involved and get with it to stop the hunt before it expands to open season by Japan for all whales. You can Google search Green Peace and offer what help you think you can.

No offense to my many Japanese readers but have your whaling industry buy a couple hundred thousand acres of land in Wyoming or North Dakota or Texas and start a damn cattle ranch. Leave all of the Whales alone!

Save the Whales!

Get angry, get mad, get involved and save the peaceful creatures that just happen to live in the ocean. Get your kids involved and write or email your representatives in Congress. In doing so you are saving an industry that has adapted over the centuries from hunting the graceful giant to praising them and earning a living by offering whale watching tours.

Papamoka

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