Time Off or Time Well Spent

This is going to be the year that we can all finish the projects around the house. Some people call it the “Honey Do” list, while others just call it “The Dreaded List”. The items on the lists are the same all over the world and the list never seems to end. Fix the stairs, fix the sticky closet door, replace the leaky faucet, patch the roof, and on it goes. By law every time two items are taken of the list, top secret government agents sneak into your home at night and covertly add three more items to the list.

Finally, we have a solution to this problem. If there isn’t enough time to finish your project list then we will just add the time to the clock. 2008 is the year that you will have the time to finish them all and you can no longer use the excuse that you did not have the time.

Over at Reuters they have this to say on it…

Tick tock ... tick - Extra second added to 2008
Sun Dec 28, 2008 8:21am EST

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Those eager to put 2008 behind them will have to hold their good-byes for just a moment this New Year's Eve.

The world's official timekeepers have added a "leap second" to the last day of the year on Wednesday, to help match clocks to the Earth's slowing spin on its axis, which takes place at ever-changing rates affected by tides and other factors.

The U.S. Naval Observatory, keeper of the Pentagon's master clock, said it would add the extra second on Wednesday in coordination with the world's atomic clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. - Reuters

Great, now I have to go around the house and adjust all the damn clocks. I could swear that I just did that for Daylight Savings a couple of weeks ago. Then again, on Wednesday I could just go to bed early and promise that in 2009 the Honey Do and or Dreaded Lists will get tackled and accomplished. Ya, that’s it, that’s the story I’m going with.

Papamoka

W "Let Them Eat Cake"

Maybe President Bush is right, the world is a far safer place today. Terrorist attacks on America are down, terrorist attacks in England are somewhat down, terrorism is on the run simply because they just can’t afford to eat. W has saved us from the terrorists by stealing the vitality of the global economy off of our dinner tables. Way to go W! I think?

One of the things that most U.S. Presidents prior to W knew was that there is no solution to the Middle East quagmire. It’s been going on for thousands of years and it will still be going on thousands of years from now. In our nations quest for being safe we have opened the gates of hell when it comes to economics. Those that we thought were out to protect and defend our nations history and heritage masqueraded around in sheep’s clothing while they robbed the world of the innocent little Red Riding Hood. Adding the Constitution to it helped. It’s just a piece of paper that some drunken Deity believing King haters dreamed up so what is the big deal?

We are not alone in the world. The butterfly effect is in full force except now the butterfly is the size of Saudi Arabia and it fears not to beat its wings regardless of the consequences on the masses. That is how the world economy collapses. More on this over at Reuters…

By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent

BEIRUT (Reuters) - While Gulf Arab oil producers reap windfall earnings, their poorer cousins elsewhere in the Arab world are struggling with soaring energy and food bills.
Inflation has surged in Gulf countries, fuelled partly by lavish spending of record oil and gas revenues. This is also spurring demand for everything from housing to power and water.

Gulf states with currencies pegged to the dollar have also been hit by the global weakness of the U.S. currency, which is driving inflation by making some imports more expensive.
But wrestling with rising prices is a grimmer business in Arab capitals not cushioned by oil wealth. From Cairo in Egypt to Sanaa in Yemen, mostly authoritarian governments have to weigh the fiscal costs of subsidizing fuel and food against the explosive political risks of social discontent.

"Nothing's inexpensive any more," griped Jihad al-Amin, who owns a dry-cleaning store in Damascus, Syria. "Even parsley, which has been dirt cheap for as long as I can remember, has tripled."

Food price rises hit the poor hardest in the Middle East, as in other food-importing developing countries around the world, but any instability here could ripple far beyond the region. - Reuters

Maybe we should face the facts that Bush is right? If you give enough free rain on the market and trust the mega capitalist to trickle down the wealth then maybe those of us down on the bottom might get something. The key word in that last sentence was something. Exhaust fumes from a passing motorcade is something so stop your gripping.

It isn’t wrong to think that America may be on the verge of a coming revolution. Just as in the time period prior to the first American Revolution there was a King that imposed one tax after another that people stood up to and had said taxes repealed. Although we no longer have a King we have a President ignorant of his peoples needs, wishes and dreams. That is not acceptable.

If given the choice of thought processes I don’t think it is a far reach that the current President is no longer in charge of his nation. He has deregulated his authority as President to the brokers of business on Wall Street and sold out the office he swore to uphold. While he sat idle while millions lost there homes he staid the course. While his nations food prices erupted out of control, he staid the course. While our nations military begged for better equipment to defend themselves and fight with he staid the course. While his people went under he sipped his drink and looked the other way because those that lead him detracted him from his people.

George Bush is guilty of ignoring his people and God help anyone that dares to follow in his footsteps. That path is laid with madness and betrayal of your people. Patriotism and starvation are something that American’s are not afraid of but they will fight and vote for one or the other, not both. George Bush has played his game out and divided his people so much that they are against one another fighting over being a patriot or starving. Meanwhile the record Billion Dollar profits are being talked about as if it is business as usual. That is how Revolutions start! You don’t flash mega bonuses to a man that’s family is broken, busted, down and out and can barely afford the weeks food bill. It all comes down to the masses and providing for their families. That is what W will never understand.

One thing is certain in the next President of the United States of America. You will have a broken nation to mend and that process does not start out thousands of miles from our shores. It starts out here at home. Americans do not just eat cake!

Papamoka

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Online News or Big House News

One of the things that drives me nuts is the Main Stream Media houses, aka Big House, calling themselves unbiased when presenting the news. That is the biggest case of Bull . When it comes to political reporting all you have to do to prove my theory is tune into Fox News or MSNBC to prove my point. Fox News is obviously Conservative Republican leaning in most of its political reporting. MSNBC News is just as guilty with a left leaning Democrat bias. Isn’t that a shock to your system?

How can you call Hannity or Olberman unbiased when covering any political event? You can’t! Over at Reuters they have the latest poll on where Americans get their news from…

More Americans turning to Web for news
Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:48am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey.

While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed.

"That's a really encouraging reflection of people who care A) about journalism and B) understand that it makes a difference to their lives," said Andrew Nachison, of iFOCOS, a Virginia-based think tank which organized a forum in Miami where the findings were presented.

Nearly half of the 1,979 people who responded to the survey said their primary source of news and information is the Internet, up from 40 percent just a year ago. Less than one third use television to get their news, while 11 percent turn to radio and 10 percent to newspapers.

More than half of those who grew up with the Internet, those 18 to 29, get most of their news and information online, compared to 35 percent of people 65 and older. Older adults are the only group that favors a primary news source other than the Internet, with 38 percent selecting television. - Reuters

How can you trust any network television news broadcast that at one event has the reporters commenting on what is supposed to be a debate and then the next show on the same news channel has the same reporters blasting candidates in that debate because they simply can not stand one of the candidates personally? That isn’t political reporting its someone with an axe and a soap box into millions of viewers homes.

It does not shock me or I’m sure many of you reading this Blog that I don’t trust the Big Houses when it comes to political reporting. Just like politics in itself, depending on which news broadcast you watch on television or big house online reporting, polls are done day after day and they tell you where the pulse is in the latest political race for President. Pick a poll that has numbers to your liking and report what fits your demographics.

Blue collar workers in any poll could mean they only polled unionized plumbers with a loaded amount of push poll questions. Middle class voters (Somebody define that for me please) in any poll could be anyone making $30,000 per year to $250,000 per year and depending on that vast income gap is a huge difference of opinion.

Pick a news source and every single Big House is guilty of putting numbers out there that I no longer believe. In pretty much every race in every state but a few they have been way off.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a huge need for great reporters in politics that actually report the facts just as they are. Not tweaking the facts so it fits your readership is what is needed and that is a page out of the old school of reporting. People that ask the right questions to the right people and follow up with real research to back up their stories. That is what real reporting is all about. I can think of just one journalist that fits that mold and of late he too has become somewhat biased because that is the direction of his political news network. Reporting the news is not entertainment and the two should never be confused.

Rush Limbaugh is no more a reporter of the news than Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, or Sean Hannity. They are more entertainers than go to sources for any news. If you want to hear your political line of thought reinforced then by all means tune in to their respective networks. Otherwise, log on to the internet and find every website your can with a real life persons thoughts on how this election is really going. Be aware that all Main Stream Media outlets are guilty of bias just as a simple blogger like my self is. The difference in blogging about the news and reporting actual political events is that people know that I am in the tank and I do not hide that fact. I just don’t have tens of millions of viewers.

For the record so you know this is a go to site for honest political opinion news, latest polling numbers for Papamoka Straight Talk show that 100% of deceased Americans that were once politically active prior to 1800 have not linked too or read this site. +- 0% margin of error. Finally a decent polling number you can trust!

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring It ON!

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*****This post picked up by Reuters...

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Super Delegate & Super Heroes

If the race for President comes down to the Democrat Convention then super delegates will play a huge role in deciding if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will be the parties nominee. That being said the Clinton machine is in trouble with a huge loss of super delegates. NBC and Brian Williams report that Obama has gained 35 super delegates in the last couple of weeks where as Clinton has suffered a net loss of five super delegates.

One of the super heroes of the civil rights movement John Lewis is also a super delegate. One other fact is that he has been and is still a very close personal friend of Hillary and Bill Clinton. Formerly, he committed to supporting Hillary Clinton in the convention but changed his mind to vote for Obama.

In the latest campaign setback for Clinton just days before crucial Democratic primaries in Ohio and Texas, Lewis said that his constituents back Obama, an Illinois senator, and that it was his "duty ... to express the will of the people."

Clinton had hoped that Lewis, who was severely beaten during civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s, would help her win the support of black voters. If he wins the White House in November, Obama would be the first black U.S. president.

Previously, Lewis said he was supporting Clinton, a New York senator, for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Something is happening in America," Lewis said in a statement explaining his shift. "The people are pressing for a new day in American politics and I think they see Sen. Barack Obama as a symbol of that change."

Obama, campaigning in Ohio, said in a statement: "John Lewis is an American hero and a giant of the Civil Rights Movement, and I am deeply honored to have his support."
Asked about the switch, Clinton said she respected Lewis and understood that he has been under tremendous pressure. - Reuters

This was a tough personal call for John Lewis but it was the right one for the right reasons. John Lewis has fought for change his entire life and it could be said that he of all people can recognize the power of change in an Obama candidacy for President.

Hillary Clinton’s last chance for a knock your socks off debate in Ohio passed with nothing more than a he said, she said, minimalist attempt at true debate. The only outcome was the simple fact that Hillary looked like she was whining.

You’ve seen it here first in this political prediction. Hillary Clinton will follow the party line if she looses Texas and Ohio with a suspension of her campaign. Not because her chances to win the primary are over but for the simple fact that she too believes in change and her political party needs to win the White House this election for a far greater purpose than her own desire to be President. Her candidacy is strong but it isn’t strong enough to get the votes she needs to unseat Obama from the nomination of the Democrat Party.

Getting past this election cycle in Texas and Ohio, if Hillary Clinton suspends her campaign then Barack Obama would be a political moron not to pick Hillary Clinton as his Vice President choice in the general election. Beginning the campaign of two very brilliant minds and campaign staffs merged for one purpose and that would be CHANGE!

Politics makes very strange bedfellows and John Lewis made a tough decision that is admirable. Instead of following party politics and a friendship he surely cherishes, he chose the path most difficult to travel endorsing Obama and it was the wisest choice for someone that has believed in change for decades.

Papamoka

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Wounded Iraq Vet’s Moving On

Picture courtesy of Reuters

As we all read the latest and greatest news in the world of politics it was interesting to see Pat Robertson endorsing Rudi Giuliani for the Christian Conservatives. Talk about oil and water not mixing. Robertson sited that the people need someone that can deal with world terrorism and radical Islam for his decision to endorse Giuliani for President in 2008.

Republican’s seem to be running on the war against terror for President from a strength perspective and in some respects I agree with them but the world is a far different place than it was on September 11, 2001. Talking tough against terrorism and radical factions in the world is one thing but the cost for that kind of talk is paid in lives by our military. Military funerals are happening all across our nation every single day to the point that people can not comprehend anymore that the person in that hearse was someone’s baby that was being buried. Then you have the forgotten cost, the wounded military members that are sent back home to tend their wounds. That is what lead me to this amazing photo shoot over at Reuters. Please take the time to view the pictures on Reuters. My heart goes out to all of the people that help these soldiers to get back to some sense of normalcy as the world likes to see portrayed. No longer whole, these soldiers prove to the world that they are not done fighting. God bless them all.

IED’s are taking a serious toll on our troops in the field and the road back for many of these soldiers is a long one. The loss of one limb is extreme enough but many of these soldiers are suffering from multiple limb losses. Rehabilitation is brutal and hard on them personally, emotionally, and physically. Learning to walk again is not a simple task when you don’t have the legs you were born with. It’s easy to speak from courage in a political suit when you don’t have to face the results of that speech trying on a pair of prosthetic legs for the hundredth time in an effort to simply walk.

I’m not supporting any candidate that thinks that all of the possible avenues of diplomacy have been exhausted to end this war and that we need to send more American troops to Iraq or Afghanistan. I don’t think anyone in the Republican field of candidates truly understands that our military presence in Iraq now is no longer fighting terrorism as much as it is creating a new generation of terrorists. As far as the Democrat’s in the race for 2008, I believe only Senator Biden and Governor Richardson are advocating an exit plan that makes sense.

War is nothing glorious or moral, it is men killing one another because no other solution existed to stop the conflict. Our next election for President and the Congress should be a loud and clear voice that our American government has the ability to listen and talk to all peoples of the world without calling them a terrorist nation first. Military action comes with a very high price and using it as a first option simply because you can is not what this nation was ever about.

Papamoka

My personal thanks go out to Fisher House that provides local accommodation’s to wounded Military immediate family while our wounded men and woman in our military service fight back from what is a devastating circumstance for most families.

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