The problem isn't the Muslim Arabs, the problem is Israel.
The problem isn't the Muslim Chechens, the problem is Russia.
The problem isn't Muslim Pakistan, the problem is India.
The problem isn't the Muslim Al-Qaeda, the problem is American imperialism.
The problem isn't British Muslim bombers, the problem is Britain.
The problem isn't the Muslim Moros, the problem is the Phillipines.
The problem isn't the Muslim faubourgs, the problem is France.
The problem isn't Muslim Holocaust Denial, the problem is the Jews.
The problem isn't Muslim Indonesia, the problem is East Timor.
The problem isn't the Muslim Sudanese government, the problem is the Darfuris.
The problem isn't Muslim Thais, the problem is Thailand.
The problem isn't a religion that teaches Jihad, the problem is everyone else.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Gerald Ford, Saddam Hussein, and Plato
Gerald Ford was reviled for pardoning Nixon. Saddam Hussein was reviled for killing and torturing tens of thousands, for oppressing millions. Ford was driven from office by the American voters; Hussein was driven from power by the American army. Ford died in his sleep; Hussein in a hangman's noose. In his last years Ford spoke well of everyone and everyone spoke well of him. Hussein died cursing "traitors, spies (i.e. the Jews), and the Persians". Ford's passing was honored with a dignified state funeral in Washington and a national day of observance. Hussein's execution was marked by his countrymen wildly shooting rifles into the air in celebration.
These results are not fortuitous, not luck. It has become customary to say, in spite of all evidence, that all people and all peoples are morally equal. Plato writes in 'The Republic' that only people with civilized souls are able to live under the rule of law. Barbarians must have kings to rule over them because they cannot rule over their own passions, and none can rule over the passions of barbarian kings.
Thus the public life of a nation is an expression of the inner lives of its people. The difference in the lives and deaths of Gerald Ford and Saddam Hussein is a measure of the differences in the inner lives of Americans and Iraqis.
These results are not fortuitous, not luck. It has become customary to say, in spite of all evidence, that all people and all peoples are morally equal. Plato writes in 'The Republic' that only people with civilized souls are able to live under the rule of law. Barbarians must have kings to rule over them because they cannot rule over their own passions, and none can rule over the passions of barbarian kings.
Thus the public life of a nation is an expression of the inner lives of its people. The difference in the lives and deaths of Gerald Ford and Saddam Hussein is a measure of the differences in the inner lives of Americans and Iraqis.
The ER
I had the misfortune to have half sliced off the tip of my little finger last night. I found neighbors who were home who not only provided me with a big band-aid and sympathy but also drove me to Alta Bates' emergency room. I spent seven hours there and in the end they glued the finger tip back on. It is not so much a treatment as a repair.
Nevada City in 2006
Nevada City has gone from a somewhat Bohemian old-fashioned Gold Country town to a fully-restored tourist destination, full of violently cute shoppes. The quiet fern bars have long since been replaced with loud music places so packed with tattoos as to have a cover charge. The buildings and trees in downtown are lined with lights which is a very pretty effect, but the resemblance to the town of memory is no more than fortuitous. Yet another of the slights of age.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
The Dead Pool 2007
One point for every year the croaker is under 100 when the big one is bitten.
Scenic Route -
1. George Bush I
2. Barry Bonds
3. Paris Hilton
4. Donald Trump
5. President Musharraf
6. Woody Allen
7. Ted Kennedy
8. OJ Simpson
9. Betty Ford
10. George Steinbrenner
Scorpion -
2007 Croakers
1. Kevin Federline
2. Ed Asner
3. Jimmy Carter
4. Aretha Franklin
5. Dick Cheney
6. Lisa Marie Presley
7. Anna Nicole Smith
8. Barak Obama
9. Mahmoud Abbas
10. Hugh Hefner
Scenic Route -
1. George Bush I
2. Barry Bonds
3. Paris Hilton
4. Donald Trump
5. President Musharraf
6. Woody Allen
7. Ted Kennedy
8. OJ Simpson
9. Betty Ford
10. George Steinbrenner
Scorpion -
2007 Croakers
1. Kevin Federline
2. Ed Asner
3. Jimmy Carter
4. Aretha Franklin
5. Dick Cheney
6. Lisa Marie Presley
7. Anna Nicole Smith
8. Barak Obama
9. Mahmoud Abbas
10. Hugh Hefner
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Technical Superiority
I figured it out. For months my telephone did not ring. I heard from people only via voice mail. I was, with some justice, suspected of being a recluse, a pensioned derelict. I searched the Samsung site and the T-Mobile site to no avail. It takes a password to reset everything and I didn't have one. I eventually found the factory preset password in the manual. Yet another example of computer security keeping the intended user out of a system no one is trying to break into. That was the manufacturer's portion of the stupidity.
For my part I was curious how to avoid this problem in the future. I finally found it in the T-Mobile site. One presses the mute button to toggle the ringer on and off and have it vibrate silently instead. Mute button? It has a mute button? Yes, one presses and holds the # key and the phone is muted. Worse, in addition to the # sign, the key actually has a tiny figure of an X-ed out speaker. That is the very icon that stubbornly refused to leave the tiny screen all these months. Like Poe's raven, it sat above my door and would leave, 'Nevermore'. What is so sad about this is that the icon on the button is recognizable if I hold it at just the right distance and am trying to focus on it. But this phone, and all phones, is designed for the youth market, people to whom that icon looks the size of a baked potato. Like they say in those movies about death row, "Ancient crock walking!"
For my part I was curious how to avoid this problem in the future. I finally found it in the T-Mobile site. One presses the mute button to toggle the ringer on and off and have it vibrate silently instead. Mute button? It has a mute button? Yes, one presses and holds the # key and the phone is muted. Worse, in addition to the # sign, the key actually has a tiny figure of an X-ed out speaker. That is the very icon that stubbornly refused to leave the tiny screen all these months. Like Poe's raven, it sat above my door and would leave, 'Nevermore'. What is so sad about this is that the icon on the button is recognizable if I hold it at just the right distance and am trying to focus on it. But this phone, and all phones, is designed for the youth market, people to whom that icon looks the size of a baked potato. Like they say in those movies about death row, "Ancient crock walking!"
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Moral Superiority
I was in the checkout line at Rite-Aid yesterday. At the front of the line was a tall fat pimply young woman who was being held up while the clerk incompetently checked her ID to see if she was old enough to buy a bottle of flavored vodka. One could not doubt that her object was to get wasted and with any luck debauched. The Mexican ahead of me in line had a box of condoms, presumably to get debauched without even bothering to get wasted. I was shaking my head over the apparent moral decline of the citizenry of El Cerrito. Then it occurred to me that I was also in line and I was buying a CD mailer with which to send a friend a pirated copy of Adobe Photoshop.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
The Arab Problem
Pierre Heumann is a writer for the Swiss Weekly, Die Weltwoche. He interviewed the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Jazeera, Ahmed Sheik, a Palestinian. The following is the conclusion of the interview.
Die Weltwoche: You sound bitter.
Yes, I am.
Die Weltwoche: At whom are you angry?
It's not only the lack of democracy in the region that makes me worried. I don't understand why we don't develop as quickly and dynamically as the rest of the world. We have to face the challenge and say: enough is enough! When a President can stay in power for 25 years, like in Egypt, and he is not in a position to implement reforms, we have a problem. Either the man has to change or he has to be replaced. But the society is not dynamic enough to bring about such a change in a peaceful and constructive fashion.
Die Weltwoche: Why not?
In many Arab states, the middle class is disappearing. The rich get richer and the poor get still poorer. Look at the schools in Jordan, Egypt or Morocco: You have up to 70 youngsters crammed together in a single classroom. How can a teacher do his job in such circumstances? The public hospitals are also in a hopeless condition. These are just examples. They show how hopeless the situation is for us in the Middle East.
Die Weltwoche: Who is responsible for the situation?
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most important reasons why these crises and problems continue to simmer. The day when Israel was founded created the basis for our problems. The West should finally come to understand this. Everything would be much calmer if the Palestinians were given their rights.
Die Weltwoche: Do you mean to say that if Israel did not exist, there would suddenly be democracy in Egypt, that the schools in Morocco would be better, that the public clinics in Jordan would function better?
I think so.
Die Weltwoche: Can you please explain to me what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to do with these problems?
The Palestinian cause is central for Arab thinking.
Die Weltwoche: In the end, is it a matter of feelings of self-esteem?
Exactly. It's because we always lose to Israel. It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego. The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this.
Pierre Heumann is the Middle East correspondent of the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche. His interview with Ahmed Sheikh originally appeared in German in Die Weltwoche on Nov. 23, issue 47/06. The English translation is by John Rosenthal.
Die Weltwoche: You sound bitter.
Yes, I am.
Die Weltwoche: At whom are you angry?
It's not only the lack of democracy in the region that makes me worried. I don't understand why we don't develop as quickly and dynamically as the rest of the world. We have to face the challenge and say: enough is enough! When a President can stay in power for 25 years, like in Egypt, and he is not in a position to implement reforms, we have a problem. Either the man has to change or he has to be replaced. But the society is not dynamic enough to bring about such a change in a peaceful and constructive fashion.
Die Weltwoche: Why not?
In many Arab states, the middle class is disappearing. The rich get richer and the poor get still poorer. Look at the schools in Jordan, Egypt or Morocco: You have up to 70 youngsters crammed together in a single classroom. How can a teacher do his job in such circumstances? The public hospitals are also in a hopeless condition. These are just examples. They show how hopeless the situation is for us in the Middle East.
Die Weltwoche: Who is responsible for the situation?
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most important reasons why these crises and problems continue to simmer. The day when Israel was founded created the basis for our problems. The West should finally come to understand this. Everything would be much calmer if the Palestinians were given their rights.
Die Weltwoche: Do you mean to say that if Israel did not exist, there would suddenly be democracy in Egypt, that the schools in Morocco would be better, that the public clinics in Jordan would function better?
I think so.
Die Weltwoche: Can you please explain to me what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to do with these problems?
The Palestinian cause is central for Arab thinking.
Die Weltwoche: In the end, is it a matter of feelings of self-esteem?
Exactly. It's because we always lose to Israel. It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego. The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this.
Pierre Heumann is the Middle East correspondent of the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche. His interview with Ahmed Sheikh originally appeared in German in Die Weltwoche on Nov. 23, issue 47/06. The English translation is by John Rosenthal.
A Recipe
Faux Oeufs au Jacques
1. Chop half a large onion to smithereens. Do it under the stove hood with the blower on to keep from blinding yourself. Wear glasses.
2. Saute the onion in one tablespoon of air. For richer flavor, lean over the non-stick pan and say in a low voice, "olive oil".
3. While the onion is "carmelizing", crumble in up to half a pound of ground turkey breast.
4. Stir aimlessly until the bits of turkey are not pink enough to endanger your life.
5. Pour in up to one and half cups of packaged egg whites. Do NOT use real egg whites or you will be appalled by the non-color and yucko texture. If you do use real eggs, feed the yolks to your dog or cat. It will make the pet's fur glossy and make her roll over clutching her chest.
6. While cooking on medium heat, sprinkle on large quantities of every spice you can find. Garlic powder, hot sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper are all winners. I like lots of celery seeds and carraway seeds, for crunchiness if nothing else. Get big containers of spices at Costco. Three pounds each should be about right.
7. Stir on medium heat until it looks done or you lose interest, whichever comes first.
8. Serve on disposable plastic plates so you don't have to wash anything afterwards. Safeway has some with crennelated edges so you can press on a second one to make a lid for the refrigerator and then the microwave. Plastic forks may be pushing the envelope but what the hell, who cares?
9. Season liberally with the most expensive balsamic vinegar you can find.
Other Diet Tips
When seized by the munchies, a glass of seltzer or skim milk is good. A glass of red wine is better. A glass of Trader Joe's scotch is better still.
1. Chop half a large onion to smithereens. Do it under the stove hood with the blower on to keep from blinding yourself. Wear glasses.
2. Saute the onion in one tablespoon of air. For richer flavor, lean over the non-stick pan and say in a low voice, "olive oil".
3. While the onion is "carmelizing", crumble in up to half a pound of ground turkey breast.
4. Stir aimlessly until the bits of turkey are not pink enough to endanger your life.
5. Pour in up to one and half cups of packaged egg whites. Do NOT use real egg whites or you will be appalled by the non-color and yucko texture. If you do use real eggs, feed the yolks to your dog or cat. It will make the pet's fur glossy and make her roll over clutching her chest.
6. While cooking on medium heat, sprinkle on large quantities of every spice you can find. Garlic powder, hot sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper are all winners. I like lots of celery seeds and carraway seeds, for crunchiness if nothing else. Get big containers of spices at Costco. Three pounds each should be about right.
7. Stir on medium heat until it looks done or you lose interest, whichever comes first.
8. Serve on disposable plastic plates so you don't have to wash anything afterwards. Safeway has some with crennelated edges so you can press on a second one to make a lid for the refrigerator and then the microwave. Plastic forks may be pushing the envelope but what the hell, who cares?
9. Season liberally with the most expensive balsamic vinegar you can find.
Other Diet Tips
When seized by the munchies, a glass of seltzer or skim milk is good. A glass of red wine is better. A glass of Trader Joe's scotch is better still.
Sound Advice
From a Nikon camera user manual :
"!! When using the Viewfinder -
When operating the viewfinder adjustment with your eye to the viewfinder, care should be taken not to put your finger in your eye accidentally."
"!! When using the Viewfinder -
When operating the viewfinder adjustment with your eye to the viewfinder, care should be taken not to put your finger in your eye accidentally."
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
A Sodden Thought
It has seemed all along that a viable exit strategy in Iraq could not be found that would not leave the Shi'ites in full control of the country. Such an end result, I had assumed, would leave Iraq as an Iranian satellite. Given the endless fanatical hatred of the Islamic Republic for the Great Satan and the Little Satan (the US and Israel) this seemed like a bad idea.
But that may have been because I was not thinking broadly enough, outside the box as it were.
Consider the following scenario - The US announces a timetable for withdrawal (of the troops, not the airpower) - which makes the war effectively over politically as an issue in the US. The Shi'ite militias are incorporated into the government army and heavily armed with US money and assistance. The Shi'ites now outnumber and outgun the Sunnis. The Americans, as already appears, shift both political and military responsibility for the war to the Shi'ite government. As the Americans and British withdraw, the growing scale of the massacres cease to draw any more attention than even larger massacres in Africa do. The civil war grows in intensity even as Western press and public interest in it wane. After vast amounts of bloodshed, the Shi'ites win.
That outcome has been foreseen and dreaded for several years. American policy has pursued the will o' the wisp of a stable balanced Iraq ruled by a constitutional coalition.
It now appears possible that the US might be willing to foster rather than oppose that outcome if Iran could be neutralized. Would Iran be willing to make important concessions to the US and the UN in return for a recognized satellite status of a Shi'ite Iraq? Would Iran shelve its nuclear program and agree to stop funding terrorism in return for suzerainty over Iraq?
If that were true, Syrian control of Lebanon would likely be part of the package. The recent assassination of Pierre Gemayel, the leader of the Maronite Christians in Lebanon might be an early step in the resumption of Syrian control there.
A US-UK rapprochement with Iran and Syria might not be public. It would appear largely as an omission of inflammatory condemnations and threats from Teheran, a phased withdrawal of US-UK troops, the growth of Syrian influence in Lebanon and nothing serious being done about the murders of Pierre Gemayel and Rafik Hariri.
Would such a result benefit or harm Israel? To ask is to answer. Israel's interest is in stopping the Iranian nuclear program. Who governs Iraq is of scant interest so long as no more SCUD's are being launched from there.
The benefit to the US and UK would be that our soldiers would come home and out of harm's way. We might be safer from terrorist attacks. The benefit to the GOP and Labour governments would be that Iraq would not be an issue in 2008 and the next British elections.
Can Iran be trusted to honor its commitments under such a bargain? Presumably there would be ways to make trouble for them if they didn't. Ironically, one of our options might be covert assistance to the Iraqi Sunnis. That is what intelligence services are for. Also with the Army and Marines no longer tied down in Iraq, our military options against Iran, and even more so against Syria, would be greater.
But that may have been because I was not thinking broadly enough, outside the box as it were.
Consider the following scenario - The US announces a timetable for withdrawal (of the troops, not the airpower) - which makes the war effectively over politically as an issue in the US. The Shi'ite militias are incorporated into the government army and heavily armed with US money and assistance. The Shi'ites now outnumber and outgun the Sunnis. The Americans, as already appears, shift both political and military responsibility for the war to the Shi'ite government. As the Americans and British withdraw, the growing scale of the massacres cease to draw any more attention than even larger massacres in Africa do. The civil war grows in intensity even as Western press and public interest in it wane. After vast amounts of bloodshed, the Shi'ites win.
That outcome has been foreseen and dreaded for several years. American policy has pursued the will o' the wisp of a stable balanced Iraq ruled by a constitutional coalition.
It now appears possible that the US might be willing to foster rather than oppose that outcome if Iran could be neutralized. Would Iran be willing to make important concessions to the US and the UN in return for a recognized satellite status of a Shi'ite Iraq? Would Iran shelve its nuclear program and agree to stop funding terrorism in return for suzerainty over Iraq?
If that were true, Syrian control of Lebanon would likely be part of the package. The recent assassination of Pierre Gemayel, the leader of the Maronite Christians in Lebanon might be an early step in the resumption of Syrian control there.
A US-UK rapprochement with Iran and Syria might not be public. It would appear largely as an omission of inflammatory condemnations and threats from Teheran, a phased withdrawal of US-UK troops, the growth of Syrian influence in Lebanon and nothing serious being done about the murders of Pierre Gemayel and Rafik Hariri.
Would such a result benefit or harm Israel? To ask is to answer. Israel's interest is in stopping the Iranian nuclear program. Who governs Iraq is of scant interest so long as no more SCUD's are being launched from there.
The benefit to the US and UK would be that our soldiers would come home and out of harm's way. We might be safer from terrorist attacks. The benefit to the GOP and Labour governments would be that Iraq would not be an issue in 2008 and the next British elections.
Can Iran be trusted to honor its commitments under such a bargain? Presumably there would be ways to make trouble for them if they didn't. Ironically, one of our options might be covert assistance to the Iraqi Sunnis. That is what intelligence services are for. Also with the Army and Marines no longer tied down in Iraq, our military options against Iran, and even more so against Syria, would be greater.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The Quiet Charm
of Senator Clinton
It is good to know who your friends are and the party just showed Leiberman that very thing. Their interest in welcoming him back to the fold comes more from the fact that he is the swing vote in the Senate than from any capacity for embarrassment. Without him they lose 50-50 and Cheney breaks the tie on every straight partisan issue. The party has a lot of fence mending and ass-kissing to do with Leiberman. The senator from New York was the very worst. She and Bill had Leiberman as a professor at Yale, became close friends, worked on his early campaigns together. After Lamont won the primary and Leiberman announced as an independent, Clinton showed her attractive personality by making campaign appearances for Lamont. She has the morals of a mafioso ordering a hit on a friend. As Meyer Lansky once said of the murder of an associate, "It was just business". We need better.
It is good to know who your friends are and the party just showed Leiberman that very thing. Their interest in welcoming him back to the fold comes more from the fact that he is the swing vote in the Senate than from any capacity for embarrassment. Without him they lose 50-50 and Cheney breaks the tie on every straight partisan issue. The party has a lot of fence mending and ass-kissing to do with Leiberman. The senator from New York was the very worst. She and Bill had Leiberman as a professor at Yale, became close friends, worked on his early campaigns together. After Lamont won the primary and Leiberman announced as an independent, Clinton showed her attractive personality by making campaign appearances for Lamont. She has the morals of a mafioso ordering a hit on a friend. As Meyer Lansky once said of the murder of an associate, "It was just business". We need better.
The Election, Again
One more, then I'll shut up
I keep hearing about how the Republicans lost or the Democrats won. But I think there is a limit to the effectiveness of campaigns and campaigning. Just as some drugs lose effectiveness with repeated use, so some campaign themes wear out with use. There are some changes in mood and perception that no amount of money and lies can fix. It may be that the parties are ships on changing currents. They set sails and change course as best they can, but when the current is strong it isn't up to them. It is not a completely empty phrase to say 'the people have spoken'.
I keep hearing about how the Republicans lost or the Democrats won. But I think there is a limit to the effectiveness of campaigns and campaigning. Just as some drugs lose effectiveness with repeated use, so some campaign themes wear out with use. There are some changes in mood and perception that no amount of money and lies can fix. It may be that the parties are ships on changing currents. They set sails and change course as best they can, but when the current is strong it isn't up to them. It is not a completely empty phrase to say 'the people have spoken'.
Health Report
An Open Invitation to My 90th
Blood count, kidney and liver function, blood sugar, all normal. Cholesterol was 118, less than 200 recommended. Triglycerides (what the hell are they?) were 50, less than 200 recommended. HDL good cholesterol was 48, more than 45 recommended, and LDL bad cholesterol was 60, less than 130 recommended.
I highly recommend a life of diet and exercise. For everyone else there is Lipitor. It works splendidly for me. Truly better living through chemistry.
So I have started planning my 90th birthday celebration. I will probably be a drooling vegetable but my heart, liver, and kidneys will still be working.
Longevity, if I should be so lucky, would be a mixed blessing. I am an absurd old tory now. How much a dinosaur lingering into the cenezoic will I be in 2036?
Blood count, kidney and liver function, blood sugar, all normal. Cholesterol was 118, less than 200 recommended. Triglycerides (what the hell are they?) were 50, less than 200 recommended. HDL good cholesterol was 48, more than 45 recommended, and LDL bad cholesterol was 60, less than 130 recommended.
I highly recommend a life of diet and exercise. For everyone else there is Lipitor. It works splendidly for me. Truly better living through chemistry.
So I have started planning my 90th birthday celebration. I will probably be a drooling vegetable but my heart, liver, and kidneys will still be working.
Longevity, if I should be so lucky, would be a mixed blessing. I am an absurd old tory now. How much a dinosaur lingering into the cenezoic will I be in 2036?
The Prequel to Hamlet
is finished
if only in first draft. I have been struggling with this thing for more than twenty years and have been writing it on and off for thirteen months. I sequestered myself like a chipmonk in a deserted campground in the Sierra at Lassen National Park for a week and got 'er done. Promisingly, I got as much or more done in coffee shops in Shingletown, Susanville, and Chico as in the campground. I was in Starbucks when I wrote "FINIS" across the page at long, long, long last.
if only in first draft. I have been struggling with this thing for more than twenty years and have been writing it on and off for thirteen months. I sequestered myself like a chipmonk in a deserted campground in the Sierra at Lassen National Park for a week and got 'er done. Promisingly, I got as much or more done in coffee shops in Shingletown, Susanville, and Chico as in the campground. I was in Starbucks when I wrote "FINIS" across the page at long, long, long last.
The Election
and the difficulty of being a maverick
It is so hard to be individual in a nation of 300 million individualists. Apparently lots of other people were not amused by Foley and Abramoff and wanted their Republican congressmen to look into other lines of work. It can easily be argued that the country did not move left so much as it rejected the GOP.
Indeed in Connecticut, in the one election where the boxes were labeled 'left' and 'not left', Joe Leiberman won handily.
I admit I did not grasp of the significance of the Abramoff scandal. I was not impressed with the revelations that they were crooks because it had never occurred to me that they weren't. That is a limitation caused by age. I remember my father explaining to me that in Chicago a crooked politician was one who would not stay bought.
It is so hard to be individual in a nation of 300 million individualists. Apparently lots of other people were not amused by Foley and Abramoff and wanted their Republican congressmen to look into other lines of work. It can easily be argued that the country did not move left so much as it rejected the GOP.
Indeed in Connecticut, in the one election where the boxes were labeled 'left' and 'not left', Joe Leiberman won handily.
I admit I did not grasp of the significance of the Abramoff scandal. I was not impressed with the revelations that they were crooks because it had never occurred to me that they weren't. That is a limitation caused by age. I remember my father explaining to me that in Chicago a crooked politician was one who would not stay bought.
Friday, October 06, 2006
A Public Apology
to the GOP House Leadership
I have accused them, mistakenly it now appears, of covering up the Foley Affair since this spring. Subsequent statements released by their offices to avoid it coming out under subpoena, contain admissions that they have known about it since 2005 and in Hastert's case since "before 2004". Which means that Speaker of the House Hastert knew Foley was an active pedophile and let him run as a Republican candidate in the 2004 elections.
I hate the idea of the Foley Affair redounding to the benefit of the Democrats who are as cynical and soulless as their colleagues across the aisle. But since Hastert has already announced he will step down neither from the Speakership nor his seat in Congress, the only way to get him out is to get the Republicans out. These kiddie-f__kers have to go.
I have accused them, mistakenly it now appears, of covering up the Foley Affair since this spring. Subsequent statements released by their offices to avoid it coming out under subpoena, contain admissions that they have known about it since 2005 and in Hastert's case since "before 2004". Which means that Speaker of the House Hastert knew Foley was an active pedophile and let him run as a Republican candidate in the 2004 elections.
I hate the idea of the Foley Affair redounding to the benefit of the Democrats who are as cynical and soulless as their colleagues across the aisle. But since Hastert has already announced he will step down neither from the Speakership nor his seat in Congress, the only way to get him out is to get the Republicans out. These kiddie-f__kers have to go.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
The Smoking Gun
Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the majority leader, said in a radio interview on Tuesday that he discussed Mr. Foley’s communication with a page with Mr. Hastert last spring, joining Representative Thomas M. Reynolds of New York in insisting they had raised the matter directly with Mr. Hastert. Mr. Hastert has said he had no recollection of the Foley matter before it exploded last week.
Mr. Boehner, who said earlier that he was not sure he had discussed Mr. Foley with the speaker, said resolving the matter was Mr. Hastert’s responsibility.
“I believe I told the speaker and he told me it has been taken care of,” Mr. Boehner told a Cincinnati radio station. “In my position, it is in his corner, it is his responsibility.”
To coin a phrase, "What did the House Republican leadership know and when did they know it?" The answers are everything and last spring. Time to clean House.
Mr. Boehner, who said earlier that he was not sure he had discussed Mr. Foley with the speaker, said resolving the matter was Mr. Hastert’s responsibility.
“I believe I told the speaker and he told me it has been taken care of,” Mr. Boehner told a Cincinnati radio station. “In my position, it is in his corner, it is his responsibility.”
To coin a phrase, "What did the House Republican leadership know and when did they know it?" The answers are everything and last spring. Time to clean House.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Why We Love
Dominique
from the Times --
PARIS, Sept. 29 — A French high school philosophy teacher and author who carried out a scathing attack against the Prophet Muhammad and Islam in a newspaper commentary says he has gone into hiding under police protection after receiving a series of death threats, including one disseminated on an online radical Islamist forum.
.........
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on Friday called the threats “unacceptable,” adding: “We are in a democracy. Everyone has the right to express his views freely, while respecting others, of course.”
from Dictionary.net --
from the Times --
PARIS, Sept. 29 — A French high school philosophy teacher and author who carried out a scathing attack against the Prophet Muhammad and Islam in a newspaper commentary says he has gone into hiding under police protection after receiving a series of death threats, including one disseminated on an online radical Islamist forum.
.........
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on Friday called the threats “unacceptable,” adding: “We are in a democracy. Everyone has the right to express his views freely, while respecting others, of course.”
from Dictionary.net --
weasel
n : small carnivorous mammal with short legs and elongated
body and neck
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