Right-wing talk radio host Rush Limbaugh is signing a contract with Clear Channel and Premiere Radio worth more than $400 million, the New York Times Magazine will report this Sunday. In addition to finagling a nine-figure signing bonus, Limbaugh has also taken to purchasing a new G550 jet and a pyramid of gilded skulls belonging to the financiers of Air America. I think he's kidding about the pyramid. :-)
The Angry Left is, well, angry about this. (You expected anything else?) Kos Kiddies komment here, with their characteristic class and generosity of spirit:
I'm not interested in building a consensus with Limbaugh listeners. I agree anecdotal evidence of the charitability of some right-wingers is interesting, but it is not dispositive and hardly compelling, given the virulent material Limbaugh spews to his listeners and their seeming eagerness to lap it up, and given the observable behavior of right-wingers overall.
Nor did I refer to them as 'stupid' or 'evil.' I said they were motivated by greed, bigotry and hate.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/02/2008 14:52 ||
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#2
The Left is the politics of the Anti-Tenth Commandment*.
I said they were motivated by greed, bigotry and hate.
Hey Kos Kiddie, it was the 'liberal' judges who wrote and voted for Kelo. Take that which you did not earn for others profit. It is your politics that talks about income redistribution based upon the failed European concept of equal outcome rather than the American concept of equal opportunity.
*You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
#4
Procopious2k, Ah, but you forget tht the Kos Kiddies do not believe in personal or corporate ownership of anything. They believe the government should own you, everything you own, and everything else on and off the whole frickin' planet - their government, of course, not the government of the people, for the people, and by the people. Their government is for them, of them, and by them and them alone and the rest of us can rot while toiling for their purposes and nothing more.
#5
The ONLY reason there's so much money involved is that the audience is HUGE and made up of people who EARN and SPEND money. Oh, and also, Rush is very talented and speaks the truth. That don't hurt eiher...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/02/2008 21:39 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Floods like those that inundated the U.S. Midwest are supposed to occur once every 500 years but this is the second since 1993, suggesting flawed forecasts that do not take global warming into account, conservation experts said on Tuesday.
'Although no single weather event can be attributed to global warming, it's critical to understand that a warming climate is supplying the very conditions that fuel these kinds of weather events,' said Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist with the National Wildlife Federation.
It also allows us a longer growing season in the parts of the world most conducive to growing grain crops, means lower heating costs in the winter, and fewer deaths due to freezing cold. Other than that it's pure eeeevil.
Warmer air can carry more water, Staudt said in a telephone briefing, and this means more heavy precipitation in the central United States. Big Midwestern storms that used to be seen every 20 years or so will likely occur every four to six years by century's end, she said.
The idea that certain places along the Mississippi River and its tributaries will only flood once every 500 years may be based on mistaken assumptions that flood patterns do not change over time, said Nicholas Pinter of Southern Illinois University. Pinter said these assumptions are contained in an analysis on Mississippi River flooding in the upper Midwest, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which among other things builds and maintains river levees.
In the last 35 years, there have been four floods in the Mississippi River basin that qualified as 100-year floods or higher according to the Army Corps' analysis, Pinter said. 'It is an impossibility that those numbers can be correct,' Pinter told reporters. 'These are not random events. We're getting a systematic pattern of floods larger and/or more frequent than currently estimated by those calculations.'
The Army Corps' analysis rejects any kind of climate change -- human-generated or naturally occurring -- as a mechanism that could alter flood patterns along the Mississippi over the last century, Pinter said.
He said the analysis also rejects the effects of land use and navigation construction over that period. 'We suggest the current flood, sadly, is a confirmation that ... these numbers are probably invalid, underestimating the occurrence of floods up and down this river for a variety of mechanisms,' Pinter said.
Given the impact of this year's Midwest floods, the National Wildlife Federation, a non-profit conservation group, called on Congress to hold immediate hearings to revise the National Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act. In a letter to chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee, federation president Larry Schweiger noted that there was significant rebuilding in flood plains along the Mississippi after the 1993 floods.
'While there may have been an expectation that such floods would only happen every 500 years, scientists now warn that climate change will make such floods far more frequent,' Schweiger wrote.
#1
Or how about another valid observation - experts aren't. Their models and projections are horse kaka. That includes models by the Global Warming Gaia worshipers.
#2
I blame the Mound Builders and their agriculteral techniques. And the Italian Renaissance. Suryavarman II. And Helios that sob.
Should never had tamed the Mississippi and this would not have happened - it let people feel false safety living next to the banks of a major river system, just ask the Egyptians, Chinese, etc. etc.
#5
Sigh, the "Hundred Year Flood" mark as seen on maps doesn't mean you only have a chance of a flood only once in a 100 years. It means in the last 100 years that's the highest the water has gotten. Could be only once, could be every other year.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/02/2008 14:59 Comments ||
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#6
This isn't a 500 year flood, neither was the one in 93. They are more like 100 year floods.
Doesn't matter though, you could have a 500 year flood every year for 30 years in a row, if you were real unlucky.
An attack in Southern Sudan initially blamed on the rebel Lords Resistance Army was done by the Ugandan military, according to investigators. "This was alleged to be the LRA," Dr Riek Machar, Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan told the southern Sudan Parliament Monday. "I sent the committee to go and investigate it. The rest of the evidence is there. Indeed, it didn't turn out to be the LRA, but they were UPDF."
According to documents presented in Parliament, the Ceasefire Monitoring Team conducted a verification of the alleged LRA activities in area on June 19. According to the report, an armed group of about 30 men raided a homestead with 5 houses at Nyongwa Village, close to the Sudan border with Uganda.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Robert Mugabe's spokesman told the West yesterday it can 'go hang' over its criticism of the Zimbabwean president's widely discredited reelection which has seen Washington push for UN sanctions. 'They can go and hang a thousand times, they have no basis, they have no claim on Zimbabwe politics at all,' spokesman George Charamba said at the African Union summit in Egypt about Western criticism of Mugabe's violence-marred election.
Charamba also appeared to reject a Kenyan-style power-sharing deal. 'I don't know what power-sharing is,' Charamba said.
There's a true statement ...
'Kenya is Kenya, Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe.'
Meanwhile, Botswana called on AU to bar Mugabe from regional meetings as the summit adopted a resolution calling for dialogue between Zimbabwe's political opponents and a government of national unity. Egypt's foreign ministry said Mugabe did not object to the AU resolution.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pledged to work to broker a solution, repeating his view that the election lacked legitimacy. Zimbabweans should be able to 'enjoy genuine freedom' so they can 'choose their leaders out of their own will without being intimidated,' Ban said.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga called for Mugabe's suspension from the AU until he allows a free and fair election.
Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma, a member of the West and East African group most critical of Mugabe said: 'The people of Zimbabwe have been denied their democratic rights. We should, in no uncertain terms, condemn what has happened'.
British Junior Foreign Office minister Mark Malloch-Brown said Mugabe must not be part of any power-sharing deal with the opposition if the country is to receive economic aid from Britain.
The European Union will only accept a government headed by Tsvangirai, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country has taken over the EU presidency, said. French foreign ministry said European governments are looking at a raft of sanctions to be imposed on Zimbabwe.
#1
Zimbabweans should be able to 'enjoy genuine freedom' so they can 'choose their leaders out of their own will without being intimidated,' Ban said.
That's cool, Bobs all for it. As long as they choose him. Or they're gonna frickin die!!!
With no immediate indications of a breakthrough to end Zimbabwes political deadlock, President Robert Mugabe dismissed international demands for his ouster Tuesday, saying through a spokesman that Western countries threatening to bring economic or other pressure on his government could go hang a thousand times.
"Hell, no! I won't go!"
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe during his swearing-in ceremony in Harare.
George Charamba, the presidential spokesman, was speaking to reporters at a meeting of the leaders of the 53-nation African Union in this Red Sea resort. Facing pressure from the United States to expand sanctions against Mr. Mugabe, African leaders held a second day of closed-door meetings on Tuesday in the hope of reaching consensus on a negotiated settlement of the crisis.
But as the day unfolded, both Mr. Mugabe and his principle adversary, Morgan Tsvangirai, rejected outsiders talks of power-sharing or a coalition government modeled on Kenya, which had a devastating spasm of violence after its own disputed elections last December. Kenya is Kenya; Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe, Mr. Charamba said. We have our own history of evolving dialogue and resolving political impasses the Zimbabwean way. The Zimbabwean way, not the Kenyan way. Not at all..
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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On Monday the world caught a glimpse of the pressure that Robert Mugabe is under, as global condemnation intensifies in the wake of his sham election. Mugabe went on a tirade calling a journalist a "bloody idiot" when he was waylaid by reporters at the African Union Summit in Egypt on Monday.
The drama happened when a journalist from the UK ITV news channel asked him on what basis he thought he was President of Zimbabwe. Mugabe responded angrily saying it was on the same basis that Gordon Brown is "Prime Minister of Zimbabwe". It is not clear if he forgot which country is his and which country is Brown's. He sounded muddled and angry at being questioned by the journalist.
In further exchanges with reporters, Mugabe shouted: "We are not a British colony, you must know that. We are not a British colony." He completely lost his composure and the situation was made more dramatic when his security pushed journalists away.
Commentators say the drama, captured on camera to the amusement of the world, clearly showed that the 84 year old leader is under severe pressure.
Ralph Black the MDC USA deputy representative, said Mugabe realises that there are serious divisions in Africa regarding his legitimacy and is lashing out under the pressure. He believes it is also a sign of weakness because he knows he cannot explain what he has done and that his 'election' has absolutely no credibility in the real world. "It was brazen daylight robbery. It was theft. It was criminal," Black said.
Most Zimbabweans contacted for comment said it was embarrassing to see Mugabe conduct himself in the way that he did, especially at such a forum.
One viewer said: "Mugabe's reaction clearly shows he is extremely frazzled and obsessed with the British. Such is his level of obsession with the British that he made the mistake of calling Gordon Brown the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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He was right. It is on the same basis that Brown is "PM of Zimbabwe". That is to say, none.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday called for the suspension of Robert Mugabe from the African Union, until he allows a "free and fair" election.
But reports from Egypt suggest African leaders discussing the Zimbabwe crisis favour a power-sharing deal, modelled on the one which ended the bloody post-election crisis in Kenya earlier this year.
Odinga told a press conference in Nairobi that 'Mugabe should be suspended until he allows the AU to facilitate free and fair elections,' adding that the AU will be setting a dangerous precedent if Mugabe is allowed to participate in it's meetings. The African Union has a rule not to accept leaders who have not been democratically elected, but observers say it is unlikely the AU will immediately take strong action against Mugabe.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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"Send another strongly worded letter! And if that doesn't work, send him to the corner for a time-out!"
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/02/2008 9:55 Comments ||
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Instead of suspension, they will probably put him on
Double Secret Probation, effective immediately.
#4
Don't need Retief, only someone in power with the cojones to do what's necessary. Laying waste to the Zimbabwe governor's mansion, the barracks of the ZANU-PF, and a few other places, plus total roadblocks on all points of entry or exit from Zimbabwe would do the trick in about 48 hours.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2008 19:44 Comments ||
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The African Union (AU) has called on Zimbabwe's political parties to enter talks aimed at establishing a government of national unity, news agencies reported late Tuesday. In a report from the AU summit being held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, Agence-France Presse quoted unnamed officials as saying that after two hours of debate, African heads of government had adopted a resolution encouraging Zimbabwe's leaders "to initiate dialogue with a view to promoting peace [and] stability."
In its report from the summit, Reuters interpreted the resolution as "a rare AU intervention in an internal political dispute and an unprecedented rebuff to [President Robert] Mugabe." But the agency said the resolution was not as strongly-worded as some nations had wanted.
Brilliant. Just brilliant. What do you get when you cross a half-way respectable bunch of politicans (the MDC) with a bunch of rapacious thugs (Bob, ZANU-PF and the generals)? A bunch of respectably dead politicans, of course. Compromising with evil people either makes you dead or makes you one of them. Choose.
Botswana reportedly wanted Mugabe banned from African Union and Southern African Development Community meetings. Vice President Mompati Merafhe said allowing him to take part gave "unqualified legitimacy to a process which cannot be considered legitimate."
Now there's an idea ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Ex-rebels in northern Cote d'Ivoire have launched three violent riots in the north of the country in the last month, and human rights experts say the incidence of violent crime is also high. The most recent riots by ex-rebels were in the towns Vavoua and Seguela in the north west on 28 and 29 June. UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire (ONUCI) spokesperson Hamadoun Toure said on 30 June that calm had been restored through mediation.
The riots, the third in less than a month in northern Cote d'Ivoire, were by ex-rebels supposed to be participating in a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programme, who claim they have not received all the money promised to them.
Earlier in June, emergency payments had to be sent to Bouake, the former rebel stronghold in the north, after ex-rebels broke out of a cantonment area and clashed with civilians.
On 27 June, before the latest clashes started, the UN's head of human rights in Cote d'Ivoire, Simon Munzu, had warned in a press conference that the DDR process must be completed urgently. "Civilians are being beaten, women and small children raped," he said. "These armed bandits are even attacking funeral processions."
Munzu said the worst human rights abuses are being committed in the north east of the country where human rights abuses are happening with impunity. "We have received recent reports of rape, female genital mutilation, and early and forced marriages," he said.
North-east, eh? Remind me the majority population there ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whose nation is the world's number one oil exporter, called on consumer countries to get used to high prices in comments published on Tuesday. 'Consumer countries have to adapt to the prices and the mechanisms of the market,' the king said in an interview published by the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassah. 'We have nothing to do with the current sharp increase in crude prices,' he said reiterating the Saudi position that speculation, rising demand and the taxation of oil products in consumer countries were to blame. 'These countries must reduce their taxes on fuel.. if they want to contribute to easing the burden on ordinary consumers,' he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
'We have nothing to do with the current sharp increase in crude prices,' "but we're making tons of money," he added, winking.
#2
You might feel a slight sting. That's pride fuckin' with you.
Fuck pride!
Pride only hurts, it never helps. You fight through that shit.
'Cause twenty years from now, when you kicking it atomic in your electric hovercar, you gonna say to yourself, "Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud was right."
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/02/2008 10:24 Comments ||
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Ya know, based on this little snippit, I can't really disagree with the sod. In fact I think he knows more about markets than harry reed.
#4
I think the oil ticks are gonna have to get used to lower oil prices, because they have chosen to sock it to us at our maximum point of vulnerability - at a time of maximum leverage, just when the world's hundred-trillion dollar credit bubble is about to unwind. These morons will have decades to regret the resulting economic depression and oil price crash.
Five people were killed and more than 300 others injured in riots in Mongolia's capital which broke out over alleged election fraud, Justice Minister Tsend Monkhorgil said Wednesday. The riots were now under control, Monkhorgil told a press conference.
Some 1,000 people marched in Ulan Bator Tuesday, in protest against alleged voting fraud in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
The protesters broke into the headquarters of the ruling Mongolian Revolutionary People's Party (MPRP) and set fire to some rooms of the building. They also set ablaze part of the Central Cultural Palace building and five cars in the streets, the minister said.
Rioting continued into early Wednesday morning and more than 1,800 police were called in to dispel protesters with rubber bullets and teargas. A total of 708 protesters were arrested.
Mongolian President Nambariin Enkhbayar on Tuesday declared a four-day state of emergency in the capital, during which protests are banned and police could use force to break up protests. Army troops were seen moving into the center of Ulan Bator to boost security and the downtown area of the capital has been cordoned off.
Mongolia's parliamentary elections were held last Sunday. The final results are yet to be released, but preliminary results showed the MPRP had won more than half of the seats in the 76-member parliament.
Mongolia's leader, President Nambariin Enkhbayar, placed the capital under a state of emergency for four days on Tuesday to stop violent protests against the results of Sunday's parliamentary election.
A 10 p.m. curfew and ban on public assembly and independent broadcasts took effect here following two days of rioting by 6,000 supporters of the losing Democratic Party. The protesters burned and looted the headquarters of the former communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), which they claim rigged the elections to win.
Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on protesters, who threw rocks on firemen who came to put out the burning MPRP building.
Protesters also attacked a police station to free their arrested colleagues.
Thousands of Roma Gypsy children and adults will be fingerprinted from Sunday in the Italian capital, Rome, despite strong criticism from European and religious organisations.
The Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, is reported to have proposed that all Roma, including children, living in camps throughout Italy should be fingerprinted. Maroni was expected to reveal details in the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday about the fingerprinting of minors in Roma camps.
The fingerprinting and identification process will be coordinated with the Red Thingy Cross and 'cultural mediators' and the Roma will receive a sanitary card, allowing them access to Italy's social and health services. The card is expected to indicate whether they suffer from any communicable disease, if they take medications and if they have had all their vaccinations.
Gypsy children, whose parents keep them out of school and send them to beg on the streets would lose custody of their children, under the plan announced by Maroni. That phrase doesn't look much coherently written to me, but I think I'm 100% behind the general idea.
The Italian branch of the United Nations' Children's Fund expressed 'surprise and grave concern' at the government's move of fingerprinting. The human rights' watchdog, the Council of Europe, also strenuously opposed the plan. And so do Aris, I think!
Meanwhile, a European Union survey of 27,000 people released in Brussels on Wednesday, said that 47 percent of Italians would feel 'uncomfortable' having a Roma Gypsy as a neighbour. The remaining 53 percent are gypsies.
It was the same figure recorded in the Czech Republic and the highest among the 27 EU countries.
Of the 150,000 Roma Gypsies who live in Italy, about 70,000 have Italian citizenship. Many Roma Gypsies come from Romania. Tens of thousands of Roma Gypsies have entered Italy in the past few years since Slovakia and Romania joined the EU, and are being blamed by many Italians for much of the recent rise in crime rates. But those italians are just paranoid and Racist. It's all in their head, of course.
#1
So they have the same problem as Native Americans, their "culture". I'd tell them the same thing I'd tell the Yaqis, you can't make your kids into groveling, barefoot, un-immunized, beggars to support your whiskey habit in the name of cultural heritage. That is both a crutch and a dodge on your responsibilities. This happens all over the civilized world with indigenous peoples and their so called rights to retain their culture.
#2
This happens all over the civilized world with indigenous peoples and their so called rights to retain their culture.
Except when the indigenous people are europeans (in EUrope or the USA), then not only are they compelled to adapt to the newcomers' own values & traditions (that's called "Diversity"), but on top of that, they are told that diluting their culture is actually improving it, because it is wicked and flawed, and must be reddemed by the superior other cultures. That's because multiculturalism is only a western phenomenon. All other civilizations & ethnic groups have been steadily "purifying" themselves, mostly by chasing whites, non-muslims, blacks from the wrong color of black,... whereas only the West is supposed to "diversify".
#1
Wesley (The Weasel) Clark questions why McCain flew the A4, rather than the better planes. Early in his career, McCain splashed one of his planes. Whether at fault or not, McCain might have been B-listed by brass. They do that. However, you don't have to be an All Star to be a good player. Military pros - and the public - will understand that McCain's stellar career has been in politics.
Re the polls: I read that Dukakis held a 16% lead at this time during his run. You know the rest. Re coming attack ads: the GOP operates on the attack-early-and-often scheme, in order to keep the opposition on the defensive. I think Obama will be hit with the costs of his promises. However, he has numerous vulnerabilities.
Toronto article, notes Canada not as surburban-centered as US.According to some doomsday scenarios, spiking gas prices could turn the cul-de-sacs and two-car garages that surround North America's cities - built over the past 60 years and designed for the convenience of people with cars - into tomorrow's slums.
The predictions for the most part come from subscribers to the theory of "peak oil," which holds that crude prices will shoot permanently upward as global demand outstrips dwindling supply, ruining the economy. But their predictions are getting a second look now, as suburbanites, especially in the United States, grumble at the rising price of a fill-up.
Some warn the cost of gasoline will make the most sprawling U.S. suburbs so unattractive that housing values there will collapse, forcing many people to abandon their homes for urban areas better served by public transit and leaving only squatters, criminals and those who can't afford to leave the outskirts.
I didn't see man-made gloalwarmingclimatechange as part of the cause, but it must be in there, somewhere.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/02/2008 14:07 ||
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#1
$5/gal gas won't kill off the suburbs, but it will send marginal wage earners back to the cities. Six figure earners will continue to live where they choose. Thus, another section of the population is impoverished, the middle class is further reduced and the Democrats gain more voters.
#2
There may be a glimmer of truth to this, have you looked at home prices compared to condo prices lately? Condos in a metro area are still quite high, house prices where I live are down about 30% (at the closing price, not asking price).
#3
The 'Breaking Point' is getting closer here. In many of the 'Affluent' ex-urbs there are not enough high paying jobs for the population and very limited if any mass transit to the areas most of the residents commute to today. Also, Real Estate 'Developers' are now targeting the poorer 'close in' suburbs for gentrification.
#4
In the Chicago area folks in the outlying towns are caught between high gas prices, higher taxes caused by high gas prices, and the Democrats they fled who run the older urban area. Actually the Democrats run the outlying towns too...
#5
They forget the free market. Eventually, cheaper fuels, fuel efficient cars, electric, etc. will come along and make it more affordable to drive 3 freakin' hours for a commute.
Typical fear mongering to sell papers and push liberal agendas.
#6
At the same time, as people want more mass transit, it will be built. A region can put more busses out there, and Los Angeles has demonstrated that you can build a new subway in this day and age.
I live in the Chicago area, and while I don't trust the CTA as far as I can throw a State Street subway car, regions of the country that figure out how to bring some mass transit out to the suburbs should do okay.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2008 15:34 Comments ||
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#7
More telecommuting would help too; I spend enough time in meetings [ptui] that I could just teleconference and save a good deal of money.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
07/02/2008 16:04 Comments ||
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#8
In Detroit, and many other cities I've been in, suburbanites never go into the city. Many live in one suburb and work in another. Detroit is more of a donut than a city and suburbs.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
07/02/2008 16:11 Comments ||
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#9
It cycles, but there have been periods where Mr.Wife would conduct teleconferences from home in the morning, then drive in for meetings in the afternoon.
#10
folks with hybrids can still live in the suburbs. This will have marginal impacts on city shape, much bigger impacts on vehicle choice and driving habits.
#11
My wife works for probably the biggest company in Cincinnati, they recently changed their policy to allow 4-10hr days. So I think you're right Darth Vader, a combination of things will come about together to help assimilate this.
#12
I've been working from home one day a week for some time now (luckily there's been work that can be done over our network or on Lexis, which is internet-based).
Of course, it's actually my day off (we've had lots of extra work lately), but who cares - it's moola. I've been putting in some time on weekends too trying to make our deadline. It's great to be able to work whenever I have a few hours without having to get at least minimally presentable and drive downtown to the office for a couple of hours work.
Not every job can be done over the internet - most of mine can't - but what can definitely cuts down on the commute. Which makes me soooooo happy. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2008 19:17 Comments ||
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#13
I'm with Darth on this. The gummit ain't doing squat, but the consumers and capitalists are changing at the speed of light.
#14
forcing many people to abandon their homes for urban areas better served by public transit and leaving only squatters, criminals and those who can't afford to leave the outskirts.
Let'em all move back, I'll just keep singing....
Green acres is the place to be
Farm living is the life for me
Land spreading out,
so far and wide
Keep Manhattan,
just give me that countryside.
#16
To put this in perspective, gas prices in the U.S. today are where they were in Canada a year ago. People adjust. You don't see lots of large SUV's and pick ups in Canada.
U.S. presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, have spent the past week articulating policy goals for shoring up and modernizing the nation's infrastructure.
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $1.6 trillion is needed over a five-year period to bring, roads, bridges, power plants, levees, rail lines and other systems into a state of good repair. Not that they/we/me have a dog in this hunt...
Here are some of the candidates' infrastructure policy proposals:
MCCAIN
* Energy. Proposes to build 45 nuclear reactors by the year 2030. Longer-term goal is 100 new plants. Plans to commit $2 billion annually until 2024 to clean-coal research, development and construction of demonstration plants. 'We will make clean coal a reality.' McCain also supports enhanced development of wind, solar and other alternative energy sources.
That's the sop to the middle class, since 'alternative energy' will be just that for the next twenty years.
OBAMA
* Energy independence. Proposed $150 billion over 10 years to advance biofuels, renewable energy and clean coal plants. Favors incentives for communities to invest in biofuel refineries. Wants to establish a federal investment program to help manufacturers modernize infrastructure, adopt clean technology.
Not that B.O. has any clue how to get to energy independence.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/02/2008 13:35 ||
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#1
ya can't trust Civil Engineers
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2008 18:50 Comments ||
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#2
Civil Engineers design and build Targets.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/02/2008 20:12 Comments ||
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#4
Upgrade our infrastructure. It is the unwritten covenant between the generations. Or do nothing, except spend user taxes on feel good projects and have a bunch of falling bridges and failing roads and sanitation systems. Pay me now or pay me later.
I'm a Civil Engineer, and a nice guy, too. I endorse this message.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/02/2008 20:44 Comments ||
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Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/02/2008 12:17 ||
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#1
I guess now we know the national anthem of the Obama Nation.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/02/2008 13:33 Comments ||
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#2
I'm all in favor of this "black national anthem", and hope that foolish and arrogant black liberals make it a point to sing it instead of the national anthem whenever they are handed a microphone.
I reminds me of how American black athletes gave the "black power" salute while receiving medals at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
At the same time it said "I am a racist", "My race is more important than my country", and "I demand special treatment".
#5
Re 68 Olympics-
Sure does look like the kid on the left could have suffered some "lowered self esteem" not being able to participate in the fun and games.
Step forward and make a claim in the 'Court of Political Correctness"
#6
YEAR IN REVIEW 1968 > whoa, that pic takes me back. The library at my former school ST. FRANCIS in Yona, Guam had a set which IIRC went from 1966 or 1967 up to 1977. Typhoon-related water damage over the years, however, claimed a few editions.
A GREAT YEARBOOK SERIES - QUALITY, PHOTOS, ARTICLES, ETC. LIKE THE 1950's COLLIER's ENCYCLOPEDIAS.
'Kos' himself, writing to his legions of loyal 'Kos Kiddies,' at 'Daily Me! Me! It'a all about me! Kos'
So many of you are upset that I pulled back my credit card last night, making a last minute decision to hold back on a $2,300 contribution to Obama. Let me explain further: . . .
First, he reversed course and capitulated on FISA, not just turning back on the Constitution, but on the whole concept of 'leadership'. 'It is as the Prophet Olberman said: Obama has sinned! Sinned!'
Personally, I like to see presidents who 1) lead, and 2) uphold their promises to protect the Constitution. 'Except Bush, that is!'
Then, he took his not-so-veiled swipe at MoveOn in his 'patriotism' speech. 'Traitor! MoveOn is dissenting, and dissent is the highest form of patriotism. Therefore, to oppose MoveOn is to commit treason!'
Finally, he reinforced right-wing and media talking points that Wes Clark had somehow impugned McCain's military service when, in reality, Clark had done no such thing. 'Not that there's anything wrong with impugning military service--heck, I do it all the time m'self!--but . . . hey, wait a minute! Let me think about that one. I'll get back to you on that. . . . Gawdahmnit, painted myself into another corner again! . . .'
Maybe what looks like cowering to me is really part of that 'moving to the center' stuff everyone keeps talking about. But there is a line between 'moving to the center' and stabbing your allies in the back out of fear of being criticized. And, of late, he's been doing a lot of unecessary stabbing, betraying his claims of being a new kind of politician. Not that I ever bought it, but Obama is now clearly not looking much different than every other Democratic politician who has ever turned his or her back on the base in order to prove centrist bona fides. 'Nooooo! Kos has denied The Obama!'
'Kos is a blasphemer!'
'Kos is a closet RethugliKKKan!'
'UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!'
That's not an indictment, just an observation. Now we see the masterful Kos demonstrate his mad coalition-building skillz:
Now I know there's a contingent around here that things Obama can do no wrong, and he must never be criticized, and if you do, well fuck you! I respect the sentiment, but will respectfully disagree. 'When I said 'F--- you!' I meant that respectfully.'
We're allowed to do that here. 'Except for Republicans, Catholics, Christers, Freepers, LGF-ers, Jew Lieberman and his Mossad masters, Cindy Sheehan, extra-chromosome Bush-loving redneck idiots (all 62 million of 'em), the fascist goons serving in AmeriKKKa's racist army of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and anyone who dares transgress the sacred name of Ned Lamont (PBUH). They all get banned and their comments get deleted.'
But fair notice -- I will never pull a Rush Limbaugh and carry water for anyone. Not for the Democratic Congress, and not for our future Democratic president. As a matter of logic, Kos is now compelled to demonstrate his independence from the Dem establishment by endorsing John McCain.
Of course, when did logic ever apply to Kos?
Posted by: Mike ||
07/02/2008 07:15 ||
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#2
I didn't think Kos had a credit limit that high.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
07/02/2008 8:32 Comments ||
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#3
think Senator Ned Lamont will comment? Me neither
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2008 8:53 Comments ||
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#4
Hey Swamp BLondie, was just htinking of you when I saw that bit about the helicopter crash with the first responders in Arizona. (And thinking you hadn't been around in a while). How are things?
#6
Money quote: ...betraying his claims of being a new kind of politician. Not that I ever bought it, but Obama is now clearly not looking much different than every other Democratic politician...
#7
Howdy, Abdominal Snowman! Yep....been MIA since moving from FL to IA. I've been dealing with weird innernut service problems out here, but compared to what a lot of people have had to deal with in this part of the world, it's nothing.
All's well, and hoping to add another denizen to the 'Burg around 15 February, 2009. ;)
Missed youse guys around here, and glad to be back.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
07/02/2008 9:44 Comments ||
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#8
Obama cares about these leftwing nuts now because....
This only helps BO. Kossacks mainly vote in swing states, and many wont have the nerve to not vote for BO anyway. BO doesnt need their money or their man power.
#10
Oooooh, another Rantburg baby? Well done, Swamp Blondie, and to the Tsar, too! I liked the people I met while doing a plant start-up in Iowa City -- I hope your neighbors are as nice, and I'm sure they're just as independent. :-)
#11
Kos said: "Now I know there's a contingent around here that things Obama can do no wrong, and he must never be criticized, and if you do, well fuck you! I respect the sentiment, but will respectfully disagree."
That reminds me of a Dom Irera line. "You dirty, filthy rat bastard. I mean that with all due respect."
Bonus Irera line: "Do I look fat to you?"
"To me? No. But to everyone else . . . ."
Posted by: Tibor ||
07/02/2008 18:10 Comments ||
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#12
Kos is a f**king moron. Limbaugh doens carry water for the GOP at all - look at his relationship with McCain as a primary example, his slamming of Trent Lott, and the beatdown he gives to RINOS.
With the dust having finally settled after the prolonged Democratic presidential primary, a new poll shows Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama locked in a statistical dead heat in the race for the White House.
With just over four months remaining until voters weigh in at the polls, the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey out Tuesday indicates that among registered voters nationwide, Obama holds a 5-point advantage over the Arizona senator, 50 percent to 45 percent. That represents little change from a similar poll one month ago, when the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee held a 46 to 43 percent edge over McCain.
CNN polling director Keating Holland notes that Tuesday's survey confirms what a string of national polls released this month have shown: Obama holds a slight advantage over McCain, though not a big enough one to constitute a statistical lead.
'Every standard telephone poll taken in June has shown Obama ahead of McCain, with nearly all of them showing Obama's margin somewhere between 3 and 6 points,' Holland said. 'In most of them, that margin is not enough to give him a lead in a statistical sense, but it appears that June has been a good month for Obama.'
But the new CNN/ORC poll shows that the race gets even tighter when the two most prominent third-party presidential candidates are considered. In a four-way matchup that includes independent candidate Ralph Nader and Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, Obama's lead over McCain dwindles to 3 percentage points, 46 percent to 43 percent. (Nader registers 6 percent, and Barr gets 3 percent.)
But it remains unclear just how much effect Nader and Barr will have on the election, as summertime surveys often overstate the eventual Election Day showing of third-party candidates. 'A useful rule of thumb is that third-party candidates in November get no more than half the support polls show them having in June or July,' Holland said.
Meanwhile, one day after the Illinois senator sharply defended his devotion to America during a high-profile speech in the crucial swing state of Missouri, the new survey shows that some voters continue to have lingering questions about his patriotism. The poll was taken before Obama's Monday speech.
One-quarter of all registered voters say Obama lacks patriotism, according to the poll. That breaks down to 10 percent of Democrats, 29 percent of independents and 40 percent of Republicans who say Obama lacks patriotism. But it's likely the issue will not have a significant impact this fall. 'Strategically speaking, the question is not how many people consider Obama unpatriotic, it's how many people consider Obama unpatriotic who would have voted for him otherwise,' Holland said 'Most of the respondents who think Obama is unpatriotic are Republicans. That indicates that Obama may not have lost a lot of votes -- so far -- on this matter.'
McCain, a former Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam, is viewed as being patriotic by 90 percent of all registered voters.
The poll, conducted June 26-29, surveyed 906 registered voters and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
WASHINGTON - High gasoline prices have dramatically changed Americans' views on energy and the environment, with more people now viewing oil drilling and new power plants as a greater priority than energy conservation, according to a new survey.
The poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center shows nearly half of those surveyed or 47 percent now rate energy exploration, drilling and building new power plants as the top priority, compared with 35 percent who believed that five months earlier. Gas prices speak volumes. I support widespread drilling on the Arctic Shelf because I know it can be done without causing environment havoc. Also, the Russians have made claims, and the US - and its Arctic allies - have to address same. The Shelf WILL be drilled; if you want to play, you have to get in the game.
The Pew poll, conducted in late June, showed the number of people who consider energy conservation as more important declined by 10 percentage points since February from a clear majority to 45 percent. People are now about evenly split on which is more important. Viewers of History Channels' "Ice Road Truckers" can see first hand the environmental practises of Big Oil. Even minor spills are cleaned up. Waste at Well-Head camps is pumped into "Vac" trucks, and taken away for safe disposal. That's Canada, but Alaskan natives run a fairly large Summer fishing fleet. I don't hear them complaining about toxic waste. "Arctic Grayling" makes its way into pricy seafood restaurants.
The number of people who said they considered increasing energy supplies more important than protecting the environment increased from 54 percent in February to 60 percent and the number of people who favor oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge also increased.
"This shows the real impact of higher gas prices on the public," said Carroll Doherty, associate director for the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, which commissioned the telephone survey of 2,004 adults from June 18 to June 29. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, slightly larger for subgroups.
Since February, gasoline prices have soared from just over $3 to a national average of $4.08 a gallon, according to the Energy Department...
#1
Too bad the poll didn't have "Drill, Drill, Drill AND Conserve, Conserve, Conserve" as an option. If the domestic auto industry had expended the resources on engineering and technology that they instead pissed away on lawyers and lobbyists, your Ford F150would be able to lug a bedful of stuff from Home Depot and still get 50 miles a gallon.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/02/2008 2:04 Comments ||
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#2
Ah, the three card monty of MSM. Americans are awaking to the radical green agenda and aren't happy. To cover their 'environmental' ass, MSM now subs the word 'conservation'. They'll find they'll only destroy the value of the word rather than alter the consequences of their watermelon [green on the outside, red on the inside] program.
#3
Ricky, I was thinking the same thing. Why is this always presented as an "either/or" scenario? I prefer drilling AND conservation AND alternative fuels AND nuclear power AND new technology. Whatever it takes to get us away from dependence on third world dungheaps for our energy.
#5
RbR, I'm all for the Drill AND Conserve approach but anyone that thinks that the auto industry hasn't been trying to maximise fuel economy for the last 20 years is a fool.
Where's Toyota's truck that's as big and strong that gets that kind of mileage? Hyundai? BMW? VW? Nissan?
Get a grip. Physics is a hard mistress especially when regulated by the Feds.
Oh, and do you really think that Lawyers and engineers are interchangeable?
#6
I could be wrong but I think RbR's saying the safety and other requirements heaped onto the trucks have increased the weight making for poorer gas mileage than we otherwise could have attained by now.
#7
My example would be California's attempts to virtually outlaw diesel engines from non-commercial trucks because the diesels in the 70s were so bad. The Europeans have been chugging away improving on diesel engines getting better and better gas mileage while the US has not. Why build a better diesel engine for a truck primarily used in the US market when a huge section of that market won't allow it.
I think the law recently changed but there really is no excuse. The US buys trucks. We make the best trucks. Trucks work better on diesel. Prettymuch everything that isn't a sports car should be running on diesel now except some well-intentioned but ignorant laws have made it nearly impossible for decades.
This has little or nothing to do with engineers and everything to do with politicians and activist and opportunistic lawyers.
#8
There are some things that just can't be done, and some things that are too hard to do to make it worthwhile. ANYTHING ELSE should be on the table. I agree with AuburnTom - we need whatever we can build to meet the needs of the United States. "Environmentalists" - elitists who want to dictate to the rest of us - have all but shut down the nuclear power industry in this country. France has 48 nuclear reactors in service. We have 45 at last count. We need about 200. We can also use another 70 or 80 coal-fired plants, a half-dozen natural gas plants along the Gulf Coast, tidal basin energy production sites, wind farms (and nail Ted Kennedy's and John foney Kerry's hides to the supports), and anything else that will produce energy at market or near-market rates. We need to drill in Alaska, the Gulf, the Atlantic, and the Pacific. We're fast becoming an all-nuclear navy (and should move faster in that direction). As soon as we are, we need to open up the Alaska Naval Petroleum Reserve for drilling. In fact, why are we buying foreign oil to run our ships NOW?
There has to be a trade-off between fuel economy and safety. We do not need to kill any more Americans on the highway because a tiny little motorized roller skate mixes it up with an F-350 diesel. Still, if we can increase gas engine efficiency even one percent, it would cut our DAILY oil useage by a million barrels.
We have a problem with Colorado oil shale. Extracting oil from oil shale uses tons of water - water that's scarce on the Western Slope. We need to find some other way to use it that doesn't use other scarce commodities. There's enough coal in Colorado to continue to supply much of the nation with cheap, dependable electricity for generations to come. Coal technology is getting cleaner and cleaner all the time. Six 80-car coal trains go through Palmer Lake every day. There is no spilled coal, and no layer of coal dust, as there used to be 20, 30 years ago. HALF THE COAL MINES IN COLORADO are closed - not because there's no more coal, but because it became too expensive to get it out of the ground. Now oil companies are drilling those coal beds for methane - natural gas. There's four million acres in the northwestern part of the state that's effectively been put off limits for natural gas drilling - yet that area has multiple beds of coal, and methane seeps out of the ground in places. We won't EVEN get into the absurdity of Escelante-Grand Staircase.
World supply and demand are forcing every American to reassess what a handful of our "leaders" have committed us to. Many of those "environmentalists" have ideas about the oil and gas industry they got from watching the movie "Giant". Their heads are also locked into a 1950's mentality that needs to come to grips with the reality of the 21st Century.
End MY rant... for now.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2008 22:50 Comments ||
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#10
That's right P2K. If we want the little shit's dick in the ringer, all the other 49 states should DEMAND that Vegas gets shutdown until new power supplies come online, as it's extraneous to our welfare. The little chirper would start spinning another tune real quick.
#11
High fuel prices make me sick. And the democrats who work to keep them high make me sick too..
This November, let's tattoo "oil make us sick, and Harry's high prices are the cure" on Harry's backside. I know it's long, but let's face it: Harry's a pretty big A$$.
Posted by: Bin thinking again ||
07/02/2008 11:47 Comments ||
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#12
But approval ratings don't?
Better figure out who you work for mister. Fast. In the long run, odds favor the house, right Vegas?
#14
Palm Springs gets most of its drinking water from aquifer sources. A lot of those sources are recharged by the Colorado Aqueduct, IIRC.
Shutting down Vegas would free generated power to communities that rely on coal fired power plants. Anyway, the threat of that should shut down Reid's piehole, if he could see cause and effect.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/02/2008 20:55 Comments ||
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#15
Why Palm Springs? It's not in Nevada.
Why not? It would certainly put a knot in Nancy Peeloosely's ugly tail, along with Babs Boxer and that supposed-to-be-singer that lives somewhere in California. Besides, all that water COULD be used to separate oil from oil shale in Colorado, where it originates.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2008 22:56 Comments ||
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#16
Actually, more of it is used to grow alfalfa and hay in the Coachella Valley than water golf courses.
Second, those water rights were locked up early last century. If'n you wanna negotiate for 'em, fine. Otherwise it's no better than Kelo.
'And John McCain's my long-time friend, if that is one area that I would ask him to calm down on, it`s that, don't be standing up and uttering your political views and implying that all the people in the military support them because they don't, any more than when the Democrats have political issues during the Vietnam War.'
I heard B.O. on the teevee last night promising that he wouldn't question his opponent's patriotism.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
McCain wants to be judged as a politician who can reach out to the average American. He announced his candidacy on the David Letterman Show and, earlier this year on that same venue, he attacked Rumsfeld for "mismanagement" of Iraq security measures. He doesn't peddle himself as a war hero. He will be judged on his political program, as will Obama be measured by his pie in the sky promises.
#2
What respect I used to have for Webb is now completely gone. A number of years back, he wrote an article excoriating the Dems for abandoning South Vietnam, even telling about a confrontation he had with George McGovern in which McG said flat-out "what you don't understand is that I didn't want us to win that war". And now Webb's carrying the water for the same pack of back-stabbing traitors.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/02/2008 1:50 Comments ||
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#3
Sigh. What did James Webb run for Senate on. As for Democrats and 3 card Monte dealers: watch the hands, not the mouth.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2008 1:50 Comments ||
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#4
I heard B.O. on the teevee last night promising that he wouldn't question his opponent's patriotism.
Well, yeah, Fred, he did. But he never promised that his dingleberry buddies wouldn't do that for him.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
07/02/2008 9:51 Comments ||
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#5
Webb CAMPAIGNED on his military service and criticized the hell out of others for not having served.
What a dickwad you people in VA put into office.
Webb is trying to fast track himself into ex-Marine status and reach the cratering lows achieved by his college fatass Jack "Haditha" Murtha.
#7
There must be a million or so people who had their kids serve in Iraq. I am beginning to think Jim Webb isn't the best possible senator out of that half million.
'She seemed to be a very open, reasonable, responsible person, but certainly, the allegations that have been made are shocking to everybody who has known her.'
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Look on the bright side: There are at least two Democrats who don't think Bush is the devil.
#4
bo was 6 when McCain was was on the Forrestal later shot down, and 12 when McCain was released. bo spent most of that time in Indonesia. bo was working on a book about race relations during Desert Shield/Storm - a book by someone who spent their early days in a foreign country and started spending time with an organization built around 'the mistreatment of blacks in the USA since slavery' and from parents who were not and did not own slaves (unless his father is decended from the olde slave trader days but hey bo didn't have to take history to get his law education). randy beer is stating indirectly that 1) you had to be around during the 60's to understand the war/anti-war movement in USA and 2)McCain being a captive so he could not continue in the military operations then beer just disqualified bo on 2 counts.
"We're gonna need a bigger boat bus"
Wanna talk experience in bo's field, for someone who taught Constitutional Law he 1)does not understand the Bill of Rights and 2)does not know the Pledge of Alliegence. All he can claim is his qualification is unionizer of the masses community organizer. bo again and again shows himself to be a tool of chicago politics and not even the right own for the job.
It is my opinion the reason wright said those words in that final news conference is he felt betrayed by bo; got used.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who caused a stir over the weekend when he dismissed John McCains military service as a qualification for the presidency, stood by his remarks on Tuesday but sought to soothe ruffled feathers after Barack Obama was forced to distance himself from his campaign surrogate.
On Sunday, Clark who was NATO commander under President Clinton said of McCain: I dont think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.
But after two days of angry responses and denunciations on both sides, Clark tried to clarify that while he respects McCains military service, he believes Obama has better judgment without having served in the military to be president. As a retired serviceman, someone who came home from Vietnam on a stretcher, someone who spent 38 years in uniform, someone whos worked his way up through the ranks of the United States Armed Forces, I would never discredit anyone who chose to wear the uniform. I fully respect John McCain and his service, and Ive said so repeatedly, Clark told ABCs Good Morning America.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
Christian left = liberation theology = Marxism hiding behind a bible.
You're welcome to them, BHO.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
07/02/2008 18:04 Comments ||
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#4
Christian Left.
Oxy moron.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2008 19:41 Comments ||
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#5
If Obama cannot legally become president because Federal Law requires that the office of President must be a natural-born citizen, if the child was not born to two U.S. Citizen parents, Hillary, or Edwards or someone else who may not have been considered, will have to be named the Democrats nominee for President at their convention. [See the argument presented below.]
This came from a USNA alumnus. It'll be interesting to see how the media handle this...
Barack Obama is not a legal U.S. natural-born citizen according to the law on the books at the time of his birth, which falls between December 24, 1952, to November 13, 1986. Federal Law is that the office of President requires a natural-born citizen if the child was not born to two U.S. Citizen parents. This is what exempts John McCain, although he was born in the US Panama Canal Zone.
US Law very clearly states: ". . . If only one parent is a U.S. Citizen at the time of one's birth, that parent must have resided in the United States for minimum ten years, five of which must be after the age of 16." Barack Obama's father was not a U.S. Citizen is a fact.
Obama's mother was only 18 when Obama was born. This means even though she had been a U.S. Citizen for 10 years, (or citizen of Hawaii being a territory), his mother fails the test for at-least-5-years- prior-to Barack Obama's birth, but-after-age-16.
In essence, Mother alone is not old enough to qualify her son for automatic U.S. Citizenship. At most, 2 years elapsed from his mother turning 16 to the time of Barack Obama's birth when she was 18. His mother would have needed to have been 16 + 5 = 21 years old at the time of Barack Obama's birth for him to be a natural-born citizen. Barack Obama was already 3 years old at the time his mother would have needed to be to allow him natural citizenship from his only U.S. Citizen parent. Obama should have been naturalized as a citizen . . .. but that would disqualify him from holding the office.
The Constitution clearly declares: Naturalized citizens are ineligible to hold the office of President. Though Barack Obama was sent bac k to Hawaii at age 10, any other information does not matter because his mother is the one who must fulfill the requirement to be a U.S. Citzen for 10 years prior to his birth on August 4, 1961, with 5 of those years being after age 16.
Further, Obama may have had to have remained in the USA for some time frame to protect any citizenship he might have had, rather than living in Indonesia. This is very clear cut and a glaring violation of U.S. Election law. I think the Governor Schwarzenegger of California should be very interested in discovering if Obama is allowed to be elected President without being a natural-born U.S. Citizen, since this would set a precedent. Stay tuned to your TV sets because I suspect some of this information will be leaking through over the next several days.
#6
Besoeker - sounds like fun, but his mother became a citizen from birth when Hawaii joined the Union.
Back when Goldwater was running for President, the Dems (of course) claimed he wasn't eligible because he was born in Arizona when it was still a territory. That got shot down pdq, so the precedent was set.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2008 21:14 Comments ||
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CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain arrived in Colombia on Tuesday for talks on trade, drugs and human rights in a visit aimed at showcasing his foreign policy experience over that of Democratic rival Barack Obama.
McCain, is meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and other officials in the first leg of a three-day journey that will also include Mexico. "We want to talk about drugs to a large degree. We want to talk about the progress that they've made against the FARC," McCain told reporters about the goals of his visit, referring to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an outlawed leftist guerrilla group.
Free trade will also be on the agenda, he said during the flight to the South American nation. Human rights -- an issue that critics encouraged him to bring up -- will be on the table as will Uribe's call for a new election.
"Wherever there's a single abuse of human rights, it concerns me," McCain said. "I will also add that there has also been significant improvement (in Colombia) and I want to see that improvement continue."
McCain has highlighted Obama's opposition to a free trade agreement with Colombia as a key difference between their respective candidacies, and though he pledged not to criticize the Illinois senator on foreign soil, he pushed for the pact. "He doesn't support the Colombian Free Trade Agreement. I think it would ... have very serious consequences if we rebuked our closest ally," McCain said on Monday.
He brushed off concerns that his advocacy for such an agreement would not play well in important electoral states, such as Ohio, where many people blame a loss of manufacturing jobs on free trade agreements. McCain said he understood the concerns, and advocated training programs to get the unemployed back to work.
On Thursday he is scheduled to meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Mexico City before returning to Arizona for the July 4 U.S. Independence Day holiday. Immigration will be a key issue in McCain's talks in Mexico. "I want to work with the Mexican government on securing our border," he said. "It would be so much easier if we had the ability to trust our neighbors to the south as much as we trust our neighbors to the north as far as cooperation on border security is concerned."
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
McCain was in Canada last week, promoting the Free Trade Agreement. Columbia presents an opportunity to support drug eradication, anti-Communism and free enterprise prosperity. In March, Obama told a Texas audience that "a wall" - the Border - won't solve illegal immigration. Which candidate looks Presidential?
#2
If all you get in the way of news is from Mother MSM, then McCain doesn't seem to know much about anything and is largely mute, the dottering old fool. Obama, now, there's a guy who can really paint word pictures in the sky!
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
07/02/2008 10:33 Comments ||
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#3
"Word Pictures in the sky"?? How about pie-in-the-sky Chicago bullsh$$? Measuring BHO's truthfulness on a scale of 1-10 would require the invention of negative numbers, if there weren't such a thing already.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2008 23:06 Comments ||
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Japanese police are deploying about 20,000 officers around the venue of the Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido and also as many officers in Tokyo to brace for possible violent rallies or other emergency incidents, police officials said Wednesday.
With the clock ticking away prior to Monday's start of the annual event that rotates through the G-8 countries, the Self-Defense Forces are also stepping up security under an order by Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba against terrorist incidents including a possible airplane hijacking targeting the summit venue hotel standing on a hill beside Lake Toya.
National Police Agency officials said the agency has mobilized some 20,000 officers since late June in and near the hotel, some 750 kilometers north of Tokyo, and other areas of Hokkaido but deployed another 20,000 to various locations in the capital such as train stations and entertainment districts.
The "two-prong" police guard contrasts with the year 2000, when Japan last hosted a G-8 summit, which took place in Okinawa Prefecture some 1,500 km southwest of Tokyo. At that time, the police deployed some 20,500 officers in Okinawa but put Tokyo on no special alert.
But a series of deadly terrorist incidents in London on the sidelines of the 2005 G-8 summit in Gleneagles, far from the British capital, made Japan police raise the warning level in Tokyo to the highest, Japanese government officials said. A total of 56 people were killed in the London incidents.
The agency officials said the police are mainly prepared for possible violence by participants in anti-G-8 summit rallies in Hokkaido as various groups plan to stage such rallies and demonstrations in places such as Hokkaido's prefectural capital Sapporo, and Date, near the lake.
The police say they will also closely watch the situation in Sapporo, where the leaders from China and South Korea plan to stay.
A senior NPA official said, "We're worried radical activists from foreign countries could incite people into violent acts and that that could result in a large-scale clash."
Meanwhile, the SDF have flown aircraft including an information gathering AWACS airplane of the Air Self-Defense Force in and near Hokkaido, with SDF officers saying one serious concern is a possible terrorist attack from the air against the summit venue.
The transport ministry has already announced it will set a no-fly zone within a 46-km radius of the hotel from Sunday to Wednesday.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force has deployed several destroyers to waters near Hokkaido while the Ground Self-Defense Force will fly some 20 helicopters to carry participants in the G-8 summit between New Chitose Airport and relevant locations such as the Lake Toya area, ministry officials said.
The militaries of the Philippines and Thailand are expected to ink a draft agreement that would pave the way for joint military exercises.
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Alexander Yano met Tuesday with visiting Thai General Boonsrang Niumpradit, supreme commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and said the draft military agreement will be "approved soon."
Yano said the visit "signifies the strong defense cooperation and security relation" between the two countries.
According to Yano, the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement between Thailand and the Philippines will mean joint war games between the two armed forces.
The Philippines only has one existing military agreement with the U.S. The U.S. and the Philippines conduct several war games each year under the Visiting Forces Agreement.
#1
"Soon" means the same thing as telling your kids maybe. Yano is a strong officer and a friend, but he can not predict the politics of the leftie senate. It took a year to get the VFA for the US set in motion, Thailand will take another year if at all.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/02/2008 17:16 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Floods like those that inundated the U.S. Midwest are supposed to occur once every 500 years but this is the second since 1993, suggesting flawed forecasts that do not take global warming into account, conservation experts said on Tuesday.
Robert Mugabe's spokesman told the West yesterday it can 'go hang' over its criticism of the Zimbabwean president's widely discredited reelection which has seen Washington push for UN sanctions. 'They can go and hang a thousand times, they have no basis, they have no claim on Zimbabwe politics at all,' spokesman George Charamba said at the African Union summit in Egypt about Western criticism of Mugabe's violence-marred election.
With no immediate indications of a breakthrough to end Zimbabwes political deadlock, President Robert Mugabe dismissed international demands for his ouster Tuesday, saying through a spokesman that Western countries threatening to bring economic or other pressure on his government could go hang a thousand times.
The African Union (AU) has called on Zimbabwe's political parties to enter talks aimed at establishing a government of national unity, news agencies reported late Tuesday. In a report from the AU summit being held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, Agence-France Presse quoted unnamed officials as saying that after two hours of debate, African heads of government had adopted a resolution encouraging Zimbabwe's leaders "to initiate dialogue with a view to promoting peace [and] stability."
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whose nation is the world's number one oil exporter, called on consumer countries to get used to high prices in comments published on Tuesday. 'Consumer countries have to adapt to the prices and the mechanisms of the market,' the king said in an interview published by the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassah. 'We have nothing to do with the current sharp increase in crude prices,' he said reiterating the Saudi position that speculation, rising demand and the taxation of oil products in consumer countries were to blame. 'These countries must reduce their taxes on fuel.. if they want to contribute to easing the burden on ordinary consumers,' he said.
Five people were killed and more than 300 others injured in riots in Mongolia's capital which broke out over alleged election fraud, Justice Minister Tsend Monkhorgil said Wednesday. The riots were now under control, Monkhorgil told a press conference. 
Thousands of Roma Gypsy children and adults will be fingerprinted from Sunday in the Italian capital, Rome, despite strong criticism from European and religious organisations.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who caused a stir over the weekend when he dismissed John McCains military service as a qualification for the presidency, stood by his remarks on Tuesday but sought to soothe ruffled feathers after Barack Obama was forced to distance himself from his campaign surrogate.
Japanese police are deploying about 20,000 officers around the venue of the Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido and also as many officers in Tokyo to brace for possible violent rallies or other emergency incidents, police officials said Wednesday. 
