CNN.com - Eyes On the Off-Year Election Prize!

CNN.com - Eyes focus on tight New Jersey, Virginia races - Nov 8, 2005
Time to see if the American people have awoken from their 9/11 induced stupor in which half of us were led to believe that the Republican Party was the answer to all ills; that its members had the lock on leadership, even if their collective vision and common sense was hampered by a haughtiness that would do Hitler proud (did I say that?).

In addition, it is time to see if the citizens of Detroit, MI have had enough of a corrupt Mayor who acts more like an African dictator then mayor of a dying (major) American city, whose inhabitants are close to 85% Black. How about citizens of Detroit do you deserve better, or are you content to see your once proud city dye while Kwame Kilpatrick parties the night away on your dime(s)?

And in California, the experiment in true Democracy—albeit failing—is once more rearing it ugly head, spurred on as it is by the actor turned terrible Governor. Will the largely Democratic state—the largest in the Union in terms of population—tell Arnold not to bother coming back for a second term? Lets hope so!

BBC NEWS | Europe | Timeline: French riots

BBC NEWS | Europe | Timeline: French riots

BBC NEWS | Europe | French plan curfews to stop riots

BBC NEWS | Europe | French plan curfews to stop riots
What is going on in France? Who would have thought 12 days ago that such a thing could happen in France? But racial tensions have been brewing under the veneer of French society for quite some time now. And France is not alone in its immigrant tribulations; Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, indeed most of Western Europe also have large immigrant populations. Might rioting in one, some, or all of these nations be next? How long before the French get fed up wit the systematic destruction of their cities and resort to violence the put down the uprising?

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Tough French warning for rioters

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Tough French warning for rioters

Embattled ex-chairman resigns from PBS board - TELEVISION - MSNBC.com

Embattled ex-chairman resigns from PBS board - TELEVISION - MSNBC.com
Anyone who listens to or watches NPR or PBS on a regular basis is well aware of the dark cloud of Conservatism surrounding Tomlinson’s tenure as head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Saying that NPR and PBS were biased towards the liberal viewpoint, Tomlinson tried his best to move both institutions to the political right, much to the chagrin and amazement of longtime listeners who know better like myself.

I, for one am glad he is gone, and is taking with him his skewed viewpoint of the world.

AP: E-mails show new dimension in DeLay case - Politics - MSNBC.com

AP: E-mails show new dimension in DeLay case - Politics - MSNBC.com
And the liar lies get darker and Delays betrayal of the American people grows deeper. Are these people (Republican Congressman) so near-sided that they lost touch with the real reason they entered public service? The whole episode is nauseating in the extreme.

CIA holds terror suspects in secret prisons - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

CIA holds terror suspects in secret prisons - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com
What kind of country has Bush and his Republican Party turned the U.S. into. Are we now morphing into a country where the rule of law is no longer respected? What is happening to us; are we becoming that which we fought so long to overcome. What happened to our moral suasion, our principles as Americans? Have we brought to power a Party that is so arrogant that they believe that they do not have to follow the Constitution? Absolute power corrupts absolutely; never has this maxim be so apt…

BBC NEWS | Europe | Paris riots prompt extra security

BBC NEWS | Europe | Paris riots prompt extra security
Who knew the French were so passionate. France has long had a love/hate relationship with its growing immigrant population, most of whom come from former French colonies across Africa. It just so happens that many as Muslim as well, which only adds to ardor of the immigrant population whenever they feel Islam has been slighted.

I am growing increasingly convinced that religion does more harm then good in human communities. Perhaps it time we divested ourselves of it and began to accept the world as it is and not how we might want it to be.

CNN.com - Bush Nominates Alito to Supreme Court - Oct 31, 2005

CNN.com - Bush nominates Alito to Supreme Court - Oct 31, 2005
Listen can you here it, listen closely, it’s a chorus of conservative right wing Republican religious zealots praising Bush’s latest appointment t0 the nation’s highest court. They finally have “their” man, the judge who is going to help them push their narrow minded religious inspired and informed agenda upon America. Who needs freedom anyway?

Judge Alito is widely considered to be the Scalia clone the Conservative Right has been clamoring for; MSNBC cataloged some of Alito’s most notable decisions:

ACLU v. Schundler
168 F.3d 92 (3d Cir. 1999)
Wrote the opinion in a case that said a Christmas display on city property did not violate separation of church and state doctrines because it included a large plastic Santa Claus as well as religious symbols.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey
947 F.2d 682 (3d Cir. 1991)
Disagreed with the majority in a ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion.

Fatin v. INS
12 F.3d 1233 (3d Cir. 1993)
Agreed with the majority that an Iranian woman seeking U.S. asylum could establish eligibility by showing that she had an abhorrence of her country's "gender-specific laws and repressive social norms," or because of a belief in feminism or membership in a feminist group.

BBC NEWS | Indictment rocks Bush administration

BBC NEWS | Indictment rocks Bush administration
Two Down…

How many will fall before this widening scandal is quit? What ever happened to vaunted Republican virtue, integrity, and moral suasion? All seem to have been lost in a virtual maelstrom of corruption, greed, arrogance, hubris, myopic pursuits, and damned lies. It is refreshing however, that the American system of justice is working, albeit slowly to bring these thugs to heal; stay tuned…

CNN.com - Gov. Bush: Wilma response will 'be better' - Oct 27, 2005

CNN.com - Gov. Bush: Wilma response will 'be better' - Oct 27, 2005
I am in total agreement with Governor Bush on this issue, and I applaud his courage and his willingness to tell it like it is. The residents of Florida are no strangers to the strength, ferocity and capricious nature of hurricanes; the state is the target of at least one of the storms almost every year; hell three hit the state last year, and one so far this year. So the cries and harping fall on deaf ears.

And it is not as if Hurricane Wilma cropped up overnight and blew ashore with little warning; Floridians had a week and a half to prepare for the Category Three storm, so there is no excuse for the level of complaining we now hear coming from the state’s residents, and no excuse for the long line we see as people wait for food, water, ice handouts. And wouldn’t the prudent person fill up the gas take BEFORE the storm hit? There isn’t a resident in the state—unless he or she was living in complete isolation—that will get to believe that he or she was caught off-guard by the storm; please!

Have we Americans become so accustomed to the government taking care of us that we have lost the ability to take care of ourselves? Increasingly there is a case to be made that too much government help is detrimental to the proper functioning of any society. Citizens owe so level of responsibility to themselves and society to take care of their persons and family; certainly having three days of food, water, and other essential supplies on hade in a state prone to natural disasters is not an unreasonably request.

And let us not forget, that our fellow citizens lack of proper preparation for an event that should be second nature to them by now, costs us all…

CNN.com - Miers Withdraws Her Name From Consideration!

CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News
She’s out! And I do not know where I stand on the issue. On the one hand I think Ms. Miers would have made a fine jurist, but on the other hand the ground swell of opposition from almost every conservative corner made it increasingly difficult for even Republican Senators to throw their full support behind her.

Now I wonder, with the Right Wing of the Christian movement so adamant to get “their person” on the Supreme Court, who will Bush nominate next? Will he stay in the center or Kowtow to the religious zealots and thrust an ultra-conservative down our throats. These are dark days indeed for the country, and we are all holding our collective breathes…

Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them

I thought the Bush Administration was supposed to usher in an era of American politics and leadership, one which returned honesty, humility, and integrity to the White House and Capitol Hill. No so it would seem, not so at all; every day seems to bring revelations of new Republican wrongdoing. One has to wonder where will it all end.

Today Tom Delay admitted that he had once again thumbed his pasty nose at the law and the rules of the House by failing to disclose contributions to his legal defense fund. Senate Majority leader Bill Frist continues to obfuscate the truth about his HCA stock sell which netted him million of dollars days before the company reported deepening losses. And then there is what is now being referred to as Plamegate a deepening scandal in which now the Vice President may now be knee deep in, and has lied about, both to the American people and perhaps to a Federal Grand Jury.

It is the height of irony and hypocrisy that some high ranking Republican politicians and political pundits actually have the audacity to advance the notion that perhaps lying to Federal Grand Jury is not such a bad thing after all. Excuse me, but didn’t the Republicans impeach a President over perjury charges? How now is it okay for high government officials to stay in office for the same offense? Do they (the Republicans) think our memory that short? They must to spew such nonsense.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US death toll in Iraq hits 2,000

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US death toll in Iraq hits 2,000
Is it enough to be disgusted at the obscene waste of human life this very ill-advised war has cost on both sides? Is protesting enough if impassioned cries to get our of Iraq land on deaf ears, closed minds, and cold hearts?

In America this is the poor mans war; it was recently reported that a disproportionate number of the U.S. Serviceman being killed in Bushs’ War are from rural America. Those in the city apparently have better things to do with their time and lives. City dwellers seem detached from this War, it has become a side show, an occasional annoyance on the evening news. Life for most of us goes on as it always had, and perhaps that needs to change.

2000 Americans dead and rising, and we may never know how many Iraqis have given their lives for this unjust, un-noble and illegal cause. Was, and is the War worth the sacrifice of so many for so little tangible gain? I say NO, NO, NO!! But how are we now to disentangle ourselves from the morass Bush and his arrogant posse have led us into? We cannot cut and run, for Iraq is already become Afghanistan II only worse for what better proving (and hunting) ground could terrorist hope for then the one we’ve provided for them in Iraq? It is maddening to give prolonged thought to, and maddening still to think that more then half the population of America thought it was a good idea to invade and occupy a sovereign nation.

2000 Americans dead and rising…for what, for what, for what?

Bush: Military action against Syria Last option - Mideast/N. Africa - MSNBC.com

Bush: Military action against Syria Last option - Mideast/N. Africa - MSNBC.com: "former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri."
So are we in the business of invading other countries (as a last option of course) because they oppose us on well, anything? What is the ludicrous talk of invading Syria as a last resort? Are we back in 1914 when all it took the simple assassination of one man to start a World War and bring about the death of millions? Has the United States under George W. (kick me I’m stupid) Bush becomes the world’s bully, threatening counties with military action if they don’t kowtow and give us what we demand?

Not that Syria has much to fear from the United States military, sad to say. The Army is in no condition to invade Marco Island, let alone a large country like Syria with a rather large standing Army; ditto for the Marines. The most Syria has to fear is a few cruise missiles fired its way from U.S. Navy ships in the Mediterranean of Air Force bombers, probably out of Iraq. Little more could be done, and even that is nonsense.

If the Syrian government is responsible for the assignation of former Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri, then the United Nation should hold the country account. The United States should not act unilaterally, or in concert with Great Britain; use the U.N. and let that be the end of it. Enough talk of WAR, WAR, WAR!!

Prelude to a Leak - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com

Prelude to a Leak - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.comOh what a tangled web they weaved when first they sought to deceive—the American public, and the People trust. The much lauded and ever changing goals for the Iraqi invasion have all gone by the way side, side lined and supplanted by the stupefying ineptness in which the invasion and resulting occupation is being handled. War is always supposed to be a last resort, a nasty little thing we never aspire to unless America and Americans are directly threatened.

As time and numerous news stories have revealed, Saddam was no threat; at least not to America or its citizens. Now 2000 dead American serviceman and as yet un-enumerated dead Iraqis later, the Middle East is worse off then when we invaded. Bush ruins everything he touches, and his Administration is an abysmal failure, mired by scandal, and shoot through with corruption and ineffectual leadership at every level.

It is becoming increasingly evident to this American citizen that Bush and his arrogant cronies have set up a shadow government and are keeping their own counsel, creating a family of inbred siblings who have taken America down a dangerous and disastrous road to ruin. I would like to thank my fellow citizens—those who voted for Bush not once, but twice—for their lack of reflective thought and hysterical political blindness. Are you proud?

CNN.com - Arrest warrant Issued for DeLay - Oct 19, 2005

CNN.com - Arrest warrant Issued for DeLay - Oct 19, 2005
Excuse me while I rosin up my bow and tune my singing voice! Who said a little bit of humility is good for the soul? Well Tom Delay is about is about to be humbled before the American people, whose interests he has worked so long and hard to undermine. V. Edward to Tom: please, please rise to the occasion and refuse to appear before the Court! That way the music can continue as they haul you away in handcuffs; what a party that would be!

Did Vanity Fair lighten Beyonce's skin? - Access Hollywood - MSNBC.com

Did Vanity Fair lighten Beyonce's skin? - Access Hollywood - MSNBC.com
Despite protestations to the contrary, there is a fair chance that Vanity Fair has lighten Beyonce’s skin. Magazines have been lightning Black folks skins for decades; I guess they thought we wouldn’t notice, or just blame it on lighting. It’s a shame that that in 2005 the face of beauty still has to come wrapped in a white or near off-white package in order to be appreciated.

Black—or-brown—is beautiful and every time I look at my wife I sigh, she is so damn beautiful!

CNN.com - Chertoff, Chao promote guest worker program - Oct 18, 2005

CNN.com - Chertoff, Chao promote guest worker program - Oct 18, 2005
All I can say is: it’s about time! The U.S. immigration policy has been just plain stupid for far too long; an illegal immigrant should be an illegal immigrant no matter what his or her nationality. It has taken the Bush Administration far too long to address this issue; it is now some four years after 9/11 and we are just now moving to close our Southern Border!!

But for all of the bravado this announcement entailed, predictably a crucial element was missing; namely a promised crackdown on employers who employ illegal aliens. After all without jobs, there would be little reason to risk life and limb to come here. And no I do not buy the argument that illegal aliens are filling jobs Americans do not want. Granted they may be true in some very low level service jobs, but not in industries such as construction, warehousing, food service, call centers, highway construction, and other (living wage) jobs that have traditionally gone to lower class or teenage Americans. The runaway greed of American business must be addressed with equal vigor if the illegal immigration problem is ever going to brought under control.

CNN.com - E-mails show FEMA infighting, frustration - Oct 18, 2005

CNN.com - E-mails show FEMA infighting, frustration - Oct 18, 2005

It is quite clear to the American citizen that Bush’s culture of incompetence has permeated every corner of the Federal Government save the military and they have had their moment over the last five years. FEMA used to be a government agency that worked and worked well; not so under Bush and the Republican regime.

There is general feeling among those of us who did not vote for Bush (those of use still capable of rational and reasoned thought) that the man has ruined our country—both internationally and domestically; the can do country and society has devolved into the cannot nation. Bush’s mediocrity has sickened the nation with a cancer, and it will take bold leadership to cure it. Bush’s lack of leadership, intellect, vision, wisdom, and inability to see beyond his arrogant nose has led us to this place. But I don’t blame him, he never claimed to be a deep thinker and has proved this time and again; I blame the people who were dim-witted enough to put him in the White House, not once, but twice. Shame on you!