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Global Warming: Political Policy Wonks sound the alarm: 7 Years to Climate Midnight

Taking a page from the old anti-nuclear movement and portraying a threat as a clock, two well-credentialed policy wonks from a prestigious far-left think tank parrot the global warming nonsense without critical comment on the science or the policy. Hack ex-politicians air their far-left viewpoint.

How can they possibly know this?

“The world may have only seven years to start reducing the annual buildup in greenhouse gas emissions that otherwise threatens global catastrophe within several decades. That means that between Inauguration Day in January 2009 and 2015, either John McCain or Barack Obama will face the most momentous political challenge of all time.”

Possibly by regurgitating the lies and half-truths of the far-left political hacks who want to convince you that global warming is an emergency requiring fast action. 

“Reflecting a consensus of hundreds of scientists around the world, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has affirmed that greenhouse gas emissions are raising the Earth's temperature.”

Science is not performed by a consensus opinion gathered by a political body whose self-interest in exerting further control and raising additional funding is widely suspect.

“The Earth is on a trajectory to warm more than 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit by around mid-century. Exceeding that threshold could trigger a series of phenomena: Arable land will turn into desert, higher sea levels will flood coastal areas, and changes in the convection of the oceans will alter currents, such as the Gulf Stream, that determine regional weather patterns.”

Based on the outlier results of deeply-flawed computerized climate models whose predictive probability cannot even be quantified.

“Manhattan and Florida would be under water, while Nevada would have no water at all. Some Russians quip that they would welcome a more temperate climate, but they would probably be sorry to lose St. Petersburg. Countries such as Bangladesh and Mali do not have the resources to mitigate or even to adapt to the impact of climate change; millions would flee coastal flooding and the desertification of farmlands, creating instant ‘climate refugees.’”

Regurgitating extreme predictions does not lend them credibility and simply makes the authors who parrot such pronouncements look stupid. 

“The head of the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC, R.K. Pachauri, recently told us: ‘The cities, power plants and factories we build in the next seven years will shape our climate in mid-century. We have to act now to price carbon and create incentives to change the way we use energy and spread technology -- and thereby avert nothing less than an existential threat to civilization.’"

First and foremost: the Nobel Prize cited is not the one given for scientific achievement, it is the political one that is given to people and institutions inspired by political action. It has been thoroughly discredited as they actually gave a “Peace” prize to Yasser Arafat, the corrupt terrorist who pocketed public money while keeping his people in abject poverty and sending them to their deaths to prove he still was a potent force to be reckoned with. And second, carbon emission trading does nothing to halt global climate change. It serves only to allow gross polluters to continue their polluting ways (paid for by their rate-payers), and those who package and trade carbon credits to become even richer. This is a classic ENRON deal promoted by special interests who plan to become billionaires instead of multi-millionaires. Typical supporters are looking for your hard-earned tax money to be used as incentives, grants, subsidies and tax offsets to make their uneconomical energy programs into break-even propositions.

The second biggest lie …

Following the biggest lie that man’s puny carbon-trading schemes can reverse global climate change, is the second biggest lie that we need to take urgent and drastic action NOW! Being railroaded into making political policies which will destroy our economy, reduce our freedoms, increase the size of government and raise our taxes.

“Urgent and drastic action by the international community is required, and the United States must take the lead.”

Global climate change occurs over long periods: hundreds and thousands of years. We could cease all activity today and still not know the results for hundreds of years, if ever. What kind of urgency is this?

Lead by example?

There is no proof that the Chinese, the Indians, the Germans or any other country will act in opposition to their own economic and social interests. Only the United States appears to be so stupid as to become the leader in a global scheme to swindle the world’s population for the benefit of the politicians and their special interests.

“Americans produce more than four times as much carbon per capita as the Chinese; 12 times as much as Indians; and more than twice as much as citizens of Germany, France, Britain and Japan. Unless the United States acts first, it will have no credibility in persuading other countries to do their share.”

So are we willing to shutter all industry, severely curtail our cars and take every restrictive action that the Chinese took during the 2008 Olympics – and which had no measurable effect on the local climate – or the global climate?

“To their credit, McCain and Obama support the creation of a cap-and-trade system that would limit national emissions. Trading among firms would put a price on carbon. That is an essential step toward changing industry behavior, encouraging energy conservation and providing an incentive for new technologies.”

Has anybody noticed that this would be a Godsend to anyone wanting to cripple America’s military, industry and economy? 

Is it all worth it?

"But the domestic obstacles to these and other measures are daunting. While some industries will prosper, other sectors of the economy, especially those that produce or rely on coal, steel and cement, will contract. Electricity prices will increase in the near and middle terms. Many workers and households will need help with the costs of transition."

"Coping with the resulting economic and political hardships would be onerous even if the next president inherited forward-looking climate-change policies."

For the wealthy and well connected, the politicians and their special interest supporters there would be no deprivation only additional power and money to add to their personal power, prestige and bank accounts. Poor people suffer. Politicians pander. And when it all fails, another scheme to save the people emerges in the form of another leader: often a dictator portraying themselves as a man of the people. Check out all of the wonderfulness that “man of the people” Fidel Castro has brought to his little island paradise of Cuba?

Time for some far-left liberal Bush bashing …

“But George W. Bush has pursued an ‘anti-policy,’ based on a combination of denial, procrastination and backsliding. His successor will have to make up for lost time while also dealing with a half-trillion-dollar federal deficit, a recession and a national housing crunch, a looming health-care crisis, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and diplomatic showdowns with North Korea and Iran.”

“The winner in November will need all the help he can get -- including from his opponent, who will go back to the Senate as a major voice on this and other issues. The next president will also need support from the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, academia and -- crucially -- citizens who recognize the consequences if they do not consent to sacrifices and changes in lifestyle.”

“Many Americans will accept that logic, and make real changes, only if they believe greenhouse gas emissions will affect them personally. Today's adults, even if they will not be around at mid-century, must think about the fate of their children and grandchildren.”

Screw YOU!

I do not consent to any sacrifices and changes in my lifestyle based upon the political perversion of science. I do not accept any logic which tells me that I must believe that carbon dioxide, a normal requirement for a healthy life on this planet, is a pollutant to be measured, controlled, bought and sold. I do not believe in the far-left liberal’s mantra “it’s for the children” when I see that they have crippled our current educational system with their unions and the teaching of everything but reading, writing and arithmetic. How many children were destroyed by “new math” where the answer did not have to be right – but you were encouraged to feel good about yourself. By whole-language learning which replaced phonics and produced an entire generation of functional illiterates?

“Obama can look to his two daughters, and McCain to his four grandchildren. They are among nearly 75 million Americans -- and 2.2 billion people worldwide -- younger than 18. That generation will be in its 40s or 50s when one of two things happens: Either the temperature of the planet warms more than 4.5 degrees and vast regions slide toward being uninhabitable, or the wisdom of the next president and his fellow leaders around the world pays off in the ultimate reward -- survival.”

Stupid is as stupid does …

As if you needed a further example of stupidity, consider the above paragraph. Either you accept our premises and are saved from some terrible planetary catastrophe or you don't survive? Man has inhabited places that were grossly inhospitable and thrived. What makes these people believe that man will not adapt to the changing conditions -- as the wax and wane according to some unknown climatological cycle?

Ask yourself, what if they are wrong? Who will be around to seek reparations for all of the harm, damage, suffering and possibly war that may result when their prescriptions are followed with no measurable results forthcoming?

A better question is to ask these pinhead politicians is how they plan to alter the ocean currents, curtail the cloud formations that represent the atmospheric water vapor (a greenhouse gas that dwarfs carbon dioxide) and what are they going to do about the solar output which is the source of all ambient temperature increase?

The two bozos who wrote this piece were Carlos Pascual who serves as the Vice President for Foreign Policy studies and Strobe Talbott who serves as the president of the Brookings Institution. Lest anyone notice, they are policy wonks pandering to politicians and not scientists. They are considered by many to be a far-left, anti-American think tank that promotes globalism and the creation of a common North American Union modeled after the European Union. 

According to the Brookings Institution …

“Strobe Talbott is president of the Brookings Institution. Talbott, whose career spans journalism, government service, and academe, is an expert on U.S. foreign policy, with specialties on Europe, Russia, South Asia, and nuclear arms control. As deputy secretary of state in the Clinton administration, Talbott was deeply involved in both the conduct of U.S. policy abroad and the management of executive branch relations with Congress.”

“Carlos Pascual is a Brookings vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings. A former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and senior director on the National Security Council staff, he focuses on post-conflict stabilization, international security policy, nonproliferation and economic development with particular focus on Europe, Russia and Ukraine.”

Notice their far-left credentials? Enough said about why they might like to see global warming initiatives in place.

What can YOU do?

We must be vigilant that the people who are promoting political policies in response to global warming are not doing it to weaken the United States’ military, industry and economy which could alter the balance of world power and confer an advantage on our political enemies.

We must be vigilant that the next President of the United States does realize who are enemies are, both foreign and domestic and is prepared to deal with them to preserve our American way of life.

We need to remember that Russia, China, North Korea, and others are not our allies and that their continuing control over their populations demands that they have a bogeyman scapegoat responsible for their citizen’s current status. Now with global Internet, impoverished people look at the California lifestyle which is available to even the poorest of citizens and being to question their own governments. Their two choices, freedom or the weakening of the United States. Guess which one they will choose?

We need to return our America back from the far-left precipice and reclaim our government from the political parties, both of which have done enormous damage over the years. When I hear Barack Obama cite Roosevelt or Kennedy as fellow democrats, I remind myself that both democrats would be considered conservative or moderate Republicans by today’s standards.

George Bush cannot be re-elected. John McCain is unlikely to follow the failed leadership of George Bush by appointing inept cronies to head major government Agencies. But Barack Obama is most likely to turn our country’s course leftward towards disaster should he be elected. We need to insure that John McCain is elected and Obama returned to the Senate for more seasoning. Perhaps he might even compile a better legislative record than his two fellow liberals Teddy Kennedy (#2 to Barack’s #1 Status as a liberal) and Joe Biden (#3 to Ted Kennedy’s #2 status as a liberal).

Discuss this with your friends and relative. And then vote as if your life and country counted on this election – because this time it just may be the tipping point.

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “Fear is something to be moved through, not something to be turned from.” --Peter McWilliams

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

Carlos Pascual and Strobe Talbott - 7 Years to Climate Midnight |Washingtonpost.com

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“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Global Climate Change: The path to enlightenment starts with knowing what you are talking about...

Readers of my blog know that I do not blindly ascribe to the theory that global climate change is man-made and requires a costly, freedom-altering political solution; the result of which may not be evident for hundreds of year, if ever.

I believe that global climate change is cyclical and that the factors which influence climate change such as the solar output, the rotation of the earth, the earth’s core composition and heat transfer, the oceanic currents and the greenhouse gases, the most prevalent one of which is not carbon dioxide but water vapor, form a dynamic system which can hardly be influenced by the puny efforts of man.

I also believe, far from the pronouncements of Al Gore and his band of power- and profit-driven special interests, that the science is not well-established and that there is no consensus among scientists about the causality of the global climate variability; and hence, no definitive mitigation or cure does exist.

I believe that the current emissions cap and trade system is a canard which will allow governments to exert far greater control over their citizens, raise taxes and effect a global re-distribution of wealth based on socialistic theories. That is not to say that the ruling elite under such political systems does not continue to grow wealthier and more powerful by aligning themselves with the political doctrine of the day and paying due respect, including a piece of the action, to those in power.

I also believe that the current climatological models are inherently flawed as they are rather simplistic, use artificial adjustments to make the numbers match some form of historical climate data or proxy which simulates the climate data for well-selected and very short time periods. These models can not be relied on to predict short-term, let alone extremely long-term effects with any degree of reliability.

I think that the United Nations and Al Gore are fundamentally dishonest by using outlier data from model runs without citing any degree of reliability or probability. That is, mathematical models can produce results, but few know if the results are real or merely coincidental when they match the physical phenomenon which they purport to model. I have a special degree of distrust for Al Gore whose movie used artificial, computer-generated Hollywood footage from another movie to illustrate ice-calving – without any disclaimer or citation. Another example of Hollywood smoke and mirrors driving a predestined conclusion.

So I am rather encouraged when I read my edition of IEEE’s (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers) Spectrum and find that there are plans afoot to build a specialized computer to model that most prevalent and powerful of greenhouse gases: water vapor. 

According to “A Computer for the Clouds” by Philip E. Ross…

“We think scientific computing is ripe for a change,” says Michael Wehner, a climatologist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. ‘Instead of getting a big computer and saying, ‘What can we do?' we want to do what particle physicists do and say, ‘We want to do this kind of science—what kind of machine do we need to do it?' ”

“Wehner and two engineers, Lenny Oliker and John Shalf, also of Lawrence Berkeley, have proposed perhaps the most powerful special-purpose computer yet. It is intended to model changes in climatic patterns over periods as long as a century. Specifically, it should be able to remedy today's inability to model clouds well enough to tell whether their net effect is to warm the world or cool it. To solve the problem, climatologists figure they need to deal in chunks of the atmosphere measuring 1kilometer on a side—a job for an exaflop machine, one with 1000 times more computing power than even Roadrunner can provide.”

Now this is government money that I am willing to advocate they spend …

Before embarking on an economy-busting carbon emissions trading system that only benefits the gross polluters, the Wizards of Wall Street who will trade these credits much as Enron traded electricity to the detriment of California, and the special interests who require government grants, subsidies and tax benefits to make their pipe-dreams even close to economically feasible, I am willing to support spending more  money on basic research. And not research of the NASA-preordained/Hansen brand where politics influences the science.   

“The researchers are now trying to validate their claims with a hardware mock-up, which they are building in collaboration with Tensilica, a custom-chip supplier in Santa Clara, Calif. The plan is to bench-test a single processor by November and a parallel array of processors by the middle of 2009. If the claims are vindicated, the researchers hope to get government funding for a full-size machine.”

“Critics of special-purpose machines say they've heard it all before. “The problem is that when we devise a new way to solve a problem, the machine designed for the old way will no longer be as good,” says Jack Dongarra, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Tennessee.”

“But according to Horst Simon, who heads the Lawrence Berkeley lab's research computing center, the proposed machine would not be so specialized that a new algorithm would render it instantly obsolete.”

“ ‘We are building hardware that runs not just one algorithm but a large class of related algorithms,’ he says. ‘We are trying to eliminate unessential features of the architecture, much of it developed for desktop applications, and to optimize it for a class of applications that is scientifically focused.”’

And if the New York liberals and Wall Street Wizards want to worry about something a little more pressing and concrete …

Want to worry about something in the future that may have more impact on your life than a 1.2-degree (Celsius) temperature rise?

“Earthquake risks in the greater New York City area are reassessed in a major study released today by a team of seismologists based at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, N.Y. Though the report reaffirms that large earthquakes are relatively rare in New York, it finds that fault patterns are more complex than previously appreciated. In particular, two fault systems are found to converge very close to the controversial Indian Point nuclear power plant, 24 miles north of the city.”

“The authors of the study catalogued 383 earthquakes from 1677 to 2007, and, in those three-plus centuries, identified three magnitude 5 quakes capable of causing serious damage. They estimate that a potentially catastrophic category 6 quake might occur every 370 years, and a category 7 every 3,400 years. Though those probabilities are relatively low, the damage risk from a New York City earthquake is still very high because of the city’s concentration of people and physical infrastructure, observes Lynn Sykes, the very eminent seismologist who led the study.”  <Source>

What can YOU do?

Common sense dictates you know what you are talking about before you propose a cure. Especially a political cure which is likely to mean bigger government, higher taxes, wealth redistribution and the proliferation of corrupt special interests and the politician-pandering lobbyists.

Demand practical answers to tough questions before empowering any politician or political program with enough muscle to become self-defeating and self-destructive.

Even if global climatology did indicate that we were in a temperature upswing, prior to some downswing in the distant future, don’t you agree that your hard-earned money should be better spent on developing methods and structures to cope with these projected climate changes?

How much of YOUR lifestyle are YOU willing to sacrifice NOW for someone who will live hundreds of years from now – in a time when science may have solved many of the pressing issues of survival on this planet?

In my world, financial wizards do not play any meaningful part other than serving as commodity brokers who make their living by buying and selling commodities that are being sometimes artificially churned to improve income yields. They are like the lawyers who write complex laws to insure that you feel the need for their services lest you get into trouble. Or politicians who want to make you dependent and beholden to their government for your existence.

Man was born free, and God willing, shall stay free by avoiding the type of socialistic policies employed by Russian and Chinese planners which have almost destroyed their nations. These are the people who require extreme gun control and subservience lest they be overthrown from power.

Common sense is uncommon – but if you do not exercise it, you will forfeit it to those who want your share of the American dream.

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” --George Moore

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

IEEE Spectrum: A Computer for the Clouds

Earthquakes May Endanger New York More Than Thought, Says Study: Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Seen As Particular Risk|Columbia University Earth Institute

And for the scientifically inclined, the actual research paper: “Observations and Tectonic Setting of Historic and Instrumentally Located Earthquakes in the Greater New York City–Philadelphia Area by Lynn R. Sykes, John G. Armbruster, Won-Young Kim, and Leonardo Seeber|Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 98, No. 4, pp. 1696–1719, August 2008, doi: 10.1785/0120070167

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Just because a liberal crowd collectively kissed a toad -- doesn't make him a prince!

hollywood

Obama’s Backdrop: Hollywood Smoke & Mirrors

Beyond Presidential – ROYAL?

Subtract the money raised from democrats and the special interests who want to first, regain power and second, resume looting the public treasury for social programs while currying favor with an Administration which is likely to produce little or nothing in terms of public benefits – except making select people rich and buying future voter support. Subtract all of the packaging, presentation and promotion that access to big money brings and ask yourself what is left?

Could the answer be a group of far-left socialists who want to further cripple the military and economy of the United States?

Could the answer be a group of racists who now believe it is their turn of turn the screws of power and grab the goody bag?

Could the answer be a group of illegal aliens and their foreign masters who are intent on becoming citizens so that they can legally vote existing citizens out of power and assume the reigns of leadership?

Could the answer be a group of unions who want to make union membership automatic and mandatory, with large sums of money flowing to the influence brokers like Biden’s brother and son who may earn outrageous sums of money for simply directing certain public employee union’s pension funds into their affiliated hedge funds?

Could the answer be a group of special interests such as the trial lawyers who want to continue with restrictive legislation that makes every deep-pockets corporation guilty of something that can yield large class action settlements which benefit the lawyers more than the aggrieved members of the lawsuit?  Lawyers who want to make the law so complex that each and every transaction will require a legal representative to insure – not that you will not be screwed – but that you will not be inordinately screwed?

Could the answer be a group of people who want to disarm America and nullify our Second Amendment rights – because they fear not only a potential uprising against egregious political actions, but want to make every citizen dependent on the government for their security and safety? Just ask yourself: if paramedics cannot be everywhere they are needed, what is the chance that law enforcement can protect you when necessary? These are the people who also want to rehabilitate criminals instead of incarceration. What part of irrational and crazy do they not understand? Sociopathic people or those who are certifiably insane will not obey the laws, rules and regulations of society any more than criminals will not give up their weapons when the government tries to disarm the populace?

Could the answer be those who want to keep America energy dependent on foreign oil? Refuse to use American resources? Compel American to pay enormous sums of money to foreign sovereigns to fund their war against us and our society? The energy dependence which keeps us from erasing Saudi Arabia from the face of this earth as the active sponsor of worldwide Whabbist terrorism and teaching? 

Could the answer be those who believe terrorism is a natural and justified reaction to our foreign policy? Although I cannot image exactly what foreign policy would justify killing 3,000 people on 9/11. Are these the very same democrats who brought about radical Islamo-fascism starting with democrat Jimmy Carter’s hatred of the Shah of Iran and love of Hamas and the Palestinians? And perpetuated by Bill Clinton who hated the military and proved that he was incapable of defending the United States’ interests when necessary? Symbolically bombing an Aspirin factory does not count as a response in my book. Are these the very same people who believe that there is something akin to a moderate Muslim even though their major religious goal is to conquer the world and force everyone into conversion or submission? Believing Muslim mouthpieces as the spout their propaganda of a moderate Muslim. This is a religion which gives its followers permission to lie, steal, cheat and kill in order to advance their faith. Why should we believe them? Why should we believe that Barrack Hussein Obama or any other democrat will pursue and prosecute them diligently?

Could the answer be a group of idealistic do-gooders who are simply dissatisfied with the status quo and donate their time and money to causes which promise a better life as advertised by the various political parties? Or are so appalled by the examples of horrific and egregious action in the world that they will donate to any person or cause who claims to have an answer to solving war, pestilences and hunger?

Could the answer be the religious zealots who believe that religion is an answer to everything. Although there are some self-interested religious leaders who are in the game for personal power, prestige and profits? The same type of religious leaders who covered up the rape of little boys and girls to protect the very institution which turned a blind-eye to those children they were sworn to protect? One need only look at the Reverends Wright, Phleger, Farrakhan, Law and Mahoney to see the depths of what religion in America has tolerated in the name of protecting the institution and promoting the interests of its acolytes.

Could the answer be a group of insurance companies who want to increase their stranglehold on the delivery of healthcare in America? To be able to force doctors to work for a comparative pittance with hardly enough time to review a patient’s history before prescribing expensive drugs? To continue to extract large sums of money from the healthcare system only because they are the gatekeepers and paper pushers?

Could the answer be the Hollywood middlemen who demand that their interests be safeguarded and the public’s right to exploit artistic works that have entered the public domain be totally extinguished by legislation which criminalizes breaking an electronic wrapper around a work in the public domain? The very same people who have crippled our computers and other technology with their insistence in special lock-out and blocking chips which are mandated to be built-in to every electronic device?

Could the answer be the insecure and narcissistic Hollywood elite and the celebrities whose roles, well-scripted acting and their ability to fake sincerity make them want to legitimize their existence by adopting political postures and making high-sounding pronouncements?  Limousine liberals like Barbara Streisand who want to tell others how to live and how to spend their money – while being notoriously cheap and grabbing untaxed freebies with both hands? These are the people who claim others should pay their fair share of higher taxes while employing an army of advisors to insure that their money is safe and in tax-sheltered investments?

Could the answer be liberal businessmen like Warren Buffett whose friendly homespun public persona belies the fact that he heads up an insurance company which rarely breaks out the numbers which could really indicate how well his investment judgement and performance has truly been? A man who believes everybody should be paying higher taxes – while he is being feted for donating the bulk of his fortune to a tax-sheltered charity that keeps much of the money out of the hands of the taxman – and thus denies the country some of its due income?

Could the answer be a group of self-serving financial institutions which continues to reward its leadership with multi-million dollar bonuses when they generate multi-BILLION dollar losses for their investors? Those who demand that chaos reign supreme as people are forced to buy and sell through their brokerages? Or those who set up off-shore, off-balance sheet accounts to keep the money far from the tax collectors and the American Courts? Who allowed insurance companies located in the Cayman Islands and Bahamas to insure much of the subprime debt that is currently bedeviling our economy?

Could the answer be a malevolent government comprised of self-serving bureaucrats who want to increase their power to wield behind the scenes influence by controlling the collection and dissemination of damaging personal information whenever it suits their interests? A government which seeks direct access to citizen’s computer systems and prepares a criminal indictment based on unconstitutional snooping facilitated by telephone and cable companies?

Could the answer be an unprecedented fraud to nationalize the energy companies using under the guise of saving the planet based on junk science and self-interested promotion by some of the scientists and their respective institutions who need to curry favor with those who control the funding? Using the very same fraud to increase the size of government, raise taxes, re-distribute wealth and reduce the freedom and liberty of America’s citizens?

Could the answer be, the spawn of powerful, wealthy and well-connected people whose birthright places them at a significant advantage over those with the talent and ability to prosper in America? I can not see why Joseph Biden’s son, even though a lawyer, can command a salary of $1.2 million dollars to head a firm in which he has little or no expertise? – Unless that expertise is referential and originating somewhere deep in his political connections?

Could the answer be all of the above coming together in a confluence of events and actions which force honorable people into acceding to the demands of those less honorable – and possibly downright evil?

Ugly duckling?

Continuing with the basic fairy tale theme, we cannot be sure that this ugly duckling will certainly grow into a magnificent swan if we have enough faith and wait long enough. In fact, it is more likely that the competing forces in a democrat Administration will result in further chaos and corruption.

While no one can defend the fiscal irresponsibility of the present Administration and endlessly argue about the ineptness of its leadership, there is no guarantee that a democrat Administration, comprised of competing philosophies and factions, will not disintegrate into a morass of chaos and corruption with decisions being based on weathervane politics – continual polling to test the winds before implementing policy. Leaving the defense of the United States to those who want to disembowel American on behalf of its jealous enemies and those who want to do it harm.

I urge you to discuss these issues with your neighbors and then vote. Vote your wallet, your health, your freedom and liberty. But most of all, vote for an America that will not become a fast-decaying Europe-like clone mired in socialism and union strikes.

Me, I have made my decision. Based on love of country and the concept of honor, I have chosen to vote for John McCain over Barack Obama.

The answer, at least for me, is simple. I do not know who Barack Obama really is other than some newbie Senator with little or no experience in any significant subject. A community organizer, activist, agitator who listened to anti-American, racist black liberation theology and whose friendships include the very worst of society including racists, anti-Semites, homophobes, domestic terrorists and ordinary crooks with political influence.

Even his Vice Presidential pick has a direct relationship to the corrupt as one of his close advisors was an associate of Tony Rezko

According to ABC News …

“Chicago lawyer and onetime mega-fundraiser Joseph Cari has advised Biden and his campaigns on and off since 1984, serving in posts as varied as a Senate adviser on crime to the Midwest Political Director for Biden's aborted 1987 presidential bid. In 2005 Cari helped arrange private meetings for Biden with potential supporters, as the senator explored another run for the White House. He has also worked to raise money for Biden.”

“Cari never attended those meetings, however. Days before they were scheduled to take place he learned he was under investigation as part of the Rezko probe and excused himself from the events, a spokesman explained Sunday.”

“Federal prosecutors indicted Cari in August 2005 and in September Cari cut a deal, agreeing to cooperate with the government's investigation and pleading guilty to a count of attempted extortion.”

“Cari admitted that in 2004 he helped a Rezko associate by making calls in what turned out to be a kickback scheme. The deal was an offshoot of a complex corruption scheme wrought by Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko , whose ties to Obama have vexed the White House hopeful . Cari has maintained he did not know the details of that scheme or any other.”

“Cari's sentencing is delayed while he cooperates with the investigation. He testified at Rezko's trial earlier this year, in which a jury found Rezko guilty on 16 of 24 corruption-related felony charges. Obama, who entered into a complex real estate transaction with Rezko and his wife in 2005 that appeared to aid the senator, has returned nearly $150,000 in donations he received from Rezko and his associates over the years.” <Source>

Democrat-led law enforcement?

Is there any wonder why democrats or their supporters allegedly had an ABC investigative reporter arrested for taking pictures of the wealthy and powerful people (Senators, lobbyists, wealthy supporters) who were said to be attending special meetings in the Brown Palace hotel? Is this the type of heavy-handed democrat law enforcement we saw under the Clinton Administration when the Department of Justice as well as other supposedly politically-neutral agencies were turned into hyper-partisan attack groups? <Source>

I am especially concerned when Barack Obama speaks of a "civilian national security force" with the power of the military. I wonder just what he has in mind? Would it be subject to control from the White House as in the democrat Reno yearswhen the DOJ was allegedly forced to consult with the White House on major tactical decisions involving Waco? With Obama, you just don't know. And I personally don't want to take the chance to find out. 

With McCain …

With John McCain, I know that he will not turn his back on the defense of American from her enemies, both foreign and domestic. That he will not become a mealy-mouthed diplomat honoring our enemies while ceding valuable concessions and buying phony do-nothing photo-ops with the hard-earned money of Americans. And that he is likely to serve for only four years, which may allow the conservatives, both democrats and Republicans, to take back their parties from radicals and big money special interests by putting forth honorable candidates with real experience.\

Bottom-line ...

Do not confuse motion with action: a speech is just a speech! It is not a legally-binding promise -- or any guarantee that a man with little or no subject-matter knowledge, expertise and experience can actually perform -- even with the help of his so-called friends.

-- steve

flag

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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DEMOCRATS: IS THIS PROOF THEY ARE OUT TO SCREW YOU -- OR JUST EACH OTHER?

According to the New York Post’s famous Page Six Gossip feature …

“RUBBER MATCH”

“HERE'S something you won't see at the Republican convention - dueling condom giveaways. Trojan has a large tent inside the DNC's official Pepsi Center perimeter where volunteers hand out extra-large, Magnum condoms.”

“Meanwhile, in the streets of Denver, comely Planned Parenthood volunteers are handing out anti-John McCain condom packets. They include a pamphlet titled "Ten Reasons to Protect Yourself From John McCain," detailing his votes against women's reproductive rights. "People are lovin' it," said one condom-wielding cutie.”

The major issue is whether or not the democrat politicians are going to screw each other, the public or simply anything that moves?

Someone should ask Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton or John Edwards.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Who is Obama?

Obama, the rock star – celebrity …

Later today, Obama the rock star, complete with elaborate staging, wants to convince you that he is the future hope of the United States. That he is not an elitist, but a man of the people that will solve the country’s ills. He wants to convince you that everything was great under the Clinton Administration and the United States went to hell in a handbasket under the Bush Administration. It is not known whether or not he will refer to 9/11 or the extrordinary circumstances in a mostly unregulated financial marketplace.

But, considering his performance so far, he is extremely fortunate to have risen – purely on circumstance and race – this far in spite of his lack of experience, knowledge and his association with malevolent people who do not wish America well.

OBAMA WANTS YOU TO ASK YOURSELF IF YOU ARE BETTER OFF NOW THAN YOU WERE EIGHT YEARS AGO?

BUT , THIS IS THE WRONG QUESTION: STEVE WANTS TO KNOW CAN YOU TOLERATE:

  • BIGGER GOVERNMENT?
  • MORE UNION INTERVENTION IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR?
  • HIGHER TAXES?
  • DOCTORS FORCED TO SEE ONE PATIENT EVERY 10 MINUTES WHILE MEDICAL DECISIONS ARE MADE BY INSURANCE CLERKS?
  • ISLAMO-FASCISTS LAUGHING AT US WHILE WE TALK ABOUT PEACE AND IGNORE NAKED AGGRESSION?
  • A COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF WHO DOES NOT SUPPORT THE MILITARY?
  • WELCOMING ILLEGAL ALIENS TO TAKE YOUR JOBS
  • LEGALIZING ALIENS TO VOTE YOU OUT OF THE PICTURE
  • FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES OF DUBIOUS CHARACTER WHO MAY BE GIVEN GOVERNMENT ROLES AND FUNDING?

SO THE REAL QUESTION IS:

CAN YOU AFFORD TO ELECT OBAMA WHO WANTS TO MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR HIS FAR-LEFT LIBERAL POLITICS?

-- steve

flag

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Democrat Convention: The Olympics of Bullshitting

Is there anybody who does not believe that the current democrat convention is a highly-scripted affair with all of the participants being on their best behavior and reading their prepared remarks from a TelePrompTer?

Unbridled hypocrisy …

Imagine the degree of hypocrisy needed to lionize old Ted Kennedy, the former drunk lecher who left a helpless girl to drown in a car while he concocted a plausible excuse for his cowardice in not seeking help at the first house available? While this may be his last presidential convention, just think about this rich, pampered son of a wealthy and politically powerful family – ostensibly looking out for the poor and disadvantaged among us, while boosting his family’s fortunes and while cutting deals with special interests and cronies. And keeping those pesky wind-turbines out of sight in his beautiful Cape Cod sailing waters.

It’s not about age … it’s about experience and wisdom!

Imagine the hypocrisy of the democrats who claim John McCain(71) is too old to serve, while adding Joe Biden (65) to add the required measure of maturity and experience to the ticket.

Banishing  John Edwards while honoring Bill Clinton …

Imagine the degree of hypocrisy in demanding that John Edwards not attend the convention or present a speech at the convention on the high moral grounds that he cheated on his wife and lied to the American public. I can think of quite a few others in the democrat party that have acted in a similar fashion and on a much larger scale. Ex-President William Jefferson Clinton, a featured speaker and a political heavyweight comes to mind. Clinton’s actions were far more egregious and costly than Edwards’ and yet he gets a pass. Perhaps it is because his wife, Hillary Clinton, is a much less sympathetic character than John Edwards wife? Who knows with these “do as I say, not as I do” limousine liberals?

The re-making of Michelle Obama …

The first night of the democrat convention is all about re-making Michelle Obama – from the perception that she is cold, aloof, elitist, arrogant, militant and ashamed of her country to a softened image as a mother and someone who has overcome her humble beginnings to make a contribution. Left unsaid is the fact that she is an aggressive lawyer/advocate and most certainly will have  a major effect on Barrack Obama’s decisions much in the way Hillary intruded into Bill Clinton’s Presidency. No matter how stage-savvy she appears to be, I am convinced it is all stage-managed and that she remains a militant influence in the Obama candidacy. Obama himself appears to be much weaker than Hillary Clinton – and even his wife.

The deification of celebrity …

I am sick of the “Obama as rock star or celebrity” pitch as he is primped and packaged as an extraordinary human being. The party’s insistence that people like Barbra Streisand, Ben Affleck, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey and others have some special character trait that allows them to tell the American people what they should and should not do. For the most part, these people are narcissistic, self-absorbed people seeking media attention and some form of power. Especially as the career winds down. One need only look at California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (who acts more like a liberal democrat than a conservative Republican) as he continues to lead his jet-set lifestyle while failing to accomplish anything of substance. He is one celebrity that has found that he cannot bend others into following his leadership by the force of his personality. He is not a hero, he only plays one. And, the well-scripted, polished, packaged and protected analogy applies to others who are celebrities or aspire to be celebrities.

Capture8-25-2008-8.51.54 AM

One trick to becoming a  rock star politician is to surround yourself with real sycophantic rock star supporters. It also insures a large, noisy crowd before you speak. Personally, I want to elect a mature, thoughtful statesman – not a flibbertigibbet rock star.

Perhaps the unknown pundit who said “politics is show business for ugly people” is right on the mark.

Unification: more empty words …

Just the empty rhetoric about uniting American and being responsive to all segments of the population is enough to make me sick. After all, it was the democrats who perfected the “divide and conquer” strategy which balkanized Americans into hyphenated-groups so that they could be better controlled by their self-anointed community leadership. It is almost unbelievable that wealthy democrats who live in million or multi-million dollar homes speak of class warfare, gender, and sexual bias. Many of these politicians have enriched themselves while in public life, claiming to understand and fight for the poor. The idea that Barack Obama or Joe Biden understand the poor because they were once poor is a ludicrous assumption. Both of these candidates have been polished, primped and are far from the American mainstream. Examples of  politicians who will do or say anything to get elected.

Where is the democrat base?

The democrats used to have a base: hard-working blue collar workers and ordinary citizens everywhere. My parents were democrats, their friends were democrats. The democrats were supposed to stick up for the common citizen. No longer. They are beholden to public and private unions whose membership supports the union’s fat cat leadership like corporate executives with multi-million dollar signing bonuses. Corruption and chaos at the very top while thuggery and deception holds the rank-and-file in check. These are the very same union leaders who claim they are protecting their membership while they openly pander to illegal aliens for membership. Illegal aliens who are diluting the pay and benefits of their very own workers. Go figure?

Add to the mix, community activists who profess to lead their people while enriching themselves whenever possible. Can someone say Judas Goat? For a better explanation of this phenomenon, I suggest that you consider reading Dr. Lenton Aikins’ book, While African Americans Slept: Leadership by Parasites.

And let us not forget the environmentalists who were not-so-long-ago infiltrated by socialists and others who subverted the movement into pushing a radical anti-American social agenda as they used our own laws against us. The primary goal to weaken the military (no nuke peaceniks) and our economy(no drilling) and especially our sovereignty (no fences) – all based on the need to protect nature from evil mankind.

These are the same social activists/environmentalists who are anti-gun and demand that lead bullets be controlled lest they cause the 150 California Condors, which must be fed mostly by humans, to perish. Holding up major projects for small birds and insects. I wonder if they know that wind-turbines are now thought to cause bat’s lungs to explode and their low-frequency done is definitely detrimental to humans as it causes or accelerates disease, confusion and other maladies.

And speaking of gun control, these are the people wishing to disarm America, to deny us our God-given rights of self-protection. The plan is to make everyone dependent on the government to maintain order. The question they will not and cannot answer is: can the government be everywhere when it is needed. We can’t manage our paramedics, let alone police force – so who are they kidding? Or, should I say, who are they shaping the battlefield for?

I have never before seen such a dismal future for the leadership of the United States.

An elitist empty suit with curious, if not downright malevolent friends …

An empty suit with a telegenic appearance and a preacher’s oratorical skills – provided he has a working TelePrompTer. An elitist with little real world knowledge who surrounds himself with flawed advisors who are pursuing their own self-interest agenda on the road to greater prestige, power and profits. A man with active friendships with racists, anti-Semites, separationists, domestic terrorists and crooks. Even his background is murky. While John McCain may not know how many homes his wife may own, Barack Obama can’t even count his relatives.

The ad that Obama’s team is trying to suppress with threats of legal action…

Although Obama claims he was eight years old when domestic terrorist Ayers and his fugitive wife, Bernardine Dohrn, committed their terrorist acts, he had to be aware of the controversy surrounding Ayers before running for higher office.

The party of lawyers …

And like the good democrat lawyers they are, the campaign is trying to legally challenge the running of this advertisement on television citing technical reasons why the sponsoring organization is not legally constituted. Want to see the letter Obama’s General Counsel sent to the Justice Department. Just click on the source. <Source> 

Democrats and the far left loons …

Check out the election coverage – see the fringe far left loons who support the democrats as they chant “recreate ‘68” and encouraging chaos and anarchy.

Capture8-25-2008-8.42.10 AM

Here is Amnesty International’s Ad asking you to experience Guantanamo in Denver.

Obama: same old, same old …

Professing to be a politician for a new age, his actions mark him as being of the old school. Even to the extent of picking a Vice President to make up for his youth, inexperience and lack of judgement. Waffling on-and-on about hope and change without really explaining what it all means. Asking the American people to trust his proposed Presidency and Administration to solve problems which may be easy to describe, but next to impossible to cure with the present political climate that panders to far-left liberals and special interests.

A blank slate …

One need only ask, what has Barack Obama promised all of the various factions in order to secure their vote. How many radicals are going to assume positions of power merely to pay off his political debts? And make no mistake about it: he needs these people to win, as only combining each faction may boost his votes over the tipping point to convince the electoral college to elect this rather brash, aloof elitist who seems pleasant enough when he is before a crowd or the media.

Given a smaller venue, he complains about the bitterness of workers whose jobs have been outsourced – as they cling to their religion and guns for some form of psychic relief. Of course this was explained to the San Francisco nabobs in their drawing room – far from the uncultured masses. He assured these self-professed elites that he, too, was one of them and he gets IT. Whatever they think IT may be.

And that’s part of the problem. Barack Obama is a blank slate, saying little or nothing that would dissuade others from placing their hopes and dreams on his blank canvas.

We must all ask ourselves, with all of the Bush-bashing and finger-pointing, can this man and his friends do any better?

While George Bush appears to be a simple-man, he is far from the image he portrays. He is a Northeaster Brahmin with a John Kerry-like Yale background. He is a Harvard MBA and the son of a man who headed the CIA before he assumed the Presidency. But whereas I fault President Bush for his laissez faire approach to the regulation of business and his free-spending Rockefeller-Republican ways, I do not wonder if he is willing to defend America from her enemies, both foreign and domestic. Where he may have tried too hard to protect the Constitutional rights of the Presidency in an era when both Congress and an activist Judiciary increase the uncertainty of both foreign and domestic affairs, I have no doubt that it was done with good intentions and for a common cause. Yes, he relied on his good buddies, some of which were downright incompetent and tried too hard to please the Administration – but they were not malevolent and intent on turning our America leftward into a pseudo-intellectual European socialistic state. 

Can you even begin to imagine what might happen with a Supreme Court composed of liberal judicial activists – usurping Congresses’ Constitutional authority to create laws – as they make policy and law from the bench? Claiming that this or that Amendment must mean something else in modern times? Giving citizenship rights to illegal aliens and enemy combatants. Rights which no other major country supports or honors?

Racial politics: none dare say it aloud …

The current democrat party is capitalizing on race otherwise it would be inconceivable that 90% of the registered blacks have suggested that they will vote for Obama. This party has attempted to curb dissent and stifle discussion by making members of the media and some of the people afraid of being labeled racists or bigots. Unfortunately, the fact is that we are all prejudiced in favor of our own tribes and those who share a common background. To deny this is to deny human nature. This type of threat works best on those who claim that they are “enlightened” and above such matters – when in fact, these are some of the most racist people among us. Want to see pure racism at work? Check out Obama’s buddies and spiritual mentors. Reverends Wright, Phleger and Farrakhan. Imagine a man who does not condemn them outright, using the old liberal canard: I condemn their speech, their actions – but not the person. Bullpucky!

Does he have the cojones?

Does he have the balls to protect our sovereignty and call a halt to an invasion of illegal aliens which is destroying our healthcare, educational, judicial, social and cultural infrastructure?

Is he willing to petition the Supreme Court to rule that the Fourteenth Amendment no longer can be used to produce anchor babies and that all persons born in the United States must assume the nationality of their parents? To halt the demographic bombing of America before people with an allegiance to a foreign power simply vote us out of our own country?

Does he have the guts to stand up to foreign governments and demand reciprocity and equality for all American citizens? To demand that our citizens be treated in the same fashion that we treat their citizens?

Is he able to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman? To abolish dual citizenship and refrain from creating another generation of hyphenated-Americans?

Is he able to tell the Teacher’s union to start producing students or be decertified as a menace to society?

Will he start prosecuting fellow attorneys, accountants and others who are destroying American business with their special interest lobbying?

Will he remove the insurance companies from playing intermediary in the healthcare industry? Where they make significant profits and pay their executives outrageous bonuses by denying doctors and healthcare workers their wages – forcing them to see a patient every fifteen minutes?

And the questions continue …

Feel free to add your own questions. I am not saying the the Republicans or John McCain may be able to do any better on the broader issues … but I trust him to do the right thing: to protect America from her enemies, both foreign and domestic – as well as doing his best for the American public.

Demand answers: who is Obama, what does he stand for and who are his friends and advisors?

I am not saying that Barack Obama is not a man of honor because I just don’t know. Not enough is known about him and he has not served long enough to overcome his liberal voting record -- which makes me believe that he will turn OUR Country hard left towards more government control, higher taxes and destroy individual initiative and rights in favor of the rights of the socialist “collective.”

Vote you conscience, vote your wallet – but most of all, vote for what you can see, hear and touch – pie in the sky promises are leading us to elect charlatans who assume the mantle of the Presidency for their own agenda and the hell with everyone else.

It is now time to take back our country from these interlopers and poseurs. VOTE. Discuss this with your friends and tell them to VOTE.

-- steve

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

flag

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Has justice been weakened by a recent court ruling?

You have my permission to skip this blog entry …

Today’s blog entry is a rather esoteric one that may be far from most reader’s  mainstream interests. Therefore, you have my permission to hit your browser button and go on to more interesting fare.

I am writing this entry because I feel that we, the people, are being overwhelmed by a nation of lawyers that continually introduce increasing complexity in the law so as to manipulate fair-minded decisions to their advantage.

Diminishment in our protections under the law?

The central premise of this blog entry is that while some defendants are trying to introduce trial-delaying tactics or produce deliberate reversible errors by gaming the system, the Court’s response to these tactics may represent a diminishment in our protections under the law.

As a non-lawyer, I am forced to rely on common-sense and plain language to interpret that arcane and mysterious realm of knowledge known as the law. It is my opinion that all laws and legal rulings deriving from the laws should be clear and unambiguous and be able to be understood by ordinary citizens without the intervention of  legal acolytes. After all, it is OUR law and OUR justice that is at stake. 

Gaming the system …

There is no doubt in my mind, that certain criminal defendants attempt to delay the imposition of justice by  gaming the system using frequent changes of defense counsel; especially where new counsel will require a significant amount of time to become familiar with the case and re-interview witnesses and experts if required.

Or, even worse, deliberately setting the stage for reversible errors which will either nullify the Court’s findings or force an expensive re-trial.

The quality of defense is in direct proportion to the dollars spent …

In spite of protestation by the Court and the lawyers who serve as “officers of the Court,” the quality of one’s defense is often proportional to the amount of money available to be spent. Supportive expert witnesses, expensive forensic testing and elaborate presentation technology and graphics are not cheap.

However, I am not complaining about those who are wealthy enough to hire top-notch representation to literally twist the opposing counsel and the Court into knots, I am more concerned with the Court-appointed lawyers who are assigned to indigent or incompetent defendants.

Right to competent counsel …

However, even in cases involving appointed legal counsel provided to defendants who cannot afford counsel, it is assumed that the defendant has a right to competent counsel without a conflict of interest. But what about the potential for extra-legal considerations such as the inability to work with counsel due to a personality conflict or the defendant’s belief that their appointed counsel is somewhat lacking in the necessary skills and/or commitment to their defense?

The Ruling which prompted this blog entry …

Which is why I am questioning the recent ruling from the full Eleventh United States Circuit Court of Appeals which has ruled unanimously that a criminal defendant’s rejection of their appointed counsel can amount to a waiver of their right to counsel altogether.

Can this ruling be used as a judicial bludgeon to compel defendants into accepting less than adequate counsel per the whim of the court or the availably of a warm body with a bar card?

Does this lessen a defendant’s rights to be represented by counsel under our existing laws?

According to a published report in the DailyReportOnline.com …

“That conclusion came in the court's reinstatement of two convictions—one of a man accused of making a series of bomb threats in Macon and another man accused in the death of his 3-month-old daughter in DeKalb County.”

“Prior panels had found that the defendants had been deprived of their constitutional right to counsel when trial judges allowed them to represent themselves despite their indications they wanted a free lawyer—just not the one they had been assigned.”

“The decisions may give trial judges some comfort about defendants who represent themselves even when they vacillate over whether that's what they want to do.”

The Edwards Rule?

It seems that I am not the only one questioning the impact of the ruling.

“Moreover, a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June could still curb judges' exercise of their freedom to take defendants' refusal to get along with appointed counsel as a waiver of the right to a lawyer.”

“In Indiana v. Edwards, 128 S.Ct. 2379, the high court held that judges may force mentally ill defendants to accept a lawyer's help when the defendants ‘are not competent to conduct trial proceedings by themselves.’”

“Hopefully we'll see more application of the Edwards rule that you can't fire your trial counsel,” said Columbus attorney William J. Mason, who represented Garey at the 11th Circuit. “And this would have been a nice one to start with.”

I am unsure if this is a self-serving statement by a lawyer or a supportable position.

“Garey had asked U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land to disqualify his appointed lawyer, Scott C. Huggins of Macon, contending that Huggins' law office had been one of the targets in the alleged 2003 bomb threats. Land found there was no conflict of interest and gave Garey two choices: keep Huggins or represent yourself.”

It seems to me, being a non-lawyer and not having reviewed the testimony of the case, that just considering the fact that the defendant may have engaged in illegal activities which would have left me and my colleagues dead and our families in a world of hurt, that I might  be somewhat, sub-consciously, inclined to convict the defendant and thus be less than sympathetic to his defense. A common-sense observation based on human nature.

Mitigating factors?

“Garey, who has been described by his current counsel as being paranoid schizophrenic and by the 11th Circuit as having paranoid personality disorder, said he would ‘involuntarily’ act as his own lawyer. After a jury trial in which Huggins served as stand-by counsel Garey was found guilty on various counts, including obstruction of justice and threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.”

“Garey appealed, and in April 2007, 11th Circuit Judge Stanley F. Birch Jr., joined by a federal district judge visiting from Florida, wrote that Garey deserved a new trial because his actions were insufficient to invoke his right to self-representation. Judge Susan H. Black dissented.”

Dissenting opinion …

“Today we recognize it is possible for a valid waiver of counsel to occur not only when a cooperative defendant affirmatively invokes his right to self-representation,” wrote Black, “but also when an uncooperative defendant rejects the only counsel to which he is constitutionally entitled, understanding his only alternative is self-representation with its many attendant dangers.”

-- Judge Susan H. Black

“She explained that the court didn't mean to encourage judges to make uncooperative defendants represent themselves—judges simply have discretion to conclude a defendant has waived his right to counsel, she wrote.”

“Noting the recent high court decision allowing judges to order defendants to keep their lawyers, Black wrote, ‘Our decision today is meant to provide trial courts with guidance and discretion—not to force courts to discharge counsel against their better judgment.’”

For the technical details and a more comprehensive recitation of the law, the link to the well-researched and well-written Daily Report can be found below in the Reference Links section.

It is not that I dispute the law …

In this particular case, I am not disputing the existing law, the applications of the law, the facts of the cited case(s), the competency of the counsel or the discretion of the Judges to deny a change of counsel. What I am questioning is how an indigent defendant can secure adequate counsel and what methodology must be employed to insure that the counsel is capable and adequate to mount a Constitutionally-mandated defense.

I want to know how one protects one’s interests when there appears to be an inadequacy of counsel that comes from a lack of legal knowledge, experience, lack of funds – but most importantly, any inability, subconscious or not, from being able to mount an adequate response in protection of the defendant. Which includes a personality conflict with assigned counsel which could prejudice the defendant’s right to a complete defense and fair trial.

I always fear the application of precedents which were derived to protect those who are not capable of defending themselves, due to drugs, mental condition or temperament, to ordinary unsuspecting citizens who may have an overworked, unsympathetic member of the bar assigned to work the case pro bono.

Anyway, that’s my musing for today.

What can YOU do?

While it is time-consuming and somewhat tedious, I believe that all citizens should be more aware of what is occurring in our legal system which acts in the name of all people. Especially when limited rulings meant for a particular situation are used to cast a wider net and result in unintended consequences. It is these breaches of common sense that result in the gradual erosion of our liberties.

By way of example, I cite the RICO (Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations) statute which has been used to prosecute any number of cases far from its intended purpose of providing a legal tool to be used against organized crime. Thus we find CEOs and employees of corporations being charged under this onerous statute to force some form of settlement even though there isn’t even a whiff or hint of organized crime.

Another example is the prosecutor’s practice of making deals with corporations to provide corporate leniency in return for their waiving the legal rights of their employees when they “voluntarily” surrender so-called protected legal opinions, work products and other information detrimental to the employee’s defense as well as denying the employee corporate funding of their defense.

There is no doubt in my mind that the law has become increasingly perverted as prosecutions are undertaken for political reasons, personal ambition and the necessity to secure large penalties to prove that the public service sector is doing their job in curtailing crime.

No greater illustration of the inappropriate behavior can be found than Eliot Spitzer whose activities forced many innocent people to plead to lesser charges or pay outrageous fines, penalties and assessments because Spitzer threatened their loved ones based on flimsy technicalities like jointly-signed taxed returns. Or the Duke Rape case where the prosecutor’s outrageous behavior in refusing to examine all of the evidence prior to charging led to life-altering consequences for the defendants and outrageous costs to the community.

We need to remain vigilant and aware of how our government is acting in our name. And this goes far beyond the law – and into the actions of all government departments. The days when public servants have become self-serving proponents of their own power-grabbing strategies is becoming increasingly near. Soon, the public sector will be able to out-legislate and out-vote the citizens who elected them. And then we are all screwed!

-- steve

Quote of the Day: “If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.” – Winston Churchill

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

11th Circuit: Firing counsel equals waiving right to one - Daily Report

For those wishing to read the actual opinions:

U.S.v. Garey (Aug. 20, 2008)|11 Circuit Court of Appeals

Jones v. Walker (Aug. 20, 2008)|11 Circuit Court of Appeals

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Biden: The WRONG Biden and the WRONG scandal? (Updated)

UPDATE: 10-15-08 DID BIDEN USE CAMPAIGN FUNDS TO PAY FAMILY?

According to the Washington Times ...

"Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. has paid more than $2 million in campaign cash to his family members, their businesses and employers over the years, a practice that watchdogs criticize as rife with potential conflicts of interest."

"The money largely flowed from the coffers of Mr. Biden's failed presidential campaign during the past two years to a company that employs his sister and longtime campaign manager, Valerie Biden Owens, according to campaign disclosure filings."

"The senator from Delaware also directed campaign legal work to a Washington lobbying and law firm founded by his son R. Hunter Biden, the disclosures show."

Original blog entry ...

Traditionally, democrats have been extremely involved in supporting the unions and the unions have been extremely involved in supporting the democrat party and its politicians. Often to the detriment of its rank-and-file and to the benefit of the union’s leadership and their friends.

Unions: Ever wonder what they are doing with their funds when not seeking to buy political influence and change the course of elections? (Updated)|OneCitizenSpeaking

So why should we be surprised when the brother and son of the Vice Presidential candidate finds themselves embroiled in a lawsuit involving allegedly nefarious characters, a hedge fund, and the investment of the pension funds of numerous public service unions?

So why should we be skeptical when the principal parties to this legal action, now being played out in the New York Supreme Court, seemed to be oblivious to the character, qualifications and financial stability of the other people in the proposed business relationship?

Why should anyone be surprised when family members of a long-term powerful politician take the path of least resistance and become lobbyists, board members and corporate officers of entitites which do business with various local, state and federal governmental entities or regulated industries.

But most of all, why should we be surprised it involves a Vice Presidential candidate chosen by a Presidential Candidate  who goes to great lengths to assure the people that he is a “different type of politician” and he represents the change of the future? Especially when the candidate’s rhetoric are not matched by his deeds.

Cranking up the scandal machines …

Now that Barack Obama has chosen Senator Joseph Biden as his vice presidential running mate, the opposition and amateur researchers everywhere are scrambling to detect even the faintest whiff of scandal that could be used against the Senator.

The wrong Biden?

While it is always nice to have an influential family member to serve as an introduction source or as a conversation starter, it is unlikely that Barack Obama’s selection for vice president, Senator Joseph Biden, is or was directly involved in a business dispute involving the Senator’s son, Hunter Biden (38) and the Senator’s Brother, James Biden (59).

The allegations …

As filed by The Washington Post …

“Biden's Son, Brother Named in Two Suits”

“A son and a brother of Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) are accused in two lawsuits of defrauding a former business partner and an investor of millions of dollars in a hedge fund deal that went sour, court records show.”

“The Democratic vice presidential candidate's son Hunter, 38, and brother James, 59, assert instead that their former partner defrauded them by misrepresenting his experience in the hedge fund industry and recommending that they hire a lawyer with felony convictions.”

“A lawsuit filed by their former partner Anthony Lotito Jr. asserts in court papers that the deal was crafted to get Hunter Biden out of lobbying because his father was concerned about the impact it would have on his bid for the White House. Biden was running for the Democratic nomination at the time the suit was filed.”

“Hunter Biden was made president with an annual salary of $1.2 million, despite his inexperience in the hedge fund industry, the lawsuit said.”

“Before that, he had been part of the Washington law firm Oldaker, Biden & Belair, which earned $1.76 million in lobbying revenue in the first half of 2006, according to Congressional Quarterly's CQ MoneyLine.”

“Lotito's lawsuit alleges that James Biden called him in January 2006 to arrange a job for Hunter Biden. It says James Biden told him that his brother (Sen. Biden) ‘was concerned with the impact that Hunter's lobbying activities might have on his expected campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination,’ and, ‘Biden told Lotito that, in light of these concerns, his brother had asked him to seek Lotito's assistance in finding employment for Hunter in a non-lobbying capacity.’"

For more on the allegations, the Washington Post story link appears below in the Reference Links section of this blog.

The wrong scandal …

While there are a number of interlocking entities, people and deals, it seems to me that the real scandal may be how the hard-earned money of public workers and others whose union pension might have been influenced by this cast of characters.

Capture8-24-2008-2.15.42 PM

Capture8-24-2008-2.17.12 PM

(This is a partial list -- there are two pages of clients listed in the lawsuit)

The reason I believe that this is the wrong scandal is simple. After reading some of the court filings, I can plainly see that the principals involved (Lotito, James Biden and Hunter Biden) appear to have little or no expertise when it comes to soliciting, directing or managing pension or other funds. Primarily because I could not find any satisfying answers to some of my questions …

Why did James and Hunter Biden fail to discover alleged personal and financial problems involving one of their principal partners in the cited enterprise during their due diligence efforts?

Or, if they did perform the necessary due diligence, why did they enter into business with a person who may have lacked the requisite character and finances to deliver on their promises?   

What specific expertise and background was demonstrated by senior management which would qualify them to solicit and/or manage investment monies that were the subject of this lawsuit.

Why are some of the proposed transactions any different from the type of “finders fees” one finds in placing brokered money in financial institutions? And why the richness of the fee?

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What benefits, if any, accrued to those pension funds whose monies were being directed by the Biden & Lotito Group and how was this selection of an investment beneficial to the fund’s membership?

Family members as lobbyists …

It is almost a miracle how money just seems to flow to spouses and relatives of high-ranking, long term legislators. Especially those who are employed by law firms and corporations as lobbyists, board members, public relations counsel, etc. Of course, you need go no further than Barack Obama’s alleged dealings with organizations that did business with his wife and friends.

Managing perceptions …

And Barack Obama’s claims that he and his team is somehow different from politicians everywhere is beginning to wear thin. Concentrating on his actions rather than the words paints a very different picture: a shallow, self-absorbed politico who is machine-bred and driven. Whose self-serving associations mark him as an old-style politician with more than a hint of narcissism.

What can YOU do?

Realize that Barack Obama is an empty suit whose rhetoric of hope and change is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. He is a narcissistic politician of the old-style Chicago school where actual deeds far overshadow the words. His apparently continuing friendships with anti-American racists and anti-Semites, unrepentant domestic terrorists and political crooks only sets the stage for what is to come.

In selecting an “old political hack” such as Joseph Biden for his Vice Presidential running mate only points out that he is aware of his failings. Selecting a man from a humble background to overcome his elitist behavior. Selecting a man with significant foreign relations experience to offset his lack of knowledge, experience and expertise in handling national security matters. (I wonder will Biden live in the White House so Obama will be ready when that 3:00 a.m. telephone call rings?) Selecting a Catholic to counter his pro-abortion stance in which he has said that “he wouldn’t want his daughters to be burdened with the consequences of a mistake.” Selecting a man who does not require a TelePrompTer to deliver well-scripted and well-delivered oratory… but stumbles over his extemporaneous words in crowds.

With Biden, we seem to have an unbroken tradition of the democrat party; the party of the lawyers which attempts to secure judicial victories when the people refuse to support their far-left social engineering experiments and whose convoluted and unreadable legislation is designed to convey special advantages on those special interests and lawyers who actually crafted the bills and amendments.

Ignore this present attempt to gin up a Joe Biden scandal. But ask yourself, why do the democrats and the unions always seem to be at the center of any storm involving referral fees and cushy jobs for people with little or no experience? How much does this cost the union members whose money is managed by these characters? Not exactly looking out for blue-collar workers are they?

Remember, while John McCain may be somewhat of an unknown, he does have a reputation and history for defending the United States from its enemies, both foreign and domestic. He is the one with the bi-partisan approach where the democrats in Congress refuse to do business with the Republicans – thus further road-blocking any substantive change.

Both parties are somewhat corrupt and have their fair share of scoundrels. But, in this election, it is possible that one candidate, Barack Obama, can do significant damage to the United States; militarily, socially and economically. Especially since he is likely to have a rubber-stamp Congress to pass his initiatives.

With only a few days before the democrat convention, I wonder whether or not this matter may rise in importance enough to secure a significant advantage for Hillary Clinton who could very well be voted into the candidacy for the Vice President if Biden is forced to step aside.

-- steve

Quote of the day: “Being generous, just helping one's relatives and being blameless in one's actions; this is the best good luck.” -- Buddha

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

Biden's Son, Brother Named in Two Suits|Washington Post

Unions: Ever wonder what they are doing with their funds when not seeking to buy political influence and change the course of elections? (Updated)|OneCitizenSpeaking

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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OBAMA: HE TALKS AND TALKS AND TALKS ABOUT CHANGE ...

While Presidential Candidate Barack Obama speaks endlessly of the CHANGE he wants to bring to America, one need only watch his actions to know what he means …

Change backward to far-left radical politics …

Change backward to affirmative action …

Change backward to larger government …

Change backward to more taxes …

Change backward to more managed healthcare …

Change backward to more democrat chaos and corruption …

And worst of all …

Change backward to old politicians and advisors!

Capture8-23-2008-10.11.58 AM

flag

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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Thank Obama for Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.

BB.JPG

BIDEN: He’s just what the democrats need. Another guy you wouldn’t mind having a beer with. A former college jock (baseball and football) who is smart enough and witty enough to be the entertaining life of the party. Bill Clinton without the smarts, sex or Hillary.

Unlike a number of well-polished and restrained orators, Biden appears to let it all hang out … sometimes to his detriment and the amusement of his listeners.

A politically sensitive guy …

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” - Joe Biden speaking about Barack Obama

""I've had a great relationship [with East Indians in America]. In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian Americans - moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking." -- Joe Biden, speaking to Indian-Americans.

Another flip-flopper?

" 'I am not running for vice president,' he said in a Fox interview. 'I would not accept it if anyone offered it to me. The fact of the matter is I'd rather stay as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee than be vice president.'"

Nothing major: a little plagiarism, a tendency to keep speaking long past the point of anybody caring …

According to National Review …

" ‘Much like Gary Hart, he's identified more with the party's presidential past than its present or future,’ said political scientist Larry Sabato, a professor at the University of Virginia. ‘He was, after all, forced out by a mini-scandal which would come up again.’"

“In 1987, Biden quit the Democratic primary race early after the revelation that he had delivered, without attribution, passages from a speech by British Labor party leader Neil Kinnock. A barrage of subsidiary revelations by the press also hammered Biden's image: a serious plagiarism incident from his law-school years, boastful exaggerations of his academic record at a New Hampshire campaign event, and the discovery of other quotations in Biden's speeches pilfered from past Democratic politicians.”

“In the post-Clinton era, plagiarism may seem like small potatoes. But, Sabato explains, the key to a scandal is how it counters — or in the case of Biden, reinforces — his public image.”

" ‘The reason it became such an issue was that it reinforced the Biden image that already existed among the press, that he's a blowhard, a guy who talked before he thought,’ Sabato says. ‘Now, he's a little older and more experienced, but do people really change that all much after they reach adulthood? I've rarely seen anybody change that much, and I've taught thousands of college students over the years.’"

The perfect backstop to Obama …

Think about it. He can serve as Obama’s attack dog. Where Obama is a great orator (as long as you have a working TelePrompTer handy), Biden can actually go out and speak off the cuff. There appears to be nothing in his background that will overshadow Obama as the chosen one.

Unfortunately, it’s the same old liberal democrat school of politics. And keeping with the policy of the democrats being the party of pusillanimous parsing lawyers, Biden is a lawyer.

Is he fit for office?

The biggest question facing Biden has nothing to do with his legislative or foreign affairs experience, it is simply a question of his health.

“In February 1988, Biden was hospitalized for two brain aneurysms which kept him from the Senate for seven months.”

“Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. underwent surgery today to correct an aneurysm in an artery that supplies blood to the right side of the brain, a spokesman for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center said. The spokesman, Peter Esker, said Senator Biden was awake, resting comfortably and talking with his family after the operation, his second this year to correct an aneurysm. An aneurysm is a ballooning of an artery.”

“The 4 1/2-hour procedure was similar to that performed Feb. 12 on the left side of Mr. Biden's brain. Under the procedure, a surgeon using a microscope pinches the aneurysm with a clip, bringing the walls of the artery together. The clip remains in the patient.”

“Mr. Esker said there are no signs of any other aneurysms, adding that the second was much smaller than the first. ‘''The Senator is awake and alert, oriented, moving all extremities well and is conversing with his family,’' Mr. Esker said. ‘He is expected to be hospitalized about 10 days and then would go home to recuperate.’ Senator Biden, a 45-year-old Delaware Democrat, is chairman of the Judiciary Committee.” <Source>

The answer is AMTRAK …

Biden does appear to have a long-term love affair with Amtrak … so it may only be a matter of time until Vice President Biden proposes a new rail system for Iraq.

John McCain is looking better as time goes on.

-- steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

| Comments (0)

| |

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