Tom Tancredo Creates Sanctuary City, Sally Morris Disappears

David Brooks
Paul Krugman
Kirsten Powers
Bob Shrum

"Many of my liberal friends are convinced that the Republican Party has a death wish. It is sprinting to the right-most fever swamps of American life. It will end up alienating the moderate voters it needs to win elections.There’s only one problem with this theory. There is no evidence to support it." - David Brooks

"How did we get to this point? The proximate answer lies in the tactics the Bush administration used to push through tax cuts. The deeper answer lies in the radicalization of the Republican Party, its transformation into a movement willing to put the economy and the nation at risk for the sake of partisan victory." - Paul Krugman

"Every Tea Party candidate has been variously described as crazy, stupid, and on track to destroy America, if elected. Funny, that’s pretty much what was said about Barry Goldwater and his followers by the establishment. And yet, that didn’t stop him from reshaping the Republican Party and laying the groundwork for the Reagan Revolution." - Kirsten Powers

"The people who most revile President Obama — and the Republican leaders who enlisted them only to see their party hijacked by them — may assure an Obama re-election." - Bob Shrum

I like selecting quotes from the pundits I link to, as if they were having a conversation among themselves. Today we are talking about the results of the recent primaries, where tea party sympathetic candidates have won eight elections. That these people are seen as idiosyncratic characters espousing ideas that are farther to the right than Attila the Hun, provides the much needed and often under-rated entertainment value to the midterm elections. Unfortunately, for candidates like Sharron Angle, handlers came in and gave her a makeover, telling her what to say and where to say it, what to wear, even re-doing her website to make it more bland and less feisty.

Here in Colorado, conservative wonks are trying to use Dan Maes as a pawn, using his loner instincts and amateurish campaign to make him look ridiculous. He doesn't need their help; after lying about his past to make his resume look sexier, and then posting that lie on his web site, the GOP bigwigs are telling the voters that it is OK to vote outside of the Republican Party, because at least Tom Tancredo is a real conservative.

But Tom is really a self-serving opportunist who was too cowardly to battle against McInnis in the GOP primary, and he immediately jumped ship when he found that he could manipulate the spineless Constitution Party to make him their candidate. And no matter how often Tancredo whines that Denver is a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants in the best Karl Rovian manner, he fails to see that the word immigration no longer has such a fear factor among the electorate. Headless bodies are not showing up on the streets of Denver or in the fields of Colorado.

Local radio pundit and columnist for the Denver Post. Mike Rosen, published an embarrassing Politics For Dummies screed in yesterday paper. In it he describes the two major parties as containing these coalitions in the most cliche-ridden, lame-assed way: "The Republican coalition is an alliance of conservatives, middle- and upper-income taxpayers (but not leftist Hollywood millionaires and George Soros), individualists who prefer limited government, those who are pro-market and pro-business, believers in American exceptionalism and a strong national defense, social-issues conservatives and supporters of traditional American values.


The Democratic coalition includes guilt-ridden liberals, collectivists, labor unions, government workers, leftist academics, plaintiffs-lawyers, lower- and middle-income net tax-receivers, identity-politics minorities, feminists, gays, enviros, nannyists, and activists for assorted anti-gun, anti-capitalist, anti-business, anti-military and world-government causes." Its definitions like these that drive people like myself batty enough to leave the Repubs in disgust and become Independents, Mike. Unfortunately, Mr one-trick pony Tancredo has picked up more support after this was published.

For myself, character does matter. I want to elect someone who is a bit naive and idealistic, not such a professional cynic, who will fight more for an ideal than to go along and take marching orders from above, and it doesn't matter if they are Republican, Democratic, or Independent. Although I get a kick out of Rand Paul (Hey, what kind of father names his kid after a conservative think tank? Guess if there were another brother, he would be named Cato?), I don't want someone as far out in the ozone to represent me. Since the tea partyers are first turning their anger on their fellow conservatives, maybe it would be wise to let them get elected to Congress and play their hand out. Two years won't hurt us much, it will only prolong the recession and joblessness, but once people realize that the wacko ideas don't work once exposed to real life problems, we will have gotten that particular catharsis out of our system and get back to finding pragmatic, moderate solutions... The attitudes of the so-called tea party reminds me of a joke, that they could be construed as the meter maids of politics, because as we all know, meter maids eat their young...

What a strange world we live in, all of this hateful banter back and forth with the Muslim world. I know that many people are scared of clowns, but it also appears that many Muslims are afraid of cartoonists. First, we had death threats against a Dutch cartoonist, ending with a couple of American women who were arrested while plotting to kill the cartoonist to prove how devout their conversion to Islam was. Now, we have a Seattle cartoonist who had to move, and change her name because of death threats from Islamic extremists: "A U.S. cartoonist who proposed an “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” last spring went into a hiding after receiving threats from Islamic extremists, U.S. media reported. Molly Norris, from Seatle, went into hiding and changed her name and her identity with the help of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Ms Norris was "moving, changing her name, and essentially wiping away her identity," the Seattle Weekly reported. "She is, in effect, being put into a witness-protection program," it said."

Is this any different from the death threats that Barack Obama receives daily, or from the threats that almost every public figure gets from time to time? I'd like to say that education is the solution, but we have as many angry people who are college graduates in the US, and who knows if the Muslim death threats are not coming from the middle class of Saudi Arabia, or Nigeria, or Egypt? I would be so bold as to put forth that the practice of meditation in a religious belief produces tolerance, clarity of thought, and a cooler heart. If more Christian churches and Muslim communities practiced meditation regularly, then we would have more respect for each other's religions, and there would be no burning of holy books or disparaging of prophets.

On the other hand, the Western tradition of poking fun at our beliefs has never caught on in Asia, Africa, or the Middle East. There has never been a Pakistani Lenny Bruce or an Iraqi version of the Daily Show. There are jokes, and one of the cleverest and funny people I have ever met is Iranian, and there is the tradition of Mullah Nasrudin stories that pokes holes in the fabric of organized Islam. With their traditions of strong, autocratic leaders, to make fun of them is to be put in jail or forfeit your life, and that attitude translates to the prophet Mohammed, who never allowed images of himself to be propagated for idolatry.

"YOU MAY HAVE LOST YOUR DONKEY, NASRUDDIN, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO GRIEVE OVER IT MORE THAN YOU DID ABOUT THE LOSS OF YOUR FIRST WIFE. "


"AH, BUT IF YOU REMEMBER, WHEN I LOST MY WIFE, ALL YOU VILLAGERS SAID: WE'LL FIND YOU SOMEONE ELSE. SO FAR, NOBODY HAS OFFERED TO REPLACE MY DONKEY."

"The lady contributed to Mulla Nasrudin on crutches, but could not resist the temptation to preach to him. "It must be terrible to be lame," she said, "but think how much worse it is to be blind."


"That's right, Lady," said the Mulla. "WHEN I WAS BLIND, PEOPLE KEPT PASSING COUNTERFEIT MONEY OFF ON ME."

Yemen Will Be Next Boondoggle To Send Our Troops If We Can Keep Assassination List Out Of Court

Daniel Indiviglio
Dana Milbank
Jimmy Carter

I'm glad that Jimmy Carter has written about his trip to North Korea, the fact that Kim Jung-Il left while he was there gave the rest of the leadership a chance to talk more freely. Hopefully, someone within our State Department will take advantage of the offer, without screwing things up too badly.

International news focuses on the ongoing talks between Israel and the PA. Articles have been written about Hillary Clinton and the European Union both urging Israel to extend the moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank. It is a gracious way to allow Netanyahu to save face. As we all know, the only construction that was stopped during the current moratorium, was the issuing of new building permits. Construction from existing permits continued. 72% of the settlements in the West Bank have been built within the last ten years, and there is a militant and vocal group within Israel that sees their building a God-given right, as well as having all Palestinians deported. Netanyahu can only extend the moratorium if he is sure to have more support among the public than the settlers do. If this major hurtle can be crossed, then most of the rest of the negotiations should be clear sailing... Anyway, now that Abbas has committed himself to negotiating, the only good solution for him is to see the process through, even through the firing of missiles and mortars raining down from Gaza...

The most disturbing news stories have to do with Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world, and soon to be the first to go dry from continuous drought, ruled by a dictator. Many articles have been written about Yemen being the new training ground for al-Qaeda, how dangerous that is, and how the US wants to move in and eradicate that threat. All that's missing are the weapons of mass destruction buried in the desert sands...

In the US, the debate is between the hawks and the doves "The United States Central Command has proposed supplying Yemen with $1.2 billion in military equipment and training over the next six years, a significant escalation on a front in the campaign against terrorism, which has largely been hidden from public view. The aid would include automatic weapons, coastal patrol boats, transport planes and helicopters, as well as tools and spare parts. Training could expand to allow American logistical advisers to accompany Yemeni troops in some noncombat roles.


Opponents, though, fear American weapons could be used against political enemies of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and provoke a backlash that could further destabilize the volatile, impoverished country."

Apologist hawks make statements like this: “Yemen is the most dangerous place,” said Representative Jane Harman, a senior California Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee who visited Yemen in March. “We’re much more likely to be attacked in the U.S. by someone inspired by, or trained by, people in Yemen than anything that comes out of Afghanistan.”

We already have some troops training Yemeni armed forces, we have sent in our mercenary teams contracted through the CIA; the next step is to formally legitimize it in terms of foreign policy so that we can continue on a greater scale. Oh yeah, this time we want to do it right, to build those governmental infrastructures that will be stable and lasting institutions, a democratic government that will last long after we're gone - headed by a dictator. Hmmmmm, where have we heard these arguments before? We have failed miserably at doing just that in Iraq and Afghanistan, maybe the third time's the charm? Doesn't anyone realize that the model is flawed, and applying it has proven not to work? Which brings me back to one of my favorite themes, the stupidity of the people we have in power...

But more insidious, is how the US is seeking to block a lawsuit brought against it for having an American citizen on an assassination list. Bad enough that our mercenaries are combing the desert sands looking for New Mexican born Anwar al-Awlaki, who is accused of having ties to al-Qaeda even though there has been no proof made public. The US Justice Department would like to see the case dismissed before it goes to court.: "The lawsuit was filed by Mr. Awlaki’s father, Nasser al-Awlaki, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights. It contends that designating a United States citizen for killing outside of a war zone, without an imminent threat, amounts to an extrajudicial execution, and it disputes the notion that battlefield law applies far from Afghanistan."

What the newspapers are not saying, is that the government doesn't want a judge to rule that a president cannot put someone on a hit list for some perverse reason, based on suspicions and not facts. This could lead to bringing George Bush to trial for treason for invading Iraq without any solid facts to back his case, and the resulting killing of that country's leader, even if he was a bad man... Instead of letting the case go to court, the government will contend that: "... the lawsuit should be dismissed without discussing its merits. For example, officials say, the brief is virtually certain to argue that Mr. Awlaki’s father has no legal standing to file a lawsuit on behalf of his son." This argument should be thrown out as having no merit.

"To strengthen the case, they are considering at least two other potential arguments, each with a downside.The first would involve asking the judge to dismiss the case because it could reveal classified information. Under the “state secrets doctrine,” the government can seek to withhold evidence or block lawsuits related to national security. The government’s increasing use of the state secrets doctrine to shield its actions from judicial review has been contentious. Some officials have argued that invoking it in the Awlaki matter, about which so much is already public, would risk a backlash. David Rivkin, a lawyer in the White House of President George H. W. Bush, echoed that concern. “I’m a huge fan of executive power, but if someone came up to you and said the government wants to target you and you can’t even talk about it in court to try to stop it, that’s too harsh even for me,” he said." The other argument is they want: "... a declaration that in war who can be targeted — and where — is a “political question” for the executive branch to decide, not judges.

Inside the administration, that argument is also seen as attractive. But invoking it could give the court an opportunity to reject the idea that an armed conflict with Al Qaeda exists in Yemen, said Matthew Waxman, who was the Pentagon’s top detainee affairs official under the second President Bush.“The more forcefully the administration urges a court to stay out because this is warfare, the more it puts itself in the uncomfortable position of arguing we’re at war even in Yemen,”

From the judicial department's viewpoint, all this would become moot if we killed off Mr al-Awlaki, leaving only his family to grieve or care for him. I just don't like to see Obama support or condone those policies that make us more of a police state. They seem to originate and continue despite whomever is in the White House, giving rise to a paranoid theory of a ruling cabal that really controls government, controls the economy, and is the reason why the most recent census shows that 1 in 7 Americans are living in poverty. Yeah, let's extend those Bush tax cuts because they are sooo beneficial... Besides, now that we have committed to eventually leaving Afghanistan, our military has to have someplace that's not in Africa to send our troops and justify its bloated budget... Heaven forbid that we should save $500 billion per year and let that money help pay off our defecit.

Will Incident Escalate Between China and Japan, Right Wing Roungup

On Newt's Meltdown:
Kathleen Parker
Maureen Dowd
On Tea Party Victories:
Steve Kornacki
EJ Dionne Jr
Dana Milbank

“People like me are what stand between us and Auschwitz. I see evil all around me every day.” - Newt Gingrich

"Why not go full-throttle into crackpottery? From Gainesville to Ground Zero, it's all the rage." - Kathleen Parker

"That's probably true: Tea Party candidates this year have voiced opposition to masturbation, support for prohibition and a fear that bicycle-sharing would lead to world government." - Dana Milbank

As if there's not enough bad vibes in the world, now it seems that Togo is dissing Bahrain., by sending over some second-rate "fake" team, instead of its national soccer team, to play the Bahrainian national team. Bahrain won 3-0.

Bahrain went through all of the proper channels, arranged for special visas, only to be handed a completely different team roster minutes before the game... So, the question is why? Are there international soccer mafias trying to make a few bucks, or did someone try to intentionally embarrass Bahrain, who has put in an offer to host the next World Cup games? Could this possibly have anything to do with the recent Palestinian peace talks in Cairo, does Togo feel left out of the process? Or could it be engineered by Iranian intelligence, meant to create havoc and mistrust among the Gulf states and certain South Seas island nations? I think I have touched on all of the conspiracy theories surrounding this mishap, because we all know how much politics controls sports; we'll see what develops in the days to come...

Perhaps Togo's shenanigans are a symptom of the high weirdness escalating around the South china Sea. First, we have the paranoia of the North Koreans directed at the taunting by South Korea and the US war maneuvers. Then, we have a change of government in Japan over whether the US would move a military base off of Okinawa. Yesterday saw another election in Japan, the basic issue being which candidate was more charismatic and what kind of relationship they would forge with the US.

Recently, an incident occurred between a Chinese fishing boat and a Japanese Coast Guard ship, which ended with the Japanese ship being dented and banged up, and the Chinese boat captain currently gracing a Tokyo jail cell. Japan may try to put the captain on trial, and China is going ballistic in its rhetoric trying to obtain the release of the man, being very aggressive and threatening: "It will be the last straw for Beijing if Japan insists on trying the Chinese captain for his fishing operation off the Diaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea," said the Global Times. "Although Japanese leaders hope the fishing boat issue will be seen as a stand-alone incident and will not hurt the two countries' normal relations, it is impossible for China's protest to remain verbal only."

More ominous, if this incident begins a naval battle between the two countries, is the US moving in several submarines to dock in Japan. This is a watery chess match that isn't getting any attention in the US press, despite Hillary Clinton's hawkish pronouncements of protecting US interests. Or, maybe everyone is getting together for a big beer kegger and will jointly invade some neutral country which won't have a clue beforehand. In that case, New Zealand is toast...




With Christine O'Donnell's win in the Delaware primary, I wanted to write about the rise of women in conservative, right wing extremist politics, but then there were also the wins by Joe Miller, Rand Paul, and Ken buck. Despite Ken asking for people to vote for him because he doesn't wear high heels, these could all just be the pigs wearing lipstick that we've heard so much about...

Usually, in the formation of a cult, its formed around a charismatic male, and the women play a subservient role. But in the tea partys, it seems that women are being empowered to enter politics as never before. In many ways, this is the true death knell of the old Republican Party, as these candidates have shoved out the more politically correct Republicans. If any of them get elected to Congress, they will spend their short-lived careers throwing as many monkey wrenches into the works as possible. If you are an old sixties burnout, this is pure anarchistic street theater at its best, get a good seat in the audience and bring your own popcorn because you won't want to miss any jaw-grinding moment...

We the people have been griping and complaining about our government, the structure of the bureaucracy that begets uncaring policies and inherent graft and corruption for almost 300 years. Certainly, I've heard complaints all my life, and made my share. Maybe the climate is ripe to sit down and make serious changes to the structure of our government and how it does business. Robert Gates has made a good start that has reduced the Pentagon's spending by over $100 billion, let's see what the legislative and judicial branches can do to top him...

Sarah Is Turned Around, Peace Talks, Bill Gates, Newt Again...

Eugene Robinson
EJ Dionne Jr
Bob Herbert

"I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it." - George Carlin

"By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth." - George Carlin

"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things." - George Carlin

The American woman hiker who has been held in an Iranian jail for over a year was finally released. The $500,000 ransom was paid at an Iranian bank in Oman, where Sarah Shourd's mother has been waiting for her. It was confirmed by the Swiss embassy that Sarah was put on a plane to Oman, so they are probably reunited as you read this. The Iranian judicial decided to extend the time in jail of Sarah's two male companions by at least two months. They may be used as pawns in a trade-off if Iran seeks the return of the three diplomats who have defected within the last few months... The three hikers had been in Damascus, then went through Turkey into the Kurdish controlled area of Iraq for a holiday. I know, it sounds dumb, unless they really were spies. But Kurdistan had been advertising itself as a safe place for Westerners to come and hike, fish, and kayak down its rivers. There were originally four friends, but one stayed behind on that fateful day, when the three went hiking along a popular trail near the border. they ignored the warning signs as they went seeking the headwaters of a waterfall, strayed into Iran, and were arrested by soldiers who had been hiding in wait for them.

The spying charges came after they had been held for a few months, and it became clear that they were being used as political footballs between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who wanted to let them go, and even more conservative forces who wanted to hang them or stone them or parade them form village to village to be reviled by those who are easily manipulated. And, as al-Jazeera reported: "Sarah was being held in solitary confinement despite suffering from a pre-cancerous cervical condition, a lump in her breast and depression." Sarah should be checked out to see if she has been exposed to radiation while she was incarcerated, the signs of cancer that she developed seems suspicious, or maybe her Iranian jailers took to irradiating her vegetables instead of washing them... If her companions, Shane and Josh, also develop tumors, then they may have taken part in Iran's nuclear development program without knowing it...

Shafaii, Shourd's lawyer, said: "Sarah is extremely happy about her release but she urged me to help her two co-accused who are still in Evin prison."

The head of NATO went to the American military, complaining that Iran now has the rocket capacity to reach parts of Europe, and came away with millions of dollars and the promise that the American military will continue to set up a missile defense shield around Europe... I wonder how much I can get if I tell them that Tom Tancredo can see my house from his front porch...?

More face to face peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority happened today and will continue tomorrow. That means that Hamas has tried to disrupt things with more violent incidents in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Iran is supposedly trying to convince the easily excitable Hizbollah to attack Israel from Lebanon and Syria, figuring that a war will surely end the talks for all time, and then every Arab will be grateful for the Persians using them as cannon fodder. So far, cooler heads have prevailed. Not many actual Palestinians want to partake in the hostilities, because the Palestinian economy of the West Bank rose 9% last year. The Gaza economy also progressed , but only by 1%, so they are hoping to continuing to develop profits once they have a state of their own... We'll see if this tenuous peace can hold for the next few weeks. Its predicted that the details can be hammered out within a year...


Microsoft did an about face today, after the NY Times publicized their involvement with the Russian government's harassing of environmental groups, human rights groups, and opposition politicians, by agreeing to prosecute them for having pirated computer software, even if was proved that they owned licensed copies. Microsoft announced that they will no longer seek to prosecute the groups, and will issue blanket licenses to them for free. The dastardly lawyers they had hired may no longer have a job, or at least they can go back to working publicly for Mr Putin and his minions. This puts to rest the rumors that Melinda has been wandering the halls in period dress, saying "Anastasia! My name is Anastasia!" It does add to the rumors that I'm making up that Bill still runs around those same halls, wearing his red cape, and shouting: "For truth, justice, and the American way... Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, no... it's Bill Gates!"

I knew that Newt Gingrich has become disassociated from reality as we know it, and is living in his own Bizarro universe, which is why I wrote about him yesterday. Then, I saw on the news last night the comments that he made about Barack Obama. This excerpt is taken from eugene Robinson's column, linked above:

"The latest example comes in an interview with the conservative Web site National Review Online. Unsurprisingly, he was criticizing President Obama. Bizarrely, according to the Web site, he said the following: "What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?" According to Newt, this is "the most accurate, predictive model" for the president's actions, or policies or something.


What in the world is "Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior" supposed to mean? That Obama is waging a secret campaign to free us from the yoke of British oppression?


In fairness to Gingrich, he wasn't being original. He was speaking in praise of a big gob of gibberish in Forbes by conservative "intellectual" Dinesh D'Souza. In the piece -- much of it strikingly lazy -- D'Souza argues that Obama somehow absorbed a fully elaborated, frozen-in-time, anti-colonial worldview from his Kenyan father. Who left the family when the future president was 2."

Couple this stuff with some of the other crap he has been saying, it's clear that he has given up rational discourse and elected to stick with what he knows best - Southern racism. Newt, and what sane woman would name a child Newt, is supposed to have been a college professor of history, became speaker of the house, written a few books of fiction, and came up with that ridiculous contract with America. So, he sees himself as an intellectual, a man of letters, and a light to the conservative movement. Then, he does this weird Kenyan thing along with equating the Muslims who want to build a mosque near ground zero as Nazis, and it makes me wonder if he is now under the care of Elvis's or Michael Jackson's doctor, because I want to know what spectrum of pills he's abusing...

Your Shadow Government At Work, Selling Guns, Laundering Money, Scare Tactics Until November

Fareed Zacharia
Robert Mazur
James Surowiecki

"Have you learned nothing from Fox? You pick your narrative and you stick with it -- and if the news doesn't fit your narrative, change your f**king news." – Jon Stewart, explaining journalism to MSNBC

"According to government auditors, the stimulus money is being held up because there aren't enough government workers to oversee the spending. So follow me, in other words, government workers who aren't there are needed to spend money we don't have to create jobs that don't exist." – Jay Leno

"The Atlantic had a big article on the inevitability of Israel going to war with Iran over building nuclear weapons. But he White House thinks that strong economic sanctions will bring them to their knees, raise unemployment, and cause their factories to close – the same way those economic sanctions worked right here." – Jay Leno

"According to a new poll, Levi Johnston now has lower approval ratings than John Edwards. Levy said he is disappointed with his low approval ratings and will do everything he can to knock them up." – Jimmy Fallon

"Merriam-Webster says that Sarah Palin's made-up word 'refudiate' was the most searched word of the summer. But no matter how hard they tried, Palin's supporters couldn't find the word in the Definitionary or the Wordasaurus." – Jimmy Fallon

Lots of interesting tidbits in the news this morning. Usually, Monday mornings are just a rehash of the weekend news. In the link above, Robert Mazur talks about money laundering by the world's largest banks, including billions of dollars driven up from Mexico by Wachovia Bank. If the drug cartels had invested their ill-gotten profits back into Mexico, there would have been no drug wars by the government and it would have a more robust economy. Fear mongers in the US, like Tom Tancredo, would have less ammunition in their war against immigrants. Illegal immigration into the US has fallen by over 67%, and still Tom and Dan Maes tries to characterize the city of Denver as a "sanctuary city", in their best Karl Rovian, self-serving imitation...

The NY times reported that arms sales by US companies has gone down for the last two years. The US is the world's largest exporter of guns, followed by Russia and Germany. To help offset the slump, Saudi Arabia announced that it will be contracting for over $60 billion with the US, to supply it with some new jets, helicopters, and some drones they can call their own.  Contracts with independent, mercenary security firms have also gone down, so we will be having some violent, unemployed predators circulating among the next few tea party rallies, don't forget to bring the kids... Our anti-immigrant backlash is taking its toll, homeless shelters are filling up with families who have no other means to turn to, as businesses are now firing their immigrant workers first. I always thought that public outbursts like the anti-Muslim, anti-mosque protests were a good source of catharsis; let the emotional flames burn out first before you try to heal the wounds, but we may soon resemble European culture more than we realize. Their civilian attacks on the Muslims in their midst is increasing, and the official attempts of France, Germany, and Greece to deport their gypsies while denying any racist attitudes may soon translate into policies in California to florida, despite Jan Brewer's scary stories of headless bodies found in the Arizona desert... Of course, the slower arms sales inside the US may be due to our redneck and Bubba population finally figuring out that the Obama administration is not trying to take away their gun rights, that it is another scare tactic created during the election campaign and has carried over onto every tea party web site. So, load em up and march on into our public forests, have fun meeting members of illegal drug cartels who are still growing marijuana in the remoter places... Maybe that's what started our Colorado wildfires...

Speaking of hate-mongering and trying to manipulate the public's irrational fears, we have a two-pronged approach taking place from now until November elections. One, Dick Armey and his well-financed horde of minions, plan on having as many tea party rallies to try and influence government policy. It was bad enough making the issue of health care a diabolical bogey-man, any normal person couldn't bring themselves to an emotional fever pitch over such a boring subject without some kind of external boost. If you still hear anyone going on about Obamacare, you know that they are either getting paid to say that shit, or that they are incredibly gullible for falling for that shit in the first place. Let's see what kind of class separation Dick and the Koch brothers can come up with. What are you most afraid of?

To mine our fear of terrorists invading our shores and blowing themselves up while in line for a movie, or dinner, or at a bank, or at a crowded sporting event, the Honorable Newt Gingrich, in conjunction with the Denver Post, will lecture you on the growing dangers of terrorism and what we must do to eradicate it within the next ten years, brought to you by a CIA front, www.thecell.org. Not only is Newt coming down with Alzheimer's, and his former wife has exposed his hypocritical nature of saying things he doesn't believe in to the public, but now we might as well get as much use out of him before he implodes as a presidential candidate for 2012. He always finds a way to screw himself over because he knows how, deep down inside, he doesn't deserve your trust or respect. Despite all of the scary stories about how one of the poorest spots of parched desert on the earth is training the next generation of uber-terrorists, who will learn to paste their explosives in the right places in their underwear, the tactic just doesn't seem to catching on. Really, how can you be afraid, when the last few wannabees have been bumbling, comic book characters. There are scarier terrorists on Criminal Minds than on the streets of New York... Besides, once you start rooting for the vampires and zombies in the movies, you know that you are pretty jaded to reality. Especially when the tactics are about thirty years outdated. Death panels are so blase after you have seen Soylent Green recycled on the Simpsons...

I don't know, what will it really take to scare you enough to vote Republican this coming November? Then, to have the process repeat itself all over again for the elections in 2012... it must be exhausting planning all of these negative campaigns. Unfortunately, time and time again it has proven to work. Be sure to call up your nearby Republican Party center or write to your favorite tea party web site to let them know what you have come up with...

9/11 And How To Win The War, Microsoft Represses Russian Dissidents,

Jose Cardenas
Simon Johnson

Well, the 9/11 remembrances went without any extremist violence or ugliness beyond Glenn Beck promoting his 9/12 organization. At least he had the good sense to do it far away in Alaska, with a minimum amount of press coverage. I assume that because I don't watch Fox news. If I did I would have a lot more to talk about with my neighbors, but they don't read the newspapers or read any books, so I am at a loss how to communicate with them without insulting them. I used to be known for my sharp retorts and often cruel put-downs, even driving a fellow worker to tears one day. I have, over the years, been trying to consciously not be as mean, which makes me grumpy instead... Oh, well. While reading some of the foreign press, I came across this question to all of the brou-ha-ha over the publicity seeking pastor who threatened to burn 200 Korans yesterday:

"Why does the US government think burning Qurans is less civilised than drone attacks on civilian populations?" - Lamis Andoni

Drone attacks is how we will be fighting our wars in the future. Our drones will fight your drones, and battles will resemble imperial kite fighting rather than the deployment of soldiers on the ground. Unfortunately, innocents will still be killed at the same rate...

What I saw the most during interviews over ground zero, is the ignorance of what a mosque is, and how my fellow Americans identify themselves as Christians. Most of the world's religions worship but one God, the same creator to the Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The rest is just human bickering over which prophet they wish to follow. And your religious practice should transcend even that argument, especially if you include meditation as part of your tradition. If a person doesn't meditate, I usually won't even bother to listen to what they have to say, because they are usually swayed by their emotions and contain little, if any, wisdom at all... that said, there was a full page ad in the NY times, paid for by the bible society, that said: Burning a Koran does not illuminate the Bible. Even more surprising was that among the people who signed the ad was James Dobson. I thought for sure that he would try and blame Obama for all of our intolerance, since he has had a lot to do with creating it in the first place...

The longer we stay in places like Afghanistan, the longer we build up resentment of ourselves. As I have said before, instead of invading the country by military means, if we had spent the money on building schools and providing education, giving them clean water, electricity, computers, and smartphones with free cell phone service; then we already would have done more to transform and liberalize Afghanistan than whatever pitiful things we can currently count on as victories in the name of democracy. Instead of fighting the Taliban, we could have continued to befriend them like we did before the invasion, when they offered to hand over Osama bin Laden. Their narrow interpretations of sharia law would naturally change as their children became more aware of the world and other forms of Islam. Afghanistan would be better off economically, the government would be more stable and honest, and much of the heroin trade might have been eradicated.

Unfortunately, Bill Gates and Microsoft have already gone over to the Dark Side. The NY Times has a long article how Microsoft has agreed to China's wishes to filter its browser results for chinese users, and how it lets Russia use it as an excuse to suppress dissidents. Microsoft says that it is concerned over software piracy and advocates prosecuting those that have bogus products on their computers, except its been proven time and time again that the government is using piracy as an excuse to raid opposition groups and to hassle them, confiscate their files, and try to put them out of business. and Microsoft's russian lawyers are playing right along: "Across Russia, the security services have carried out dozens of similar raids against outspoken advocacy groups or opposition newspapers in recent years. Security officials say the inquiries reflect their concern about software piracy, which is rampant in Russia. Yet they rarely if ever carry out raids against advocacy groups or news organizations that back the government.

As the ploy grows common, the authorities are receiving key assistance from an unexpected partner: Microsoft itself. In politically tinged inquiries across Russia, lawyers retained by Microsoft have staunchly backed the police.

Interviews and a review of law enforcement documents show that in recent cases, Microsoft lawyers made statements describing the company as a victim and arguing that criminal charges should be pursued." I guess if Bill Gates can't conquer the US without protest, then he is content to join Vladimir Putin in intimidating the rest of the world.

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I have been looking at recent polling results for the various political races around the country. Other than a few where there is a clear-cut favorite, most polls show that there are only a few points that separate Meg whitman from Jerry Brown, Michael Bennet from Ken Buck, and Sharron Angle from Harry Reid. The same shows for so many other polls, that for most races it is a toss-up as to which side will win. The much prophesied Republican landslide may not happen, especially since its doubtful that the polls actually reflect how people may vote come November. I know if my ballot wasn't mailed to me, I probably wouldn't go out and vote. So, we may not have a Republican governor in Florida or Texas, but it is safe to say that crazy ol' Jan Brewer will remain in Arizona. In fact, people from all over the country, well, mostly some rich old guy from Wyoming, is sending her millions of dollars to defend the immigration bill in court. Yep, some lawyers are going to rip off the state for some fat fees, sweeter than a can of Arizona tea...

Ramadan Ends Tonight Yet People Still Starve in Pakistan, You Say Dubai I Say Hello,

Paul Krugman
Jackson Diehl
Bruce Riedel

"It’s hard to overstate how destructive the economic ideas offered earlier this week by John Boehner, the House minority leader, would be if put into practice... If Republicans regain power, they will surely do what they did during the Bush years: they won’t seriously try to address the economy’s troubles; they’ll just use those troubles as an excuse to push the usual agenda" - Paul Krugman

"I'm not a political expert, but I think going after the rich is a good idea in an election year, or any other year for that matter. Because let's face it, rich people are bastards. Even rich people would agree with that. They're like, 'It's true, now hand me another golden sausage.'" – Craig Ferguson

"So far rich people have been very quiet about the possibility of getting taxes raised on them, but that doesn't mean they won't get mad about it, it just means they don't know about it. Because it takes a while for bad news to reach a rich person. First their accountant has to tell the butler, who has to tell the servant, who wouldn't dare interrupt their game of croquet." – Craig Ferguson

Ramadan end tonight for most Muslims, where most families get together and partake in binge eating and scarfing down a lot of sweets all day tomorrow. In Gaza, the emphasis is different, where families are encouraged to visit members who are in jail, and helping to feed those who are indigent... Refugees in Pakistan will end Ramadan with more fasting, but its because they are starving, with little food or aid coming their way. The Pakistani government is feuding with Islamic charities that are sponsored by outlawed groups and Talibans, with the result food less is distributed... Al Jazeera reports that in India: "Experts say there are over a billion tonnes of food grain going to waste throughout India, enough to feed over 600,000 poor for over a decade." So, not only do we have to worry about obtaining enough food for these poor folk, but we also have to make sure it gets to them before it rots in some warehouse near the airport... It's ironic, that many people sign onto international aid programs because of their empathy and desire to make a difference, and will end up deciding who gets to live and who gets to die, while their superiors deposit over 80% of donated funds in their bank accounts, thank you for your donation...

Iraq used to have the dubious honor of having the highest murder rate in the world. And that is counted as civilian murders, not military collateral. This year, Iraq has been eclipsed by the skyrocketing murder rates in Venezuela. I know, it surprised me, too. Hugo Chavez has been having serious economic problems, there have been rolling electrical brownouts for a couple of years now, and it looks like the people are taking their frustrations out on themselves. The constant feuding with its neighbor, Columbia, may be a contributing factor, along with CIA paid insurgents. Notice that with the US contracted to build an Air Force base in Columbia, now the re-emergence of private, right wing militias is being OK'ed by the government. I don't know why we like to support right wing groups so much, probably for the same reasons why we like our district attorneys to be Republican and beligerent... right Ken Buck?

In Afghanistan, two things are happening. Our counterinsurgency policies are not working in the short time that we are giving them, they really need 30 years or more to work with younger generations who, hopefully, grew up with these attitudes and have adopted them for themselves. So, that's not working out in the short term. Neither is Karzai's puppet government. There are some well meaning individuals who are idealistic, putting country first, but usually they are demoted or kicked out by Karzai because he sees them as a threat. We put a lot of time, effort, and money into training the Afghan Army and police, only have 40-60% of them defect and desert... Secondly, as reported in the Asia Times: "Preliminary peace talks between the Taliban and the United States have begun, with the Pakistan military and Saudi Arabia acting as go-betweens. A US concession could be the release of Pakistanis detained at Guantanamo Bay. Much thornier issues include a continued US presence in northern Afghanistan and what to do with al-Qaeda, which is busy extending its reach." If we re-install the Taliban, get rid of Karzai and his cronies, then they become our new BFF's, and we have a more honest government, that is, if you favor the Pashtuns... If we get them to agree to let us keep on building schools and supporting women, then we will have won in the end. As I have said before, once generations have use off computers and smart cellphones, they begin to communicate with people from all over the world, and such ideas like the narrow minded interpretation of sharia law will not hold up. I'm sorry, but the world is changing and we have to go along with it, drop our excess baggage of antiquated ideals to make way for a more global society. Places like Dubai are integrating culture clashes faster than we can keep up. It is ironic, because al-Qaeda is a protest against the integration of Western culture into the conservative traditions of an Islam practiced in the rural areas, and yet it is the economic successful places that are leading the change. Really, the US doesn't have to go and promote its own perverted twist on democracy, we can kick back here at home and watch it unfold on our computer screens. Which is a good thing, as we still have a lot of issues to hash out, especially regarding racism, immigrants, and the inability of the Republican Party to contribute anything constructive to our national dialogues...