Category: Politics

What and when did she know?

What and when did she know?

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I don’t condone torture for ordinary criminals but I have few problems with torture for those that are involved with terror. So the current issue with Pelosi and having knowledge of waterboarding is a bit hollow. To me, she would do better to say that she had full knowledge of the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and their gallant efforts to protect us.

However, she obviously would rather deny knowledge and condemn the CIA as sadists AND liars! That is her choice but now it appears that she did have knowledge and therefore endorsed the activity implicitly or explicitly.

Which begs the question: What did she know and when did she know it? This also renders another point: When has a politician ever survived that question? We all know that Nixon did not survive it so it is doubtful the Speaker will survive unscathed.

Obama administration idiot is fired for flyover

Obama administration idiot is fired for flyover

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I am happy to see that the idiot that approved the photo opp flyover over New York City has been fired!  This is from the Wall Street Journal:

The White House said Friday that President Obama has accepted the resignation of Louis Caldera as Director of the White House Military Office, effective May 22. Mr. Caldera wrote in a letter that the controversy created by the flight of one of the presidential planes over lower Manhattan had made it impossible for him to effectively lead the office. The unannounced flight briefly panicked office workers near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks. The White House also released a photograph taken during the flyover.

The administration also released an image from the flyover. I still contend that this could have been easily recreated in Photoshop!

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Does the federal government own a Photoshop license?

Does the federal government own a Photoshop license?

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The news and blogs are all abuzz about the low flying jets over New York City. Evidently, these jets are a result of some desire to photograph Air Force One with the Statue of Liberty.

Air Force One

I don’t understand this! Surely there are a million pictures of Air Force One. There are probably a billion pictures of Lady Liberty. With a bit of talent using Photoshop these two icons could have been combined. This would have saved a reported $300,000 and not caused panic in the most populated city in the USA.

And there was a legitimate reason for that panic. It was less than 8 years ago that this city was bombed with planes by terrorists. Of course, that was under a different President so our Executive memory doesn’t go back that far.

Burning Towers
Image from Ron Pass

I really hope someone got fired over this. A major mistake like that in the private sector would have been a pink slip. It is amazing that this is the same bureaucracy that wants to run our health insurance! Is there anything that the government does that private industry cannot do better?

Does a party even mean anything?

Does a party even mean anything?

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Senator Specter just announced that he is switching parties from Republican to Democrat?  Does this mean anything?  Should it mean anything?

If the Democrat Party is so similar in its intent and stature to the Republican party that a politician can easily switch then it is likely that there is no reason to have either party. What values does a party have if they are so obscure that you can join one and then the other without looking like a fool?

Sen. Specter says in his declaration “I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation.”  This begs the question: doesn’t every politician do that? I have a deep feeling that they don’t but they should.

So now he is going to caucus as a Democrat.  Does that mean that he falls in line with the leadership of that party and be at the beck and call of their leadership?  As NixGuy points out, he wasn’t exactly doing this as a Republican and I hope that he is at least as rebellious to his new leadership as he was to his old leadership!  If not, then he is a wimp and he cannot make up his own mind – or worse he historically was a liar.

To be honest, all we ever want from our politicians is that they consider each issue fully and make a decision that is in the best interest of their immediate constituents and the nation as a whole.  It is unfortunate that most politicians don’t really get that and always have other masters that they want to serve besides the people that voted them into office.

With the current rebellion on taxes that is occurring around the country right now, being a Democrat may not be a safe haven for a politician right now!

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East

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This is a great book.  Everyone should read it (or listen to it). 

I just finished the Audible version of this book.  It was excellent.  Here are some learnings:

  • James Earl Carter was more incompetent than even I thought he was.
  • William Jefferson Clinton was not as incompetent at Carter, but he was close.
  • George Walker Bush did a pretty good job with most of the Mideast, did a plausible job of getting rid of Saddam (which the book admits had to happen) and then bungled the reconstruction.  Okay, this really wasn’t a big learning but it was worth noting.
  • Ronald Wilson Reagan did an excellent job with the Middle East as did Nixon and Ford.  George Herbert Walker Bush barely gets a mention which is surprising since he put together the coalition to kick Iraq out of Kuwait.
  • Saudi Arabia has to be part of the solution, they are not part of the problem. The book correctly identifies fools like Michael Moore as screwing this up.
  • Winston Churchill made a real mess of it.
  • The Ottoman empire showed the way that the Mideast needs to be dealt with.

Great book.  Everyone should read or listen to it.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Politically-Incorrect-Guide-Middle-Guides/dp/1596980516

Audible: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BLAK_002466&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Should scientists stay out of politics

Should scientists stay out of politics

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Interesting post over at “Is It Getting Warmer?“.  It is a discussion of scientists and their thirst for getting too involved in politics.

It is an unfortunate turn of events that most big scientific discussions (such as global warming, in this case) turn into political discussions.  This could include other things such as abortion, stem cell research, and the teaching of evolution in the classroom.  All of these things have a strong scientific discussion which implies that there is a truth somewhere.  However, in these cases, the truth is not clear cut and the science is probably not solid.  In most of these cases, there is some level of gray in the conversation and much of what is discussed as fact is simply hypothesis.

Scientists should only be using their scientific titles and credentials when they are discussing science. They should discuss this accurately with terms such as “hypothesis” and “theory” and “conjecture” used quite liberally.  When they depart from the scientific conversation and into the political arena (which is certainly their right) they should be careful not to be so adamant that they give off an air of certainty that their scientific brethren would not accept.

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