At Home On Piety Hill

Boy, this is an intense election season and there’s so much to blog about. But, I’m off to SF International to pick up our friend from Uganda. Before I go, I need to share two things — one I’ve wanted to talk about for a long time.

I just listened to an excellent interview by Terry Gross on Fresh Air (National Public Radio). Usually, I can’t get beyond her bigotry and predictable questions, but this time she did a great job and, if you are one of those people hoping that the UN will solve any international problem of any size or scope… well, in New Jersese fuhgeddaboudit! She interviews James Traub about his new book, The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power. Stream the interview and pay attention to the author’s eyewitness discussion of the Darfur situation with the the Sudanese officials, who view the meeting as an opportunity to humiliate the world, mock the UN and provide ample proof that people like George Clooney are naive, deluded and dangerous to the serious business of dealing with evil regimes.

Then, I wanted to point out the fact that my party, the Democrats, will show us in this mid-year election where we are headed. Historically, the out-of-power party (in this case, the Democrats) in a second term President’s mid-term elections will gain 37-45 seats in the House and 6 in the Senate. If the Dems pick up 30 or more, they are still a viable political party. If they pick up 15 - 30, they are in trouble and lack vision and direction — there’s still hope. If they do not take both the House and the Senate, the party is in freefall and it’s time for progressives and liberals to look elsewhere. As I say, I really wanted to go into detail and have no time, but Ann Coulter beat me to it and offers a much more in-depth and provocative analysis than I ever could. You need to read this, if you’re interested in the future of the Democrat Party.

Yes, Levi, I did see it but I was at work, so I had to wait until I got home to get it up. Is that a great response to northeastern, progressive elitism? Denise and I have experienced it first-hand and it is so real… they really do hold such contempt for anyone from fly-over country, especially an uppity National Guard unit, like this clever bunch from Minnesoooooota.

Just when I thought Democrats couldn’t be more hostile towards the US Military, John Kerry let the cat out of the bag.

Before they can support them, they will probably need to know which ones are ours and which are not. Check this out.

Well, there’s more good news from the newspaper publishing industry. Metro newspaper readership, like viewership of network news, is down. From Editor & Publisher:

This is the fourth consecutive semi-annual report to register a severe drop in daily circulation and — perhaps more troubling to the industry — Sunday copies…

The Los Angeles Times reported that daily circulation fell 8% to 775,766. Sunday dropped 6% to 1,172,005

The San Francisco Chronicle was down. Daily dropped 5.3% to 373,805 and Sunday fell 7.3% to 432,957.

The New York Times lost 3.5% daily to 1,086,798 and 3.5% on Sunday to 1,623,697. Its sister publication, The Boston Globe reported decreases in daily circulation, down 6.7% to 386,415 and Sunday, down 9.9% to 587,292.

The Washington Post lost daily circulation, which was down 3.3% to 656,297 while Sunday declined 2.6% to 930,619.

Face it. People are tired of the passe´press and their all liberal, all the time editorializing, thinly disguised as reporting. People who want hard news and serious analysis are moving to new media on the web, talk-radio and podcast.

Personally? I enjoy sitting down and reading a real newspaper. But, the content has been so off-putting for the past 30 years, we finally canceled our last subscription last year. Sure, I miss some things, but the relief from the incessant finger-wagging, elitist, tendentious preaching embedded in every AP or Reuters article has been refreshing. I just wish they would read the writing on the wall (instead of their own press) and wake up to the fact that people out here want news, not their personal, bigoted worldview. If they would only listen to the market and suppress their urge to force their convictions upon the rest of us, they may survive.

Why, that would be Camille Paglia, of course! Now, here’s a woman from the other end of the spectrum I think I could have an enjoyable discussion with, even though we strongly disagree on a number of issues. She’s smart, she’s tough, but she’s fair minded and has a good grasp of history, I think. She was interviewed on Salon.com and here are a few choice excerpts.

On religion:

But religion is absolutely central to this country in ways that Europe’s secularized intellectuals fail to understand. I’m speaking here as an atheist who studies religion and respects it enormously. In the history of mankind, the benefits that religion has brought to society in shaping behavior and moral choice are overwhelming in comparison to the negatives, which anyone can list — like religious wars and bigotry. Without religion, we’d have anarchy.

On Condoleeza Rice:

Condi Rice looks lost lately. She’s overstretched and on a learning curve. Her training (by Madeleine Albright’s father) focused on the Cold War era when the world was polarized between two superpowers. It didn’t prepare her for the baffling and frustrating complexities of the highly sectarian and factionalized Middle East. You need to know the turbulent history of the ancient Near East to understand what’s going on there now. It’s always been a roiling cauldron — wars and more wars and massacres from the Egyptian, Assyrian and Roman empires down to the fascist rule by the Ottomans. Every feminist who wants to smash the glass ceiling should realize she has a stake in Condi Rice’s success. Rice is a brilliant woman, but diplomacy is an art.

On George Bush:

I’m not a Bush hater. I’ve always viewed him as a decent fellow who was pushed into the presidency because he was his father’s son. But he’s been out of his depth in foreign affairs from the start. He certainly lacks the basic verbal skills for the presidency — reading speeches authored by others is no substitute. But I’ve become concerned about Bush’s mental state in the past few months. Sometimes in his press conferences or prepared statements (which I listened to on the radio), I heard a sort of Nixonian tension and hysteria. His vocal patterns were over-intense and his inflections impatient, lurching and sarcastic. There was this seething quality to his speech that worried me and that seemed to signal that something major is being planned — perhaps another military incursion.

More excerpts to follow… I really enjoyed this interview.

It’s always disappointing to see Democrats punishing success and Wal-Mart, like the United States military, presents such a juicy target for the blame America first crowd. So, I’m really excited to see the folks at Wal-Mart waking up to the way Washington works. According to this article, Wal-Mart Doesn’t Discount Politicians, the giant has benefited from the lesson Bill Gates learned the hard way back in the ’90’s. If you don’t “remember” your liberal/socialist friends in Congress and the White House, the Justice Department may come knocking at your door. From a progressive news site bemoaning Microsoft’s late entry into the protection racket… er, I mean into the lobbying process:

Microsoft didn’t always seek support in Washington. For years, the software giant prided itself on steering clear of national politics and lobbying. But when their legal troubles started, that attitude quickly changed.

“Microsoft, before their anti-trust case, had almost no presence in Washington,” Arizona Sen. John McCain told The Chronicle editorial board earlier this year. “Now, I almost don’t know a lobbyist who’s not on their payroll.”

Wal-Mart employs so many and ploughs so much back into the community, I’d hate to see them hobbled by further government legislative interference. For low and middle-class earners like my family, Wal-Mart plays an important role.

That was my response to Denise on Saturday night after witnessing a so-called debate over abortion between Katherine Kneer and Scott Klusendorf. Katherine has served as the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of California and Scott is the President of the Life Training Institute.

One would think that the president of the Planned Parenthood franchise in the most populous and, perhaps, liberal state in the US would have some command of the facts of abortion or a mastery of just a few of the philosophical/moral/ethical justifications for the practice! This was not the case and she conceded over and over that she did not intend to argue a case for abortion. Instead, she played to the emotions of the audience, poured effusive praise upon the work that that the LivingWell Clinic is doing in Nevada County and made the most pathetic plea to embrace her cynical real world view that infanticide is inevitable in our world, so we all need to welcome the culture of death. With the Sacramento cultural and political scene dominated by policy makers like Katherine, it’s no wonder people are plunging into despair and anti-depressant use (abuse)! She almost had me running for the prozac!

Scott responded with facts, well-reasoned arguments and plenty of compassion, even helping Katherine to articulate her position at times. He was kind, gracious and loving. His presentation was one of optimism, hope and courage in the face of a very nasty crowd that imposes their dogma of intolerance, violence and hopelessness on the rest of us.

For those women who have had an abortion and the men who pressured them into that decision, Scott offered compassion, understanding and real solutions.

Denise and I came away with the realization that the combination of government, the media, the educational system… the entire culture, militates against and is prevailing over common sense, common decency and the common good. But, we will not surrender.

Credit: Photo of post-natal abortion courtesy of the University of Maryland

Sadie commented:

Peter Pan syndrome. *nodding head* That makes a lot of sense. This is a really well thought out post, Bo. I enjoyed reading it. I have to say that Bush lacks the personality that JFK had. For some reason that I can’t quite put my finger on–Bush bothers me when he gives a speech. I don’t know why.

Yes, I have to agree that Bush is difficult to listen to, because he has some sort of odd speech pattern. Bill Clinton is a good speaker. He appears comfortable, in control of the facts… almost conversational. I think he makes the audience feel more relaxed. George Bush sounds like he is addressing The Toastmasters or a public speaking class and that’s just too bad, because his unrehearsed press conferences are great… particularly when he unleashes his humor. With that said, I really don’t hear many formal speeches I enjoy.

Now, let’s get a bit more controversial. Check out Dick Cheney on Meet The Press. I think Dick Cheney sounds more presidential than anyone I’ve heard in the past thirty years and the man speaks well in every kind of situation. Bush is strong in press conferences, but weak at the podium. Clinton is a great public speaker, but comes off slick when responding to questions and is childish at times. Cheney does it all well.

P.S. I think the new color scheme of the blog really highlights Sadie’s Blogger profile pic, don’t you?

I went for a run today, following my usual course through the woods and local schools. There were kids in school today! I called the principal’s office and found that they will not be observing Columbus Day today or on the actual date of the 12th of October.

For those crumb-crunchers who are missing out on this holiday and receiving indoctrination, the rest of us are celebrating the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus and the spread of European civilization to the New World.

When the explorers arrived on this continent, they found the Algonquin torturing and killing Iroquois, imposing their morals and culture on their neighboring brothers. Maya and Aztec were brutalizing fellow native Americans, while the Blackfoot and other plains tribes were battling one another for turf, well on their way to exterminating the buffalo. Here in the Sierras, the Miwok and Maidu people were found barely subsisting on acorn mush, supplemented by an occasional diseased fish, rabbit or deer that fell victim to their stone-age hunting devices.

While the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole largely adopted the progressive ways of their European benefactors, most Native American tribes did not and fell by the wayside in the this hemisphere’s move toward modern civilization. Many cherish hatred and bitterness towards those who have moved ahead and overcome the differences highlighted by this inevitable clash of cultures.

In short, the original people here in America really needed some help and the people from the east were brave, self-sacrificing and compassionate enough to bring them the benefits of modern society, medicine and technology. That sort of human endeavor is to be celebrated and remembered!

Fully 53 percent of Americans want the Democrats to win control of Congress next month, declares a Newsweek poll!

Ten Reasons Why Republicans Deserve The Boot

1. The Dow Jones reached a third record high last week of 11, 867
2. US unemployment is at an astonishing low of 4.6%
3. Gas prices are free falling (as they do this time every year)
4. Tax receipts are up $253 billion and taxes paid quarterly on corporate profits, wealthier people and small businessmen were especially strong, rising 27 percent over 2005 while nonwithheld receipts increased 19 percent
5. The federal budget deficit estimate for the fiscal year just completed has dropped to $250 billion
6. There have been no terrorist attacks on American soil or US interests in 5 years, while numerous successful attacks have been launched upon sissy nations
7. The U.S. Army achieved it’s annual reenlistment a month early and the Army Reserve has reached 81 percent of its goal, while the Army National Guard has reached 98 percent of its annual goal and will exceed its annual goal
8. Rules for interrogating terror suspects and trying them before military tribunals were crafted to deal with future wars, where American GIs will more likely face ideological warriors, than national armies
9. The Senate decided on a bill that will increase security on the border of Mexico with a 700-mile fence to improve security and to prevent illegal entry
10. Nancy Pelosi will become Speaker of the House and third in line for President of the United States, promising to raise taxes, enact all the recommendations of the 9/11 commission (which she has been opposing all year) and empower unions and foreigners like George Soros to have a more active part in crafting restrictions and regulation of the hoi poloi

Brad Pitt told Esquire magazine:

Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able.

Brad and Angelina Jolie seem to be serious in their convictions that polygamy and other taboo forms of marriage should be legalized in the US. As of today, moral crusaders have seen to it that brothers cannot legally marry their sisters, the man convicted of bestiality cannot wed his horse and, despite the howling of social liberals, older men are not even allowed to date ten year olds, let alone tie the not. The country doesn’t seem ready for such progressive redefinition of the longstanding tradition of one man and one woman, so I suppose Brangelina will have to put off their nuptials for quite some time. Regardless, this is a bold and courageous move by one of Hollywood’s brightest activist couples!

Democrats are poised to win a majority in the House of Representatives and Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has received an important endorsement from a rising star on the political left.

In a new video from Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man, al-Zawahiri, picked up Pelosi’s call for a new direction in Bush’s so-called “war on terror” and highlighted Democratic themes from their ‘06 midterm election strategy.

Labeling it a “Crusader plan,” Pelosi’s fellow traveler called on Bush to come clean on Iraq and Afghanistan. The progressive al-Qaida spokesman mimicked Pelosi’s heated rhetoric (practically word for word), calling for years of investigations when the gavel passes to the new House Majority Leader:

Can’t you be honest at least once in your life, and admit that you are a deceitful liar who intentionally deceived your nation when you drove them to war in Iraq?

Zawahiri went on to join Pelosi and Senate Democrats, calling for an al-Qaida Bill of Rights and an end to injustices against practicing Muslims in the US, which he expects to see with the help of the ACLU:

What you have perpetrated against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other Muslim captives in your prisons and the prisons of your slaves in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and elsewhere is not hidden from anyone… We are a people who do not sleep under oppression and who do not abandon our revenge.

Finally, Zawahiri fired a warning shot across the bow of American colonialists like George Clooney, who are clamoring for the US to meddle in the civil war in Sudan:

There is a Crusader plan to send Crusader forces to Darfur that is about to become a new field of the Crusades war…

Zawahiri chastised Clooney, Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Rove, Libby, Justice Roberts, the Pope, lap-dog Blair, Haliburton, Bechtel, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, the United Nations, NATO, and the Republican Party, calling for tolerance in Darfur and promising these expansionists that such interference in the peaceful exercise of The Religion of Peace in Sudan would incite dire consequences, leaving Bush, the UN and any other Crusader armies in another quagmire, like Iraq.

Pelosi has made it clear that, if her party wins majority and she becomes third in line to become President, she will set aside any legislative initiatives on minor issues such as Social Security, education and immigration, focusing instead on investigating Bush’s ill-advised and unjust assault on people of faith like Zawahiri, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other Muslim evangelists who are being hunted, killed or imprisoned in the US and around the globe.

One of the most amazing political shifts in modern times has occurred during my lifetime and I wonder how things will play out in the future. Here in the United States we have a President, George W. Bush, who is practically the raj’ah or the return of John F. Kennedy. Following Kennedy’s example, Bush cuts taxes to stimulate economic growth and prosperity, projects the power of the US military and State Department to spread democracy and he showers billions of dollars in aid over the world to combat AIDS, poverty and illiteracy. Like JFK, he preaches volunteerism and compassion, takes a strong stand against fascism and looks out for the interests of American citizens and business abroad, while protecting Europe, Japan and others. This frees up capital from many nations’ military budgets, so they can share in our prosperity and count on us to protect their interests abroad. JFK inaugurated the Pax Americana, and Presidents like Carter, Reagan, Clinton and now, Bush, have expanded upon it.

Yet, the once altruistic and optimistic generation, which practically idolized JFK – the young people he inspired to join the Peace Corps, serve in the military, go to college and carry the torch of American style democracy to the rest of the world, have become a cynical, hate-filled bunch of petulant 60-something adolescents. They stomp around, pestering the responsible adults who go about the daily work of ensuring the freedoms, opportunities and prosperity these older Americans seem to take for granted.

Bush is practically a clone of JFK and is considered a “conservative” by today’s definition, but he would have been slotted in with the liberals during the early 60’s. If JFK were alive today, his views would be labeled “right wing” and he would be the target of progressive intolerance and hate. So, what’s the deal? Has there been a huge a shift in American politics and thought over the past 50 years? Possibly. But, I think there may be a better explanation.

Those young idealists… that generation that had so much more lavished upon them than any other generation never lived up to their potential… they failed to grow up into the kind of adults JFK urged them to be. Instead, all the doting, all the educational opportunities, all the hard-earned advantages they were handed by their parents plunged them instead into what scientists label psychological neoteny or the Peter Pan syndrome.

The dreams of JFK are still alive, but not in his former followers, numbered among the progressives and liberals today. Ironically, his ideals are to be found in the hearts and minds of young people in the conservative movement.

Okay, I admit it… I was wrong. When I see the relentless dogging of George Bush in his press conferences and his administration savaged in interviews, I wonder why they don’t defend themselves and their policies more vigorously.

Now, I think I know why they don’t and admit that I was wrong for hoping they would. President Bill Clinton appeared on Fox News and it was pathetic. I mean, he lost it… he came unglued… and, in the end he looked just like a blame-shifting juvenile and total crybaby. A crybaby, I may add, who evidently doesn’t pay much attention to the news and interview shows. This guy is seriously out of touch with the ground rules of shows like Meet the Press, Hardball, Scarborough Country, etc.. He’s way out there if he doesn’t know that this happens to conservatives weekly, if not daily. Jeeeesh… Listen to NPR. What a whiner.

Frankly, I appreciate the Bush Administration’s adult demeanor a lot more now. It’s one thing for bloggers and folks at the pub or the coffee hut to get into it like Bill, but I suppose there’s a level of decorum that we come to expect from world leaders. This has really become apparent in the past couple of weeks. Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad occupy a somewhat lower tier of statesmenship than I have come to expect. Check out the interview on YouTube and be sure to watch it until the end.

WARNING: If you are one of those sensitive souls who is easily embarassed when someone careens out of control, it won’t be pleasant to watch…

George Clooney, a card-carrying member of the compassion of the month club, has just figured out that there’s a problem in the Darfur region of Sudan. Memo to George: Sudan has been embroiled in civil strife and committing genocide for a real long time (like, about 100 years). You’re a little late to the party.

Poor George also seems to be unaware that his tribe is actively opposing the US efforts to bring an end to genocide and ethnic cleansing in Iraq, because they are in the middle of a civil war and it’s un-American to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign nations — especially if George W. Bush is President. “But, wait!” counters George. “I’m calling for the United Nations to step up in Darfur, not the US.” Evidently, George is unaware that the UN is impotent and unable to accomplish anything (except rape, scandal and incompetence) without the US or NATO becoming directly involved. The US invaded Iraq to enforce UN resolution 1441, not to mention about a dozen previously flaunted resolutions and tons of sanctions. The Bosnian situation was spiraling out of control until the US and NATO gave in to the carping and whining of Europe, because they knew they couldn’t handle the problem on their own. Without the United States, the UN is a debate society and oasis for third-world dictators to enjoy all the things they deny their fellow countrymen back home.

On the other hand, the US was run out of Mogadishu by thugs and stood by during the genocide in Rwanda and the murderous civil war between northern and southern Sudan. Of course, that was during the ’90s when most of America thought the world was at peace with us and all those terrorist acts taking place were just unrelated law enforcement problems.

George Clooney and many in the US seem confused and need to make up their minds. Should the people of the US engage the world as a force for positive change or not? What factors determine where and when we use the might of our military? Finally, I want to know if it’s only okay for Presidents with a D after their name to launch cruise missles and commit troops or does that prerogative reside with Republican Presidents, too? As of today, I’m getting mixed signals from guys like George Clooney.

Tea-Bag mail Protest Worries Post Office

Illinois’ lieutenant governor is urging people to mail tea bags to two electric utilities to protest rate increases — an idea that leaves the post office cold. The Postal Service on Wednesday encouraged people to make their point instead with empty tea bags, saying lumpy bags could harm its equipment and create security scares by leaking brown residue.

This morning at 11AM EST, Hugo Chavez (D-Venezuela) provided the Democratic response to President Bush’s address to the United Nations yesterday. Following the tried-and-true talking points, which have been the staple of recent addresses by Harry Reid, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Cindy Sheehan, Chavez responded to Bush’s JFK-style challenge to the world dictators populating the general assembly at the UN, by calling Bush “the devil.” Actually, the real devil Chavez was smelling had actually been at the podium after Bush, praying to his god and threatening to usher in the final conflagration before the coming of the Hidden Imam:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

From the beginning of time, humanity has longed for the day when justice, peace, equality and compassion envelop the world. All of us can contribute to the establishment of such a world. When that day comes, the ultimate promise of all Divine religions will be fulfilled with the emergence of a perfect human being who is heir to all prophets and pious men. He will lead the world to justice and absolute peace.

O mighty Lord, I pray to you to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the promised one, that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this world with justice and peace.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Postscript: Can you imagine the howling from the left, if Bush had employed as much Biblical and Christian imagery in his UN address as Chavez did? How about calling upon the name of his God and making reference to the coming of Christ? The progressives would have gone ballistic!

As I see it, Bush’s difficulties in convincing Congress that they need to provide an interpretation of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions is the easy part. The real trick is to get those guys who recently captured, tortured, killed, mutilated and booby-trapped two American uniformed soldiers to sign on to the conventions.

I suppose Bush could hand that assignment off to John Kerry, who seems to think dialogue is the answer to any problem and he’s the guy with the brains and charisma to wow the other side with his nuanced and well-reasoned arguments. When he’s achieved success there, perhaps he could also pressure Hezbollah, al-Qaida and the myriad Islamic jihadi organizations to adopt Article 4 of the conventions and draft some specific provisions about flying civilian airliners into buildings, launching Katyusha rocket attacks on retirement homes in Haifa and threatening death to people who happen to have a different view of the prophet and his religion.

You know, the Geneva Conventions are great and will probably remain a useful standard for some future conflicts internationally. But, I just wonder how many of those wars will actually be fought between nations with uniformed armies — those who sign on and submit to the conventions for fighting a civilized war. Perhaps there needs to be two sets of rules governing warfare — one for conventional warfare and one outlining the treatment of prisoners and rules of engagement when dealing with terrorist organizations.

It’s about time Wal-Mart takes the gloves off! I’ve got a hankerin’ for some office products and sundries to help the left’s pariah fight bigotry and injustice!

Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, is planning to launch a voter registration and education campaign this fall targeted at its 1.3 million employees in an effort to combat growing criticism from Democrats and labor unions.

The company’s decision appears to be a response to several high-profile Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and four 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls, who participated in a labor-organized anti-Wal-Mart campaign this summer.