"Here's another nice mess you've gotten us into!"

Breaking News today from China.............

• NewsMax reporter Charles Smith

17 POUNDS of highly radioactive weapons grade URANIUM is MISSING in China ! !

And the really scary thing about this is that they don't know where it's gone - or when it left! The closest any Chinese official can come up with as to a "disappearance" date, is "sometime between 2005 and 2007!"

Four Chinese citizens were arrested way back in January 2007 after trying to sell the uranium to a buyer on the black market! At the time, the buyer got "cold feet" and turned them into police authorities because he thought the sellers all looked sick. Unfortunately, no one knows where the uranium is! It was supposed to have been stashed in a cave known only to the original thief! But when authorities looked, the uranium was gone.

What makes this story all the more bizarre is that the uranium was originally stolen from a mine in southern Yunnan province that was controlled by the Chinese military! (Gotta love that Chinese military security huh?) And the trial of the guys arrested can't move forward because Chinese authorities have been unable to find the uranium!

As it turns out the original buyer was right to be concerned. Because the 4 arrested thieves are suffering from radiation poisoning because they handled the highly volatile "stuff" improperly! (GO Figure!) Investigators are following a trail of more than 20 people all exposed to and sick from radiation poisoning.

The 17 pounds of MISSING highly-radioactive-weapons-grade URANIUM can be re-processed into a standard nuclear device,* or can be used as is in a "dirty bomb" configuration.

(WOW! Now there's a "pucker-factor" news story if I ever heard one!)

* about 35 pounds of U-235 is required to make a conventional nuclear device. CLICK on link for answers to this and other terrifying nuclear FAQ's I never thought I'd ever have to ask anybody!! http://www.nuclearterror.org/bio.html

"Never give a sucker an even break!"

This is the title and famous line from a Hollywood movie production of 1943 starring W.C. Fields. We've all heard it before ..... I suppose a literal translation might be, "If they're stupid enough to believe it, they deserve what they get!"

Guess I may be a sucker then, but I still believe there's something to be said about seeing evidence of a crime. In the case of Michael Vick, digging up dozens of dog bodies on his property, having all your co-defendants roll over on you and say that you were the "main man," and having your own Daddy tell the Press that "this was always Michael's 'thing'"....Well, that sort of provided as much evidence as I needed!

In the case of Senator Larry Craig, and whether he was arrested wrongfully in a Minneapolis-St. Paul airport mens room, for "toe-tapping" a homosexual overture to an adjacent stallmate - truthfully - I can't even begin to get my mind around this in oh so many ways! But on the surface, I would like to see some more evidence.

The "hew and cry" issuing last night and this morning from Republicans, (as well as from Democrats and the media), would indicate to me that there might easily have been a "gut feeling" of Sen. Craig's (ahem!) "proclivities" around the halls of Congress for some time. However, having a gut feeling that someone's gay is one thing; arresting someone for a suspected "toe-tapped sexual gesture" are two pretty different things - don't ja think? (I mean, I may have inadvertently been toe-tapping the score to "Guys & Dolls" all these years in public restrooms, just because I was so damn uncomfortable having to use one!!!) And where did the arresting policeman get his PH.D. in "homosexual foot gesturing?"

Admittedly - The good Senator didn't do himself any favors by trying to use his Congressional business card as a "get out of jail free pass" - or by pleading guilty to a lesser charge "so it would go away!" What innocent married man is going to plead guilty to an inappropriate sexual arrest at any level? Not any man that I know of that wants to live through the night with their heterosexual wife! And that goes double in my house! The words "arrested "- "sexual" - "and me" better never be used together in the same sentence!

So Senator Craig may well have to resign over this incident. (I read that there are now "other incidents" from the Senator's past that the media is scurrying around like rats in a corn-crib to serve up to us during this evenings broadcasts.) So, who knows, Senator Craig might be history - "PDQ" as the old saying goes.

Two things strike me odd/funny about this.......

• First: the Democrats are supposed to be the party that is the most liberal & tolerant of gay rights, yet they are the first group to condemn Sen. Craig for purported homosexual activity and call for his resignation. However, when Barney Frank's "boy-toy" ran an escort service out of Frank's Washington condo, Frank wasn't condemned! In fact, Frank's congressional slap-on-the-wrists has elevated him in the eyes of Liberals. It's funny that Dems wouldn't support another potentially gay Congressional Representative?

• Second: why are Republicans always so quick to "throw-over" fellow conservatives simply based upon accusation,(i.e.- Senator Craig, Alberto Gonzalez), while Dems never "throw-over" Dems? Democrats become "cause cé·lè·bre" & "media darlings" once they're accused of anything! Teddy Kennedy, Alcee Hastings, William Jefferson, Barney Frank, President Clinton ... all Liberal Icons!

Such a strange political system we have!

"Stealing Minnesota!" (Sen. Norm Coleman meet Rick Lazio)

There's a real good man in Minnesota named Norm Coleman, who needs our help! He's the incumbent Republican Senator. Currently he's getting out-fund-raised by his Democrat opponent for his Senate seat. You may have heard of this other guy - former Saturday Night Live irritant and current (? is Air America still on the radio?) liberal radio talk show "whiner," Al Franken.

After a successful decade or more in the Attorney General's office Coleman was the Mayor of St. Paul for a number of years. Coleman started out his political career as a Democrat, but became disenchanted and became a Republican. It was after this change that he threw his hat into the statewide ring in what became the "gubernatorial media circus!" This is where he narrowly lost the governorship to Jesse "da bady" Ventura in 1998. (Boy, I remember that clearly, "The World Wide Wrestling Federation takes over the Statehouse" - what a movie! Even from all the way out here in New Jersey I was enthralled!) But the setback didn't stop Norm, a couple years later he ran again, this time for the Senate and was elected in 2003. As Norm likes to say, in one way or another he's been working and fighting for his beloved Minnesotan's most of his adult life.

Franken's running against Coleman not because Franken has more experience or has a better idea of how to do things....nah, that would be logical. He's running against Norm Coleman because, "Coleman has been just too close to Bush and too supportive of the Iraq war". That's what Franken told NewsMax recently. Franken's run for the Senate then, is based on two things ..... George Bush's job performance and our war in Iraq.

• It isn't that Franken has a great new policy for how to improve the lives of folks from Minnesota .... nope, he's running because of George Bush's job performance.
• It has nothing to do with how Norm Coleman has done as a Senator .... just that he supports the President.

Oyy, that's some strategy! Democrats run on their hatred of President Bush - not on their ability - or plans to do anything! Let's review that again .... Democrats run on their hatred of President Bush - not on their ability - or plans to do anything! That's pretty sad isn't it?

Al Franken grew up in, and then left Minnesota for Hollywood and New York. You have to admit, as an actor and television personality, Franken has had a pretty good career. (I'd say Franken's career has been on par with the piano player in a Vaudeville show - steady work - the audience always enjoys hearing him playing, but they all know the "real star" is up on stage!)

Returning to Minnesota now, Franken's candidacy is nothing more than a "ham-handed" attempt by the Hollywood Cartel to "cherry-pick" another Senate seat for the Left! What else explains 82% of Franken's funding coming from proud out-of-state donors in show business like Rosie O'Donnell, Larry David, Dan Aykroyd, Meg Ryan, Bill Maher, Tom Hanks, Paul Neuman, Ed Norton, & Ben Stein? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with "putting the arm" on old friends. Franken isn't stupid. He knows that in show business, like in politics and prostitution, it pays to have a big address book and rich friends!

The Liberals used a similar tactic successfully when they ran "Mzz. Hillary" against Rick Lazio for the Senate Seat in New York State in 2000. Nobody took Hillary Clinton seriously when she announced she was going to run for Patrick Moynihan's seat! When she announced her candidacy she didn't even live in the state & Rick Lazio was really well known and had more than a 30% margin! Some people were saying she shouldn't even be allowed to run because she wasn't a "real" New Yorker. I remember Sean Hannity joking on the air about how wonderful it was going to be, to beat Hillary!Well, $41,000,000 dollars in election spending later, and a bunch of well placed address book phone calls .... Mzz.Clinton wins 55% to 43%. And in the annals of NY State election trivia, Lazio forever becomes "Looz-i-o!"

Wake up Conservatives! Just because you've had your seat for 2 or more terms, don't think you're safe!
It doesn't matter that you've spent you life working for the people of your state and have tons more experience.
Remember, show business, politics, and prostitution ..... how big is your address book and how rich are your friends?


Dum Spiro Spero!

OUTRAGIOUS!!! Welcome to the United States of Celebritocracy.

If it were you or I, we'd be "cell-block meat" already!!

24 hours ago none of this had happened ...... ONLY IN CELEB-RICA!

Yesterday, the L.A. District Attorney charged Lindsey Lohan with seven misdemeanor D U I charges stemming from her two D U I arrests within 60 days earlier this summer. You might say, Wow, 7 charges! Well, not so much WOW...she'll be traumatized by having to spend 1 day in jail and 10 days in community service. (Poor woman's liable to be "scarred" for life!) Link to story - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20412961/

• First question: How long would you or I spend in jail, if we pled no contest to 2 D U I arrests? How much would it cost in legal fees and insurance "bumps?"

Yesterday, Nicole Richie was released from jail after spending 82 minutes in detention on her four day sentence for a D U I drug arrest that took place in December 2006. (Get this....Richie didn't even reach her cell! She basically had a walk through the jail!) Richie was originally sentenced to 96 hours in jail for the D U I arrest, but then that sentence was reduced to 90 hours. Here's the link to story - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294355,00.html . Richie's lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley said, (And this part is just priceless!) "She was really treated like any other inmate. I think every inmate in her position, with that type of charge, would have been treated as she was."

• Second question: When was the last time you heard of someone get sentenced to "a walk through the jail" for a D U I arrest? And what do you think that attorney's smoking??? "Treated like any other in-mate" - she never even made it - IN!

Sometime yesterday evening, an unidentified ESPN source told MSNBC that Michael Vick will not admit to killing dogs or gambling on dogfights when he enters a guilty plea in a Richmond, Va., federal court Monday. (I can hear it now, "I never trained my dogs to get so brutal your honor - it was them outside dogs that came in and changed a friendly neighborhood match into something bloody and vicious! I love my dawgs!) In a meeting between Vick's attorney and Federal Prosecutors Michael Vicks attorney announced that he will plead guilty to "interstate commerce for the purpose of dogfighting." (Huh? What the hell does that mean?)

From what I've read in the papers and gleaned off the internet these last few weeks, there are 3 co-defendants who have already pleaded guilty and are expected to testify against Vick at trial. In addition there are reported to be numerous video's of Vick participating at dogfights and some other video's said to depict the execution of 9 dogs that lost their respective matches. To make matters worse, Vick's father, Michael Boddie, (now estranged from Vick and his mother), told the Journal-Constitution Thursday, that he witnessed Michael hold dog fights in the families Newport News, Va. garage until 2001. "I wish people would stop sugarcoating it," Boddie told The Journal-Constitution. "This is Mike's thing. And he knows it ... likes it, and he has the capital to have a set up like that."

A ("wishing to remain anonymous") government official has told the AP that Prosecutors will recommend a 1 year to 18 month jail sentence for Vick. (That's it?) The maximum sentence is 5 years, but District Judge Henry Hudson is not bound by any recommendation. He's known as a fair but heavy handed judge when it comes to sentencing. High profile defendants don't impress him. (NOTE TO JUDGE HUDSON! : There's a guy sitting in prison in South Carolina with a 30 year sentence for similar charges).

• Third set of questions: Show of hands! How many people believe Vick will get near the minimum of the jail sentence, (or maybe even a suspended sentence), and a multi-million dollar fine? (My guess, 12 months suspended sentence & maybe $5 million fine to be paid to PETA). How many of you believe the NFL will allow him to return to pro football after a 1 season suspension without pay? Reasoning: the Court can say they were tough with him; the league can say they were tough with him; and Vick can laugh all the way to the bank and continue to be a role-model to gangsta's and dog fighters all over the world! He's got a $110 million dollar contract, and when he comes back they'll be falling over themselves to sign him. SCUM BAG !

I think it's a terrible day for this country when celebrities and sports figures are treated differently than ANY other citizen. When that happens, we can no longer say we live in a democratic republic. We are no longer a society ruled by law - but a society based on media visibility, and the ability to pay - a Celebritocracy. I see it more and more often with sports figures and Hollywood types, they have their justice and you & I get ours - and unfortunately, "never the twain shall meet!"

How many years would you or I be going away for with 2 DUI arrests?

How about for setting up and betting on dog fights?

What about the 9 or 10 Cincinnati Bengal players arrested last NFL season either for gun charges, or beating the hell out of someone in a bar fight?

How many thousands of dollars in bail, lawyers fees and insurance bonus premiums would we have to spend?

Pro players and starlets don't care, their Publicist will just peel off as many "Benjamin's" as it takes. Ten Thou? A hundred thou? No problem-o!

This is not just, and it is not justice! This should never be happening in the United States of America.


Dum Spiro Spero!

Carville looking for new Democrat Bumper Stickers in 2008

James Carville, (the sea anchor holding back the incredibly talented Mary Matalin), is looking toward Liberals voters for more slogans to use during the 2008 Senatorial campaign cycle. Those of you who remember President Wm. Jefferson Clinton remember that the 'slick-scalped' Carville partnered successfully with 'flopsy-mopsy' George Stephanopolous to get "der Schlickster" elected in 1992. Yesterday Mr. Carville said that the "winning" slogan will appear on bumper stickers, and other Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee propaganda during the upcoming Senatorial elections. Oh Goodie! Soon we'll feel the stinging wit and repartee of "Liberal Nation."

Carville noted that the DSCC already had 4 slogans primed for national distribution, but that they were looking for better ones! Here's what the grinning cadaver-faced pundit offered from the DSCC.

• W Is Out Send the Right Wing with Him

• No Republicans Left Behind in D.C.

• What Have Republicans Done for You Lately?

• 2006 Was Just the Beginning More Dems in '08

Ha ha! That Carville, quite the quipster! Gotta hand it to him and the leadership at "Liberal Nation," those 4 slogans are sure to garner lots of lib support!!!

I've got a few of my own Congressional bumper stickers we should all try out! Since Congress has done such a wonderful job for every American during the last 8 years, 16 years, 24 years, (oh the hell with this, I could be here all day)!! How about.........

+ CONGRESS - they ALL suck!

+ What has Congress done TO you lately? They ALL suck!

+ ABOLISH CONGRESS - Let's start over!

+ CONGRESS - Do we really need MORE taxes?

+ CONGRESS: On one side of the aisle, sit fat-assed schmucks like Pelosi, Reid & Kennedy who want to tax everything and give away everything else - on the other side, sit fat-assed schmucks who let them!!!

+ CONGRESS: def - n: (a thing) a Day-Care Center for tax-crazy wealthy Liberals and feckless namby-pamby Conservatives. Neither of whom gives a shit about the voters who elected them!!!

Admittedly, the last two slogans might be better served on some of those Avant-guard tee-shirts so beloved by the Lefties. But I think my ideas provide something for everyone.

I've even come up with a Senatorial campaign song - for all voters. I only have the first verse so I'm open to a collaboration if anyone's interested......You should sing it to the old Pete Seeger melody, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

Where has all My Money Gone? - by KAJ

Where have all my tax bucks gone,
all you Con - gress - men??
Where have all my tax bucks gone,
these 60 years or so???
Where have all my tax bucks gone,
Gone for "ear-marks" everyone!
When will we ever learn?
When will we ev - er learn?

Dum Spiro Spero!

Wednesday Non-sequitur(s)

Everyone knows I love words and phrases. I especially enjoy finding out their origins and original usages. Here are 3 that I think you'll scratch your head about........

• "clement"
• "sloe-eyed"
• "hell in a handbasket"

The first is fairly easy, yeah. "Clement." Gotta look at this one from a different perspective.....Well, everyone's familiar with inclement weather. We hear it all the time. As a matter of fact, this week we've had three straight days of it! But how many of you have ever written or spoken to someone saying, "Gee we're having such clement weather this week!" The definition of clement comes from the old English, and is.....inclined to be lenient or merciful. Also, mild. "Clement" then, means mild or calm. I suppose in conversation, one might say that a Pastor or Reverend has a clement disposition; something you couldn't say of a politician on the stump!

"sloe-eyed" I'd seen this term perhaps twice before in my life. Once (believe it or not) was in an article describing camels as needing to be "sloe-eyed with bedroom eyes and lashes." That last sentence is soooo bizarre that it actually defines why the word stuck in my head for so long! The next time I read it in literature it was used to describe a facial characteristics of Mediterranean and North African women - perhaps Kipling used it. Finally, I ran across the word for the third time this morning in a National Geographic article, "With that sloe-eyed look of indifference that has been elevated to performance art in Naples and environs, Cardoncello shrugged his shoulders and produced a bottle of Lacryma Cristi..." The actual definition of the word sloe, means the dark purple plum-like fruit from the Blackthorne bush. "Sloe-eyed" means having dark slanted eyes. So, now I can see how this relates to certain women....and even to people from around Naples having dark eyes......but I'm still perplexed about the slant-eyed bit, and frankly more than a bit "unsettled" about the camel description!

"hell in a handbasket" I'll guarantee that all of us have heard someone utter, "You're going to hell in a handbasket" or worse yet, "We're all going to hell in a handbasket!" I know I can! I can hear my Pop using it to describe any number of woe's to betide mankind! I can even describe a handbasket my mother carried when she was picking string beans in her garden. But nowhere - not in any reference book I've come across can I, (or anyone else), find an explanation of where this phrase came from, who said it first and what it meant. A literal translation could mean that we're all going to get screwed together in a very large basket - but that would sort of preclude the "handbasket" part wouldn't it? Even if someone were just taking me to hell in a handbasket, at 6'4" and 290 lbs., it's going to require a helluva big guy with a really strong basket! Oh, I know what Dad meant when he said it! Everyone knows what it means when you hear it - but who said it first, where did it come from and what did it mean? Give me that and I'll send you a dollar!

Migraines and errant thoughts.

In fairness to NASA.

Now that Endeavor's safely home & I've returned to normal breathing...

It's only fair that I congratulate the NASA engineers on their "correct call" regarding the repair of the 3 1/2 in gouge on the "underbelly" of Endeavor. Happily, I was wrong - they were right. After 13 days, and more than 5 million miles flown, Endeavor and its crew survived the 2000 degree heat of re-entry without a problem, and slid through the humid Florida atmosphere to a perfect landing at the Kennedy Space Center, just after noontime yesterday.

Welcome home Endeavor!

[ Ummm, .... Would now be a good time to once-and-for-all address/correct/replace the "falling foam insulation exhibit" on the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB)? ]

What Congress doesn't want you to know about Immigration Reform

I'm of a firm belief that Congress and The White House actually hope & pray the American public is ill-informed! That we don't read newspapers or review news websites on our computers. What's more, I bet Nancy, Harry, Teddy (hic!), the rest of Congress and President Bush, wish there were no news broadcasts at all for us to get information from. I believe they dream of the days during the first half of 1800's, when citizens found out about news and new legislation, a couple of months after the fact.

Now that's a pretty harsh statement isn't it? I mean, here I am saying that I believe most of our governmental leaders hope we don't have any way to view, read, or hear news stories. How many of you believe that our politicians pray we don't know what they are doing? I do - I honestly do! Couple that with a slanted media bias - (dependent upon which station or newspaper you read it could slant either way) - a person could go weeks before hearing both sides of a legislative issue!

Need more proof? OK. In early June of this year, we all finally heard about a big immigration bill that was supposedly being "quickly sheparded" through Congressional Committee by the "gruesome twosome" of Sen. Teddy Kennedy and Sen. John McCain. When rumors started to fly that a large measure of this bill involved amnesty for the 12 million current illegal aliens in the United States, Senator McCain was heard screaming at another Senator behind close doors that he had better change his vote. Senator Kennedy was overheard commenting that this wasn't anything anybody should question because it had already been agreed upon in a bipartisan hearing! (So much for debating issues in an open forum! And remember, we were expected NOT to even read the 670 page bill before approving it!) Happily, the Immigration Bill was defeated on June 28th, but not before millions of citizens had to get involved and overwhelm our Senators and Congressmen with our phone calls and emails instructing them not to vote for the bill.

Want still more proof? Section One - Page 14 of the Sunday Star Ledger for August 19th, 2007. Most of us have been told/scolded that a majority of Americans supported a national immigration policy that would be more tolerant & understanding of illegal aliens and provide them with a better way of life. (I received a number of emails from people telling me I was "heartless" for wanting to deport illegal aliens and their families after I wrote a blog to that effect a couple months ago! Sorry, I still feel that way!) A lot of that stopped after the Kennedy/McCain immigration flame out transpired. But this morning there was still more proof of the growing antipathy toward illegal aliens. A Rasmussen report on immigration issues released Saturday reported the following;

• 74% of likely voters favor the creation and funding of central database to track all foreign visitors.
• 71% of likely voters favor a measure requiring all foreign visitors to carry a universal identification card.
• 58% of likely voters favor the elimination of federal funds for "sanctuary cities" like Newark and Paterson, NJ.
• 56% of likely voters favor the federal government to continue building a fence between the United States and Mexico.

((The only cautionary point I'd add to this report is, that ANY immigration reform needs to be pre-empted by securing the Nation's borders. AND PLEASE REMEMBER WE HAVE A NORTHERN BORDER THAT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT AND LONGER THAN THE SOUTHERN ONE!))

Remember earlier I asked you if you believed our politicians hoped & prayed we didn't know what was going on? Well, here's my final proof. (And let me preface this by saying I think you will all be shocked!)

By the end of June, 2007, most of us were feeling pretty good that we had defeated the Immigration Bill before Congress. We were sighing relief that at least until 2009, immigration and any chance for a new amnesty appeal were dead. If we all weren't so stupid and naive, we would have read every single syllable once Senator Teddy told us it was unimportant - that should have been the signal! But we weren't. Hidden deep within the bill appeared a single sentence that ultimately led Dr. Jerome Corsi back to another piece of bureaucracy already moving forward. The sentence read, "It is the sense of Congress that the United States and Mexico should accelerate the implementation of the Partnership for Prosperity to help generate economic growth and improve the standard of living in Mexico." (Have any of you ever heard about this? I didn't think so!)

Let me introduce Dr. Corsi to you. Dr. Corsi has written a book entitled "The Late Great USA." He, and members of the public interest group Judicial Watch have become increasingly alarmed at governmental actions designed to turn North American into a copy of the European Union. You might say nonsense, and ask how could they possibly do this? Before I explain, here's a link to an article that will give you more information and hopefully lead you to explore websites on your own. http://www.newsmax.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page=http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/7/9/140357.shtml?s=al&promo_code=389B-1 (If anyone has a problem with this link please send me a separate email and I'll send you the link again)

The piece of bureaucracy Dr. Corsi was referring to is called the Security and Prosperity Partnership for North America. (SPP or in some cases sPP for short). Be honest now - have any of you heard about this? Probably not, because it was a White House driven policy that was agreed upon in 2005 by President Bush, Mexican President Vincente Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. That's right, Congress hasn't even needed to vote on it, because various components of the agreement are only "coordinated" through various governmental departments. For example, the Department of Commerce "coordinates" the prosperity angle, while Homeland Security "coordinates" the security portion. And since most of Congress agrees with what the bill envisions, well, it's in their best interest to "s-l-i-d-e" the coordination along without drawing attention to it. Dr. Corsi has called the SPP," a coup d-etat by bureaucratic means" and from where I'm sitting his description is pretty accurate!

For me, it isn't just that the government we elected has found a way, to get what they want without us, the voters, even being aware of it. It's that they're spending money to implement improvements in foreign countries for foreign citizens, from the taxes that they take from us - that we have been told was being used to improve our country - our lives - and our children's lives! Speaking expressly for me, myself and I .... frankly it pisses me off so badly, I want to run down to Washington and kick the shit out of somebody .... and I don't care who reads this!

Here are just some of the major points of the SPP; (My questions appear in italics.)

U.S. support for Mexico, to strengthen its education and training programs. (Have we fully improved the U.S. education & training system enough so that we can forget about US kids, and do it for Mexico now?)

A call for better health care for "poor and underserved" people in Mexico. (What about better healthcare for poor or ALL Americans?)

U.S. assistance to "establish a program with the private sector to cover the health care needs of Mexican nationals temporarily employed in the United States." (I thought we just defeated this immigration plan?)

U.S. assistance to Mexican businesses and government to eliminate corruption, which it termed, "the single biggest obstacle to development." (How 'bout assisting American businesses and eliminating American government corruption?)

Created a North American Pandemic Influenza Plan (Not bad but Hey! How about protecting ALL Americans first? Did we ever catch who sent the Smallpox? Didn't think so!)

Facilitated cross-border travel. (12 million illegals already think we have this!! This is why the DHS & ICE doesn't enforcing our border laws - they're "facilitating?")

Established Social Security totalization for Mexican aliens working in the United States. (Oh no you will not! That's my social security money! And what does "totalization" mean?)

Creating a Trans-Texas Corridor superhighway with truck, car, and train lanes running from Mexico to Canada. (And we're going to name this highway what "the al-Quada Expressway? You gotta be shitting me!)

I know this has been a long posting, but we ALL have to start reading & questioning more and holding all these politicians accountable! Now before I close let me ask you all once again.....How many of you believe that our politicians pray we don't know what they are doing?


Dum Spiro Spero!

My rebuttal to "MoveOn Launches 'Cost of War' Campaign"

Friday, Aug. 17, 2007 10:14 a.m. EDT

MoveOn Launches 'Cost of War' Campaign

Written by Nathan Burchfiel, CNSNews.com Staff Writer

The anti-war group MoveOn launched a campaign on Thursday to highlight the cost of the Iraq war for individual congressional districts. MoveOn hopes the plan will motivate the districts' residents to petition their representatives to vote for a troop withdrawal.

"We've already spent $456 BILLION on the war so far," the group said in an e-mail encouraging members to attend one of the 150 planned rallies around the country. "We've learned that when we remind voters of the costs of the Iraq war -- and all the important priorities that we can't afford because of it -- they're more likely to push Congress to end the war quickly."

The group of liberal activists is encouraging its members to lobby their senators and representatives to pledge support for a troop withdrawal before they return to Washington, D.C., in September after the August recess.

* * * *

My rebuttal to the MoveOn.org campaign is simple ..... "Liberal Nation" repeatedly dishonors the fallen hero's of this war by reducing their loss to monetary figures! How "shallow" and "common" you all are - you should all be ashamed!!

What you should be asking is, How much less would the cost of the war have been, and how much faster would we have pulverized the Islamo-fascists ..... had you let the United States military fight the war unrestrained, without criticism, and without your daily harassment and condemnation of everything we are trying to do?

To MoveOn.org and all "Liberal Nation" supporters .... there's a reason this is called a free society; because brave people continue to fight and died for your right to criticize it. Freedom is never free, and if you're not willing to fight for your own freedom, don't condemn those of us who are. Remember too, in this country, you & your ilk and Mr. Soros have the absolute right to exercise your opposition to America's policies - by leaving it. Time for you to "Beat Feet!" As the great Ernie Capadino once said, "No skin off my ashtabula!"

I'll even help you pack and drive you to the border! Don't let "Old Glory" slap you across the ass on the way out!

Dum Spiro Spero!

I'm "Second guessing" NASA

A frequently heard expression for something that isn't too hard is, "This isn't rocket science!" Generally what's meant when someone says that is, that whatever has to be accomplished should be completed pretty easily - or at least without a whole lot of difficulty. We've all heard the expression before .... and know what it's about.

Yesterday NASA announced that they had decided NOT to repair the 3.5" X 3.5" X 1.0" gouge in the ceramic heat tiles on the underbelly of the space shuttle. Earlier in the week, when describing the damage that had been experienced during launch by still more "falling insulation or ice" from the solid rocket booster (SRB), a NASA spokesperson stated that the aluminum frame of the space shuttle was now being protected by a piece of felt that formed the underside of each heat tile.

When I first heard the pronouncement of damage by Mission Control earlier in the week, I figured, well this is a no-brainer! There's no way they're going to risk another fatal re-entry incident, so someone will just "crawl" out there and spread some ceramic caulk or "repair goop" into the gouge and everything will be fine. Next thing I hear is that "because of the difficulty of going outside the space shuttle," and "we're going to have to tether someone to a 100' boom, and it's really difficult, we've decided that the gouge doesn't pose a serious problem." Subsequent reports indicated that NASA wasn't concerned of safety problems for this mission so much as they had such a tight turn-around schedule that they didn't want to delay future shuttle flights because of this minor tile issue now. (This last sentence is perfect example of a "BBFO" or "bureaucratic brain fart occurrence". Just thought of that one!)

My initial thought was, "Wait a minute! Astronaut Story Musgrave was tethered to the end of a boom, and then "space walked" his way successfully through 4.5 hours of repairs on the Hubble Telescope a few years back. Why can't one or two of these astronauts tether themselves to a long rope inside the shuttle's cargo bay, and then one or both of them take a spackle knife or a butter knife and some ceramic tile fixit caulk and schmmmmear it into the gouges that the falling ice created. Isn't that better than having the thin aluminum frame protected by only a piece of felt in the 2200 degree temperatures of re-entry ???????????

Wait.....wait a minute. What we're going to hear is that there is no ceramic fixit kit, is there? Am I right? I bet I'm right! Somebody should hold NASA's feet to the fire on this one. Let's ask the most obvious questions first.....even if it means second guessing these incredibly intelligent rocket scientists!

Dear NASA rocket scientists, after all the dozens of shuttle flights, and all the problems with insulation falling off the SRB during launch - PLEASE SOMEBODY TELL ALL OF US, THAT YOU INCLUDED IN THE SPACE SHUTTLES "GLOVE BOX" A CERAMIC-TILE FIXIT KIT????

If I'm an astronaut currently in the Space Station or part of the Shuttle Crew, I'm tapping on the television monitor and asking if my reservations on the space station can be extended! I'm respectfully requesting that the other space shuttle come on up to get us - cause I'm not risking my neck on a piece of felt!

My conversation with Mission Control in Houston would go something like this....."Hello Houston, I have CBS, NBC, ABC, and The Discovery Channel on the line with us here so, this is a conference call. Sir, with all due respect - it's our butts on the line up here today, not yours. Personally Sir, I couldn't care less whether your future flights are on time or delayed - I WANT TO COME HOME SAFELY TO MY FAMILY! So, I respectfully suggest and request that you'all down there in Houston and FLa FLa, get Story Musgrave to run over to the Home Depot or Lowe's to get some "bond-o" or ceramic-tile fixit gunk, then grab a bag of those $2500 wrenches and hammers, and get the other shuttle zoooming up here just as fast as you can. We'll be fine until then. We have water, music, MRE's, & bathroom facilities. You just get up here as soon as you can, then me and Astronaut Musgrave will crawl around to the bottoms of both shuttles and spread that stuff wherever it's needed. Then we can both boogie on back to White Sands. But I ain't leavin' until these gouges are patched! The Astronaut's Union won't let me!"

Like someone once said, (my paraphrasing here) "The Space Program is a multi-billion dollar industry resting on the shoulders of the lowest bidder!"

Somebody ask the obvious question please!

HOLDING HANDS???

There's a picture accompanying a Headline News story on NewsMax today showing Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega holding hands with Iranian President Machmoud Ahmadinejad and waving to the camera. I hope you can all see this in the email ..... (Looks like tomorrow they're going to go pick out a new china pattern!) Yuck!

When did it become the "in" thing for political leaders to walk around holding hands? I've seen President Bush do it with Saudi leaders a few separate times, I've seen the Iraqi President holding hands with Ahmadinejad. Isn't there a picture of Bush and Putin walking in the Rose Garden holding hands? And there's been others I can't think of right off the top of my head because I'm too weirded out by it. Politicians walking and talking and holding hands like it's the most natural thing in the world to do. Frankly, I find this "digital familiarity" a bit creepy!

I consider myself a pretty worldly person. Traveled on business all over. Observed, and been part of cultural exchanges around the world. I've watched the Frenchies "smooch smooch" each other. All over Europe when men meet they exchange "lite smacks" on one - two - or sometimes three cheeks. (Never figured out what determines "it's right" for 1,2,or three cheek kisses?) In Muslim countries it's very prevalent and a matter of courtesy and friendship, (I understand). But when did all this hand holding start with politicians? It seems I've only been seeing this "new political etiquette" in the last year or so. Is this a new State Department initiative?

Listen, I don't want my politicians holding hands - ever! Not as a show of support, not to show the world press we're "friends." JUST STOP IT! I limit hand holding to my wife and daughter; future grand-children; maybe my sister, and absolutely my brother-in-laws family. That's it. I can't think of anyone beyond that limited group I'm groping to glom onto. And even if I were a muckity-muck politician, I can't think of any scenario where something would ever possess me to have myself filmed holding hands, casually walking and talking with another politician - male or female! This just isn't in the cards!

Personally, I don't think this is a very smart or savvy political move! Seriously, I can see this hand-holding backfiring very easily. But maybe you need some convincing.

OK - Close your eyes for a minute......Imagine yourself the President of the United States. Now imagine yourself walking along a path with Vladimir Putin holding hands. An idyllic scene - the Heads of the United States and Russia walking down a woodland path with a group of photographers following 50 feet behind. As you walk, the Russian President, (he likes it when you call him "Vlad"), compliments you on the wonderful dinner he just had with you at Camp David. You say, "thanks Vlad", but remark that the vanilla ice crème has REALLY given you stomach pains! Alarmed, Putin pulls his hand away from yours and backs away - although they can't hear, the press catches the moment and records it in still photos and on video. You, wanting to return things to how they were, lurch awkwardly at President Putin - who backs away further - just as you reach him he trips backward over the stone path edge pulling you down with him! What looks like a "disturbing" wrestling match ensues as the two of you try in vain to dis-entangle and get to your feet. Within 15 minutes the world press plays live feed of what they term "The Altercation at Camp David" and announces that there's been a "major rift" in American-Russian relations. DefCon 2 happens in 27 minutes. The final pictures the media gets are of the United States Secret Service detail kneeling on President Putin's neck with guns drawn, as another member of the group hand and ankle cuffs him! Lovely ! ! ! !

And all because you started holding hands for the cameras!


"Fama volat" - The rumour has wings. (Vergil)

...."On an ever spinning wheel".....

Funny news item.... While reading a story yesterday on MSNBC.com, a politician from Indiana was quoted. It doesn't matter whether he is a Democrat or a Republican. His last name is Crooks. A politician named CROOKS - - now that's funny! (Is it also ironic?)

Error.... Yesterday in my email about the passing of Yankee great Phil Rizzuto I think I got his age wrong. I wrote that he was nearly 92, in fact "Scooter" changed his date of birth at least once while playing that he spoke about. Here is a link of a wiki article on Phil, where his date of birth is stated in one part of the article as 1917, and in another as 1916! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Rizzuto. Many MLB references even list his DOB as 1918! No matter what his age, Phil will be missed. Remember him in a prayer.

Football players just keep getting bigger! ...... Either last Sunday or the Sunday before, I read a sports story in the Star Ledger about the Rutgers University Football team. The story entitled, "No longer the big man on campus" was written by Tom Luicci and centered around Rutgers offensive left guard Mike Fladell, who when recruited out of high school stood 6'8" and weighed 370lbs! Since coming to Rutgers in an effort to maximize his effectiveness on the offensive line Fladell has slimmed down to a "svelte" 320 pounds! The article stresses Fladell's dramatic change in diet and his incredible workout & conditioning schedule, which has led to greater strength, quickness and stamina. The article lists a few other Rutgers Offensive linemen as a Sophomore at 6'7"- slimmed down to 315; four Freshmen at 6'6" - 345, 6'6" - 300, 6'5" - 320, and a 'baby' at 6'5" - 290! Three Defensive players were listed at 6'6" - 260; 6'5" - 280; and 6'4" - 285!

WOW! At 6'4"+ and 285 I'm feeling positively "tiny!" (Hey, I don't need to loose weight, Doc - I'm skinny! Where's the chocolate??)

Meum cerebrum nocet! - my brain hurts!

Today we lost part of my childhood! "The Scooter"

Another sad day for me.

Just 15 minutes ago I heard that Phil Rizzuto passed away. Fiero Francis Rizzuto AKA "Phil" Rizzuto, "The Scooter!"

Born in Brooklyn almost 92 years ago. Hall of Fame Shortstop during the DiMaggio era; Major League Player of the Year and A.L. MVP in 1950. Voted into HOF as a player and should have been as a broadcaster too! The programs all listed him as 160 and 5'6" - Phil might have weighed 130 and if he was 5'3" I'm stretching it! I remember once during a Yankee Old Timer's Day game, Phil came up to bat and they had a milk crate for him to stand on - he hit a single, wouldn't you know! I grew up in a Yankee household and when the Yanks were on you could tell how well they were doing by how many "Holy Cow" moments Phil had!

He was Yogi's best friend and was his business partner in the Rizzuto Berra Bowling Alley's right off Rt. 3 in Clifton for years. Whenever Dad & I were in Nutley together, we'd stop by the lanes to see if either Phil or Yogi was there - nobody ever was. After Red Barber & Mel Allen left the Yankee broadcasting booth, I can remember how comforting it was to have Phil Rizzuto in the booth for the Yanks! If I'm not mistaken Rizzuto was the announcer for Maris's 61st. home run in 1961 and Mantle's 500th. homerun in May, 1967.

Wow, Scooter's gone too. Geez, this is really getting depressing! I guess Yogi, Whitey Ford, Tony Kubeck, Bobby Richardson, and a couple more of the old timers are the only ones still kickin.

Sorry to see you go Scooter....Enjoy all the Cannoli's upstairs!


A Bronx Bomber's fan !

"Liberal Nation" so smart - yet so dumb!

I just read an article online from Salon magazine written by a fella named Joe Conason. The article was entitled, "If you think they hate us now.... A Republican victory in 2008 could sink America's reputation in the world even lower." Conason writes weekly for Salon and for the New York Observer. In addition to his weekly column, he has had a number of books published on topics ranging from "It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush;" "The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill Clinton" and "The Raw Deal: How the Bush Republicans Plan to Destroy Social Security and the Legacy of the New Deal". ( I think I read somewhere that Conason was researching another book proving that George W. Bush is "the anti-Christ, "Darth Vader," the Ebola virus and "Lord Voldemort." Not figuratively - literally!)


Now, when someone writes for Salon, you have to know that your audience is predominantly of one mind ..... liberal (near-pacifist) with an unbridled fear and loathing of anything to the right of Eugene V. Debs, anything "Bush-ian" (including Baked Beans), anybody wearing a uniform, or anyone who failed to worship at the alter of Clinton, William Jefferson - America's first black president. Understanding this audience allows you to build a career writing "stuff" like all of that listed above - it virtually guarantees a career income from NYC alone! Good work if you can get it!

What amazes me about authors like Mr. Conason, isn't their distain for this country (although they will deny it). It isn't their hatred of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Karl Rove or any person, idea, or policy that isn't dripping liberalism, (although they will deny all of that as well). I'm used to all that by now, and frankly, I'd expect nothing less. But what really amazes me, and continually makes me shake my head in wonderment is his/their absolute "whiff"* of the pitch being thrown by our enemies! Let me explain.........

Born and raised in New York City during the 50's and 60's, educated in the NYC public school system and graduated from Brandeis University just outside of Boston, Mr. Conason learned about life, love, politics and international relations from within one of the most wonderfully diverse cities in the world. A city that continuously strives to foster ethnic and international tolerance and good will! Yet, what Mr. Conason and most other liberals fail to grasp, is that international terrorism - Islamo-fascism - doesn't care whether he writes about defeating the Republicans in 2008 or growing flowers in his window boxes, their goal is to kill him ... in actuality their goal is to kill us! Democrat or Republican, male or female, black, white, brown, yellow or green, young & old - if you're an American, you're a target! Killing Yankee & Met fans - doesn't matter! Knowing that Bill Clinton lives in NYC - doesn't get anyone reprieved! Slitting the throat of a liberal writer - no biggie. Finding out that he's an American writer with Jewish ancestry - PRICELESS - the terrorists get to slit your throat on two counts!!

Mr. Conason, sir - it's time you and the rest of "Liberal Nation" started worrying less about who is going to get elected in 2008, and started praying that whoever it is - is the toughest most scary militaristic S-O-B the terrorist world has ever seen.

Americans.......this is real simple.......in 2008 elect a President tough enough to keep you and your family alive. This is the only sentence you need to remember during the next 15 months of unending political brain flatulence. As your H.S. Spanish or French Class language tapes used to say....

"Repeat after me....in 2008 elect a President tough enough to keep you and your family alive!

"Repeat after me....in 2008 elect a President tough enough to keep you and your family alive!

"Repeat after me....in 2008 elect a President tough enough to keep you and your family alive!

"Repeat after me....in 2008 elect a President tough enough to keep you and your family alive!

Because if the next President isn't - you and I won't be!


Dum Spiro Spero!

* "whiff" - v. baseball slang meaning to swing & miss a pitch badly. Analogy in life - to hear repeatedly but fail to heed a basic tenet badly.

Healthy News Article from Mercola.com

Hi Everyone!

Perhaps I'm the only person alive who hasn't been aware of this.

Since quitting smoking and gaining more weight than many pregnant women....I've been searching for the best way to loose all this "extra baggage!" Somehow in my early morning websurfing I came upon information regarding artificial sweeteners. OYYYY!!!

Based on what I've been reading for the last hour, I've been slowly "toxifying" my body for the past 30+ years! It wasn't bad enough that for most of my life I smoked...I thought I was helping myself by drinking "diet drinks" when possible, and sweetening my coffee with artificial sweetener rather than pouring in the sugar. Now I find out that "aspertame" and other artificial sweeteners are actually worst than regular sugar!


Here's an example - 1 level teaspoon of regular sugar = 15 calories; a heaping teaspoon = 25 calories. But Aspertame and the other artificial sweeteners, while lower in calories have been shown to cause over 90 symptoms! Many of which I have! (Question: how does shown stack up to proven?)

Now it bears mentioning that I've been known to make mistakes a lot in the past when it comes to my health. For example, smoking for 38 years in-and-of-itself qualifies me for "Stupid Human of the Year Award" - and research I did on Lymes Disease uncovered a list of 50-100 "symptoms" that could be related to lymes. I made myself sick just reading it, because at the time I had most of them and I was a trout fisherman and worked outside a lot! Needless to say, when the lymes tests came back negative I was a pretty happy camper!

In any event, I just don't want to alarm anyone who's as susceptible to hypochondria as I might be! I'm telling you, this aspertame list is a rundown of every ache, pain, and symptom I've ever had! And many I have this morning!

(And I've watched a certain young lady very near & dear to me, sweeten her cereal with 4 EQUALS, and does the same with her coffee! Now I can't imagine what Kara's coffee tastes like with 4 packets of EQUAL - but hopefully this will make her cut down - or cut out her use of EQUAL!)

Susan just came in and asked me if this means we should be using Splenda instead of EQUAL? And my answer was that this report (below) discusses the inadvisability of using any of these products! There's an awful lot of information on the internet...just "Google" Aspertame, or "problems with aspertame, " or "aspertame side effects." So before I make you as "bananas" as I am, do your own research. But until you do....maybe hold off on those little blue, yellow, or pink packets!

A friend of yours highly recommends you read this health article: http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/dangers.htm. This article comes from http://www.mercola.com/, one of the Web's most visited and trusted health information sites.

Dum Spiro Spero!!

4 - Friday Headlines!

Cindy Sheehan announced yesterday afternoon that she would be mounting a campaign to run for the Congressional seat currently held by Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Sheehan is challenging Pelosi because Pelosi didn't move to impeach President Bush by July 23rd. - thereby "protected the status quo of the corporate elite and loosing touch with people in her district," Sheehan stated during her announcement speech. Sheehan said, "The country is ripe for change and it's going to start right here, right now!" The candidate says she has no money and will have to start raising campaign funds immediately....she also said she will not accept money from corporations. One of Sheehan's closest aides and greatest supporters is a former senior Pentagon analyst who will be remembered for leaking The Pentagon Papers to Congress in 1969 - Daniel Ellsberg. (Wow, Ellsberg, Pelosi, and Sheehan. I'm having a flashback to the flower power days the late 60's and early 70's! Power to the People Cindy!)

***** ***** *****

Yesterday morning, when New York City and most of New Jersey and the 5 Boroughs were inundated with almost 3" of rain in as many hours the elderly NYC subway system came to a halt as many stations and tunnels filled up with water. Hundreds of thousands of commuters were left without a way to get to work. Yesterdays news broadcasts reported not the unusual fact that this had been an awful lot of rain in a short period of time....every major news channel instead had breaking wall-to-wall coverage of floods in the subway system, and, "incredible failure of the city's infrastructure!" (Geez, is this such a difficult concept to understand ?..... Folks where do you think water is going to go when there's a lot of it? I guess it's gotta go down the holes in the streets huh? Well if the sewers aren't kept as clean as they should be - and they're not - water's going to back up into the other underground services - namely the subway tunnels, electrical pipes and basements. I see it as being a problem of cleaning out the city's underground, and having well running pump systems spread around the city subway system. I have to ask where has all the money gone that the Metropolitan Transit Authority collected over the last 10 years? Did anyone think to upgrade the pumping systems before there was a big emergency? Naaaaa! Who needs planning! )

***** ***** *****

Barack Obama is running for President saying we have to all come together and that "we need a new consensus based on faith and bipartisanship." (Remember those two words!) At the church that Obama and his family regularly attend, the pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. routinely references "white arrogance" in his sermons, and refers to "the United States of White America." Wright said of 9/11 that "White America got its wake-up call!" Adding that, "White America came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded in the woodwork, or just disappeared as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns." During the sermon on the Sunday that Obama and his family were in attendance, Rev. Wright preached, "Young African-American men, were dying for nothing." The "illegal war," he shouted, was "based on Bush's lies" and is being "fought for oil money." His sermon - filled with profanity - Wright also blamed the war on "Bush administration bulls--t." During the sermon candidate Obama nodded along with most of the other 2500 people in attendance. (Now that's the kind of faith based coming together bipartisan message we need more of here in the United States! Absolutely, Barack H. Obama is going to be a President for all the People! Yeah right, and Dennis Kucinich was just elected the sexiest man in America! Well anyway, if Barack is elected he can look us dead in the face and say..." Hey, I told you so...Honky!") Just how bad is this Reverend Wright??.....(invoking "her" name most reverently) a few years ago Oprah Winfrey said that she was a congregant of his church. She was reported to have attended a few of the services.....but since has disassociated herself from the Reverend entirely.

***** ***** *****

The Rasmussen Report for August 9th. reported that President Bush's Job Approval Rating reached 39%!! You might say that isn't all that great! But take into consideration that The Gallup News Service reported, that as of July 15th. the latest Job Approval Rating for Congress, is 27%!! And yesterday's new Zogby Poll gives Congress a rating of just 14%! ( I'm afraid George Carlin is right - we get what we deserve!)


Finally, remember David Frosts' "That was the Week that Was" and didn't Sonny & Cher have some sort of a "Week in Review? "

Enjoy your weekend!

Dum Spiro Spero!

Can Newt live down his past?

"I don't know" is the simple answer to that question. And that answer alone is confounding me! I guess I could also answer "Time will tell," but then again do we have enough time?

I've always liked Newt Gingrich. To my way of thinking, he's been the smartest politician to listen to during the last 15 years or so. I've always found Newt painfully obvious and brutally frank - and he doesn't seem to care if you don't like it! I do - to me it's refreshing and let's you know right where you stand! Now, don't get me wrong ... some very stupid things have come out of Newt's mouth! Things that stunned me at the time....

Here's one - Years ago, Newt was addressing a mixed audience (I think at a University), and he's talking about why women shouldn't be on the front lines or why they shouldn't go to war. (For me, this is an issue men shouldn't even try to answer. It closely relates to my stance on abortion - If you have a penis, stay out of the discussion - because no matter what you say, there is a group of women that are waiting for your answer. And it isn't going to be pretty either way!) In any event Newt is standing there saying words to the effect that women shouldn't go to war because a battle is a dirty place and when women have to lie around in dirty ditches for 30 days at a time they get all kinds of nasty infections. Oyyyyy! I-could-tell-by-his-answer-and-by-the-way-he-was-looking-down-and-sort-of-rubbing-the-podium-that-he-was-searching-for-words-and-having-trouble-finding-the-right-way-to-end-his-statement. We've all experienced this, when we start saying something in mixed company and suddenly realize .... Ooops! I messed up here! Well, this was like that. For weeks afterward Gingrich got "drawn and quartered" in the press and by various women's organizations. (I think you can still find it on the internet.) As he rightly should have! It was a stupid thing to say - and he has got to NOT make mistakes like that, if he's going to run.

In my opinion, Newt's been the single most intellectually honest and up-front politician during the last two presidencies. His "Contract with America" when he was House Speaker, and now his "Winning the Future" are exceptional roadmaps for returning this country to greatness. (Now admittedly, I consider them so, because I share his conservative viewpoints.) More recently he has detailed and suggested a much better way to conduct debates during the upcoming campaign. It's called "9 90's in 9." That would be nine, 90 minute debates, one each in the nine weeks preceding the election. That suggestion alone will shorten and lend more significance to the campaign/election process - and it's a wonderful indication of Gingrich's clarity of thinking. (I don't know about you but after the last 6 months of campaigning - I'm ready for this crap to be over already!)

A few months ago, on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's speech there, Mario Cuomo and Newt Gingrich spoke at Cooper Union. I admit I was transfixed hearing their discourse. Here were two "heavyweights" of rhetorical debate, in the same room where Lincoln won the Eastern establishment over to his campaign! Wow! Each with an obvious and clear agenda before the evening started. But each was so erudite and well spoken that by the end of the 90 minutes.....all I wanted was 90 minutes more with these guys! You didn't have to agree with either one or the other to want "more" from both of them! I don't find any other candidates like that today on either side, and that includes the "undeclared" candidates - Thompson and Gore.

Another "trait" Newt has to live down or live with, is his propensity to piss people off! When Newt led the Republicans to take back Congress from the Democrats, he ended 43 years of Liberal hegemony! He took away the greatest liberal feeding trough this country has ever known. And everybody knows you don't take the slop away from hoggs like Teddy Kennedy without making them angry! If you skim a couple of Liberal websites, you'll get deluged by the visceral hatred they harbor for Gingrich.

Newt is the smart-ass you grew up with, who never missed an occasion to show you how much smarter and more clever he was than you. He didn't know enough to keep his mouth shut, and regardless of the "drumming" he may have taken, you couldn't keep him quiet or out of the fray. He was always in your face - and you knew exactly what he was thinking - but still he got the better of you! Newt had that effect on his opponents in Congress. They knew exactly what he was going to do, and he still beat them - every time.

I particularly like the hard-nosed intellectual toughness in Newt. I saw some of that quality in Ronald Reagan as well. Reagan was always being taken for granted - being called a doddering old fool - and suddenly the Berlin Wall was coming down and the Cold War was over! His critics called Reagan old and stupid, they laughed at him, right up until the time he cleaned their clocks!

Speaking for me and no one else - I'm sick of the American "popularity contest" masquerading as an election - we've experienced the last 16 years. For all of you male or female "star-struck" groupies out there - this isn't American Idol! Contrary to my sarcastic remark of the other day.....I don't wanna have a "crush" on anybody! For the next 4 or 8 years, I want someone really smart in that office. I also want someone tough in that office. Someone who's going to be able to lead us - and make the rest of the world understand - No More Bullshit!

I want someone in that office not just because their spouse had the job (but I wouldn't hold that against a candidate); not someone who simply wrote a book similar to Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage." I want someone smart enough to have his/her own outline completed - not someone who needs to start from square one & solicit ideas on every issue. Someone with a clear understanding of how they want to reform Washington; how they want to re-write the tax code. Someone with a clear idea how we're going to improve health care in this country. Someone who is ready to tell Congress and the American people this is how it's going to be regarding our war stance; someone strong enough to lay out a clear, fair, and doable immigration strategy.

Someone who can make us proud again to be Americans - and someone unafraid to kick this country and Congress in our collective asses and say, "Get to work and get it done - or I'll fire you and find someone who can!"

Right now, there's not anyone like that in sight, in either group of candidates!

Dum Spiro Spero!

Bill Clinton Says Hillary Has Military Support

There's an article appearing at NewsMax today with the above title. Your link to the article - so you may read it yourself and see that I'm not "joshing" you is right here...http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/8/7/83745.shtml?s=ic

When I first saw the article's title I thought maybe I had CLICKED onto the late night comedians section, where Jay, David, Jimmy and Colin all read funny, made-up news headlines. Really, have any of you heard anything as funny as this before?

Think about it .... Bill Clinton Says Hillary Has Military Support is about as plausible as Achmadinejad says, If alive today Jews would support Hitler! Then I checked my calendar just to make sure it wasn't April 1st. I even blinked twice quickly and pinched myself just to make sure I wasn't really dreaming this offal! Look at that sentence again for a second.........

Bill Clinton Says Hillary Has Military Support

Wow! I mean, with all due respect to our former president ..... those are 7 words I never thought would be used together in the same sentence, let alone written and published in the same sentence. This is Alice-down-the-rabbit-hole freaky!

Hillary has military support??? What military Bill? Venezuela? Cuba? Palestine? In the parlance of my generation...."What the f**k are you smoking?"

But the rest of the column gets even better! Check out the first sentence,

"Former President Bill Clinton says his wife has strong support among military voters and that the Democratic presidential candidate is up to the task of rebuilding the nation's military after years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Holy Schnik-e! Are we talking about the same person that remarked that she detested the military? The same person that wouldn't allow any "uniformed" personnel in the White House or on her 'detail' during the Clinton years? Are we talking about the same person who couldn't get soldiers to shake her hand or sit with her for a photo op when she went to the war zone? Are we talking about THAT Hillary?

As far as "having the task of rebuilding the nations military," well geez Bill - it was your administration that "gutted" the military to such a large degree that we couldn't even protect our ships in foreign ports! Remember the U.S.S. Cole, hmmm? If you hadn't cut the Navy budget to the bone, we wouldn't have been missing those 600 naval fuel tender vessels and the Cole wouldn't have had to dock in Yemen to take on fuel!

And since you and she are always "crowing" that by hiring one of you (again!) - "we get two for the price of one" - well, I'm one American that's here to tell you "Cur" that that "price" was too high from 1993 until 2001, and it sure as hell is too high now!

But gee Bill, "Nice tie!" (this is an inside joke for all of you who don't know - right Cur?)

"Duty, is the sublimest word in the English language!" - General Robert E. Lee

(another concept mizzuz clinton will neva undastand!)