One More Time: No Keystone XL Pipeline !

Today, President Obama finally came out and spoke Truth to Stupidity. He will Veto any Congressional attempts to sidestep or avoid the Law, which requires the State Department and other Government agencies to approve any Foreign Project on Our Soil.

The Rethuglicans can tout this as a "Jobs Bill" all they want, but the Truth is that the Only American Jobs will be to construct the Pipeline. Those Jobs will go to Halliburton, and other established Oil Services companies already at full staffing.

A Far Better Plan, would be to pipe that toxic Tar Sands Oil no further than the newer Oil Refineries in North Dakota, then ship the much safer finished products by Rail and Truck to the Gulf Coast, where Canada can then send it to China, Mars, or wherever they want. This plan would generate Many Jobs. The Railroads would need to add Trains, and Crews to operate them. Thousands of the new, safer, double-hulled tanker cars would need to be built, as well as thousands of new Tanker Trailers, also of a new and safer construction. Those are high-paying, skilled labor Jobs, not the temporary drudge work of a few hundred Laborer Jobs that might come from building the Pipeline.
If the capacity of the modern refineries in ND is insufficient, well, there are more good jobs, both building those refineries for American Companies, and in operating those Refineries for years to come.

The low-information Fox-bots who sent another class of subtards to Congress this month, and the faithless Democrats who ran from Our President, (and Lost), will bear the responsibility for any Congressional Override of the President's Veto, and will further bear the guilt for the continuation of the "Do-Nothing" Congress doing even less.

Here's my (usually accurate) prediction. After being defeated on this horrible Pipeline project, the GOP will go back to their old ways of the past four years, ie; countless votes to repeal the ACA, constant idiots calling for Impeachment with no basis, (except "He's Black !"), and more attempts to reduce Voter's rights, continued obstruction of Immigration Reform, etc. They will use the Continuing Resolution to fund the Government, and the threat of another Shut-down in yet another failed attempt to blackmail the President into agreeing to their latest "Trickle Down" economic policies, as they've done for the past thirty years. They will protect Tax Cuts for the Wealthiest, try to lower Corporate taxes, and generally repeat the same dumb shit they've been doing for decades.

To my mind, "That's a Good Thing", because maybe, just maybe, the Voters will finally understand that the Republicans are nothing but employees of the Wealthy, will never do anything to bring the Middle Class and Working Poor into the new, prosperous Economy, and could care less about Our Country.

That's my take on this whole mess, what do You think ?  

More on 9-11-01

So, Here we are again, at another Anniversary of America's 21st Century 'Pearl Harbor'. Once again I'm recalling the emotions of that time, where I was when I first learned we'd been attacked, and how I instantly knew who the Villain was,..long before the media had figured it out._______________________________

 

 

When my (then) friend Les called to tell me to turn on CNN, that a small plane had hit the World Trade Center, I took one look at the smoke beginning to roll from the tower, and said, "Les, that wasn't a "small Plane', because I've been in that building, and only an Airliner could make that big of a hole". He said, "Who would do something like that?', and I answered, "Usama Bin Laden", and of course he asked "Who?", and I answered, "the same Asshole who blew up the USS Cole".

See, I didn't just start following Politics and the News in recent years, and I remembered back when then Senator Al Gore asked Ollie North, (during the Iran-Contra hearings), who this bad man was who had so frightened Colonel North that he spent $100,000 of taxpayer's money on Home Security systems for his personal residence. When Ollie answered "Usama Bin Laden", I went back to an article I'd just read about this former mujaheddin who was forming his own terrorist group, after being our friend and ally when we needed him to kick the Russians out of Afghanistan.

 I also knew that besides the Cole, that Usama's bunch had been behind bombing our embassies around North Africa and the Middle East. Our National Security people knew about him too, and what a danger he had become, but the Bush/Cheney junta didn't want to hear it when Richard Clarke tried repeatedly to tell them what the Clinton Administration knew, and why Clinton had been reticent to blow him away when they had him in their sights on several occasions. ( President Clinton's advisers told him that if he wasted Bin Laden on someone's sovereign soil, the Rethuglicans would say he was doing it to distract from the Blow Job scandal).

Anyway, despite what could have been done, the threat from Bin Laden was ignored, because Bush just wanted to get even with Saddam for putting a contract out on Daddy Bush, and Cheney just wanted Iraqi Oil. What happened happened, and for a few weeks there, I saw the United America, the unity and agreement between left and right, black and white, with everyone pulling together, and comforting each other, regardless of party, status or wealth. That was the kind of Nation I had been dreaming of since Vietnam, but I also knew it couldn't last. That realization was almost as tragic as the attack itself !

Now, 13 sad anniversaries later, we're facing a new threat, and cancerous growth of barbarism which metastasized from Al Queda in Iraq, and is being led by the best Generals from Saddam's Republican Guard, the force we needlessly disbanded after our invasion of a Nation that didn't have a thing to do with 9-11, and a Leader which only posed a threat to his own citizens. Had we kept the Iraqi Army and the basic bureaucracy of that government in place, and had we not destroyed so much of their infrastructure, we might have gotten out of there in a year or two, and left behind some vestige of a Democratic society. We would also have lost a lot less irreplaceable Troops, and thousands less civilian casualties. Iraq today could have been a prospering and free Oil producing nation, and a Democratic example for it's neighbors, except that the Bush Government gave no thought to an exit strategy, and only thought of how soon they could start selling stolen Oil.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and Now we need some of that Unity and Bi-Partisanship that we experienced for a moment after that first sad Day. We need to form a better, more broad-based coalition than that which joined us in the earlier ill-advised invasion. This President needs the support of Everyone, just like We gave to Bush in the days following 9-11-01.
That's my several cents worth, and I hope some of you will comment and continue this post. Thanks, and "God Bless America, Again" !

Not Another Koch-Headed Mid-Term PLEASE ! !

I won't begin this by Bragging about the accuracy of my 2010 and 2012 Election predictions, because now I don't need to ! Suffice it to say that " I told Ya so ! "

Here we are again in a mid-term primary season, and I'm hoping to God that working class Voters will pull their collective Head out of the Corporate Ass that is the Republican Party, and the gaping rectum that is it's failed Tealiban sub-party.

 

Now, I'm not as famous a prognosticator as Nate Silver, but, I'm betting that my instincts and accumulated political knowledge will trump his predictions this year.  Ol' Nate thinks that his Stat's tell him that the GOP will grab some more seats in the House, and regain a Majority position in the Senate, but my Gut tells me that the surge of enrollment in the closing days of the 1st ACA sign-up period will defy Nate's statistics, and show that the American People aren't as dumb as the Wealthy Right believes We are.

 Despite all the Billions spent by Big Health and Big Hate, and considering the 52 failed attempts to repeal 'Obamacare' , it is proving to be a blessing for folks on both ends of the Political spectrum. Case in Point, Teddy Cruz ran an informal survey on his Official Facebook page, asking his fans and constituents what they now thought of the ACA, and ( shockingly enough), the majority of respondents now had a favorable Opinion. The huge lines in El Paso and Houston, during the final days of Sign-Up are clear proof to me that both Teddy and soon-to-be Ex-Governor Perry are vastly out of touch with the majority of Texan Voters.

Another reason that I think Voters are coming to their senses, is that even a majority of right-leaning Voters, even those who don't like Obamacare, are ready for the Congress to move along. The Koch Brothers, and all the "Persons" of the Corporate Persuasion have failed to control the common sense and practicality that is inherent to the American People, and despite the barrage of TV, Radio, and Cyberspace Ad's, Surveys and Editorials they've, (Koch-Suckers & Friends), bought, I firmly believe that the Democrats will regain control of the House, increase their Majority in the Senate, then show the Nation what a Working and United Congress can achieve with a Progressive President in the White House.

Yes, I know some of you will flash-back to the 2009 / 2010 Sessions of Congress, and remind me of how little the Democrats accomplished in Obama's first two years, despite being in the majority, but let me remind you that that was a Party divided by years of opposition to Two Wars, and confused by years of kowtowing to the Bush-Cheney Junta in matters both Fiscal and Foreign ! That won't happen again !

 The Democrats are now a Party that has learned what can happen when they lose their nerve,(AKA "Balls"),now knows how to defeat the demagoguery of the wealthy Right, and are just dying to show their constituents that they remember how to get things done.

Comments and Critiques Appreciated !

What's Your Opinion of Edward Snowden's actions ?

I've been following this whole mess that Mr Snowden created for himself, and I've bounced around on what my actual feelings are this entire time. Now I've pretty much decided that he is both a Traitor and a Coward. My main bitch about this situation is with Boozer-Allen, for not vetting this little wannabe Julian Assange ! They, (Boozer-Allen), should have all their present Government contracts voided, and refund any money they have been advanced on said contracts.

These Private Sector Contractors may have saved Us from building ever-enlarging bureaucracies, but in both Wars, and now in the Security Sector, the Contractors have turned out to be more trouble than they are worth. I blame Dick Cheney, but that's another article in itself.

Now, back to Mr Snowden. The question I had to ask myself was; "Would We Liberals all have had the same High Regard we had for Daniel Elsberg, If he had run off to a foreign Nation as soon as he released The Pentagon Papers?". I don't think so, as a main part of being a "Whistleblower", is to have the courage of your convictions, and being willing to 'face the music', 'pay the piper', etc.

What I've observed about Snowden's big revelations, is that he has only "outed" what everyone who cares has known since 9-11, and those who are informed about such things were fully cognizant of Every other Nation's efforts to glean every bit of intelligence they can, both about their enemies and friends, by pretty much any means possible. Yes, the end of the Cold War probably saw a lessening of traditional espionage, and yes, the advent of the Internet was a Bonanza for Intelligence agencies in general, but what has taken Us to the point of a Prism Program, was our sudden realization, via the 9-11 attacks, that a good portion of the World's population hates Our American Guts !

In my opinion, the worst thing about electronic surveillance and collection, is that we, the USA, lost or abandoned our vast networks of "Humintell" following the fall of the USSR. Another huge failure of our Intelligence Agencies was to lose touch, and stop supporting the Mujaheddin following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. That failure led directly to the rise of both the Taliban, and to the rising power of Osama Bin Laden.

Whenever I mention OBL's name, I have a flashback to the Iran-Contra Hearings in the Senate. At one point in those hearings, then Tennessee Senator Al Gore asked Colonel Ollie North why he had installed a $100,000 dollar Security System in his home. Colonel North answered, "Because a very bad man has threatened to kill me and my Family". Smiling, Al asked North, " Just who is this "Very Bad Man", and Ollie replied, "His name is Usama Bin Laden".*

Now Folks, those hearings were held in 1987, a full 14 years prior to 9-11, 2001, and 10 or 12 years before Al Queda blew up the USS Cole,...So, can we agree that CIA, NSA, and FBI dropped that ball Big Time ? Additionally, in that 14 year span, we had the Beirut Marine Barracks, various Embassy attacks, "Black Hawk Down" in Somalia, and many other incidents that should have been instructive to Us, and made us aware that a well-funded, and highly organized entity had declared War on Us.

So, to return to Today's problem of people like Edward Snowden, and the young Bradley Manning. Now, I believe that Private Manning was offended and outraged by the actions of coalition Troops that he observed in his position in Army Intelligence, and that he thought the world would benefit from his disclosures. The hard fact remains that Private Bradley swore and oath to defend his Country, and he knew full well that he was only in a position to access such information because he had had the Background checks, and advanced security ratings to be working at that level in the first place. Manning should have gone to his Superiors, or even his Unit Chaplain with his problem, Not revealed it to a malicious, anti-American foreigner !

On the other hand, I believe Snowden is, and was, seeking Fame and Fortune. He expected The Guardian to pay him, for Foreign Governments and Leaders to greet him as a hero, and to return home at some point, as the fair-haired Boy of the Liberal Media ! Obviously, lil' Edward was a victim, a victim of Right-Wing propaganda, which told him that the Media, and All Liberals hate America, despise our Government, and will do anything to damage either. Nobody told him that the Press and Media People who travel the World, embed with Our Armed Forces, and spend time in other Nations, are some of the Most Patriotic, because, like Veterans such as myself, we've seen how the rest of the world lives, seen what freedoms we have here, and wouldn't live anywhere else on the globe but right here in the U.S.A. So, suck it Eddie, I hope you end up in The Gulag !

* I want to acknowledge that some of the background of this article was drawn from my recent re-reading of Former National Security Adviser Richard A. Clarke's excellent book "Against All Enemies" a book I highly recommend for those who want to know more about the lead-up to 9-11, and the Bush Administration's failures which took us There.

http://fb-hoosierherm.newsvine.com/_news/2013/07/05/19310251-whats-your-opinion-of-edward-snowdens-actions

My 2012 Election Prediction 7-2-2012

O.K. Friends, I've been pretty accurate in my Election predictions over my Blogging time, which dates to before the 1999 Debacle of The Hanging Chads, one I predicted that Al Gore would win by a Squeaker,.. But, I hadn't taken in to account, the fact that Jeb Bush was the Governor of an Important state like Florida. Nor, had I even imagined in my wildest dreams, that an election would be decided by a Supreme Court full of G.H.W. Bush appointees of a Conservative bent

The only reason I even predicted that Election would be a squeaker, was Gore's poor decision to try to distance himself from the most successful Democratic Administration since FDR. His avoidance of the scandals, the attempted Impeachment, and all the stained dress jokes, was a very bad decision, because while it was an effort to bring in the "Family Values" Independents, it lost him a lot of the Party base, because most Democrats at that time, would have voted to set aside the 22nd Amendment, and elected Willie Jeff to a Third term. So, a strategy meant to attract swing voters, sent that targeted demographic straight to the Bush side, and prevented what could have been a Gore landslide, (even without the state of Florida), into an unprecedented Supreme Court appointment of what I still call "The Bush / Cheney Junta".

So, with my one admitted Failure at predicting these things behind us, here's my reasoning about this year's prediction. 

With 120 Days until Election Day 2012, polls are starting to turn in President Obama's favor. In Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, Important States all, Willard Romney's former leads are dissolving. Leads based on his Business acumen, and supposed ability to run the Economy based on his business successes have disappeared. Partially, this is because of his refusal to show his Tax records, and with his inflated claims of how he saved the Salt Lake Olympics, claiming he left the Olympic Committee with a huge surplus, without mentioning that most of that surplus, and any reported profits claimed, were only there because of nearly a Billion Dollars of Federal money, (Taxpayer Money), was injected to forestall failure of those Games.

Willard's Foreign Policy skills, (or lack thereof), is another factor in his declining Poll numbers. Not only did he insult our Mother Country with his put-down of their Olympics presentation, but he also offended both The Israeli's and The Palestinians, first with his Anti-Semitic remarks regarding Israel's "Cultural Superiority", then added to that insult, by comparing  the two Nation's striking economic differences, without any acknowledgement that The Palestinians live in an Occupied Territory, and have for the past 60 years ! About the Only people he didn't offend on his first attempt at International relations, were the Polish people, and , well, they're Polish ! That was a Joke People. The Poles now have the most dynamic economy is Europe, outside of the Germans, and theirs is expanding faster than their old nemesis.
So, this failed Foreign relations venture, which was really just a Fundraising trip, turned into a massive Fail. It started with his racist comments in Australia, where a Campaign staffer said they thought that the Aussie's could better relate to Willard than to Obama, because they and Willard shared a WASP background, or as he put it, "A sense of "Anglo-Saxon" Traditions", which is to say, "Obama's a dumb Negro", which went over like a lead balloon with that audience, who's ancestors were deported to Australia for their failure to comply with the Laws and Traditions of  their Anglo-Saxon "Mother Country".

Romney Republicans Piss Me Off,...(Again)

5-25-2012 Hello Blog Friends ! Here's what's on my mind today: I'm kinda upset at the Democrats who say that it isn't "proper" for The President to use Willard Romney's record at Bain Capitol as a part of his campaign rhetoric ? Why Not ? If Romney is making his business experience, and record of successes as part of his stump speech, I believe the President has every right to use that same material to demonstrate that Romney has No connection to the Average citizen, and with Romney's support of the radical Republican Budget proposal, the Public has every Right to see just where another Republican Administration would take us.
 Yes, It would be Nice to go back to the Eisenhower Era, when the Nation was still feeling the growth of the Post-war years, and we Baby Boomers were in our Infancy, But, that's no more possible than the trips Marty Mc Fly took in the "Back to The Future" movies.
 Where Romney want's to takes Us is back to the Bush/ Cheney years, when the Wealthy had all the advantages possible, and the Welfare System had to be reborn to take care of the disintegrating middle class.
The Republicans want the Voters to see the slow growth of the economy under President Obama, and ignore the fact that the Bush years created the financial disaster that Obama faced on his first day in Office. The Truth, is that it's an amazing fact that we have any growth at all, given the Worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.
 What Really, Really pisses me off, is that Willard has even tried to claim credit for the Auto Industry's amazing comeback, saved by the very same Bail-Out that the Repub's have bitched about since day one ! These same Idiots have tried to sell the idea that Obama-care is a mess, and a huge burden on small business, which is keeping them from growing new jobs, when every fact points to lowering Health Care costs in a more competitive environment. Another Great thing that's happened, is that Families with children with Pre-existing conditions are now being covered in Health Care Policies for the first time ever, so there will never be another Family losing everything because of Medical costs of one of their loved ones. All this, and yet most of the Benefits of so-called Obama Care don't even go into effect until 2014 !

2012, Election Year Thoughts and Opinions(See Update Below )

DateLine: 1-25-2012

Hello Blog Mates ! It seems like only a few weeks since I last updated this Blog, when in reality, it's been way longer than that, (16 months ?).

Maybe that's because Nobody took my warnings seriously, which resulted in a severe ass-whoopin' in the Mid-Term elections.

This backlash reaction to President Obama's first 2 years in office has given us the Idiot Tea-baggers who have been behind the down-grading of our US Credit Rating,(for the First Time Ever), so they are also the kernel of the "Just Say No to Everything" gridlock in both Houses of Congress.

 This time around, we are faced with the choice of giving Our President more time to deal with the crock of shit he inherited from the Bush/Cheney junta, and maybe a chance to get some actual Progress accomplished, instead of facing a right-wing road block to even the most politically neutral legislation.

Last night's "State of The Union" address was one of President Obama's better speeches, and while it was well received by most people, it was predictably criticized as a "Partisan Campaign Speech" by the Republican Presidential Primary candidates. To Me, (and most moderate viewers), it seemed like a challenge to a House divided, one which was achieved the Lowest Approval rating ever garnered by a Congress of these United States!
Obama's comments on the teamwork and sacrifice of Our Military, and how the Government should feel the same call to Duty was a deft political move, as was his asking them, (Congress), to re-engage in solving the Deficit, bringing our Tax Code back into reality, and rewarding businesses which bring their Jobs back to America.
How Any of those goals are Partisan is beyond me ?

I also don't view  his call for better limits and rules regarding Campaign Finance laws as Partisan, or Liberal, since the best efforts to fix this mess have come from Republicans like John McCain, furthermore, these PAC's and Super-Pac's, along with the misguided judges who declared Corporations to be "People Too" has been opposed by Actual People across the political spectrum. That's pretty much what's on my mind Today, but this is An Election Year, and that gets me pumped-up and ready to Blog and Battle for what I know to be The Right Thing to Do.
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