It's Definitely Time

(When then-former President Reagan became too sick with dimensia, so that his thoughts were confused and speech almost incoherent, his wife Nancy lovingly and wisely took him out of the public eye. It was out of respect to the high office he had once held, but even more, out of respect for the man himself.)

"Yes, I do. I think [Hamas can be trusted]. Because of their own self-interest. Not because they're benevolent or kind or that sort of thing. But yes, I do. I think they can. And they've never betrayed any commitment that they've made to me or publicly, as a matter of fact." --Former President Jimmy Carter.

C'mon Rosalynn. Take a hint.

Mr. Joel Goes To Washington

Six months ago I lived in Detroit and saw the dem Mayor off to prison.

Today I live in Illinois and saw the lib Governor impeached and removed from office.

I think I should move to Washington D.C. and see if my string of luck can continue to the next level!

One That Got Away....

Coming To A Prison Near You...

So the new prez has wasted no time in digging in and starting the dismantling of the CIA's "torture" chamber at Gitmo and also ordering the closure of any secret holding locations we have strategically placed around the world.

Now keep in mind, that the customer-base for these stations is certainly not in decline, and we can assume that it will continue to grow based on Bin Ladin's latest "press release" and the general call to Jihad coming out of the latest Israeli-Hamas get-together. So where will we put all of our guests?

There is no money for local and state prisons here in the U.S.. We hear that all of the time. And the overcrowding continues. But all of these foreign combatants have to go somewhere. And they need to be near their lawyer's offices once the government provides them. So apparently they'll be brought to different cities all over the country where we have federal detention facilities right now. There may even be some space available in those, unless we need it for mayors and governors!

Well that's just great. That's what we all want isn't it? A bunch of martyr wanna-be's locked up in our own towns. Some say that they'd be no more dangerous than the folks already there. I'd say it's very different. I'd say that you now have prisoners who are committed to martyr-dom and also, perhaps, those who might want to come to their aid. And we'll even spend more money just to keep them safe from the regular population.

And the interrogation thing? Well Obama says there will be no more than what's put into writing in the Army Field Manual, which is just a notch above the Boy Scout Handbook.

George Bush's watch has ended. Now we hand over our security to a "leader" who thinks we're in a pillow fight. And the millions who support him will continue to do so right up until we are attacked again, maybe much harder than 9/11, and then they'll be the first ones seeking justice. So we must wait until then?? Apparently so.

Messiah Trumps Old Glory

Why should the followers have any more respect for the flag than the messiah?.......

Change

"It will be my great honor to be there representing ... all of us in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. ... While [the Bible] is a holy and sacred text to me, it is not for many Americans. I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer." --Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, on delivering the invocation at the "We Are One" event for Barack Obama on 19 January 2009.

Well, there you go. Why would an Episcopal Bishop want to appear "especially Christian" anyway? Very convenient that he can turn Christ on and off in order to suit his particular situation, (or Obama's). Of course, they're both pretty good at that, aren't they?

I have to believe that in the not too distant future, Gene Robinson will represent a very small, ultra-progressive, ultra-inclusive, non-bible based, open minded "church". It will still be known as the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A., but it will be a mere shell of what it used to be before tolerance became it's mantra, law became option and the Gene Robinson's and Katharine Schori's set the standards for it's "shepherds".

Sitting Out This Dance

Some of my friends who are fully aware of my political persuasion have been asking me if I’ll be watching the inauguration. A loaded question from some of them for sure. My answer has been, and remains “no”. The accusatory thoughts of “sour grapes” is probably first and foremost in their minds. Absolutely not true.

There is no doubt that for the black community, this is an amazing piece of history that they are now part of. It’s got to be a feeling of pride that only they can fully appreciate. For the rest of us, this is a wonder and should be a sense of pride also. I was among those who said it could never happen; that the country was not ready or willing. I was clearly wrong, and on that aspect of it, I am very pleased that I was. Still, there is no way for me to fully relate to the weight of what has transpired, and what racial divide has been overcome.

But I am truly colorblind to the more important issue. It doesn’t matter if this President is black, white, yellow or polka-dot. What matters to me is that we have elected the most liberal man in the senate. And that’s the least of his faults. He is a person who is not only the polar-opposite of my political beliefs in almost any topic you can measure, but is also one who has the documented, close relationships with those that see the U.S. as something to detest, something to dishonor, something to deny. Even something to harm. This is not a man of character, fit to be our commander in chief. He is what he is, and his color doesn’t change that for the worse or for the better.

There are no sour grapes here. There is extreme disappointment and real concern for the future. May we have the “audacity” to hope that much of his “change” does not come. No, I will not be watching.

A "Choice" Life

Every day we go through our normal routines, basically oblivious to anything that is not in the direct path of the task at hand. And then every once in awhile, something catches our eye and jumps out from the ordinary background noise and makes us stop and think.

Today a goofy little thing did that to me.

I went in to the local mega-supermarket to just get a few things including some Saltine crackers. I went down the aisle directed by the sign, and the little thing I took notice of is that there were seven different kinds of Saltine crackers! Seven! We're talking simple crackers here folks, but now apparently we might need a low fat, or maybe lite salt, or maybe extra crunchy, etc.....I mean it's ridiculous!

Now this is not the first time I've been in one of our modern-day markets and noticed the obscene amount of choices we are given for almost every product. The excessive amount of different brands is only part of the craziness. But when you then multiple that by having five, six or even seven variants within a brand, like a shampoo, spaghetti sauce or now, apparently, a simple Saltine cracker, well isn't it just a little over-the-top?!! Is this one important way that define "quality of life" these days?

Somewhere at the cracker headquarters, some marketing genius, has evidently convinced his team that seven varieties is what we need; what we want. "It will increase sales dramatically", is what I'm sure he told them. For all I know, maybe it does. But somewhere back in my brain, which recalls a day when there was only one Saltine, one type of Shampoo (as long as you didn't have dandruff!), and one flavor of Hunt's spaghetti sauce, weren't we more that just fine with that? You can actually still find that in some small-town grocer's. God help us if we'd ever have to live that way again someday. Can you imagine the whining?

And anyway, what's wrong with this whole idea of having any possible preference fulfilled? Every little want instantly available to us? Does it really do us any harm? Probably not if it stopped at Saltines. But life today, especially in our society, carries this same notion into many other things, often including what we expect of each other. From that aspect, I not sure of that quality of life thing at all.

Sorry for this silly little blog. See what can happen when one of those little crazy thoughts jump out at you?

Oh, by the way; I bought the "original" variety Saltines. Are you surprised? You're probably not. But no biggie; I'll just have the "low sodium" soup with them.....but should it be regular or "chunky"?? Ahhh....life is good!

Reid's Rules Revised!

I guess Harry Reid got the phone call. You know, the one from Barack Hussein, or at least an empowered friend, who then ordered him to a complete new directive: let this guy from Illinois take the Senate seat.

Remember that the whole purpose behind Reid's action on Monday (along with Pelosi and Durbin) was to block this guy and neutralize the Blagojevich effect from tainting the majority in the Senate, and more importantly, any stink that might land on Obama. But hey, if the messiah wants it the other way, then Harry needs to stand down. Durbin's "180" on this was even funnier. Look up the quotes from him, and see how they've changed from Monday to Wednesday. Just remarkable.

The first problem was that this thing was turning into a family feud after Feinstein broke rank and pronounced that Burris was OK. (She's going to pay for this!) So that just inspired Mr. Burris to continue his fight. And so now they had the second problem of this poor, lost guy, in his rumpled raincoat and brand new briefcase, standing outside the Senate door and pounding on it, crying to get in. Now what kind of image is that, especially for the only black man in the building? Oh, that's not good, and Obama finally had had enough.

So Obama made the decision and I guess he'll risk any further Blago fallout. Now, the initiative for the flip-flopping senior Senators, is to direct all blame on this back to Illinois. Yup, it was that screwball Secretary of State there, who wouldn't sign the order from Blago, and that's why ALL these battles ensued.

Like I said earlier, this was a shrewd move by Blago. Appoint the black guy to the seat, and then dare these pasty old libs in Washington to try and reject him! Noooo way.

Inaugural or Israel?

Seen anything from the President-select on the Israeli-Hamas conflict? Hmmm.....neither have I.

I know he was in Hawaii, and that's quite far away, so maybe news was slow to reach him there. I know he's been working out a lot. (Saw a neat game of pick-up basketball on some lib network, and I agree with them, he is in remarkable shape!) And then there's the preparations for that inaugural thing. So that may be keeping him from some of this foreign-issue stuff. I just don't know.

Wasn't he talking very pro-Israel during the campaign? I remember the comments about his desire to maintain America's long history of backing our Jewish friends against against anyone who threatens to destroy them. So what's up? Could it be that now that he's elected, maybe he's a bit less pro-Israel, and a bit more pro-Muslim? Crazy thought.

No, it has to be just the fact that he's so darn busy. But wait a minute; didn't he rip McCain for the fact that a Presidential candidate needed the ability to multi-task when he put his campaign on hold and ran back to Washington to save the country from financial meltdown?

No, it has to be the pro-Muslim thing.

Oh geez....I'm so confused.....just like those 52 million people back in November.

Reid's Rules

The Blagojevich vs. Dems circus continued today as the “tainted” governor’s appointee, Roland Burris, was denied his seat in the U.S. Senate.

Several weeks ago, I had written a blog that questioned why it was that the dems were so quick to put a bullet in Blago; an “innocent” man? About how he was being denied any kind of due-process by those who should have should have been willing to stand by his side, at least until all the evidence was heard. The whole thing remains a mystery, except for my implication that all these dems were acting in a concerted effort to protect their messiah. I still believe that.

But now, the circus gets even better! From all indications, this Burris fellow is “clean”. No rumors at all about being any part of the Illinois political sewer (yet). Actually a brilliant move by Blago, which I think he designed to test these Washington clowns like Pelosi, Durbin and Reid. Blago’s daring them to reject this guy, especially because he's black. And guess what? They're taking the bait. This is almost too fun to watch!

Actually, my opinion is to side with the appointment. The law makes it clear that Blago has every right at this point to name Barack Hussein’s replacement. The dems both in Illinois and in Washington who are blocking this are ignoring the law because it doesn’t suit them at this time. No surprise there.

I haven’t heard the President “select” weigh in on this yet. Don't hold your breath.

As I said earlier, the whole democratic party reaction to Blago’s situation smells of cover-up. Today’s actions only reinforce that. I take it back; this is NOT too fun to watch. I’m smiling as I type!

Speaking Softly

The calendar changes and the years go by, but some things do not change. Like the ongoing violence between Israel and it's neighbors. And more specifically, the way it is carried out.

Today, a top commander of Hamas was obliterated with 17 of his associates when a 2000 pound bomb landed on his roof. Yeah....that'll do it.

Funny how I saw none of the news on the escalating mortar attacks dropping into Israel over the last couple of months. Did you hear about any of that? Didn't think so. But then, as is their way, the Israeli's quietly formulate a strategy and react. THEN we do hear all of the details. We also hear words like "disproportionate" to describe the reaction.

One thing we don't hear about is the strategy itself. Israel gives no warning and no briefings on the plan. Unlike our military who seem obligated to give the press all kinds of information, some of which has undoubtedly cost American lives, you won't hear anything from the Israeli commanders. No plans and no absurd predictions on when action will end. It will end when they want it to end, period. And that's all the press needs to know.

Tonight there will be little, if any, comments from Israel on the decision to drop this bomb and no boisterous comments on the result. It's just business. For Israel, the business of survival.

Someday, very soon, were likely to hear about the first Israeli air strikes on Iran and it's nuclear plants. They won't wait on the U.N., Obama or anything else. As usual, there will be no warning. Nothing telegraphed. Just an action carried out in a very business like manner, but like their survival depends on it. Which it does.

For Iran, Hamas, Syria, etc.., go ahead and continue the rhetoric. March in the streets. Burn the flags. Talk the talk. Even lob in a mortar if you can. But understand that there is probably a 2000 pound package waiting to be delivered to a site near you. Maybe VERY near you. The only comfort being that you'll likely never hear it or see it coming.