WORLD MUSINGS, LTD.

Santorum cleans up caucuses and generates CPAC excitement, Romney generates fear and loathing

2012-02-11T11:09:00.004-05:00

Rick Santorum has done something that Newt Gingrich, Rich Perry and Herman Cain were unable to do, make Mitt Romney's campaign squirm. After cleaning up in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri, Santorum took the stage at CPAC, gave an passionate speech making the case for his brand of conservatism and received a standing ovation from the crowd. Santorum clearly was the man most CPAC members wanted to hear from. Romney on the other hand was not. His CPAC speech was a ridiculous attempt to claim the conservative mantle by saying he lived the conservative principles. He even claimed he was a "severely conservative" governor while at the helm of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The problem with both claims is that they are complete bullshit. Romney's record as governor is hardly severely conservative. He created the nation's first state mandated health plan much like Obama's current health plan, was unable to derail gay marriages and did little to change the structure of Massachusetts's government or tax system. As for living conservative principles that is a little far fetched. Romney lived by his Mormon religious principles first and foremost. While the Mormon Church maybe conservative it isn't Republican ideals conservative. Romney looked pained trying to play the part especially give all the different stands he has taken beginning with running to the "left" of Ted Kennedy when he challenged him for his senate seat.

In the end it was Santorum's day at CPAC. While Republicans may not be among wholesale on the Santorum bandwagon, they were much more excited by him than Romney. Santorum excite the base, Romney scares it. If this keeps up, Romney may get he GOP nomination but won't have the votes from his own party to win the general election.

Santorum and Romney battle for Colorodo, Missouri and Minnesota

2012-02-07T20:10:00.002-05:00

It appears that tonight's GOP battle will be between Rick Santorum and Willard Mitt Romney. Polls out of Missouri and Minnesota show Santorum leading Romney but up to five percentage points and Romney ahead in the non-binding Missouri contest. While former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has been campaigning in Minnesota for Romney after Romney paid his failed presidential bid debt, the effort does not seem to be paying off. Clearly if Minnesota goes for Santorum it will be an embarrassing loss for both Pawlenty, who probably though Romney might throw the running mate bone his way if he got the nomination. Strangely Missouri's non-binding primary seems to be going Romney's way. Lost in all this is Newt Gingrich who seems to be fading away again as less favorable contests for him dominate the month of February.

Santorum claims link between abortions and cancer

2012-02-05T13:47:00.002-05:00

I honestly didn't think that GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum could get any crazier than he already is until I saw his statements on abortion and its link to cancer. Super crazy. Here is Santorum on Fox New Sunday."I don't believe breast cancer research is advanced by funding an organization that does abortions where you've seen ties to cancer and abortions." Yikes. Santorum has really gone off the rails with this one.Unfortunately for Santorum extensive research in this ares was done recently. A 2007 study published by the Archives of Internal Medicine studying 105,716 women found no link between cancer and abortions. That's a big sample which is almost impossible to argue with. Where do politicians like Santorum come up with this crap?

GOP Congressman vows to dismantle new child labor laws

2012-02-02T17:05:00.001-05:00

This is the kind of shit that drives me crazy. The ignorance here is amazing and the stupidity off the charts. Where do these people come from. Check out the article on Huff Post and judge for yourself.

GOP Congressman vows to kill child labor protections.

Patriots favored to win Super Bowl

2012-01-31T20:39:00.002-05:00

The New England Patriots are favored to beat the New York Giants in their Super Bowl rematch this Sunday in Indianapolis. The odds makers are favoring the Patriots by three points.

Romney may win Florida but the nation still hates him

2012-01-31T18:34:00.002-05:00

While Willard Mitt Romney may win the primary tonight in Florida national polls still show his chief rival Newt Gingrich receiving more love. Poor Willard. No matter what he does, sing, talk, not wear a tie, kiss a dog, people in America still cannot warm to him. Bummer.

Even worse after bombing the state of Florida with attack ads aimed at Gingrich, even members of his own party are beginning to wonder if maybe they have made a mistake in lining up behind the most liberal GOP candidate for president to come along in a long time. That said there isn't much love for Gingrich as he lobs bombs of his own at Willard. All this negativity has led Michael Reagan, son of GOP's sacred god Ronald Reagan to say there is now a twelfth commandment which is to forget Reagan's 11th commandment that now member of the GOP should attack another member.

What fun this must be for the Democrats and President Obama's reelection team. While Gingrich and Romney slug it out with a little help from Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, they just keep note of the attacks for use in the general election. Yes the 2012 GOP primary is shaping up to be great entertainment.

Gingrich, Romney and the South Carolina Blues

2012-01-23T19:52:00.002-05:00

Well it certainly wasn't a weekend of southern hospitality for Willard Mitt Romney. After blowing at least a 10 point lead Romney lost South Carolina and his march to the nomination to disgraced former Speaker of the House Newt "3" Gingrich. Romney didn't just lose, he took a spanking. Gingrich out debated Romney for two nights and kept up the attack on Willard's lack of conservative credentials and his suspect business record causing a seismic shift in the polls and ultimately giving him a clear victory.

Now as the GOP Gone Bad series continues on to Florida, the seamless slide to the nomination will not go like the Romney campaign thought it had lubricated to do so. The GOP nomination contest will now slog on for at least a couple more months. The longer they go the more they beat themselves up and the more a sitting president has to use in the general election.

The Romney South Carolina Collapse

2012-01-20T18:18:00.004-05:00

This was supposed to be a slam dunk. An early victory in Iowa inspire of conservative evangelicals not giving love and a second victory in libertarian New Hampshire where Rep. Ron Paul had much support but Romney spent five years courting. On to South Carolina where again Christian conservatives were not stoked about Romney but yet he held a commanding lead.

That narrative seems forever ago. Now former Senator Rick Santorum is the real winner of Iowa, and South Carolina seems to have decided not to drink the Romney kool aid and former Speaker Newt Gingrich is now poised to potentially knock off Romney in a state where the Governor endorsed him. So much for the slam dunk the Romney campaign had expected. At this point they have only won New Hampshire and could be heading into southern states with serious trepidation. Oops.

Now that the whole dynamic has changed the Romney campaign has changed its tune. Now they say they were in it for the long haul. Yeah right. Now that McCain's 2008 Romney playbook has been leaked Mitt must be wondering what the hell happened to his cruise to the nomination. Republicans must still be saying, "is the best we can do?" Tomorrow should be interesting.

Pretenders "Learning to Crawl" 1984

2012-01-19T18:27:00.003-05:00

So I have been digging back into both the somewhat large music collection I have and the recesses of my brain that remember when I listened and first fell in love with certain albums. Yes albums, and cassettes as well for those that remember. So this will be the first in a series of my own favorites from the past, present and beyond.

In 1980 Chrissie Hynde and the the Pretenders, Martin Chambers on drums, Pete Farndon on bass and James Honeyman-Scott on guitar burst on the scene with their first album Pretenders and then a year later with Pretenders II. Unfortunately Farndon and Honeyman-Scott both overdosed and Hynde and Chambers were left with the ashes. In 1984 they roared back with this record. Poignant, loud, soft, all things a great record can be. Songs like "Middle of the Road", "Back on the Chain Gang", "2000 Miles", "Thumbelina" are classics. Buy it an enjoy.

Just what is Romney hiding in his tax returns?

2012-01-17T17:36:00.004-05:00

I will make this brief. After watching Romney try to dodge the tax return issue again I can only come to one conclusion, he is hiding something. If there is nothing to hide why not release his returns. Seems simple enough to me. No matter what Romney does or says he will never be anything more than what he is, a rich kid that got richer.

The biggest rumor on the returns is the tax rate he is paying. Unconfirmed reports say that he is paying around 15% which is lower than the average middle class taxpayer, certainly lower than what we pay at World Musings. At this point what does it matter. Everyone knows he is rich, everyone knows he has manipulated the system on taxes while at Bain so just release them and let the chips fall. Romney says he might in April. By then this laughable GOP primary contest will be over and it won't matter which should make us all wonder what he is trying to hide.

Patriots v. Broncos tonight!

2012-01-14T13:54:00.004-05:00

Patriots went to Denver a couple of weeks ago and put a hurt on the Broncos and their divine (laughs go here) quarterback Tim Tebow. Tonight I am calling the Pats by 14 at a minimum with a strong game from Tom Brady and an uncharacteristically good game by the Pats secondary.

Patriots v. Broncos tonight!

2012-01-14T13:54:00.001-05:00

Blinded By the Light, Stop and work for the message

2012-01-12T21:15:00.004-05:00

Why is it that so many get blinded by the light? You pick a candidate that fits your needs, you think. You argue with your friends and family that your candidate is the best thing for the country. You spend time following their every move, justifying things that they believe even though you may have said you don't in the past. But things are different now you say. He/She wasn't responsible for that grope or that statement or those drugs.

Its never the candidate. Its the message. All candidates are flawed. They take their flaws and try to gain office in a ridiculously flawed system. Put on the sunglasses my friends. Work for the message.

Ron Paul using an Obama strategy

2012-01-12T18:35:00.002-05:00

Apparently Ron Paul has borrowed part of the Obama 2008 playbook with a delegate focused campaign. Check it out here:

Delegate Strategy

Toon Time

2012-01-12T17:10:00.006-05:00

GOP Candidates Racially Wrong on Welfare

2012-01-12T15:42:00.001-05:00

Here is something for the GOP candidates who in recent days have blamed African Americans for being the largest number of welfare recipients.

"Of the 46 million people living in poverty in America in 2010, the U.S. census revealed that 31 million were white. Ten million were black. Of the 49 million people without health insurance coverage, 37 million were white; 8 million were African American. Latinos of every race and Asian Americans represented the remaining largest ethnic groups.

The face of poverty in America is overwhelmingly white, but as sociologist and professor William O'Hare explains in a 2009 study on children in poverty, the white American poor, especially those in rural areas, are "'forgotten.'"

The full article can be read here:

http://www.theroot.com/views/food-stamp-fallacy?page=0,1

Is this going to be the fight?

2012-01-11T21:54:00.004-05:00

Question of the Day

2012-01-11T21:48:00.001-05:00

Will conservatives rally around one candidate other than Romney after the South Carolina primary?

Romney wins in New Hampshire or does he

2012-01-11T13:22:00.002-05:00

Mitt Romney bought a house in New Hampshire. For the last five years he used it as his based of operation to criss cross the state looking for people to vote for him in 2012. Election day came and Romney who tried to convince the Granite state that he was one of them. Some listened but less than 40%. Now a savvy business man like Romney has to look at a five year investment of political capital, with a return of less than 40% over other candidates that spent less than half that time in the state, a loss. I sure do.

Hello New Hampshire and the Rise of Sen. Santorum and Electability

2012-01-08T15:00:00.002-05:00

The gang of six, or those GOP candidates that have good enough poll numbers (sorry Gov. Johnson) this morning finished back to back debates in the wonderful state of New Hampshire. Who won? Nobody. Who lost? Those of us that bothered to watch. Seriously though it appears that Sen. Santorum is getting a sizable bump from his finish in Iowa. His fundraising numbers are climbing, his crowds are getting bigger and at the debates he is now getting more questions than before when he was considered a long shot fringe candidate. (Are you listening Dr. Paul) Santorum is being referred to as the savior of the social conservatives looking to derail Gov. Romney.

Which brings me to electability. Electability is a term that gets thrown around every election and should now be banished. In 2008 the Democrats has two candidates that should based on US electoral history been unelectable. Sen. Clinton, a white woman ran and no woman has ever been elected president, and President Obama, a black man and no black man has ever been elected president until he managed to do it. Either Clinton or Obama was destined to beat the McCain ticket. Obama's victory and the 2008 election proved that skin color, religion, sex are no longer barriers to the White House. So those that say Santorum can't be elected maybe need a small lesson in recent history. As for those that say Romney can be elected, they need to look closely at those polls that show his dismal support in his own party with social conservatives, many who would rather stay home than vote for Romney which may be enough to derail him.

Romney has a sizable lead in New Hampshire and given that he lives there, was governor next door in Massachusetts, he should be leading. While a victory in New Hampshire would be good, more important for Romney will be South Carolina. While he has the endorsement of SC Gov. Haley he does not have the social conservative/Christan conservative vote. If Santorum does well on Tues. in New Hampshire and Perry and Gingrich tank, you may see them drop leaving Santorum the vote from those voters. That could spell trouble for Romney who would like a quick end to the primary season.

Hey its been a long tine come on back and hang with us

2011-12-26T16:51:00.002-05:00

We are back with a vengeance. Over the next few weeks we will return to covern politics 2012, music 2012, film, food, beer and booze. Whatever comes along we will take a look at. Join us please!

Clintons Show Their Pettiness By Attacking Kennedy

2008-02-02T18:46:00.000-05:00

Everyone figured that the Clinton’s would be upset that Senator Ted Kennedy endorsed Barak Obama for the Democratic Presidential nomination this week. After all, former President Clinton and Senator Kennedy worked closely together during the Clinton’s administration. What is shocking is how the Clintons, lead by the former president, have suddenly decided to attack Kennedy and attempt to tear down his reputation in the Democratic Party.

Twice in the last week Bill Clinton has tried to attack and slander Senator Kennedy by linking him to President Bush and his disastrous No Child Left Behind bill. Early in the week in Arizona the former president did just that io9n a speech. “I want you to think about this, and I have to say, this was a train wreck that was not intended. No Child Left Behind was supported by George Bush and Sen. Ted Kennedy and everybody in between. Why? Because they didn’t talk to enough teachers before they did that.” The Clinton tried to suggest that the standards in the bill, which are loathed by educators, are Kennedy’s fault and that he had made a deal with Bush.

Let’s discuss the truth. Hillary Clinton was one of those that Bill describe, as “everybody in between.” She voted for No Child Left Behind and at the time had nothing negative to say about the bill. Now, like everyone else she is in favor of changing it. In terms of the bill, its language and standards bear little resemblance to the one drafted by Kennedy, and the Kennedy drafted a bill was not the unfunded mandate that the Republicans pushed through.

The Clinton campaign must be so desperate that they are willing to lie and slander one of the Democratic Party’s greatest senators, while at the same time conveniently forgetting their own complicity in the issue of education reform. I always supported Bill Clinton but now I think it is time for him to leave the stage and go home, and if this is how a new Clinton White House would be, then Hillary should go with him.

GOP Loving Media Try To Derail Democrats With Race and Gender

2008-01-17T19:48:00.000-05:00

Today the Clinton and Obama campaigns pledged to stop fighting dirty with each other around race and gender and to instead fight dirty about their positions on major issues. Okay, that’s not exactly what they said. The mainstream media would just assume they continue to fight about race and gender but they would take anything they could get. The fact is the nonsense about race and gender that has been reported about the two campaigns this week is complete bullshit maintained by the mainstream media. Very few large media companies want to see either Obama or Clinton in the White House. After all neither one fits what they want which is a white male Republican.

Right now the Democrats are in an interesting position. For the first time in American history you have a woman, a black man and a white man all running for president. What is even more interesting is that the woman and the black man seem to have the best shot at the nomination. History is being made and that should be entertaining enough. However the mainstream media, controlled by GOP loving major corporations, don’t want the public to watch this history unfold. They want to see the Democrats implode over race and gender and culture and anything else the bastards can think of so another GOP nutjob can become president.

We the people, Democrat, Republican and everyone else should be excited that we finally got here. America has been way behind the curve in terms of diversity in its presidents compared to many other nations throughout the world. This is historic for us and we should follow it for the compelling history that it is. Only racist, bigoted assholes (read much of the corporate media) would want to denigrate such a campaign into racial and gender prejudices. We the people don’t need to pay attention.

Iowa Is Done Let’s See What the Democrats Do In New Hampshire

2008-01-04T19:23:00.000-05:00

Well, Iowa is over and I was right. Obama won, Edwards came in second and Clinton came in third. I do like being right but its time to look back at what happened and try to figure out what might happen in New Hampshire and beyond.

Obama surged in Iowa by getting votes from young people and many people that had never caucused before. The large numbers of younger people and women that caucused for Obama should be troubling for the Clinton campaign. Clinton had banked on women supporting the first legitimate woman to run for the presidency. That never happened. Edwards sucked off the union vote and the populists leaving Clinton with the moderates. Going forward Clinton is going to need to make inroads in all areas to stay viable. If she can’t she’s done.

Edwards came in second again. Not quite what he had hoped for but much better than what could have been. Obama’s win and his second place finish should provide Edwards with the opportunity to become the anti-Obama so to speak. Much is always made about electability and in the end will the Democratic party follow its past successes by nominating a smart Southern white man or a smart Midwestern black man or a smart Northeastern woman. It would seem that in that comparison the smart Southern man would have the clear edge. Think Bill Clinton in ‘92 and Jimmy Carter in ‘76.

So now what does Clinton do? I would argue that she goes negative hard and fast at Obama and takes her chances with Edwards. I wouldn’t go negative but I think that’s all the Clinton people have left is to attack Obama anyway they can. Clinton will do well in New Hampshire because of her husband’s popularity there but beyond that, to South Carolina for example, she is clearly in trouble.

The wild card still could be Bill Richardson. He got 12% in Iowa and while that isn’t going to get him to the nomination it certainly puts him in the position to be a huge influence. If he releases his people to one particular candidate it would put that one person over the edge. Richardson may be looking for a VP nod and frankly he’s overqualified for the job, but it would make a formidable ticket with Edwards, Clinton or Obama.

This should an interesting five days leading to New Hampshire’s vote and beyond.

Iowa Madness Comes To An End Tonight

2008-01-03T09:12:00.000-05:00

So finally some real Americans are going to cast votes (sort of) for presidential candidates in what seems like the longest campaign in history that has yet to see a vote cast. In the temperate 25 degree climate of Iowa, it is currently 1 degree Fahrenheit here in the Northeast, caucus goers will line up tonight behind their preferred candidates.

The Democratic candidates have spent the last two days trying to maintain their people and get their organizations ready to deliver the people to caucus locations. Besides that there has been some jockeying around resources and who is better suited to continue the campaign when it leaves Iowa tomorrow.

In statements attributed to both the Clinton and Obama campaigns it has been floated that John Edwards, who has opted to receive Federal funds, will not have the resources to continue the campaign much beyond New Hampshire. While the Edwards strategy may not be the wisest, it certainly doesn’t mean that he should be counted out. It is unfortunate that candidates and campaigns view money as the most important thing and not the candidate and their message.

(It must be revealed that I have been a Edwards supporter going back to the late 2004 primaries. However I would be perfectly happy with any Democrat that is willing to stand up and fight the Republicans in the general election and bring the country back to greatness with a victory in November.)

What this election cycle has shown so far is that experience and dedication to public service doesn’t seem to mean a damn thing which is kind of scary. The most qualified of the Democrats, Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd and Governor Bill Richardson are not even close to the hunt in Iowa or any other state for that matter. It is completely ridiculous that Obama, who has not even fulfilled on term in the Senate, or Clinton who has served less than two terms in the Senate, or Edwards when was a one term Senator, can claim to have the best experience. I tend to laugh hardest at Clinton’s assertions that her time as first lady gives her the qualifications to be president. If that is so than maybe I should he able to send my wife in to do my job every once in a while since she lives with me and hears me talk about my job all the time.

Anyway here is my best guess for tonight’s outcome for the Democrats. 1. Obama 2. Edwards 3. Clinton.

See you all in New Hampshire.

Obama Takes Issue With 527 Ads Supporting Edwards

2007-12-26T17:35:00.000-05:00

Right before the Christmas campaign break it was reported that Senator Barak Obama has taken issue with a 527 run by a former campaign aide to Senator John Edwards. At issue for Obama was the idea that the 527 ads supporting Edwards were somehow shading because the 527 is run by a former Edwards aide.

Obama is taking on Edwards on this issue trying to use the former Senator’s words against him. Edwards consistently rails against special interests and their influence in Washington. Obama is trying to use this to say that the 527, Alliance for A New America , run by Nick Baldick, a former high-ranking Edwards’ adviser, is the same type of influence and flaunting of the election laws. For last few election cycles the 527s have spent millions of dollars for candidates and have at time played a pivotal role in elections. When pressed whether he would welcome that type of help in the general election, Obama was cagey at best,refusing to look that far ahead.

So there is the unspoken double standard. Obama isn’t getting that kind of help right now in a tight race with Edwards and Clinton and he doesn’t like it so he throws ethics around. But when asked if he would welcome that kind of help he doesn’t say no. Seems like the good guy sheen of Obama’s campaign is a might thin in spots.

It is without a doubt a tight race in Iowa and the next few days are key. Whining about some television ads is not going to bring people to the caucuses to cast critical votes. Obama need to concentrate on making his lead in the poll translate into actual caucus votes on a very cold Iowa evening in January. Otherwise Edwards and or Clinton are going to send him back to Illinois.

Romney Never Saw His Father March With Martin Luther King Jr. - Just More Flip Flopping Lies

2007-12-21T18:32:00.000-05:00

Whoa! Look out! What was that?! Oh it was a Mitt Romney flip flop, I should have known. This week Romney claimed on more that one occasion to have seen his father march with Martin Luther King Jr. After a little research showed that Romney’s father never marched with King, the GOP presidential candidate now says he meant that by saw his father he meant that he was aware of his father marching and Dr. Kings work but not the two things together or something equally stupid.

The bottom line is this, Romney’s father, Michigan Governor George Romney, never marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and Mitt certainly never saw the two together. But, let’s let Mitt try to explain this.

“If you look at the literature, if you look at the dictionary, the term ’saw’ includes being aware of in the sense I’ve described,” Romney told reporters in Iowa. “It’s a figure of speech and very familiar, and it’s very common. And I saw my dad march with Martin Luther King. I did not see it with my own eyes, but I saw him in the sense of being aware of his participation in that great effort.”

What a load of crap. I did a quick dictionary search and nowhere does it say saw means you get to merge two separate events together and make them one. Mitt Romney is a classic opportunist that believes that the American people will not check up on his lies.

Unlike his son, Governor George Romney was a champion of civil rights and was a man that had strong convictions and beliefs. He must roll over in his grave watching his son invoke his legacy in another set of opportunistic campaign lies.

Senator Lying Joe Lieberman Endorses Senator John McCain For President

2007-12-17T19:12:00.000-05:00

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Judas) today in New Hampshire announced his endorsement of Senator John McCain (R-Liar) for president.

“Being a Republican is important. Being a Democrat is important. But you know what’s more important than that? The interest and well-being of the United States of America,” said Lieberman trying to convince us he was once a Democrat.

Lieberman has finally come full circle. The little lying bastard kissed Bush’s ass on Iraq. Then he lied to the good people of Connecticut when they wanted a different Democrat by running as an Independent supported by Republicans. Wait there’s more, Lieberman the lying bastard caucused with the Democrats this year yet jumped on board with everything the Republicans wanted for Iraq.

Now we know for sure that Lieberman is truly a Republican. When the Democrats take an overwhelming majority in the Senate in the 2008 election the Democratic leadership can send Joe to a little closet in the basement for the rest of his pitiful career.

Clinton Continues Personal Attack On Obama

2007-12-12T19:52:00.001-05:00

With only a few weeks to go before actual citizens get to decide who they want as president, it appears that the campaigns on both sides are swinging into the mud. You knew it was just a matter of time before attacks on policy became attacks on person. This is particularly highlight because candidates that thought things were going their way are now finding their way is a lonely one.

No where is this better illustrated than in the Clinton campaign. Senator Clinton was all but anointed the Democratic nominee when this campaign began in what seems like a decade ago, now finds herself behind Barak Obama in many key states and suddenly on the offensive.

Over the last few days the Clinton campaign has begun to make direct character attacks on Obama, something they hadn’t done until now. One such move came from Billy Shaheen, co-chair of Clinton’s New Hampshire operation. Shaheen was quoted this week as saying that Obama’s drug use would be a huge issue for him. Although Shaheen and Clinton may believe the issue is a problem up until now it hasn’t been. Obama has been upfront about his drug use as a teenager and how he overcame that time in his life. Instead of hiding it, he actually makes it a point to discuss how his life could have gone had he continued on a negative path. Now Clinton, whose own husband smoked but did not inhale (yeah okay) is attacking him for it.

While it is a desperate move by the Clinton campaign to use this kind of attack, it is more dangerous down the line. If the Democrats hammer each other with severely negative personal stuff it will only be used as ammunition by the GOP in November. While all campaigns have attacks, those that are personal are the ones that drive a campaign down. Democrats need to beware that one of them will be the nominee and that they need to save that kind of negative crap for the GOP in November.

Obama Clinton War Helps Edwards

2007-12-05T16:46:00.000-05:00

The top two Democratic candidates for president have spent much of the last few days attacking each other. Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton have taken daily shots at each other as the days dwindle to the Iowa caucuses. While Obama and Clinton jump on each others words, John Edwards has been left alone to continue pushing his message of a fair and equal America.

What has clearly contributed to the Edwards campaign is the mudslinging of the other two. Obama and Clinton have accused each other of lots of things including not having the experience or the toughness to beat the Republicans and become president. This nonsense leaves the Edwards campaign the ability to frame the candidates message without having to waste time constantly defending themselves.

This phenomenon has helped Edwards into a statistical tie with Clinton and Obama in Iowa. With less than a month to go a continued battle between Obama and Clinton may swing many of those caucus goers that remain undecided, and that number remains quite large, to Edwards brand of modern populism. With a boost from an Iowa win Edwards could completely reshape the campaign to his advantage.

Bush Still Has Fantasy Of Attacking Iran

2007-12-05T16:43:00.000-05:00

Once again George W. Bush and his neocon puppeteers have again sounded the danger fantasy about Iran. In light of a new National Intelligence Estimate that says Iran stopped working on nuclear weapons four years ago causing Bush has again ratcheted up the rhetoric against the country so he can still attack Iran before he leaves office.

During a meeting with reporters Bush all but brushed aside the new report.

“Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon,” stated Bush who then asked “What’s to say they couldn’t start another covert nuclear weapons program?” Of course Iran could start up their nuclear program again, but what may happen in the future cannot be a reason to lawlessly attack another sovereign nation. The nonsense that Bush and Cheney are now spitting out in regard to Iran is eerily similar to the lies they used leading up to the illegal invasion of Iraq.

Bush is so bloodthirsty that he is willing to stay in his little fantasy world. In Bush’s fantasy world all Muslim nations are evil unless they are lining his pockets with gold. Even though the United States government’s National Intelligence Estimate, a document created by the nation’s intelligence agencies, says Iran is not seeking nukes, Bush who apparently can’t read, is still willing to start another war. We have already lived through Bush and Cheney’s lies that got us into a bloody war in Iraq so they could steal Iraqi oil, now we are seeing a new set of lies so that they can steal the energy supplies in Iran.

Bush’s fixation on war is incredibly dangerous. The combination of his this bloodthirsty behavior and the fact that he is the lamest of lame duck presidents makes Bush a very dangerous man. Ultimately Bush has nothing to lose by attacking Iran and everything to gain. If Bush is allowed to attack Iran, America’s standing in the world will be impossible to restore and the number of Muslims willing to risk their live to kill Americans will increase a thousand times over. Bush must be stopped at all costs before he brings America over the edge and into the abyss.

Rove’s Revisionist Iraq War History

2007-11-29T17:05:00.000-05:00

It has been said all along that George W. Bush and his entire administration have been living in a fantasy land. Apparently the fantasy continues even after you leave the administration. In a wide ranging interview with Charlie Rose, former White House political director Karl Rove said that the Bush Administration did not want Congress to vote on the Iraq War resolution in the fall of 2002, because they thought it should not be done within the context of an election. I know you’re laughing out loud but wait that’s not even the best part. Rove blames Congress for pushing Bush into a war with Iraq.

Rove is clearly living in a complete fantasy land where everything that is real can be changed with a few words. In his interview with Charlie Rose, Rove stated that the “premature vote” led to many of the problems that cropped up in the Iraq War. Had Congress not pushed, he says, Bush could have spent more time assembling a coalition, and provided more time to the inspectors. What the fuck. The whole world watched as Bush did exactly the opposite of what Rove is suggesting.

Congress gave the president the authority to use force if all other avenues had been explored. So to say Bush was rushed is complete bullshit. Bush ignored the bulk of what Congress passed and went right for the illegal war part.

Rove must truly believe that the American public is completely stupid and are gullible enough to believe his revisionist history. Problem is we are not that stupid. Mr. Rove also fails to realize that anyone can get on their computer and find out the truth about how Bush ignored all the other opportunities in Iraq that did not require violence and rushed us into an unnecessary and exceedingly bloody war.

My suggestion is to send Rove all the articles and Youtube clips you can find that show that facts about how he helped Bush lie us into war. Let him sift through them so he can remember what reality really is.

Guiliani Screwed His Mistress, His Wife And The Citizens Of New York City

2007-11-29T17:02:00.000-05:00

Its always difficult when you are running for president. Your entire life is put under a microscope, a very very powerful microscope. Because of this it is always interesting when a politician is caught with his pants down, so to speak. In Rudi Giuliani’s case he may literally been caught with his pants down. Records from his administration show that Giuliani improperly billed city agencies for police protection for himself and his mistress, now his wife, Judith Nathan.

The story broke just before the debate last night and although moderator Anderson Cooper of CNN asked Giuliani about the allegations that was the end of it for the night. That is not likely to be the case for the general public.

According to the story by Politico, Giuliani began his frequent travels to the Hamptons at the same time his affair with Nathan began. Prior to this Giuliani had no business or other reason to spend overnights in the Hamptons. The expenses first surfaced when Giuliani’s term as mayor ended when a city auditor stumbled across something unusual: $34,000 worth of travel expenses buried in the accounts of the New York City Loft Board. Why did Giuliani put the expenses with the Loft Board? Giuliani has no good answer for that. New York Mayors are afforded 24 hour protection provided by the NYPD and the expenses are borne them. According to City Comptroller William Thompson, auditors “were unable to verify that these expenses were for legitimate or necessary purposes.”

So the man who calls himself America’s Mayor decided to spend the taxpayers money so he could go screw his mistress then he hid the evidence. So not only did Giuliani screw Nathan, his wife and the people of New York City now he is trying to screw the American people with claims of honesty.

Giuliani has often stated his mistakes and has asked the voters to view all of his deeds not just the mistakes. Problem with that idea is his mistakes are overshadowing anything he may be able to take positive credit for. Let’s see how he tries to weasel his way out of this one.

Romney Brings His Bigotry Against Muslims To The White House

2007-11-27T19:49:00.000-05:00

If you are an American Muslim Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says you don’t count. Romney who has made many negative comments about so called “radical” or “extremist” Muslims fighting against us in the Middle East has now brought his racist tone to American Muslims.

At a campaign appearance in Nevada a few weeks back Romney made a comment that many consider a bigoted attack on Americans that happen to be Muslims. When asked about having a Muslim in his cabinet Romney responded by saying “I cannot see that a Cabinet position would be justified” based on the percentage of Muslims in the U.S. Most people that are elected president base their selections for Cabinet secretaries on a candidates qualifications not their religious affiliation.

Romney’s continued attacks against Muslims is a complete contradiction to how he wants the campaign to proceed. Romney has said that the campaign should not be a referendum on a candidate’s faith. Well, nice try. The GOP has always thrown faith and religion at the American voters and the only reason Romney doesn’t want to do that is because he is a Mormon. Romney knows that most Americans have a dim view Mormons to the point of not considering it to be a real religion. Many people see Mormonism as more of a cult.

Whatever America’s feelings might be Romney feels that it is fine and dandy to vilify an entire religion because a few extremists. What he can’t stand is applying the same rational to religion of presidential candidates. Unfortunately for Mitt, Mormon history is full of extremists behavior, including that of its founder. He knows Mormon history is a problem and doesn’t want you to know about it. Romney’s bigotry is obvious and sickening. Now that he has played the prejudice card expect him to be attacked for his less than mainstream religion.

Russert Hands Meet the Press Over To Matalin and Carville

2007-11-26T21:18:00.000-05:00

After watching Meet the Press this Sunday I would imagine that some presidential candidates whose names are not Clinton and Thompson should be screaming at NBC for equal time for themselves. On Sunday’s program, Tim Russert, host of the program, had a round table discussion of the 2008 presidential election and two of the guests were husband wife nut jobs James Carville and Mary Matalin. Matalin and Carville’s performances should be cause for outrage.

During the discussions on the race for president, both Carville and Matalin promoted their candidates on the program. Several times Matalin mentioned her work for the Thompson campaign, often discussing the candidate’s new position papers and defending his lackluster campaigning. Carville for his part did the same for his candidate Hillary Clinton. The other guests, Republican Mike Murphy and Democrat Bob Shrum fortunately did not hawk any particular candidate on the program.

So much for any sense of fairness and quality and respect for the people viewing the program. Basically Russert and NBC allowed their Sunday morning show to be hijacked by two of the candidates for president. It would be one thing if both Matalin and Carville had come clean about their affiliations,which they did, and simply left it at that. Problem was they didn’t. Almost every time either one was asked a question they framed it around their candidate. It was a sad show that once again shows how ridiculously manipulative Russert and his show can be for those they favor.

Dinosaur Jr. Go To Boston and Beyond

2007-11-26T19:29:00.001-05:00

Dinosaur Jr. roared to epic levels of noise and pure indie rock pleasure during a full on sonic assault Friday night at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club. From the opening riffs of “Almost Ready,” a stellar song from Beyond the band’s excellent new record, to the show’s final attack of “Chunks,” the reformed trio played loud and fast, just the way we like it.

After opening with three songs from the new disk, “Almost Ready,” “Been There All The Time,” and “Back To Your Heart” the band kicked into the old stuff with a searing version of the “Lung”, followed by “Little Fury Things.”

On stage the band said very little to the audience and almost nothing to each other, but that’s pretty much the way its always been. What the band did do is show how much their musicianship had improved since the early days while keeping it fast, furious through an excellent set of Dino classics and new songs. Even while struggling at times with a muddled vocal sound, the combination of J’s sonics, Murph’s pounding and Lou’s thrashing was something to behold, especially in a small venue like the Paradise.

The day after Thanksgiving date, with most of the Boston’s colleges closed down, made for a more hardcore crowd of true Dino fans. The band gave their fans exactly what they came for, a sonic trip to 90s indie rock and beyond. From beginning to end J, Lou and Murph attacked their catalog of 90s masterpieces including Freak Scene and Sludgefeast, and their stellar new record Beyond, with reckless abandon.

Having seen many incarnations of Dinosaur Jr over the years, the new record and these incredible live shows remind you why the original three are the only people who should be playing this music. With a new record called Beyond who knows what they future might bring from J, Lou and Murph.

A complete set list is below.

Almost Ready
Been There All The Time
Back To Your Heart
Lung
Little Fury Things
Out There
This Is All I Came To Do
Feel The Pain
Pick Me Up
Crumble
The Wagon
Gargoyle

Encore
Freak Scene
Sludgefeast
Chunks

Why Would Anyone Believe Joe Lieberman Is America’s Ultimate Statesman?

2007-11-21T12:57:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe that there is anyone in this country that has a favorable view of Joe Lieberman’s politics but there is. In an article today on Bloomberg.com, columnists Morton Kondracke points to the 2008 presidential race and laments that there is no one running that has the right political mix and statesmanship for the presidency. Kondracke does believe that Joe Lieberman is the person that has those qualities.

Kondracke believes that the Democrats have become too liberal in their foreign policy approach and that the Republicans are not fiscally responsible anymore and are too conservative on social issues. But not Joe. Kondracke went way too far in his comparisons.

“There is a statesman-sized hole to fill in the center of American politics. It would fit a figure who is strong on national security, unlike all the Democratic candidates, yet fiscally responsible and socially moderate to liberal, unlike the Republicans.

It’s a Franklin Roosevelt-, Harry Truman-, Dwight Eisenhower-, John F. Kennedy-sized hole that’s currently occupied by no one except perhaps Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), a man without a party.”

Kondracke must delusional to put a backstabbing, party hopping loser like Lieberman in the same breath as Roosevelt Eisenhower and Kennedy.Lieberman, who in 2000 was the Democratic vice presidential candidate, ignored the voters of his own party in his own state when they decided to turn to Ned Lamont as their candidate for Senate. Lamont would have easily beaten his Republican challenger but instead lost because Lieberman ran an independent campaign. With financial and vote support from Republicans, Lieberman was reelected to the Senate. Lieberman is a politician who believes he is above the will of his constituents, which is certainly not at all like the men he was compared to by Kondracke, nor is it like the Democratic candidates for president.

Kondracke’s opinion and argument about the 2008 presidential race could have been interesting had he not become completely delusional in comparing great statesmen to a hypocrite like Joe Lieberman.

Link

Bonds, An Embarrasment to Baseball, Is Indicted

2007-11-16T13:33:00.000-05:00

Barry Bonds*, former outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, was finally indicted yesterday for lying to a federal grand jury. Bonds is accused of lying to the grand jury about his steroid use during his baseball career and his ties to the Balco lab that produced the steroids he used. Finally, we will be done with Bonds the baseball player, instead we can get to see who Bonds really is, a lying, selfish, egotistical cheat.

The only problem with the Bonds indictment is that it came a few months too late. If only the charges had been brought before Bonds had a chance to break Hank Aaron’s home run record. Now, technically, Bonds is the all time home run champ. While that may be the case for now, these charges against Bonds coupled with any other information about his continuous cheating while chasing Aaron’s record, should knock this lying good for nothing self right out of baseball and its record books.

It is truly a shame for baseball and its fans to have one of its biggest records held by someone that clearly cheated their way to success. Bonds is certainly not alone in using performance enhancements but he did continuously lie about using them even in the face of overwhelming evidence that he did. With this indictment it is clear that Major League Baseball needs to continue to ratchet up its testing of players so a problem like this never against tarnishes America’s pastime. Good riddance to Bonds. May he lose his records and may he be banned from baseball forever.

(*embarrassment to baseball)

President Clinton Needs To Stop Whining About The Treatment of Hillary

2007-11-15T16:13:00.000-05:00

I never thought I would say this but, I would really like former President Bill Clinton to shut up. Over the last week Bill has been whining left and right about how the other Democratic candidates for president and a certain debate moderator have been treating his wife Hillary.

Bill has whined that Hillary was swift boated over her views on the governor of New York’s driver’s license plan for illegal immigrants. Well, if Bill thinks that Tim Russert the moderator at the debate was swift boating poor Hillary in some way then he really didn’t pay much attention to the 2004 presidential race. Hillary Clinton had said at an earlier time that she supported New York Governor Switzer’s plan to give licenses to illegal immigrants. At the last debate she refused to give that answer or any answer when asked about it by moderator Tim Russert, who kept after he for an answer. Any politician should understand that if you say something one day then a few days refuse to say it again or give a completely different answer, those actions are open to scrutiny. Scrutiny can be a little tough during a presidential race and Bill Clinton of all people should know that.

Then there was the comment by Bill Clinton that the boys were ganging up on the girl (Hillary). Well again Bill should know that when you are the front runner the rest of the candidates are going to come after you and there attacks certainly have nothing to do with gender. The other candidates were doing exactly what they should be doing, trying to put holes in the front runner’s sails.

I must say I am truly disappointed in Bill. I understand he yearns to return to the White House even as First Gentleman but this kind of stuff is embarrassing. Does Bill think that Hillary is not tough enough to withstand the attacks? If that is the case then Hillary and Bill should pack up and go home because the Republicans are certainly going to be a lot tougher in the general election with her if she is the nominee than her Democratic rivals are now.

Radiohead Delivers In Rainbows

2007-11-14T16:37:00.000-05:00

Radiohead are a band. What's that you say? You knew this all along. Well I was beginning to wonder if the computer from OK Computer has taken over in the wake of Kid A and Hail To The Thief. However with the release of In Rainbows it is clear that Radiohead are a band and a damn fine one at that.

Radiohead has always been a group that seemed like it had something to prove. After hitting it large with The Bends and OK Computer the band decided to test our loyalties with the experimental albums Kid A and Amnesiac, two albums that made me begin to wonder if the computer had taken over. Don't get me wrong I like both those albums but I missed the rest of the band. Fortunately with In Rainbows, the band is back.

In Rainbows sounds like a band trying to, gasp, have fun. From the brilliant opening song “15 Step” (the only one with Kid A like electronic flourishes) to the album's finale “Videotape”, Radiohead sounds like a band that has found its own groove. Whether they will admit to having fun is something all together different.

What is very interesting is that for the first time Thom Yorke's vocals are right up front and center. Not only are they up front they also sound much more soulful than in previous outings. All this allows us to actually understand what Yorke is singing the first time around. The guitar work on the album is also up front instead of the electronics of previous albums. The combination of the two along with keyboard accents and the stellar drumming of Phil Selway creates the sound of a band at the top of their game.

With In Rainbows, Radiohead has come out front and center with great songs. Add these great songs together with the band's innovative distribution method and you have a winning formula that fans are sure to dig.

Tough Times At the Russia India Summit

2007-11-14T16:34:00.001-05:00

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh after realizing they hooked up the night before. (www.236.com)

WORLD MUSINGS IS BACK!

2007-11-14T16:30:00.000-05:00

World Musings is back after a little hiatus. We'll still be working hard at the Bartblog but all things will be seen here as well as more stuff we've got planned. So come on down!

MOVING TO BARTCOP'S BARTBLOG

2007-07-09T15:36:00.000-04:00

I will be moving the my World Musings, Ltd. attitude to the Bartblog. Bartblog is part of the awesome site Bartcop.com. If you don't know about Bartcop you should definitely check it out along with the Bartblog. World Musings, Ltd. will continue here sometime after September. If anyone is interested in filling in here for me let me know.

Bush's Palestinian Mess

2007-06-18T17:12:00.000-04:00

President Bush (R-slacker) decided at the beginning of his presidency that the middle east peace process was too much for him to handle. Since the beginning Bush and his lackeys have done absolutely nothing to help bring peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Instead he let things go, set the situation adrift to let the parties work it out. Instead of working it out we got a failure of a war between Israel and Hezbollah and the rise and political success of Hamas. Now that Hamas has taken over the Gaza Strip all of a sudden Bush is interested. Maybe George realizes that Iraq is the legacy he has so he's looking for some other way to look good. Too little too late. Bush has now allowed a miniature civil war to happen between the Palestinians possibly pushing back peace for years.

How about........Palestinian Areas in Civil War Chaos

2007-06-14T20:20:00.000-04:00

In the Gaza Strip the Palestinians are experiencing their own version of civil war. After months of an uneasy truce Fatah and Hamas have gone to war. The sad part is all of this could have been avoided had President Bush (R-Ignorant) and his administration paid attention to the Israeli/Palestinian peace process. Instead Bush backed off leaving the Palestinian territories and government in flux opening up for Hamas to increase their power.

Now full scale civil war in Gaza, the Palestinian government has dissolved, rockets rain down on Israel and of course Iraq continues to burn. Bush really has left his mark on the Middle East. Unfortunately his mark is a large festering open would with little possibility of healing.

Lieberman Calls For Military Strikes Against Iran

2007-06-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

Joe Lieberman (I-Bush Blower) today on Face The Nation called for aggressive military strikes against Iran. Lieberman believes, contrary to any legitimate intelligence, that Iran is responsible for training Iraqi insurgents responsible for killing American soldiers. Well Joe you Republican cock sucker, if people like you hadn't had a hard on for Bush's illegal invasion no US soldier would be getting killed. So this is what the people of Connecticut voted for instead of Ned Lamont, a warmongering bitch who never had to serve in his pathetic life. Why don't we put Lieberman in the cockpit, oh wait he likes cock, of a bomber under heavy anti aircraft guns and then see how much he want to attack another country.

Bored With 2008 Election

2007-06-05T18:52:00.000-04:00

I have not posted a single thing for a week and there is a very good reason for it, I'm bored. Now I'm like the fact that people read the blog and mostly that keeps me going. However since I spend a lot of time covering politics I am bored. I am bored with the 2008 presidential election that started way too early in 2007. Right now there is not one candidate that inspires me in the least. There are several candidates on both sides that I truly dislike but smashing then daily is boring as well. What this election needs is a siesta. Already I am saturated with the election like most of you. By the time the actual primaries come around the candidates may have bored us so much to death that none of us will go to the polls. I hope that doesn't happen because for some reason the Republicans mostly beat the Democrats at getting out the vote and that would really suck.

So I am looking at the rest of the interests of World Musings. Maybe more music, maybe more prose or maybe I'll just take a long vacation. If you have any ideas send them my way I could use them.

Cindy Sheehan Leaves Anti-War Movement

2007-05-29T19:45:00.000-04:00

Cindy Sheehan the mother of a US soldier slain during the Iraq war who rose to prominence as an anti-war crusader and Bush agitator has left the movement. In a letter on a blog Sheehan describes her journey as wreaking havoc on her life and that her son died for "nothing at all." Sheehan became a very visible face of the anti-war movement when she camped our down the street from President Bush's fake ranch in Crawford Texas.

I feel for Sheehan's sacrifice both of her son for this bloody illegal war and for her efforts to stop Bush. However Sheehan many times ignored advice regarding her actions and those around her spent too much time bickering about what should be done instead of taking action. Maybe Sheehan's very public and very unfortunate exist from the anti-war movement will be a wake up call to action. If not Bush will go on killing our brave soldiers for a pack of lies and some barrels of oil.

MEMORIAL DAY PRAISE FOR OUR FALLEN SONS AND DAUGHTERS AND HUSBANDS AND WIVES AND NIECES AND NEPHEWS AND BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND MOTHERS AND FATHERS..

2007-05-28T17:15:00.000-04:00

TASTY TOON TIME!!

2007-05-22T20:06:00.001-04:00

Carter Backs of Statements About Bush

2007-05-21T14:11:00.000-04:00

On the Today Show this morning former President Jimmy Carter backed off his statement that the Bush administration was the worst in history. What he meant was that the Nixon, Reagan, Bush I and Bush II presidencies all have eroded the rights and agreements of our founding fathers and the precedents set by previous administrations. He did say that Bush's foreign policy was worse than Nixon but that wasn't hard to achieve for Bush the bumbler. I really wish Jimmy had just stuck with what was reported instead of backing off. Bush can't hold a candle to Carter and the former president should know that and stick to his guns.

Bush Spokesman Calls Former President Carter "Irrelevant"

2007-05-20T19:48:00.000-04:00

In a continuing war of words White House spokesman Tony Fratto had this to say about former President Carter's criticizm of George W. Bush (R-Incompentent) "I think it's sad that President Carter's reckless personal criticism is out there," "I think it's unfortunate. And I think he is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments." If anyone is proving that they are not only irrelevent but completely useless it is President Bush and his administration.

Former president Carter had earlier in the week called the Bush administration the "worst in history," an idea that is supported by most people. Carter has called the administration on their illegal bloody war in Iraq and its lack of domestic or foreign policy successes in the last six years. Now Carter's administration may not have been the sharpest in history but many good things came from the administration including a massive step toward peace in the Middle East.

Certainly Carter has stepped into uncharted waters. There has always been an unspoken law that ex-presidents don't take aim at current presidents with as sharp a rebuke as Carter has. However through the years presidents have come out against their predecessors but calling Bush "the worst president ever" is a call to battle. Maybe Carter got sick of the lack of fire against Bush, his war and his policies. Carter's comments may be what the public needs to wake the fuck up and truly realize what a complete and dangerous disaster the Bush administration has been.

America's Dream

2007-05-17T14:37:00.000-04:00

END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW!

2007-05-16T21:18:00.000-04:00

END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW!

The American public must shout this from the rooftops if they want our delusional president to even hear a whisper of discontent. Since Americans are not suffering enough (except the families of those that returned shrouded in the red white and blue with the stripes) the war isn't hitting hard enough to make people take to the streets and demand an end. Maybe $4.00 gasoline will do it. After all since Bush's bloody illegal invasion of Iraq gas prices have skyrocketed. Whatever makes the difference people need to get out and end the worst foreign policy disaster in American history.

END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW! END THE WAR (ILLEGAL OCCUPATION) NOW!

Police Reunion Tour Part 1

2007-05-13T20:19:00.001-04:00

When I first discovered that the Police were going to tour after their opening of the Grammys I must admit that I was interested. During my high school years the Police were in constant rotation. The Police were the lightweight band of the punk and post punk bands that I was into in high school. While many of my favorites of the time like the Clash wore their politics on their sleeves the Police were milder even when addressing world issues which made them an easy yet satisfying listen and the girls dug them too.

I first saw the Police on the Ghost in the Machine Tour in 1981 at the Boston Garden. The band were on top of their game backing a record that varied musically and lyrically. Although the old Garden was never known for its stellar sound quality, the Police sounded great with Sting and Summers switching from their guitars to keyboards while Copeland kept the beat alive. I have seen many, many shows over the years and have seen many of the great live performers but I put this Police show near or at the top of my list. I saw the band two more times both on the Synchronicity tour , one at the cavernous Foxboro Stadium and the other at the much smaller Providence Civic Center. Both of these show were also excellent shows. At the top of their game the Police were an amazing live band.

So given all that I was initially interested. I saw then on the Grammys and they looked good. It was announced that they would play Fenway Park and that was intriguing as I was there for the fist gig there by Bruce Springsteen. What knocked me off were the ticket prices. I basically looked at it this way, I decided I had seen three awesome Police shows in their prime and that was enough. That was enough until an easy ticket was dropped in my lap from my brother for the Saturday July 28th show. So I'm in and excited to see an old favorite band make a comeback. Hopefully it will be successful like some of the others(I'm thinking the Stooges). So like many other shows I have seen I will be posting a review of the gig and any other things that might go on as I start to listen to a lot more of the Police.

Bush The Brat Wants It Only His Way On Spending Bill

2007-05-10T21:09:00.000-04:00

Keeping full speed ahead to further disaster President Bush (R-Crybaby) has vowed to veto to the latest war spending bill passed today by the Congress. While the bill doesn't set timetables for troop withdrawal it does demand a July progress report indicating success to keep the dollars flowing. Opposition was immediate from the minority Republican party who has yet to say why a progress report is a bad thing. Oh wait we know why. There is no fucking progress in Iraq. Iraq is a disaster. Iraq was a disaster in the beginning and remains so now. The only way to fix the country is politically with all the major players in the region, including Iran, helping to stabilize it and keep extremists out. Without regional assistance it wont matter how many troops we sacrifice nothing will change.

How About......Boredom with the 2008 Presidential election

2007-05-10T19:55:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but I am already bored with the 2008 presidential election and its only May 2007. As far as I can see none of the candidates on either side offering anything inspiring. Most of it is retread policies from both sides with a shot of "but I'm for change." Boredom could be a serious problem in the 2008 election and possibly could benefit the Republicans. With the Bush administration basically denounced and dead and buried, the Republicans would get crushed if the election were held today. However boredom and fatigue about the election could turn off the general electorate and leave it up to the hardcore base. In that case the Republicans win. The Republican base is rabid where the Democratic base, although rabid, is more fractured. Boredom, something Republican ooze could really be their savior.

Paris Hilton Gets Jail Time

2007-05-04T21:18:00.000-04:00

Who fucking cares. We have a shit load more to worry about in this country other than whose bitch Paris becomes in jail.

.

2007-05-03T19:53:00.000-04:00

Bush Is Commander Guy!

2007-05-03T15:36:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen if there was any doubt in your mind that we have an unruly adolescent as president should be gone after Bush's newest comment about himself. Bush was speaking at the convention of the Associated General Contractors of America, when he began talking about who was in charge of the bloody war in Iraq eventually calling himself the "commander guy." That level of eloquence reminds me of the many adolescents I come in contact as an educator. "Hey, you're not the commander guy, I'm the commander guy, I called it first!" That is what I expected to come out of Georgie's mouth next. First he's "the decider" and now he is the "commander guy."Scary stuff. We have a president that refuses to grow and change with the times, much like a child, and while this is all happening our young men and women are dying and being maimed. Aren't you glad we have a man with the intelligence and eloquence of a adolescent as leader of the free world?

Bush Vetoes War Spending Bill

2007-05-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

Today our very unpopular president, George W. Bush, vetoed legislation that would have continued to fund the Iraq war. Putting our troops in danger by vetoing the bill, the president blamed the veto on the Democrats for not giving him exactly what he wants. After four hellish years of a illegal bloody war the public changed the Congress so Bush no longer gets his bloody rubber stamp and he can't deal. Bush now needs to explain what he will do to protect the troops on the ground in Iraq since he has vetoed their funding. Since the money was offered it his turn to explain how he expects to continue the biggest foreign policy mistake in our history.

For months and months the polls have shown that the American public wants our military out of Iraq, yet the decider instead keeps sending more troops to their deaths. Instead of accepting flexible timetables for removing our troops and holding the Iraqi government responsible for their country, Bush has decided to throw a tantrum and veto. The surge is a joke. Bombs keep killing, the enemy lays low while the streets are swept by patrols. Bush owns this war. If he won't compromise on funding and refuses to end the war then his presidency needs to be ended, by the Congress.

Cheney Throws a fit and George Gets Mellow!

2007-04-30T15:13:00.000-04:00

George is at it again!

2007-04-27T20:04:00.000-04:00

Dems South Carolina Debate Made Me Sleepy

2007-04-27T19:44:00.001-04:00

This very early debate made me what to go to sleep. It all seemed pretty regular stuff from all the candidates. There was little acrimony and much harmony with all the candidate agreeing that Bush and his type must go. Otherwise the debate lacked much substance or spark except former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel's caustic comments including at one point saying he was afraid of those he shared the podium with. Other than Gravel's insanity the debate was more of a mild discussion rather than an aggressive debate of issue between candidates. Good thing its early because if they continue like this they'll put the nation to sleep.

How about.....Red Sox In First Place Yankees In Last Place

2007-04-27T19:42:00.000-04:00

Sure its just the first month of the season but this spread rarely happens.

Lee Iacocca Takes on Bush and We Like It

2007-04-23T19:15:00.000-04:00

Check out this piece by former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca. The article lays out what he believes our President should possess and the more you read the more you realize that George W. Bush is better suited to pumping gas instead of being president of this great nation.

http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=wherehavealltheleadersgone

Change or Die

2007-04-20T20:09:00.000-04:00

How About....Imus Is Gone and Those Like Him Should Be Next

2007-04-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

Don Imus is a racist. He is also a sexist and a lot of other "ists." What he is not is stupid. If he were stupid he never would have gotten to where he was before all this came down on him. Imus has been peppering his radio shows with the same offensive bullshit for decades. So it finally caught up with him. Good. He deserves whatever he gets.

Many people claim that Imus' behavior is all part of his act. Okay then fine, his act has run its course and its time for him to go. But I don't believe that. You do not have to be a hate monger to be successful on the radio. Others are waving the free speech banner. Fine, I am all about free speech. If Don Imus want to go down to the middle of Harlem and stand on a box and spit his offensive rants so be it. Actually I would like to see that. However, free speech does not mean that you get to defile the public airwaves with his kind of talk. It does not mean that his bosses and his advertisers have to put up with him. It does not mean that people searching through their radio dial need to hear his bullshit.

Don Imus is not stupid. He knew exactly what he was doing when he degraded the Rutgers Women's Basketball team he just didn't get away with it this time. Maybe some good will come of this. Maybe people are finally getting that people like Imus, Howard Stearn, Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh and their hate have no place in our society. Maybe. I hope so. But yet I won't hold my breath.

Bush Gives Oil Buddies More Ways to Steal Iraqi Oil

2007-04-13T17:32:00.000-04:00

If you had any doubt in your mind that Bush had another reason to invade Iraq other than controlling Iraq's oil reserves and ultimately stealing the oil from its citizens, read the attached posting from IraqSlogger. Once you have read the article it will be crystal clear that Bush has been in it for the oil all along. The article discusses how Bush and his allies, both political and business, have created legislation that if passed by the Iraqi Parliament, will give little of the oil revenue to the Iraqis instead giving Bush's big oil friends total control and profit over Iraq's oil reserves. Because it is tied to Bush's Surge benchmarks the Iraqis may be forced to approve it. Bush has killed more 3000 soldiers, wounded more than 60000 soldiers and killed over 100,000 Iragis so he and his friends can get richer. Read the article, be pissed, then do something about it.

www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/2347/Iraq_Oil_Law_Turns_Back_the_Clock_to_1951

Prosecutor Scandal Has Its Own Life and Should Give Birth To Others

2007-04-12T15:21:00.000-04:00

The scandal swirling around the firing of federal prosecutors continues to gain ground and coverage as the White House scrambles to turn the focus of the country to something else. The problem with trying to turn our attention elsewhere is that elsewhere is just as bad. The prosecutor firings have taken on a life of their own and continue grow like a cranky child. Had Bush and his moron advisers given a decent explanation for the firings this all would have gone away. Instead they tried to cover up something that probably didn't need to be covered. However the current administration knows no other way of behaving.

Much like the Monica Lewinsky scandal that brought impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton, the prosecutor scandal is a minor mistake that opens the doors for greater investigations into other areas of the White House. Unlike the Clinton administration, the Bush Administration has much to hide. With the slew of subpoenas flying at the White House from a newly empowered Democratic Congress it is only a matter of time before the many crimes committed by Bush and his neocon puppeteers are revealed. Even the useless mainstream press will be forced to call the administration for its transgressions. If we are lucky and the investigations work it will only be a matter of time before Bush and his administration are run out of town by the many scandals to follow. This cannot happen soon enough for our soldiers fighting in Iraq that are part of Bush's biggest lie and scandal who desperately need to be brought home.

If you believe you must obey!

2007-04-11T20:38:00.000-04:00

THE STOOGES POP THE TOP OFF BOSTON'S ORPHEUM THEATER

2007-04-08T20:28:00.000-04:00

What can you say? The Stooges return to conquer the earth some thirty or so years after they tried with their first assault and succeed. With a new sense of urgency and the stellar new record "The Weirdness" to play, original Stooges Iggy Pop, Ron Ashton on guitar, his brother Scott on drums, and former Minutemen genius Mike Watt on bass filling in for the deceased Dave Alexander, assaulted a willing Boston audience into submission. From the first few cords to Iggy's final screams, the elated crowd, my self included, were treated to a mad, magical audio assault that few of today's so called modern bands could touch.

The band hit a minimalist stage and let the music do the talking. Iggy shirtless and clad in his trademark low slung jeans, prowled, pounced and pogoed through the entire set often entering the audience to sing directly to his disciples. Part way into the set Iggy, much to the dismay of security, invited the fans to come up onstage and dance, many of us took advantage. From my sixth row seat I joined the band on stage for a rousing rendition of "No Fun." It was one of those experiences you have to take, a pogo with Iggy. It was awesome to be on stage, a very fucking cool moment to be part of what Iggy dubbed" the Boston dancers." We all hung with the band enjoying the madness with Iggy until the end of the song, at which point we all left the stage for our seats so the band could continue making us insanely happy.

Musically, much like Iggy himself ,the band jumped all over its history. The Stooges cranked up classic tunes like "1969" and "Dirt" while mixing in new classics like "Trollin" and "My Idea of Fun." For some unknown reason the band stayed away from the "Raw Power" record which was the only disappointing part of the show. Otherwise, the band was clearly pleased with the sold out Orpheum crowd's reaction to the show and gave it back in their performance. The crowd itself was a mix of young and old, sane and insane, which created the right mood for the Stooges' attack. A scan around the room saw most people in some sort or movement, everyone taking in a bit of rock and roll history in the making. The Stooges are back so get the fuck out of the way!

TASTY TOON TIME!!

2007-04-04T17:40:00.000-04:00

Clinton, Obama and Edwards All Bring in Big Donations

2007-04-03T20:02:00.000-04:00

John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama have managed to raise big bucks according to their recent campaign filings. There are many things that the big numbers raised by the candidates reveal. One important thing they show is that Democrats are putting their money out there with their mouths. It also shows that they are not sure yet which one they want In this vein the current numbers are not good news for Hillary Clinton. Even though she raised the most money of the three Democratic front runners, Obama is right on her tail and Edwards is not far behind. This is not good news for the anointed front runner and eventual Democratic nominee. This indicates that the early hype that Clinton would easily secure the nomination was just that, hype, and that there is a lot of room for someone else to step into. Are you listening Al?

The other interesting component to the filings is how the Democrats did in relation to their Republican counterparts. With the exception of Mitt "Flip me I'm Done" Romney who raised almost as much money as Obama, the Dems out raised the Republicans. That is good news. There is a lot more uncertainty on the GOP side and many GOP and Independent swing voters don't see much to love from the current crop of GOP candidates. Good for the Dems. Lets just hope they can keep the train running.

The Jam jams for Cadillac

2007-04-02T19:20:00.000-04:00

I never would have thought the Paul Weller would allow a Jam song to sell product but yet that is exactly what has happened. Cadillac is using a Jam song in its latest ads. Maybe the so called "Mod Father" needs the money.

Original Sebadoh Kills Boston's Paradise

2007-03-31T21:22:00.000-04:00

The original line up of indie lo fi masters Sebadoh returned to Boston's Paradise Rock Club last night to bring joy to us aging hipsters. The line up of Lou Barlow, Jason Lowenstein and Eric Gaffney who had not played together since Bubble and Scrape mixed songs from their early tape days to their most successful album Bakesale in their typical irreverent manner. In between instruments swaps the band seemed loose, actually like they were having a really good time, singing happy birthday to the audience and telling vignettes from their early days. The whole show was smart and loud from beginning to end. Over almost two hours the band played so many songs I couldn't possibly list them all. In the end it was all good with a final encore of "Just Gimme Indie Rock" the perfect ending for a show from the masters of the genre.

Iranian Government Has Really Lost Its Mind

2007-03-29T18:43:00.000-04:00

I think that just about says it. Why would Iran, at this point in time want to bring the wrath of Britain and the US down upon its perilous head. How long do you think it would take for US and British Air Force and Navy to decimate Iran? Just about an hour or so. Let's keep in mind that our own megalomaniac president has war plans to use tactical nukes against Iran. Now instead of releasing Faye Turney the only female today or tomorrow things have changed with a twist of stupidity on the part of the Iranians. Iranian military commander Alireza Afshar said, according to the Mehr news agency, "The wrong behavior of those who live in London caused the suspension," of Turney's release. Why would Iran give Bush and Blair license to attack? It makes no sense but stay tuned.

ITT Fined A Measly $100 Million for Treason

2007-03-27T16:56:00.000-04:00

ITT a defense contractor working with night vision technology has been fined for treason. According to CNN ITT is the leading manufacturer of night vision gear for the Defense Department has admitted sending classified materials overseas and will pay a $100 million penalty, according to federal prosecutors, who say the actions of ITT Corp. have jeopardized the security of U.S. soldiers.

ITT, based in Roanoke, Va., exported the highly classified or sensitive technical data to China, Singapore and Britain without having obtained authorization from the United States. So they have committed treason against the very country where they are based and live and get off with a measly $110 million dollar fine. No jail time for potentially helping to kill our soldiers. Welcome to George W. Bush's America where the almighty dollar is God and patriotism is a cliche.

House and Senate Issue Subpoenas for Prosecutor Firings

2007-03-22T18:11:00.000-04:00

So the House and Senate have decided to tell President Bush (R-Felon) to fuck off in regard to his offer to let Karl Rove and others talk to Congress about the firing of federal prosecutors. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pushed through the subpoenas calling Bush's offer "not acceptable." This action could set the stage for an interesting showdown between a highly secretive executive branch and the Congress.

A bigger question than why is Bush putting up a fight over what should be a small is, what is Bush hiding? Why not let his people testify if they are confident that the firing of the prosecutors was within their rights and was done properly? What maybe weighing on Bush and his gang of criminals is the idea that if they go up to Congress once it opens the door to discovering all the crimes of the administration. If the Senate and House do not back down and Bush's people refuse to testify it only makes the administration look more guilty than it already does. Bush doesn't have much lower to go with the people with an approval rating at around 34%. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and if it does before another scandal settles on the Bush White House.

March Madness In Full Swing

2007-03-16T14:20:00.000-04:00

March madness is upon us and the White House is not enjoying it one bit. As scandal after scandal creates massive fissures in the White House the madness of a basketball seems minor in comparison. One thing is clear, the members of the Bush administration are not enjoying this month of basketball excitement like they might in previous years.

The March Madness that plagues the White House included the bloody illegal war in Iraq, tensions with Iran, scrutiny throughout the world in regard to our war on terrorism, ousted CIA operative Valeria Plame testifying before Congress and the latest scandal involving the White House's involvement of firing federal prosecutors because they wouldn't toe Bush's lawless line. I certainly hope that President Bush (R-Criminal) doesn't go near any pretzels this month.

Before the madness is over we should see subpoena for the federal prosecutors firing which should cause the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, more testimony on the insanity of the Bush surge in Iraq, the administrations involvement in the outing of Valerie Plame and Karl Rove's involvement in both scandals. Should be an interesting start to the spring for those of us wishing regime change in Washington.

Gonzales Should Take Responsibility And Resign

2007-03-13T16:50:00.000-04:00

Today press conference held by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was another example of the top level of the Bush administration's inability to take responsibility for their actions. Gonzales made pitiful excuses for the administration's firing of federal prosecutors. The attorney general placed the blame for the political firings of eight prosecutors on the shoulders of his chief of staff, Kyle Sampson.

According to Gonzales, Sampson was in charge of dealing with the issue of federal prosecutors. Kyle has resigned. What is strikingly stupid is Gonzales had this to say "I am not aware of every bit of information that passes through the halls of justice, nor am I aware of all decisions." What a complete load of bullshit. If Gonzales didn't know anything about the firings his chief of staff was handling then he should resign for being a fucking moron. Can anyone say Scooter Libby. Like Cheney before him, Gonzales is letting his underling take the heat for his own fuck up. Well that is the Bush way.

How the American people can continue to swallow the complete ineptitude of this administration is amazing. President Bush and his administration have fucked up this country at every turn. Resignations and impeachments should be the order of the day not accepting bullshit excuses from a lying and corrupt administration.

Allen, Winehouse and Stone Drop Some Cool Music

2007-03-11T18:21:00.000-04:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of spending some quality time with women from the rock of England. Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone and Lily Allen have hit upon the music scene with three excellent yet totally different records.

Where to begin? Let's start with Allen. Much has been said of the initial Myspace phenomenon that Allen was. Bottom line is that her record "All Right" is very good and tasty. Behind some nice ska and reggae beats lies lyrics of sex and drugs and relationships gone wrong. The music is here, the lyrics are biting and Allen has a nice voice. Amy Winehouse mines the same lyrical territory at times but brings the noise with a whole different beat. Winehouse tends to stay in the big band, jazz sound to accompany here modern tales of sex and drugs and relationships gone wrong. Joss Stone is the one that doesn't fit with her contemporaries. Stone has finally stepped out on her own after years as the teenage phenom. Her latest is tasting soul with a nicely modern twist helped out by the likes of Common and Lauren Hill. The sound is soul to neo soul but the the real difference it the lyrical attitude. While Allen and Winehouse are fronting life's unfortunates, Stone is loving her man and expecting to be loved.

All three of these women have some real talent. Despite their differences all three releases should get some good play on your digital devise or whatever. Bottom line. these three women from the UK have brought some fantastic music and lyrics for us to enjoy.

Governor Patrick and Staff Must Get Thier Act Together

2007-03-08T17:10:00.000-05:00

Massachusetts is currently braving the many, and very early missteps of its new governor Deval Patrick. I won't go into the governor's fuck ups, I've talk about some of them in previous posts. What I want to talk about is cutting this kind of crap out. Its fine to apologize for making a mistake, something our president should do more often, but the real deal is not having to consistently do it. Patrick's mistakes were easily avoided. Somehow the new governor, new to this type of work to begin with, is acting first and thinking second. That is the death bell for politicians.

Patrick was widely hailed as a candidate during the elections. During the primary Patrick was not my choice because of the lack of managerial experience. That inexperience is showing, but can easily be improved in the future. The governor has good ideas and some may see the light of day and make a real contribution to the people of Massachusetts. However, if the Patrick administration keeps tripping over itself it will be doomed before it really gets started.

Jury Finds Libby Guilty of Five Counts

2007-03-06T15:13:00.000-05:00

The jury in the trial of I Scooter Libby former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, found him guilty of four of the five counts he was facing. It looks like old Scooter will need to be fitted for an orange jump suit. I wonder how he look in orange? This is the first major blow to the Bush administration just as Congress begins to ratchet up its investigations into the administration.

The jury found Libby guilty of obstruction of justice when he intentionally deceived a grand jury investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame; making a false statement by intentionally lying to FBI agents about a conversation with NBC newsman Tim Russert; perjury when he lied in court about his conversation with Russert and a second count of perjury when he lied in court about conversations with other reporters. The jury did clear Libby of a second count of making a false statement relating to a conversation he had with writer Matt Cooper, formerly of Time magazine.

Here comes the orange jumpsuit part which is my personal favorite. Libby faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. A hearing on a presentencing report is scheduled for June 5.

Orange jumpsuit and scary shower times are what's ahead for Mr. Libby unless Bush decides to pardon one of his major partners in crime. If I were a betting man, and I am not, I would bet at some point Bush give Scooter a nice pardon and sends him off into the twilight with a gag order. If not maybe old Scooter will rat out his boss Dick and Dick's boss (in title anyway) Bush. The neocon puppeteers lead by Cheney will never allow Scooter or anyone else to talk that would put them in stylish orange so look for Bush to pardon Libby. Maybe then those that still haven't figured out that this is the most criminal and corrupt administration in history will finally see the light.

Walter Reed Failure Is More and More Disgusting

2007-03-05T19:32:00.000-05:00

The story of the complete failure of care for veterans at Walter Reed has triggered a larger story in how our military healthcare is well below standard all over the military. Stories are beginning to come out about sub standard care in all branches of the military's healthcare system. Apparently more stories are to come about care in other military hospital and care facilities from members of all of the military branches and not just veterans of Bush's illegal war. Improper care and an overblown bureaucracy has apparently been a huge problem for decades.

So as we send our young to fight in an illegal foreign war with substandard equipment it they get hurt for some reason they can expect sub standard care when they return. Another nice gift of the Iraq war and the overall failure of government.

Walter Reed Scandal Claims Army Chief

2007-03-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey resigned Friday in the wake of recent reports of substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a key facility treating troops wounded in Iraq. Nice. So someone is willing to take some responsibility for the atrocious conditions our brave soldiers coming back from Iraq have been faced with since they returned wounded.

The conditions that many of our wounder were living in and the inability to get the proper care promptly is completely inexcusable. President Bush (R-Dangerous) got the country into this war and made the decision to put our young men and women in harms way. The responsibility to make sure that any of our people that are injured or killed are treated with the utmost care and respect is also the responsibility of the Commander in Chief. Not only has Bush failed by getting the country into his bloody pointless war but he has failed to take care of the very men and women he put in harms way.

Bush should be the one to resign. Everything that happens to our soldiers and heir families is his responsibility. Bush and his neocon puppeteer's hardon for war got us into this mess and he should be the one to pay the price. That is the responsibility the president bears when he decides to put our people in harms way. Do the right thing George and resign and take Dick with you. Please give us a jump start toward healing our battered and bruised country.

TASTY POLITICAL CARTOONS

2007-02-26T19:50:00.000-05:00

Patrick Has Made Early Missteps Now Let Him Get To Work

2007-02-26T15:41:00.000-05:00

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has managed to allow the media to chew him up during his initial month in office. Becuawse of a few very visible mistakes Patrick has been dogged by negative press coverage while trying to get his government up and running.

The negative press has centered around money Patick spent on furniture and drapes for the Governor's office and a more expenseive Cadillac as his officail car. Both of thoses actions did clearly contradict the ideas that Partick ran on for governor. Patrick has admitted his mistake and is reimbusing the state any money that he owes for the items involved. Now that Patrick has taken responsibility for his actions it is time for the press to move on and let the governor get to work. this its time that

Here we go, the Democrats are on fire

2007-02-23T15:49:00.000-05:00

Yeah those crazy Dems are on fire alright, a fire of their own making. If the Obama-Clinton is a view of things to come then we may be seeing history. Yes, history. We will watch a political party lost in the wilderness having been brought back to power only to see its hopes for control of the Congress and the Presidency go down in intra-party politics. This is what has happened to the Democratic Party. The party just cannot seem to get its shit together enough not to attack one another. There is a primary race going on, but the inane bullshit that happened over a fundraiser in Hollywood is complete bush league (no pun intended). This is the time in history that the Democratic Party needs to stand up and answer the call to fix our broken democracy and our disastrous foreign policy. Will the Democrats stand up and be counted?

Much Needed Break

2007-02-20T17:22:00.000-05:00

I am going on a much needed break with my family for a few days. No teaching, no political work(same thing as teaching most times), no blog just a few days at a friend's place in New Hampshire. The irony is my friend is a die hard Reagan conservative Republican. We argue and maneuver around each other but in the end he is one of my great friends. Politics need not be a buzz killer if everyone is intelligent about their position and articulate enough to deliver it. Respecting differences is what has made this country great, don't forget that. Anyway, see those few of you that are smart enough to check this blog in a few days if not sooner. When I return I hope to have guest columnist and some of the topics on the top of the agenda will be the 2008 presidential election, Massachusetts' new governor Deval Patrick and how he does in the wake of Romney's tenure, the state of new music and why I have found jazz, some great poets, education, and the usual nonsense that eminates from my brain to yours. Peace to you and yours.

Jet Blue's Mess

2007-02-18T20:59:00.000-05:00

The recent problems that Jet Blue had with the last storm culminated with keeping passengers on a plane without amenities for long periods of time. This is not a new problem in the airline industry, however this one incident was. It has come to everybody's attention because of the amount of planes that had to sit, passengers on board with little air, no toilets and no food. I have flown Jet Blue and have had a good experience with them. That said,what happened to those passengers that were forced to stay on grounded planes and those that have seen their holiday weekends ruined because of cancelled flights is ridiculous. Never has one relatively small winter storm done this kind of damage to an airline's flights. Whatever happened here is a severe let down in Jet Blue's flight management, something that clearly needs to be overhauled before the next batch of vacation travelers from the Northeast begin their journey to the south. If it doesn't change Jet Blue will be in the red.

Hillary Clinton's Iraq War Vote Excuses Are Lame

2007-02-17T19:18:00.000-05:00

Only one Democratic Senator running for president has not admitted their vote for the military action in Iraq was wrong. That senator is Hillary Clinton. Clinton is now on her second or third reasoning for her vote to authorize President Bush (R-Nutjob) and his neocon puppeteers to illegally attack Iraq. Now on the campaign trail Clinton is saying that if she had known in 2002 what she knows now about Iraqi weaponry, she would never have voted for the Senate resolution authorizing force. That answer is a typical political bullshit response. Why is it so hard for Clinton to say, "I was wrong." Is she afraid to appear weak? Is she afraid she will be nailed as a flip flopper like John Kerry? If either of these two reasons are true or any other reason for that matter Clinton is taking the wrong path. Many others have already admitted that voting for the Iraq invasion was wrong, why not her. Regardless of the intelligence on Iraq, at the moment Bush wanted to attack, Iraq was basically contained and was not in contact with Al Queda and based on earlier inspections had no weapons of mass destruction. So why not just say "My vote was wrong." I don't know why Clinton doesn't admit her failure on the vote but what I do know is if she doesn't it will hurt her in the long run. Clinton has enough obstacles to hurdle you would think she would want to try to avoid another.

Romney Announces His Run For President, Massachusetts Is Happy Again

2007-02-15T17:36:00.000-05:00

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney officially announced his run for the presidency the other day from Michigan where his family was from instead of Massachusetts where he lives. You would think the good people of Massachusetts would be upset by this slight. Nope. We are just happy to see Mitt go, and keep on going. Romney's tenure in Boston was one of nothingness. He did very little in the way of original legislation. Instead Romney attacked parts of the Commonwealth that he didn't like. Late in his term he attacked the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's ruling that gay couples could marry. This attack is a classic Romney flip flop. When running against Ted Kennedy for a senate seat years ago Romney said he supported the gay communities efforts to have the right to marry. That ought to help him on the campaign trail.

So the people of Massachusetts are happy to see Mitt go. Goodbye and good riddance. Romney has no shot at the presidency and that so makes us happy. In the end he will be back at his house in Massachusetts deciding what to do next knowing that his political career, such as it is, is dead. Bummer for you Mitt, joy for the rest of us.

How About.....What Happened to the US and the World?

2007-02-13T10:42:00.000-05:00

Less than decade ago the world was moving toward a more peaceful existence. Israel and the Palestinians were talking peace, the US was moving them forward and other hot spots around the globe were cooling off. A more diplomatic US was helping its friends and trying to find common ground with its neighbors. Those were the 90's, the Clinton years. Now the opposite is true. The world is a much more dangerous place and not because Al-Queda reared its ugly head on 9/11. What has caused the world to spin out of control? The answer is simple the George W. Bush presidency. Instead of engaging our friends, Bush and his morons have flipped them off and in terms of our enemies, Bush has further enraged them by starting his illegal and extremely bloody war in Iraq. Now even the Russians who had played nice with us for a good long time have had enough of Bush's bullshit.

The 2008 election may be the more important presidential election in modern history. The destruction that Bush has created must be stopped and fixed immediately before the world truly implodes. If we want a world that we would like our children to grow up in we must have a democrat in the White House next, if not we all may be doomed.

How About.....My Bush World View Headache

2007-02-10T20:44:00.000-05:00

As stated above my brain hurts. The more I read about the state of the world and our part in fucking it up, it gives me a headache, a headache way beyond a crushing migraine. The morons in the White House and the State Department and the DOD and well......... the rest of the Bush administration, have destroyed our once good stature in the world by inexplicably trying to destroy it while smiling and telling us it is really getting better. We started an illegal war, a war unsanctioned but the UN. These ridiculous actions placine us in no better stature than any other aggressor nation. As Vladimir Putin said about the US recently, "One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way." The kind of cavalier attitude that Putin speaks of, the attitude that our current government projects, has done nothing for us. Add to that our ineptitude in destroying the Middle East instead of helping to pacify it has destroyed our moral authority and makes us a rogue state, which is where I get my headache. This great nation should not be a rogue state. We should not invade countries because "we" think its a good idea even if the rest of the world at the UN says its not. That's my headache. My headache. My headache comes along when I'm thinking about the damage Bush has done and what it means to the future of my children. Hurts to think about it again. Pass the Advil.

Obama "Fired Up and Running For President"

2007-02-10T17:59:00.000-05:00

His own words. "Fired up and running for president." Symbolically announcing in Springfield at the sight of Abraham Lincoln's "Divided House" speech Obama cast aside his lack of experience and took on what he called "Washington's ways."

Obama appears to be staking out some territory that John Edwards is trying to capitalize on. That is the idea of the outsider candidate. Taking on Washington is always a great rallying cry, but as Obama and Edwards know first had, its hard to fix something broken when those involved want it to stay broken. Wherever Obama goes with this candidacy it should be very interesting all along the way. Only time will tell if Obama can turn his meteoric celebrity into real solid votes.

How About....Libby Will Go to Jail, So What

2007-02-07T19:48:00.000-05:00

It looks like former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney (R-liar) Scooter Libby will be doing some serious jail time. Only amazing testimony for Dick Cheney (R-Liar) or Andrea Mitchell remembering exactly what she said or meant will save Libby.

So what! Libby goes to jail and nothing changes. This originally started off as an investigation into leak of Plame that lead to the Libby charges. What really needed to be tagged was how the lies continued to build up to convince the Congress and the country that Iraq was very dangerous at that moment and needed to possibly be taken out. All that was based on lies. Lies that led to the Plame outing and Libby's sham trial. This trial is just one big smokescreen designed to mask the truth that the White House lied us into a war and outed a CIA operative in the process possibly endangering the lives of many people.

Come on now would somebody please stick it to these bastards before they escape office and the law.

Rev. Haggard Is Gay No More

2007-02-06T19:08:00.000-05:00

One of four ministers who was charged with over seeing three weeks of intensive counseling for the Rev. Ted Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is "completely heterosexual." Now that is the largest piece of bullshit I have heard in a couple of days. According to the Rev. Tim Ralph of Larkspur,"He (Haggard)is completely heterosexual, that is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing." Okay sure. Haggard has admitted to fucking one boy toy for years while snorting methamphetamine. That does not mean there wasn't others and most would agree that there probably was other incident. However, Haggard didn't get caught in any other circumstances so why admit it.

Okay forget all the other things that may have happened and let's focus on what has allegedly happened. What has allegedly happened is that through three weeks of intensive therapy the Rev. Haggard has discovered that he really is a heterosexual. So, all that scientific research that says that homosexuality is genetic is just a load of shit for these evangelical nut jobs. Gay one day straight the next and that just seems okay. So what will Haggard say when he gets caught next time with a cock in his mouth. Will he says it just a relapse like an alcoholic or drug addict? Since homosexuality is not considered a disease by the vast majority of people on the planet that would again be total bullshit. Why Haggard and the rest of these people can't live by the words of the Bible where "all men are created in God's image" is truly troubling. Well at least the Rev. Haggard is "cured."

Poor George

2007-02-02T19:31:00.000-05:00

Mary Cheney is Liar and a Hypocrite

2007-02-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

I think the headline says it all. Mary Cheney, the pregnant lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney (R-Pure Evil) has been spouting the Republican party line for many many years. Part of that line is that two mothers or two fathers cannot possible raise a child properly and are a danger to the traditional American family. Now after serving in various capacities for her father and the federal government as a good Republicans she now says that her pregnancy should not be "politicized". Yeah okay, its fine to stand behind the bigoted assault on lesbian and gay couples but its not okay to apply the same to yourself? Sorry can't happen that way.

Because part of the Republican platform is anti-gay marriage and anti-gay parent it is absolutely fucking comical that Dick Cheney can say with a straight face that he is happy and proud of his daughter. If it were Joan and Jane from down the street or Bob and John in the next town over it would be an outrage. The hypocrisy of Mary Cheney is essentially saying that her pregnancy is different and this is just the same type of fucking bullshit from the Republicans. If you do something like have a gay wedding or raise a child in a gay household you are pure evil but if you are a Republican and do the same its okay. This is how these people have been running the country. We steal and lie but its okay because its us and we are for the sanctity of morality. Utter and complete bullshit. Mary Cheney should either stop her hypocrisy or not have the baby. Otherwise she is fair game for anyone and everyone that wants to criticize and attack her actions. That's what happens when you open your mouth, say fucking stupid things and then do the very things you have attacked. Deal with it Mary.