Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't understand why we need a showdown with Iran over the nuclear enrichment.

First, let me state that I believe Iran is making a mistake. Using nuclear energy is short-sighted. The WORLD needs to work on renewable clean energy production, such as solar, geothermal, and wind power. Nuclear energy (at least in the US) is more expensive to produce than coal-fired electricity, once you figure in limited plant life, and waste disposal. It's not the "too cheap to meter" panacea promoted in the 60's.

Anyway, the Iranians state that they want to build enrichment facilities to fuel their nuclear power plant(s) which I believe were supplied by the Russians. (There's a safety issue right there)

Last night I heard conservative commentator Glenn Beck seem to imply that because Iran is oil-rich, they shouldn't need Nuclear power. (In other words - why not burn the oil?) Well, Glenn, go back to college and take yourself some science and economics classes. You don't have oil-fired power plants because of the opportunity cost (as well as the environmental impact). They are better off economically by selling that oil, and using other forms of power generation.


The Iranians state that they will not be using the products of the enrichment or the reactor (Uranium 235 and Plutonium, principally) for weapons development. Good. In the words of conservative hero, President Ronald Reagan: "Trust, but Verify".

Simply put, drop the cowboy approach and step away from this pissing contest. We don't need another war. Let the IAEA monitor the enrichment and fuel rod disposal or reprocessing and ensure that the Iranians are doing as they say.

If they ever kick out the inspectors, or cross the line into weapons production, we bomb their facilities with conventional explosives (not the ineffective nuclear bunker busters the Bush administration is so fond of). Yes, conventional weapons will work just fine - we don't need to destroy the underground enrichment facility to put it out of business - we destroy the power lines going into it, the roads going into it, the ventilation shafts, and any external infrastructure. This will seal the bad stuff underground where it belongs, so we don't have a huge cloud of radioactive fallout drifting over Iran, India, and China.

Somebody make me the ambassador or something. I'll get this fixed without the need to put more young American troops lives on the line.

"Stop doing this sh*t"
Yahoo's Odd News is reporting President Bush said some interesting things when he thought he was off-microphone:

"See the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s--- and it's over,"

Not going to argue with the sentiment. Not as bad as Reagan's infamous remarks about the bombings beginning in 10 minutes.

Technical sh*t
Well, it appears that due to some technical difficulties that I don't have time to deal with right now, the North Texas Liberal and Gonzomuckraker's RSS feeds are no longer available on the right hand side of the site with the other news feeds. I assure you this is NOT intentional and is quite frustrating to me. Blogspot.com uses a non-compatible feed format, and the service that was converting them for me has gone down. I'm looking for something else.

Shooting the sh*t
I attended Rep. Michael Burgess's town-hall meeting in the beautiful town of Roanoke on Saturday. More interesting than what was said, I think was what was not said. I'll be writing up a full account of the meeting. I'm nearly done, but I want to hold off on releasing it until after his next round of town hall meetings

You may be interested to know that Michael Burgess is a reader of WhosPlayin. I often write stories critical of Burgess's votes, and his seeming disregard for the issues that affect most North Texans. I also recently posted a really awful picture of Burgess wearing a Dunce hat with the GOP symbol on it. Burgess knew who I was, and was hospitable and gracious anyway. We conversed for a few minutes about our mutual ownership of Toyota Priuses, and how they might be modded to get even more fuel economy and less carbon impact.

I'll have pictures and transcripts to share soon. I do encourage all of my readers to attend Rep Burgess's upcoming town halls on July 22nd in Little Elm and Gainesville.

So yesterday, we have the Senate of the United States of America - the same one that just gave themselves a pay raise for a job *not* well done, while defeating a raise in the minimum wage - wasting time in narrowly (66-34) defeating a constitutional amendment to allow Congress to ban "desecration of the flag".

What the hell does this have to do with the ten commandments, you might ask? Well, aside from the fact that both issues are non-sequiter non-issues thrown out there to distract a populus that the Repugnicans think are stupid, they really do fit. How does the KKK fit into this?

Well first, let me list the ten commandments, since the Republicans don't seem to have a full grasp of them:

From Exodus 20:1-17
Then God spoke all these words: saying: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage:

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
4. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
5. Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
    

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

http://www.sierraclubplus.org/cartoon ... 6-06_rall_gas_subsidy.jpg

You WILL watch the videos...

“States like these(Iran, Iraq, North Korea), and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.”
–GWB

“Curfew in Ramadi, seven o’clock at night. You’re on the street? You’re dead. I shoot you right between the eyes. Ok? That’s how I run that country. Just like Saddam ran it.”
-Bill O’Reilly

“I have never seen people enjoying their husband’s deaths so much”
-Ann Coulter, regarding a group of September 11 widows.

“They want deaths! ... It's gotten to the point now where the more deaths in Iraq the better for them...”
-Rush Limbaugh, accusing Democrats and leftists.

I was wondering why people who say such ugly things can be so popular among large groups of Americans, and I think I have an idea as to why. There’s a popular country music lyric that goes like this: “You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.” Sounds like a nice little nugget of wisdom, right? Well, in an important way, I think it’s a little misguided. To me, that phrase reflects the popular notion that it’s more important for someone to be confident in their beliefs, and to be firm in their beliefs, than to be correct. I think this view can be harmful to an open and honest discussion of ideas.
Let’s put it to rest. Some of the most terrible and destructive people in the history of the world have had unshakeable beliefs about politics, science, religion and morality. This close-mindedness, the unwillingness to consider that a certain idea, opinion, or model might be wrong, continues to cause a great deal of misunderstanding and injustice in the world. The real measure of someone’s character doesn’t depend on how strongly held their beliefs are, but how correct, how wise, and how humane they are.
And it’s rarely in our nature to be so open-minded. It’s not bold or sexy. People who are open-minded about a subject tend to speak in conditional phrases. They change their minds from time to time, and so they sometimes come across as weak and wishy-washy. It doesn’t sell. We prefer certainty, and those who express it. And so it’s powerful to speak in slogans and to be belligerent and unwilling to compromise. But those are not the characteristics that make for the best policy-making leadership.
It never fails that much of the speech in the public forum is based on strongly held but poorly thought out ideology. The purpose of this kind of speech is not to persuade with arguments and evidence, but to enforce a belief or set of beliefs with feel-good phraseology and forceful repetition – and some of the most intelligent people fall for it. Much of this speech is mean-spirited towards large groups of people. It’s nothing but political masturbation, and it doesn’t belong in places of decorum.

“When people think, we win.”
-Bill Clinton

The following posted in the Burnt Orange Report by Hank Gilbert, Democratic candidate for Agriculture commissioner:

Thanks for your support Karl... (4.60 / 5)
After "asking permission" from party officials to run for Agriculture Commissioner, I was told not once, but twice, by a long-time party consultant that I didn't have a chance in hell of winning this race. This person has been a driving force for me to win in November. It
is evident, however, that the TDP could care less also. All of their efforts seem to be directed at the very top positions on the ballot. I am comfortable with that now. It seems like I have spent most of my life proving people wrong, and I look forward to doing it again in November!

I crashed a fund-raising reception for another Governor candidate tonight in a nearby town. I was approached by one of the hosts who was quick to tell me that I didn't have a chance in hell of beating Todd Staples in November. He agreed that I was more qualified, but I didn't have a chance because my opponent knew how to "play the game" and had more available money than I and the entire TDP could ever raise by November. Boy, he had the last comment right! He also just climbed to 2nd on my list as motivations to win in November!

He said that he is supporting 9 judicial candidates, my opponent, Susan Combs, and this Governor candidate. I made him a bet that I would win. If I win, he buys my dinner, and vice versa. He said that he has "swung the sword" for many years supporting Republicans,
and has been rarely cut. I told him that I would call him on November 8th and volunteer to pull the bloody sword out of his ass, then buy his dinner! He was speechless!

These stories lead to one main point...we cannot give up hope just because others think that the odds are stacked against us. No "true" American, much less Texans, have ever folded under pressure. It's time for us to stiffen our necks and release the "bulldog"
mentality that we all possess. Believe me Texans, after November 7th, we'll get to hike our legs and piss all over the people that doubted us and tried to stand in our way. We, the people, will then run the TDP!

Thanks again for your continued support, Karl.

Something that's fun, but sort of depressing, is to go on http://www3.capwiz.com/y/issues/ and read some of the letters that people are sending their congressmen.

This particular individual is a fellow Texan, who wrote Congressman Michael McCaul, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and Sen John Cornyn to express support for declaring English the national language:

(BTW, I haven't corrected any spelling, grammar, or punctuation here)

"We, American citizens, have catered to the foriegn language for so long, that we have lost site on our own. I fully support in designating the English language as the "National Language". I also feel if this country was to recognize any other form of language, our founding fathers would of done so from the beginning.
I believe it is an insult when I call a company, based in the United States, gives me the option of pressing "2" for Spanish. I find that very offensive. My point that I'm trying to make is the fact that we can not fold or cater to our southern friends and the language they speak. They chose to arrive here for a better life, and in doing so, should have to learn our way. If this isn't done, we will eventually be forced to go through a series of options on the telephone, starting with Spanish and ending in Russian. (Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't it discriminating not to recognize the other language along with Spanish.)

The last thing I would like to see come out of my representatives in Washington. There are a lot of angry citizens in the State of Texas that is highly offended to even hear the option of our National Anthem being sung in any other language than English. I hope that I am not around any longer when that particular day takes place because I honestly see this country going into another civil war, on the day after. I know that may sound a little drastic, but I strongly feel that I won't be to far off from the actual.

As representatives for this great state. Please stand firm on designating English as the National language. Once this is accomplished, then this country can begin to re-take it American shape and begin to eliminate all the wasted money that is being spent on our school system by holding bilingual classes.

[name withheld]
Katy , TX

(Reuters:) "An investigation by U.S. antitrust authorities found no evidence that oil companies illegally manipulated gasoline prices or constrained oil refining operations, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday."

Phew! That's nice to know. Restores my faith that the oil and gasoline markets are free and efficient with absolutely no price fixing, collusion, or production limiting of any kind.

With the FTC as such fierce watchdogs, who needs guys like Elliot Spitzer?

New White House press secretary Tony Snow said in a press conference this past week while answering a reporter's question about the NSA's "Big Brother Cares" compassionate conservative all-American domestic telephone spy program:

"Having said that, I don't want to hug the tar baby of trying to comment on the program... the alleged program, the existence of which I can neither confirm or deny."

Check out the video and full story here:
Tony Snow: Tar Babies

I honestly don't think he meant to throw out a racial epithet. He seems like a fairly intelligent guy, even though his ideology and loyalties are misguided.

It's just another example of how the "conservative elite" are so out-of-touch with REAL AMERICA that they could slip up and say something so stupid and insensitive.


Here's another fun factoid that I'll bet you didn't know. If you make less than $40,000 per year, you don't pay any federal income taxes! It's true! Republican House speaker, Rep. Dennis Hastert said so just the other day: "Well, folks, if you earn $40,000 a year and have a family of two, you don't pay any taxes. So you probably, if you don't pay any taxes, you are not going to get a big tax cut."

You can see the video of Hastert's brain fart here:
Dennis Hastert's Tax Lunacy

I wonder if Snow or Hastert have any clue what it's like to be black or earn less than $40,000 per year. Heck, $40,000 is pretty good compared to the minimum wage. $40k is almost a living wage for families in some areas.