Now it's Shiite against Shiite ... and we are saddling up with the Sunnis (I think) and possibly even al-Qaida! What next?

Shiites duking it out in Basra

Quick! Cheney, McCain and Bush must be frothing at the bit. Let's bring in the US Marines! A hundred years, hell! We'll stay a thousand years if that's what it takes to stop this civil war between and among ...

uhhh ... Shiites?

How many of you noticed that a milestone of sorts (4,000 of our service members being killed) was reached this week--while trying to separate the various elephants charging about in Iraq? And what was playing endlessly on the newscasts of nearly all of the cable TV channels in our living rooms?

Right! It was either a scene of Hillary dodging bullets (her story) while deplaning in Bosnia a dozen years ago or yet one more re-run of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright saying "God Damn America" in some inane sermon six or seven years ago in South Chicago.

And, oh yes ...

What was behind all of the TV video footage relating to ... nipple rings?

Lord love a duck!

... and sadly, I am a Hillary delegate in the upcoming convention here in the State of Washington ...

Hillary Clinton dodging fire on a tarmac in Bosnia (her story) in 1996

Only a Spitzer-level scandal involving Senator Barack Obama and a United Church of Christ pastor's wife could give Hillary the Democratic nomination today, I believe. That, or (God forbid) an assassination or other catastrophe of November 22, 1963 magnitude is about all that remains of Hillary's hopes today after yet another exaggeration of the truth beyond what even her most ardent supporters (guys like me) will accept at this point in time.

Yeh, I will go to the next convention in Aberdeen, Washington on April 12 pledged to Hillary, and yes, I will meet my pledge and raise my hand (if that's how it's done at the next level) for Hillary ... but my heart is saddened by the exposure of so many "misspoken" words of hers this week.

Obama may be a little vague and somewhat undefined, but Hillary has all-too-well defined herself and her ambitions to become the next President of the United States.

Isn't this what Ron Paul said brought about 9-11 (before he was shut down by the other Republicans in the "debate"?

From the mouth of Senator John McCain ...

For decades in the greater Middle East, we had a strategy of relying on autocrats to provide order and stability. We relied on the Shah of Iran, the autocratic rulers of Egypt, the generals of Pakistan, the Saudi royal family, and even, for a time, on Saddam Hussein.

In the late 1970s that strategy began to unravel. The Shah was overthrown by the radical Islamic revolution that now rules in Tehran. The ensuing ferment in the Muslim world produced increasing instability. The autocrats clamped down with ever greater repression, while also surreptitiously aiding Islamic radicalism abroad in the hopes that they would not become its victims. It was a toxic and explosive mixture. The oppression of the autocrats blended with the radical Islamists’ dogmatic
theology to produce a perfect storm of intolerance and hatred.

And yes, Senator McCain, that "perfect storm" could best be summed up in the horror of 9-11 ... just as Rep. Ron Paul (R. Texas) suggested only a few scant months ago.

How can the meltdown in Iraq be melting down?

I note that there are scant headlines in the newspapers and little mention on Fox Cable News about what might best be described by this old curmudgeon as "a meltdown of that which has long ago melted down"! Some say that the fiery Muslim priest, Muqtada al-Sadr (who went along with a six-month "truce" last week), might be about finished and that the US Forces in Basra may well be leaning on the Al-Qaeda Sunnis there--along with the Iraqi Government forces [sic] to fight off the Shiite militias so as to return order to what was without order to start with.

Yes, that's right! We've changed side once again in the Iraqi Civil War inasmuch as "our" precious oil interests appear to be (once again) threatened.

Take yesterday, today and tomorrow as a snapshot of what's ahead as we ... draw down? Surge yet again? Stay the course? Take your pick!

I'm thinking of writing another chapter in Neo-conservatism for Dummies 101 Made Simple.

The CNN Reporter on the scene captured it perfectly:

"What many people suggest is that we're looking at a situation that will be akin to Lebanon in the 1980s, with vicious, well-armed militia proxy wars where all the factions are supported by one foreign sponsor or another.

But this will be Lebanon on steroids."

In other words, as our teachers used to say back in my youth, "Duck and cover!"

Happy Resurrection Day to you all!

A most blessed and happy Resurrection Day (a.k.a. Easter Sunday) to each and every one of you. May the blessings assured to us all by the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth roughly 2000 years ago be enjoyed in our eternal lives ... forever.

Have a GREAT day!

A word from Reverend Mike Huckabee regarding Reverend Jeremiah Wright's strong statements ...

"I may have had a more, more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me!" ... Mike Huckabee

A worthwhile quote from the former candidate for President, Mike Huckabee, while congratulating the presumptive Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, for his timely and historic speech yesterday:

[Speaking about Reverend Wright] "And one other thing I think we've got to remember: As easy as it is for those of us who are white to look back and say, "That's a terrible statement," I grew up in a very segregated South, and I think that you have to cut some slack. And I'm going to be probably the only conservative in America who's going to say something like this, but I'm just telling you: We've got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told, "You have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can't sit out there with everyone else. There's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office. Here's where you sit on the bus." And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had a more, more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me."

A good summary, I think!

Only an old white man between Barack and the White House now ...

With Hillary Clinton now only an uncomfortable memory from last month and before, and the race issue (plus Jeremiah Wright) escapades behind him, all that stands between Barack H. Obama and the White House today is an elderly white man who is concentrating today on the differences between Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims--and which faction he will support/attack when he takes the reigns from George W. Bush.

And my brother Richard in Connecticut still insists that the Keys to the White House still point to Barack occupying the Oval Office a year from today.

We'll see ...

Migod! He did it!!

Perhaps the eight American flags were a bit much under the circumstances, but he certainly delivered a down-to-earth talk on the racial divides in our country and managed to describe his relationship with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright in a way that seemed (to me at least) genuine and loving.

I doubt that my sister in Maryland would be satisfied, but I was reasonably comfortable after the speech--or maybe the better word is uncomfortable. He laid out in stark contrast to what so many of us see as the "Red, White and Blue" land of opportunity ... a land of serious lack of opportunity for those whose skin color is less than lily white.

The speech was very personal--sometimes uncomfortably so. Barack Obama is all of us! He contains something of all of us--black, white and in-between--in his being. And, although he highlighted contradictions, it--and he--seemed very, very much in sync with his surroundings. Of course, all of this was in the hope of muting the contradiction between his call for unity and his pastor's videotaped rants that threaten to collapse his campaign.

He used incredibly eloquent words to describe how he has been able to have unconditional love for his [former] pastor and disagree with his rants at the same time.

But mostly he discussed the broader issues of racism, and in that regard, he painted an honest portrait--from what I've observed over the past 73 years--and that truth was the sum substance of his speech--although it went on longer than most Presidential addresses.

One issue, one point of view and a single goal for us all.

I will still probably pull for Hillary and McCain to be the finalists in the weeks ahead, but I'm no longer fearful of the tall and skinny lawyer from Illinois.

He'll do all right, no matter what ... and that's good, I think.

It's never to late to pray, Barack ... but you better be very careful what you try to tell us tomorrow!

"How much did he know? ... and when"

When have we heard that question before? Now that the videos of the Reverend Jeremiah (was a bullfrog) Wright have been viewed or heard by 40-50% of all adult Americans, Barack Obama may have a more difficult time convincing us that, in twenty-odd years in his church, he was unaware of the rather strong language used by the RJW.

Mr. Obama will have to choose his words tomorrow ... very carefully.

If he vilifies the good Reverend too vociferously, he is liable to turn off 95% of his black constituency. If he claims ignorance--as to exactly what the RJW was screaming and jumping up and down about--he'll lose 95% of the ENTIRE electorate!

For Mr. Obama--who has repeatedly said he is seeking to unite all Americans--to have relied even a small bit on a man who urges people not to say "God bless America," but to instead say, "God damn America," the impact on his campaign could be fatal.

Sadly, for the superdelegates to swing their votes to Hillary (clearly the better candidate) would insure a Republican landslide in November.

For the Democrats, there is only one thread of hope left ...


... along with fasting and total repentance!

Yeh, I could see how Barack missed noticing what the Most Reverend Jeremiah (was a bullfrog) was preaching ...

His campaign staff knew! His wife knew! Even his kids knew!

But somehow Barack was unaware of exactly what his preacher was saying while he was waving his hands and dancing about at the pulpit.

Give me a break!

BTW, some of what his pastor was preaching was pretty powerful and straight-talkin' Christianity. Other things that he has been videotaped saying were rather hateful, I think.

If Barack were to drop out of the race today with a contrite heart, Hillary might still choose him as her Veep nominee.

And I think he (Barack) also knew a lot more about Rezko's $250,000 (or more) too ...

Sad.

Jeremiah was a bullfrog ... was a very good friend of mine!

Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright

I have watched nearly nonstop video of both Jeremiah Wright on the pulpit of his church and Barack Obama explaining live and in color to CNN, Fox and ABC News why he doesn't agree with all that Reverend Wright has said--or more specifically why he disagrees with the clip(s) that were just shown before his own live appearance on whatever television news show.

When I arrived home from work (very late) last night, I knew little to nothing of what was happening in the political world which I simply assumed was dead until roughly next October or so. My brother Richard in Connecticut has been telling me it's been essentially dead since he read some book about the front door keys to the White House months ago.

He assured me that Barack Obama was the next President of the United States ... period!

Well, if Barack continues to try to distance himself from the most exciting and Jesus-led pastor I've heard since I don't know when, he will not only lose the black vote that he has managed to corral, but the white vote as well.

I personally disagree with much of the specific wording of Reverend Wright's words (those that I've heard), but I find his incendiary style to be constantly in sync with what Jesus (closer to black than white) taught us all 2000 years ago.

The clip most often played last night was the following:

"Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single-parent home -- Barack was. Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people. Hillary! Hillary can never know that. Hillary ain't never been called a nigger! Hillary has never had her people defined as non-person."

You know, I see and hear the kinds of things Mr. Jeremiah Wright referenced in the now famous and televised videotape--and have for most of my life. My only meaningful comment is ...

Jeremiah was a bullfrog
Was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him a-drink his wine
And he always had some mighty fine wine
Singin'...

Joy to the world
All the boys and girls now
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me

Deficit spending in living color!

Just click anywhere on the above graph and see deficit spending in action!

To their credit, all three of the remaining viable Presidential candidates hustled their respective butts back to Washington today to at least try to bring some sanity to all of the above. Unfortunately, earmarks appear alive for a little longer, but taxes and spending have a tad bit more of a chance to become more in sync in the out-years, thanks to some of the voting.

Of course, the real work will be left for the new Congress and President who waltz into Washington next January.

Good luck--to all of us!

Lord, I give you absolutely everything—my reputation, my health, my ambitions, my very being ...

(Governor and Mrs.) Silda and Eliot Spitzer of New York ... at his resignation announcement.

Lord, teach me to close both my mouth and my mind and listen—so as to learn to recognize Your Beloved Voice. Turn me totally away from myself and toward You. Make me painfully aware of the excruciating pain You endured on the cross for my sake and to clear my mind for You, help me to let go of the thoughts that I so desperately cling to and turn my mind totally to You.

Let me constantly whisper your name … Jesus, Jesus, Jesus … as I contemplate your holiness.

And yes, take complete possession of ALL OF ME!! Be exalted over all of my possessions. Help me to let go of my “toys,” my worries, my pleasures … even my friendships and family so as to present all of these to You.

Although I may suffer bodily and mental discomforts, help me to carry the heavy crosses that I vow at this moment to carry in Your Name. I give you absolutely everything—my reputation, my health, my ambitions, my very being.

Take all of this in Your Holy Name.

Thank You Jesus, simply for being You, my Lord, my Savior, my God.

Amen

Were Hillary and Barack middle-aged to elderly white men ...

If Hillary and Geraldine weren't women and if Barack weren't black ...

I might be a Republican!

What Geraldine Ferraro said ... and what I have said in various conversations over the past year--totally without racism or gender issues--is true, damnit! If Hillary and Barack were older white men, entirely different candidates would be the nominee contenders today. That's not take a whit away from the down-to-earth logic of Hillary's pitch nor the enthusiasm and vision of Barack's candidacy.

It's simply the fact! Maybe in four or eight years, Barack would be a run-away candidate and maybe Hillary would do something in the Senate that would put her out in front in 2012 or 2016 ... but they surely wouldn't be candidates today were they both middle-aged to elderly white men.

So what's the big deal?

To be sure, Geraldine A. Ferraro resigned today from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign finance committee--but she remained as feisty as ever (she's lovable!) and totally unapologetic for citing Senator Barack Obama’s race as the decisive factor in his success.

But you simply can't erase the truth!

And BTW, I will likely vote for whichever one picks up the candidacy later this spring or summer.

Dream Team? Barack says, "Dream on!"

Let it be my way ...

What gives with this Obama guy anyway? Hillary offers to make him everything from her man-servant in the White House to the Vice Presidency, and he says, "No way!"

Can't he count the Superdelegates? Doesn't he know who her husband is? Hasn't he counted the electoral votes in New York, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Texas and Puerto Rico? Well, I guess you might leave Puerto Rico off the list, but what about Illinois? Oh that's right ... well what about ... okay, okay ... maybe the talk of a dream team is premature, but I thought that Hillary's answer over the past weekend: "You've got to make a choice. A lot of people wish they didn't have to. A lot of people say 'I wish I could vote for both of you.' Well, that might be possible some day...' The operative words in that quote being "might be possible."

Contrast Hillary's offer and Obama's "I'm not running for Vice President!" with what John F. Kennedy said after announcing his candidacy for President on January 2, 1960: He specifically stated that he would not accept the vice presidential nomination "under any circumstances, and that is not subject to change by any conditions."

Interestingly, Lyndon Johnson said something along the same lines and ascended to the Presidency on November 22, 1963--a memory many of us will take to our graves.

Who knows?

Back in Detroit, we knew how to conduct a street fight!

My brother Richard in Connecticut and I both grew up (through our formative years anyway) in Detroit, Michigan. We learned how to fight from the likes of "Stinky" Giamotto and Willy "Knife" O'Malley in the back alleys of Detroit 27 (zip codes were two digits back then) and Livonia (give Richard a break on that!).

What Richard and I are suggesting is that Clinton and Obama duke it out in the "ring" of Saturday Night Live rather than in the unending evening news broadcasts of CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS News.

Before Obama could get "you fat monster" out of his mouth, Clinton would have a left jab in his bony chest with, "you skinny version of Ken Starr!"

And the fun would begin.

By the way, in the above pseudo quotes, there is no intention on my part or Richard's to infer that Hillary is a "monster" or that Barack is actually "Ken Starr." But you get the idea. Fat? Skinny? Well ...

With Bill and Michelle on the sidelines cheering them on, we would all have more fun than watching Titanic and we might also get this crazy Democratic Primary season (year) over with in one gigantic hurry.

McSame ad is a killer (for McCain)

The "McSame" ad that is playing both in Pennsylvania and on POTUS08 fairly regularly ... is a killer! Click on it!

Agreed?

But, just for the record ... it is a bit unfair to slam Admiral McCain's son over his statements about not being concerned whether or not we stay in Iraq for 100 years. He was undoubtedly comparing our stay there with the White man's stay here in North America after the British and Spaniards set up colonies in New England and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast--tame enough, I guess, if understood in that context.

Crimminee! I leave town for a couple of days and the DOW's below 12000 and jobs are dropping faster than Obama's popularity ...

Ben Bernanke: Well, you see ... it's like this ... uhhh ...

Lessee ... jobs in America are down and the US stock market is also dropping faster than Ben Bernanke can drop interest rates and faster even than John McCain can promise to replace Ben Bernanke. It seems likely that the decline will continue as more and more jobs are moving overseas, the housing market continues to disintegrate and the Democratic Party continues to meander aimlessly into the spring and summer months.

I thought I could get away from it all tonight be seeing Vantage Point (latest Presidential assassination movie), but even that didn't take my mind off of the real world situation that today's economy puts us all. Maybe, if I hold my breath and count to ten ...

Well, Ron Paul hasn't won the Republican nomination (yet again), but ...

...like Ron Paul, Hillary isn't totally out of it either!

Super Tuesday came and went with the promise from CNN that Super Tuesday IV on April 22, 2008 will be the biggest "Super Tuesday" yet.

Yeh sure ...

If I am to believe the numbers at the bottom of the screen on CNN Cable TV, Hillary is still more than 100 delegates (total, including so-called "superdelegates") behind and Obama is picking up the majority of Texas's' delegates, although Hillary won the popular vote there.

Everyone (media!!!) refers to the Clinton campaign as the "Clinton machine," and that title is beginning to grate on me. If anything is a "machine," it's the media machine that insists on pushing Barack Obama to heights beyond which his capabilities are designed to fly.

Simply put, he doesn't think quickly, look smug pleasingly nor act particularly "Presidential" ... he simply yells well and has the "yes, we can!" chant down to an art form. If he can't even write (or have his speech writers write) original lines for himself [sic], one has to ask, "What can he do for himself?"

He outspent Hillary two-to-one (or so I am told by CNN), yet manages to lose large states like California, New York, Ohio and Texas to her. He continues to gather endorsements from just about every entertainment star and Washington insider by the bushel load while steering clear of the specifics of nearly every issue.

One has to ask "Why?"

The answer, of course, is that it is the electronic media and the accompanying hype that propels him--and millions of Americans who want "change" to continue to plow forward on his behalf. They portray Hillary as yesterday's White House (in itself not true) and focus, to the extent possible, on Bill Clinton's foibles and anywhere else away from Barack Obama the candidate and his specific [sic] promises to the American people.

Meanwhile, those of us who are rallying around Huckabee (who dat?) and Hillary will just have to wait for Barack's steam to run out and for the American people to catch on.

Maybe in Pennsylvania, I guess ... as Obama's delegate count inches towards 2024.

Big questions for Super Tuesday III: Will Ron Paul finally drop out? And will Barack finally be crowned?

America's latest super hero!

Obviously, The only way the Democratic presidential primary season [sic--more like the "Democratic presidential primary year "] changes course from Obama winning sometime soon is if Hillary wins Ohio by more than ten points tomorrow night and the Texas "two-step" by enough votes/caucus delegates to net something like at least twenty delegates from those two states combined. If she can net thirty or more delegates all told tomorrow (including Rhode Island and Vermont), she can drag this (all of us) on into April in Pennsylvania, but I really don't see "my girl" pulling that off tomorrow.

Look for her to concede to Super-O in about a week.

With Wyoming on Saturday and Mississippi next Tuesday (is that Super Tuesday IV?), my guess is that she'll finally concede on Wednesday, March 11, 2008.

On the day that the fun and games all end (Tuesday), it might be nice to recall that once upon a time ...

They were both young and exciting law school students

How can something as volatile as Iraq be called a "time-bomb"? Maybe a word or two is in order ...

Just you wait ...

How many of you have noticed that (1) Turkey invaded Iraq last week, (2) the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) continues to harass for a separate Kurdistan--after at least a decade now--at least since before I left the region (I was up in Dubai at the American University there), (3) the Sunnis and Shia disagree bitterly (even this weekend) as regards the disposition of the oil in the Northern Province but at least agree on one thing--that proceeds from the oil there won't be given to the Kurds (who happen to live there) and (4) the "surge" is regarded as "working" (by John S. McCain, George W. Bush and one or two others in the Dallas area) on the basis of the reduced US KIA figures being reported in Iraq?

Add to that the continuing build-up of Sunni and Shia forces in their own areas of Iraq--while under the relative safety of a "cease fire" (hardly a "truce") unilaterally declared by Al-Sadr--and happily accepted by the Sunnis in the Baghdad neighborhoods. Even General Petraeus has suggested that the various "sides" in the Iraq Civil War are using this time of reduced open hostility (a.k.a. "the surge is working") to continue to arm and organize their units for possible (probable!)future conflicts.

Kurds? Sunnis? Shia? The Three-Ring Circus called "Iraq" (a.k.a. "the surge is working") is likely to devolve into a civil war (ref. photo above) before Mr. McCain can gasp, "the surge is working" one last time.

Once a fence sitter, always a "fence sitter," I guess ...

Cute li'l scalawag, ain't he? And so was his mother, 40-plus years ago!

As you might recall, Senator Obama challenged McCain and all republicans to take public funds for the general election campaign if they won the nomination.

Whoops!

Senator McCain (Admiral McCain's son) called his bluff.

Now, Mr. Obama's refuses to even answer questions as to whether he'll take public funds. Is the mischievous rascal (above) straddling the fence or will he state unequivocally that he will take public funds ... after collecting $50 million in campaign donations last month alone?

Of course, the same question might be asked of Admiral McCain's son today ... now that he's the presumptive Republican nominee ...