We must give credit when and to whom credit is due!

The Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannities of this world may be hollering, but Mediawingnuts says, "Give credit when credit is due ... and it is!"

Yes, the destruction of one cooling tower (and the nearby plutonium producing plant, presumably) was more symbolic than real, but the cooling of relations between a rogue nation and the United States is a direct result of President Bush remaining resolute in the face of a growing nuclear threat. The trade sanctions will soon be lifted and certainly, this is one of many accomplishments of the GWB Administration.

Did I say "many"?

Yes, I did!

Besides the cooling of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, President Bush has proved correct in his assertion that the "surge" in Iraq would produce good results. I was a naysayer and happily, I was wrong. The levels of violence are down and Iraq is slowly coming under the control of the Iraqis themselves.

Also, there are numerous other accomplishments, primarily in the areas of morality and human rights. Partial birth abortion has been banned and the Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law, among other things, and for these and other accomplishments, the Bush Administration should be applauded.

Thus, for at least this moment in time ...

Applause ... applause!

Nice work, Mr. President!

Straight from the psychotherapist's "Bible": DSM-IV !!

Narcissistic Personality Disorder
These words relating to narcissism (as a disorder) are worth reading, I think.

While grandiosity is the diagnostic hallmark of pathological narcissism, there is research evidence that pathological narcissism occurs in two forms, (a) a grandiose state of mind in young adults that can be corrected by life experiences, and (b) the stable disorder [described elsewhere in DSM-IV], which is defined less by grandiosity than by severely disturbed interpersonal relations.

The preferred theory seems to be that narcissism is caused by very early affective deprivation, yet the clinical material tends to describe narcissists as unwilling rather than unable, thus treating narcissistic behaviors as volitional -- that is, narcissism is termed a personality disorder, but it tends to be discussed as a character disorder. This distinction is important to prognosis and treatment possibilities. If NPD is caused by infantile damage and consequent developmental short-circuits, it probably represents an irremediable condition. On the other hand, if narcissism is a behavior pattern that's learned, then there is some hope, however tenuous, that it's a behavior pattern that can be unlearned. The clinical literature on NPD is highly theoretical, abstract, and general, with sparse case material, suggesting that clinical writers have little experience with narcissism in the flesh. There are several reasons for this to be so:

-- The incidence of NPD is estimated at 1% in the general population, though recent research hasn't been able to discover the basis of this estimate.
-- Narcissists rarely enter treatment and, once in treatment, progress very slowly. We're talking about two or more years of frequent sessions before the narcissist can acknowledge even that the therapist is sometimes helpful. It's difficult to keep narcissists in treatment long enough for improvement to be made -- and few people, narcissists or not, have the motivation or the money to pursue treatment that produces so little so late.
-- Most clinical writers seem unaware that narcissists' self-reports are unreliable. This is troubling, considering that lying is the most common complaint about narcissists and that, in many instances, defects of empathy lead narcissists to wildly inaccurate misinterpretations of other people's speech and actions, so that they may believe that they are liked and respected despite a history of callous and exploitative personal interactions.

[from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 1994, commonly referred to as DSM-IV, of the American Psychiatric Association. European countries use the diagnostic criteria of the World Health Organization.]

Further analysis of this subject forthcoming in future blog postings.

I wonder if Mr. Bolton has thought through the implications of his remarks ...

Click on the map to more clearly see the upshot of an Israeli attack on the nuke sites in Iran ... and note that most of the subsequent activities to such a strike have Israel seemingly out of the picture--in the light oval over on the left!

John Bolton (remember him?) thinks that although Mr. Bush (remember him?) will not likely preemptively attack Iran before he is history, Israel will. And oh yes, as if Israel didn't need a hint or two, Mr. Bush's former Ambassador to the United Nations went so far as to suggest a time window for the attack--sometime between the election in November and January 20th when GWB leaves office for an extended stay in Crawford, Texas.

The question of the hour is whether GWB gave (or will soon give) Israel the go-ahead wink to conduct an attack that will put the Middle East in chaos. (And according to McCain's senior strategist, would put John McCain in the White House if Israel moved such an attack up to, say, October.)

Lord love a duck!

Barack and Hillary to be together in Unity, New Hampshire later this week ...

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama United at Last!

I knew that old JPEG photo would fit something or other as time passed ...

Oh God! George Burns ... where are you when we need you?

Am I the only human alive that is reading the newspapers? Today, it's flooding in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin while wildfires are burning out of control in California and ... oh yes, the tornado season is upon us (already the deadliest in a decade) and the hurricane season will be starting in another month or so. Hellfire, until this year I hadn't even heard of the Raccoon River!

And lest we forget, wasn't this past winter the snowiest ever and the early spring the wettest?

And that's only America! Cyclones, earthquakes tsunamis, genocide, unprecedented famine, AIDS/HIV still running rampant in Africa ... and just about everything else has been pelting/smothering Mother Earth for better than a year. Thermonuclear War, Terrorism, Global Warming, a New Ice Age ... ?? The scientists seem to think they have some of it figured out.

Or have they? Ummm ... might I dare suggest ...

Oh God!

The Great Seal of the Opossum King is deserving of the Burger King Crown! (Thanks, Personal Trainer John!)

Don't blame me! It was the comment on my previous posting by "John Personal Trainer Austin TX" at http://www. kellypersonal training.com/ method.html that made me do it. Indeed though, the cornball "Great Seal of the Opossum" in front of Barack Obama is certainly worthy of the Burger King Crown in this or anyone's world.

And yes, I double checked; "vero possumus" (the Latin inscription on the silly "Great Seal" concocted by his supporters) means "truly, we can." Well, if he can stand in front of a dozen governors over the weekend looking like such a jerk, I guess ... he can do most anything he pleases.

Go, Bob Barr ... GO!!

e unum pluribus ("out of one ... many"--or just a lot of opossums to the rest of us!)

Vero Possumus??? Looks like "opossum" to me!

Obama meeting with a dozen or so Democratic governors yesterday

The seal on the low rostrum in front of Barack Obama looked pretty silly, IMHO. Besides replacing "e pluribus unum" (out of many, one) with what appears to be the Latin translation of "Truly, we're able" -- or "Yes, we can!" I suppose) he seems to saying (prematurely) something along the lines of our President's now-famous "Mission Accomplished" with his name above the corny looking eagle--emblematic, of course, of the eagle on the Great Seal of the President of the United States.

Earlier this week, his website posted the "thank you" banner to Hillary (shown below) that made certain that it showed Hillary looking more like a wistful loser (Mona Lisa?) staring off into the sunset than someone whom he has the slightest intention of naming as his running mate. It also had the name "Clinton" clearly smaller than his magnanimous "Thank you."

It should really have read, "So long, loser!"

Whatever he might have meant by either the cheap looking "Great Seal" yesterday or his cheap shot at Hillary from his website, it looks tawdry at best.

Will oil (gasoline) be a forgotten "fuel" fifty years (or sooner) from now?

Honda's new FCX Clarity

As I understand the hype, Honda unveiled their long-awaited fuel cell-powered FCX Clarity that presumably will only emit water from its tailpipe--not accounting for the carbon emissions from the various means to produce the hydrogen. As a point of note: by and large at this time, commercial hydrogen is made from natural gas or other hydrocarbon sources and unless the hydrogen comes from a cleaner source, such as water, it is probably going to be about as bad as oil as far as carbon dioxide emissions are concerned.

If we produce hydrogen by hydrolysis of water, (using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen), it will be emission-free only if the electricity source is emission-free (wind, solar, geothermal, etc.).

thus ... for the foreseeable future, I think we can count on plenty of


to pollute our air and fatten our Saudi and other Arabian friends' pocketbooks--not to mention the fat cats in Houston and on Wall Street.

Until today, I had no idea what an "ACL" was. Go get 'em, Tiger!

The anterior cruciate ligament (labeled ACL)
Tiger Woods wisely threw in the towel for this golf season. He announced on his website today that he would undergo surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

I believe that after the wonderful athletic performance of this past weekend, "Tiger's Knee" will replace "Achilles' Heel" in our English Language lexicon. I don't think anyone is thinking of the eighteen major victories needed for the record books now, Tiger ... only your health.

Best of everything to you, Tiger Woods; mine and every one's prayers are with you.

Go get 'em, Tiger!

The allegory of the "Battle of Wounded Knee" is too incredible!

Tiger Woods ... one stroke before winning the 2008 US Open ... incredible!

With the golf tournament I watched this past weekend--through Monday's 19 holes, it will be a long time--if ever--before I expect to see anything closely resembling the 91 holes of Tiger Woods that punctuated my only vacation time this year. To watch Tiger birdie the 18th Hole two days in a row on a wounded knee (first golf since his surgery) to stay alive is more than anyone can expect in a lifetime.

Thank you, Tiger and thank you, Rocco Mediate (who finished second to Tiger who was the ONLY player under par after 91 holes) ... for golf thrills that will be remembered throughout the 21st Century and beyond.

Absolutely the greatest!

Look hard at that empty seat, Barack! Yes you CAN! (Just ask her nicely ...)

Barack should ask her to move over one seat, don't you think?

Yes, you CAN, Barack! After all SHE DID put eighteen million cracks in that crazy glass ceiling. Do it quickly and you will benefit far greater than if you diddle around vetting vetters while John McCain twiddles his thumb thinking about whether Iraq is to the east or west of Iran and whether it's the Sunnis or the Shia who date back to the early caliphs and not the Prophet's offspring.

Besides, there are a few of us out here who are concerned about health care for those who need it and a quick decision guarantees a victory in November. This is one time when thinking it over for two months is NOT a good idea!

Just compare your team with John McCain's if you decide NOW!

You absolutely MUST forget the nonsense that went on for the last twelve months, Barack. It was a hard fought battle and you won fair and square ... and you surely showed your true red-white-and-blue colors! You have shown America that it's the "post-race" era; now show America that we're also "post-gender"--and long past the politics of holding grudges!!

Tim Russert was a giant ... personally and professionally ...

Tim Russert as I will always remember him

Tim Russert was the one commentator whom I most associated with Sunday morning. He surely did revolutionize Sunday morning television and he did so much more besides.

Of interest perhaps to a couple of you is that he reminded me more of my brother, Richard in Connecticut, than any other television performer on the air reminded me of him or anyone else, for that matter.

Besides looking very much like Richard, he--like my brother--was a political junkie of the first order and a brilliant mind as regards political matters ... and seemingly almost anything else newsworthy.

Only fifty-eight ... so young ...

If Barack Obama selects Hillary as his running mate quickly--like NOW!!

While on the phone with my brother, Richard in Connecticut, a brilliant strategy move for Barack Obama overwhelmed our conversation.

What if Barack DIDN'T wait until August or so (conventional wisdom [sic]) and instead named Hillary to be his Vice Presidential choice NOW? clearly he would have the advantage of campaign hoopla and headlines (what it's all about, after all) for two full months on John McCain who would appear to be bumbling around trying to make his mind up as to which old white man might best complement his ticket and his chances for winning in November.

For Obama, waiting is nothing more than lost time. For McCain, the longer Obama waits, the longer he has to relax, take his Viagra at night and study Middle Eastern politics, history and culture.

The McCain "Team"

The Obama Team!

And oh yes, Bill Clinton would bring something to the table too!

High Crimes and Misdemeanors!

One of the more courageous members of the US House of Representatives, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D. Ohio) read 35 articles of impeachment into the record for five hours. Of course, many of them dealt with the illegal attack on Iraq, but one of them (Article XXI) addressed a possible build up to an attack on Iran.

Please, Nancy Pelosi, retract your request that Congress not impeach Mr. Bush or Mr. Cheney until after they are long gone anyway ... Please keep in mind that they have plenty of time to wage another preemptive war, especially if they believe that they could bring oil prices down in the short run--crazy, I know, but crazier things have occurred in the past seven years.

Just who might bolt through the hole made possible by the eighteen million cracks in the glass ceiling put in it by Hillary?

Eighteen million cracks, thanks to Hillary's primary voters

There isn't only one Obama in the spotlight, folks. Michelle is not only a captivating speaker and slick competitor in her own right, she's a likely candidate to break through the glass ceiling that Hillary and her supporters shattered over the past several months. She was a cum laude graduate of Princeton long before she met Barack when they were both "stars" at Harvard Law School.

Barack Obama's personal and political accomplishments have become familiar to all of us. He was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review; he was a University of Chicago law professor; he's been a two-term Illinois state senator; and of course, he became only the third African American U.S. senator since Reconstruction.

Michelle's accomplishments may be less well known, but they are substantive. She is a 1985 cum laude graduate of Princeton University; a 1988 graduate of Harvard Law School; a former associate dean at the University of Chicago, and currently a vice president at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Further, she sits on six boards, including the prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.

This blog posting would be ten pages long were I to go on with just her accomplishments during the past fifteen years, but they can easily be Googled. But the main point is ... keep an eye on that glass ceiling! The Swoosh that passes through it might very well be Michelle's rich brown and not Hillary's pink pantsuit.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama

The R-E-E-E-E-L "Dream Ticket"

A John McCain - Joe Lieberman ticket makes total sense!

Just consider their "connections" ...

No kissing allowed, Joe!

... and the photograph that just keeps giving!

Yes we can!

Whodda thought? Not even a week ago (seems like a hundred years to me), Hillary and the rest of us were amazed at her 68% to 32% win over Barack Obama in Puerto Rico ... and only five days ago, with her win in South Dakota, she became the highest vote-getter ever in a primary season (Barack included) ... and then today ... and strangely, it almost seemed like it took her forever ... she conceded defeat in her finest moment yet.

Strange campaign ... strange times ...

What next?

Heck of a job Bushie!

Gee whiz, Bushie ... a barrel of crude oil is now $139 with gas at the pump likely to hit $4.50 per gallon by the Fourth of July; the DOW fell again (roughly 400 yesterday); our attempted occupation of Iraq continues; unemployment is at record levels having jumped another full half of a percent yesterday; the Israelis now say that an attack upon Iran is "inevitable"; and ... oh yes, a majority of Americans actually believe that the Saudi Arabian (17) and Egyptian (2) hijackers on 9-11 were ... (huh?) Iraqi?

And, one little additional item ... no boycotts, no demonstrations in the streets, no real commotion ...

Way to go, Bushie ... "Heck of a job!"

It's still a "Dream Ticket" ... IMHO!

Today's Perception (picture borrowed from Lisa's Caricatures)

My brother Richard in Connecticut insists that his damnable copy of Keys to the White House tells him (and everyone else who reads KTTWH) that the Democrats will win in November no matter who is on the ticket with Barack Obama. But I totally disagree with young Richard. If Obama thinks he can just let the back-and-forth jousting between himself and Hillary continue into the General Election campaign by promising Hillary Clinton a stale dinner roll in the form of, say, a leading role in his fight for Universal Health Care--and even a chocolate-covered bagel is just another table scrap--and try to pass that off as a generous attempt at "fence building," he will turn my brother's favorite read, Keys to the White House into just another uninteresting--and also out-of-date--book title.

Meaning: the race in November would then be tighter than Hillary's pantsuits rather than the landslide I envision if he chooses her as his running mate.

Just ask yourself: What could John McCain do to one-upsmanship that? Hillary already has done her part by sending her closest supporters a warm e-mail today that buried the hatchet in advance of Saturday's speech. It said in part:

"On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans. I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party’s nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise."

And, no matter what Obama decides to do as regards the Vice-president slot on the Democratic ticket ... SHE WILL deliver on that promise!

But it will carry far greater weight with her on the ticket.

Yesterday's Reality ... and Tomorrow's Dream Team!

Hillary weighs options ...

Will her "options" last till Friday?

It was reported this afternoon that Hillary will announce her decision vis-a-vis the primary race (that is, its conclusion) on Friday, June 6 ... the anniversary, coincidentally, of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination. Her aids indicate that she will choose Barack Obama as her running mate if she decides to run for vice-president. Barack Obama is said to be glued to the chair next to his telephone awaiting her phone call with her decision to ask him to be the Democratic Presidential Candidate with her at his side through the General Election cycle.

The country waits anxiously as she and Bill weigh the merits of an Obama-Clinton ticket.

It is June, after all ...

The Race Continues ...

Who could forget this year's Kentucky Derby when Hillary's filly (Eight Belles) finished the race (second to Big Brown ... but charging hard at the finish) only to have to be put down after she collapsed with two shattered ankles ... after having run the race of her life.

Well, Hillary ... you too ran the race of your life, but ...

It ain't over till it's over!

Running alongside "Big Brown," you two will leave John McCain in the dust in November!

PS: Eight Belles (the filly) will be interred at Churchill Downs, it was announced yesterday--a fitting conclusion to her strange and tragic run for the roses ...