Kriplekistan

We Got Him!

2011-05-04T23:01:00.000-07:00

Good Show Old Chap!

2010-01-23T14:38:00.001-08:00

John Stewart did my homework for me. Bravo!

Tip of the Iceburg

2010-01-19T19:32:00.001-08:00

The people of Massachusetts have regained their seat with the vote heard 'round the world.

Foreign Relations my A....oh forget it.

2009-11-17T00:15:00.000-08:00

I miss George Bush....but that goes without saying.

What a difference one year makes.

2009-11-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

Virginia? Sweep.

New Jersey? Fuggedabout it!

These states went big for Obama in 2008. Keep up the pace guys!

Fish in a Barrell

2009-08-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

"You can't make up such a thing as that, I dare you to even try."-Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men.

Honestly, the speaker is just making my job easier and easier.

Candid Camera

2009-08-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

I know. I know. My indolence has become in-efficacious. Once again, I apologize to all loyal readers of mine. Moving, the impending school season, and my unadulterated obsession with my beloved Georgia Bulldogs impending football season have taken up most of my time. That said, due to the activity of my fellow concerned citizens, you the people have begun to speak for yourselves, and therefore have picked up the slack. While thousands of videos of angry every day Americans demanding answers from their elected leaders exist, this most recent one from this morning seems to personify the American people's anger.

Now, what seems absolutely astounding to me, is that only a paltry 8 months ago, dissent was deemed the most patriotic activity possible. Now, according to Speaker Pelosi's Op-Ed in USA-Today (it still pains me to write that), these activities are simply "un-American." Should anyone doubt the absolute vitriol and avarice of liberal protests over the past 8 years, I can say said doubters are either in complete self denial or have no problem with utterly shameless promotion. Everyone in the blogosphere is well aware of my loquacious nature, so I will refrain from commenting how absolutely pathetic, hypocritical, abhorrent, and utterly contemptible the Speaker's comment is. Her (and liberal's everywhere) behavior is so perfectly indicative of how vain and egotistical these people truly are (and this may shock some of you), it has literally left me speechless. Although, I digress, as liberals have time and time again shown us, hypocrisy and double standards are the name of their game. At last, it has come to the very survival of our health care system to show us that.

Sensory Overload

2009-07-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

When it rains it pours. That seems to be the consensus the world has come to the past few weeks regarding international events. Coup in Honduras. 4,000 Marines launching a massive attack into Helmand Province under President Obama's first major military offensive. Kim Jong Il setting off another set of bottle rockets. Over 1,400 arrested in China's restive Xinjiang province. Billy Mays died. Lets try and break these down one by one.

Military coups in Latin America are like old women playing bingo-it's only a matter of time before someone goes down. Having said that, this one is more sticky than usual. Ousted President Zelaya was attempting to call for a referendum which could have led to the continuation of his presidency, which would have been a violation of the Honduran constitution. Before said referendum could take place however, the military broke into the Presidential palace, arrested and essentially banished Mr. Zelaya, vowing to arrest him if he returned. Rallies amongst supporters of both sides have occurred, and clashes between the two have been reported. As if that weren't enough, Hugo Chavez threatened a military intervention to return Zelaya to power if he were not allowed back. This is nonsense, Venezuela's military power stops at its border. One must wonder, why would it be so important to Chavez that Zelaya were in power. The U.S. state department is now admitting it underestimated the ties between Zelaya and Chavez. In the meantime, the Honduran Congress has named Roberto Micheletti acting president. The administration has suspended its military ties with Honduras, and it is easy to see why, no country can openly support military coups. Sadly this looks as if it is one of those paradoxes of Latin American democracies, it had to be suspended in order to be preserved. While coup's bastardize any democracy, this region is all too familiar with leftist autocracies. Painful as it is to write this, this may be a Machiavellian example of doing a little evil in order to prevent a greater one.

Street Signs

2009-06-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

While the Iranian government has stepped up its use of the Basij militia as well as the IRGC, violent protests continue on the streets of Tehran, although reportedly in the low thousands-not nearly as big as last weeks demonstrations.

Rage Against the Machine

2009-06-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

This video was pieced by Iranian students in Tehran over the past few days. Apparently this is what many of the rebels (this is now far beyond a mere protest) are viewing and disseminating before taking to the streets. The crowd can be overhead chanting "Death to dictatorship!" in the background. The latest reports as of the morning of June 21st indicate the regime has resorted to home invasions in order to round up as many dissidents as possible.

Seeds of a Revolution

2009-06-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

The situation on the ground in Tehran is continuously evolving on a second by second basis, therefore at this point it doesn't make much sense to write an extensive report on whats happening on the ground. At this point, it is better to observe and report on the growing discontent spreading throughout Iran. On a personal note, I am hoping for the absolute best for the people of Persia, and their desire for freedom and democracy. As the world holds its breath and waits, it is important that everyone devoted to the spread of freedom and liberty share as many images as they can, to show their solidarity with the brave souls standing up to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and other oppressive elements of the current Iranian regime. God be with them.

يذهبون كلاب!(Go Dawgs! Iraqi Version #3)

2009-05-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

Remember all of our service men and women, on Memorial Day, and indeed, everyday. Go Dawgs, Euphrates style!

Speaking of the Louse (Part 2)

2009-05-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

This story just keeps getting better and better.

Dec. 12, 2007: "On one occasion, in the fall of 2002, I was briefed on interrogation techniques the administration was considering using in the future. The administration advised that legal counsel for the both the CIA and the Department of Justice had concluded that the techniques were legal. I had no further briefings on the techniques...Jane Harman was briefed more extensively and advised the techniques had in fact been employed."

Feb. 25, 2009: "No. No the fact is, they did not brief, well first of all, we're not allowed to talk about what happens there, but I can say they did not brief us with these enhanced interrogations that were taking place. They did not brief us. They were talking about an array of interrogations taht they might have at their disposal. But I can say flat out, they never told us that these enhacement interrogations were being used."

April 23, 2009: "It is not appropriate for me to talk about what happens at briefings . It is very interesting that people are talking so freely. But I can say this :They have been talking about it for a while. At that or any other briefing, and that was the only breifing that I was briefed on in that regard, we were not, I repeat, were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used."

May 14, 2009: "The CIA briefed me only once on some enhanced interrogation techniques...The only mention of waterboarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed. Those briefing me in September 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information. In February 2003, a member of my staff informed me that (other legislators) had been briefed about the use of certain techniques which had been the subject of earlier legal opinions"

Apparently, my wish from last week has been answered and then some. Mrs. Pelosi incomprehensible story continues to become less believable and more laughable. And as if she couldn't keep her story straight, she outright accuses the CIA of lying to her, intentionally no less. As Senator Bond said yesterday, she clearly "disremembered" what took place. Furthermore, Porter Goss, who later went on to become head of the CIA, has acknowledged that he and other members of the Intelligence Committee were briefed on certain "enhanced techniques." So the question is, why would the CIA tell some members of the Intel committee one thing, and then Nancy another? The answer is they wouldn't, and clearly she has caught herself in a convoluted web of lies. Obviously the Obama administration doesn't want to be anywhere near this, but the more the speaker tries to free herself from this conundrum, the deeper in trouble she gets. Furthermore, what does the administration have to hide, when Dick Cheney of all people wants CIA memos declassified, and the Obama administration rebuffs his request? Quite frankly I don't see how Pelosi keeps her speakership over this debacle, if not due to her disregard for any sort of ethics, and the damage she is causing our intelligence community, but at the very least the amount of damage she is causing her party and this administration.

Speaking of the Louse

2009-05-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Louse: noun 1. any small, wingless insect of the order Anoplura (sucking louse), parasitic on humans and other mammals and having mouthparts adapted for sucking, as Pediculus humanus (body louse or head louse) and Phthirius pubis (crab louse or pubic louse).
2. any insect of the order Mallophaga (bird louse, biting louse, or chewing louse), parasitic on birds and mammals, having mouthparts adapted for biting.
3. plant louse.
4. Slang. a contemptible person, esp. an unethical one.

Ever since President Obama took the oath of office, Nancy Pelosi has been pressing Congress and the administration to prosecute those who had knowledge of, or performed enhanced interrogation techniques on high value targets such as Abu Zubaydah. In the event Speaker Pelosi gets her wish, not only will valuable information, such as our most secret interrogation methods, be released, but the lives of countless CIA and other government officials will be destroyed, and potentially put in immediate danger. At the risk of sounding like Jonathan Swift, I implore the speaker to procede. In fact, it is a matter of national security that she must. Here's why:

As a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, it has become evident that then congresswoman Pelosi was briefed numerous times in September of 2002 by the CIA about the use of certain "enhanced techniques" such as waterboarding and other harsh methods on high level targets picked up off the battlefield from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and also from covert raids conducted in Pakistan. Now, as the Speaker of the House, Pelosi has been leading her one woman crusade against enhanced techniques with reckless abandon. The reason it is a matter of national security that Speaker Pelosi proceed with her investigation is that she herself will come to the forefront as a member of Congress who knew and said nothing about these interrogation methods. If successful, the legal process will ultimately land Speaker Pelosi herself at the witness stand, and ultimately out of office and in federal prison. As destructive of a process this will be to our nation's security as far as secrets and methods are concerned, it will pale in consideration to the damage Nancy Pelosi will be able to inflict on this country's security measures for the next 4, or possible 8 years of her sitting behind a Democratic Presidential administration.

Therefore, I beseech Speaker Pelosi to proceed with her (shameless and hypocritical) investigation as soon as possible. The security of the United States is at stake.

Maintain Discipline

2009-04-27T22:52:00.001-07:00

Pure and simple. Having spoken to some of our guys stationed over there, I can say this soldier (who is remaining anonymous) speaks for the majority of service men stationed over there, as well as the majority of Americans as well.

Thats Some Good Tea

2009-04-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

Nevermind that Susan had no problem with George Bush portrayed as a hybrid devil/Hitler. Nevermind the giant "Republicans Suck Too" sign in the crowd. Or nevermind that the 50 billion dollars Susan claims is such a bounty bestowed upon the state of Illinois comes from the taxpayers, and is being spent in a way in which the people disagree with. Definitely one of those "I wish I had been there" moments. But the people who catch up with her at the end do a good enough job. C/O Founding Bloggers, thanks guys, keep up the good work!

Dead Men Tell No Tales

2009-04-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

For the better part of a week, much of the nation, and indeed the world has been watching to see how the standoff between the U.S. Navy and Somali pirates over Captain Richard Phillips would end. Well, now we know. Thanks to a daring raid by the best of the best, also known as Navy SEALS, Captain Phillips is on his way home and 3 of the 4 Pirates are dead, the 4th in the hands of what one can only assume is a very effective U.S. security detail. While massive amounts of kudos is deserved all around, some individuals need to be singled out for their bravery.

Captain Richard Phillips. The man surrendered himself to pirates as a form of collateral so that his crewmen could go free. There is no action more quintessentially becoming of an outstanding captain than that.

President Obama. Late last week, President Obama gave the Pentagon the green light to use force in the event negotiators felt that Captain Phillips was in imminent danger. While our President has been traveling the world speaking about the effectiveness of negotiations and diplomacy, it is comforting to know he recognizes when force is an inevitable necessity.

Saving the best for last-U.S. Navy Seals. Sniping the captors, capturing the last pirate, and not incurring a single scratch; our guys have once again proved why they are among the best fighters planet Earth has ever seen.

Dead Man Walking

2009-04-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

Much "hullabaloo" has been made lately about North Korea's recent (and once again, failed) rocket launch. According to an ostentatious KCNA report, the rocket delivered its payload into Earth which is now beaming the musings of the great generals Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. In reality, a North Korean rocket has once again failed to reach orbit, and in fact the satellite along with the rest of the dilapidated technology crashed somewhere in the central Pacific Ocean. Although the President has called for a new round of U.N. sanctions, for all intents and purposes, this rocket launch is nothing more than a desperate cry for attention from the new administration.

What is important however, is the recent picture of the "dear leader" at which he was reappointed by the Supreme People's Assembly. At the best, this man has 5 years left on the clock. Unlike his father, Kim John Il has fathered illegitimate children, none of whom have been groomed to be a successor, which may indicate a power struggle within the ruling elite if Kim does in fact fall victim in the near future to his years of drinking cognac and other tacky spirits. Either way, the Korean peninsula is about to become a lot more interesting, whether that is good news or not remains to be seen.

G-2(0)

2009-04-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

A brief synopsis of what has occurred at the G-20 summit so far in London:

China: Will the U.S. honor its treasuries which we have so generously purchased?

U.S.A.: Yes, lets shop.

Everyone else: Change?

Conquistadores

2009-03-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

While everyone has undoubtedly been following the turbulent swings of the state of the (worldwide) economic crisis, there is a smaller yet albeit important battle being waged far from the trading rooms of the New York and London stock exchanges. Along the sandy and scorched earth that separates the U.S. and Mexican border, a turf war is taking place across certain border cities (on the Mexican side) that by all accounts has become as violent as Iraqi street battles that plagued that country from 2004-2006. With local police turning up killed, mutilated, and sometimes decapitated, horrendous crimes are taking place against anyone who dares stand against the drug lords. Controlling the smuggling routes which traffic the vast majority of cocaine which comes into this country, these kingpins are incredibly well funded, and sadly, well armed.

For a long period of time, there wasn't much the Mexican or American governments could accomplish, until now. In early March, Felipe Calderon, Mexico's President ordered massive number of federal police, or "federales" as they are colloquially known, into the most volatile city there is, Ciudad Juarez. Not dissimilar from the "surge" of troops the U.S. injected into Baghdad in 2007, this influx of over more than 7,500 police units, that are not as willing or able to be bought off as the local police, is designed to take back territory that is literally in the hands of drug smugglers and their well equipped muscle. The irony in this is that Cuidad Juarez literally borders El Paso across the Rio Grande river, and typically when lower tier countries (come on guys, face the facts) border more wealthy and prosperous ones, its typically the border area which is most positively influenced (the vast majority of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border). The problem with this scenario however, is that because the U.S. is the worlds largest consumer of Cocaine, the money and power goes to those willing to smuggle the product in, and this has made many of the Mexican cities that border the U.S. increasingly dangerous.

Therefore, as loathe as I am to admit this, Secretary of State Clinton was correct in her observation last week that the violent situation persists because both parties are at fault. Mexico has failed to assert control over its territory against drug lords, and America's penchant for blow has funded much of the mayhem. Aside from the fact that its true, it was also important to share blame in this situation, if nothing else to show solidarity with the Mexican government, a government by which all accounts has only become truly democratic within the past 2 decades. While our friends to the south have been somewhat reluctant to cooperate fully (they have rejected the notion of joint border patrols), serious help in this situation was direly needed, before the violence potentially spread onto our side of the border.

Comic Relief

2009-03-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone, I know I somewhat addressed my lack of industriousness regarding this blog a month ago, but this has gotten bad, even for me. Working 40+ hours a week does have that effect however. To make amends, here is one of the funnier prank calls I've ever heard, courtesy of the Howard Stern show. If you've ever found Kriplekistan's sardonic sense of humor appealing, then you'll enjoy this.....I know I did.

Lessons in Semantics

2009-02-25T16:37:00.000-08:00

Many of the Americans who have objections to President Obama's and the Democratic stimulus package have dubbed the bill as "pork." Others have chosen to be more creative. I tend to agree with the latter. As Governor Jindal pointed out last night, with $140 million for Volcano monitoring, as well as $30 million devoted to the protection of a certain species of rodents in Nancy Pelosi's oh-so pivotal district, its no wonder more people aren't saying the same thing.

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T08:32:00.001-08:00

This one is for all you lovers out there....

AWOL

2009-02-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

Also known as Absent Without Leave. That more or less defines Kriplekistan's complete transgression against cyberspace lately, but before apologies are begged for, a few things should be noted.

1. The only thing being discussed right now in the national discourse is the economy, as important as that is, someone who got a C+ in Macro and Micro Economics isn't the best person on Earth to be giving advice. Having said that, World War 2 got us out of the depression, not untold amounts of spending and printing money.

2. Speaking of economics, the busy staff at Kriplekistan (that would be me) was starting to run the risk of running a deficit of its own and had to seek outside employment, thus taking away certain amounts of time and energy.

3. The complete ineptitude of President Obama's ability to appoint competent cabinet level positions. Daschle being the worst by far, but Geithner and Killefer notwithstanding, all those three people stand for is the age old adage that Democrats don't mind raising taxes because they refuse to pay them. (Catchy and fun as that sounds, pointing fingers is fun for about 5 seconds)

4. International Events. Yes, that is what Kriplekistan specializes in, but Israel and Hamas can only go at it for so many times before it becomes routine and a standard Michael Ramirez cartoon suffices. The situation in Iraq has gone better than someone wishing on a star. President Obama's pledge of a 16 month withdrawal now seems neo-conservatively slow. North Korea threatening the South with open war? Please...North Korea threatening anyone is like the Geico caveman challenging he's beating Billy Jean King. They get it....they quit, but they get it.

So, while those are not entirely viable excuses, they exist nonetheless, and Kriplekistan would like to apologize to all 3 of its standard readers worldwide for the latent existence its posts have had lately. Rest assured, while perspicacity does not exactly become Kriplekistan, in no way shape or form has an edge on current affairs been lost. As long as arrogance and stupidity permeates through the national discourse (which is pretty much all the time), Kriplekistan will continue to be vigilant. See you soon.

Miracle on Ice

2009-01-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

Crashing shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport into the freezing waters of the Hudson River, all 155 passengers aboard US Airways flight 1549 are safe and unharmed. I've said it before and God help me I'll say it again, don't give up, don't ever give up hope.

People in Glass Houses....

2009-01-06T15:57:00.001-08:00

...shouldn't throw stones. More to come as the Israeli operation in Gaza continues.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-24T10:34:00.001-08:00

Kriplekistan hopes everyone takes their time this Christmas season to appreciate their loved ones and that they have many more together. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

These Boots Were Made For Walking.....

2008-12-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

Honestly, my first thoughts when I saw this were that the President has some quality athletic abilities for a man in his 60's. Other than that, I'm not even going to try and illustrate how a man who was held by Shi'ite extremists a year ago, and would have been executed under Saddam for this same offense, is completely hypocritical for tossing his loafers at Ol' W.

Democracy's Latest Traitor

2008-12-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

"I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden,"

"and I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing. I'm not gonna do it."

Blagojevich on Obama's people "...not going to give me anything except appreciation." "(Expletive) them."

As far as other quotes obtained by federal authorities are concerned, agents from the FBI and other prosecutors describe Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's statements caught on wiretaps as sounding "more like a mob boss than anything" being laced with not just unmitigated greed but also child like profanity. Not only was the Illinois Governor conspiring to in effect "sell" the U.S. Senate seat, he was also actively seeking to silence some of his more vocal critics within the local Chicago media.

"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Even the HuffingtonPost is shocked by the level of corruption involved in the ongoing investigation. Printed on its website:

Paul Green, a political scientist at Roosevelt University, said: "If you're under so much scrutiny by an unbelievably dedicated U.S. attorney's office, why would you risk it all? This is a case less about politics and more about social psychology. ... A hard-nosed Illinois politician wouldn't even dream of doing this, considering the situation."

While Barack Obama himself has been cleared from any wrong doing (it is said that he and Blagojevich don't exactly get along), Obama's appointed Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has come under increased scrutiny as of late. The main reason being that if Blagojevich was willing to be so brazen with his appointments, surely other chicanery has taken place in the past.

From the Chicago Sun Times:

"Blagojevch was caught on tape saying that he wanted the Obama advisor in question to know what Blagojevich wanted in exchange for the Jarrett appointment."

Early Friday morning Emanuel refused to take questions from reporters about whether he was said Obama "advisor" named in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

As if all this doesn't illustrate a severe amount of lunacy on the part of the Governor, Blagojevich has indicated he feels he did nothing wrong and is going to fight to keep his seat, all the while his own Lt. Governor is calling for his impeachment. It will certainly be interesting to see which names the Governor is willing to provide once federal prosecutors start their process. Nevertheless, with little over a month gone by, the infamous Chicago machine-style politics has already reared its ugly head in our Capitol.

I keep my friends close, and my enemies.....

2008-12-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

...a little closer.

Before getting started I'd like to say sorry for the extended hiatus, between the never ending hoopla surrounding the current state of the economy and the never ending senate races in Minnesota and Georgia, there really hasn't been much to discuss. Having said that, congratulations on your re-election Senator Chambliss, and may Al Franken only prolong this embarrassing conflict to his own disgrace.

On to our soon to be Secretary of State, Senator Clinton. A few days after the election, President-elect Obama went on 60 minutes and said that he had been reading a lot of Abraham Lincoln's memoirs, and that he was gaining a lot of insight on how to govern as a President for all the people. Kudos to the President. Considering he has asked, and that Bob Gates has acquiesced to his request to stay on as Secretary of Defense, I applaud the new President's judgement. There is not a more qualified man for the job, and it indeed matches the President's campaign rhetoric to be bi-partisan. Indeed, Obama's appointments for his economic team is a veritable intellectual's all star team.

However, the appointment of Senator Clinton to be Secretary of State is well, somewhat suspect. Disregarding the vitriol that was exchanged earlier this year between the two campaigns (who can forget an Obama staffer referring to Mrs. Clinton as a "monster"), the two have had incredibly dissimilar views regarding America's role in the world. On the foreign policy front, Senator Clinton has been more conservative in just about every aspect possible. From her championing the case for the war in Iraq, to her inability to apologize for her vote for said war during the highly partisan Democratic primaries, the two have not seen eye to eye on many fronts. This is sure to erk many of Obama's supporters on the left. Clearly, appointing a 2 term senator and former first lady who has a profane amount of Washington connections isn't exactly matching his vow to change "politics as usual in Washigton." In fact, it seems only to perpetuate it.

So, how does one examine this through the looking glass. Initially, it was pragmatic, President Obama seems to be placating a large and sincere portion of the Democratic party, after all, 18 million people did vote for Mrs. Clinton in the primaries. Also, there are little people with more diplomatic "street cred" on the international scene than Mrs. Clinton, she will carry enormous weight wherever she travels. Looking further through the microscope, this decision might also signify some confidence issues within President Obama himself. Between selecting a international relations "guru" in Joe Biden for Vice-President is one thing, but to appoint another heavy-weight and former rival as Secretary of State might show some subconscious chinks in the armor.

However, and this is my gut feeling Machiavellian to the T, he is doing it to keep an eye on her. Much as Lincoln did, Mr. Obama is appointing many former rivals to important positions. After all, Mrs. Clinton did say on the campaign trail that Senator McCain would bring a lot to the White House while Senator Obama, "had a nice speech." Talk about largesse on the part of President Obama.

Alright Mr. President!

2008-11-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Finally, we have something to agree on! Lets build on this.

The Good, the Bad, the Jackass

2008-11-07T08:41:00.001-08:00

Congratulations on making history Senator. We wish you luck as our 44th President.

However, I'm not sure appointing this man as your chief of staff is indicative of post partisanship behavior.

Lastly, how anyone could vote for this clown is beyond me. No wonder Mondale won Minnesota. Good luck in your Al Gore-esque attempt to negate votes, moron.

Day of Days

2008-11-03T14:31:00.001-08:00

Ok, maybe that is being a little dramatic. Everyone knows tomorrow's election is important, in fact, its huge. But every year since 2000 it seems as though the electorate has to have this continuing message shoved down its throat that somehow, THIS is the most important election of our lives. Lets be clear, 2004 was huge. Iraq was a mess, and wasn't getting better anytime soon (thank God for General Petraeus), and pretty much every important world leader worth mentioning made him or herself popular by bashing the U.S. How times change.

Tomorrow is going to be very important, the U.S. is going to either elect its first black American as its new president, or the oldest man as its new President. However, here is why the 2008 presidential election is NOT the most important of our lifetime. First of all, the Iraq war is over, point blank. October saw the lowest amount of deaths since the war's inception, with 12 deaths, 6 of those combat related. South central LA has a higher rate of violence. Afghanistan, while not as rosy as it once seemed, is still not anywhere near a desperate operation. The Taliban cannot by force take Afghanistan from coalition soldiers, and there have been reports they are even ready to negotiate.

Financially, yes the U.S. is in a mess, but look around, so is the rest of the world. The British were the first (and therefore smartest) country by guaranteeing the backing of their financial system. For those who have decried the bailout, consider the alternatives for a moment. Yes certain banks need to be held accountable, but let the nerve center of your country's financial system collapse? No, not going to happen, and considerably dumb idea to even begin with. The developed world is in store for a recession, but this happens about once every decade, it is almost inevitable. By the way, take a second to notice that the economic downturn has produced one very desirable effect: gas is as low as $1.92 in certain parts of the country.

Control of the government is the only issue which deserves severe contemplation. Democrats already control the house and have a tenuous hold on the Senate. Should Barack Obama become the next President, and Democrats gain enough seats in the Senate to maintain a filibuster proof vote, the U.S. is in store for a large increase in spending. Obviously, the Republicans let spending get out of control when they had power over both chambers of Congress and the White House, and they have rightly bared the blame. That said, should Obama become the next leader of the free world, it is imperative that he be held to his promise of delivering post-partisan togetherness, or this country could potentially see the largest increase in spending ever witnessed.

So there it is. We as a country have important issues facing us, but in no way shape or form should we feel pressured to vote for one candidate or another because this election is so unfathomably dire. Its not. In fact, it is just like every election we have ever had: important, but not irretrievable. Vote with your heads America.

Say it ain't so, Joe...

2008-10-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

Isn't it amazing what happens when someone actually asks a Democrat to expound on his or her answers?? Please tell me this isn't what is in store for America the next four years.

Nuts!

2008-10-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

A 19 year old registered 73 times? Convicted felons working the registration process?? Mickey #*%^ing Mouse??? At this point it doesn't even take hyperbole to say that voting for Obama will seriously subvert our electoral process by vindicating this type of nonsense.

Come on John...

2008-10-09T09:19:00.001-07:00

Come on John, I know people are telling you to attack and be aggressive, but there's a better way of going about than simply attacking arbitrarily. Point out the flaws in Obama's plans, how he can't possibly explain how he's going to pay for all of the programs he's going to initiate, which will put us much further into debt. You're at your best when you're confident in promoting your own ideas, not trying to deride your opponents (see vs Mitt Romney in the primaries). You've got one debate left, lets step it up a notch.

Here's looking at you, Kid

2008-10-05T15:34:00.001-07:00

With almost 70 million viewers, the most ever for a vice-presidential debate, and the majority of major publications conceding that she won the debate, Sarah Palin has earned the right to toss a few winks around.

The Blackout is Coming.....

2008-09-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

#8 Ranked Alabama visits #3 Georgia this Saturday. College gameday is going to be in Athens for the first time in almost a decade. Georgia is wearing its black jersey's for the first time since Hawaii in the Sugar bowl, and the first regular season game since Auburn last November. For those who forget, this is what transpired the last time a team from Alabama visited while the Dawgs were in black......

Why so Serious??

2008-09-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

Typically I would not put a Michael Ramirez cartoon from Investors Business Daily back to back, but this time is an exception. Evidently the illustration above was removed due to "concerns" from the editorial staff at IBD. Evidently, its still acceptable for the chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party to say that Sarah Palin's best achievement is that she hasn't had an abortion. Talk about "class" warfare.

Hit the Pine

2008-09-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately we still have to suffer one of these imbeciles on Sunday night football.

What a knockout!!!

2008-09-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

And I'm just referring to the speech! Some of the most memorable quotes include:

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening."

"We tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco."

"But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people."

"Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems - as if we all didn’t know that already. But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all."

"And there is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate."

"This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed … when the roar of the crowd fades away … when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger … take more of your money … give you more orders from Washington … and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy … our opponent is against producing it."

"Harry Reid, the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate, not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee. He said, quote, “I can’t stand John McCain.” Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we’ve chosen the right man. Clearly what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can’t stand up to John McCain. That is only one more reason to take the maverick of the Senate and put him in the White House. My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of “personal discovery.” This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn’t just need an organizer."

"And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, “fighting for you,” let us face the matter squarely. There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you … in places where winning means survival and defeat means death … and that man is John McCain."

Upping the Ante

2008-09-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Back to the Future

2008-08-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

"Back in the days of the Cold War, the Russians could always be depended on doing whatever was in their best damn interests"

-Captain Frank Ramsey, Crimson Tide

The above quote, while derived from a work of fiction, never sounded so true two weeks ago as Russian tanks streamed into the Republic of Georgia with overwhelming ease. While the Russian government has made every attempt to make the invasion seem as a reactionary action, those who know the region's politics and Russia's intentions know that this is anything but true.

The regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have always been problematic for Georgia. Filled with Russian citizens (who, it should be noted were all issued Russian passports within the past few months) and Russian soldiers stationed there under the guise as "peacekeepers." Under the veil of it all however, Russia has been supporting dissidents and militias in the region for ages. While the two potential breakaway regions do indeed have long standing issues with the Georgian government, their separatist goals have largely been stoked by the Kremlin, which it sees as retaliatory action for one of its former satellites so closely aligning itself with the West.

Having said that, Georgia is not without its own mistakes in the past few weeks. As Sweden's Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt said after the conflict started "When you have the option of doing nothing, or doing the stupid thing, it is better to do nothing." This is the lesson Georgia should have heeded. Yes, it is aware that Russia has been a meddling presence lately, but surely President Saakashvili should have known that shelling the capital city of South Ossetia which contained Russian soldiers would illicit a response. The result has seen his country's newly reformed military smashed by the superior Russian force, as well as countless amounts of infrastructure destroyed in Gori and Poti.

While on the face this assault looks like a Soviet style intervention, in the end the result is not as bad as it may seem. First, the democratically elected Saakashvili has been able to stay in power, and Russia made no mistake it wanted him out and a puppet government in. Second, mighty as it may seem, the Russia we see today is in significant trouble. It is estimated Russia loses 700,000 citizens a year, due to emigration, deaths, and a deficient birth rate. Lastly, with its seeming reversion towards authoritarianism, Russia has dealt itself a serious blow. Within a week after the invasion, Poland signed a missile defense deal with the U.S. Ukraine automatically offered radar sites to the U.S. as well. As badly as Russia wants its satellite countries back, the memory of Russian decree obviously rests freshly in said satellite nation's minds, and as their behavior has indicated, they have no intention of falling under that sphere again.

In the end, the past few weeks have taught the West a valuable lesson on how to deal with Russia in the 21st century. Provocation is obviously in nobody's interests, especially when the Russian bear, big as it is, is wounded and potentially dying. As usual, it seems as the age old rationale is holding true, with the best course of action is to let the bear be, and watch the wounded animal die on its own in the forest.

Talladega Olympic Nights

2008-08-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

So the leader of the heavily favored French 400 meter men's freestyle team Alain Bernard said he and his comrades were going to smash the Americans, adding it was why they came to Beijing. All team USA did was win the gold en route to setting the new world record in an amazing comeback....with Bernard swimming the last leg of the race. The event is already being hailed by some as the best race of the modern Olympic era.

Biggest Douche in the Universe

2008-08-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this isn't THAT John Edward, but considering this man cheated on his cancer stricken wife while planning to run/running for the Presidency of the United States, I don't feel bad usurping the title from a so called "telepathic" in order to anoint a new recipient. Here is our new heir with his mistress:

This story is filled with enormous disappointments. On the face of it, a high profile politician cheated on his wife. His cancer stricken wife to make it that much more deplorable. But what should truly amaze is that this man is a one time VP candidate on a presidential ticket, made famous by speaking out against poverty and big business, all while living in an outrageously excessive mansion bought by millions made as a trial lawyer. And Jack Cafferty thought this was a man he could believe in.

Oops!

2008-07-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

The artist of the New Yorker's newest, and clearly most dubious cover, Barry Blitt has defended his recent work as "satire" on what he feels have been attacks on the Obama camp. Yeah umm....that seems to pose a problem with liberals and their take on satire, as anyone who has watched an episode of the Simpsons from 2001 and on has noticed, satire is at its best when used with subtlety, a lesson most liberal satirists desperately need.

Jealous Much?

2008-07-10T12:52:00.001-07:00

Chupa Mis Huevos

2008-07-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

For the edification of all those out there in the blogosphere, Barack Obama does not speak any language indigenous to Continental Europe.

يذهبون كلاب! (Go Dawgs! Iraqi Version #2)

2008-07-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

Our Independence Day

2008-07-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

O! say can you see

by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed

at the twilight's last gleaming.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night

that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

Over the land of the free,

and the home of the brave!

Biggest Drain on the Species (Part 3)

2008-07-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Due in part to the lack of productivity on this blog for the month of June (Summer Vacation people!), there will be a double entry tonight featuring 2 worthy entities deserving their status as a drain on the homo sapien species.

First. General Wes Clark, not much can be said. The man goes on national TV and complains that John McCain's service as the leader of his naval squadron over Vietnam, in which he was shot down over enemy territory, and refused early release from the most notorious prison in North Vietnam, doesn't render him as a qualified candidate for President because he lacks "executive experience." Immediately after, Clark lauds Barack Obama's qualifications for the top spot because of the Illinois Senator's "judgement."

Second. If the aforementioned isn't enough to boggle the mind with baffling amounts of incompetence on the part of a man who clearly doesn't understand logic, here is something which will truly defy all reason.

For the sake of sanity, here is the top 10.

1. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan

2. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones

3. Imagine, John Lennon

4. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye

5. Respect, Aretha Franklin

6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys

7. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry

8. Hey Jude, The Beatles

9. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana

10. What'd I Say, Ray Charles

Wes Clark and the music selection committee at Rolling Stone, due to the absolute inability on either party's part to display the slightest amount of logic or reason, your abilities to influence the homo sapien gene pool through procreation is hereby void.

Not my wallet!

2008-06-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a moment away from my vacation in the best city of the world (Yes, that would be San Diego) to post a great new response to "Baby Alex" on Youtube.

You heard it here first:

2008-06-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

See earlier posts:
Progress Report #2-September 2007
Long Time Comin'-December 2007
Kick em While They're Down!-February 2008.

A Dynasty's Devastation

2008-06-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
-T.S. Eliot

For those who read this blog frequently, it has become abundantly clear that I chose not to write any sort of entry regarding the Democratic Primary race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, partly because, it would not end! Well, finally, and to millions of us, thankfully, the ordeal is all but over. With Barack Obama taking the "magic number" and eliminating a Hillary Clinton presidency, a marvelous event has taken place. While the rest of the world is marveling at the fact a black American has received the nomination from a major party, that is in and of itself, irrelevant. An American of African descent receiving a party's nod was never impossible, or inconceivable, but in all honesty, was inevitable. The truly amazing feat that has taken place is that a freshman senator from Chicago has just completely smashed one of the most formidable political machines in American history.

18 months ago, Hillary Clinton and the political apparatus behind her looked like a finely tuned juggernaut confidently (and probably arrogantly) primed to accept what it felt was its return to the White House. Now it is dismembered. While I have serious doubts about the judgement of Obama's proposed policies, the man has not been as nearly as dishonest as Hillary Clinton proved during her quest to take the highest seat in the U.S. government. More importantly, Barack Obama did this country a favor, not simply because he removed the Clintons from the political scene, he removed the possibility of a dynasty. Through a shrewd campaign strategy and savy (yet somewhat redundant) style of speaking, Senator Obama has restored the faith of millions (mine included) in the democratic process here at home by effectively eliminating any extension of two very powerful and connected power centers focused on Washington. Had Hillary Clinton been elected, a member of the Bush or Clinton family would have held office from 1988 to 2012. With almost a quarter century of power being centralized between two families, the world's great democracy would become to look more like an aristocracy. Those two forms of political and social structure rarely, if ever, co-exist peacefully. While the man has much to prove to this country that he is ready to take on the very real and very dangerous challenges of the 21st century, Senator Obama has already helped his country immensely. Let the true campaign finally begin.

Memorial Day Mindfulness

2008-05-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

The next time anyone tries to say the people we fight in Iraq are freedom fighters, the next time anyone says there's no difference between us and them, the next time someone tries to equate a suicide bombing with an airstrike, the next time anyone even attempts to somehow compare an American service member and an insurgent, show them this:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/26/iraq.main/index.html

If evidence such as this can't convince a member of the opposition that the starkest of differences exist between us and them, that person is truly blind.

Oh Really?

2008-05-19T17:15:00.001-07:00

McCain is running for George Bush's 3rd term.....interesting. The more I hear comments such as these from Senator Obama:

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said. "That's not leadership. That's not going to happen."

"Diplomacy: Obama is the only major candidate who supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions" (From BarackObama.com)

If these are the ideas coming from the Democrat's rock star its time the GOP exercises a little muscle of its own (for once), and let the world know that Barack Obama is running for ta-da a second term of Jimmy Carter's abysmal policies.

As for myself, since I'm so big on using quotes tonight, I chose to believe in an America where.."I like to think; I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I'm the kind of guy likes to sit in a greasy spoon and wonder - "Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecued ribs with the side order of gravy fries?" I WANT high cholesterol. I wanna eat bacon and butter and BUCKETS of cheese, okay? I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green Jell-o all over my body reading Playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the need to, okay, pal? I've SEEN the future. Do you know what it is? It's a 47-year-old virgin sitting around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake, singing "I'm an Oscar Meyer Wiener" (Mr. Edgar Friendly everyone).

In all sincerity, the moment a Presidential candidate tells the American people they "can't have it a certain way" because other people might be upset about someone having a cool house in the middle of Phoenix, well, thats a "change" to America I will never accept. Not because we deserve the right to be piggish with natural resources, or because somehow God's on our side, but because any and everyone who ever brings up the fact we take in 25% of the world's energy never remembers to mention we donate more food in the form of aid than the rest of the world combined, that our economy is the engine that drives the world (ever noticed how a slide on the American stock market affects the world's stock market?), and in the end, when there is a problem somewhere in the world where the U.S. shouldn't have any presence in the first place, we're the first people to be asked for help. If the rest of the world is going to come to us for every single problem they face, then I think its O.K. if I take a flight to San Diego every summer. And Barack should be O.K. with it as well.

Oilaholism

2008-05-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

To those of you who think that 2.33 is pretty cheap for gas, well, you're absolutely right. We're getting our asses kicked right now at the pump with 3.75 and climbing everyday. The reason I chose this picture is to illustrate the relativity of our situation with oil imports right now, and that just when we think we've had it bad, it's gonna get worse. Sadly, this is the nature with all addictions, and lets face it, the USA needs oil to function more than Dean Martin needed a stiff drink before performing. However, there is a silver lining in all of this, after all, the Chinese use the same symbol for crisis as they do opportunity, and we have an awesome opportunity in front of us right now. The great thing about this country is we've always been able to adapt, its in our very fabric, and as gas prices go up, while it sucks for the moment, we have no choice but to become smarter, better consumers, use that badass mechanism we call market forces and eventually get off of this insipid substance forever. Don't believe me? Go to Honda and BMW's websites, they don't just have hybrid models (thats become old school at this point), they're already making a fuel cell powered car. Hydrogen and Oxygen meshing to make a well performing car that produces Water. Thats right, H20-no gasoline, no emissions. So while I know this is a huge pain (I've been driving a 13 mpg truck, so I know), anyone who has ever had a friend or family member battle an addiction, you're aware of how painful this process can be, but eventually we are all going to be better for it in the end.

Just a little FYI on why the prices have skyrocketed lately, here are a few common misconceptions:

Oil Companies are Greedy-Baloney, they all get their oil from the same cartel as everyone else, thats like blaming the water company for rationing during a drought.

There is a shortage of oil-Moronic, Brazil just discovered huge oil and gas fields off of its coast, we here in the US just found a boat load in the Dakotas (not to mention ANWR), the level of oil available hasn't changed. Not to mention, the US gets the largest amount of oil from Canada, then from Mexico, and then finally Saudi Arabia. Oh, and we're one of the top 8 PRODUCERS of oil on the planet.

Corn based ethanol is the answer-Pie in the sky. I supported this idea last year thinking that our massive subsidies we afford our farmers would be able to cover the cost, but I was flat wrong. All that has happened is we have increased the cost of food and now poor people across the world are suffering. Dead end.

The most influential causes for this massive increase in the price of gas have been affected by two main factors. First, the dollar has been the number 1 currency on the international market for decades. As the US govt. has lowered interest rates to help the economy, that makes the dollar more available, lowering its value, and thus people stop trading in dollars in order to switch to commodities, like oil, thus causing speculators to bet the price of oil is going to jump in the future.

The second has a more tangible explanation: Democrats are idiots. Ok, so its not completely that simple, but they haven't been part of the solution either. When one party refuses to allow any offshore drilling for oil in its own country, or in Alaska, refuses to allow the U.S. to build any more refineries and thus enabling our capacity to increase (remember, plenty of oil is out there), puts its foot down on not allowing any more nuclear reactors to be built, and of course, halts the production of clean coal technology.....well, we're sort of running out of options. Capitalism and the market work best when you have options, and the Democratic party influenced heavily by its nearly fanatic green base have taken a lot away from us.

Don't Give Up

2008-05-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

Don't ever give up. Ever. Even if there's only a sliver of a shot of a chance, don't ever, ever, ever give up. Don't even think about it. Any huge pessimists who don't believe me? Watch this.

(After the krippies I'm allowed a break from politics for a few days)

I Knight Thee Sir Krippie

2008-04-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

1. Leftist Buffoon: Hugo Chavez.

As much consternation as I would love to heap on Jimmy, he is from Georgia, so this will come as an act of clemency....and he used to hold some office at some point, but it was fairly brief.

2. Loudest Smackdown: University of Georgia Bulldogs in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.

Telling the winner of the first Krippie to shut up in the middle of an international conference is cool, but it only lasted about 15 seconds, whereas Georgia's unmitigated destruction of Hawaii lasted a glorious 3 1/2 hours.

3. Biggest Hypocrite: Elliot Spitzer.

While both of the candidates had an even hand in who would be named the worst hypocrite to date, the fact that Spitzer actually accomplished in penalizing people who had done nothing more (and sometimes less) than what he had ultimately makes Elliot Spitzer the biggest hypocrite mentioned on Kriplekistan.

4. Biggest Liar: Hillary Clinton.

This one really pains me to say, because I feel I could actually entertain Hillary Clinton's company much longer and have a much more intelligent conversation with her than that tool of a pundit Keith Olbermann. And, while both of their lies were well documented with video evidence, Hillary's was so egregious it was comical.

5. Smuggiest Douchebags: MoveOn.org's and their General Betray-us ad.

Although Newsweek's featured douchebags came very close to pulling off the upset, MoveOn.org's smear of America's greatest active general in order to push a failing (and downright anti-American) policy of purposefully losing in Iraq is too reprehensible to ignore.

6. Total Demagogue: Lou Dobbs.

Okay, so we've got our first upset of the award ceremony. While both these men are in love with their own self image, Lou Dobbs carries out his daily xenophobe hour on CNN every night unapologetically, while Howard Dean (thankfully) confines himself to the random sound bite or interview.

7. Candid Camera Careerist: Happy little terrorist.

Wow, I really had a hard time with this one. Both of the people caught on camera display nothing but malice and hate for their fellow human beings. The one catch however, is those bottom feeding teeny boppers from central Florida are going to see what a real beat down is like when they go to the county for a while and hang out with some female inmates who love to show little girls what its like "when keeping it real goes wrong." Our happy little terrorist however probably felt no pain as he expired, and lets face it, accidentally blowing yourself up when you claim God is on your side is pretty hilarious in its own right.

8. Best City featured so far on Kriplekistan: San Diego.

Again, no explanation needed, feel free to double check my claim.

9. Most Intelligent Observation: New York Daily News.

I've been waiting for a Republican to tell Democrats they can feel free to pay more taxes on their own for longer than I can imagine, but when a left leaning publication tells the state leader of the biggest sponsor of terrorism to flatly "Go to Hell," it reminds me that at no matter what point this country is at politically speaking, people that mess with us have a nice warm place to head towards.

10. Toughest Dogs in the Desert: Combined Iraqi Armed Forces.

Lets face it, these guys have had it tough. Start from the ground up, not knowing whether or not your new government is even going to last, threats from all sects and tribes within your own country, your domestic enemies are trained and funded by a hostile enemy next door, and the country that set you on your present course is having a boat load of turmoil at home regarding how much longer they're going to support you. After all that, Iraqi Armed forces have just smashed Muqtada Al-Sadr's militias in the south, the Sunni Awakening Councils have decimated Al Qaeda beyond belief, Kurdish Peshmerga forces have quietly founded a stable, prosperous region of their own, and after 5 long years of fighting, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for both your country, and U.S. armed forces for a peaceful exit. Bravo.

Its been a great year everybody, not just for the therapeutic quality I've taken from writing through this vent of sorts, but because I've purposefully taken on issues that I felt you, my friends, would find interesting. Hopefully, with your support, we'll have many more years of discussions, observations, and fun together.

Coming Soon...

2008-04-28T19:49:00.001-07:00

The Krippies! Basically, I've decided every April 30th (our one year anniversary for those of you who haven't been paying attention), I'm going to be giving out the "Krippies." These distinctions, some of them dubious, are the highest levels of merit the oligarchy of Kriplekistan has to offer those found worthy enough to be published. Some will be awarded to those who have displayed incredible ignorance, hypocrisy, deceptiveness, self serving smugness, hilarious amounts of stupidity, as well as those worth mentioning due to their bravery, fortitude, intelligence, competency, and all around kick assery.

The categories for this year's Krippies are:

1. Leftist Buffoon. Jimmy Carter with his baffling support for terrorist elements in the West Bank such as Hamas, vs. Hugo Chavez for covertly supporting FARC as well as his continued sabre rattling in South America.
Odds: Chavez 4-1.

2. Loudest Smackdown. The Georgia Dawgs complete dismantlement of Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl vs. The King of Spain Juan Carlos telling Hugo Chavez to shut up at the Ibero American summit.
Odds: Georgia 3-1.

3. Worst Hypocrite. Elliot Spitzer soliciting large amounts of prostitution from $5,000 an hour ladies of the night, while at the very same time over zealously prosecuting those who had done the same vs. The Democratic Party in Congress, the self professed champions of free speech, attempting to create a law which would force liberal commentators on conservative talk shows in the interest of "fairness."
Odds: Push.

4. Biggest Liar. Keith "bathtub boy" Olbermann for intentionally distorting and lying on his show about a story done by Major Garret of Fox News vs. Hillary Clinton and her misadventures and mis-remembered story regarding her trip to Tuzla, Bosnia. Odds: Hillary Clinton 5-2.

5. Smuggiest Douchebags. MoveOn.org and their reprehensible ad in the New York Times referring to General Petraeus as General "Betray us" which shows a lack of creativity more than anything vs. Newsweek's article which explained that driving a hybrid car isn't really about helping save the environment, or making sure that less American $ goes towards unstable regimes in the Middle East, but instead is all about saying "look at what I'm doing for the world."
Odds: MoveOn 2-1.

6. Total Demagogue. Lou Dobbs and his daily xenophobe hour on CNN every night, blaming all of America's ills from high gas prices to Eczema on the mythical open border policies of the US vs. Howard Dean, who aside from being a complete hypocrite when it comes to even the most basic of policies, is close to becoming known as a grossly incompetent chairman who let his party descend into civil war.
Odds: Howard Dean 3-2.

7. Candid Camera Careerist. This is between the two groups of people who really wish they weren't rolling the tape during their respective "incidents." On one hand, we have the group of trailer trash teens who lured an unsuspecting cheerleader into their house and then pummeled the poor thing for over an hour vs. The happy little terrorist, who unfortunately never saw his end coming until he was imitating Oprah's book of the month "a million little pieces."
Odds: Push.

8. Best City Mentioned on Kriplekistan. This is too easy. San Diego vs The Field.
Odds: San Diego 1,000,000-1.

9. Most Intelligent Observation. George W. Bush's last State of the Union address in which he informed those who complained taxes were too low that the IRS accepts checks and money orders vs. The New York Daily News telling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to "Go to Hell" on its front page.
Odds: New York Daily News 7-2.

10. Toughest Dogs in the Desert. Lebanese Army units who refused to let their country disintegrate and fought back againist al Qaeda and Hezbollah militants vs. The Iraqi Armed Forces, Sunni Awakening Councils, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighting back against Al Qaeda, the Mahdi Army, and Iranian Quds force for the soul of Iraq.
Odds: Iraqi forces 7-1.

Ok, those are your candidates ladies and gentlemen, the odds are good indicators but remember upsets do happen. Take some time and ponder over the possibilities, I'll post the outcomes shortly.

Two for the Money

2008-04-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

So this completely hit me by surprise today...but bear with me for a few moments. A few weeks ago, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra played for members of the ruling elite of the communist party in Pyongyang, North Korea. The event carried so much gravitas in my eyes, I stayed up until 5 in the morning to watch on CNN international and have a few beers in the process. In fact, it was so stupendous in my eyes, the next morning I explained to a few friends that if someone had asked me while I was studying North Korean denuclearization talks in college the chances of an American anything receiving thunderous applause from a North Korean audience, there were better odds of an amusement park going up in Baghdad. Well, since we've made it this far.....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3802051.ece

O....bummer

2008-04-15T07:44:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama, April 6, San Francisco fund-raiser:

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

4 months earlier....somewhere in middle America:

I'll never forget coming across this license plate. It was a few months ago when I was working for Tempur Pedic making deliveries across a lot of the Ohio valley states, and my driver and I had a short drop off to a mattress store in rural, and I mean rural Indiana. After we finished unloading, I walked to the side of the store to pet a man's German Shepherd (cause lets face it, those dogs are awesome) and I came across the owners truck, which had this license plate on the front. My first instinct was to take a picture, not so much cause I was in total agreement, but because the sentiment it carried with rural America was too perfect to ignore. Was it a little over the top? Possibly. Jingoistic? Maybe to some people. What I can guarantee however, is that store owner was obviously proud of having that on the front of his truck, and that there are millions of Americans living between our two mountain ranges that carry the same beliefs with them when they go to work. The more our Harvard educated, self anointed potential savior of this country understands this, the more he'll regret rubbing those tapered shoulders with pseudo intellectual San Franciscans.

Monster's Prom

2008-04-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

In the wake of this election season, which is increasingly charged with accusations of "Monster," "Judas," and "Chickens coming home to roost," I'd like to take a moment and give everyone a look at what actual malice and hate can look like.

The video itself is self explanatory, and while the Florida authorities say this was filmed arbitrarily for the sake of putting on the internet, if you listen to the commotion you can hear some of the assailants screaming about "boyfriends," "myspace," and other high school-esque nonsense, which leads me to believe it was more than just a pr stunt. Having said that, I chose a video which still shows the face(s) of at least one of the attackers, because the people who did this deserve to be exposed epitomizing the worthlessness that they are.

Ironically, I'm posting about these "people" after my latest (which should come across as satirical by now) Biggest Drain on the Species edition. So, if Howard Dean is the latest drain on the species, maybe these girls need a new category, maybe they should be confined to the "shallow end of the gene pool."

Biggest Drain on the Species (3rd Edition)

2008-04-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

BDOTS is here ladies and gentlemen! Just to refresh anyone's memory who may have forgot exactly how BDOTS (Biggest Drain on the Species) works, the award is given to an individual who's actions/comments are so blatantly hypocritical and self serving, this person is no longer just a detriment to the overall societal fabric, but an obstruction to the advancement of all human kind, and do I have a good one for you today. So good, in fact, that I am going to write to our candidate directly in hopes he may yet read this.

Howard Dean, you have been a great sound bite ever since the 2004 presidential campaign. After your colossal campaign collapse, the Democratic National Party liked what it saw in your "grass roots" style, in which you employed eager volunteers with some new invention called the internet, resulting in a fairly effective money raising machine, and gave you the nod as the new DNC leader. Evidently, the DNC must have also liked the complete ineffectiveness of your governing style. Aside from being completely inept and proving unable to keep the Democratic party from delving into a cold civil war between Obama and Clinton supporters, you have shown no leadership in trying to find a way to seat Michigan and Florida's delegates. But hey, you sure can connect with the people.

So you're a buffon you say, plenty of people are buffoons, and you're right to point that out. But buffoonery is the only forgivable flaw you have. You, Howard Dean, are also a closet racist and hypocrite extraordinaire. During a meeting with the Democratic black caucus in 2005, you praised black Democrats for their work for the party, then questioned Republicans' ability to appeal to minorities.

"You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room?" You asked to laughter. "Only if they had the hotel staff in here."

Fantastic. If that doesn't expose your blatant bias in assumption that only people of color work hotel staffs, feel free to comment. Should you wish to claim you "misspoke," now would be the time. Lets move forward, shall we? While we're on this trip down "memory lane," lets take a turn onto "perspective alley."

Recently, you regarded John McCain as a "blatant opportunist." Now, considering John McCain has been a member of the Senate since the early 80's, and your two presidential candidates have 6 and 2 years respectively in Congress...that somewhat flies in the face of what you regard as opportunism. Wait, I'm sorry what was that? Oh, thats right, you wanted to say something about the best interest of the nation at heart...I'm glad you brought that up. I think you'll find the answer in one of your speeches from 2004 in which you were campaigning for John Kerry. You sir are quoted as saying

"The real issue is this. Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star on the battlefields of Vietnam?"

Irony can be so delightful.
(I'm sure you'll recall John McCain was awarded the Purple Heart, Prisoner of War medal, Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, and the Silver Star)

Alas, I am not writing this to inform of you of your hypocrisy Mr. Dean. Nor am I even convincing you to switch sides, that is obviously proven to be impossible. Wait I'm sorry, excuse me, in 2003 you said: "I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks," I'm sorry to hear that. I don't have a confederate flag on my pick up truck, I find the confederate flag abhorrent. The reason I am writing you personally sir is that this is an honest attempt to stop you from damaging our country with your viciousness and rancor. Until you stop, I'm afraid, you are a serious drain on the social fabric, and the species in general.

Never let the truth.....

2008-03-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

...get in the way of a good story.

What, no anniversary present?

2008-03-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Before you read any further I hope you've watched the preceding video. And I would like you think about it for a moment. That was MSNBC's Richard Engel on assignment in Baghdad to reflect on the 5th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Richard Engel is a reporter, his job is to "report" the news. There are a million stories worth mentioning concerning Iraq right now. Reconciliation and de-baathification laws. The ongoing surge and reduction in levels of violence. Admiral William Fallon, the commander of CENTCOM, just resigned after he was featured in an article in Esquire. Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus are slated to leave in less than a year from now. Kurdistan's prosperity. John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham just made a visit to Iraq and met with Nouri Al-Maliki. Dick Cheney did as well. The list could go on forever. Instead, what does MSNBC's correspondent spend 95% of his segment on regarding the 5th anniversary of the war? The journalists. I'm going to pause for a second and let everyone just kind of soak that in.

I often do this when I get angry. Cool down for a second, take in some extra oxygen, and reboot the system. The mammoth, mammoth problem with all this is that this coverage is a microcosm of the media's take on the war itself. No interviews with soldiers or commanders, no stories about the men posthumously decorated with the medal of honor who gave their lives in belief they were defending their country. Not even any interviews with any Iraqi's from the street, whose lives have been dramatically changed forever. No, we have Richard Engel ending his report on the effect of the war on his personal life. Yet, strikingly enough, not one editor in the vast compass of NBC's news organization told Richard Engel that THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU, YOU IDIOT!!! Your mom worries about you....WHAT ABOUT THE SOLDIER'S MOTHERS???? Do your "expletive" (yes, I just censored myself) job pretty boy, and shut the "expletive" up about you and your inane personal issues, you blithering jackass. This is exactly why no platoon or company has ever wanted you embedded in their ranks.

On this 5th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, lets hope the surge and awakening councils continue to enjoy their success, that our enemies' ranks continue to wither and fall, and that the next time the anniversary comes around, the truly brave Americans will be featured with the respect they deserve.

SEC-ond to None!

2008-03-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Its amazing what a little change in scenery can do. After being forced to wait through a tornado ripping through downtown Atlanta and the Georgia Dome, which ultimately forced the SEC tournament to the campus of Georgia Tech (ugh), the Georgia Bulldogs went on an unimaginable run that only the pure chaos of March Madness could engineer. After going only 4-12 in the SEC in regular season play, the Georgia Bulldogs and their beleaguered head coach Dennis Felton went on the run of all runs, beating Ole Miss on a las second shot the first night, then winning two games, one at noon the other at 8 in the same day, and finally beating Arkansas to win their first SEC tournament in a quarter century.

Steamroller? Steamblower...

2008-03-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

I guess it goes without saying that people should always be wary of the "squeaky clean" politician. Indeed, Mitt Romney lost among a core constituency of voters in the primaries because he was viewed as "too neat." After all, when politics is in question and someone is so clean, its usually too good to be true. Once again, that old adage has rung true with the professional demise of the governor of New York, Elliot Spitzer.

However, there's another old saying that comes to mind when watching this man's career come to an end, and its called "schadenfruede." Elliot Spitzer not only made a name for himself as an overly aggressive prosecutor in the state of New York, first as an attorney and then as Attorney General, he did so being known as one of the most arrogant and unsympathetic men in the history of the state. Giving himself his own nickname (an arrogant proposition in its own right) as the "steamroller" and once telling a fellow Republican legislator "I'm a f*#cking steamroller...I'll roll over you and anybody else," this man had few friends on either side of the political aisle due to his egotism. Aside from being a jerk, Spitzer has also ruined countless lives, over litigating hardworking people associated with Wall Street in what he saw his crusade against malfeasance in the corporate world all the while giving himself a boastful stance.

So, given the circumstances, any conscious soul feels for his wife and three daughters who are obviously going through an incredibly difficult time right now. That being said, it doesn't pain me in the least bit to point and laugh at a man who's career is now ruined because a federal wiretap exposed that he has been meeting with $5,000 an hour call girls in Capitol City's most exquisite hotel (that would be the Mayflower) for the past 6 years during his crusade against "wrongdoers."

Oh....and remember all those liberal blogs like Huffington Post and Daily Kos who yipped with glee over Sen. Larry Craig's evident liaison's in airport bathrooms? Yeah, the best they could come up with were generalized posts which collectively argued "Well, prostitution should be legal anyway." Congratulations on reaching new heights of hypocrisy Huffingtoners and Kosers, you've just joined the steamroller.

Some Assembly Required

2008-03-09T12:38:00.000-07:00

This enthusiastic individual is as of now one of the front runners for the "Krippy" awards coming up at our 1 year anniversary in April. I guess they just don't make those Iranian mortars like they used to....

Hopefully Henry Waxman, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, the majority of the Democratic Party, and pretty much all of liberal America will soon realize that its difficult to surrender to someone who doesn't know how to follow instructions.

Go FARC yourself

2008-03-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

It never takes would be dictators long before they start arbitrarily picking fights to take attention off their failing policies at home, and Hugo "Castro is my homeboy" Chavez is no exception. Just like the Argentine military junta which decided going to war with Britain over a few rocks in the Atlantic was a good idea to deflect mounting criticism, Chavez seems to think that spoiling for a fight is going to regain some lost popularity after losing his attempt to become President for life. However, it isn't just a stranglehold on power this desperate human being is after, no, something more sinister here is at play. The fact that Chavez is threatening to attack a true South American success story, Colombia, after that country has just scored one of its biggest victories in its 40 year struggle against FARC, a vicious Marxist/terrorist organization which employs kidnappings and narcotics fueled terrorism to achieve its goals, is troubling enough in its own right. Now things seem to be getting worse.

The world has known all along that Chavez is an ardent Communist supporter, as well as a good old fashioned left wing crack pot who routinely rages against the North American Empire with fellow vaguely left wing actors like Sean Penn. Usually, those type of people are good for a laugh, but these clowns may have bitten off more than they can chew. Less than a week ago, Colombia achieved a major success after knocking off the #2 commander of FARC, Raul Reyes in an early morning military raid. The action took place across the border in Ecuador, another country with a hardcore left president, which had been harboring some of the friendly neighborhood terrorist FARC commandos. Despite the fact Colombian President Uribe had phoned his counterpart Correa in Ecuador to inform him of the action, Presidents Chavez and Correa immediately hit the panic button. Sounds kinda funny right, well keep reading. Within hours of hearing of his bosom buddy's Reyes' death, Chavez sends ten battalions of armored troops to the Colombian border, puts his air force on alert, expels all Colombian diplomats from their embassy, and threatens a pan-South American conflict. Ecuador takes similar action. So far Colombia is keeping it's cool, saying it will not be provoked into a military exercise near its borders. Meanwhile the rest of the planet continues to wonder "what on earth could all the fuss be about?"

For years Chavez has attempted to act as something of a socialist savior to the rest of Latin and South America, sending oil to poorer countries as well as securing the release of hostages held by FARC, some for years. Altruistic as that sounds, reciting Marx usually isn't enough to achieve the freedom of prisoners held for years at a time, and this round is no exception. Days after securing the military intel from the raid in Ecuador, Colombian forces produce the FARC leader's laptop containing data proving that Hugo Chavez has given over $300 million in military aid to FARC over the years he has been in office. Currently, Colombia has turned the evidence over to the International Criminal Court in an attempt to get Chavez indicted on war crimes and potential genocide charges. Now I know what all those meetings between Chavez and Ahmadinejad were about, HOW TO FIGHT PROXY WARS! If anyone out there needs more proof that Chavez is not just another left-wing clown but a potentially dangerous despot and international criminal, I'll have what you're having. Speaking of which, Chavez admitted he chews loads of coca leaves every morning, which more or less makes him a die hard hop head.

Naturally, the EU, Spain, France, and the Organization of American States are doing a good job of keeping this to a war of words as opposed to a war of bullets, but the world needs to be put on notice. And don't worry about Colombia, she can take care of herself just fine and would put Venezuela's military to shame in a fight, notwithstanding she has a friend in the U.S. navy, which would happily take out Chavez's fleet of bathtub toys he calls an armada.

The lesson here is that the joke is over, Chavez is no longer just another loony Latin lefty who makes funny speeches at the UN and wears a stupid beret, he's harboring and supporting the worst terrorist organization in the Western Hemisphere. Chavez and his socialist sycophants must be dealt with mercilessly if they continue to undermine the Colombian democracy struggling against FARC and its quest for chaos and power.

Ch-ch-changes.

2008-02-28T18:49:00.000-08:00

Just gonna have to be a different man.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to thank David Bowie and Michael Ramirez for completely taking all the effort out of this blog and making a very relevant point during the election season: Barack Obama makes absolutely no sense.

Out with the Old, in with the New

2008-02-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

Adios Viejo!

Welcome, Kosova!

Kick 'em while they're down!

2008-02-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone, as "super exciting" as Super Tuesday was.....Barack and Hillary are still deadlocked and John "Mack is Back" McCain is still the republican front runner, so same old same old. Considering the way things are moving, I suspect we'll probably see more of the same from the Democratic ticket into the spring: Deadlock City. Besides, I have something way cooler to blog about.

We all know that significant progress is being made in Iraq. Everyone acknowledges it (except maybe someone who is a huge drain on the species of mankind, not much deduction required there), and while random spats of violence do still erupt in Iraq, the situation is undoubtedly progressing better and faster than even the most optimistic of us could have hoped. Having said that, not everyone is happy about the situation there, those people being Al Qaeda. After a recent raid, it was reported in the Times Online of London and MSNBC that multiple journals of Al Qaeda cell leaders have been captured, and their testimony speaks for itself.

(As always, here is the site so you can see for yourself

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3346386.ece)

". . . The Americans and the apostates launched their campaigns against us and we found ourselves in a circle not being able to move, organise or conduct our operations.”

“This created weakness and psychological defeat. This also created panic, fear and the unwillingness to fight. The morale of the fighters went down . . . There was a total collapse in the security structure of the organisation.”

“There were almost 600 fighters in our sector before the tribes changed course 360 degrees . . . Many of our fighters quit and some of them joined the deserters . . . As a result of that the number of fighters dropped down to 20 or less.”

“The morale of the fighters went down and they wanted to be transferred to administrative positions rather than be fighters. There was a total collapse in the security structure of the organisation.”

This news is absolutely out of this world terrific. Every American (and supporter of liberty everywhere) should be overjoyed to read statements like these. The enemy is quitting. Notions such as "surrender" and "retreat" are evidently very much in the vocabulary of the common jihadist. With the myth of the motivated till death insurgent being shattered, and Iraqi forces becoming better capable fighters with every passing day, momentum has now shifted heavily in favor of U.S. and coalition forces. Having seen the brutality of the enemy countless times over in the form of suicide and car bombs on civilians, it is a great sight to see that we're absolutely pummeling them while they're down.

Votes heard round the world

2008-02-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

Alright everybody, no explanation is necessary. If you're in a state holding its primary tonight, get your butt out there and VOTE! And I'm talking to you specifically California.....

For all of you who have already cast your ballots or are about to, the eyes of the world are literally focused on you. Don't believe me? Take a look.

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,533356,00.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/americas/2008/vote_usa_2008/default.stm

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/sequence/0,2-829254,1-0,0.html

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/McCain/lidera/recuento/votos/Georgia/elpepuint/20080206elpepuint_7/Tes

Money Talks, and Bull$h!t walks

2008-01-29T19:43:00.000-08:00

"Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm. I'm pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders."

Mr. President, I've been waiting 7 years to hear you say that. I'm anxiously waiting to see if our liberal Democratic members of Congress follow the President's suggestion.......

Biggest Drain on the Species (Part 2)

2008-01-24T14:41:00.000-08:00

Ok so this new series I've started called BDOTS (come on it can't be legit if it doesn't have an acronym) is supposed to be reserved only for the worst of the worst and therefore a fairly rare occurrence. Well, having said that, when it rains it pours. Only days after exposing the cream of the crop, Keith Olbermann, for his outlandish behavior which is nigh satirically beyond touch with reality, someone else has made a complete ass of himself and really negated any class he ever once had.

John Gibson, commentator and overall weird looking guy on Fox News said on his radio show referring to Heath Ledger's death "Well, he found out how to quit you," a reference to a quote from Ledger's somewhat controversial movie, "Brokeback Mountain." Gibson made the quote to the tune of stereotypical funeral music.

Wow, way to stay classy John. Having said that, what John did isn't as bad as what Keith typically does every night on his TV show, which is more or less propagandize his own radical views as news and make up stuff about people with whom he disagrees. Nevertheless, what John said was a classless remark about someone who by all accounts was a good guy who ran into a few problems as his acting career progressed. So....is John a fanatic radical who is a serious danger to civil discourse and intelligent thought? Not as much as those BDOTS is arranged for, but it needs to be acknowledged with some serious disdain. Let the pro's at South Park take care of the offensive jokes John.

Imperative Read

2008-01-21T21:03:00.000-08:00

For anyone who wants a first hand look at what our boys have gone through and are going through this very moment, "House to House" is essential reading for anyone who feels strongly about the War in Iraq. No matter what stance you presently have, this book will alter your feelings towards the war and what it means to be a U.S. soldier. Gauranteed.

Biggest Drain on the Species (Part 1)

2008-01-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone, thanks to my new form of employment I now spend about 1000% less time on or near a computer than I did while in Washington, so we're gonna have a few changes around here for the time being. While the primaries are raging all around us, you probably don't need me to discern which race is more important, they're both equally historic. McCain is on the verge of becoming a national front runner after winning New Hampshire and South Carolina after being left for dead last July, and Barack Obama is dangerously close to knocking off the closest thing we have in this country to a political aristocracy-the Clinton political machine. So, having said that, lets move on to a new segment I'll be starting called "Biggest Drain on the Species." Bill O'Reilly has his "Pinheads and Patriots", Keith Olbermann has his "Worst person in the World", so Kriplekistan will now be naming the person it believes is the biggest genetic drain on the collective gene pool of the homo sapien species. I'll start by giving you a hint, our first (and most deserving) person to hold this dubious claim has already been mentioned in this entry. Here we go.....

Wow, like that really took any real journalism to refute. To be perfectly honest, I've been wanting to do a piece on our washed up former ESPN anchor for a while now, but his antics are usually so childish I was concerned that doing a piece on Mr. Olbermann would degrade the value of this very blog. Well, no more. This man has become so despicable and incomprehensibly dishonest, it is borderline satirical. Not only should this behavior be observed so as to discredit him, but give all of us in the 3rd dimension known as REALITY a comedic respite from all the political mudslinging taking place throughout the country. So, Mr. Olbermann, because of your baffling refusal to acknowledge slight slivers of truth from time to time, you sir, have been given the honor of being known as the first "Biggest Drain on the Species." We wish you a long life of health, so that we may all continue to be entertained for many years to come. Fear not everyone, I have a feeling this won't be the last time we see our friend, Keith.

Johnny Be Good

2008-01-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

So with this election season up for grabs on both sides of the political aisle, plenty of surprises are to be expected. Thankfully, we've weeded out the wheat from the chaff (exit Tancredo, Brownback, Tommy Thompson, Richardson, Dodd, and Biden) and can now look at real contenders. Everyone is still surprised at Obama's Iowa win, and even more so about Huckabee's surprise win in Iowa, where Mitt Romney had spent countless amounts of dollars in order to curry favor with the voters. New Hampshire has brought on even more suspense, with Hillary unexpectedly beating out heavily favored Obama. But even more surprising is the resurgence of John McCain.

By summer of 2007, McCain's campaign was all but written off as dead. The man was a political afterthought as the buzz swirled around Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani held the spotlight above the rest. Then the country caught a glimpse of Mike Huckabee, and his popularity surged. Now, against all odds, John McCain has just won the New Hampshire primary, and is 10 points ahead in South Carolina (no Republican has received his party's nomination without winning one of these two states). Indeed, with the chorus of "Mac is back!" in New Hampshire, McCain has made an impressive comeback.

Whats significant about this isn't the fact that he was so far behind and made a comeback. Impressive as it is, this happens a decent amount in politics. What's impressive is that John McCain is one of the few people out there running for president who's willing to tell the truth. When he says that some jobs just aren't going to come back to Michigan, he's probably right. When the man talks about immigration and the fact that this country isn't going to deport 12 million illegals, he's probably right. Again, this isn't notable because he's right, its notable because he's willing to tell the American people the truth and not pander for votes with draconian threats on immigration or unrealistically promising all manufacturing jobs are going to come back to the U.S. That type of honesty is exactly what this country needs, and frankly wants right now. As smooth as Mitt Romney speaks, or as inspiring as Obama can be, they both give unrealistic assessments of the future. Obama will not get free health care for all who need it, he may try, but he won't. Mitt Romney will talk tough on immigration, but he won't build a fence, nobody could. So often in politics, someone can be overhead reflecting that he or she just wishes this country could have a little common sense. Well, the country is seeing it in John McCain right now, and common sense is winning.

The sUGAr bowl rocks!

2008-01-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

All month long, we heard comments like these....

And when game time came, we saw plays like these....

Way to go DAWGS baby! 41-10 Sugar Bowl Champs! This coming fall is gonna rock!

(Yeah yeah yeah, I know, Obama and Huckabee, more on the Iowa Caucuses tomorrow......)

Merry Christmas Movie House!

2007-12-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

Long Time Comin'

2007-12-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

So the title of this blog serves more than one purpose. On one front, I can finally get back to blogging on a regular basis (for now anyway), as I was subject to the classic "you can't quit, you're fired" situation at work earlier this week. I get the feeling HH Gregg will get along without me. Haha secondly, and I can say without hyperbole a million times more serious, I can finally put together a piece about the peace taking hold in Iraq.

The reason I've felt I should hold off on this story (substantial progress in the amount of deaths decreased as well as sectarian violence as a whole has been waning for almost 3 months now) is due in part to the fact that I wanted to make sure the turning tide looked more like a permanent trend as opposed to fortuitous moment, and also as a moment both sides of the political spectrum can enjoy. If you out there in cyberspace absolutely hate GW and the Iraq War, great, go tell your side of the story. The point is, no matter what perspective you chose to look at the war from, the dramatic decline in violence has been a God-send. To the Humanitarians-Iraqis are moving back from Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon in droves. To the religiously concerned, sectarian violence is down on all sides, Pope Benedict just appointed a Cardinal to the Baghdad diocese and his Church is now attended by Shiites and Sunnis as a sign of solidarity among the Iraqis. For the die hard military men and women, Al Qaeda is breathing its last dying breath, has no sanctuary anywhere in Iraq, and Muqtada al Sadr is ordering his men to stand down, lest they become targets of the "awakenings" taking place all over Iraq, and Iranian agents have been caught in a series of "sting" operations set up by our guys, and subsequently have cut the crap. To the die hard peace activists, less people on all side are dying, and while any death is deplorable, less is definitely more in this case, and the quicker these acts of violence and killing subside, the quicker we can all come home.

(As always, here are some citations:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2007-11-12-ied_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSCOL24813120071022?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21817547/

http://www.newsweek.com/id/70990/page/1

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ca653412-97b4-11dc-9e08-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22204742/)

Now, I don't need to summarize that, you all are bright human beings. It would be quite easy for me to sit here and give the "I told you so lecture" to all the anti-war folk out there. But thats considering the magnitude this is no time to inject partisan babble. Absolutely not. As I just pointed out, this is a celebration all can and should enjoy, because if this trend continues, we all win. And with Christmas 2 weeks away, what better time to come together and commemorate this occasion. So I ask all of you out there, no matter what side you're on, toast to this. Honor it. Salute it. Make Merry. Paint the town red. Do whatever you want. But for the sake of mere goodwill acknowledge that whats taking hold is Peace, which means less sorrow, less pain, and a little more hope, a hope we can all be happy about.

يذهبون كلاب! (Go Dawgs! Iraqi Version)

2007-12-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

United States Marines patrolling the Euphrates river (thats the Haditha dam in the background) show their support for the hottest team in the country, the University of Georgia Bulldogs.

Go DAWGS! Sic 'em in the Sugar Bowl!

Clinton News Network

2007-11-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone, first thing's first. I understand there has been a serious decline in the quality and quantity of my postings, I apologize. Working 40+ hours a week in a warehouse while trying to save money for grad school has obviously inhibited my blogging time. So for that I apologize.

Second, I know I said back in October I would do a piece on the progress in Iraq, but the good news keeps on getting better, troop and civilian deaths continue to plummet, so lets just continue to pray for the best and hopefully this trend becomes the norm.

Now, onto the Republican debate last night. What can we say, it was more of the same, Rudy and Mitt going after each other on immigration, McCain blasting Ron Paul, and Huckabee getting all the laughs. Whats truly amazing from last night isn't what the candidates had to say, but the questions from youtube. As it turns out, "The most trusted name in news" should really be "the most trusted democratic views." 4 of the people allowed to post questions, including a retired brigadier general and member of a Hillary Clinton presidential committee were allowed to ask questions at the debate. One young man who was dubbed a "concerned log cabin Republican" is actually an outspoken Obama supporter. Another nice young lady named Journey is an Edwards booster. All of this somehow managed to get by the "gold standard" in news. How coy. Or was it? CNN of course denied it had any firsthand knowledge that any of the questions asked by those submitting were in fact from Democrats. But then again, how hard is it to find out? Brigadier General Kieth Kerr's finances for his flight, hotel, and travel to the debate were all provided by CNN. All one has to do is Google "Kieth Kerr" and it will be painfully obvious the man is on a Hillary Clinton steering committee. Before I make too big a deal of this scenario, we shouldn't act so shocked this would come from a network which provides a forum for Jack Cafferty, Lou Dobbs, and a host of daytime anchors such as Tony Harris who refuse to let a military official explain the virtue of actually succeeding in Iraq. Come to think of it, I do remember Judy Woodruff near tears when she announced Florida for Bush in 2004......

Personally, I would love to make a huge deal about this, call it shameful, biased, anti-democratic, corrupt, but, having said all that, this may be the 4th or 5th time on this blog already that I have proven a complete unabashed liberal bias within the mainstream media against conservatives and conservative thought. Regardless, it never hurts to have the hard evidence on your side.

The Return of the King

2007-11-14T21:27:00.001-08:00

For those of you who haven't known me very long (or for that matter, at all), Spain was the first country I ever visited (excluding British territories in the Caribbean). So naturally, I'll always have a small amount of affection for my first real experience outside of the United States, notwithstanding my first in Europe. Having said that, this entry has nothing to do with said affection. Instead, it has to do with what so many of us who pay attention to the politics of Spanish speaking countries have been waiting to hear for so long. Hugo Chavez, Shut up! Haha excuse me, Calla te! However, it wasn't just that the two-bit dictator was told to shut up by anyone, but the King of Spain himself Juan Carlos; the man who saved Spain from its 2nd attempt at military dictatorship after "el golpe de estado" and kept democracy intact.

During the recent Ibero-American Summit in Santiago, Chile, where Spain, Portugal, and their former colonies, consisting of 21 nations and 489 million people, meet in order to greater harmonize relations. Well, there was nothing harmonious about this experience. Being a conservative that I am, it should be abundantly clear that I am not a fan of Jose Luis Rodrigo Zapatero, Spains current socialist President. Like many socialists, the President is also something of a spineless twit, willing to be pushed around by the likes of ETA and obviously Hugo Chavez. Well, cue the return of the King. After interrupting many heads of state at the forum table, and then ranting that the former President of Spain Jose Maria Aznar was a facist (to which our gutless Zapatero remarked "please be more diplomatic"), the king had heard enough. Juan Carlos quickly jumped in and said to Chavez "Enough, shut up!" As mentioned earlier, having faced down dictatorship before during his reign, this was nothing new for the monarch.

Now, if this story is not cool enough on its own, here is another cartoon lampooning the event by our favorite, Michael Ramirez.

Man's Aquatic Ally

2007-11-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

First of all, I know I've been a little AWOL lately. Moving from the heart of Washington D.C. to the heart of Kentucky (that would be Lexington) hasn't been the easiest transition, and needless to say I'm a little bit out of the loop as far as being an insider on information goes. Having said that, there's still plenty to blog about, and rest assured I will have numerous entries concerning decreasing levels of violence in Iraq as well as the irrefutable progress being made (lets face it, when CNN International does repeated pieces about the progress of the surge, you're hitting on all cylinders). But for now, I'm going to ease back into the swing of things with an actually really cool story. You can read the entire tale here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689083/

Whats truly amazing to me is that this is not an isolated incident, but as you have now undoubtably read, dolphins have rescued humans from sharks and other dangers for thousands of years. So if the canine is Man's Best Friend, let me be the first to nominate the bottle nosed dolphin as Man's Aquatic Ally.

How 'Bout Them DAWGS!?

2007-10-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry to all of you out there who rely on these weekly postings for mental stimulation, but I'm going to use this one for personal reasons, which will all but indicate my alma mater and subsequent feelings for it. For your entertainment, keep an eye on #77 Trinton Sturdivant. Only a 300+ pound lineman can dance like that....

Actually, the Dodo is extinct

2007-10-29T03:15:00.001-07:00

Michael Ramirez once again accomplishing more than what I could do with a thousand words.

Way to go, San Diego

2007-10-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Everyone's seen the fires affecting Los Angeles and San Diego counties the past few days. The Governator has been doing his best to assuage everyone's fears, President Bush declared almost all of Southern California a disaster area and opened up federal money for those affected. 900,000 plus have been evacuated (including my grandparents) with maybe a million in the next few days, and government reports now say that this many people haven't had to relocate since the Civil War. Thousands of homes are now nothing but cinder, leaving thousands of families wondering what they're going to do. This is truly sad to watch on TV. It is what it is, a natural disaster, a tragedy. Once again however, the best in people is coming through, and there is no greater example than what you see coming from the people of San Diego.

Similar to Katrina, thousands of people have now taken refuge in Qualcomm Stadium, home of the Chargers. Instead of being littered with garbage, looting, overflowing toilets, and accusations of rape taking place as was the case in the Superdome, Qualcomm is littered with ice, innumerable food lines serving gourmet California cuisine, masage and accupuncture rooms, translators working in Spanish and English, even insurance agencies for both car and home claims ready to help. AA meetings and even yoga classes are taking place. Families who now have nothing are coming together and offering what they can. I-5 and Escondido Freeway, which run close by the stadium are running smoothly with no congestion. Truly amazing. Literally unimaginable. Having spent immeasurable amount of time in San Diego myself, that is nothing short of a miracle. Just getting from Lindberg Field to Rancho Santa Fe is typically a 30 minute drive on I-5. So the very notion that things can be running so smoothly speaks volumes about not only the leadership taking place with the Marines from Camp Pendleton and churches throughout the area, but about the quality of people who happen to live in such a great part of the world.

So, while the fires continue to burn and create more damage, we should also take solace in the fact that such a great job is being done by so many people, and that San Diego will continue to be the greatest city in the world.

The Tooth Hurts

2007-10-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

The best thing about being a self confessed conservative is that your job against liberals and indeed, Kriplekistanis (bet you thought I had forgotten about them), is so so easy. They basically make themselves look stupid, and all one has to do is point it out. Now remember my very first post, the difference between a liberal and Kriplekistani is the amount of militancy involved. Liberals can be fine, but when they go over the edge they get the upgrade. This week, Randi Rhodes' supporters and network, Air America, are getting a first class ticket into Kriplekistan and all the spotlight (or lack thereof) it garners.

Early on Monday morning, Randi failed to show up for her syndicated talk show on Air America. It should be noted at this point that Air America was created to be a liberal/left wing counter to various conservative/right wing talk shows across the country. It should also be noted that Air America is bankrupt after having existed for less than 24 months, but thats neither here nor there. Rhodes didn't show, so Jon Elliot filled in for her spot. Instead of failing to explain rationally why Rhodes didn't show up for work that morning, considering that all he knew at the time was Rhodes had been involved in an incident while walking her dog on 39th street in Manhattan, Elliot explained to his listeners that Rhodes has been the victim of a vicious mugging, a POLITICAL mugging! His words are as follows:

"It is with sadness that tonight I inform you that my Air America colleague Randi Rhodes was assaulted last night while walking her dog near her New York City home,"
"this does not appear to me to be a standard grab the money and run mugging."
"Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own?" he asked. "Are we threatening them? Are they afraid that we're winning? Are they trying to silence intimidate us?"

Here is what Air America had said before Elliot took to the airwaves. "On Sunday evening, October 14, Air America host Randi Rhodes experienced an unfortunate incident hindering her from hosting her show. The reports of a presumed hate crime are unfounded. Ms. Rhodes looks forward to being back on the air on Thursday."

Amazing. Maybe Mr. Elliot was just trying to generate some publicity, I don't know the man. What is even more amazing is the response of the liberal listeners who called or wrote in. Here are some examples:

1. "What the %$#$ is WRONG with you people?? Are you that SICK in the head that just because you don't agree with someone's political views you believe that they deserve to be mugged? Are you on the right that DEMENTED?? And what REAL MEN these righties were huh?? Beating up on a WOMAN!! There's your MEN on the right, woman beating, bathroom stall sexing, little boy diddling jerks!"

2. "The people who support the current administration have repeatedly demonstrated their belief that they are entitled to engage in all types of reprehensible behavior to further their cause. Given Randi Rhodes courageous outspokenness about the sinister intentions of the right wing, it is not unreasonable to suspect that this non-robbery assault is an attempt by Neo-conservative thugs to silence her views."

3. "There is no reason not to suspect conservatives in this setting. They're vicious, violent, and unprincipled, just like unaffiliated muggers. One of them above wrote, "We are not animals." Well, you're sure not human, chrisl7412, not if you can still call yourself a conservative after seeing what your people really have in mind for this country."

4. "My dad was a very smart man who always told me that one picture is worth a thousand words (he knew it was a quote). In teaching me, he told me that people like these right-wing pundits have souls that look like maggot-infested corpses - you know - like the ones you always see in horror movies. (his original quote). He got his message across to me loud and clear. Much better and more effective than trying to imagine them naked!"

These are just a few excerpts (4 is my favorite), we could go on forever (by the way these are all on www.watchingthewatchers.org if anyone would like to see for themselves). Now it would be one thing if Randi had actually been the victim of a random, money grabbing mugging. The fact is however, no mugging occured whatsoever. Randi walked her dog, and in the process, fell on her face. Simple as that. Let me repeat, she was out walking her dog, tripped, fell on her face, and knocked 2 of her own teeth out. It should probably be evident by now that I am trying my hardest not to sound vindictive like our liberal friends and make light of someone not being able to break his or her fall with something other than his or her own face. Not to mention I could take it a step further and insinuate that maybe some sort of inebriation was invovled. No, the sweetest plum is that this physical action is perfectly indicative of liberal thought and debate (or lack thereof). Rantings, ravings, accusations, insults, conspiracy theories, falling flat on its face. Lets face it, sometimes the tooth hurts.

Turkish Delight

2007-10-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me how hypocritical politicians can be. Both sides are often guilty of it, especially with "conservative" Republicans of the past 2 Congresses spending like a bunch of poets on payday. Once again however, I'm just completely amazed at the absolute hypocrisy of the Democratic party today and the devastating impact its having on our relations worldwide.

One of the Democrats' chief complaints during the 2004 election was that George Bush didn't utilize our allies enough to construct a robust coalition for Iraq. Another complaint of the Democratic Party in the 2006 election was George Bush's lack of diplomacy and understanding of world affairs, as well as a failed strategy for Iraq. Having been in office for less than 1 year, the Democratic Party, which obviously has very little shame left, is again completely contradicting itself.

Earlier this week, Representative Tom Lantos, who heads the House Foreign Relations Committee, along with fellow San Fransiscan Nancy Pelosi, introduced a bill condemning the mass killing of Armenians by Turkish Ottoman forces in World War 1 as genocide. The annihilation of over 1 million Armenians was a horrific episode in Asia Minor's history, and the ramifications are still felt today. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a nasty little war in 1990 over territory, and nobody in the region really seems to like each other. It obviously goes without saying, "they've got some issues." Turkey strongly opposes the resolution, and right or wrong, says their ancestors were justly protecting themselves from sepratist Armenian elements. The resolution passed yesterday, and now Turkey, which is a NATO member, staunch ally, lifeline to U.S. forces in Iraq, and the only secular Muslim nation in the world has recalled its ambassador. What a fantastic way to conduct international relations and consult with our allies on that one. Why on earth would the Democrats be taking up this issue, of all times now, 90+ years later? This goes far beyond California having a rich and influential Armenian population, especially in San Fransisco, just wait for it, this is about to get good.....

Armenians aren't the only ethnic group in the region that has problems with the Turks. Kurds have always been a nuisance in the eyes of the Turks. Large pockets of Kurds live in southeastern Turkey, and have strong ties to their cousins in northern Iraq. Those ties have strengthened lately, and the PKK (Kurdish Workers Party), which has bases in northern Iraq, is also seen as terrorist element by the Turks for supporting their fellow kurds' indpendence streak in southeastern Turkey. Turkey has become fed up with the situation, and is now poised to strike said bases in Iraq, and possibly invade. Needless the say, this whole situation is a mess. Kurdistan is the only part of Iraq in which the U.S. can claim success so far. Shopping malls and an international airport is the norm in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan. The Kurds love America, and have even gone so far as to say they want to take Israel's place as America's best friend in the region. Turks obviously are our buddies as well. To put it bluntly, we need them both, badly. The absolute last thing we need are these two groups fighting. The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has even weighed in, saying no damage in relations between the U.S. and Turkey is too great. "Democrats are harming the future of the United States and are encouraging anti-American sentiments," Erdogan said. Erdogan also said Turkey was ready to sacrifice good ties with Washington if necessary. "Let it snap from wherever it gets thin," Erdogan said, using a Turkish expression that means breaking ties with someone or something.

This is where our dimwitted Democrats have just made things a whole lot worse. The U.S. has been keeping Turkey at bay because we are such good friends. Well, were such good friends. Now that the Turkish Ambassador has been recalled to Ankara to protest the Democrats resolution, Turkey says it sees no reason why it should listen to a "friend" which has recently condemned it, and now looks like it is on the eve of an invasion into Iraq of its own. If this indeed happens, it will be catastrophic. The last functioning piece of Iraq will be involved in another war, just as we have started to see progress stemming violence in other parts of the country. Democrats are certainly aware of this outcome. They have to be, nobody can be this dim. The only possible explanation is that they absolutely cannot allow themselves to see Iraq become a success story. Their entire campaign in 2006 was that "Iraq is bad and we'll get us out." If their anti-Iraq policy fails, everything they've stood for, everything that got them elected will go down the tube.

I pray, I aboslutely pray that this isn't the reason the Democratic Party is taking up this issue now, although I see little reason to believe anything else. It is my most profound hope that the Democratic leadership is just profoundly stupid, and not this self rightousely pugnacious.

South Korea's got Seoul

2007-10-04T13:22:00.001-07:00

So, thanks to a little thing calling HALO 3, I've had a brief hiatus from blogging, but after my 2nd run through, its time to come back to (cyber)reality. As promised, I'm finally covering the historic summit between North and South Korea, which ended earlier today.

The problem with these summits is, while they are indeed historic, don't really provide much by way of blogging material. Two Presidents (actually, one President, one megalomaniacal tyrant) come together, shake hands, have a few chats, and call it a nice time. Well thats how this summit was shaping up until today.

Western and East Asian political analysts had a field day speculating over the video feeds emanating from Pyongyang, in which Kim Jong Il could barely move his left arm, seemed despondent, showed an overall lack of energy, and could barely muster the words "I'm pleased to meet you" to South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun in front of thousands of well wishers, who we are sure came at their own accord. While most believe the dictator has diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver, this type of behavior suggests the Chairman has recently had a stroke or possibly bypass surgery. Interesting food for thought anyway. (Watch for yourself here-sorry no translations yet, I need to call my fraternity brother who speaks korean).

This meeting finally came to hold some significance after what occurred early Thursday morning, when President Roh and Kim signed an agreement pledging to end the status of war between the two countries, a status that has existed for over a half century. President Roh also stated that South Korea will continue to invest heavily in thee North, hoping to spur economic activity like that seen in booming China. This proclamation would not have been possible for the progress of the 6 party denuclearization talks taking place in Beijing in which North Korea vowed to completely and verifiably eliminate all means of nuclear weapons production, so that as well is a sign of progress.

Historically, it is almost unheard of for two countries who are technically at war to have their two leaders sit down and conduct business in a civil, let alone cordial fashion. So in that sense, anyone who is looking for a sign of hope in an increasingly volatile world can take a little piece of solace from the past few days of activity on the Korean peninsula. A nuclear weapons program has been set on course for dismantlement, and the baby steps of a peace treaty for a 54 year old war have been set in place. This type of hopeful news might also not be permanent. President Roh has left than 3 months left in his Presidency, and the front runner to be the next President, former mayor of Seoul Lee Myung-bak has said he will take a much stronger stance with his neighbor to the north.

This is not to take a pessimistic tone. I'm a fan of candidate Lee and his Grand National Party, which has traditionally taken a harder line with the Kim regime, as of course it should. North Korea's government is disgusting, what takes place in that part of the planet makes Nazi Germany look like a pg-13 movie. Gulags, families forced to watch each other tortured to death for saying comments "unbecoming of the communist ideal and Dear Leader Kim," as well as perverse scientific experiments performed on political prisoners occur routinely in "The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea." That said, it would be foolish to revert to needless badgering after progress with denuclearization has taken place. So, here's to President Roh for making this possible, and here's to his probable successor Lee to continue the progress towards a denuclearized peninsula and free Korean people. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Say it Right

2007-09-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

SpecOps

2007-09-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

While the topic of this blog "SpecOps" is a shortened version of "Special Operations," it is pronounced by most people in the miltary business as "Speck Ops," due to the notion these actions are hard to track and target. Earlier last week the Israeli action on Syria typified that idea completely.

During the first week of September (dates are hard to pinpoint due to the nature of this situation), Israeli warplanes (around 5 or 6 American made f-16s and f-15s) flew across not only the Syrian border but more or less the entire country in a daring assault on what had been described as "Syrian weapons caches" near the Turkish/Syrian border. While brazen, this action did not illicit much response by the media or by Israel's usually hostile neighbors. As time went on, the reason for this eerie silence became more evident.

By early September, reports had surfaced that a North Korean vessel had docked in the Syrian port of Tartus to deliver a highly classified cargo of cement, thats right, cement. Less than 2 weeks later, air strikes by the Israeli military had been made inside Syrian territory, saying only that "unconventional weapons systems" had been targeted. Both sides kept silent on the matter. Syria because it was incredibly embarrassed (more on that later), and Israel because it is sending signals to Iran. North Korea however, voiced vociferous condemnation, calling it "unprovoked Israeli aggression," making it the only other country on the planet to say so, while traditional hardline enemies of Israel such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and even Iran were quiet.

The message being conveyed by these signals is encouraging and troubling, depending on who you ask. Troubling for Syria, North Korea, and Iran, the veritable "new" Axis of Evil. Syria, because its air defenses, supplied by Russia, proved impotent to a complex Israeli air strike, in which IAF commandos had been previously inserted on the ground behind enemy lines to paint the intensely guarded assets of the Syrian government, only to escape undetected. North Korea, because they have never produced a weapons system they didn't sell to the highest (and in this case, probably the lowest) bidder, are on the eve of them finally reaching a possible peace treaty with the U.S. after next weeks summit with South Korea, and that treaty could now be in serious jeopardy. Iran, because Israel has shown it has the capability to sneak deep inside a hostile country and eliminate possible classified weapons storage facilities.

However, this can also be seen as troubling for us in the West as well. First of all, a Far East nation such as North Korea selling "cement" to a Middle Eastern country should be construed as insulting to our collective intelligence. Thats like an arms dealer saying he's going to sell shit to a plumber, the Middle East is the birthplace of concrete and cement and doesn't need to buy it from a poor communist dictatorship 10,000 miles away, so something definitely stinks.

This is encouraging for the Western allied nations and Israel. As mentioned ealier, Israel has shown it still has it, pulling off an operation with flawless marks, a sign to its own people who desperately need it after last years stalemate with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. It is also encouraging because Israel's neighbors clammed up about the development. By keeping quiet, surrounding Arab states are showing tacit approval of Israels action because they know the severity of North Korea shipping nuclear weapons tech to Syria. If it was some random conventional strike, surrounding Arab countries would be up in arms as they were during 2006.

Hopefully, and I say this with the most profound sincerity, the situation won't escalate any further. If the Middle East was a powder keg before, its a plastic explosives plant now, and the last thing needed are North Korean made triggers implanted in the equation. Again, there are reasons to be encouraged (peace treaty talks with South Korea in October), and reasons to be troubled (a nation linked to Hezbollah and Iran tinkering with nuclear weapons). Lets continue to hope for the best.

Public Enemy #1

2007-09-17T21:44:00.001-07:00

Progress Report #2 (See for yourself)

2007-09-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

Pictures are worth a thousand words, even mine. Here are the slides General Petraeus' used in his report to Congress. Gotta love Power Point.

Disturbia

2007-09-12T06:40:00.001-07:00

When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross
-Upton Sinclair

Like many other socialists, both past and present, it turns out Upton was wrong. Earlier this week, the already far left organization MoveOn.org took a sharp turn towards the brink of insanity when it published a full page ad in the New York Times labeling General Petraeus "General Betray Us" before he gave testimony to Congress that his strategy in Iraq is working. The group and its many followers atest that because the General will testify in said fashion, he is a traitor because they do not agree with this assessment. If someone disagrees with you-then they are a betrayer-the hallmark of any totalitarian political movement. It goes without saying that this description of a proven and honorable American military commander leading men in the field is despicable, grotesque, foul, and any other adjective one might imagine. What is truly disturbing is not that a group of people have said such a thing, but that such an organization can have tangible influence in this day and age.

General Petreaus was confirmed by the Senate 81-0. I remember his confirmation hearing as if it was yesterday. Every Democrat who questioned, and voted for this man wished the General "God Speed" and "the very best." None of the Democrats who chaired their committees yesterday dared distance themselves too far from the attack ad. John Kerry was the closest to a denunciation, saying "I didn't like it" and "it was over the top" with an unnamed senior Democratic aide saying it was "an unnecessary distraction." How glib. Despite the fact that their Republican colleagues along with Senator Lieberman called on them to denounce the ad, none of the Democratic leadership dared to come close. Again, General Petraeus was confirmed 81-0 by a Democratic controlled Congress, this needs to be made crystal clear.

I don't think many leaders in the Democratic party agree with this assesment. In fact, I think (at least I'd like to think) that many would like to condemn it whole heartedly. Evidently, thanks in part to MoveOn.orgs clout, this is no longer possible. What was once a small organization to fight against the impeachment of President Clinton, MoveOn is now a well oiled political attack machine, which will go to great lengths to punish any of the Democratic leadership which opposes its views. “You’ve got to reject Michael Moore and the MoveOn crowd,” Al From, of the Democratic Leadership Council, remarked, calling MoveOn’s members “elites, people who sit in their basements all the time and play on their computers.” Other critics noticed that MoveOn attracted a membership that was mostly white, well-to-do, far-to-the-left, and not entirely representative of the Democratic party as a whole. This spells trouble. There are many Democrats out there who do not heed the far left line. Bob Casey, Jim Webb, Jon Tester, (former Democrat) Joe Lieberman, just to name a few in the Senate. The startling affect however is that centrist men such as these (except for Joe) are afraid to break from the radical organization because of the political, and just as importantly, financial ramifications MoveOn has the ability to inflict.

Thankfully, MoveOn has had limited success thus far. Regardless, the trend which they are developing is frightening, not because I personally am afraid they will eventually take the lead in American politics. Quite the opposite, I'm certain that most Americans reject their way of thinking. What is concerning is the tactics this group is using are becoming mainstream, and that even, if just a few, Americans have subscribed to this perverse ideology. As one of MoveOn.org's managers put it before the 2004 election regarding the Democratic Party: "Now its our party; we bought it, we own it, we're going to take it back." They certainly have.

9/11 Memories

2007-09-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

A few of my memories from 9/11/2001

British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed horror and sent condolences to U.S. President George W. Bush. "There have been the most terrible, shocking events taking place in the United States of America within the last couple of hours," Blair says. "We can only imagine the terror and carnage there and the many, many innocent people who have lost their lives." This was "perpetrated by fanatics who are utterly indifferent to the sanctity of human life, and we, the democracies of this world, are going to have to come together to fight it and eradicate this evil completely from our world." Queen Elizabeth II said she was watching developments in "growing disbelief and total shock."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Americans "Our hearts are with you and we are ready to provide any assistance at any time." Israel declared Wednesday a day of mourning and set up a blood bank for the injured. "This is a war between good and evil and between humanity and the bloodthirsty," said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He added that the attacks would be "a turning point in the war against international terror."

French President Jacques Chirac expressed outrage, and assured the United States of France's support and sympathy. "France is deeply upset to learn of the monstrous attacks that have just struck the United States," says Chirac. "In these terrible circumstances, all French people stand by the American people. We express our friendship and solidarity in this tragedy."

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a news conference and expresses deep sympathy to the American people, calling the incidents a "terrorist act, this terrible tragedy." Russian President Putin added, "the entire international community should unite in the struggle against terrorism . . .this is a blatant challenge to humanity."

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said: "the German people stand by the United Statesof America at this difficult hour. I want to express to you my deep condolences and myunlimited solidarity to you and the American people. Our sympathy goes to the victims and their relatives." Schroeder said, "They were not only attacks on the people in the United States, our friends in America, but also against the entire civilized world, against our own freedom, against our own values, values which we share with the American people. We will not let these values be destroyed – in Europe, America or anywhere in the world."

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien calls the attacks "a cowardly act of unspeakable violence . . . It is impossible to fully comprehend the evil that would have conjured up such a cowardly and depraved assault." Chrétien was one of the first world leaders to speak to President Bush.

Japan's Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, said "this outrageous and vicious act of violence against the United States is unforgivable."

Message from Osama

2007-09-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

Osama Bin Laden recently released a tape for all Americans to see. Here it is.

Why Ron Paul is helping America (and the Republican Party)

2007-09-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

For all of you out there who watched the Republican Presidential debate last night on Fox, you saw a pretty good show. John McCain did a better job than usual, Mike Huckabee is giving a commendable effort, Rudy Giuliani did fairly well, although he focused on his record as the mayor of New York too often for my taste, and Fred Thompson made it official, although he wasn't actually at the debate. But out of the few irrelevant candidates who continue to linger, Ron Paul is actually making a difference. That last sentence may seem a bit paradoxical, so let me explain. Ron has no chance of winning. He just isn't going to. But that doesn't mean he isn't making a tremendous impact on the debate taking place towards the nomination. Between the other 7 candidates, there hasn't been a whole lot of difference. All support the surge in Iraq, and indeed the war itself. All support tax cuts, and to be honest, what Republican doesn't? By playing the wild card in the debate, Ron Paul is "shaking up the establishment," and giving a punch to the debates they would otherwise be lacking.

First off, the obvious part. Ron Paul is against the war and wants to come home. While I disagree with that assessment, it adds to the debate; Republicans are being challenged within their own party and will be more prepared for when the real deal comes against the Democrats in the near future. For the past 6 months we've been killing ourselves watching these 10 second answers and soundbites, and last night we finally saw a debate, and what a difference it made. Also, this shows a variety of ideas coming from within the party and giving the Republican Party the "big tent" status is so often claims. This was no more evident than when Paul and Huckabee had their exchange about the merits of withdrawing troops vs staying to finish the job. Giving sharp answers back and forth, each having his own merits, both candidates drew wild applause from the crowd, and thus invigorated all of the candidates themselves. Notwithstanding, isn't this what a "debate" is actually supposed to be about, honest back and forth conversations? Had Ron Paul not been in the race, vital discussions such as those would not be taking place.

Second, legal issues. After Paul said he would leave the Arabian peninsula because it inflames Muslim tensions, Chris Wallace asked the prototypical rebuttal "You would take your marching orders from Al Qaeda?" Ron gave the best answer of the night saying "No, I would take my orders from the constitution!" That was perfect, and it was the right answer. Presidential power is growing at a large rate, and granted, we are in a time of war, but the Republican Party needs a reminder that it is the party of smaller government. Again, Ron Paul is giving the party the shot in the arm it needs.

Third, spending/cutbacks. All Republican candidates are going to favor tax cuts and less spending. However, Ron Paul is taking it a step further and talking about cutting entire agencies. Asked about his take on what could have averted the 9/11 attacks, Ron Paul explained that private companies take care of their own security time and time again and do a good job at it, and thus had some of the airlines been in charge of their own instead of the TSA, better security might have been provided in the form of stronger cockpit doors, and better detection services.

Fourth, this type of active debate is not taking place on the Democrat's table. All we are going to hear from the Democratic debates is that Bush is bad and who can pull out the quickest. That sounds like a bad junior prom date, and accomplishes about the same objectives, a quick screw job that will soon be regretted.

This is why having people like Ron Paul in the process is such an asset. He is not going to win the nomination, but that in and of itself is not a reason not to compete. By competing, and raising quality and insightful, and more importantly, REPUBLICAN issues, he is giving the Republican party the kick in the pants it needs to stay on top of its toes and win in 2008.