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Showing posts from August, 2008

McCain's Northern Exposure

You have to give it to McCain's team. They were down and out a year ago and strapped for cash that the straight talk express was grinding to a screeching halt- Now, its seems its running full steam ahead. Team McCain this morning confirmed it selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. Palin 44, is a strong fiscal and cultural conservative, mother of five and very pro life. She's also strong on gun rights and will no doubt be a favorite of the NRA. A first term governor, elected in 2006 Palin currently enjoys an 80% approval rating. She's already injected a shot of adrenaline in to the lethargic conservative base and will no doubt give McCain a foothold on some of the still disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters. This rounds out the entire 2008 presidential race as a historic one, with Palin trying to become the first woman vice president in history. I have no doubt that Palin is more valuable to the McCain ticket than Biden is to ...

America, Basketball and Globalization

I went to bed a little early just so I could wake up in the middle of the night to watch my beloved USA basketball team featuring NBA superstars Lebron James and Kobe Bryant squeak by Spain in the Gold medal game. It was the first victory for the USA in major international competition since the Sydney Olympics in 2002. Basketball powerhouses like Spain, Greece and Argentina were well represented with their own NBA stars as were all other countries. In the 1992 Barcelona games, The "Dream Team" comprised of "Majic" Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird steamrolled the competition with an average victory margin of over 35 points. Since then the world has caught up to the USA. They learned the game from American coaches via clinics, developed their own professional leagues and as a result sent several dozen more players to the NBA and top US colleges over the past 15 years. In 1992 there were 21 foreign born NBA players, in the 2007-08 season there were over 70! The ...

It's O-Biden in 08!

I woke up this morning to the news that Barack Obama has finally chosen his sidekick for the November election-Senator Joseph Biden from Delaware. I now must look at two of my least favorite politicians together all the time. Biden, a career politician of over 20 years first appeared on the national radar in 1998 while running for president. In recent years due to our operations overseas he has been more visible and critical of Bush policy as head of the Senate Foreign relations committee. According to the experts, Biden gives Obama more foreign policy panache', much in the way Cheney did for President Bush. Cheney, who has been criticized for exuding more power and influence in our foreign policy,has been dubbed "Darth Vader" by the left. He's been accused of being the dark force behind the scenes as Bush's puppeteer in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Overall for Obama, its a smart choice, it will be interesting to see how much credit or discredit Biden receiv...

Georgia, Not On Their Minds

It has been two weeks since the Russia invaded Georgia and the peace train is still at the station. No word from code Pinko uh... I mean Pink or any of those other pacifist so called peace advocates. I have not seen any organized protest outside any Russian embassy or the UN. Truth is, I didn't expect any so I'm not disappointed. These observations serve to validate what I believe about most "peace advocates": That is they hate the United States and take advantage of every opportunity to show us how much they do. They have no problem with communism, totalitarianism, or brutal dictators, their objective is to turn our entire country into San Francisco complete with dancing and weekly concerts by groups like Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie on the white House Lawn. The irony is they care nothing about peace, they're pacifist who don't want the US to project its power as a force for good in the world. They would like nothing more than to turn the ...

Can McCain come home again?

To say that John McCain is not my first choice would be the understatement of the month. I am supporting him largely on his foreign policy ideas- I think that he "gets it". McCain fully understands the stakes in Iraq and the war against Islamic terror. However, I am reminded how McCain went through great lengths to show Democrats how conservative he wasn't . He now has spent the greater part of the past year trying to convince the base how conservative he is. Unfortunately for him, he may have worn out his welcome with many grassroots conservatives. The McCain- Feingold campaign finance bill, his initial opposition to the Bush tax cuts, and his association with the so called "gang of 14" are just a few incidents where conservatives have beefs with him. His support of amnesty for illegals has earned him the nickname "Juan" McCain. The Saddleback church conference with Reverend Rick Warren this past weekend has re-gained him favor with some of the base....

The Russians are here?

I was in the barbershop on Saturday speaking to another patron. He was relaying a story to me about a co-worker who upon hearing the news of the invasion of the Republic of Georgia by Russia remarked " Man, I'm glad I didn't go to Atlanta this weekend! .Something to think about: This guy might be a registered voter..

America's crisis of values

A few months ago I stopped at a CVS store not far from my home. The manager checked my items out for me and began to lament the 2:30 daily invasion of local high schools students that was just minutes way. " Do the students cause a problem? I asked, his response was " they steal everything, if they don't leave their bags at the door then I don't let them in " he said. These students, by the way are not poor "inner city" kids, but suburban kids from Cleveland Hts which has a median household income of over $47,000. From that day on I would notice signs at every drug stores or convenience stores. Some of them read "no students under 18 in store without adult supervision. Others limit the number of students allowed in or mandate that they leave their backpacks at the door before entering. I was watching a program on MSNBC and one of my least favorite lefties, Harry Belafonte was speaking to inmates at a state penitentiary as he often does. Banana ma...

Radical Islam for Dummies

You have to give it to the Iranians. They're insane but at least they're consistent. The Mullahs with a straight face repeatedly tell the UN that their nuclear weapons program is for "peaceful" means. Brian Williams wasted jet fuel flying over to Tehran to ask Ahmadenejad cotton ball questions like "Is your message to the world a message of confrontation or cooperation? What do you think Ammadwackjob's response was? Brian should have asked him what does an oil producing nation need with nuclear power? Yes, of coarse he wants cooperation, it's Bush and the great Satan that wants confrontation Brian? I am confounded by the the pure ignorance of the left with regard to the mindset of Muslim countries. They care nothing about ipods , SUV's and big homes. The radical strain of Islam-which In my opinion accounts for 25% of the Muslim population- wants to return to the Caliphate. A Caliphate, in short is a united Muslim state controlled by a leader called...

The Republican spirit of giving

If I could somehow wrestle the microphone away from Barack at the DNC convention this fall I would love to ask the following: How do you feel about the fact that your party would not have a snowballs chance in Hades of winning an election, congressional or general, unless the Republicans implode? What I find most disturbing about the democrat swagger is that they seem to be oblivious to the fact that their current position in the polls has nothing to to do with their policies. If conservatives were actually behaving as such, the dems would be relegated to the looking glass of politics for at least another twelve years. The Republicans, through a combination of corruption , arrogance and calamity has managed to tick off its base just enough to slip in the polls and to make the democrats feel relevant. The democratic base themselves care nothing about the shortcomings of their party and continue to re-elect misfits like Sen. Dollar Bill Jefferson of Louisiana. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reed an...

Obama-maniacs and their coming crash

Barack Obama took his Gush-fest tour on the road last week, playing stops in Europe and the Middle east. In Germany, Obama entertained a crowd that rivaled Michael Jackson during the Thriller years. I did use the word entertained intentionally since his speech wasn't much more than that.The excitement behind this guy really perplexes me- I just don't get the hype. I am, however truly concerned about his worshipers. Yes, I said worshipers since the term "supporters" just doesn't describe them accurately. The Obama hysteria is reaching an all out fever pitch and will hit downright beatle-mania if he wins the election in November. If he wins or loses it will no doubt end badly for his fans-particularly blacks who see him as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali all rolled up into one. If he loses in November there will be a collective emotional crash much bigger than the New England Patriots experienced this year in the Superbowl. If Obama wins, eventua...