Greetings good people.
I have just read an article that I think is well worth your time to check out. It is over at Counterpunch this weekend. The link is here;www.counterpunch.org/wilson04292011.html
While it is a bit long, in my opinion, it describes much of what is and has been wrong with the US military for many years. The major obstacle is careerism and the author does a very excellent job of showing just how it has and continues to destroy the military. The old "revolving door" of military-to-defense(?) contractor. It is very well worth your time to read this article. If you want, you can follow the link at the end of it and download a book that gives even more details of Labyrinth that is the Pentagon, or as Mr. Huber calls it and I have adopted the same, the "five sided puzzle palace".
I am making a few changes to the old corner as of now. From now on, the "too big to fail" crews and the clown of Wall Street will be referred to as gangsters. In my opinion, that is just what they ARE, so, I may as well call them that. I will continue to call out the Wall Street gangsters and the "too big to fail" gangsters unless or until they stop acting as such. I doubt that will happen any time soon. So, that is change number one at the old corner.
Change number two, from now on I refuse to use capital letters when mentioning Congress. From today onward, it will be the congress critters that will be taken to task. This will continue until we the people are finally able to elect some decent, honest people to that body. No more Congress critters, from today onwards, they are congress critters. Lower case as that is what they have earned, lower case as in low class, even no class for a good many of them. I refuse to believe that any Congress person would even think of dismantling Social Security and Medicare, two programs that benefit both the common people and society at large. No, only congress people would do that and then brag about it to the people of this country. YES, some congress critters ARE proud that they want to destroy those programs.
A very good article on this is to be found at;www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/575
In that article Mr. Lindorff shows us how we CAN make a difference. Read the article and lets get the ball rolling folks. The country needs to change course, and damn soon or there won't be much left for our kids and grand kids. We the people MUST stand up for what is right for ALL of us. If you are retired and/or disabled like me, you have enough time to help out, if it only writing an email to your congress critter. It IS up to us folks. WE are the ones we have been waiting for.
semper fi
30 April 2011
27 April 2011
More disgusted every day
Every day the country seems to go further downhill. Every day I get more and more disgusted with what passes itself as our(?) government. Every day the elephant gang keeps on trying to defend the tax breaks for the rich and the corporations.
Ah, but there IS a bit of good news. According to some reports at the web site Think Progress, some people ARE starting to fight back. At some recent town hall meetings some republican Congress critters have had to make a swift exit. More than one of them has been challenged by the "common folks". That IS good news, because it shows that some people have awakened and are tired of the outright lies and bull crap being force fed to us.
While this does make me a bit happy, I still cannot help saying "About time folks!".
My personal opinion is that the working class has for far too long been silent and just gone along. Yes, the old "go along to get along" routine that has been more or less standard practice for the working class of America in the recent past. ENOUGH! Enough of giving the entire country away, lock, stock, and barrel to the rich and the "too big to fail" gangsters. YES, gangsters, as that IS just what they are. Wall Street, of course, leads the way in the rip off of the working class. Wall Street caused the economy to collapse back in 2008. They are the ones who demanded, and the got, the huge bailouts in the fall of 2008. It was old W. Shrubbie who singed away the country to bail out those gangsters, right before the general election of 2008. While Gobomber has been a total bust, it was W. Shrub who started the ball rolling downhill for the working class and the poor in this go round. (I still hold "saint" Ronnie of Raygun responsible for the start of the economic failure of America. His tax breaks for the rich got us into our current mess and every president since him has just continued that program of giving more to the rich while everybody else gets less and less.) Wall Street made sure that they all got their standard obscene bonus pay. That is where a good deal of that "bailout" monies went to folks. NOT to "jump start" the economy, but to pay the damn bonuses of the already very rich of Wall Street gangsters. Doesn't that make you all feel some nice and warm? Does it give you a "fuzzy, warm feeling" as you watch your pay stay the same, year after year, or even go down, while prices rise and the rich get ever richer? Yeah, me too.....NOT!
One report said that representative Allen West(R-Fl) only accepted "pre-screened" questions at his recent town hall meeting. Now that makes an old radical (me) smile. It shows that the damn elephant gang is running scared and they refuse to take open questions from "we the people". My view, it shows cowardly behavior. This is not the way a republic functions folks. Pre-screened questions? This is how "our"(??) politicians are now going to "interact" with the common folks? This is beyond disgusting.
So, yes, reading that the members of the elephant gang are now getting nervous about going to the general public, it is still not enough. For far too long, the majority of us Americans have allowed the government to dictate to us. We have allowed ourselves to be afraid of the government. This is wrong people. The government should fear US. When the people are afraid of their government we end up with something like the Stalinist Soviet Union or Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy. America was set up as a republic of the people, by the people, and for the people. What we have become, through our fear of the government, is NOT a republic any longer. We are now a corporatocracy. We are now ruled by an oligarchy that is totally beholden to the "too big to fail" gangsters. We the people are ignored and some are only now just starting to wake up and talk back. Again, while this IS good news, I still say, about time. What took you so long?
Around the world, the US is still trying to take over more and more countries. Libya being just the latest war of conquest. The war in Libya is not about the oil. Libya only produces about 2% of the world total production, Saudi Arabia could very easily make up for the loss of Libyan oil. No, Libya has approximately 144 tons of gold in reserve. Libya is NOT beholden to the IMF, the World Bank, or to any of the "too big to fail" gangsters. THAT is what the Libyan war is all about. As the saying goes, follow the money.
Yes, old Gaddafi IS a odd character, you might even say a nut case. Still, he has used the money his country gets from oil sales to improve the quality of life for all Libyans. One very large improvement is the "great man made river" which brings fresh, clean water to the population of Libya. He has also invested money in projects in other African countries that have aided the people of those countries. Libya has the highest standard of living in all of Africa. I am NOT a "fan" of his though.
Syria looks to be the next target of the imperial wars. A very worth your time article is at; www.champress.net/index.php?q=en/Article/view/86507 This report shows the extent that the imperial warriors and their supporters will go to for "regime change".
Of course this "democracy" promotion is only for a select few countries. Example, Bahrain, where those who were demanding change got stomped on and quickly, by the Saudis. No democratic changes for Bahrain. Egypt was not supposed to fall either, but that one got out of the control of the masters of war. Good for the Egyptians, so far any way. We have yet to see how Egypt will play out now that they have rid themselves of their dictator.
The "Arab Spring" seems to be ending all too soon. Too bad we did not have an American spring.
So, yes, there IS a bit of good news from the US as some people are finally starting to talk back to the elected representatives. It is a start, but only a start. This needs to grow and spread across the entire country. We cannot allow the people that we elect to rule over us. The republic was set up so that those who were elected were supposed to work for us, the people, not the corporations. The Bill of Rights has been tossed aside by the "too big to fail" gangsters. We the people must stand up and demand that our rights be respected. Enough of the endless damn fool wars of choice. Enough of the rule by the corporations and the super rich. Enough of police state garbage like the "patriot act" and the military commissions act. Enough of the endless detention in places like Gitmo. Enough of the outright lies and bull shit fed to us by the government and the media. Enough of the obscene bonuses for the Wall Street gangsters. Enough of ignoring the needs of OUR country.
America is falling apart at the seams and the moronic Congress is doing all they can to cut all government spending, except for the military and the damn fool, useless wars of choice. Every chance we get, we must stand up and tell those whom we have elected that we will not just sit back and allow them to dictate to us. It is our country and we demand that we be heard. It is time to restore America and that cannot be done by cutting government spending. We need a true national health care system, like a Medicare for ALL. We need a new public works program to rebuild and repair the infrastructure of our country, like a new WPA or some such program. We need to end the damn fool wars we are currently stuck in. Bring our troops back home and put them to work rebuilding America. Close the overseas bases and bring the troops home, to stay. We need to realize that there are only two reasons for war; 1) to defend OUR homes and 2) to defend the Bill of Rights. Those are the ONLY reasons Americans should ever go to war again. We need to remember what the founders of the republic told us, fair trade with all nations, entangling alliances with none. I really do believe that we can do all this. I truly do believe that we must do this or what is left of our country will not be worth living in.
semper fi
Ah, but there IS a bit of good news. According to some reports at the web site Think Progress, some people ARE starting to fight back. At some recent town hall meetings some republican Congress critters have had to make a swift exit. More than one of them has been challenged by the "common folks". That IS good news, because it shows that some people have awakened and are tired of the outright lies and bull crap being force fed to us.
While this does make me a bit happy, I still cannot help saying "About time folks!".
My personal opinion is that the working class has for far too long been silent and just gone along. Yes, the old "go along to get along" routine that has been more or less standard practice for the working class of America in the recent past. ENOUGH! Enough of giving the entire country away, lock, stock, and barrel to the rich and the "too big to fail" gangsters. YES, gangsters, as that IS just what they are. Wall Street, of course, leads the way in the rip off of the working class. Wall Street caused the economy to collapse back in 2008. They are the ones who demanded, and the got, the huge bailouts in the fall of 2008. It was old W. Shrubbie who singed away the country to bail out those gangsters, right before the general election of 2008. While Gobomber has been a total bust, it was W. Shrub who started the ball rolling downhill for the working class and the poor in this go round. (I still hold "saint" Ronnie of Raygun responsible for the start of the economic failure of America. His tax breaks for the rich got us into our current mess and every president since him has just continued that program of giving more to the rich while everybody else gets less and less.) Wall Street made sure that they all got their standard obscene bonus pay. That is where a good deal of that "bailout" monies went to folks. NOT to "jump start" the economy, but to pay the damn bonuses of the already very rich of Wall Street gangsters. Doesn't that make you all feel some nice and warm? Does it give you a "fuzzy, warm feeling" as you watch your pay stay the same, year after year, or even go down, while prices rise and the rich get ever richer? Yeah, me too.....NOT!
One report said that representative Allen West(R-Fl) only accepted "pre-screened" questions at his recent town hall meeting. Now that makes an old radical (me) smile. It shows that the damn elephant gang is running scared and they refuse to take open questions from "we the people". My view, it shows cowardly behavior. This is not the way a republic functions folks. Pre-screened questions? This is how "our"(??) politicians are now going to "interact" with the common folks? This is beyond disgusting.
So, yes, reading that the members of the elephant gang are now getting nervous about going to the general public, it is still not enough. For far too long, the majority of us Americans have allowed the government to dictate to us. We have allowed ourselves to be afraid of the government. This is wrong people. The government should fear US. When the people are afraid of their government we end up with something like the Stalinist Soviet Union or Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy. America was set up as a republic of the people, by the people, and for the people. What we have become, through our fear of the government, is NOT a republic any longer. We are now a corporatocracy. We are now ruled by an oligarchy that is totally beholden to the "too big to fail" gangsters. We the people are ignored and some are only now just starting to wake up and talk back. Again, while this IS good news, I still say, about time. What took you so long?
Around the world, the US is still trying to take over more and more countries. Libya being just the latest war of conquest. The war in Libya is not about the oil. Libya only produces about 2% of the world total production, Saudi Arabia could very easily make up for the loss of Libyan oil. No, Libya has approximately 144 tons of gold in reserve. Libya is NOT beholden to the IMF, the World Bank, or to any of the "too big to fail" gangsters. THAT is what the Libyan war is all about. As the saying goes, follow the money.
Yes, old Gaddafi IS a odd character, you might even say a nut case. Still, he has used the money his country gets from oil sales to improve the quality of life for all Libyans. One very large improvement is the "great man made river" which brings fresh, clean water to the population of Libya. He has also invested money in projects in other African countries that have aided the people of those countries. Libya has the highest standard of living in all of Africa. I am NOT a "fan" of his though.
Syria looks to be the next target of the imperial wars. A very worth your time article is at; www.champress.net/index.php?q=en/Article/view/86507 This report shows the extent that the imperial warriors and their supporters will go to for "regime change".
Of course this "democracy" promotion is only for a select few countries. Example, Bahrain, where those who were demanding change got stomped on and quickly, by the Saudis. No democratic changes for Bahrain. Egypt was not supposed to fall either, but that one got out of the control of the masters of war. Good for the Egyptians, so far any way. We have yet to see how Egypt will play out now that they have rid themselves of their dictator.
The "Arab Spring" seems to be ending all too soon. Too bad we did not have an American spring.
So, yes, there IS a bit of good news from the US as some people are finally starting to talk back to the elected representatives. It is a start, but only a start. This needs to grow and spread across the entire country. We cannot allow the people that we elect to rule over us. The republic was set up so that those who were elected were supposed to work for us, the people, not the corporations. The Bill of Rights has been tossed aside by the "too big to fail" gangsters. We the people must stand up and demand that our rights be respected. Enough of the endless damn fool wars of choice. Enough of the rule by the corporations and the super rich. Enough of police state garbage like the "patriot act" and the military commissions act. Enough of the endless detention in places like Gitmo. Enough of the outright lies and bull shit fed to us by the government and the media. Enough of the obscene bonuses for the Wall Street gangsters. Enough of ignoring the needs of OUR country.
America is falling apart at the seams and the moronic Congress is doing all they can to cut all government spending, except for the military and the damn fool, useless wars of choice. Every chance we get, we must stand up and tell those whom we have elected that we will not just sit back and allow them to dictate to us. It is our country and we demand that we be heard. It is time to restore America and that cannot be done by cutting government spending. We need a true national health care system, like a Medicare for ALL. We need a new public works program to rebuild and repair the infrastructure of our country, like a new WPA or some such program. We need to end the damn fool wars we are currently stuck in. Bring our troops back home and put them to work rebuilding America. Close the overseas bases and bring the troops home, to stay. We need to realize that there are only two reasons for war; 1) to defend OUR homes and 2) to defend the Bill of Rights. Those are the ONLY reasons Americans should ever go to war again. We need to remember what the founders of the republic told us, fair trade with all nations, entangling alliances with none. I really do believe that we can do all this. I truly do believe that we must do this or what is left of our country will not be worth living in.
semper fi
26 April 2011
So many wars, so many questions
America now has at least three wars going on right now. If we add Pakistan as a separate war, that would make four wars going on at the same time. This does leave Yemen and Somalia on the side lines as they are not yet, and that is a very qualified yet, full on shooting wars.
YES, I do know that there have been drone attacks in BOTH Yemen and Somalia recently. Still, the US is not fully engaged in either of those countries to the best of my limited knowledge. No doubt that will change soon, given the way our(??) government seems to desire the bombing of other countries.
What has happened to America? We now have US Senators talking out loud to the general public seeking to assassinate old Gaddafi. This past weekend, Easter Sunday in fact, Senator Lindsey Graham, John McCain (aka the war lover), and their best pal uncle Joe Lieberman want Gaddafi to be killed. This is NOT the way one would expect a US Senator to act or talk, at least not publicly as we have NO formal declaration of war with Libya. It may have been some sort of norm during World War Two for an elected official to want Hitler to be killed, this is NOT that sort of conflict. What we have with libya is a United nations resolution for "humanitarian assistance". Yes, even that fig leaf has been used to go far beyond what the resolution actually does allow. In the America of today, our (??) government does as it damn well pleases, UN resolution or not. Even a Congressional declaration of war is no longer required to send our troops off to kill and die. We have, and have had for years, the "war powers resolution" passed by Congress many years ago. That unfortunate bit of legal deception allows the president to use US troops nearly as his own private military force. A declaration of war from Congress is so old hat and totally out of fashion now days. Why, back when the Constitution was actually respected by Congress and the president, such a declaration required some minimal debate and a vote by the members of Congress. Well, we can't have that now, can we? I mean, an actual vote? Where that vote would be part of the Congressional record? How very "old school". Perish the thought! Better to have the "war powers act" and let the "decider" guy just decide when and where to send the troops. Sound a bit like Caesar? Maybe more like a dictator even? Well, it sure does NOT sound like the republic I remember from my days in civics class. The way the country works has changed, and not for the better in my opinion.
There are articles all around the internet that point out that the newest war in Libya is about money, not oil as some may think. Libya is NOT a member of the BIS (Bank of International Settlements). Libya seems to have close to 144 tons of gold in their own vaults! Now, being the cynical old guy I am, that sounds like a hell of a lot of gold just waiting for the crooked banksters of Wall Street and other international banksters to grab for themselves. Add to this the fact that Libya had floated the idea of a true united Africa and using a new currency to sell their oil, the "gold dinar" and you see how NATO and the US just "had" to bomb the holy crap out of old Gaddafi. I mean, how DARE he do such things? Who does he think he is? Didn't he know that god had ordained the almighty dollar as THE world currency? Didn't he know that ALL the gold MUST be in the hands of the damn crooked banksters of Wall Street and Geneva? And a "united Africa", who the hell could have had that "dream"? Seriously! A united Africa? Why, that could mean that the industrialized nations might have to pay a fair market price for the natural resources that Africa has and are needed for things like computers and cell phones. Rather to keep the status quo and make bribe payments to petty dictators than actually help any of the working class in Africa. Perish that thought.
The truth is that Libyans have about the highest standard of living on the entire continent of Africa and one has to stop and ask what he "revolt" is all about. True, Gaddafi is a bit of a nut job, but that has been known to many for years. Why now is it so important to have him removed? What has changed in the past few years to make it so important to be rid of him now? Could it be that the banksters need that gold to cover the losses they have suffered in the crash of 2008? Could it be they need the gold to cover the losses they expect they WILL have in the near future when the entire house of cards collapses yet again?
I ask those questions because I do think the US economy is set for another big drop. We did NOT hit the bottom in the collapse of 2008. We may have come close, but there is still more room to drop even more, and I think it may be coming soon. The "adjustments" that the Fed have been making have not worked out for any except the "too big to fail" gang. The working class has had no benefit from QE2 at all. According to my friend Mike Whitney, the workers never were meant to get any benefit from the new Fed policies. It was set up to help the rich get richer, not do any good for the rest of us. Well, in that way, it has worked out. The income disparity in the US is now even worse than it was back in 1929. There is more wealth concentrated in fewer hands than ever before and it just gets worse with each passing day. Oh, but boy oh boy, look at that stock market go. Yeah, another smoke and mirrors job. Thanks a lot Ben.
As if all that were not enough, we now have "the Donald" actually in the running for president. Yep, Trump thinks(??) he wants to be president of the US. I think his toupee is in need of adjustment. It must be choking off blood flow to his brain. Personally, I think it is a stunt to hike the ratings for his "reality TV" show. Plus the fact that his "feud" with Rosy is over and he needs the publicity. The TV show ratings may have been down also. My guess, it is just something to feed his over large ego, a flash in the pan as it were. We shall see.
Having the TV is a two edged sword. On the one hand I do have access to some few good programs now. On the other hand, I have to suffer through commercials for the CNN coverage of the "royal wedding". Excuse me, but why the hell should I, as a American, give a flying crap about some "royal" wedding? I felt the same when Chuckie got married to Lady Di. Yeah, I am NOT to keen on royals of any stripe and do not understand the American fixation of these proceedings. Sure, they ARE spectacle, but we do not have a royal ruler. Well, IF we were to follow the COnstitution we don't. True, most of the recent presidents, since "saint" Ronnie any way, seem to have acted as some sort of royalty. If Nixon acted like an imperial president, just what followed him? My answer, even more of the same and worse. Looking back, Nixon could pass for a liberal today. He DID start the EPA among other things. NO, I am not trying to "rehabilitate" Nixon and I never voted for him, nor would I ever consider that. Just saying that in perspective, he wasn't as bad as those who came after his term in office. Even Billy Bob Bubba was more conservative than old Dick was.
Finally, for this post, the news from Japan is getting harder to find. I see very little to no news about the disaster at the nuclear plants in Japan on the TV news. The internet is about the only place to find any information at all. Maybe I just have the wrong TV station on when they pass along any news from Japan, but I doubt that.
In my view, what we all have in Japan is a nuclear disaster. Just as the Gulf oil disaster was NOT an oil spill, it IS a disaster. Both of these will be with us all for many years to come. The latest I have seen is that the Japanese are considering entombing those damaged nuclear plants in concrete. Sort of the way they did with Chernobyl. There is already more than enough radiation leaked into the environment to harm us for years to come. The last information from the US government that I have seen said that there is no reason to stop drinking milk or eating sea food. At the same time, the FDA said it was not checking sea food for radiation. So, the food is safe, but we are not checking the food, and we are supposed to be OK with this? Well, they also keep telling us that the sea food from the Gulf is safe now as well. Hey, that oil rig blew up one year ago, the sea has "recovered". Yeah, and I have some nice beach front property for sale just outside of Las Vegas. Oh, and don't forget that bridge in New York either.
semper fi
YES, I do know that there have been drone attacks in BOTH Yemen and Somalia recently. Still, the US is not fully engaged in either of those countries to the best of my limited knowledge. No doubt that will change soon, given the way our(??) government seems to desire the bombing of other countries.
What has happened to America? We now have US Senators talking out loud to the general public seeking to assassinate old Gaddafi. This past weekend, Easter Sunday in fact, Senator Lindsey Graham, John McCain (aka the war lover), and their best pal uncle Joe Lieberman want Gaddafi to be killed. This is NOT the way one would expect a US Senator to act or talk, at least not publicly as we have NO formal declaration of war with Libya. It may have been some sort of norm during World War Two for an elected official to want Hitler to be killed, this is NOT that sort of conflict. What we have with libya is a United nations resolution for "humanitarian assistance". Yes, even that fig leaf has been used to go far beyond what the resolution actually does allow. In the America of today, our (??) government does as it damn well pleases, UN resolution or not. Even a Congressional declaration of war is no longer required to send our troops off to kill and die. We have, and have had for years, the "war powers resolution" passed by Congress many years ago. That unfortunate bit of legal deception allows the president to use US troops nearly as his own private military force. A declaration of war from Congress is so old hat and totally out of fashion now days. Why, back when the Constitution was actually respected by Congress and the president, such a declaration required some minimal debate and a vote by the members of Congress. Well, we can't have that now, can we? I mean, an actual vote? Where that vote would be part of the Congressional record? How very "old school". Perish the thought! Better to have the "war powers act" and let the "decider" guy just decide when and where to send the troops. Sound a bit like Caesar? Maybe more like a dictator even? Well, it sure does NOT sound like the republic I remember from my days in civics class. The way the country works has changed, and not for the better in my opinion.
There are articles all around the internet that point out that the newest war in Libya is about money, not oil as some may think. Libya is NOT a member of the BIS (Bank of International Settlements). Libya seems to have close to 144 tons of gold in their own vaults! Now, being the cynical old guy I am, that sounds like a hell of a lot of gold just waiting for the crooked banksters of Wall Street and other international banksters to grab for themselves. Add to this the fact that Libya had floated the idea of a true united Africa and using a new currency to sell their oil, the "gold dinar" and you see how NATO and the US just "had" to bomb the holy crap out of old Gaddafi. I mean, how DARE he do such things? Who does he think he is? Didn't he know that god had ordained the almighty dollar as THE world currency? Didn't he know that ALL the gold MUST be in the hands of the damn crooked banksters of Wall Street and Geneva? And a "united Africa", who the hell could have had that "dream"? Seriously! A united Africa? Why, that could mean that the industrialized nations might have to pay a fair market price for the natural resources that Africa has and are needed for things like computers and cell phones. Rather to keep the status quo and make bribe payments to petty dictators than actually help any of the working class in Africa. Perish that thought.
The truth is that Libyans have about the highest standard of living on the entire continent of Africa and one has to stop and ask what he "revolt" is all about. True, Gaddafi is a bit of a nut job, but that has been known to many for years. Why now is it so important to have him removed? What has changed in the past few years to make it so important to be rid of him now? Could it be that the banksters need that gold to cover the losses they have suffered in the crash of 2008? Could it be they need the gold to cover the losses they expect they WILL have in the near future when the entire house of cards collapses yet again?
I ask those questions because I do think the US economy is set for another big drop. We did NOT hit the bottom in the collapse of 2008. We may have come close, but there is still more room to drop even more, and I think it may be coming soon. The "adjustments" that the Fed have been making have not worked out for any except the "too big to fail" gang. The working class has had no benefit from QE2 at all. According to my friend Mike Whitney, the workers never were meant to get any benefit from the new Fed policies. It was set up to help the rich get richer, not do any good for the rest of us. Well, in that way, it has worked out. The income disparity in the US is now even worse than it was back in 1929. There is more wealth concentrated in fewer hands than ever before and it just gets worse with each passing day. Oh, but boy oh boy, look at that stock market go. Yeah, another smoke and mirrors job. Thanks a lot Ben.
As if all that were not enough, we now have "the Donald" actually in the running for president. Yep, Trump thinks(??) he wants to be president of the US. I think his toupee is in need of adjustment. It must be choking off blood flow to his brain. Personally, I think it is a stunt to hike the ratings for his "reality TV" show. Plus the fact that his "feud" with Rosy is over and he needs the publicity. The TV show ratings may have been down also. My guess, it is just something to feed his over large ego, a flash in the pan as it were. We shall see.
Having the TV is a two edged sword. On the one hand I do have access to some few good programs now. On the other hand, I have to suffer through commercials for the CNN coverage of the "royal wedding". Excuse me, but why the hell should I, as a American, give a flying crap about some "royal" wedding? I felt the same when Chuckie got married to Lady Di. Yeah, I am NOT to keen on royals of any stripe and do not understand the American fixation of these proceedings. Sure, they ARE spectacle, but we do not have a royal ruler. Well, IF we were to follow the COnstitution we don't. True, most of the recent presidents, since "saint" Ronnie any way, seem to have acted as some sort of royalty. If Nixon acted like an imperial president, just what followed him? My answer, even more of the same and worse. Looking back, Nixon could pass for a liberal today. He DID start the EPA among other things. NO, I am not trying to "rehabilitate" Nixon and I never voted for him, nor would I ever consider that. Just saying that in perspective, he wasn't as bad as those who came after his term in office. Even Billy Bob Bubba was more conservative than old Dick was.
Finally, for this post, the news from Japan is getting harder to find. I see very little to no news about the disaster at the nuclear plants in Japan on the TV news. The internet is about the only place to find any information at all. Maybe I just have the wrong TV station on when they pass along any news from Japan, but I doubt that.
In my view, what we all have in Japan is a nuclear disaster. Just as the Gulf oil disaster was NOT an oil spill, it IS a disaster. Both of these will be with us all for many years to come. The latest I have seen is that the Japanese are considering entombing those damaged nuclear plants in concrete. Sort of the way they did with Chernobyl. There is already more than enough radiation leaked into the environment to harm us for years to come. The last information from the US government that I have seen said that there is no reason to stop drinking milk or eating sea food. At the same time, the FDA said it was not checking sea food for radiation. So, the food is safe, but we are not checking the food, and we are supposed to be OK with this? Well, they also keep telling us that the sea food from the Gulf is safe now as well. Hey, that oil rig blew up one year ago, the sea has "recovered". Yeah, and I have some nice beach front property for sale just outside of Las Vegas. Oh, and don't forget that bridge in New York either.
semper fi