A Strange Cruise

A journalist takes a cruise with a group of National Review readers to see what they are really like. Surprise, surprise.

I am getting used to these moments – when gentle holiday geniality bleeds into... what? I lie on the beach with Hillary-Ann, a chatty, scatty 35-year-old Californian designer. As she explains the perils of Republican dating, my mind drifts, watching the gentle tide. When I hear her say, " Of course, we need to execute some of these people," I wake up. Who do we need to execute? She runs her fingers through the sand lazily. "A few of these prominent liberals who are trying to demoralise the country," she says. "Just take a couple of these anti-war people off to the gas chamber for treason to show, if you try to bring down America at a time of war, that's what you'll get." She squints at the sun and smiles. " Then things'll change."

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Talaq Inana

Talaq Inana! The 18 month old baby cries as his mother gets too close to the window. Bullets here! He warns her of the sniper near their Bagdad home. His mother looks forward to the day when the US troops leave. "It will be a happy day when it comes," she said. more

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that the Iraqi army and police are capable of keeping security in the country when American troops leave "any time they want," though he acknowledged the forces need further weapons and training.

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Privatization of emergency workers

It’s not cheap to train and staff first responders; helicopters are expensive. There is no money to be made putting out the average four-alarm fire, or whisking a terrified, middle-class family off a rooftop after a flood. If first responders are privatized, we can't count on the local EMT's or the Fire Department to save lives or property. First responders would have to check for authorization for immediate action from a corporate agent who would make decisions based only on what’s good for his company’s bottom line. What if we ran critical emergency services for profit, using the conservative privatization model utilized by for-profit healthcare insurance companies?

Letter link

Here is a link to my latest letter to the editor in the Sacramento Bee.

Your money at work

Guards at a bank in Baghdad made off with $282 million in US dollars.
There were questions about why the bank had so much money on hand and how the thieves made it through the various checkpoints. more
Although this is not as bad as the $4 billion Bremer mislaid in Iraq, William suggested that some of the "stolen" money may have been "mislaid" and then added in to the amount stolen to account for it. Why didn't Bremer think of that? He could have just said the $4 billion was stolen by some guards.

Military Domination

In 2003 Rumsfeld denied that the pentagon was preparing for a long term permanent presence in Iraq. The huge bases have been built and are where our troops will "redeploy." We are at the point where we are being run by the military and the military has a hand in much of the world. Our ~860 military bases across the world cost us more than three-quarters of a trillion dollars per year. We are spending our way to bankruptcy and we will go down with a gun in our cold dead hands. Read more about the pentagon here.

Iraqi Freedom Congress (IFC)

IFC is a group promoting a secular peace in Iraq. But they are in trouble with the Bush military because they are anti US occupation and against the "Oil Law." Read more here.

Voting in the Primary

Wm and I were worried that we would not be able to vote in the presidential primary since CA moved from June to Feb. But our local registrar just advised me that the overseas absentee ballots are sent out Dec 7th. So I gave him the address in Brugge. Yeah for voting!

Pool Repair

Developed a leak from the back flush valve, so I knew the O rings on the piston were damaged. I already had purchased new rings, so dad unscrewed the top so I could replace the rings. Works fine now.

Terrorists?

Found this in an article on Salon "Inside the mind of killer doctors"

"Terrorists imagine the world in black and white, as full of demons and angels, and place themselves on the side of the angels. Sociologist Mark Juergensmeyer has called this way of thinking "cosmic war." Small terrorist cells arise in part because their members develop a specific way of looking at the world, which they reinforce for one another in everyday interactions. As the group becomes more and more distinct in its views from the society around it -- and more isolated -- its members can cross boundaries of reason and human sentiment, becoming monstrous."

To me this could have been written about the Bush White House. Black and White. Demons and Angels. On the side of the Angels. Small insulated group reinforcing its own isolated world view. Members can become monstrous.

Sicko

Went to see "Sicko". This is a great movie. Funny at times, but mostly made me tear up with the horror stories about our health care system.

Stir the pot

All the blocking maneuvers that Fred Fielding will do to keep emails and documents from being released to Congress and to keep Harriet and Sara from testifying are just delaying tactics to keep from having to confront any of the illegalities until after the '08 election.

Mike Reagan Deception

In Mike Reagan's current column, a whine about how others have pardoned criminals, he especially vilifies the Clintons, what a surprise. His final comments are especially full of deception as he names James Comey, a Bush appointee, as the US Attorney who cleared Clinton of wrongdoing in "Pardongate" and as the person who appointed Patrick Fitzgerald , another Bush appointee, as special prosecutor. Also funny how judges who confirmed the sentence of Libby were "law and order" judges appointed by Bush. Law and order and long sentences for all but our friends who might spill the beans on our operations. Rule of Law for all but us.

Iraq Oil

One of the benchmarks to be met by the Iraq government by December is the passage of the "Oil Law." News coverage of the contents of this law lead you to believe that it mainly contains provisions for the fair division of oil proceeds among the various regions of Iraq. But what it actually contains are many provisions for the benefit of private foreign (US) oil companies.

• Allow two-thirds of Iraq’s oil fields to be developed by private oil corporations. In contrast, the oil industry has been nationalized in every other major Middle Eastern producer for over 30 years.
• Place governing decisions over oil in a new body known as the Iraqi Federal Oil and Gas Council, which may include foreign oil companies;
• Open the door for foreign oil companies to lock up decades-long deals now, when the Iraqi government is at its weakest.

Overall, the law would secure the agenda of ExxonMobil, Chevon, and the other majors, robbing the Iraqi people of their most basic source of wealth. Much is at stake. With 115 billion barrels of proven reserves ($7 trillion worth at $64 per barrel) and another 215 billion possible or likely ($14 trillion), there’s nearly a million dollars of oil for every Iraqi citizen. It’s a vast and precious national resource—but only if Iraqis are allowed to control it themselves.

Blood for Oil!

Update 7/9/07: Iraqi oil workers lobby against "Oil Law."

Bike Crash as Comedy

I was watching quite a few comedies with Jasmine and one common feature was a bike race coming down the road only to have something fall or roll in front of the racers. They all fall down and everyone laughs. Is this the new banana peel joke? It never looked like anyone really got hurt. The falls were all slightly controlled looking. Is this an indication of the new popularity of bike racing? Maybe a bike racer has an opinion?

Back from Sac

Got Jasmine on the plane to Dallas. It has been a nice visit. I will be visiting the Texas Turpen's in September just prior to going off to Belgium.

Influence Block

Great analysis in terms of football of the current Republican call for contempt citation for White House re the ignoring of Congressional subpoenas. Read it all here.

The Declaration of Independence

It is time to reread the Declaration of Independence, especially these two passages defining royal tyranny and justifying revolution:

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. ... For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments.

Happy Fourth.

Sharon and Sam's Wedding

A grand time was had by all in Napa.

Sam and Sharon

Baker's, Jasmine and Davis's

The wedding party

Bush gives up

Bush commuted Libby's sentence out of fear that he would cooperate with the prosecution to give up the involvement of Bush and Cheney in the outing of Plame and retaliation against Wilson.
A report written and released by the Judiciary Committee in 1974 in the aftermath of the Watergate crisis contained the following statements:

In the [Constitutional] convention George Mason argued that the President might use his pardoning power to "pardon crimes which were advised by himself" or, before indictment or conviction, "to stop inquiry and prevent detection." James Madison responded:

[I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds [to] believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty...

Madison went on to [say] contrary to his position in the Philadelphia convention, that the President could be suspended when suspected, and his powers would devolve on the Vice President, who could likewise be suspended until impeached and convicted, if he were also suspected.

full context here