432 posts tagged “politics”

With speculation that McCain is going to make his pick this week... my vote still goes to Sarah Palin -- "could be a home run."

All of the others seem like the same old song and dance.

So much for Obama being that new hope and a different kind of politician, ehh?

Wiretapping orders approved by secret orders under the previous version of the surveillance law were set to begin expiring in August unless Congress acted. Heading into their political convention in Denver next month and on to the November Congressional elections, many Democrats were wary of handing the Republicans a potent political weapon.

The issue put Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in a particularly precarious spot. He had long opposed giving legal immunity to the phone companies that took part in the N.S.A.’s wiretapping program, even threatening a filibuster during his run for the nomination. But on Wednesday, he ended up voting for what he called “an improved but imperfect bill” after backing a failed attempt earlier in the day to strip the immunity provision from the bill through an amendment.

I guess you can't vote with your convictions all of the time.  So begins an even newer era for Obama -- that of being a true politician -- like the rest of them.

While the story about Iraq's yellowcake does not seem to be a very big deal since the UN has known about it following the first Gulf War, it does make me think about Saddam a bit more.

The removal of 550 metric tons of "yellowcake" — the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment — was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam's nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.

Even if you don't think about the implications of such a stockpile with Iraq falling into the hands of Iran, think about this:

Would you trust Saddam in 5, 10, 15 years (if we didn't invade) with 550 metric tons of concentrated uranium?

I wonder if he was saving it for his sons and their future regimes?  Uday and Qusay?

I wonder if some of that yellowcake went to Syria for their program prior to Israeli attack?

Why didn't the UN remove this over the 10 year post-Gulf war period?  Was it too hard?  Were they too weak to do so?

The Nigeria yellowcake story it seemed to me was a big deal because of the thoughts and implications of such potential material in Saddam's hands.  Why didn't the U.S. push for the removal of all of the material he already had then?

It just reinforces, in my mind, the uselessness of the United Nations when it comes to dealing with aggressive regimes.  And it reinforces the uncertainty of what Saddam's intentions were with such material (from when he was originally trying to build nuclear capability back in the early 80s to what he might have done with it in the future).

On this independence day, I can't help but think of the word itself.  While we celebrate our separation from British rule in terms of our history, I can't help but ponder our future and my thoughts on the political issues.  I find as I get older I tend to let illogical arguments get under my skin more and it starts to push me out of certain ideological nests.  In the past, I usually would just accept some issues on the conservative side as being par for the course (e.g., religious right, creationist basis for issues, environmental mockery) no matter how different they were from my thoughts.  And while for some it is easy to illogically argue for one issue, while logically defending many others... for me I cannot. 

I think, for me, you have to call a spade a spade.  When I listen to talk radio and hear an argument defending Bush for something dumb and then turn around a week later and blast a member of the opposite party for the same thing, it just gets under my skin.  I for one, cannot live within the constraints of blind ideology, especially when both sides bear problems.

If I were a falling gallon of water, I would find that there isn't just one ideological bucket that would catch me, but a number of them -- where I fill a little in each.  A moderate amount in the conservative bucket, some in the liberal bucket, and a little in the libertarian bucket.

It is funny how as we get smarter in terms of science, we find the buckets of classification in biology, for instance, change.  No longer is there the kingdom of Monera, but now Bacteria and Archaebacteria.  No longer are there separate kingdoms for animals, plants, fungi, etc., but one kingdom Eurkarya (because there are too many instances where organisms blur the lines of previously established classifications).  Where there were many kingdoms to separate organisms there is now one and where there was one there are many.

So will political ideology evolve?  History says it has and it will continue that is for sure.

I guess for now I am just one guy who is just a political blur.  There are those who cannot stand this, but hopefully there are those who don't mind.

Somebody has to be the political platypus.  Hopefully there are more.  But maybe someday there will be a more defined home for my political beliefs.

I have to say I have a great deal of respect for Christopher Hitchens -- mainly for his atheist views and his pro stance on the war on terrorism.  And I think he is telling the truth on this matter.

See the video.  Read his article.

The “board” is the instrument, not the method. You are not being boarded. You are being watered. This was very rapidly brought home to me when, on top of the hood, which still admitted a few flashes of random and worrying strobe light to my vision, three layers of enveloping towel were added. In this pregnant darkness, head downward, I waited for a while until I abruptly felt a slow cascade of water going up my nose.

[...]

I apply the Abraham Lincoln test for moral casuistry: “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.” Well, then, if waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture.

Good plan.  Go with something that the left criticized with GW in the hopes of winning over more of the right.  Kind of sounds like a true politician, doesn't it?

Taking a page from President Bush, Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he wants to expand White House efforts to steer social service dollars to religious groups, risking protests in his own party with his latest aggressive reach for voters who usually vote Republican.

Gag me with a spoon.  I always thought Bush pushing the faith-based program thing was wrong.  Now Obama wants to "expand" them.

Funny how atheists can find their vote for Obama because of his speeches that speak of reaching out to non-believers.  Yet from my perspective, he isn't changing any policies from his predecessor.  He isn't talking about separating church and state by "expanding" these programs.  He is talking about using taxpayer money to fund these programs. 

Also, all I think about when I read this news piece are all of the liberals who were writing that Obama is a different kind of politician pushing his hope line.  This just continues to confirm that he is just a politician like all of them -- looking for votes and walking the line.  There is nothing new here.

Balloon.  Pop.

Looks like Hawaii is making solar mandatory in all new homes.

Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes. The bill was signed into law by Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican. It requires the energy-saving systems in homes starting in 2010. It prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters. Hawaii relies on imported fossil fuels more than any other state, with about 90 percent of its energy sources coming from foreign countries, according to state data.

And a Republican no less.

This may raise the initial price of housing in Hawaii, but it will save the homeowner money over the long term.  It is just like any other efficiency investment.

All I can do is shake my head and say...  wow.  (via Hugh Hewitt)

Another reason why I am an atheist.

Update:  According to Jake Tapper, Obama's campaign has already erased Pfleger from his website:

Pfleger appears to have been scrubbed from the Obama campaign's page that features the testimony of faith leaders, but you can see the cached version HERE.

If it is a serious concern to the IAEA, it must be serious (via Reuters)...

Iran's alleged research into nuclear warheads remains a matter of serious concern and Tehran should provide more information on its missile-related activities, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said, in its latest report on Iran, that Tehran was holding back information on high-explosives testing relating to its nuclear program.

<sarcasm>  I guess we need direct negotiation with no preconditions...  because talking with Iran has been so productive and has many results.  Why would we think they wouldn't keep dicking around with the international community?  Seriously?  </sarcasm>