Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Plugging the Leaks
First, the programs that are supposedly oh-so-vital to the capture and elimination of terrorists/terrorism are being leaked by the press. The most recent being the program designed to monitor international wire transfers to banks overseas.
The politicians who lambast these publications for talking about these programs don't do them any justice by drawing attention to the programs by venting their frustrations via open airwaves.
The same naysayers will then turn around and leak the commanding general in Iraq his strategy for slowly withdrawing troops and bringing them home.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Pardon Me
Over the past 200 years of presidents the pardon has only been used 5 times.
George W. Bush has taken advantage used the pardon 750 times.
Friday, June 09, 2006
No More Terror!
What has happened here is surely a victory for America. However, this can easily turn into a momentum swing for al qaeda. It has been said that al-Zarqwai's role was inflated by the US. There had to be a scapegoat for the sectarian violence in Iraq, and Zarqwai was made that man. It's also easier for the US public to support something when there is a clear goal (i.e. eliminate Zarqwai).
I don't want to undermine what has happened here, because I do feel like this is a monumentous event for our troops. But, let us not forget that al qaeda thrives on martyrdom. Al-Zarqwai has been made a martyr, and sometimes that makes the deceased individual even stronger. Also, on many occassions, it has been proven that these qaeda operatives can still be effective, if not stronger, without leadership.
So, lets go ahead and celebrate what has gone on here because it is surely a day of triumph. But, we have to make sure not forget who our enemies are, and what they are capable of.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
This is it
What does that tell you about the sanctity of marriage?
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Dirty Harry
In Nevada the Federal Boxing Commission exists. This is the governing body of boxing in the state of Nevada. The Boxing Commission in Nevada feels threatened by the possiblity of another commission being formed to make sure the Nevada Commission are doing things right. Reid says that accepting these tickets (to three matches) was not a conflict of interest, but many see this as the Nevada Federal Boxing Commission trying to get Reid alone so they can attempt to convince him to vote against the formation of another ruling body.
I have always thought for quite some time now that Harry Reid is the wrong man leading the democrats. He seems dysfunctional, and can never do anything without contradicting himself. If the democrats expect to do anything this year they need to find a quick cure to their Kerryitis (awful timing disease), and fast.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Energy Inefficient
Fareed Zakaria says it best: "...it would signal to the market that demand for oil in the United States was likely to stabilize. The fear, uncertainty and speculation that is built into the price of oil right now would ease. I could see the headline now: GOVERNMENT ACTS BOLDLY; OIL PRICES DROP. That's not just good economics, it's good politics."
*source
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Democrats Ride to Victory in 2006...Not So Fast
The Democrats also need to dump their strategy of playing off the nation's unease of the Iraq quagmire by calling for an immediate withdrawl of troops. It's an attempt at reminding voters of the withdrawl from Vietnam 30 years ago. But that was a different time, different situation, and a different war. Bush ultimately owns the authority to call for the withdrawl of troops from Iraqi soil. If he calls for an immediate removal of troops at current levels right before election time, then this strategy bombshell can easily cause a quagmire for the DNC.
To quote Barry Casselman, the author of the article I read, "These days, we seem to want the future to be clear and present now. The trend of the moment is mistaken for an outcome ahead. History does not seem to work that way. History bobs and weaves in defiance of our logic. History always loves to surprise us."
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Cheating Chambliss
"Dear Sir,
I believe your office made a mistake. Your secretary must have clicked the wrong button, because I was sent the same automated message I received when I wrote you for the first time. To correct the error your office has made I will resend my original email in an attempt to gain a real response from your office about your contradictory voting record.
" "
Please tell your secretary to be more careful when sending prefabricated emails.
Sincerely,
Dan Delle Monache"
Monday, May 15, 2006
Saxby Update
Here it is:
"OK. you want to cut the deficit.
But you did support the relatvely huge , ½ trillion dollar defense budget.
If you really care about the deficit, why did you vote against accountability on how that huge amount of money is spent? I read about tanks, jets, and other weapons inventories disappearing (possibly into the hands of terrorists?). I read about billions of dollars unaccounted for in Iraq. Yet you vote against bills to to investigate contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And you vote against budget accountability for the wars.
Wouldn’t the ½ trillion defense budget provide a better opportunity for finding savings than preventing some low income young adults from getting an education?
Put it in perspective. If war contracting was made more efficient (less fraudulent?) by only 3/10ths of a percent, we’d have gotten the $1.5 billion that you took from veterans medical care. And we’d have gotten it by cutting waste instead of dishonoring this country’s soldiers.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Thank You,
Dan"
Can't wait to hear the response to that one. If your senator voted against this bill too I encourage each of you to write to them asking the same questions. You can find their roll call votes on the Senate's webpage.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Don't Get Your History in Stereo(type)
I am an advocate of gay rights (gay marriage, and adoption by gay couples). I have these point of views because I don't feel like gays are a detriment to our society like we are made to believe. I also feel like gays are people, just like you and me, and should be treated as such without judgement, or persecution. However, the problem with Ms. Kuehl's bill is it creates another stereotype in textbooks. I don't like how teachers have to categorize historical heroes with a stereotype. Many prominent historical figures are known primarily by the color of their skin, or in this case, their sexual orientation.
Take black history month for example. By definition it's a month where we reflect on the accomplishments of influential african-americans throughout history. I don't want to take anything away from these extraordinary feats, but there doesn't need to be a month dedicated too their accomplishments. I'm not trying to advocate a 'white history month' or any form of history month for any race, class, or type of people. We don't need this stuff.
The proper place for recognition of the heroes of our past generations is in history class, but not as stereotypes. We don't need to turn history class into a subject where we study an individual's accomplishments because of their skin color, religion, or sexual orientation. When someone changes the path of history it should be mentioned, studied, and never forgotten.
History should be unbiased. We shouldn't remember those heroes because they are black, white, hispanic, gay, or straight. When an activist changes history it's not for the better good of one class or race. Their contributions change, and effect everybody.
When Dr. King led the way during the civil rights movement he wasn't doing it for people of his own race. He was doing it for America, and we need to remember that.
We need to do away with the stereotypes.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
The Truth About New Homes
It never seems to stop. How they get away with this I do not know.
Saxby Chambliss' office called me today in response to the email I fired back. It's in the archives of the Opine titled "Saxby...Not as Good as Zaxby(s)" if you haven't read it. They caught me at a really bad time, and when I asked if they could call me back in a couple of hours the guy didn't seem interested. So in the 20 seconds I talked with him he tried defending Chambliss' stance on block grants by saying every time one is eliminated Saxby votes to have it replaced. Since my email talked about more than just block grants I plan on calling his office back when I have some more time. I did some research and came up with some questions to ask his spokesperson, and while I was looking I found that Saxby makes considerable donations to the John Birch foundation. John Birch was a white supremist who had an iron fist against communism in the 70's...he's not a good man. McCarthy was heavily endorsed by this guy during that time. Lets just say I look forward to talking to the senator's office and seeing the response I get. If I don't like what I get then I plan on going to the local news paper The Atlanta Journal Constitution and attempt to get some of this trash about him published.
I would love to run against Saxby when he's up for re-election in 2008, but I think I would still be too young.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
End of the (Phone) Line
A few Americans have said, "I don't have a problem with these programs, because they are protecting me from terrorists and I want the terrorists stopped." Well, the truth behind that is debatable. The problem with spying on American phone calls is that it contains several loopholes. First, you have to trust the government in power to not abuse this authority, and with the Bush administration I do not. Second, this sets a dangerous precendent for American citizens. Once a government begins spying on its citizens without warrants then that can really set the government up for more and more invasive activities. America needs to be careful, because this wreckless administration has no problem taking our civil liberties and flushing them down the toilet.
I know Bush has told people over and over these telephone taps are legal, but where are the warrants? He doesn't have to show every word of the warrant, but perhaps an outline of one just to prove that he did go to the courts. Such a move would have been recorded in the annotated court reporter's record. So why can't his administration refer us to those documents? They are available in most public libraries, and on the internet. Also, where are the judges who issued these warrants? Couldn't they be subpoenaed for their actions? None of these steps have been made by the President, and that is why i seriously doubt the legality of his actions. Not enough has been done to convince me that he is doing the right thing, or that this is having a serious affect on the police action against terrorism. If anyone can recall, Bush tried defending his spy program by telling America that it prevented an attack on a building in Los Angeles. The mayor of Los Angeles didn't even find out about the botched attack until he read/saw the news and heard Bush talking about it.
Just think about it.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Nothing but Net
The nets are coated with an insecticide and cost between $4 and $6. You need about $10 to get them shipped and installed. Some nets can cover a family of four. They also last four years. For $10 that means a kid gets to live. Make it $20 and even more kids are saved. Please consider making a donation to this website UNFoundation.org/malaria. All it takes is a simple $20 and a kid's life is saved.
Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated has donated $20,000 to the foundation because he calculated that he has said the word 'net' 20,000 times total in all of his publications. Together we can raise $1 million and save 50 times the population of Nett Lake, Minnesota.
How much of that $1 million goes towards the nets?
well, all of it. That's because thanks to Ted Turner, who donated $1 billion to create the UN Foundation, which covers all overhead costs, every cent goes to nets. Bill and Melinda Gates have single-handedly finished covering every bed of Zambia. The UN Foundation is not asking for people to invest money into a scientist looking for a cure, and there are no worries about warlords hijacking a truckload of nets.
According to Andrea Gay, the UN Foundation's Director of Children's Health, "Theoretically if every person in Africa slept under a net, nobody need ever die of malaria again."
That's a serious return on profits. Think about it $20 is not a big price to pay, and it gurantees that someone gets to live, and an instant return on your investment. Those odds are better than money invested in the stock market.
(almost all of this post was generated with the help of Rick Reilly's SI article about the dangers of malaria)
Monday, May 08, 2006
Democrats Might Have Something After All
They need to be careful though. Rove is out trying to convince voters that if the Democrats win back both chambers that terrorism will take a back burner, and that "our worst fears" will be answered. Hopefully the polls aren't as far off from reality as they were in the 2004 presidential election. Lets hope Rove's bag of tricks are empty. We desperately need a change of guard, and it has to come before 2008.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
The George Bush Effect in Georgia
I could see what was happening though. Georgia has become dangerously conservative over the years, and here was a black reverand, civil rights activist, of course he's going to be anti-bush doctrine too. In his speech, which I thought was well put together and, delivered superbly given that he was talking indirectly to a hostile audience. He also made some excellent points (well, he stated facts really) about poverty and the dangerous rate at which the american middle class is disappearing. I could tell the parents of the grads were getting antsy. Next, he brought up Iraq and Afghanistan in this manner:
"Are we really in Afghanistan to battle terrorism?"
"Are we really in Iraq to battle terrorism?"
The crowd leveled him. A parent shouted "YEA!" and many parents erupted in applause. Sherrod was booed and yelled at...truly disrespected. I was absolutely appalled. I wasn't surprised the parents reacted, just that they reacted so harshly. After most of the calamity was over, a woman a couple of rows behind me said, "What does this have to do with graduation?" Well lady, let me enlighten you.
I found Sherrod courageous, but he had to know he was going to be indirectly talking to a hostile audience. Luckily, he was doing was addressing the graduates, and they were very receptive to what he had to say. These kids are going to be running this country one day, and he was imposing a call to action. He was trying to get the point across that if these situations (poverty, disinterest, and bogus wars) aren't dealt with soon then we (America) are going to have a serious problem. He wasn't accusing anybody, not one time did he mention democrats, republicans, or even Bush. He didn't even draw conclusions about the two "wars". All he was doing was challenging people to think critically.
The best part of the speech was the end. When he stepped off the podium ALL of the graduates gave him a glorious standing ovation. It left me feeling enormous optimism about my generation.
When I had a chance to talk to my girlfriend she told me that when the parents showed their butts she heard murmurs among her colleagues saying things like, "He's telling the truth..." "They need to just leave, or shut up because he's telling the truth."
God bless you class of 2006. Lets take back America!
Friday, May 05, 2006
Can't Teach an Old Rumsfeld New Tricks
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Cheney to the Podium Please!
Can someone please take Mr. Cheney and put him back to bed?
Ole' Motherland Russia
I studied abroad in Russia last summer for a month. I stayed in St. Petersburg, and then spent a long weekend in Moscow. While I was in Russia I noticed some parts were trying to modernize, but as a whole I couldn't tell if the Russians really wanted to get away from communism or modernize. The new Russia definitly has a lot of work left if they want to reemerge as a world superpower. However, the Putin-led government seems to be taking Russia back into a dictatorship. Let me explain why this may not be the worst thing for the Russians. Under the communists the Russians had their neccessities (ie. shelter, food, clothing, jobs). Since the fall of the communist regime there has been little of that. The big cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk) may not show the ill-effects of post-communism, but the farther away from Moscow you go, so does a comfortable life. In the regions around the Siberian coal mines, and around the Urals (Stavropol) the citizens hardly have anything. Under the communists they at least had their neccessities.
I don't want to endorse communism, because as history shows us, it doesn't seem to work in practice very well. Another problem with Russia reverting back to communism, or a dictatorship, is the next-in-line may not have the best interests of the state on their mind. Lets just hope that Russia doesn't revert back into its old practices, and cross our fingers that they keep growing into a healthy country, because the world would be better off with a stable free Russia than one tangled up in dictatorship.
Free to Live
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Saxby...Not as Good as Zaxby(s)
here is his response:
"Dear Mr. Delle Monache:
Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns
about government spending and the Federal budget deficit. I
appreciate hearing from you.
I agree with you, we need to get spending under control.
As you know, we are in tough budget times. Since 1994, I have
advocated the need for a balanced Federal budget. I was proud to
be here in 1996 when Congress balanced the budget, and we
operated under a balanced budget until the end of fiscal year 2002.
In the years since the September 11th terrorist attacks, the
economy has endured the bursting of the stock market bubble, a
recession, and rising oil prices. Those events have been coupled
with the war on terror that is necessary to protect our citizens and
interests. In 2005, devastating hurricanes destroyed many miles of
the Gulf Coast and displaced hundreds of thousands of families.
As a result, Congress has enacted more than $101 billion in
hurricane relief. A supplemental relief package is currently in
deliberations that would raise the hurricane relief total to over $120
billion. These unexpected expenditures have driven the short-term
deficit higher than previously projected, but have not impeded
Congress from making great strides in reducing the deficit.
Through continued pro-growth economic policies and
spending restraint, the fiscal year 2007 budget keeps us on track to
meet our goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009. The budget
builds on last year's successful spending restraint by again holding
the growth of overall discretionary spending below inflation,
proposing to reduce non-security discretionary spending below the
previous year's level, and calling for the elimination or reduction
of 141 programs that are not performing.
Also, on February 8, 2006, the President signed S. 1932,
"The Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act (DRORA) of
2005." This legislation cuts mandatory spending by nearly $40
billion over the next five years. DRORA included spending
reduction recommendations from eight Senate authorizing
committees as instructed under the 2006 budget resolution. As
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry, I was pleased to put forth a plan to reduce agriculture
spending by $3 billion over the next 5 years. The Senate
Agriculture Committee will begin writing a new farm bill in 2007
which will address the concerns of American agriculture and will
be dictated by the federal budget.
I believe in fiscal responsibility and that it is important for
Congress to meet its responsibilities without raising taxes. I have
consistently voted to rein in deficit spending, reduce the tax burden
on hard-working Americans, and make government more
accountable to taxpayers. I cosponsored legislation to cap non-
defense, non-trust-fund, discretionary spending; to establish the
Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal
Agencies which would look out for waste, fraud, and abuse in the
federal government; and to reinstate the line-item veto. Lastly, my
voting record earned a Taxpayer Hero Award from the Council
Against Government Waste. Given my proven record, please be
assured that I will continue to exercise fiscal constraint.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. As
always I appreciate hearing from you. In the meantime, if you
would like to receive timely email alerts regarding the latest
congressional actions and my weekly e-newsletter, please sign up
via my web site at: www.chambliss.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Saxby Chambliss
United States Senate"
it's a crock really. he completely ignores my question, and on que brings up 9/11. in a way i can't believe he has the audacity to even mention hurricane katrina victims seeing as how the GOP has completely botched that operation.
this is what i plan to fire back:
"Senator,
Thank you for responding in a timely manner to my first email. However, you said a couple of things that left me unsatisfied. In your response to my last email you mentioned something about “spending restraint” to keep congress on track in cutting the deficit in half. These “spending restraints” are being imposed at the expense of millions americans, and especially several Georgians. On top of all this the budget for FY2007 does not even factor in the $70 billion to be paid on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Today i saw Newsweek’s list of top 100 high schools in the United States, and there were no Georgia schools listed. According to the budget approved by you, and fellow members of congress, Georgia is going to lose ALL of its vocational and Even Start education programs. Please, sir, tell me what you plan to do about this, and your plans to get the Georgia education system back on track?
I also see that in the budget for FY2006 Georgia is slated to lose $19.1 million in Community Block Development Grants. These budgetary “spending restraints” seem to be aimed at the wrong people senator.
With a national defense budget on the rise, and Georgians owing $2.9 billion on the iraq war during FY2006, I cannot see the deficit being cut in half by FY2009 without taxes being increased, or more significant programs being cut.
Soon I will be an every year taxpayer with a family of my own, senator, I do not want to see the majority of my taxes being used to pay down the enormous deficit, being created right now, at the expense of my less fortunate neighbors.
Thank you for taking the time to look at my correspondence.
Sincerely,
Dan Delle Monache"
should be an interesting reponse assuming i get one.
Monday, May 01, 2006
American Poverty
i was asked, "how is poverty taking the back burner?"
here is a little clarification:
* The number of Americans living in poverty rose from 35.9 million in 2003 to 37 million in 2004, an increase of 1.1 million Americans.
* 12.7 percent of Americans are living in poverty today. This figure includes 7.9 million families, an increase from 7.6 million families in 2003.
* Both the number of Americans living in poverty and the official poverty rate have risen for four straight years, from 2000 to 2004.
* 2004 marked the second consecutive year in which real median household income showed no change.
* Today, 13 million children under the age of 18 are living in poverty. That's 17.6 percent of all children in America.
* 24.7 percent of African Americans are living in poverty, making the poverty rate among African Americans nearly twice the national rate.
* 21.9 percent of Hispanics live in poverty.
* 24.3 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives live in poverty.
Mail-in Rebate
Go Joe!
his main key is decentralizing iraq into three regions. a kurdish region, sunni region, and shiite region with a central government in baghdad that will oversee the best interests of everybody. this way each faction can govern their region as they see fit and tailor it to their customs. now there won't be any civil war or disagreement about how religion is to play on the grand political stage. on top of that, each religious faction will get a stake in the oil profits.
i strongly recommend going to itunes and getting the bill maher podcast from when joe biden was on the panel. this man is smart AND has announced that he is running for president in 2008. i just hope the dems aren't as stupid as i think they are.