Saturday, August 25, 2007
The Future Of America
Well if students today are anything like this moron, we're in deep trouble. My God, it's painful to watch. Perhaps she would have been chastised for telling the truth: "1/5 of American's who can't find America on a map are idiots".
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Gun Control Advocates Have A Problem.
The simple fact is that if you ban handguns, only criminals will have them. I now have a 5 day waiting period to purchase any weapon that I try to get. Fair enough. It's only fair that you find out if I'm a criminal or a mental patient. However, after you've found that out, I should have the right to purchase any weapon I want, including automatic weapons. Before you start calling me a gun nut (which isn't quite accurate, but I'll humor you), point to me in the Second Amendment of the Constitution where it says that you even need to check to see if I'm a criminal or a mental patient. I'll save you some time, it doesn't.
It just says that Congress shall not pass a law forbidding the rights of the citizens to bear arms. Don't bother asking me why I "need a gun like that", it's not your business. It has nothing to do with "need" and everything to do with my rights to own a weapon.
It would be the same thing if I asked you why you "need to protest" or "need to say those things" or "need to practice that religion". All those things are protected rights that you enjoy as a citizen of the United States, and it's not my business how you exercise those rights, just like it's not your business how I exercise my Second Amendment rights.
Friday, August 24, 2007
China Searches For Missing Uranium
How the hell do you misplace Uranium? China really needs to get it's act together if it can't find 17 pounds worth of Uranium. That's enough to make a very small nuclear weapon.
As just an added "odd item", Isn't 17 pounds worth of Uranium HIGHLY desired by Iran? Just a thought.
Travis
Guards 'should knock before entering' - Telegraph
Every time I see the British start acting like adults, they go and pull crap
like this. They are actually telling guards to knock on the cell door before entering into the inmates cell.
At least someone's seeing the insanity of that.
But Glyn Travis, of the Prison Officers' Association, said: "If we have to knock on prisoners' cell doors we may as well give them a key and let them do what they want. There's got to be some modicum of sense."
There was a report with these recommendations:
Two of the main recommendations were that "staff should routinely knock before entering cells, except in emergencies", and that "staff should address prisoners by their preferred names".
Oh well if their pretty little feelings are being hurt, perhaps they shouldn't come back to jail? Perhaps they shouldn't commit crimes against other people.
A third of inmates were reported as claiming they did not feel they were treated with respect.
YOU'RE IN PRISON. You're lucky you have rights at all. "Respect" doesn't come to criminals. It comes to men acting like men and women acting like women. If you can't follow the rules and try to victimize people, then you don't deserve respect. So man up and stop acting like a crybaby because you're sissy feelings are hurt because prison guards aren't treating you exactly how you want.
Travis
Ted Nugent Goes Off
Come on Ted, stop the dilly dallying around and tell us how you really feel!
Travis
NYC Taxi Drivers Threaten Sept. 5 Strike
I think we all remember when I spoke about the Taxi drivers who were getting pissy about GPS units in their cabs and how it was a invasion of their "privacy".
Well, now they are threatening to strike.
But there are two major Taxi driver organizations that are disagreeing about even that.
"We are ready to strike," Bhairavi Desai, co-founder and organizer of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, announced during a news conference.
"There will be no strike. Read my lips: there will be no strike," said Fernando Mateo of the New York Federation of Taxi Drivers.
However, it's Mr. Fernando Mateo who's correct about this issue.
"When we need to fight, we fight. When we need to say thank you, we say thank you. But we don't have to be radicals about privacy in a cab. If you want privacy, you don't drive a cab," says Mateo.
Sources within the TLC and individual taxi drivers tell CBS 2 that the GPS fears have nothing to do with privacy and everything to do with money. Many drivers fear the IRS will use the data to audit drivers and alert the INS about illegal immigrants driving cabs.
The income bit, I can kind of understand, but the INS bit I don't care about and even encourage. However, I'd like to know how knowing the location of a taxi is going to help the INS discover who's an illegal immigrant.
Are GPS units that advanced now that they know the immigration status of every driver now? If so, I'd gladly hand out GPS units to everyone who crosses the border. :)
Travis
Labels: privacy
Speaking Of Pakistan
310 people dead. 250 of them militants. Is Pakistan starting to get on the ball when it comes to Al-Qaeda? With 90,000 soldiers deployed to the region, that very well may be coming to fruit.
I really want to believe that Pakistan is trying to help for doing what's right. Instead I think Musharraf is trying to cut out the people who are acting against him and if he captures or kills Bin Laden, that would be seen as a major thing in the eyes of the United States. To do that would mean a much cozier relationship with Pakistan, something Musharraf needs plenty of right now, especially with people nipping at his heels trying to get his job.
The main problem I have with Pakistan is that they seem to be blocking us from time to time and only offering us a sacrificial bone to temporarily satisfy us while trying to appease the hardliners in his country. If Musharraf does indeed bring in Bin Laden, that changes the entire landscape of things. It certainly would be a major symbolic defeat of Al-Qaeda.
Travis
Labels: al-qaeda, Pakistan, terrorism
Troops allowed to enter Pakistan - Focus on Pakistan - MSNBC.com
Now we're talking! US troops are allowed to enter into Pakistan under the following scenarios:
- “Hot pursuit” of al-Qaida, Taliban and terrorist command-and-control targets “from AFG into Pakistan (must be continuous and uninterrupted).”
- If the head of U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, approved direct action “against The Big 3,” listed as Osama bin Laden; his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri; and Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar. The three are still believed to be hiding in the border region.
- If the Defense secretary approved such an incursion.
What that means is, is if we are chasing after a terrorist or we know exactly where one of the "big 3" are, we're cleared to go into Pakistan.
I'm just glad our guys have the balls to do something like this. I get the feeling that under a Democratic President, we'd be asking for permission from Pakistan to go after Bin Laden.
So there won't be any "Dukes Of Hazzard" type of us stopping our pursuit once we get to the border. I noticed that the "geographic limits" are "no deeper than 6.2 miles. Personally, I don't care if we're pursuing guys all the way across the border and into the capital city. If we're after a bad guy, I say we chase him down until he escapes, he's captured, or he's killed.
Of course, Pakistan denies all this:
Told of the guidelines, Pakistani military spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said, “This is all nonsense. Pakistan never allowed the coalition forces to enter into our territory while chasing militants. There was no such agreement, there was no such understanding.”
That may very well be true. But that doesn't change a thing. If we know where Osama is and we go after him and do get him, Pakistan suddenly has a major problem on their hands. They were trying to block us from coming in and they had a most wanted terrorist within their lands.
But the opposite might be true. They may be saying "no" but that may only be for the public to see. Privately they may be saying "come on in".
Travis
Labels: al-qaeda, military, Pakistan, terrorism
Romney looks to states to expand health care coverage - CNN.com
This is what I really would like to see. A reasonable effort to find a compromise about universal health care. However, you're going to see efforts by Clinton, Obama, and Edwards in them trying to push for a more expensive way to get people on board for health insurance.
Now I've got an idea, but there may be some downsides to it. I haven't thought it through or debated about it or even ran the numbers, but it came to me just now. So here we go:
A private, government healthcare system. However, there's a twist. You're not going to get a doctor with tons of training and schooling to come work at a government run hospital, so offer them this deal. The government will cover all costs of your medical education in return for a term of service at a government run hospital for X amount of years. Say 5 or 10. I'd lean more towards 10 because educating a doctor is quite expensive.
So, if you want to be a doctor, you can be for free (or significantly reduced costs since I haven't run the numbers) and you work for the government for a few years, then you can move on to being a regular, private practice or different hospital. You pay the doctors a bit less then they would normally get (say 1/2 pay) because the government took care of the education bills and everyone wins.
Poor medical students get a good, free, or cheap education, therefore putting America back in the saddle in terms of science and medicine. American citizens can come to these hospitals at a significantly reduced cost because you're not paying for high doctor's salaries. You could even put a medical malpractice cap on lawsuits to keep costs down. Say $5 million cap.
That will keep malpractice insurance costs down. Couple that with other cost saving measures, I think some kind of mutant part of that plan might work.
Now, like I said, I haven't thought it all the way through or even ran numbers (I don't know where to begin on the numbers), so if any of you have a counter argument for it, please feel free to speak up.
Travis
Labels: health care, Republicans
Call Me Confused
So General Rick Lynch is saying that pulling troops out of certain areas would be a "giant step backward". Fair enough. But General Pace is "supposedly" saying that we should have a troop cut. Which is a more accurate picture of what's going on? General Lynch does say that we can start bringing home troops in 2008 if things are going well, but of course, that's still up in the air.
Couple that with the recent intelligence estimate that has said that the surge has generated "measurable" success, but doubts the political strength of Iraqi leaders, it all looks very murky.
I think the safest thing to do would be to wait for General Petraeus' report, but that certainly won't stop people and politicians from speculating as to what's going on and what will happen next.
Of course, Harry Reid is already trying to undercut the US troops by trying to get Republicans to jump the aisle and push for a quick withdrawal.
With the gains seen in Iraq lately, that seems pretty unlikely.
Of course Senator Carl Levin is now joining up with Hillary in calling for al-Maliki to be removed from office.
But what troubles me most about these three stories is that there's a suggestion of removing 5,000 troops in certain areas in order to prod the Iraqi's into stepping up to the plate. While that sounds good on paper to some, I think it's a really bad idea to use US troops and civilians in harms way in a giant game of chicken.
Travis
CNN.com - CNN Political Ticker Clinton: Terrorist attack will help GOP «
So a terrorist attack would help the Republican party? How the hell did she come to that conclusion? If anything, I think it would hurt the Republican party. People would come out of the woodwork saying how Republicans didn't do enough to protect America, how the Iraq war provoked otherwise "innocent" terrorists to attack us, etc, etc.
Hillary is pretty delusional if she thinks that way. But of course, this is Hillary we're talking about, so yes, she's delusional.
Travis
Labels: terrorism
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Hugo Chavez Is An Idiot
An $800,000 scandal is embarrassing the governments of Argentina and Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is trying to pass it off as a U.S. plot to undermine increasingly close ties between the two countries.
Even blind people can see that this guy is full of shit. Take a clue pill Chavez, you can't blame all your problems on the United States. Take notice people, others can see through your line of bullshit when you try to place blame for your own shortcomings on the United States or President Bush.
Personal responsibility, that's all I'm asking for here.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Help is coming for Youssif
So go ahead, bash the United States for being a monster and how we're "wrong" about everything. I don't see the Chinese government with their VAST wealth from their explosive economy stepping up to the plate to help this child out. I don't see the "morally superior" European governments stepping up with offers to help this child.
So when I finally see a government or it's people step up like we did in this instance to help those who needed it most, then you can preach about how much better you are then the United States. Until then, save that argument for someone who'll actually buy into that line of crap.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Sorry for Jesus-cigarette photo? - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com
So a Malaysian newspaper has published an image of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette.
I wonder when the Christian's will rise up and threaten to riot, behead the newspaper reporters, and cause worldwide uproar. Oh wait, that's not going to happen. Why? Because generally speaking, Christians aren't whackos who think that every little dig at their religion needs to be met with protests in the streets and threats of violence.
I wonder what religion has extremists who would do such a thing....hmm..
Travis
Labels: Christianity, hypocrisy
Clinton lied, people died
Bill Clinton's mountain of evidence against his lies over his response to the rise of Al-Qaeda is getting bigger by the moment. Now the recent CIA inspector general's report has flatly contradicted Clintons statements that he "worked hard to kill him" and "authorized a finding for the CIA to kill him".
Yet, Michael Scheuer, our CIA Bin Laden head honcho flatly contradicts that.
(Scheuer agreed with the inspector general’s findings on this issue, but said if anything the report was overly diplomatic. “There was never any ambiguity,” he said. “None of those authorities ever allowed us to kill anyone. At least that’s what the CIA lawyers told us.” A spokesman for the former president had no immediate comment.)
So there's no immediate comment? Why not? Because they want this to blow over. They want Clinton to still appear bulletproof to the liberal idiots who don't want to ask the tough questions about the run up to 9/11.
I want answers of who did what, why, when, and what can be done to prevent it in the future. I'm willing to forgive Clinton if he actually came up and said "I didn't take the threat seriously enough. I failed the American people. I was too involved with Monica to care. I thought I'd have another chance."
Something of an admission of what went wrong and where would be the least that he owes me and the rest of America. However, he won't do that. He's continually wanting to place blame on the Bush administration and Republicans. Hell in one of his interviews he says that the same people who blame him now were the same people who didn't take the warnings from Clinton seriously enough.
That well may be true, but as President, you have a moral obligation to protect America and it's citizens. He should have sent the military in and gave them blanket orders: "capture if you can, kill if you must".
Hell, even I thought the 1998 missile lobbing at Bin Laden was a bit of a "wag the dog" event. I was wrong then. See Bill how easy it is to admit you're wrong? I fully admit that I didn't think terrorism was that big of a deal in 1998. However, I don't have the CIA telling me about threats. I don't have the FBI looking into things. I don't have the vast intelligence and military capabilities that you had at your disposal when the threat of Al-Qaeda was growing.
However Bill, once Osama and al-Zahirwi are dead and gone, then the healing can begin. Until that day happens, and it MUST happen by American hands, it will be salt in the wound. If either of these two die of old age or something similar, I won't forgive EITHER President Bush or Clinton. I want them both looking down the barrel of a Navy SEALS' weapon or waking up with their throats slit.
Travis
Labels: 9-11, al-qaeda, Bill Clinton, lies, Politics, terrorism
Yes, this should make your goals achievable
Al-Qaeda fighters attacked a village and killed one of their leaders because the village is rising up against Al-Qaeda. Good plan idiots, that will only make them hate you even more.
“They were shouting Allah Akbar and Curse be upon the Renegades,” said Umm Ahmed, who was among the three women wounded in the attack. She refused to give her full name fearing retribution. “This attack will cause the uprising against them to spread to other villages.”
See! I told you so. Killing people doesn't put you on their side, it only strengthens their resolve against you. It means that they will want US soldiers around more for protection and hunting you down.
Do you think that Americans will like Al-Qaeda after the events of 9/11? Of course not, people wanted you eradicated. I personally wanted to drop nuclear weapons on Afghanistan unless Bin Laden was handed over within 24 hours. But that's just my rage working up again.
Al-Qaeda is trying to overreach itself and it alienating those who would support them to begin with. I'm wondering if we're seeing a turning point in support of Al-Qaeda.
Travis
Iran threatens German banks over pull-out
Wow, the Deutsche bank is one of the largest banks in the world and for them and Dresdner bank to pull out of Iran signals to me that the financial squeeze is really starting to take effect.
Of course, Iran is stepping up the rhetoric:
The vice governor of the Iranian central bank, Mohammad Jafar Mojarrad, told the Financial Times Deutschland that the banks' actions could have long-term consequences.
"We are not happy with the banks' decision," he said.
"There is no guarantee that one can return when the good times are here again."
Mojarrad said that because business ties are based on trust, it would be "very difficult to re-establish trust when it has been abused."
What that tells me is that the US economic sanctions as well as the fiscal responsibilities that come with it are starting to take root in Iran. Banks only care about money (well duh) and if they see potentially losing billions in dollars over dealing with Iran, any idiot would pull out of Iran in a heartbeat.
This is actually a very good tactic as it pushes Iran into a corner without having to extend ourselves militarily. It allows us to drive a wedge between Iran and others, and it makes Iran think twice about it's nuclear intentions.
Just how far and how expensive does Iran want their nuclear program to get? Hard to say, but they've backed down before under less pressure, so when the third set of sanctions comes around, you can bet that Iran will start to see that we are serious over their ambitions.
Travis
Labels: Economy, iran, nuclear program, Politics
Hope For Iraqis
Wait a minute. I thought the Iraqis wanted us all gone immediately. I thought they hated our guts and wanted nothing to do with us. If that's the case, why are Iraqi civilians risking their necks to save US soldiers? Oh that's right. Because what you've been told by the media is bullshit.
An Iraqi man saved the lives of four U.S. Soldiers and eight civilians when he intercepted a suicide bomber during a Concerned Citizens meeting in the town of al-Arafia Aug. 18.
They don't mention the mans name, but anyone who acts like that is a hero in my book.
Later that night, the Concerned Citizens group contacted the local National Police director, Lt. Col. Samir, with the location of the al-Qaeda cell believed to be responsible for the attack. The National Police immediately conducted a raid that resulted in four arrests.
Sounds to me like the Iraqi citizens are starting to get a foothold on their area and by working with US soldiers, they are starting to get rid of terrorist in their neighborhoods.
So tell me liberals, how can you turn your back on people like this? How can you want to pull out our guys when they face dangers like this. That makes you a coward and a traitor to these people in my book.
Travis
Labels: al-qaeda, iraq, military, surge, terrorism
Russia says Georgia suffers hallucinations in plane row | World | Reuters
Wow, usually you save the "you're hallucinating" for your buddies, not over a major international incident like this. But a Russian General said: "It must be that our Georgian colleagues are starting to suffer from hallucinations"
I tend to believe the Georgians over this one. Russia has already started up long distance fighter jets in other countries, so it's not much of a stretch to believe that they wouldn't do the same thing to Georgia.
But as long as Georgia is a US ally, Russia will do whatever it takes to make their lives as difficult as possible.
Travis
Labels: Georgia (Former Soviet State), military, Russia
Proposed Atlanta Bill Would Ban Baggy Pants - News Story - WGCL Atlanta
Ok, let's take a look at this here. This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've seen in a while. Banning baggy pants is idiocy for a couple of reasons. First off, it's completely unconstitutional. It can be argued that it's Freedom of Speech.
Secondly, banning the way a person dresses is something that the Taliban or Iran would do. It's not American.
Thirdly, Does the Atlanta political system have NOTHING better to do then ban baggy clothes on children?
Now the ACLU is claiming that the proposal is too vague (correct) and would unfairly target black people (incorrect). It would unfairly target idiots who don't know how to dress themselves. White kids, black kids, Mexican kids have all done this idiotic way of dressing and it will die down as soon as there's another fashion trend. Banning it only makes you look like an out of touch idiot with nothing to do but to hassle kids and not tackle the tough problems that face your administration.
Travis
Labels: condemnation, idiotic politicians
NIE: Intelligence community has tepid faith in Iraqi leaders - CNN.com
It's perfectly fine to have nervous feelings towards the current Iraqi leader. Most people are justified with that. The guy has a hard job to do, but it's not impossible. Sure, I imagine there are things that he could be doing better, but I'm willing to cut him some slack.
Hillary Clinton isn't. That's fine too, but she's calling for his ouster.
Clinton went on to say she "hopes that the Iraqi parliament will replace Prime Minister Maliki with a less divisive and more unifying figure when it returns in a few weeks."
Hillary, the guy was democratically elected. Calling for his replacement at such a crucial time isn't going to help the fledgling government. They'll have to have new elections, get a guy in, then he'll have to get up to speed. Those things take time and waste valuable resources.
What it amounts to is her trying to have it both ways. Undercut the Iraqi government while trying to pander to Americans who want the surge efforts to continue.
We all see the sheep's clothing Hillary.
Travis
Labels: Democrats, Hillary Clinton, iraq, Politics
Some Nerve
Man, the recently deported Mexican immigrant Elvira Arellano has some nerve to attack the country that she so wanted to be a part of. She claims that the US broke the law first by allowing immigrants to come across the border and to pay taxes.
Think about that for a minute. She's accusing the US of being at fault for her illegal acts that she committed TWICE. Even if we did break the law first, that's no excuse for her to break the law twice. However, she's using standard deflection techniques because she knows she's wrong.
Of course, the Mexican government is siding with her. We're the big, bad US who should open up our borders and allow Mexican citizens to come over to our nation, use up it's resources, without paying taxes or doing so legally.
But you do the opposite in Mexico, it's a different story. Illegal immigrants have NO rights there. They have NO rights to medical care, public services, or anything else. They are picked up and shipped home immediately. So cut the hypocritical horsecrap Mexico. You only want your citizens to come here because they won't bleed your economy dry by doing it.
Travis
Labels: immigration
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
BillingsGazette.com :: Baucus proposing free college tuition
Well his heart is in the right place, but Democratic Senator Max Baucus is wrong on this. It's not about the money per se, but it's about desire. Sure, $25 billion is a lot of month to be throwing around, but my point is a different one.
You can't give away an education to someone who's heart isn't in it.
You could offer me up a free ride to college for a degree in Chemistry, but because my heart's not in it, I wouldn't make a good Chemist. Sure, I'd have a decent paying job, but to really compete we have to get around a few core problems first.
Stop ridiculing and looking down upon smart people.
There I said it. This society looks up to flash people: Athletes, music stars, etc. But when was the last time MTV interviewed a molecular chemist? When was the last time a scientist was on the evening news solely because he/she was smart?
The only time you hear about scientists is when they've found a cure or potential cure to societies ills. Cure cancer? You bet your ass will be on the front page of every newspaper in the country. But two weeks later, there's Britney Spears' vagina soaring around the Internet at light speed. (I've seen it, it's not impressive).
My point is, is if we want to compete in math, science, and medicine, we're going to have to make it more glamorous then it currently looks. Perfect example: My friend Daehoon (he's Korean) is getting his degree in medicine. He wants to be a surgeon. He does it because he's good at biology, math, science, and wants to help people.
His heart's in it. Now, once he actually becomes a surgeon, then he starts seeing the rewards: Large home, new Mercedes in the drive way, and lots, and lots of girls.
Sure, you don't see a doctor running around with 3 girls on his arms like you do with rap artists, but I can tell you without a doubt, one of the greatest pickup lines in history is: "I'm a doctor". There isn't a woman alive (except maybe lesbians), who wouldn't love to have a man who's a doctor. Successful, semi wealthy, helps people, etc. The only profession that I know of that scores more tail is a fireman.
But Daehoon's a bit too skinny to be a fireman.
In short, Senator Baucus gets an A for effort, but an F for thinking it through.
Travis
U.S. dismisses Iran nuclear cooperation - Focus on Iran - MSNBC.com
It's pretty obvious that the Iranians are trying to drag feet on their nuclear program. They can see that China and Russia are starting to wobble in their support over their nuclear ambitions. Now, here's a bit of rhetoric I can stand behind:
“Iran is clearly trying to take the attention from its continued development of bomb-making capabilities, and I don’t think the Security Council will be distracted,” said Gregory L. Schulte, the chief U.S. delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency. “We are continuing to move forward with other members of the Security Council on a third resolution.”
It's coming down to the wire on sanctions against Iran. They know that their gasoline supplies are tight and any sanctions could cause a revolt in the populace. Most Iranians are under 30 years old and they don't really like the Mullahs, Clerics, or any other secular leaders. They enjoy western music, movies, and products, so they certainly aren't going to want to go from that to burqa's and full beards.
But wait! There's more!
“If Iran’s leaders truly want the world’s trust, they would ... start to cooperate fully and unconditionally and suspend activities of international concerns,” said Schulte, alluding to council demands that Tehran freeze its uranium enrichment program and stop construction of a plutonium-producing reactor.
And he's exactly right. If Iran really was only after nuclear power, they would have a real coup on their hands to allow the IAEA to come in and take a poke around and say "See! I told you the American's were lying!". That would ripple throughout the Middle East as America would be seen as a provocateur and a liar. However, because they don't, pretty much the entire Middle East is worried about Iran and it's growing influence in the region. There are active campaigns to undermine the Iranian government and economy.
With Iran's refusal to do anything of importance with the IAEA, their chances of coming out of this unscathed is pretty slim.
Travis
Labels: iran, nuclear program, Politics, un
China says US soybeans unsafe
Looks like China's trying to deflect from recent reports of product safety coming out of their country. They are saying that US soybeans are unsafe. While that very well may be the case, their wording doesn't leave a lot to be desired.
"We have reported this to the US side, demanding that it look into the causes and adobe effective measures to ensure that a situation like this does not repeat itself."
Pretty strong wording, however they don't seem to be reciprocating on their part when we tell them about unsafe products on their end.
It seems like this is a common theme with China. They will do or say whatever it takes to maintain their economy, but they have no problem throwing you under the bus if it's a means to deflect from their own problems. They do this with military exercises, product exports, and the world economy.
If they keep pissing people off, they will soon find themselves wondering why all the manufacturing went to another country that's more friendly to businesses.
Travis
My Way News - Iraq Leader Lashes Out at U.S. Critics
Oh, poor al-Maliki. He can't seem to take criticism very well.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed the U.S. presidential campaign for the recent tough words from the Bush administration and from other American politicians.
"No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by its people," he said at a news conference in Damascus at the end of a three-day visit to Syria.
"Those who make such statements are bothered by our visit to Syria. We will pay no attention. We care for our people and our constitution and can find friends elsewhere," al-Maliki said.
If our help isn't wanted, we would be happy to leave you to the wolves. All of a sudden the mood changes doesn't it? Look, if you're going to make friends with those who are taking pot shots at US soldiers who are protecting your dumb ass, then perhaps you ought to start asking them for protection against the militias who are wanting you dead. Or perhaps you can ask them for the billions it's going to take to rebuild your country.
Oh wait, that's right, they don't give two shits about you because they are only interested in themselves. Just get your security forces up and running, weed out corruption, and stop taking month long vacations while US soldiers do the job you obviously can't do: Protect your citizens.
Travis
Imams drop 'John Doe' suit -- The Washington Times, America's Newspaper
Well I was hoping this day would come, and it has. The "Flying Imams" case has taken an expected twist.
They have dropped their lawsuits against the people that reported them in the
first place.
The problem for them is that 1: President Bush signed a law that protects people from lawsuits who report suspicious behavior, (Sorry for not keeping you up to date on that one) and 2: They know they'd lose hardcore and that they'd be on the hook for a LOT of money in legal fees.
The other issue is that they know that they are either terrorists, or people who were yanking the chain of the airlines. Either way they are scum and need to be swiftly punished for their transgressions.
Travis
Labels: aircraft, terrorism, vigilance
Caribbean Net News: Chavez puts Venezuela's clock ahead 1/2 hour
Chavez is starting to lose his mind. Case in point, he's putting Venezuela's clocks 1/2 hour ahead from where it is now.
Of course this idiot has no idea of the ramifications of such a move. Computer programs and hardware need to be updated with the new time. Critical infrastructure might have to be redone in order to maintain compliance. World wide businesses will have to adjust their schedules to avoid confusion, and much, much more.
The problem with Chavez is that he seems to think that he can just waltz in and take over a country. His line of bullshit gets old really quickly and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a coup in the future of Chavez.
But I've seen dumber dictators before (Saddam).
Travis
Labels: Hugo Chavez, Socialism, Venezuela
Field Poll shows Californians lean toward dividing electoral votes
Let's take a look at the hypocritical nature of the Democratic Party shall we? In 2000 and 2004, when Democrats lost the Presidential elections, many people, including prominent Democrats, got pissed and whined about how Al Gore REALLY won the election because he won the popular vote. When told "that's not how it works", they all cried that we should change it.
Well we've all been on the same system for pretty much as long as America has been around. So you'd like to think that if Republicans supported a change to reflect a more of a "popular vote" method, that Democrats would be all for it.
"It shows that without much (campaigning) ... there's a gut-level notion that this is the fair way of doing things," said Kevin Eckery, a spokesman for Californians for Equal Representation, a committee recently set up to push the measure.
However, the state's Democrats argue that the proposal is nothing but a "right-wing power grab."
"Republicans are in disarray nationally right now. And in California, they aren't even treading water. They'll do everything they can to steal the White House in 2008. Our job is to make sure that we take it seriously and do everything we can to kill it," said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the California Democratic Party.
So tell me, why is Roger Salazar against this proposal? If Democrats REALLY wanted to be fair and change our voting system to a more "popular vote" type, they'd support this wholeheartedly. However, since California has been a typically Democratic state, they don't want to change it there. They want to change it when it suits them like the 2000 election.
That's hypocrisy boys and girls. That's the kind of stuff you'd expect to see from a child. What Democrats REALLY should do is say "ok, we'll change it in California, if we can put forth initiatives like this across the country". That ways it's fair across the board. But they don't want to because they know that certain areas of California would be won by Republicans and they are doing everything they can to get the White House back, including showing blatant hypocrisy.
However, there is support for the initiative amongst Californians, 47%-35%.
It's sad really when you think about it. You'd think that everyone in the political spectrum would want elections to be open and fair, but when it comes down to it, Democrats seem to want to change the rules only when it suits them, not in the name of fairness.
Travis
Labels: Democrats, election, hypocrisy
S.C. Prisons Director Defends Pink Plan | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited
Oh how I enjoy it when Sheriffs take it upon themselves to make sure that
criminals don't want to go back to jail. State Corrections Department John Ozmint puts inmates who do sexual acts in front of guards into pink prison jumpsuit's instead of the usual tan ones.
It reminds me of Sheriff Joe Arpaio who does something similar, but to ALL inmates. Sheriff Arpaio is mentioned in the article, but the depth at which Mr. Arpaio took it isn't mentioned. So I will show you what he's done here.
Pink jumpsuit's, pink cells, banning smoking, coffee, porn, weight lifting, chain gangs, charging inmates for their daily meals, the list goes on and on about what Sheriff Arpaio has done. He's made it so that people don't WANT to come back to jail, which is fairly common with some inmates. They complain about the food, lack of luxuries, and they get the same response: "jail isn't supposed to be fun. If you don't like it, don't come back"
I just wish that more police departments did this as it would probably make criminals either quit doing crime, or be a lot more careful about being caught. Since most criminals are idiots, you can bet that most would stop. I am curious about how crime has gone up or down within his jurisdiction during that time, but I am unable to find anything on it. If you do happen to find something like it, send it my way and I'll forward it on.
Travis
Labels: crime
JS Online: Medal of Honor is fake, say officials
Case in point, take Terry J. Powell claiming that he's a Medal Of Honor winner. What Mr. Powell failed to realize is that these things are easily traceable. I can bring up a list of every Medal of Honor winner in history. I can call up the military and ask questions about events that have taken place.
Mr. Powell did none of that and made the mistake of lying about the boat he was on that wasn't being used at the time he said he saw his action.
Take note Mr. Powell, REAL Medal of Honor recipients don't generally brag about it and they certainly don't need liars such as yourself trying to take away from the honor that such an award befalls them.
Travis
Labels: military
Boy, 5, doused in gas, set on fire by masked men - CNN.com
Take a look at this. This is the kind of horrific people that we are up against in Iraq.
Masked men grabbed him, poured gas on him, then set him on fire. This is the kind of brutality that you can expect if we pull our troops out of Iraq, but on a much larger scale. The kind of monster that would do this to a child, of any nationality, deserves nothing less then swift, severe punishment.
This boy is going to be scarred for the rest of his life because of the insanity that people over there are dealing with. You pull our troops out of Iraq, and you'll start seeing pictures like this little boy on the news over and over again.
Don't take my word for it, you can read up on the barbarity of lawlessness that can happen during the early 90's uprising against Saddam and the mass killings that he perpetrated during that time. I just want to know when Chemical Ali is going to be put to death. Iraqi law says 30 days, pending appeal, but Chemical Ali was sentenced to death on June 24th, so his time should be coming up soon.
Labels: condemnation, death penalty, iraq
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Hillary Says Surge Is Working
New military tactics in Iraq are working but the best way to honor U.S. soldiers is "by beginning to bring them home," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told war veterans Monday.
In that one statement, Hillary has shown who she really is. She would NEVER say this to a liberal audience. She would NEVER say that it wasn't working to war veterans. She has admitted that Bush was correct in increasing the number of troops earlier this year and that it is making progress.
But wait, there's more.
"I do not think the Iraqis are ready to do what they have to do for themselves yet"
Well if they're not ready Hillary, then why would pulling out be the best option? Wouldn't that lead to more troubles over there if they aren't ready to stand on their own two feet?
Hillary is showing that she'll say anything to anyone to gain support and power. She is the worst kind of politician.
"It's working. We're just years too late in changing our tactics," she said. "We can't ever let that happen again. We can't be fighting the last war. We have to keep preparing to fight the new war."
So what's the "new war" you speak of Hillary? Iran? Pakistan? China? Russia? We're making tactical changes and they are working, yet you want to pull the rug out from underneath our soldiers who are sacrificing their lives to make things work and the Iraqi civilians who's lives will be in danger if you pull out our guys too soon.
Face it Hillary, you don't have a fucking clue, you're short sightedness to appease the far left idiots in your base will cause worldwide problems on a scale that you cannot even imagine. Your husband's policies in the Middle East cost us dearly, why should yours be any different?
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Russian General Makes Broad Anti-Missile Defense Shield Threat
"We say it will be a big mistake by the Czech government to put this radar site on Czech territory," said Yuri Baluyevsky, the Russian military chief of staff, after meeting the Czech deputy defense minister, Martin Bartak.
He said the Czech Republic should hold off making a decision until after the U.S. presidential election, scheduled to take place in late 2008. Incumbent George W. Bush will not be running.
"A decision will be made by the Czech side only after the evaluation of all conditions, technical and otherwise," said Baluyevsky.
"I and my Russian colleagues simply ask that that process continue through to October-November of 2008, and I think you can all guess why."
Because you think that a Democrat in office is spineless and will cave into your demands (which you'd probably be right about). You think that without US support, the Czech Republic would cave soon afterwards (which you might be right about as well), and you think Democrats have a shot at winning the White House. (Which I don't think so, but I've seen dumber things before).
What this is all about is Russia having a pissing contest with the US. We're trying to help our allies from rogue nations, and even invited the Russians to participate in the program, and we were told no. So they really don't have anything to bitch about.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
China's Businesses Coming Unraveled?
The latest concerns came as Li Changjiang, head of China’s safety watchdog, claimed the product safety scares were “a new trend of trade protectionism”, and accused some governments of “demonising China’s products”.
Well Mr. Changjiang, were the products unsafe as specified? Were Mattel toys painted with lead based paint? If so, we're not "demonizing" your products out of "protectionism", we're doing it because lead based paint is dangerous and China's been known to cut corners when it comes to product safety. This is just the backlash because of your lax standards. Keep it up and you'll experience a financial crash on a scale that you cannot imagine.
Just take a look at the recent car crash footage I showed a while back of a Chinese made car to see just how badly made Chinese products can be.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Keith Olbermann Gets His Own Show
Bring on Keith!
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Who's Our "Friends"?
Choose the ally that least serves America's national security interests.
Russia.........34 percent
Pakistan.......22 percent
Saudi Arabia...17 percent
Israel.........14 percent
Mexico..........5 percent
Egypt...........5 percent
Russia is clamoring to regain it's previous foothold on being a superpower, but it just isn't going to happen. They have tons of problems and let's face it, communism doesn't work. Communism doesn't take into account simple, human greed. Pakistan is my main area of concern.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
What's With Democrats?
But this time it's different. The employee is pressing charges.
Filner, a Democrat from California, allegedly attempted to enter an employees-only area on Sunday night.
Van Cleave spoke with several witnesses who said they heard Filner yell "You can't stop me," before pushing aside the employee and refusing to leave the office.
Oh no? Well while you're in Iraq, you'd better come up with a damned good excuse because the police will be waiting to arrest you when you return.
Hopefully this guy sees some jail time, although it's HIGHLY unlikely. At worst you'll see a public apology, maybe some money changing hands, and some community service.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Media Bias
White House moves to limit health plan: report
The Bush administration has adopted new standards that would make it much more difficult for states to extend health coverage to children in middle-income families, The New York Times reported on Monday.Pretty inflammatory right? You'd think the Bush administration was trying to beat children to death and deny them basic health insurance. Big, bad, Bush isn't thinking of the children! But wait, just in the next paragraph, the truth comes out:
Before making such a change, Smith said, states must demonstrate that they have "enrolled at least 95 percent of children in the state below 200 percent of the federal poverty level" who are eligible for either Medicaid or the child health program, the newspaper said.
Administration officials said the changes were aimed at returning the focus to low-income children and to make sure the program did not become a substitute for private health coverage, the Times said.
Deborah Bachrach, a deputy commissioner in the New York State Health Department told the paper: "No state in the nation has a participation rate of 95 percent."
What that means is, the poorest children get the health insurance first, before the next poorest kids do. That's basic and fair. Take care of those who need it most first. What's the problem with that??But Deborah Bachrach thinks differently. Just because "no state" has a participation rate of 95%, she's downplaying it. Perhaps Mrs. Bachrach, we OUGHT to get it up to 95%??
The headline and first few articles are misleading at best, and outright slander at worst. The media has become very biased in one way or another in the past few years and it's time that they start acting like reporters instead of opinion columnists.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Veteran Told To Buy His Own Purple Heart
That is simply unacceptable. Granted, they told him he could reapply within 90 days, but for them to say he could buy his own isn't going to fly around here. That shouldn't have even been an option. They should have told him "we don't have any Purple Hearts available right now. When we get more in, we'll contact you and give you one". Simple, honest, direct.
Hell, I would have paid the $42 dollars because no soldier should have to pay for something like that. Ever.
I'm sorry Nyles Reed, that you had to go through this. It's disgraceful, and dishonorable. Thank you for your service sir.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
Hooray For Affirmative Action!
More then half of their minority job applicants failed the written portion of the test. Of course, there's those bleeding heart types who feel bad for those who don't make the grade:
"One of the fallouts which is particularly upsetting in our experience across the colleges is fewer and fewer students of color are even going into teaching because word has gotten out that these tests are very difficult for them," she said.
"Difficult for them"? What about the 24% of the white folks who didn't pass the test? Are you going feel sorry for them too?
Some deans of education schools are raising questions about whether the lower results among minority applicants shows the tests are culturally biased and whether the quality of education that minority applicants receive is good enough.
Some minority applicants say the tests includes questions that white applicants and those with liberal arts backgrounds can more readily identify with, such as questions about ancient literature or investing in the stock market.
Look, if you can't pass the test, then you're not good enough to be a teacher. Period. Regardless of who you are, if you can't pass the test, you don't teach.
Then after you hire people who can't pass these tests, you have crappy teachers. Then everyone loves to bitch and complain about the quality of public education. Either stop going on with the affirmative action crap, or have crappy teachers. You can't put people who aren't qualified into the job and expect them to be brilliant teachers, it just doesn't happen.And I don't really care if the people who fail are black, white, Hispanic, or any other color in the rainbow. If you can't pass the test, I don't want you teaching my children.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com