Or, is Russia, and by Russia I mean the old Soviets like Putin, simply tired of being out of the game.Russia's top diplomat accused the United States of launching a new arms race as the two nations traded barbs Wednesday over U.S. plans to erect a missile defense system in countries formally under Moscow's influence. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov complained that the U.S. rationale for the shield is thin and suggested that U.S. assurances to Russia amount to a brush-off. "All they are saying is, 'Don't worry it's not aimed at you,'' Lavrov said. He called the plan a threat to Russia and added, ``the arms race is starting again.''
...On Tuesday, Russia tested a new multiple-warhead, intercontinental ballistic missile, and Putin warned that the planned U.S. missile shield would turn Europe into a ``powder keg.''
Power Play
Is the Cold War coming back?
Dictator Bush
On May 9, 2007, President Bush signed a directive with little publicity or fanfare. Hardly anybody knew it was done.
The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, establishes under the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator.
Click on the link and read what this means. Some highlights for those who hate politico speak:
The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, establishes under the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator.
Click on the link and read what this means. Some highlights for those who hate politico speak:
- "National Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president's directives in the event of a national emergency.
- The president, and he alone, will determine when a catastrophic incident has occurred and he can take over all government functions and direct all private sector activities to ensure we will emerge from the emergency with an "enduring constitutional government."
- This directive supersedes the National Emergency Act by creating the new position of National Continuity Coordinator without any specific act of Congress authorizing the position. In essence, the President has taken the oversight of Congress out of the equation.
- This directive makes no reference whatsoever to Congress. The language of the May 9 directive appears to negate any a requirement that the president submit to Congress a determination that a national emergency exists, suggesting instead that the powers of the executive order can be implemented without any congressional approval or oversight.
- The President makes the determination as to when an incident exists that qualifies as catastrophic, i.e. 9/11 or Katrina, and also decides when the danger is over thereby relinquishing his near dictatorial powers.
Bush can declare this anytime, for any reason he wants (all he has to do is decide something is catastrophic and poof), without Congressional oversight, with the ability to control all government and private institutions until he deems the danger is over.
Historically, can anyone provide an example of a leader being granted this level of power and then relinquishing them? The last leader that I know of to be granted this power was Castro when he argued that until the threat from the USA was over, he would assume emergency powers. He has yet to relinquish those powers.
"Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;" This can be interpreted many ways, and "extraordinary levels of mass casualties" could mean the amount in 9/11 or the amount in the recent Tornado devastation in Kansas, its up to the President to decide.
Bush once said that being a dictator would be easier. We all thought he was joking, well I guess the jokes on us. Let's all hope we don't have a "Catastrophic Emergency". Ever. Or else our freedoms are history.
The Price of Being Green
I moved recently from a townhome to a ranch-style house, and I love it. Though, the benefits of the townhome became immediately apparent when I had to mow the lawn for the first time. Yard work of any kind was alien to me in the townhome, and before the townhome I rented an apartment, so it had been a good 15 years since I had to mow the lawn, or pull weeds, or hire some guy to come out and spray the dandelions dead. Due to all the rain we've been getting, I've been mowing every four days and with gas prices the way they are, I wondered if an electrical mower would be viable.
I had used an electrical mower on my grandmothers yard many, many years ago, and I hated dragging the cord around. I wanted a battery powered mower that was as powerful as a gas powered one, and I wanted something that was a mulcher. After searching the web tirelessly, I found it. The Neuton Mower was battery powered, powerful, had a mulcher attachment, and has a trimmer! And it was easy on the environment and quiet, so I was in love! Then I got to the price: under $2,400 for the base model. Talk about wind out of the sales. You can get a pretty affordable gas powered mower, but I wanted an electrical because I hate paying 3.34 a gallon even if it is for a small tank. But can you imagine paying $2,400 for a mower!
This got me thinking about other products out there marketed to being "green". I've got progressive roots, and I like to think I'm doing everything I can to be environmentally conscious, but it has dawned on me that the reason so many people look at progressive liberals as "elites" is because you have to be pretty rich to be "green".
My wife thought she would buy environmentally safe diapers for 'lil Dude. The environmentally conscious crap goes for 30 bucks for 60 diapers, while you can get 100 diapers of the main brand for the same price.
Have you ever shopped at those "healthy" grocery stores? You know, the ones where you can smell the pretentiousness the moment you walk in the door. There is a reason one of the chains is called "Whole Paycheck" by those that shop there. You easily pay double in those stores as you would at Safeway or Wal-Mart.
Honda is coming out with a hydrogen fuel cell car. The car will get incredible gas mileage, and is the future of automotive engineering, but in 2011 it will be ready for consumers with a price tag of $1,000,000. That's not a typo. I'm sure the price will go down. I hope it will go down. But even the Toyota Prius and other Hybrid cars start at $20,000! They are not marketing to me, that is for sure.
I recently have been told by the doctor that I need to start eating better. No more burritos, hamburgers, soda, or anything else that tastes good. I have to eat veggies and all that crap, and I can't eat anything white like white bread, rice, pasta, etc., it has to be whole wheat. AND, I can't have anything with trans-fats in it, which takes a lot of stuff out of your diet. But to get rid of all the bad stuff and add all the good stuff is extremely expensive. Eating bad is much easier on your budget, sad to say. Eating healthy is expensive, and I'm tempted to agree with John Stossel when he says the whole "organic" craze is a racket.
Being green is easier said than done. For right now, it is for the rich. It's easy for Bush to have an environmentally super-duper home, and for Leo DiCaprio to ride around in a super green car, because they have the money to do it. The rest of us have to do what we can with a budget. I take a van pool to work, and I recycle as much as I possibly can, and I walk to the store instead of drive. And yeah, I feel like I'm doing my part, but don't give me this crap about how we need to buy flex fuel vehicles and eat only organic food, and wear hemp. Please.
Finally, a wise woman once compared the current fad of buying carbon credits to offset your carbon footprint akin to religious zealots paying the church for absolution, and she is right. I'm not worried about my carbon footprint, I'm just trying to pay my mortgage and keep my family safe and fed. If I were rich, maybe I would feel the need to buy some green absolution, but for right now, I think I'll go buy me a gas powered mower and say the hell with it.
I had used an electrical mower on my grandmothers yard many, many years ago, and I hated dragging the cord around. I wanted a battery powered mower that was as powerful as a gas powered one, and I wanted something that was a mulcher. After searching the web tirelessly, I found it. The Neuton Mower was battery powered, powerful, had a mulcher attachment, and has a trimmer! And it was easy on the environment and quiet, so I was in love! Then I got to the price: under $2,400 for the base model. Talk about wind out of the sales. You can get a pretty affordable gas powered mower, but I wanted an electrical because I hate paying 3.34 a gallon even if it is for a small tank. But can you imagine paying $2,400 for a mower!
This got me thinking about other products out there marketed to being "green". I've got progressive roots, and I like to think I'm doing everything I can to be environmentally conscious, but it has dawned on me that the reason so many people look at progressive liberals as "elites" is because you have to be pretty rich to be "green".
My wife thought she would buy environmentally safe diapers for 'lil Dude. The environmentally conscious crap goes for 30 bucks for 60 diapers, while you can get 100 diapers of the main brand for the same price.
Have you ever shopped at those "healthy" grocery stores? You know, the ones where you can smell the pretentiousness the moment you walk in the door. There is a reason one of the chains is called "Whole Paycheck" by those that shop there. You easily pay double in those stores as you would at Safeway or Wal-Mart.
Honda is coming out with a hydrogen fuel cell car. The car will get incredible gas mileage, and is the future of automotive engineering, but in 2011 it will be ready for consumers with a price tag of $1,000,000. That's not a typo. I'm sure the price will go down. I hope it will go down. But even the Toyota Prius and other Hybrid cars start at $20,000! They are not marketing to me, that is for sure.
I recently have been told by the doctor that I need to start eating better. No more burritos, hamburgers, soda, or anything else that tastes good. I have to eat veggies and all that crap, and I can't eat anything white like white bread, rice, pasta, etc., it has to be whole wheat. AND, I can't have anything with trans-fats in it, which takes a lot of stuff out of your diet. But to get rid of all the bad stuff and add all the good stuff is extremely expensive. Eating bad is much easier on your budget, sad to say. Eating healthy is expensive, and I'm tempted to agree with John Stossel when he says the whole "organic" craze is a racket.
Being green is easier said than done. For right now, it is for the rich. It's easy for Bush to have an environmentally super-duper home, and for Leo DiCaprio to ride around in a super green car, because they have the money to do it. The rest of us have to do what we can with a budget. I take a van pool to work, and I recycle as much as I possibly can, and I walk to the store instead of drive. And yeah, I feel like I'm doing my part, but don't give me this crap about how we need to buy flex fuel vehicles and eat only organic food, and wear hemp. Please.
Finally, a wise woman once compared the current fad of buying carbon credits to offset your carbon footprint akin to religious zealots paying the church for absolution, and she is right. I'm not worried about my carbon footprint, I'm just trying to pay my mortgage and keep my family safe and fed. If I were rich, maybe I would feel the need to buy some green absolution, but for right now, I think I'll go buy me a gas powered mower and say the hell with it.
Free the Film
For those who don't know, there is a documentary out there called Islam vs. Islamists that PBS is refusing to air. They have their reasons, but some bloggers have called cryed foul. Most notably right wing bloggers. They have taken this issue as another example of the liberal PBS programmers refusing to tell people the truth, their truth of course. I have to wonder if they have looked at the subject matter of the film, and what is actually being said, because I would think if anyone would want to prevent this film from being shown, it would be the lunatic fringe of the right wing (you know, the ones in power). But the one carrying the torch for the film is non other than Michelle Malkin, a right wing lunatic if there ever was one.
I guess no one told Michelle of the fact that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is headed up by a Bush appointee, Ken Tomlinson, who has been suspected of influencing programming for three years towards a "Republic" slant.
Also, informing Americans that not all muslims are blood thirsty jihadists seems like a strategy that would work against the current administrations policy of fear and intimidation. Providing a touchy feely view of muslims seems almost, dare I say, progressive.
I personally feel it is our best interests to understand Islam as much as possible, the good and the bad. Our government should have been trying to understand them years ago, say six.
Please go to http://freethefilm.net/. Please sign the petition to have this documentary be seen, either on PBS or another station. Let your voice be heard.
I guess no one told Michelle of the fact that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is headed up by a Bush appointee, Ken Tomlinson, who has been suspected of influencing programming for three years towards a "Republic" slant.
Also, informing Americans that not all muslims are blood thirsty jihadists seems like a strategy that would work against the current administrations policy of fear and intimidation. Providing a touchy feely view of muslims seems almost, dare I say, progressive.
I personally feel it is our best interests to understand Islam as much as possible, the good and the bad. Our government should have been trying to understand them years ago, say six.
Please go to http://freethefilm.net/. Please sign the petition to have this documentary be seen, either on PBS or another station. Let your voice be heard.
Direct TV vs. Comcast
I have had Comcast cable and internet for many years and have loved the service. I hated the price, but I have learned recently that you get what you pay for.
I have now switched over to Direct TV through Qwest, and I use Qwest High Speed. I don't have a problem with the high speed, but the Direct TV and Tivo I have are sad alternatives to Comcast Cable. The menu screen is too small for one. I guess they assume you will have a big screen TV to be able to read the menu. Nope, I'm on a budget, so no big screen. Comcast has a nice big menu and was wonderfully legible.
Second, the fast forward sucks on Tivo. Whether I'm using the 30 second fast forward or the 1st or 2nd speed fast forward, the damn thing loops continually! It is aggravating! The fast forward on Comcast was very responsive and I never had a problem. I now sometimes watch the commercials just to avoid the stress.
But, Direct TV costs less. I guess I have to live with the inferior technology and the reduced amount of free movies, because I am on a budget. Less I forget, the next step is to get rid of cable altogether and install the antenae on my roof. Egads!
I have now switched over to Direct TV through Qwest, and I use Qwest High Speed. I don't have a problem with the high speed, but the Direct TV and Tivo I have are sad alternatives to Comcast Cable. The menu screen is too small for one. I guess they assume you will have a big screen TV to be able to read the menu. Nope, I'm on a budget, so no big screen. Comcast has a nice big menu and was wonderfully legible.
Second, the fast forward sucks on Tivo. Whether I'm using the 30 second fast forward or the 1st or 2nd speed fast forward, the damn thing loops continually! It is aggravating! The fast forward on Comcast was very responsive and I never had a problem. I now sometimes watch the commercials just to avoid the stress.
But, Direct TV costs less. I guess I have to live with the inferior technology and the reduced amount of free movies, because I am on a budget. Less I forget, the next step is to get rid of cable altogether and install the antenae on my roof. Egads!
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