Quotes of the week

"I have the feeling about 60% of what you say is crap." --"Late Show" host David Letterman, to FOX News' Bill O'Reilly

=> I have a feeling 95% of what O’Reilly says is crap.

See the video clip: http://politicalhumor.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=politicalhumor&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crooksandliars.com%2F2006%2F01%2F04%2Fletterman-to-oreilly-quot60-of-what-you-say-is-crapquot%2F

------------------
“I've been to Africa three times. All right? You can't bring Western reasoning into the culture. The same way you can't bring it into fundamental Islam.”

=> This is part the crap that makes up 95% of what Bill O’Reilly says.
----------------
"The swing voters -- I like to refer to them as the idiot voters because they don't have set philosophical principles. You're either a liberal or you're a conservative if you have an IQ above a toaster." –Ann Coulter

=>Lol! This is probably the only time I even remotely agree with Ann Coulter. I do not think it’s as black as white as she makes it out to be. However, I don’t understand the people that split tickets or vote for a different party every election year. In most cases, issues do not change that suddenly. Divided government more often than not is ineffective. In 2006, Americans voted for Democratic Congressional candidates primarily for one reason: to change policy in Iraq. Well, it’s been several months, have any major policy shifts happened? No! The timeline bill, if it hasn’t been already, will get vetoed. If Americans are willing to elect George Bush and then re-elect him after the disaster in Iraq, giving Congress to the Democrats won’t help. In a divided government, Congress either roles over and plays dead like it did in the Reagan era, or its efforts like the current Congress with it’s timeline bill hold little political value.

-------------------

America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America, which had encouraged them most, had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.- James Madison

=>Keep this in mind the next time you hear someone say that immigrants (legal or illegal) are taking all the jobs away from middle class Americans. Many immigrants from Mexico and other countries take low paying, physically straining jobs that no middle class American would want. Americans losing their jobs do so not to immigrants, but laborers that live in other countries and are willing to work for $1 per day.
--------------------
“I bought a Venus Fly Trap today. I was going to name it ‘Republican’, but the fly trap is beneficial to the environment. I’ll save that name – someday I might find a plant that eats poor people and minorities.”- Anonymous

=>Lol!

A respectable politician (it's not who you think it is!)...

A few weeks New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was injured in a car accident. Corzine was sitting in the front passenger seat without a seatbelt while the vehicle was moving at around 90mph (it puzzles me that it was reported later that the vehicle was moving at only 70mph). The two other people involved, a state trooper and Corzine’s aide were seriously injured. However, Corzine suffered numerous broken bones, including an open fracture of the left femur, broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken collarbone, and a fractured lower vertebra. He also received a large cut on his face, which required repair by a plastic surgeon. Ironically, Governor Corzine was traveling to his official residence in Princeton to meet with Don Imus when the accident occurred. This was after the comments made by Imus about the women’s basketball at Rutgers, but I think it was before Imus was fired.

The main point of this blog entry is that Corzine, a multimillionaire, and former CEO of Goldman Sachs is paying for his medical expenses with his own money. Expenses including the hospital stay, helicopter assistance, etc would normally be covered by NJ’s health insurance for all state employees. The actual cost has not been released but it is expected to be in excess of a few hundred thousand dollars. Corzine could easily have turned to his health insurance, but rightly decided it was a burden NJ tax payers did not need to bear. Corzine is a respectable public servant.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042701192.html?nav=hcmodule

Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina

Today there was a debate between the Democratic Presidential candidates for 2008. The candidates vying for the DNC’s nomination that participated in this debate were: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd, and Mike Gravel. Well, there’s definitely a lot to say about the candidates and the overall debate. I think the best performers so to speak, were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

I was surprised with the negativity in this debate, and I think most of it was directed towards Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton, I think had to defend her record more than any other candidate, and hers is NOT the most controversial. Maybe that’s just politics, but many times other candidates were asked questions that I think prompted them to present themselves as alternate to Clinton as opposed to clearly identifying themselves as the best candidate. Stupid questions get asked in every debate. For example in 2004 Kerry was asked in a debate with George Bush, if he could in the camera, into the eyes of every Americans and “promise” not to raise taxes on those earning less than $200K. In today debate, one of these questions was why do Republicans supposedly put so much money (they do not!) into helping her campaign and hoping Clinton wins the nomination. These are stupid questions because the responses to these questions are known before they get asked. What was Kerry supposed to say on national TV; yes he would raise taxes on the poorest Americans? And Hillary was supposed to say Republicans publicly support her campaign because they like her platform? It’s nonsense. Yeah, negativity is part of campaigns, but still, that in my opinion is a sign of weakness. I think because of these attack questions, she did not have the most rehearsed answers as many voluntary polls from MSNBC, CNN, and FOX news websites. Despite this, I think Hillary Clinton showed a different side of herself, not the cold, calculated politician that the media and Republicans make her out to be. Her emphasis on change I think resonated with many viewers.

Second, I usually consider myself to be well informed, but I had no idea one of these guys was actually a candidate! Alaskan Mike Gravel served in the US Senate during the Vietnam War, and was primarily known for his efforts to remove American troops from that region. This guy was very interesting, I thought. Just due to the sheer fact that I had no idea who he was, I paid a lot of attention to him throughout the debate. His

Barack Obama also did well. His response to the question about the candidates’ biggest professional regrets really impressed me. He responded that at the time he was elected, the Terry Schiavo/right to die issue dominated the news. His regret was that along with other members of the House and Senate of both parties, he supported the effort to allow the government to intervene in a matter that should be decided privately by families. Most of the other candidates’ responses dealt with their initial support of the Iraq war (except in the case of Kucinich, who pointed out his consistent opposition to the war). Obama, I think showed himself as less of a fluff candidate, though I still think he lacks substance compared to the others, Clinton in particular.

The debate did not help or hurt anyone else, in my opinion. In my opinion, Edwards was never a front-runner, but many people consider him to be. After tonight he still isn’t a frontrunner. Kucinich is an interesting character; his opposition to Iraq from the beginning was pretty much the only thing he said. He also claimed that tonight’s debate is going to bring Americans to his campaign because they will see the importance of a near immediate withdrawal and impeachment of Cheney. That’s not going to happen. Completely irrelevant to the debate, but relevant to his campaign is his decision to hold a black tie fundraiser in Huntington Beach the same night Hillary Clinton held a black tie fundraiser with Bill Clinton at Ron Burkle’s Beverly Hills mansion, for a minimum $2000 per plate contribution, but Kucinich’s dinner was a $25 suggested contribution event. Chris Dodd was so boring to listen to, he was the opposite of Kucinich and Gravel-no emotion at all. Joe Biden is a brilliant statesman, but has no chance at the nomination. Tonight I like that he addressed the stupid Hillary question I discussed above. The last candidate, Bill Richardson’s defense of an earlier comment about why he was late to call for the resignation of Gonzales was weak. Richardson tried to say that Gonzales was trapped by an aggressive Bush agenda, and his being Hispanic was the reason for Richardson’s delay. I do not buy into this, and I hope others don’t believe it. Gonzales became AG maybe because he was qualified, but also because of his political affiliation, and probably past financial support for the Republican/conservative agenda (same reason RFK became AG in 1960, it happens).

Club Fray!

Slate is an internet magazine that has articles about all sorts of topics, arts, life, food, politics, etc. It was orginally started by Microsoft & is now owned by Washington Post (WP) & Newsweek. Slate has a really nice discussion forum called the Fray, which I post in all the time. Part of the Fray is Club Fray, which you can post in by invitation only from an editor (usually based on previous posts) at Slate or WP. I've been reading Slate articles and making posts for about seven years now. I really like it, get a lot of replies, and it can get into very heated discussions quickly though. Some posters are nice.

I was invited to post in Slate's Club Fray recently! A lot of Slate & WP writers post in Club Fray, not the regular Fray for the above reason. To see my posts, go to Slate.com, then discuss. In the regular Fray forums I post in politics, fighting words, jurisprudence & election scorecard. In Club Fray, I post in News & politics. My post name is: Narayana.

Healthy Pets Act

Today the California State Assembly passed AB 1634, which was introduced by Lloyd LEvine orf Los Angeles, a bill which would require the spay/neuter of all dogs over 4 months of age. A breeder's license may be obtained, but for an outrageous fee, and must be renewed every year. Failure to comply could result in major fines or you could potentially lose your dog. This is one of the few times I split with my party, and can't stand PETA . Levine has a great record of defending animals rights in the Assembly, and I have supported his other bills. AB 1634 is an invasion of privacy and property rights, a form of animal cruelty with misguided & potentially disasterous consequences.

People should be free to own pets. Just as women should have the right to choose to have an abortion, people should be able to choose for themselves to spay/neuter their dogs. The state in this case is intruding too far into the personal lives of its people, and quite frankly, it's disgraceful. Pet ownership should not be regulated in this way.

The main justification for AB 1634 is that there are too many purebred dogs in shelters. This is completely erroneous, most dogs in shelters are wolves, or mixed breeds. Most dogs end up in shelters because some irresponsible jerk let their dog run all over the neighborhood, get lost, hit by a car, breed to anything. Or there are the really ignorant people that want to breed dogs to teach their children about the miracle of life. Once born they have difficulty finding them homes. These poor puppies are also usually mixed bred and end up in shelters.

I understand wanting to have less dogs in shelters, but this is not the way to do it. It punishes responsible pet owners and breeders. Now people like me who love their dogs, walk them, take care of them, keep them healthy with regular vet visits and truly make my dogs live happy lives, these people are being penalized with excess fines and fees. I compete in dog sports-agility, obedience and conformation with my dog. I know many people who do this for fun, and some who do this sort of work; handle dogs, as a career. The passage of this bill will be a huge blow to the careers and enjoyment of many Californians.

Even those who do not compete enjoy these sports. Animal Planet gets millions of viewers nation wide when it airs the annual Eukanuba Tournament of Champions show live from Long Beach. Only intact dogs can be shown, so the passage of this bill will be a disappointment to the millions of spectators in California and around the country.

AB 1634 is also supporting animal cruelty. The bill states all dogs must be spayed/neutured by 4 months of age. However, most vets (including the vet I take my dog to) advise pet owners to wait until at least 6 months of age to spay/neuter one's dog. The reason for this (especially in males) is that by the time a dog is 6 months he will be fully matured in the development of the eurethra. If the dog is neutered/spayed before it has matured, you could be seeing issues down the road with urinary track problems.

In a purely economic sense, this bill in inefficient. There are about 8-10million pet dogs in California alone, and about 1 in every 3 households in the US has a pet dog. Access to pet dogs becomes very limited as less people will be able to breed them. After this happens, the price of a puppy or any age dog will greatly increase and those who have obtained licenses will charge whatever price they feel like. In effect this is monopolizing the pet market. People will be unable to afford dogs, and a black market for pets will come about, the average dog will cost $5000+.

In a purely political sense, this bill is unjust. It punishes responsible pet lovers/owners, encourages animal cruelty and limits our freedom as US citizens.

California is often considered a pioneer in many public policy areas. What California does, many other states will usually follow, just look at the initiative process. Therefore, this bill must be stopped, in the Appropriations Committee before it gets to a floor vote. I encourage any pet owner or enthusiast to write to your local Assemblywoman (or Assemblyman) soon.

Quotes of the Week

More quotes

"Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and thepoliticians as a joke." —Will Rogers

=>Wow, this is insanely relevant to politics today even though it was spoken 30+ years ago. Comedians are being taken very seriously, look at Imus, and more recently JV and Elvis from CBS. With the huge credibility gap Bush and many Congressional Republicans created in the handling of the war in Iraq, people are finding it difficult to take what national political figures like MCs and the President seriously.

-------------------
"If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." -Harry S Truman

=>Well, if that's true, then I've got a head start :). Remember Clinton got a chocolate lab and named it Buddy during the height of the Lewinsky investigations? His approval ratings went up after the dog's first photo op. Oh, and Gerald Ford had a golden retriever he named Liberty in the post Nixon pardon era. Yay for the patriotic dog names!

-------------------
"It's the most important decision I've had to make since 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax." - Arnold Schwarzenegger when deciding to run for CA Governor

=> How could you compare being Governor of the largest state in the union to bikini wax I'd take the former anyday!

--------------------

"When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it."- Clarence Darrow

=>I don't believe it. Today, anyone that could raise $20million+ in 3 months has this chance and should consider running, which is why I don't consider it. :\

Gun violence revisited.

Case #1

Today a NASA contract worker brought a handgun inside a building Friday at the Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas) and shot a hostage then killed himself. There was a second hostage, he survived. This happened only a few days after the deadliest school shooting in the US. Police reported that the gunman had some disagreement with the hostage, which is was not like VA Tech's case since Cho killed 32 people, which we now know was done in part to avenge Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold from Columbine.

What's interesting is that JSC authorities report that they reviewed their security system, and emergency procedures in lieu of the VA Tech massacre. The gunman was on good standing as an employee of Jacobs Engineering, as many (roommates, other students) assumed Cho to be.


Case #2

A 49 year old man shot his 26 year old wife before shooting himself. He also fired at one of three young kids in his house at the time, who were getting ready for school. The couple was married for 6 months. This was in Detroit, a city with one of the highest crime rates in the US. The kids are staying with relatives now. First of all, I feel so bad for these kids, they had to watch their father kill their mother, then himself. Secondly, I don't know why a 26 year old woman would marry a 49 year old man. Maybe he was rich, but the MSNBC article does not provide the husband/shooter's income, so it's unclear if she was trying to be the next Anna Nicole.