Hussein and Ford

Quite truly, I did not think this event would occur. I used my biased American standards of justice and simply assumed that Hussein would utilize his lawyers in such a way as to either draw the trial into a circus aspect (which it did resemble) or into such a confused circumlocution of gibberish as to make a finding impossible. Text from this photo:

This video image released by Iraqi state television shows Saddam Hussein's guards wearing ski masks and placing a noose around the deposed leader's neck moments before his execution Saturday Dec. 30. 2006. Clutching a Quran and refusing a hood, Saddam Hussein went to the gallows before sunrise Saturday, executed by vengeful countrymen after a quarter-century of remorseless brutality that killed countless thousands and led Iraq into disastrous wars against the United States and Iran. (AP Photo/IRAQI TV, HO)

ABC's Terry McCarthy wrote:

There are five men in black face masks who are visible on the gallows platform around Saddam, acting as guards. As they guide him towards the trap door and put the noose over his head, they start chanting religious slogans with the names of Moqtada al Sadr (the head of the Mahdi army, accused of organizing death squads against Sunnis) and Baqr al Sadr (the father-in-law of Moqtada). Saddam, a Sunni, is outraged at this last-minute provocation, and tells them to “go to hell.” This is generally where the two TV stations cut the video, but on at least one occasion that we saw, Arabiya allowed the video to keep rolling: The cell phone camera is jerked down to the ground, as if the person holding it had to conceal the camera, then it is slowly raised up to Saddam again, and suddenly his body shoots down through the trapdoor. At this, the Arabiya anchor came on and made a scissors symbol with two fingers with a mischievous grin on his face, as if to say that they really shouldn’t have shown that, but so be it. A cynical voyeuristic ploy, nudge nudge wink wink.

What will this mean for Iraq? What shall be the implications?

It is said that Hussein was a Sunni, but he was in truth mostly areligious. He ruled with a militaristic fist, not by the hand of Mohammad or the Koran -- which he hypocritically clutched at the final moments of his life.

Our military in Iraq is on edge; some Iraqis are dancing in the streets, some are planning their revengistic strategies.

Israel worries about the fallout re perceptions of "Palestinians" and Hussein. From The Jerusalem Post:

During the first Gulf War in 1991, the Palestinians cheered Saddam's missile attacks on Israel, chanting "Beloved Saddam, strike Tel Aviv," as the Scud missiles flew overhead. He further endeared himself to the Palestinians during the recent uprising with Israel by giving US$25,000 to the family of each suicide bomber and US$10,000 for each Palestinian killed in fighting. The stipends amounted to an estimated US$35 million. Saddam's support for the Palestinians, whose cause is deeply popular with Arabs throughout the Middle East, was at least partially aimed at gaining widespread support throughout the Arab world. "Saddam was a person who had the ability to say, 'No' in the face of a great country," said Hosni al Ejel, 46, from the al Amari refugee camp near Ramallah.

Hussein's death: I expected it not to come to fruition. But now that it has occurred, will it be another match lighted to the general Middle Eastern tinderbox?

My gut feelings: it won't be the "rallying point" that many believe or hope it to be. Had Saddam Hussein been more overtly Islamic, perhaps; as it rests, it was always more about him than about Islam.
________________________________________

President Ford:

Allow me to be quick and blunt: Gerald Ford was America's 38th President. He passed away this past Tuesday, December 26th, at age 93 in Rancho Mirage, California. His family, including his wife, 88-year-old Betty Ford, was at his bedside.

Ford was the only American President to never have been elected.

He assumed the post in 1974 when Richard Nixon stepped down. He found himself facing Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election and was defeated predominantly because he granted Nixon a Presidential Pardon for his misdeeds.

He'll likely be remembered for three things: falling or slipping in public, and two assassination attempts within three weeks of each other, conducted by two females.

On September 5th, 1975, whilst in Sacramento, California (gosh, my home town!), Lynette "Squeeky" Fromme, dressed in her finest garishly-red garments, whipped out a Model 1911 Colt .45 caliber pistol and pointed it at Ford in the park surrounding our Capitol. Though loaded with four live .45 caliber rounds, she had clearly neglected to read up on the 1911's idiosyncrasies. Due to its single-action nature, one must first insert a loaded magazine into the well, pull back on the slide and release, in order to load a round into the chamber. Its hammer now back, one should thumb up the safety. This is known in the Colt Kingdom as Condition One. Cocked and Locked.

Squeeky, being a Blonde, thought inserting the magazine was sufficient. Sorry, old girl. That stupid move cost her Life In Prison. And oh, a wondrously alert Secret Service agent managed to insert the webbing of his hand between frame and hammer. Not that it made much difference -- he was, after all, dealing with not only a Blonde but a Manson Blonde.

Second attempt on Ford:

On September 22nd, 1975, Ford visited San Francisco much to his later chagrin. Here, Sara Jane Moore, outside the St. Francis Hotel, fired one .38 caliber round from her revolver at Ford from roughly 40' and missed. This was because a bystander named Oliver Sipple managed to grasp her arm and deflect the first round, then wrestled her to the ground and kept the revolver from firing a second time. The first round, going wild, struck the facia of the hotel and slightly injured a bystander.

Ford's largest influence, as far as I can determine, came in the Kennedy Assassination whilst he was a Republican Minority Leader:

In 1997 the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) released a document that revealed that Ford had altered the first draft of the report to read: "A bullet had entered the base of the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine." Ford had elevated the location of the wound from its true location in the back to the neck to support the single bullet theory.[20] The original first draft of the Warren Commission Report stated that a bullet had entered Kennedy's "back at a point slightly above the shoulder and to the right of the spine." Despite its conclusions, the Commission's work continues to be debated in the public arena.

What did Ford know, when did he know it, and what has been buried with his death?

What shall we truly know about the Kennedy Assassination?

Ford was a President; he should be shown respect. A nation mourns to a degree. Judgmental: he deserves only a fraction of the respect shown to Reagan upon his passing. I'm sure that Gerald Ford was a nice man. He certainly was not Presidential Material.

Facts are what they are.

History is what it is.

BZ

And The World Is Still Insane

Admittedly, I have been removed from blogging for a few days, tied up with some very critical decisions at work, familial obligations and Life In General. It's the time of year when everything seems to descend at once, including social interfacing for "The Holidays." I have also been remiss in my visits to other's blogs: guilty.

But I am at least about to start the New Year with some work and personal resolutions, not to mention an eagerly-anticipated trip to the Fornicalia coast for a three-night stay at a beautiful hotel facing directly toward the Pacific Ocean, next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. This is the proverbial "test drive" with my fiance for our upcoming honeymoon.

Yes, boys and girls, we've "set the date." We'll be getting married on a day actually easy for me to remember: Valentine's Day, 2007. After getting married in a fashion to honor my parents (they "eloped," much to my Grandmother Goodenow's horror and dismay, in Reno, Nevada, on April 24th, 1942!), we'll be staying at The Ridge in Nevada then traveling for some stays at Timber Cove near Jenner, the North Cliff Motel in Fort Bragg, and then to further points north to include Bandon, Oregon, Seattle, Washington and British Columbia as well. Canucks, here we come!

In the interim, President Ford passed away. Saddam Hussein is about to be hanged.

I'll get to those later.

BZ

2007 Predictions: Prescience or Fantasy?

It's Christmas Eve and I doubt many will be blogging today; for whatever reason I find myself on the upstairs HP confuser listening to Porcupine Tree's Stupid Dream album. I am alone tonight. My fiance had to work today, as this is her "Monday." She works Christmas Day and to Wednesday. I have tomorrow off. She works and lives in Sacratomato. I live high in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

I went train chasing today and caught a beautiful UP consist heading downhill over the Long Ravine Bridge towards Colfax.

I came home after a bout of photography and began cleaning up after the Early Christmas. I put all my Christmas things away (on Christmas Eve, of all times!) but left my wreath on the front gate. I organized even more thoroughly for next year, placing all the Christmas items in my Grandmother's trunk from Scotland, which rests in my living room. Everything fit wonderfully. I cleaned out more spaces around the house and vacuumed, oiled the antiques, reorganized the cupboards. As I write this I'm doing multiple loads of wash; I've already broomed off the decks in anticipation of more snow this week. I loaded more wood. The stove is already stacked with a load ready to light. My pantry is stacked with bottled water and canned food. The propane tank is up to around 70% -- more than enough to get me through the worst of winters.

When I finished, I opened a nice Merlot, lit some candles, and reflected on the work I've done since 2004.

I exited one moribund relationship in 2004 and found myself with a vacant house minus some door pulls and other key items. Such it is with give-and-take. A few properly-written checks later I completely severed the exsanguinated relationship and began a full court press to redecorate the house. In a fashion that I, for once, wished.

First, I threw away an amazing amount of needless gurp. I will be the first to admit that my cabin is small; not more than 1,250 sq ft., though it has two bathrooms (one upstairs and one downstairs) and three bedrooms. The upstairs bedroom (not technically a bedroom since it contains no "closet") is a loft overlooking the open bottom floor.

I repainted several rooms and purchased new applicances, a wondrous, rich leather loveseat and sofa from Breuners, a huge Toshiba 42" HiDef TV, and had the exterior repainted in the fashion I'd not been "allowed" under the previous regime. Quite naturally, it looks great. I also spent $9,000 on a new Trex deck and, in 2005, spent $5,000 to have a massive 192' pine removed from the property -- its base had been damaged by lightning as I feared it would crack and fall in the coming winter.

In summary, my house is now precisely how I like it. Influenced and created and decorated by no one other than me. To me this means everything. I finally have control over my home and, by proxy, over my Life. Because, at work, I have No Control.

My home is now the Anchor I have sought in my fevered existence. Without this Anchor, a spot I can cleave to, Nothing Makes Sense. When I desire, I can retreat to my own personal Hidey-Hole, disappear down its shaft and pull the rock in after me. What I also discovered is that no one, besides me, has my taste in decoration. And I do have fabulous taste. This is not bragging; this is simply fact.

I tried to express the import of my feelings about this to the prior administration but they eventually turned a deaf ear. They are now on their own and God Bless their efforts. They are operating now within their own parameters and I am now on mine. To our mutual benefit.

And what has this to do with the current post?

Well, perhaps, a bit of reflection over the past year and back a few years to 2004, a turning point for me.

2006 will soon be gone. What do I envision for 2007?

Any prescient predictions on my part?

I'm thinking:

The GOP will continue to be dazed and confused; it will not much coalesce -- it hasn't the intelligence. The Dems will continue to fight each other, like the GOP. There will be no unified strata on either side of the aisle.

2007, however, will be THE year that Presidential Candidates MUST assemble their war chests, amass their troops, Fish or Cut Bait.

There are no real clear leaders on either side of the aisle just yet. But I might hazard this guess:

On the GOP side: Rudy Giuliani appears, to me, to be the most credible of candidates. Yes, he leans a tad Left on certain social issues. That's fine with me. Considering the total of those who may represent the GOP, I'm finding I'll back a Leader more than I will someone who weakly espouses something of the daily Talking Points. Yes, Giuliani will have a time explaining the issues with his wife and his affair; guess what? I'll STILL take Giuliani because he IS a LEADER.

I suspect that, in 2007, Israel will have to make a massive military strike on either Syria or Iran. This will be backed my US military equipment but not by overt US action. Prior to this, Lebanon will be a source site of missiles into Israel which will be a predicating event for Israel's action. Israel will NOT give up Gaza.

North Korea will continue with the sabre-rattling. Sensible Shoes will remember that NK still cannot produce glass without sugar candy imperfections. The Midget will be distracted by more and more internal strife and dissension -- dealing with the lack of basics such as food, housing.

America will continue within Iraq. There will be a stronger and stronger push to completely abandon this country. Saudis will find themselves pushed physically up against the Sunni/Shiite wall -- and it won't be comfortable. Their power and comfort will still be the dollar-per-barrel charge they make. When the Shiites loom, they will cut loose with a deafening defense.

Iran will find itself more and more challenged from within. When the overall elections did not go completely towards Ahmadinnerjacket's this year, that was a portent from Allah.

Europe will continue to be challenged by immigration. China will continue to rise boldly. The dollar will stabilize to a degree. At home, we may finally realize that our funding is finite. The Taxpayer may finally come to realize how inordinately He and She has been Fleeced.

This will continue to create dissension in the US ranks. We will be on the cusp of realizing how much and to what degree we ignore and sacrifice domestic issues for international issues.

In a Nutshell, there will be a greater push to make America more Isolationist.

I do not inherently disagree with this immediate policy.

We can start with the UN.

DO YOU HAVE PREDICTIONS FOR THE COMING YEAR, 2007?

BZ

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Sues at Sues Views.

But before I get into that I noticed, whilst perusing her profile, that she's a fan of Disturbed, SOiL, Slipknot, Metallica, Korn and AC/DC. Damn. Some of my favorite bands too. A woman after my own musical heart -- and, boys and girls, I'm pushin' 60. Just a strange observation.

Trivia bit: Sues, were you aware that Angus Young is 51 years old now, 5'2" tall and weighs 120 pounds?

So here is the tag:

"Ok, this is how it works: The player (me) must list 3 things that I would love to get for Christmas. Then I must list 3 things that I definitely do not want to get for Christmas. Then I tag 5 friends and list their names. The one I tag needs to write on their blogs about their Christmas wishes then tag 5 more people. They must also clarify all the rules. When you tag someone you need to leave a comment that says “you’ve been Christmas tagged!” in their comments and tell them to read your blog. Ok everybody.."

Three Things I Would Love To Get For Christmas:

1. A new car. Still haven't settled on one specifically, but the Short List would be a 2007 Honda Accord EX V6 w/244 hp, a 2007 Honda CR-V EX-L AWD, in-line 4 w/166 hp, or a 2007 Toyota RAV4 Limited 4WD with the 3.5L, 270hp Lexus V6 engine. Zowee!
2. Five years of a satellite internet connection -- primarily because my current connection is dial-up via a 56 modem working, on a good day, at 53kbps. I've got DirecTV or, otherwise, I'd be completely isolated. Even then, my view of the southern sky is kinda limited due to the fleet of 175'+ pine trees surrounding my property.

3. A State of Fornicalia PERS retirement -- fully paid medical upon retirement until death. Yeah right. Fat fucking chance.

Three Things I Wouldn't Want For Christmas:

1. Any Abba CD;
2. A subscription to any vapid magazine such as People, National Enquirer or Oprah;
3. A pair of Uggs.

But I'm such a jerk; this is where my meme ends. If you yourself wish to take up the challenge and post your own 3 Favorites and 3 Least, then please go ahead.

It's 8:45 pm on Saturday night and I've got house-cleaning and wash to do following last night's Early Christmas. My fiance has to work on Christmas Day (imagine, if you will, having to do that if you were 50 years old!) because she has little seniority on her job -- so my family conducted our Christmas last night. Actually, it was great. We had a massive 20-lb radial-sliced ham, green beans, Brussels sprouts, red potatoes in Rosemary, fresh biscuits, and Lava cakes for dessert. My nephew even came from the Bay Area for dinner -- through the horrific eastbound I-80 Friday-evening-up-the-mountain traffic. I handed out presents and acted the Santa Claus. Everyone had a great time. Dad was feeling well but I messed up: I gave him a quilted vest, just as he likes, with zipping pockets -- only -- dammit, in the wrong size!!

Ever conducted "The Search" for someone's birthday or for Christmas? That's when you offer a wrapped present that only contains a "hint" for locating the next message, so the recipient can find the true present? I did that for my fiance's final present: a 2 ct set of Princess diamond studs with screw backs. The third and final set for her triple-pierced ears.

Last night was 19-degrees. No additional snow. But I know it's coming.

BZ

Update

We had a retirement dinner for a fellow employee last night. He was retiring after 28 years and we had gathered at an Outback to present him with a plaque, a certificate and to honor his work. No sooner had we sat down than another employee told us all that my good friend had called to say he was coming to the dinner. His mother had been given two weeks to live. We hadn't expected him at all, for obvious reasons.

A few moments later, we learned that his mother passed away earlier in the day. Yet, despite that, he appeared at the dinner with Christmas cards for all, wishing us well. He said that his mother had passed in an incredibly peaceful fashion.

He still came to the dinner in order to honor his co-worker. My friend is an amazing man of faith.

Goodbye to you, Mrs. Murray, and God Bless.

BZ

I Needed This

Today is not a good day; I just heard that the mother of one of my friends at work is in the hospital, and shall be removed to hospice shortly. She has about two weeks to live.

I needed a bit of levity today.

Be thankful for what you have and hold close those dear to you.

BZ

Secular Europe Tense

From ABC News:

With European law enforcement officials warning of an imminent holiday terror attack, Web sites associated with al Qaeda announced today that the group's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is about to issue a new statement entitled "the truths about the clash between Islam and atheism."

In the meantime, British MI5 intelligence authorities admit there are "dozens" of Islamist suicide bombers rambling around Europe and Great Britian.

What do I mean by numerous (plots)? Five? 10? No nearer 30 -- that we know of. These plots often have links back to al Qaeda in Pakistan, and through those links al Qaeda gives guidance and training to its largely British foot soldiers," said MI5 Director General Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller in a speech at the University of London.

Secular societies are threats to Islam. Europe is the secular hotbed of western culture and, therefore, a massive, massive target. Yet Great Britain and other portions of Europe continue to cater to Islam.

A bit of what I call "Survival Hypocrisy," that.

BZ

Beyond Stupid

Can anyone give me one reason why the blithering idiot Terrell Owens should ever play football again?

See this. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell "Conehead" Owens spit in the face of Atlanta Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall during a game yesterday. Owens was fined $35,000. Big, fat, friggin' deal.



What a complete moron. The Cowboys get what they deserve.

This useless excuse for a human being should be permanently banned from any football organization. He has proven, time and again, that he cannot be trusted to be anything more than a pouting, mentally defective thug.

BZ

How To Deal With Iran; Disparate Training Manuals

A confrontation between the US and Iran simply seems imminent to me, and appears to be only a matter of time before it occurs.

Iran, as you must all realize by now, is the Puppet Master pulling many if not all of the Islamist strings in the Middle East.




Blogfather Hugh Hewitt features a link on his blog which portrays information by historian Arthur Herman dealing with solutions to the Iran Issue. I read the article (Getting Serious About Iran: A Military Option) and was sufficiently impressed that I wish to portray a portion of the article here for your perusal and input:

The first step would be to make it clear that the United States will tolerate no action by any state that endangers the international flow of commerce in the Straits of Hormuz. Signaling our determination to back up this statement with force would be a deployment in the Gulf of Oman of minesweepers, a carrier strike group’s guided-missile destroyers, an Aegis-class cruiser, and anti-submarine assets, with the rest of the carrier group remaining in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. Navy could also deploy UAV’s (unmanned air vehicles) and submarines to keep watch above and below against any Iranian missile threat to our flotilla.

Our next step would be to declare a halt to all shipments of Iranian oil while guaranteeing the safety of tankers carrying non-Iranian oil and the platforms of other Gulf states. We would then guarantee this guarantee by launching a comprehensive air campaign aimed at destroying Iran’s air-defense system, its air-force bases and communications systems, and finally its missile sites along the Gulf coast. At that point the attack could move to include Iran’s nuclear facilities—not only the “hard” sites but also infrastructure like bridges and tunnels in order to prevent the shifting of critical materials from one to site to another.

Above all, the air attack would concentrate on Iran’s gasoline refineries. It is still insufficiently appreciated that Iran, a huge oil exporter, imports nearly 40 percent of its gasoline from foreign sources, including the Gulf states. With its refineries gone and its storage facilities destroyed, Iran’s cars, trucks, buses, planes, tanks, and other military hardware would run dry in a matter of weeks or even days. This alone would render impossible any major countermoves by the Iranian army. (For its part, the Iranian navy is aging and decrepit, and its biggest asset, three Russian-made Kilo-class submarines, should and could be destroyed before leaving port.)

The scenario would not end here. With the systematic reduction of Iran’s capacity to respond, an amphibious force of Marines and special-operations forces could seize key Iranian oil assets in the Gulf, the most important of which is a series of 100 offshore wells and platforms built on Iran’s continental shelf. North and South Pars offshore fields, which represent the future of Iran’s oil and natural-gas industry, could also be seized, while Kargh Island at the far western edge of the Persian Gulf, whose terminus pumps the oil from Iran’s most mature and copiously producing fields (Ahwaz, Marun, and Gachsaran, among others), could be rendered virtually useless. By the time the campaign was over, the United States military would be in a position to control the flow of Iranian oil at the flick of a switch.

An operational fantasy? Not in the least. The United States did all this once before, in the incident I have already alluded to. In 1986-88, as the Iran-Iraq war threatened to spill over into the Gulf and interrupt vital oil traffic, the United States Navy stepped in, organizing convoys and re-flagging ships to protect them against vengeful Iranian attacks. When the Iranians tried to seize the offensive, U.S. vessels sank one Iranian frigate, crippled another, and destroyed several patrol boats. Teams of SEALS also shelled and seized Iranian oil platforms. The entire operation, the largest naval engagement since World War II, not only secured the Gulf; it also compelled Iraq and Iran to wind down their almost decade-long war. Although we made mistakes, including most grievously the accidental shooting-down of a civilian Iranian airliner, killing everyone on board, the world economic order was saved—the most important international obligation the United States faced then and faces today.

Mr. Herman advocates clear, specific, ulilateral and immediate action.

Considering the information the Saudis have proffered regarding their take on defeating Iran should the US pull out of Iraq (see my post on this) -- should Herman's point become US policy regarding both Iran and Iraq?

My opinion?

This needs to fly and it needs to fly NOW. No one, no nation, possesses the inherent air and sea superiority that we possess now, despite our being down in count on Blue Water vessels as compared to the 80's.

Who depends on Iranian oil? Would it surprise you that this might be China?

The US in Chinese clutches?

How about China in US clutches?

And instead of the United States becoming REACTIVE -- just as GWB grasped -- how about the United States becoming PROACTIVE?

COMPARISON OF THE MANUALS:

The United States decided it was time to update their Counter-Insurgency Manual.

Go here.

Al Qaeda already has a training manual.

Go here.

As my college instructor once said: "Compare and contrast."

BZ

Have You Been Paying Attention?

Something's going on with the US dollar and it's not good -- it's worrisome.

My first clue was when it was reported:

This week, in an unusual move, the Bush administration is sending virtually the entire economic "A-team" to visit China for a "strategic economic dialogue" in Beijing Dec. 14 and 15.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are leading the delegation, along with five other cabinet-level officials, including Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. Also in the delegation will be Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

Also:

China today now is holding a historically unprecedented $1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. During the Thanksgiving holiday, an announcement by China that their central bank planned to diversify foreign-exchange holding away from the dollar caused the dollar to drop in value on international currency markets. Since then, the dollar has hit a 20-month low against the euro.

The Euro is stronger. What will happen when the first Chinese bank embraces the Euro and drops the dollar?

Moreover, how can this be?

The Drudge Report features a headline this hour reading: HOLIDAY HIGH, DOW SURPASSES 12,400:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, boosted by surprisingly high earnings from investment bank Bear Stearns Co. Inc. and economists' bullish estimates for stock indexes performance next year.

CNN Money reports today:

Investors also considered a report that showed a surprisingly large drop in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment last week.

Also a factor: the possibility of the Democrats losing control of the Senate amid news that a senator from South Dakota was in critical condition after suffering a brain hemorrhage. (Full story)

U.S. light crude oil for January delivery gained $1.14 to $62.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after OPEC said it would cut production by 500,000 barrels per day starting Feb. 1.

Treasury prices fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note rising to 4.60 percent from 4.58 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite
directions. In currency trading, the dollar rose against the yen and euro.

COMEX February gold slipped $1.50 to settle at $630.90 an ounce.

Even the White House is saying: "USA Today/Gallup Poll Estimated Consumers Plan To Spend More Than $800 On Gifts This Season. The estimate is the "highest early November reading Gallup has seen since 2000," suggesting a "strong holiday season" for retailers.

But John Williams, author of The Shadow Government Statistics blog believes:

There will be a central bank, most probably in Asia, who will start the move away from the dollar and when it happens, you're going to see other central bankers covertly trying to follow. The move will magnify very quickly and it could become a full-fledged panic and a dollar collapse."

The Fed is struggling right now to contain inflation and stimulate economic growth. All the Fed is doing right now with all their grand policy shifts is using a lot of propaganda and market massaging to try to prevent a financial panic."

Jerome Corsi of the WorldNetDaily writes:

A report scheduled to be released by the Treasury Department tomorrow is expected to show the true deficit in the Bush administration's 2006 federal budget to be an astounding $3.5 trillion in the red, not $248.2 billion as previously reported.

The United States is bankrupt," Williams insisted. "With less than one-tenth of the actual deficit being reported each year, a cumulative negative net worth exceeding $50 trillion has built up in stealth to where the total obligations of the U.S. government are now more than four times our annual gross domestic product.

Indeed the unfolding fiscal nightmare likely will entail a U.S. hyperinflation and a resulting collapse in the value of the world's primary reserve currency, the dollar. When this starts to unravel it will unravel fast. I don't know whether it will be the dominant issue in the 2008 presidential election, but I believe it will be by 2012."

Are our "giveaway" federal fiscal policies finally, finally beginning to catch up with us? And will the government and the media be complicit in hiding this information from citizens?

You realize, of course, that's how the USSR was defeated: the US simply outspent the USSR defensively, to the point where we bankrupted the entire union.

So, despite a record DOW and unemployment claims trending down, WHY are Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab on a junket to Beijing today and tomorrow?

The new dialogue was announced in September during a trip to Beijing by Paulson, who hailed the forum as a way of tackling the longer-term challenges to the world economy thrown up by China's headlong growth.

But speaking in London earlier Tuesday, Paulson acknowledged that "the need for greater currency flexibility" on the Chinese yuan was a short-term headache facing US-China relations. The United States and other nations argue the yuan is made artificially weak, giving the Asian giant an unfair advantage in global trade.

The US trade deficit with China in September reached a record 23 billion dollars, one-third of the total US trade gap.

Paulson, addressing the Confederation of British Industry's annual conference, said US relations with China had suffered from "a fair amount of tension" over perceptions that their bilateral trade is unfairly skewed.

I detect an even greater amount of concern than publically portrayed. Any economists out there with thoughts?

BZ

Saudis to US: Stay

Due to a series of circumstances beyond my control, some personal issues, some seasonal issues, I've not been able to consistently post this week. I surmise this consistent inconsistency may continue for the rest of the month. Please excuse my spotty posting and know that I have no intention of going away -- it's the season and a few other concomitant reasons. Thanks to all.

It appears that Saudi Arabia wants us to stay in Iraq; from the Washington Post:

Just a few months ago it was unthinkable that President Bush would prematurely withdraw a significant number of American troops from Iraq. But it seems possible today, and therefore the Saudi leadership is preparing to substantially revise its Iraq policy. Options now include providing Sunni military leaders (primarily ex-Baathist members of the former Iraqi officer corps, who make up the backbone of the insurgency) with the same types of assistance -- funding, arms and logistical support -- that Iran has been giving to Shiite armed groups for years.

But here's the real reason: Saudi Arabia is used to playing both ends against the middle and winning at the polar opposites with polar cultures.

As I described in my previous post, Saudi Arabia's power structure consists of Sunnis who happen to more openly embrace some portions of Western culture -- those portions dealing with, ahem, cash and comfort -- two very important concepts in current Saudi culture.

The Saudis are fully cognizant that, now, if America choppers, planes and troop-ships out of Iraq, the violent f*!&!#* crazy Shiites will descend like sand fleas and make life just a tad bit more difficult for the royal house of Saud.

From the Post:

What's clear is that the Iraqi government won't be able to protect the Sunnis from Iranian-backed militias if American troops leave. Its army and police cannot be relied on to do so, as tens of thousands of Shiite militiamen have infiltrated their ranks. Worse, Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, cannot do anything about this, because he depends on the backing of two major leaders of Shiite forces.

The Saudis also said they will "sharply boost oil production" in order to combat Iran:

Finally, Abdullah may decide to strangle Iranian funding of the militias through oil policy. If Saudi Arabia boosted production and cut the price of oil in half, the kingdom could still finance its current spending. But it would be devastating to Iran, which is facing economic difficulties even with today's high prices. The result would be to limit Tehran's ability to continue funneling hundreds of millions each year to Shiite militias in Iraq and elsewhere.

You know, I'm just kinda throwing this leaf of a thought around in my fetid brain housing group: is leaving Iraq beginning to look like a good thing?

BZ

Sunday Escape

Early this morning I awakened and heard the sound of rain drilling off my metal roof and falling to the deck. I reawakened some six hours later and was met with complete silence. At my house, high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, silence in winter means one of two things: the total cessation of rain or . . .

Snow. My first snowfall of the season.

I looked outside to witness the largest snowflakes I'd seen in 14 years. These were not your average flakes; oh no. These were Hollywood Flakes of the first magnitude. The kind of flakes you'd envision if you were to write a book about Christmas. They were light, fluffy, Genetic Mutant kinds of flakes, ranging from an inch to almost three inches in size and girth. They were not Danny Devito flakes, they were Yao Ming flakes.

It looked to me as though people were having a massive pillow fight many hundreds of feet above my house with the resulting stuffing wafting slowly, so slowly down.

It was absolutely gorgeous.

Sometimes I feel so isolated up here and that is precisely my goal at times. I can do what I choose when I choose. I can ignore the trappings of modern society because the house is surrounded by pines and a few scattered houses. At the top of my street, for example, the owners there have two horses in a corral. In the summer, with windows open, I could hear them give the occasional distant whinny -- mixed with the occasional nighttime horns from passing high elevation trains.

No intrusive, orbiting police helicopters with NightSun lights, no sirens, no thump trucks or thump cars from First, Second and Third World hiphop dipshits. No police pursuits; no fire trucks responding. No burnouts from various Rice Rockets of the two and four-wheeled variety. No public transit buses passing. No public transit whatsoever. No passing traffic. No arguments and fights from the apartment complex next door. No apartment complex within 30 miles of me. No series of continuously-barking dogs from all my next door neighbors. Only one dog nearby, and I know him. He and my local feral cat friends, of whom I am slowly winning over -- along with my own "inside" cat named Mose. Not to mention my irascible raccoonie buddies.

Just total and complete silence.

Silence.

What a new and unique concept.

So I can either tune into The World via the standard http://www quotient or radio waves or, when I choose, I can simply ignore whatever I wish. Sometimes I get no choice; my DirecTV "tunes out" when the rain or the snow becomes too thick. Hence my large library of DVDs.

Today, I chose to ignore The World.

Because, for me, the falling snowflakes were miracle enough.

I guess you could call this an Escape.

Do you have an "escape?"

BZ

The Other Pearl Harbor

First: I've noticed that my readership via the TTLB has dwindled three steps down from the lofty Adorable Rodent, down to a Flappy Bird, a Slithering Reptile and, now, a Crawly Amphibian; so be it. Those things happen. I went through a few moments of self-doubt, recriminations, and then finally realized: big friggin' deal. I write for myself anyway, to see myself in print. If my dead Aunt Lillian catches a couple of these wafting internet posts to read, hell, I'm happy. The lowest squiggly form in the TTLB is the Insignificant Microbe; perhaps I should prepare the TTLB for my upcoming Weeping-Pus Molecule rating.

Besides Pearl Harbor, the Japanese also attacked other portions of sovereign American soil during World War II. Anyone hear of Operation Land Crab? Engineer Hill?

Following December 7th, 1941, on June 3rd of 1942, Japanese bombers attacked Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. In crappy weather, only half the planes found the target and little damage was done. Unalaska Island comprises only one (roughly mid-point) of a large number of islands in Alaska's "beard chain" of islands -- and is clearly SOVEREIGN United States soil.

For reference, Dutch Harbor is the port from which many boats issue when you choose to watch the Discovery Channel's series The Deadliest Catch about current-day crab fishermen.

Three days later, Japanese then invaded the Island of Kiska on June 6, 1942 and the Island of Attu the next day. Of the 42 inhabitants who remained on Attu, all were taken to a prison camp near Otaru, Hokkaido. There, sixteen of them died.

Kiska and Attu were on soverign United States soil.

The Battle of the Aleutian Islands lasted from June 3rd, 1942 to August 15th, 1943.

In all, the United States deployed 144,000 personnel; the Japanese deployed 8,500.

The US lost 1,481 dead (2,500 wounded, sick or frostbitten) ; Japan lost 2,351 dead.

The re-capture of Attu produced some of the bloodiest fighting in the Pacific theatre, similar to the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

There were 3,929 U.S. casualties:

• 549 were killed,
• 1148 were injured,
• 1200 had severe cold injuries,
• 614 succumbed to disease, and
• 318 died of miscellaneous causes, largely Japanese booby traps and friendly fire.

This all occurred on United States soil.

Did you ever hear of it?

BZ

Blindsided

The United States was "blindsided" twice; first on December 7th, 1941 and then on September 11th, 2001.

To honor today, 65 years later, on 12-07-41:

On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese blindsided U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.



By planning his attack on a Sunday the Japanese commander, Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the aircraft carriers and one of the battleships were not in port (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island , where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States).

In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft.

At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu, he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack.



Beginning at 0600 hours, Nagumo's first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe, and Ewa.

The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets.

At 0753 hours the first wave, consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 50 high-altitude bombers and 43 Zeros, struck airfields and Pearl Harbor within the next hour.

The second wave arrived and continued the attack.



The United States lost 2,403 persons in that attack.

Fewer than died on 9-11-2001.

And we went to official war over this incident.

Please, take a moment to remember and honor those lost on this day, lo, those 65 years ago and also to honor those who became The Greatest Generation -- the generation of my father and mother -- those who fought and died and sacrificed so that we can enjoy the freedoms of today.

NEVER FORGET WHEN ONE IS BLINDSIDED.

BZ

Iraq Study Group: Final Words

Senator Joe Lieberman sums up my feelings on the Iraq Study Group:

One thing is certain: There is no alternative to success in Iraq. We are engaged in a global war against Islamic extremists and failure is not an option. In the coming days and weeks, we must work together in a bi-partisan fashion to forge a strategy to prevail in Iraq. The freedom and security of the American people demand no less.”

Further, Lieberman commented on radio today:

"To think that Iran will help us to succed in Iraq, that makes no sense, because they don't want us to succeed in Iraq."

Three letters: "duh."

The newly-approved (95-2, two Republicans against) SecDef, Robert Gates, is making mealy-mouthed appeasionist statements that should be appreciated in the UN and would make Neville Chamberlain proud, having abandoned Czechoslovia and given up the Irish Free State Navy Ports; the ISG recommends that Israel give up the Golan Heights.

Rick Santorum said:

Republicans and Democrats, Leaders in the Congress, why don't we talk more about Iran? Why would we focus on Iran? The American public has no appetite for increasing this war. So what do we have? We have this report, which is a prescription for surrender. There is no prescription for victory in that report. Who are these Islamic Fascists? This is not just a Shia problem, but is becoming a Shia dominated field. Let us not leave out Saudi Arabia and others to foment fascism around the world. This problem is growing. Every regime is feeling the pressure and not just since 2003. We've seen in Arabic countries this rise, and in Indonesia, Malaysia, this rise.

People have been targeted because they were Jews. This is evil.

Likely Israel will kiss the Golan Heights goodbye and a portion of Jerusalem.

Hey; why don't the Jews just suck it up, purchase millions of Kelty packs and hike right out of their nation?

Except that, I surmise actual advanced societies would merely be supplanted by primeval, backwards, misogynistic societies.

The solution to Iraq exists within Iran. Because Iran, we must realize, is the ultimate Puppet Master.

Rick Santorum for US Ambassador to replace Bolton?

BZ

At This Point: It's All About Iran

The Koran and the AK-47.

Earlier this week Michael Medved hosted Victor Mordecai (actually, Avi Lipkin) and a local Seattle apologist for the religion of Islam whose name is unimportant.

Whilst I am sure that Pakistani is, individually, a wonderful human being who does not kick his dog or beat his wife, every word that escaped his lips was nothing more than apologist propaganda for the religion of Islam in all its forms. Michael was very careful to frame his questions in an egalitarian fashion but the Islamic respondent displayed not only his ass but his bias for all to see.

Michael has to, due to his national dissemination, be a bit careful about his framing and his statements.

My readership is comparatively minimal and therefore I can completely state my opinions as I believe them to be.

Let's examine some basics and move to the conclusion that I make about Islam:

At this point in US history, there is a Triumvirate against us that includes Iran - Iraq - Syria and, moving into the neighborhood, Lebanon. This Triumvirate Axis has decreed: annihilate the Sunni leadership in Lebanon.

Despite there being a 28% Christian presence in Lebanon.

In terms of percentages, Islam is overall 85% Sunni and 15% Shia; that is not the case in the Middle East.

The goal of the Shiites is to create a Shia Califate.

In terms of Saudi Arabia (a nation comprised predominantly of Sunnis), Shiites believe that the Sunnis allow 2 million pagans and infidels to defile Mecca and Medina by their simple presence. That in and of itself is an egregious and unrepairable offense.

The Shiite remedy is to realize that Shiites never truly enjoyed the petroleum benefits, these ran to the Sunnis, so it remains to the Shiites to blow up and eviscerate every oil field within reach in order to weaken the economics of the Infidels. Oil only strengthens the economies of worldwide unbelievers.

Canada is self-sufficient; Europe is completely dependent upon outside oil sourcing; the United States receives 70% of its oil from the western hemisphere, 15% from Nigeria and 15% from Persian sources. The first area to completely suffer would be EUROPE, not the United States.

Let me make so clear statements now and forever:

Israel cannot live in peace alongside any Islamic nation, "Palestine" or otherwise; not because Israel will disallow peace, but because Islam will disallow peace with any Jewish state.

I would postulate this: if one were to take the "Palestinian Issue" and "Israel" out the equation, would anything else change?

I submit it would not.

Therefore the removal of Israel is NOT the "key" as the dimwitted Jimmy Carter would contend; Carter has unwittingly become the lapdog of Islam -- not because he is necessarily evil but simply because he is naive and stupid -- and, bottom line, an Islamic tool.

Let us review history for a moment:

In 2000 Barak and Arafat met; Israel offered the complete West Bank but, no, that was not enough. Following this refusal Arafat then instigated the Intifada. But Arafat knew inherently that he would have been executed by Hamas cells had he acquiesced to Barak's offer.

"Allahu Akbar!" shout various Muslims.

This does NOT mean that "Allah is great." It means that Allah is GREATER. Greater than whom? Answer, as any 7-year-old Muslim can respond: Greater than YOUR God.

And therefore Jerusalem has to be destroyed.

Any good Muslim child knows that monkeys and pigs are Christians and Jews.

In Iraq: 25 to 50 Christians are killed per day.

Christians are therefore hiking to, oddly enough, Syria.

And the Islamization of Europe continues.

Austria is already 30% Muslim.

Christmas was "canceled" in Austria due to pressure.

Osama bin Laden said in his book, Messages To The World, that there were four things to do:

• Get the United States out of the Middle East;
• That the Jihad wave had to extend throughout the Middle East;
• That Jihad had to be used as an unequivocable weapon;
• Destroy Israel.

Boys and girls in Radio Land: it doesn't get any sharper or clearer than that.

Leaving Iraq early? Acquiescing to OBL Issue Number One.

Except for the al Qaeda Training Manual.

To Michael Medved's Islamic apologist, I would respond in this fashion:

I couldn't care less about what you say Islam represents, for this is the Guide:

Islam is what Islam DOES.

BZ

John Bolton Resigns -- Or Does He?

The United Nations is obviously crumbling in terms of its actual importance; John Bolton, a man who knows himself, knows the history of the UN and is unafraid to call nations on the issues, will no longer be our UN Ambassador. And the UN manages to crumble further and become less important.

That Bolton is leaving -- is only to the detriment of the United States.

But Bolton, because of his outspoken self and the fact that he was not remotely hesitant to call various nations, issues and representatives on their stupidity, has "resigned." Or perhaps, more accurately, Bolton is serving out his term before stepping down.

Why? you might ask. Because, under the Democrats, Bolton has little chance of being confirmed for a full appointment by the Senate. Politics demand that the appearance is that Bolton is a successful ambassador derailed by Congress. And that is so true. From CBS News:

The White House quickly took issue with that characterization. "It is not a resignation," Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino told CBS News. She noted that Bolton would be leaving his post when his recess appointment expired at the end of the 109th Congress. After an email with Perino's comment was passed around CBS News, the headline on the Bolton story was changed to "U.N. Ambassador John Bolton To Step Down."

Why might Bolton not be confirmed? Because he is contentious? Because he is not a carpet? Because he has opinions and calls a spade a spade? Because he is not an apologist for the White Race and not a card-carrying member of the "United States Is Evil" club? Because he believes the UN is broken and needs to be repaired?

"Iran's Foreign Ministry has called Bolton 'rude' and 'undiplomatic.' "

Bolton has been a strong critic of the United Nations for much of his career. In a 1994 Global Structures Convocation hosted by the World Federalist Association (now Citizens for Global Solutions), he stated, "There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States."

Oddly enough, according to the biased Wikipedia:

The New York Times in an editorial The Shame of the United Nations has praised Bolton's stance on "reforming the disgraceful United Nations Human Rights Commission" [47], saying "John Bolton, is right; Secretary General Kofi Annan is wrong." The Times also said that the current commission is composed of "some of the world's most abusive regimes" who use their membership as cover to continue their abusiveness.

Yes; all of those things and more.

President Bush said this:

I am deeply disappointed that a handful of United States Senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate. They chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country, and discourages men and women of talent from serving their Nation."

I am no apologist or bootlicker for President Bush as anyone who has historically read my blog knows. I am a Conservative before I am a GOP supporter. But Bush has pegged this issue precisely.

Kofi Annan today criticized the Iraq war and said the Iraqis are worse off than before the fall of Saddam Hussein. The average Iraqi believes "yes, we'll get through the chaos." But not Kofi; he thinks every Iraqi would rather bleat: "Yes, I long for the good old days of Hussein and the disappearances of my neighbors." Oil for Food corruption? George Galloway still on the take? Kofi's son in receipt of more expensive Mercedes-Benzes?

Insanity in the UN.

Untolerated by Bolton; soon to be tolerated by whatever limp-wristed servile sychophant the Democrats choose to appoint.

Because migosh, though the US funds the UN to the tune of $5 billion dollars per year, we certainly shouldn't make sure we get any return for the money American taxpayers invest, should we?

I mean, shoot, how expectational and judgmental would that be??

BZ

If You Won The Lottery

In the comment section of my last post, Sues indicated that if she won the lottery she'd quit her job and leave Fornicalia, which she called Mexifornia. That got me to thinking:

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Let's say, perhaps, $20 million dollars?

With that figure in mind, I have a few questions:

• Would you stay at your job for a period of time?
• What would you immediately do with your money?
• What would you do with the rest?
• Would you stay in your current home or town?

BZ's ANSWERS:

Yes, for a period of time I would continue working my job; I would also do my level-headed best to ensure that my winning the lottery was not made public, nor would I mention it to family or friends until I was in a fiscal and mental position to handle the flak, hysteria and complications that would inevitably result.

What would I expect?

First, some amount of media coverage. My inclination, because I was the media years ago, would be to put them on Ignore Mode. However, they would publish and/or portray whatever they wished anyway and one must expect contacts from not only family but the outside world as well.

I would envision family members who'd never given me the proverbial "time of day" to come out of the woodwork, leaving tearful pleas on my home and cell phone. I'd have friends I'd not spoken to in years clogging my voicemail as well. Throw in total strangers with offers of "making more millions" and I'd have a thoroughly confusing conglomerate.

My reaction? I'd ignore everyone except those who are actually meaningful to me. And I'd take care of me and my immediate family first. First long-term move: begin to investigate the appointment of a professional and competent personal financial counselor/attorney, as I am not an Economics or Accounting major. I would do this sub rosa; making my own inquisitions and sending out my own feelers.

Second: I'd put a roof on my fiance's home, buy her a new vehicle, and make sure her mother was overseen and taken care of. I'd pay off a portion of my own home -- but not completely.

I would also spend a few dollars on my own one immediate whimsy purchase: I'd buy a brand new 2007 GMC Yukon Denali SUV with every feature and appointment imagineable. Why, you might ask? Because GMC is domestic, it would be one clearly conspicuous purchase, and I've always wanted to be amongst the few who could sit high, display their conspicuous consumption, and afford something of that order with leather, luxury, a huge engine and no worries about size or fuel. My vehicles have historically always, always been small, thrifty, inexpensive, and much less than luxurious. Screw that now. I'd splurge for this one purchase.

And that's where my immediate purchases would stop until I stood back and got a Global view and prognostication of where my funds would be in three years, five years, ten years, and so on. $20 million dollar sounds unlimited; in today's world I suspect it is quite not.

In a longer view, I would consider moving to the Pacific Northwest where the area combines three of my favorite venues: lower temperatures, pines and the ocean. I would leave my home town of Sacratomato behind and consider the Jenner, Mendocino, Ft. Bragg, Bandon or Astoria areas.

What would you do?

Answer these questions:

• Would you stay at your job for a period of time?
• What would you immediately do with your money?
• What would you do with the rest?
• Would you stay in your current home or town?

I'm going to leave this post up for a few days because I really want to hear what readers of this blog have to say about sudden and overwhelming fortunes. How would you handle it, and what would be your reaction to this newfound wealth?

BZ

The Week or the Weekend?

What is more important to you: the week or the weekend?

I can remember from years ago, someone telling me this:

"When I'd finally reached St. Peters' gate, I wouldn't say:

Gosh, I wish I'd worked harder at my job.

_____________


Do you live for the Week?

Or do you live for the Weekend?

Quite frankly, I live for my weekend now, and I'll explain why.

I live in Fornicalia, the most oppressive of states on many levels. It is a beautiful state which became despoiled by immigrants naturalized and otherwise. It is a state rampant with insufficient roads, insufficient funds, insufficient power production, insufficient water production, insufficient sewer projects, insufficient fire and police protection, and an overabundance of suckers from the Public Nipple -- legal and illegal.

And into its coffers my bi-weekly paycheck gets circumscised.

And what about you?

Do you live for the Week?

Do you live for the Weekend?

I live for the weekend.

My job rounds me but it does not "complete me." I am not it and it is not me. My job requires my living down in the valley. On Thursday night I escape the flatlanders and rush into the hinterlands beyond. Sometimes I feel completely oppressed and compressed and nothing but leaving the valley will satisfy my shiverings.

What do you live for?

And why?

BZ

The Once And Certain Future

Amongst other things, this is what we would desire for the United States, would it not? -- to wit:

A nice little brawl between politicians and citizens for a Presidential swearing-in, where the ceremonial subject has to be "sneaked" into the venue.

From The Associated Press:

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Felipe Calderon took the oath of office as Mexico's president Friday amid jeers and whistles, a lightning-fast ceremony before lawmakers who exchanged punches and insults over the conservative leader's narrow victory.

Calderon entered through a back door and appeared suddenly on the speaker's platform, the site of three days of fistfights and sit-ins by lawmakers seeking to control the stage. Physically protected by sympathetic lawmakers and flanked by outgoing President Vicente Fox, Calderon ignored the chaos around him and calmly raised his arm as he swore to uphold the constitution in comments almost inaudible over the noise.

Once the ceremony concluded the band struck and drowned out everyone and everything else.

Clearly, this is the professional, chaste and dignified fashion we wish to emulate in the United States.

By allowing my country to be swarmed by illegal immigrants who do not wish to embrace my country, who refuse to learn my language, English, who wish to suck whatever benefits they can acquire by fiat, who do not respect my borders, who do not wish to assimilate into my culture --

-- then a future such as this is certainly guaranteed for the future.

Make no mistake. I have no kids but evidently not for the lack of my distant ex-wife's attempts -- only after the divorce did I learn, via my brother's wife, that my wife had apparently miscarried twice. Though of course I never heard of this until quite some time after the "fact." For various reasons I doubt this a tad, since in my previous careers I was exposed to not only massive doses of RF but radiation as well. In a few words I suspect I have been just a hair sterile over the years which may account for the bits of cancer I've encountered here and there.

So what I'm saying is this: I'm nobody's father nor did I ever want to be, then and now. Despite my apparent lack of investment in my future I'm saying I do have an investment in the future of my country. I want to see it continue on its path of supremacy and empire. For my brother Jim's children, Colin, Cristan and Caitlin.

I want them to have an investment and a feeling of future in the country that aborned them.

If we continue on our current path their future is nothing more than that of diminishment and an ascription to second class citizenship or worse.

You want to see the future of America under an assault from illegal Mexican immigrants?

You have but to look at the nation of Mexico right now.

BZ