Thursday, August 31, 2006

FORMER PRESIDENT JAMES EARL CARTER, JR. 1977-1981

I turned 50 when Mr. Carter was President. I was very active in Real Estate Brokerage.
I had spent some time as an elected official and was tuned in to the political process.

I was in North West New Jersey with a large family and concerned about the accident at 3 mile island in Pennsylvania. There was a nuclear accident at a power plant and there was tension as to what to do to be safe.

Suddenly President Carter shows up at the scene and most of us were thinking “What is he doing there” and “Please don’t let him touch anything”. President Carter was not held in high regard by the American public.

Sometime after that incident I was caught off guard by one of those stories on Paul Harvey’s, “Now you know the rest of the story”. Paul Harvey told about a nuclear accident in Canada and that there was a potential melt down and how our government asked a young Naval Officer and nuclear engineer to volunteer to wade into the mess and save the world. He told how that young hero did agree to go and he stopped the reaction and was quite a hero. Then he told us that hero was President Jimmy Carter when he was a young man and I was really embarrassed that I had such doubts about this brave man.

While preparing to write about this for you I did a search to confirm Carter’s presence and brave action but I failed. What I did learn on historic sites was that Carter went there as part of a team. One of the web sites was a history of the town in Canada where the event occurred and the historian who was a physicist at the power plant described how their people were already clearing up the contaminated water and Carter arrived as part of a team that came to help with that project. Carter had been trained as a nuclear u-boat captain during his time in the U.S. Navy.

Now, knowing more about the truth of his history I am very concerned about his current foray into the diplomatic stumbling that he is doing. He recently went to England and chastised Prime Minister Blair for being so supportive of the President of the United States. When Mr. Carter was President we had great pride in our country and no one was tolerated who left our shores and criticized our government overseas. It was not done but seems to be common now.

Ghazel Omid, a young lady who escaped from Iran has written a book, “Living in Hell” and has a web site of the same name. Ms. Omid has explained that Mr. Carter is going to meet with the former President of Iran and this act will be viewed by the radical Muslims as a defeat for the United States and that Iran will be able to gain international prestige by forcing a highly placed individual from the United States to meet with Iran.

This is a very sad situation in our international prestige and our history.
I do not believe our President should have allowed this man to visit us other than address the UN and get out. But I am concerned that the forces out to win the next election have such strong support from the press and media that they weakened the President and in his moves to avoid controversy is making mistakes.

This is my viewpoint. I know it is not the same as yours or others but then I do not think like you or others. For a more profound viewpoint please go to the link on the left for Hugh Hewitt and he will give you the rest of the story.

THE WEATHER

By this time you know that Ernesto has fizzled and just brought us rain which we appreciated.
This happens a lot in North East Florida where we live. For about two weeks a hurricane
heads toward Florida and then turns North and devastates some other area with less publicity.

There is a hurricane named John that is headed toward the Baja Peninsula off Mexico and it is a huge storm. They are sweating out the same situation. Will it turn before it destroys some resorts?

I have cable and my TV, telephone and computer are all from the same service. It is fast, the lines are buried and it is usually dependable. The high speed computer service was off for awhile this morning so I am late posting the news today. I have some clean up to do with putting storm supplies away and then I will be back on schedule.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Lexington, Lieberman,Morris,Blankley,blog

GOOD MORNING, August 30, 2006

While contemplating my thoughts for today I am reminded of a couple of statements I made, For example, yesterday I commented on the waste in building big airport towers if no-one was going to look out the big windows and notice a plane was on the wrong runway. Especially in a low traffic airport like Lexington.
A few hours later the FAA admitted allowing the airport to operate with one air traffic controller on duty when there should have been two. Even if there was a violation the controller should have checked. Especially after the taxiway had been redesigned.

When Joe Lieberman lost his primary I pointed out the mix of voter registrations and predicted, as did others, that he would do well in the polls and the election. His poll numbers are up and that prediction is coming true.
Richard Morris (a former Clinton advisor) stated last night on TV that the party that promotes the concern about the war on terror will win the election. Iraq is a negative, protection against terrorism is a positive and we will see these items come into focus.

I also read an article by Tony Blankley about an article in the Jerusalem Post about Ghazi Hamad, an official spokesman for the Hamas controlled Palestinian Authority where he called upon the Palestinians to change their ways. You can read the article at the link below.
Tony Blankley: The bacteria of stupidity

It would be nice if the Muslims started listening to some forward thinking members of their groups. That could go for Iraq also. All they have to do is look for peace and try to live comfortably in a world that will care for them. Instead, they are fighting among themselves for personal power. And causing its benefactors great stress during the process.

BLOGGING

I was recently introduced to this world of blogging by a book telling about the profound effect bloggers have had on the world in the past few years. I find people in 3 groups. Those who do not know anything, those who have heard about it and those who do it. There are about 20 million blogs on the internet right now. There are a few dailies and some of these rise to the top and are read by thousands each day. They are a source of unedited news and you can select the bias you want. There are places to search by subject and title.
Some that can establish a level of confidence and trust with their readers succeed. Some, that have an angle succeed for awhile but do not stay.
There are some that are business oriented and some are extensions of a company web site. One of these is http://www.palmcoastd.com where you will see my wife and her position featured on the home page. In effect, this is a blog oriented toward a specific market and the publishing business. It helps the customers understand the services offered and is a friendly link and introduction to a business organization.

You can search news from a blog, see my link to Google on the left. You can also search for” Google search blog” and you will find a search engine that will search blogs by title or subject or phrase.
Many people are rejecting newspapers and taking their news from the blog world.

WEATHER and news

Speaking of news, I expected to be looking at a lot of rain and wind as a hurricane approached us today. It has turned into another tropical storm and we are looking forward to some much needed rain without the ultra high winds. The Carolinas could do worse if the storm strengthens over the Atlantic Ocean.

I cannot believe we flew that character back first class and released him after he conned us into thinking he killed JonBenet. Well, now you know how to get a free air trip.

More later and thanks for reading.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Ernesto update at 9 AM

There was a computer model update at 2 AM and at 8 AM which agree on a prediction that Ernesto will enter Florida along the SW gulf coast as a tropical storm nearing hurricane level one speed. Ernesto is then expected to travel north through Florida and exit near Palm Coast or St. Augustine as a weakened tropical storm and then re-enter the South in SC or NC possibly as a hurricane then disapating over land.
The prediction is based on slight weakening of cold front and high pressure areas in the southern states.
I am not going to board up my windows now but will have the wood handy if there is a change. Storms usually do not come through our area and this is unusual.
I have given an opinion based on opinions and estimates of others. Do not rely on me, you need to do your own investigation and make your own decisions.
Good luck.
Stew

Lexington,New Orleans, FEMA,Los Angeles, Northridge and Ernesto

LEXINGTON AIRPORT.

My wife has been flying in and out of the Lexington airport this year related to a special project connected to her work. We have been watching the reports of the tragic accident there with great interest and the scenes shown on TV are very familiar to her.
There are two things we know for sure:
1. The airport runways are not marked clearly so you can tell which one you are using.
2. The control tower has big windows so you can see the airport but no one looked out to see if the plane was headed in the right direction and on the correct runway. They have excused themselves and said they are too busy to “baby sit” the aircraft. Why then are we building high towers with big windows so they can see what is going on? Just one quick peek would have saved 50 lives and many reputations and maybe a small airline. Do they have computer screens that show the location of larger aircraft and that it is on the wrong runway? How many planes took off that morning? Were they that busy that they could not look?
Watch for the answers to these questions and other airports need to review their own procedures. The towers are under management of the same organization that oversees major highways, FEMA and Amtrak.

NEW ORLEANS

We have every politician who can make it in New Orleans working to blame the other party.
Of course, we remember 4:31 A.M. January 17, 1994. I was sitting in my recliner in front of the TV checking the morning paper. My wife was just about to get up and prepare for her first day at a new job. We were temporarily staying in an apartment on the ground floor of a 3 story building. We were in the valley near Los Angeles about 4 miles from Northridge where at least 16 people living on the ground floor of buildings just like ours were about to die.
A large roar started. The TV fell off and bruised my leg. I got up to go for my wife and she was calling me, as I tried to call back to her and nothing came out of my mouth. I tried to walk back through the hallway but the shock waves made it feel as if I were stepping into valleys and peaks but the floor was solid concrete. It seemed to take forever but I made it and we huddled together in a door frame.
We slept in our car for a few nights until our building was approved for occupancy. The President flew into town with a lot of publicity. We were directed to visit FEMA offices where we would be made “whole” or put back into the position we were in before the earthquake. Whole for us meant hundreds of dollars in broken items and we were not able to start work because nothing was open so we were losing income and paying rent on a building we could not occupy.
FEMA was sorry but they could not make us “whole”. There were a couple of reasons I have tried to block out. It was not impressive sitting before this group of high paid “experts” telling us why they could not help us after enticing us with all the wonderful things they had promised. We even heard people calling into talk shows on the radio stations that were operating and bragging about how they had been able to get two and three payments for rent amounting to thousands of dollars. It seems if you lied, you could get money and some of the people knew how to con FEMA and helped each other.

FEMA was screwed up then and it is still screwed up. Do we blame the heads of government of both parties or do we look at the career professionals who have been running the agencies for many years? Pros who the news tells us are being paid about double the average salary of non governmental employees.

NO GO ERNESTO

Right now we are basing the projected hurricane track on yesterday’s computer models.
Only one model was updated early this morning and that shows Ernesto reduced to a tropical storm over Cuba and then traveling up the gulf to the Sanibel area and then crossing Florida to South of New Smyrna and going along the coast up toward Cape Hatteras.
The strength of the storm is not clear. Based on older models it will be a tropical storm but based on the latest computer model it could gain some strength as it travels part way up the gulf coast in warm water.
We do know it will not go up to the New Orleans area. The cold front and high pressure areas in the southern part of the US tend to push it down and to the east into the Atlantic as it travels north.
I have to decide if I should board up my windows and will do that later this morning and will let you know what the latest computer models show at that time. It will start raining here later today. We need that rain.

Have a great day if you can.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Ernesto,Cuba, Florida, Rumsfeld and news bias

HEADLINE NEWS AUGUST 28, 2006.

At the top of the news today is Hurricane Ernesto. As it passes directly over Haiti and now Cuba it is expected to lose strength. If it can recover this strength on the way to Florida, it will become a category one hurricane. There is the possibility it will not recover.
The computer models are influenced by a cold front and the high pressure centers behind the front which causes the computers to calculate the hurricane will move eastward and pass directly over or through Florida. In any scenario Miami to Ft. Myers will take the full force of the storm. If it travels north through Florida it will weaken while over land before it reaches the Jacksonville area. If it travels north along the coastal waters it will stay strong or even gain some strength.
We must watch the storm the next couple of days. The projected path puts the center of the storm at my location in Florida at 2 AM on Thursday. I will be busy getting storm panels ready to insert in the windows. We have metal panels ordered but we are on a waiting list for delivery and installation.
We have found these storms often change at the last minute and will at least provide some needed rain.
Stay in touch for daily updates. If my postings stop you know it is headed here and we ran away for a couple of days.

In other news I note the local paper has a headline
RUMSFELD: DEFENSE SHIELD INADEQUATE.
From the Google News Search (Link on my web site) the headline is:
CONFIDANT RUMSFELD REVIEWS DEFENSE SHIELD.

It is amazing how our thoughts about the war are controlled by the press we are exposed to. I usually watch Fox news which tries to be objective and concentrate on facts. Some of the editorials do lean in certain ways. However, news reporters like Smith are objective. O’Reilly tries to be in the middle While Hannity and Coombs give both viewpoints. It is interesting to see that O’Reilly is accused of each side of taking a non objective view, no doubt the result of not spewing forth the talking points.
For the news, I scan the Google news, Check one side with the New York Times and the other with the Washington Times. I also give a link to a reporter with the New York Sun.

Try to stay warm.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Blame for the Oil Shortage and Prices

WHO TO BLAME FOR THE OIL MESS!!!

You, Me, all of us.
It is our fault that oil prices are so high and we just will not do anything about it.

I have given an analysis of this before. Go to the archives of July 2006 and then January 2006.

I hear people say we should build mass transportation.
Even if they built it we would not use it. We love our cars and unlike other countries we are too affluent to not use them.

Building mass transportation and changing the attitude of the population will take years. You need to read my postings above and learn about our transportation systems and how we have abandoned them for the car. Sure, I try to offer a solution, but it will take help and years to convert our way of thinking.

In the meantime there are some things we could do to reduce our usage of oil which all involve conservation and better habits. If I mention them someone will say they are silly but I am going to take a shot at it anyway.
Do the following:
Read my comments as listed in the archives.
Slow down. Our traffic on the interstate is moving at 75 mph. We could save a significant amount of fuel if we slowed down to 55. We all have to slow down.
Do some planning for trips to the store and shopping and work. Can you reduce a few trips by planning? Can you ride with someone else or give someone else a ride?
Can you have the children ride the bus and not join the long lines at schools?
Check the air pressure in your tires every 2 weeks.

Ask the big money and politicians to cut back on use of private jets and yachts.
Show some interest in conservation, alternative fuels and finding new sources of fuel.
When the futures traders see your interest and efforts and anticipate a reduction in price they will sell crude futures short before the price drops. This will absolutely cause oil prices to drop and reduce the profit going to terrorist supporters.

Need an incentive? The terrorists are supported by your excessive use of fuel. Without the billions we send them they would have to cut back on financing the death of our troops and people around the world. Think about please. We are sending them money to kill us! It is a lot easier to cut back at home.

News:Centanni,Ernesto,Iran and shuttle


HEADLINE NEWS SUNDAY AUGUST 27.

Centanni and Wiig released, Ernesto now Hurricane and heads for Florida, Iran pledges fight for nuclear use and US plans sanctions, shuttle delayed.

The journalists have been released and are safe as confirmed by CNN, Fox News and New Zealand diplomat. The photo above is one I took of Steve Centanni covering a presidential appearance in Daytona Beach

Ernesto has achieved hurricane status and is moving closer to Cuba. Computer models show it turning NE toward Florida and hitting Jacksonville area Thursday night. I will get my window covers ready, but the track could change and probably will the next few days. 4 of 5 computer models show it turning into north Florida.

Iran opened its heavy water plant needed to enhance uranium, the UN is softening its approach so the US is promising to enforce its own sanctions and might be alone. Other countries want a share of the billions of oil money flowing into Iran.

The shuttle launch pad was hit by lightening which is normal. Inspections to be made and possible launch target is just after 4 PM on Monday.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Attorney General and Reporters Undisclosed Sources

The Attorney General announces position on reporters being required to reveal undisclosed sources.

I have seen only one newscast about this subject and I expect there will be ample discussion and argument over the next weeks and months regarding this subject.
Reporters feel they have some first amendment rights to disclose information without revealing their sources.

I do not agree with them because they have already told us they should not use this practice unless it is a last resort. How can that be?

The constitution was very vague about the freedom of the press. In the first amendment a very short statement about congress not making any laws to abridge the press leaves a situation open to interpretation and argument as to what is the press that has this power.

I even found statements that it was better not to give any details so that it would slide through ratification easier. It was ratified by 9 states and it is interesting to review the states and their rural nature and possibly simpler expectations.

The press itself seemed to recognize the lack of definition and I believe, but am not positive, that they set up their own standards which helped define the press that would be protected by the first amendment.

Many feel the press is not conforming to its own standards and if not, I put forth the argument that if the press does not meet the definition of the press which it has helped to define, then it is not the “press” and not entitled to the protections given it. This would include the excessive use of undisclosed sources which some leading papers have covered in their standards as only being used in certain circumstances and as a last resort.

You can read my original posting on this subject, please go to Archive, select August 2006, and scroll down to August 11 under “Press, Free Press and Congress then The Freedom of the Press”

Happy Saturday America!

August 26, 2006
WEATHER:
The weather map has changed overnight so your newspaper map is outdated. Storms are shown this morning extending from North Texas up through Missouri to Illinois. Spotty rain showers along gulf coast of Texas and the west coast of Florida. There is rain in Jacksonville and the east I-4 corridor.

Tropical storm Ernesto is well organized and could develop into a strong hurricane. Watch this closely, it is in the Caribbean and is projected to head into the Gulf of Mexico about Tuesday. Key West should feel rain early Tuesday morning but many changes can take place.

Tropical Depression Debby is still out in Atlantic and will make a curve to the north and then northeast Sunday. If you are on a ship avoid the area.

Tropical storm Ileana is in the pacific and slowly weakening.
Hurricane Ioke is in the Pacific west of Hawaii.


HEADLINES TODAY:
Thank you Europe. The EU has pledged about half the troops needed for the occupation of Lebanon. From 5600 to 6900 will be sent and added to those already pledged. The French with the experienced foreign legion will head the groups.

The UN resolutions call for disarmament but Annan says it will not be by force? How do you disarm terrorists? They are like hit and run robbers-so one holds you up and you talk him into giving up his gun? I don’t think so. When you confront crooks with overpowering force they might give up or they might fight to the death.

The US is checking on the use of cluster bombs by Israel. Their use in Lebanon violated some agreement we have with them.

TODAY’S OTHER HEADLINES:
A psychology student from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania was found to have a stick of dynamite in his checked luggage on a flight from Argentina. There were 7 incidents yesterday of disruptions to US flights. Is it a full moon?

Iran has responded to UN demands with blah, blah, blah. They keep stalling. When it gets close to crunch time they will start an incident somewhere else. Let’s see, it is time for Noriega to create an incident or maybe even Castro.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Late news, Steve Centanni

Friday, August 25
There is late breaking news on Saturday night that some progress is being made with the captives of Steve Centanni of Fox News and his cameraman.
You can see a photo of Steve when he was in my area for the visit of The President in Daytona Beach, FL. Check the photo and my comments by going to the August archives and scroll down to august 15.
TAX REFORM OR MORE SNOW JOBS?
A second posting with more Fair Tax income.

In the first section of this subject of tax reform I introduced the Fair Tax to you and explained that your income would increase by the amount now deducted for withholding taxes and Medicare. Some employers might even pass along the amount they are now charged for their share of your withholding taxes.

I want to reveal to you another source of income that will also help to increase your monthly income.
Let me say that all the information I am giving you now is covered in the Fair Tax Book by Neal Boortz and John Linder. You should buy the book and study it. I am highlighting a few details to stimulate you and maybe clarify a couple of issues. I have found a couple of items I question and I will get to those also in future postings.

Now for another source of income. All heads of households will receive a payment each month to advance to them the cost of the consumption tax for the basic necessities of that household for that month.
Explain please: Let’s say you are a married couple and you have two children. At this time, the government has decided it will cost you $25,660 for your basic household requirements. If someone earned or spent below that amount it is defined as below the poverty level.
Don’t worry about the name, it is just the way to establish a figure to say that all income at or below that amount is required to give your family the basics. It has then been decided that a family should not pay sales tax on that amount. It would be unfair and cause a burden in taxation for lower income people. So the bill before congress requires the government to refund you in advance the tax on that amount which is $491.82
a month. Did you look at the withholding from your payroll stub? Let’s say you are having about $350 taken out for taxes: Add to that the $492 prebate and your income will increase almost $850 a month.
When was the last time your income went up about $10,000 per year? The fair tax has been recognized as the fairest treatment for lower income people.

Now let us examine this big increase. Most of that, the $492 will go for the consumption or sales tax. But remember the first lesson, when we get the corporate taxes that are passed on to you out of the sales price the final price you pay at the cash register will be almost identical to the price you paid before so that refund of $850 will really be a net increase in the money in your pocket. Do you know what happens when more consumers have more to spend? More of you can qualify for and afford to buy your own house so real estate will boom. With more money many of you will increase consumption so the economy will increase. Some of you will save some of that money so with increased savings mortgage rates will decline and more of you can afford mortgages which will also help the real estate market.

Without income taxes and taxes on savings more people will take their savings out of foreign deposits designed to skirt our taxes and deposit that money here in US banks. In fact our tax treatment for investment and savings will suddenly become the best or one of the best in the world so lots of money will flow into our banks. This will reduce mortgage rates, encourage investment and growth for our country and you will be much better off. There will be better jobs, a higher demand for your work and you will be very happy.

You can also always buy used items and save paying a consumption tax, it is OK. There will be a lot more spending and lots of taxes will be paid in just from the consumption of a more affluent America.
Tourists will come and they will help pay our taxes through their consumption. People who obtained money by various means whether it was a gift or it was stolen or it was for some unreported sales will now pay for their share of your taxes when they spend the money.

You do not have to worry about Social Security or Medicare any more; it will be funded and is provided for.

OK, that is enough for today. Absorb this and I will come back with some additional information. In the meantime you can read the book and you can go to the web site at www.fairtax.org. There might be a group of volunteers in your town who will explain more of the tax to you.
MEMORIES OF AN OLD MAN.

I remember the thirties.
I remember the poverty.
I remember people with college degrees begging for jobs as delivery boys.
I remember working all day for 50 cents.
I remember when I was about to be drafted to go into the army and crawl through rice fields in Korea and be killed.
I remember joining the Navy so I could have a shower before I died.
I remember donating shoes to send to our army in Korea because our defense budget could not afford to buy them.
I remember visiting countries where we traveled in groups for safety.
I remember seeing poverty so bad the people did not care about living.
I remember seeing young people offering to sell themselves for pennies.

And how I remembered seeing our flag flying over our possessions, our military bases and our ships at sea.
I remember seeing that flag and the protection and warmth it offered me and my comrades. When we were close to that flag we were embraced in a cocoon of protection and comfort.
Many of our veterans have died to protect that flag and make it strong.
I remember a number of almost a million servicemen and women have died so that flag can fly and lead us back to warmth and protection.

Our veterans who have died and many, many more who were wounded have asked you for a simple favor, it is an easy favor to ask and you probably think it is trivial and unimportant.

Please, as a very small favor to all who died or were wounded to give protection to your rights and freedom, will you please treat that flag as a part of their lives and think of them when you see it, handle it or retire it.

We veterans beg of you. Please allow us the simple courtesy of protection for that which we hold so dear. It is our life and our sacred duty to protect that flag so it will mark the way for you when you need to seek comfort.
We know we are asking something that might seem to be a sacrifice to you but please remember how much we gave for you and the small favor we ask in return.

Weather and headlines, Friday,August 25, 2006

WEATHER:
The US map is well visited by numerous highs and lows. Today the lows could dominate the east coast and influence tropical storm Debby. That storm will start to turn north this weekend but the influence of other forces could re-direct it to the north east coast of the US. Debby has just become better defined and we will watch it.
There are storm patterns right now in North Texas with rain headed east to Oklahoma.
There are also storm patterns around the great lakes drifting to the east over Lake Huron.
There is a tropical storm #5 in the South Caribbean that is well defined and will become tropical storm Ernesto soon. Predictions are for it to head west but that could change.

HEADLINES TODAY:
I see a typical pattern here of France talking about sending 4000 troops then reducing that to only 200 and now offering 1500 for Lebanon. The press reports that they agreed to increase from 200 to 1500 and it makes France look wonderful. Actually, they have let everyone down by dropping from 4000 to only 1500. That is 500 more than Spain and will probably allow France to still be in charge.
Meanwhile Kofi Annon is chatting with Iran and seeming to be opposed to sanctions. Time to investigate the flow of money?

TODAY’S OTHER HEADLINES:
The JonBenet maybe killer is in jail in the US. Will have to be charged today because that is the law in Colorado. If they left him in LA there would have been more time to investigate because the law gives more time. The smart money says the DA in Colorado is savvy and must have some other evidence. We will see….

Now we have a morning after pill. Good. Can only be purchased if over 18. Will result in large sales indicating high sexual activity at age 18 but unwanted pregnancies will decline in ages under 18. Potential for stem cell research will decline because of reduced birth rate.
There are no restrictions for stem cell research. When the federal government was authorized by the current administration for the first time to give money for research it was restricted to certain sources of cells. There are no fund restrictions for research when the funds are from private or public sources.

South Korea and Japan say North Korea probably has 1-2 nuclear bombs. That is a problem and this has been stirred up while Iran is under scrutiny. Too much activity is stirred up by Iran. Also Chavez is visiting China and was recently in Cuba.

Do we have enough military to take on more problems? A search of the internet indicates about one million four hundred thousand active military. Most of our troops in Iraq seem to be from reserves. Do we have a lot of military administration sitting around bases throughout the world? I have suggested we get about 800,000 on a training exercise around Iraq with the message that this sleeping giant is disturbed and the world better slow down and pay attention. See my previous post: “What would Teddy Do?”

Watch out for your laptops! The way things are going I would not be surprised to see some restrictions placed on carrying laptops on aircraft. Let us hope this settles down.

The final item is the most ridiculous item and that is the man in India who named his restaurant after someone we all hate. So is there a lesson to be learned here? If you want world wide publicity do what he did. Name your business after someone everyone hates. He selected Hitler. After the world talks about it, apologize and change the name and now you are known as the place that used to be named after Hitler but you are world famous and have lots of business.
Using this lesson I can get publicity for my blog by naming it after someone who is really hated by everyone. But who is hated by everyone?
“Saddam’s notes” maybe? Or the Enron Chronicles or the “Big Oil Pool” wait, I know who gets blamed for everything and the press says he is hated around the world- I will call it the “Bush Blast”
I am sorry; I did not mean to offend anyone.
I am changing the name back to the Divine Bullet (Dreaming up the silver bullet).
Have a great day.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

IRAN ATTACK OF OIL RIG

IRAN ATTACKS ROMANIAN OIL RIG
Late yesterday gun boats from Iran attacked an oil rig belonging to Romania in waters off Iran in a commercial dispute. Guns were fired and the workmen are being detained by the Iranian troops.
This was not reported in any of the papers and is still not on the wires. I received a tip and searched the internet for details.
GOOD MORNING AMERICA. Thursday, August 24, 2006

WEATHER:
When the newspapers went to bed last night they showed a low pressure area in the Dakotas and a high around Indiana producing moderate conditions throughout the country. This morning a low has formed in Southern California, 2 highs near Arizona and New Mexico which is good and a low near the Georgia, Alabama border. We can expect some activity developing today around those low pressure zones so check on those areas later in the day.
Tropical storm Debbie is expected to make a turn away from us and is still far out to sea and will not be expected to be a mainland problem.
NEWS:
It is interesting that a new stem cell procedure has been found that will not harm embryos. Still some controversy but looks promising. Headlines always refer to current administration as failing to sign bill that would allow stem cell research to expand but they fail to mention that it is the first administration ever to allow any stem cell research paid for with federal funding. Research paid for by private funds is not federally controlled.
Also in the headlines are Iran and Lebanon.
Iran is now willing to negotiate. The UN resolution called for sanctions if uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons not stopped. Iran’s’ offer to talk and negotiate is about everything but enrichment and they state they will not stop.
We have a dilemma. If we wait until they have the bomb we have to nuke them before they nuke us and hundreds of thousands of civilians will die. If we go in before they have the bomb we can use conventional weapons as in Iraq but there will still be casualties and much criticism as we have about Iraq. I doubt that we have the heart for it. I have offered a solution using a TR or JFK show of force. See my previous posting “What would Teddy Do”. The proposal will become more appropriate as time goes on.

Lebanon says if peace breaks down other militant forces will step in to help them. (Mostly terrorist groups). The peace is already breaking down due to UN failure to act and now China is pulling back now so the UN will not be helpful.

Some papers are discussing falling prices in real estate with a bubble about to burst. In my 25 years in real estate I saw this pattern before. Sellers will tend to rent their homes out until the prices firm up and will rent homes where they are moving to. Some will delay their moves and the impact will not be as bad as you might expect. In some areas there is an overbuilding of rentals and condos, these areas will suffer more because condo sales will slow except to investors at low prices and with financing. The cycle will change in about 5 years.

I posted my second part of the dialog request about issues instead of individuals and finished with my thoughts about grass roots movements. This second section should be read after reading the first part the day before. I split it because it was more than you want to read at one sitting.

Thanks for checking in.
Stewart “Stew” Rusby

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Democrat,Republican, Libertarian or Independent? Continued

A grass roots movement by bloggers toward the goal of changing campaign finance looks very interesting to me, even if we had to start a new party as great grandfather helped do or we selected candidates and worked to help them regardless of party line. Our representation has been bought out and we stood by and watched them do it. Now, with our blogs, we have the power to improve it.

Just as Lincoln was the result of a grass roots movement and there have been others such as anti discrimination movements. Right now there is a movement pushing tax reform with the Fair Tax program. The group and movement are growing with rallies of thousands in Atlanta and Orlando.

Also think about the growth of our huge grass roots movement of blogs throughout the world. Bloggers are bringing news directly without the control of editors or publishers and the movement is well documented in the book “Blog, Understanding Reformation” by Hugh Hewitt and published by Nelson Books. I will quote a couple of facts from his book but I urge you to buy it and read it. Our world is leaving the traditional newspaper world and taking news directly from the internet. It is not difficult to find blogs that are reliable and informative. You can tune into the life of citizens in many countries and learn what is happening immediately. You do not wait for tomorrow’s paper; you can get the news as it happens from where it happens. Good bloggers are great researchers. They dig and dig until they get reliable facts and report the information to the public with or without a viewpoint, however you want it. There is software available that will list blogs when you turn on your computer and you can scan those you like as often as you like. The best bloggers post several times a day. There are millions of blogs to choose from and search engines to help you find what you want. Some bloggers read many blogs before they post their own. Those who have developed a following of 20,000, 50,000, and 120,000 and so on keep in touch with what is happening. They are well informed, have developed a following and are relied upon for facts. I was really impressed with Hugh Hewitt’s style of documenting the source of all important information. His book is a resource and directory which speaks well for his law training and professorial credentials. He learned early that when learning and exhibiting skills academia does not accept news articles as source documents, they are very unreliable, you need source documents and the blog community only allows those who appreciate that to climb to relevance.

Howard Dean got a big boost from bloggers during his campaign and the Republican National Committee lists a blog on its current site.
When Hugh Hewitt wrote his book two years ago there were about 4 million blogs and there are about 60,000 being created each month and one estimate places the current total at 19 million. This huge growth took place in just a few years. Hewitt’s book is filled with statistics about the growth of the blogs and the influence they have had, the influence on the problems of Trent Lott, mistakes made by the New York Times, John Kerry’s claims about Christmas in Cambodia and lots more. Bloggers found information and spread the word and interfered with the influence of the main stream press.

I would like to see that power turned loose on the political scene. However, I do not want to start condemning any politician, after all, we allowed them to put themselves in this mess. But we must be heard and we must support those who will place their civic responsibilities ahead of personal goals. The Contract with America was a good example and demonstrated that many good politicians would place the community first. It was a goal of Newt Gingrich who is a historian which complements his problem solving abilities and I noticed just today there is renewed interest in him.

(Sometimes I start writing and the discussion seems to be influenced. Maybe great grandfather or my dad has more influence than we think.) Our country is in a mess with campaign finance and the influence of big money. We might as well not even vote! The candidates are selected by who will finance them and how well they can raise money, not on their interest in representing us. We are fed information by headlines carefully worded to steer our thinking and then we are polled to see if the influence is there and then our politicians tell us they will vote the way we want them to. But often they listen to their big dollar contributors and figure out ways to mislead us.
Blgos have the power to change it all. Blogs can give the people a chance to be heard.
GOOD MORNING AMERICA. Wednesday, August 23, 2006

WEATHER:
Much of the country is dominated by high pressure centers which tend to push storms away. There are a couple of lows moving across the center of the country. Storm is in northern Wisconsin this morning and another just moving off North Carolina. There is a tropical storm “Debby” just moving east from the coast of Africa that we will watch and a tropical depression “Hector” in the Pacific. Ileana and Ioke are still active in the Pacific.

NEWS:
Everything about the same as it was when you went to bed.
Iran is still game playing with typical efforts of terrorist’s states to keep us unsettled. They gain when they get our hopes up and then knock them down and depress us. The more they can do to depress us and make us unhappy with our leadership improves their position and makes us weaker and more willing to move back.

See my posting titled “What would Teddy do?” as to our best course of action.

The New York Times has brought up the UN peacekeeper rules of engagement from last week.

France is still dallying about how many to send to Lebanon. Is it 1500 or 3000 with higher figure being reconsidered so maybe they can be in charge?

Fox news taking note of increase in Bush approval polls.

O’Reilly had a segment about the decrease in welfare rolls due to legislation pushing welfare recipients back to work. His outlook was positive.
A local paper had an editorial citing same law and how it was failing and leaving many in poverty.
We need to sort this out. Who is correct?

Late yesterday I posted my thoughts about my political affiliations. I am trying to get a dialog going with people of different viewpoints so I am discussing my background.
I will follow that up today with some additional thoughts and action needed to remove the influence of campaign finance funds. Our politicians must sell their principles to get into and stay in office. I believe we must take some of the blame because we stood by and watched while congress got themselves into this mess. A representative is only in office 2 years and must spend most of that time raising funds to stay in office. There is little time left for serious leadership us so we are cheated out of our representation. This is an issue that should concern all citizens regardless of political outlook.
We can change this and I will talk to you about how we can do that. Later today.
Thanks for checking in.
Stewart “Stew” Rusby

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Democrat,Republican, Libertarian or Independent?

This is a touchy subject but one that we should review. None of us are too far apart in our beliefs of core values and I would like to reach members from all parties or points of view. I will explain why and also why I have been active as a Republican.

About 110 years ago my Great Grandfather, John Rusby joined a grass roots movement that was important to all of us. John had a community store in Franklin Township, NJ. The name of the town has since been changed to Nutley and the Rusby store was near the school.

A grass roots movement had started in the Midwest and spread across the North to the East. John became a member and supporter. The movement had a singular purpose and that was to end slavery. It was decided to start a new party and then they elected Abraham Lincoln as their candidate. Lincoln was elected and they went to war with the states that did not want to end slavery and during that war President Lincoln used his war time powers to sign and enact the Emancipation Proclamation which freed many slaves.

Lincoln took a big gamble but the strategy worked and resistance was overcome.
These are the same war time powers we are fighting over now in the attempt to intercept communications between terrorists. A number of presidents have used the same powers and there was an incident with FDR when he planned to appoint several more judges to the Supreme Court in order to control a ruling he needed to proceed with the war. Things worked out for him anyway so he did not proceed with the plan.

My Grandfather was a conservative minister and when Sears and Roebuck decided to sell alcoholic products in their popular home catalog Grandfather placed a large sign on his lawn on a very busy road and along with others placed great pressure on the company to change.

My Father sometimes took me with him as he worked as a Republican county committeeman to try to get candidates elected. My first memory of a campaign was when we stood along a small village street handing out flyers for Tom Dewey who was running against FDR. Mr. Dewey was across the street and he watched me handing out his flyers and must have wondered why we did not cross that small street and meet him. I might have even received an autograph. But Dad would not cross that street. He was a deacon in the church and Mr. Dewey was standing in front of the hotel bar. My dad never walked on that side of the street where there was a bar.

In later years I worked on other campaigns and the time came for me to decide if I wanted to run for public office. I wondered if I should continue on as a Republican, was I doing it because I believed in the goals or just because my Father was a Republican? I went to the library and looked up the principles of the Republican and Democratic Parties. It seemed that the Republicans were better organized in their goals and I felt closer to the goals so I stayed with them. I ran for an office of township committee and lost. Two years later I ran again and won as the only Republican with the other four Democratic members. In the next election we won two more seats and I became chairman with the honorary title of mayor, the youngest in my town. We moved to another part of our county and I did not run for re-election but then the bipartisan county committee appointed me to an economic development committee and we made a difference in our county.

Now I am looking at our goals of both parties. My Dad would have been so excited to see us with control of both houses of congress and the white house. For about 40 years the Democrats had control of at least 2 of the three and the Republicans could not fulfill their goals of smaller government and more conservative spending.

When we did achieve some control we were conservative for awhile with Mr. Gingrich but then we went on a spending spree and lost all our principles. Now the pork barrel is so big that many great republicans would be disappointed and ashamed.

Right now our government is lost to the control of rich individuals, the media, corporations and big movements who finance the campaigns and buy power from those running for office. Even their staff can now accept gifts so if you want to bring an issue to a congressperson you have to get it past an aide that might be paid off to block you.

Today I heard a part of the Neal Boortz radio show. Neal is a Libertarian and has given much assistance to the Fair Tax movement. Today he quoted some figures about the numbers of illegal aliens caught and returned under the Clinton administration and the number of companies fined for hiring illegal aliens. He then gave the figures for the same groups since Mr. Bush has become President. I must say I was shocked when he quoted figures showing both sets of the numbers had gone way down since Bush has been in office. We are talking thousands being reduced to hundreds or less. And then he hit us with which states had benefited the most. No one reports this. Boortz noted the Republican business community wants the workers and the end result is that it brings the Democrats more votes so neither side has fought this issue. I have to check Boortz sources and report back to you. For now consider it unverified however, Boortz is usually reliable but he does preach not to believe anything you hear on his show or see on his website without verifying it yourself.

If we, that is you and I concentrate on issues instead of party propaganda we could start our own grass roots movement and force a change in campaign finance. We have to take back control of our politicians and put them back to work for us. We cannot have them under the influence of those who do not represent the American people. Even if we were to provide the cost of their campaigns, better decisions and less pork barrel grabs would probably more than pay the large cost involved.

Good Morning America,Tuesday Aug. 22, 2006

GOOD MORNING !
WEATHER:
Much of the country is dominated by high pressure centers which tend to push storms away. Some mild activity around north Texas and neighboring states. Low pressure centers moved into place along the west coast states over night so keep an eye out for some activity in near future. Seems clear right now.

NEWS:

The headlines this morning are that Iran has deferred answer regarding cooperation to end of month. We expected something to happen today and we need to be alert. It is a high holy day for Iran and they picked this day for response. It might be that factions in Iran disagree. They are indicating complicated response and want more talks. China is asking that Iran dispute be settled peaceably. (They must have a new missile to sell).

Italy will send some peacekeepers to Lebanon if Israel keeps truce. No one seems to want to step up and help.
Bush at press conference wants to stay the course
CNN poll shows percentage of Americans opposing war increasing which shows influence of main stream press.
But I do agree we are all getting tired which is what the terrorists want. Stay strong.

I was really honored yesterday to have one of the really big blogs link to my site yesterday to highlight the story about war games in Iraq. This was done by the author of the book “Blog”, Mr. Hugh Hewitt and you will find a link to his very popular site in the links section on the left side of the page. Survival in this blog era depends on you, the visitors and recognition from Mr. Hewitt and his flattering words were a big boost.

My Wife, Sonia was recognized by her company and fills their main page with a non flattering but highly visible photo and write up. Check it out at http://www.palmcoastd.com

So have a great day, unless Iran has a surprise it should be a pretty good day. I am working on a couple of stories and will be posting more later today.
Thank you for visiting.

Monday, August 21, 2006

GOOD MORNING AMERICA, Aug.21,,2006

WEATHER:
High pressure areas have pushed most storms away. An exception is some activity this morning in North Texas, Oklahoma and Texas. The rest of the country is calm with some clouds in the South. Hector has reduced to a tropical storm north and east of Hawaii but Ioke has increased to a hurricane and it is southwest of Hawaii.

HEADLINES TODAY:
Gunmen ambush Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad again killing 22 and leaving hundreds wounded.
The UN wants the cease fire in Lebanon to be enforced. (They can’t seem to understand that is what we thought the UN would do.)

TODAY’S HEADLINES:
The JonBenet maybe killer is in jail in the US. Not yet charged and will provide news for weeks. Polls show you folks love this story.

A second trial of Saddam begins today, this time for genocide.

Lieberman moves to the left, maybe to satisfy polls and asks Rummy to resign.
Where are the solutions from our congress?
Check out this site below as I propose a bold action for the Far East. I believe it would make Teddy Roosevelt proud, maybe even JFK. But why do I have to try to divine this silver bullet. We pay people to do this.
Speaking of pay did you see that our government payroll is double that of the average citizen? Of course it costs double to live in Washington or many of our major cities like New York.

The NY Times adds a story about Britain not being able to reduce calls for murder for Islam.
They also feature the Europeans holding back on supplying troops for Lebanon security. The Washington Times reports the Lebanese defense minister has requested Syria not to incite Israel by firing at them.
Also in the Washington times there is a report of a possibility of Israel and Syria having peace talks.

The sports:
By this time you know Tiger Woods won the PGA open by 5 strokes. He seems to be back to his brilliance and wowed the crowd. His 12th major victory.

Matt Kenseth won the NASCAR race at Michigan. He is second in over all points.
Jeff Gordon came in second and Smoke (Tony Stewart) was third. Kasey Kane was fourth and Mark Martin was fifth.
Earnhardt, Jr. was sixth and was fun to watch. He ran a great race and lead for awhile. A stroke of luck kept him from being higher. It was especially nice to hear the tribute he gave Mark Martin as he described the fun he had racing a great pro and gentleman. Good job Jr. You are growing in the hearts of America.

What Would Teddy Do?

I think Teddy Roosevelt or FDR or JFK or even Regan would take a bold stand. I have been divining this silver bullet over the past 2 weeks. Unfortunately Iran has stolen my thunder so it will look like I am copying them. However, it is obvious Iran has some clever people on their side and they are making us look weak. The latest move is to show their strength during some war games.

I have been considering proposing the US and Allies have a war exercise or war games in Iraq in order to pull a JFK or Teddy and show our strength. We must tell the world that we are a friendly nation, if others ask for our help or appear in need we will help them, and those who treat their citizens with decency and fairness such as in a democracy, we will assist them and protect them to the best of our ability. We must also point out that we make mistakes and we try to go where we are wanted but sometimes conflicts arise. We want the world at peace and to feel safe. If others do not agree with our philosophy we do not care as long as they do not threaten world peace.

Many of our citizens would prefer that we become reclusive and protect what we have, but we are not selfish and we feel compelled to help others. That attitude keeps us in continual problems and that is the cross we bear.

If we are threatened we become angry and have been described as a sleeping giant. We need to demonstrate the power of that sleeping giant and do it in a dramatic way.

My proposal is to have a war games program in and around Iraq. While there we can clear out some intruders and try to bring peace to a troubled world. While living under Saddam this country has developed a system of self protection by demonstrating what is asked but concentrating on survival. We saw this when scientists admitted telling Saddam that they were developing advanced weapons and were on the verge of success and he kept supplying large sums of money which was used with survival as the goal. Dangerous promises in exchange for comfortable survival. Even Saddam reached his power as the head of a mob, he out tricked the trickiest of the country and murdered his way to power. Survival was not making Saddam unhappy, comfortable survival was pleasing Saddam and they learned their lessons well. Even when we liberated the country the citizens concentrated on survival and looted museums and palaces.

Today the country is filled with those who would bring back a regime that they can trick again for a more comfortable survival, tribes are fighting for personal power instead of sharing a free land with neighbors and now some tribes are fighting for independence and choosing to have their own country. Other countries are sending in terrorists to keep the country unstable, incite us to kill innocents and make us fight with each other in hopes we will do as we usually do and give up.

It is time to chastise them like a little boy and set some standards.
First: we need to have strength and courage and work together.
We must also illustrate to Iran and Syria that we have the might and power if really disturbed to bring them to an imposed peace. If they do not have the bomb we could attack selected bases and fight their army and navy. However, once they have the bomb we have no choice but to destroy them and all their innocent citizens with a bigger bomb delivered without warning before they can fire at our homeland. This is a tricky position aggravated by the greed of Russia and France and Syria and China and North Korea and Venezuela and Castro who want to sell them arms to help finance their own desires.
To see how Iran will become look at North Korea. They hold South Korea hostage by threatening them with rockets aimed in their direction at the moment we move against them. If we sneaked flights in and dropped the bomb on them it would destroy their innocent civilian population, rockets would be fired at South Korea and innocents there would be killed and then we would be concerned with retaliation of China and maybe Russia.

But, while we still have time we can demonstrate our strength and leave Iran and Syria wondering how serious we are.
According to several internet sites I estimate the size of our military at about 2 million active duty personnel. The range seems to be about 1.4 million active and 1.3 million reserves.
If we were to activate about half of our active military, a force of about 700,000 troops with their airplanes, ships and armaments and send them to Southern Iraq and have them sweep the country along the borders of Iran and Syria. Then we enfold down around Baghdad and while there locating intruders from Syria and Iran and clearing out weapons, including searching mosques and palaces. Our ships could disrupt but not block traffic to Iran and Syria.
We could invite other nations to bring in troops for training, the larger the force the better and it is a great place to train NATO and UN peacekeepers. We would all learn as we put fear in the hearts of our adversaries.
I am concerned that we could put in excess of 500,000 soldiers in the field, we need more and we need help from NATO and England.
We need congress to fund the effort quickly; we need the main stream press not to destroy the effort by criticizing it if it becomes an active program. Debate before and after but while in process it must be a concentrated effort of each and every one of us to show solid support that will tell these terrorist nations to “back off”. The giant is restless and we want to calm his fears.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

GOOD MORNING AMERICA,Sunday Aug.20,2006

WEATHER:
A powerful earthquake occurred between South America and Antarctica. (7.2)

Several low pressure points moved east from the West Coast indicating rain in a band from New Mexico through North Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas and also in the North East of the US.
There is a tropical storm 500 miles south of Acapulco and hurricane Hector is 1500 miles east of the Hawaiian Islands. (Usually called typhoons in the Pacific but marked hurricane).
High heat area from North Texas to North Louisiana.

NEWS:
Today’s news will be dominated by the return to the US of the JonBenet Ramsey maybe-attacker.
Attacks in Afghanistan by police and NATO aircraft killed 71 suspected Taliban. Other clashes caused death of 4 US service personnel.
Iran tested some short range missiles.

SPORTS
Tiger Woods now in tie for lead of the PGA tournament.
College football begins in about 2 weeks. (Go Cyclones).
NASCAR fans have a race at 2:30 EST from Michigan. The odds are for Kasey Kahne. The fans are for Jr. who won the Busch race yesterday. Smoke is lurking and Sadler made a good move.

I have avoided mentioning the name of the JonBenet maybe-attacker. The professional standards of newspapers, using the New York Times code of ethics as the example states that a suspect should not be identified until charged with a crime. I believe this maybe-attacker will be charged on return to the US. I will also mention the servicemen associated with the killings in Haditha. According to an interview by an attorney representing one of them, no one has been charged yet. The code of ethics has been violated and should be investigated. More about this subject in my report that you can jump to by clicking on the press, free press article previously printed. I hope you will also take note of my prediction of Lieberman’s potential success in the article I did about him just after his primary loss. That article is listed in the side bar also.

I saw an interesting interview of a young Muslim lady who is trying to organize Muslim women to take their religion back from those who have converted it to a terrorist program. She claims it is a peace oriented religion. We hear controversy about this subject with claims that the Koran instructs conversion or killing of non believers. I have been searching the Koran on line and have not been able to locate the issue. Most of what I read supports the young lady. I wish her well, in the organizations I have been associated with the ladies have been better organized and accomplished more than the men and I hope this movement reflects that same success.
The Iranians have outsmarted us on several moves. They diverted attention from their nuke program by stimulating a war with Israel, they made Israel look bad by hiding in civilian housing and causing civilian deaths blamed on Israel and then stepped in with huge amounts of cash they gave to the civilians and have plans to provide funding for rebuilding Lebanon and made it all look like it was backed by the United States. Now they are having war games demonstrating their power. All of this has been financed by our (and others) purchases of high priced oil because we are too important to use mass transportation.
We have been snookered.
(Please see my comments on Cars, planes and trains in the archives).

Saturday, August 19, 2006

GOOD MORNING AMERICA, Aug.19,2006

GOOD MORNING AMERICA
Saturday, August 19,2006
Your morning news:

Weather conditions include band of storms from New Mexico NorthEast to Ohio. Also Vermont and New Hampshire, Lake Superior and North East Florida. The west coast including Washington and Oregon look clear. Hurricane Hector SW of Baja headed NW into Pacific.

HEADLINES TODAY:
Iran launches military exercises.
Annan says UN will not wage war.
Skirmish in Lebanon by Israeli commandos and Hezbollah troops kills one Israeli soldier
Ramsey suspect or non-suspect to be flown to US on Sunday
Seven Shiite religious pilgrims gunned down in Baghdad
Ford to halt production in 10 plants.
FDA approves bacteria killing spray for food that kills six viruses that kill hundreds each year.
Just off the blogs: Israel arrests Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Media Confusion, JonBenet Ramsey and Air traffic disruption

JonBenet Ramsey and the media frenzy.

What we are experiencing is a mass of confusing reports about the facts related to a reported confession related to this tragic death. At the same time there was a flurry of contradictions in reports related to a disruption of a passenger Jet flying to Washington, DC from London.

The confusing reports were discussed on the O’Reilly show with Bernard Goldberg and Jane Hall.
The opinion expressed seemed to excuse the media by stating the media relied on “official” information which was incorrect. O’Reilly expressed that it was difficult to get information that he could depend upon.

I respect their opinions, they are far more experienced than I am, however I feel the press and the media are not following the standards set out for them selves. If you look on the sidebar at my recent posts and select “Press, free press and congress” you will find the standards that require presenting all sides of an issue and if the reporters had contacted all sides including investigators and police officials involved they would have presented the different stories to the public and we would not have been misled.

I believe my comments about this subject were substantiated by these incidents. There is a site that tracks media reporting and bias called the Media Research Center and you can keep up with their reports at http://www.mediaresearch.org/welcome.asp

Thursday, August 17, 2006

New approach to politics and gay marriage

A new approach to politics:

I have been thinking about my personal goals what direction should I take with my blog. I have to define myself and my objectives and I have been thinking about what if I tried to develop a communication with people of all political backgrounds. I have friends, neighbors and family who have views that are not in agreement with mine but we get along fine, they are all nice people and I have warm feelings about all of them even though we might have different political views.
So I have thought about trying to open a dialog with people who feel some changes need to be made in our representation in Washington and elsewhere and avoid the politics.

As I was contemplating this I stumbled into a web site connected to Wikipedia and I hope you will take a look at the site and at the mission statement. I believe it will help me meet my goal and I hope you will participate also.

The founder of Wikipedia has started this new project called Campaigns Wikia. It will be found at http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Community_portal and its mission statement, a message from the founder can be found at http://campaigns.wikia.com/wiki/Mission_Statement or just look for the link on the left side of the page.


A passing comment about gay marriage.

I do not have a problem with gays forming a family arrangement. I am one of those who believe that being gay is not voluntary, rather, it is in the genes and the individual has no choice. In fact, why would someone choose a lifestyle that causes them difficulties? There are many times gays are treated badly and I cannot see them seeking the difficult hurdles by choice.
One factor should not be overlooked. Marriage is a church supported ritual and can we impose laws that dictate how the church operates? I think not. If a church wishes to adopt a policy on their own that is their business but we should confine our government intervention to civil ceremonies only.
If you feel the government can impose restrictions on the church then you should also approve putting religious symbols and traditions back into the government buildings, ceremonies and procedures.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Tax Reform

Correction to previous blog re Free Press:
The third paragraph describes a condition where persons within a sphere of influence will be influenced to emulate a more dominant phiosophy. I believe I had been introduced to this concept by an appearance of Hugh Hewitt during a TV Cable interview. I am now reading Hugh's book "BLOG" and it describes this concept and reminded me of the source of my opinion. Please read the book, it is excellent. Also visit his site www.hughhewitt.com and enjoy his current comments. Hugh prides himself on being accurate and providing reliable and truthful information. I believe in Hugh and he inspires many of us. I apologize for not giving credit before now.

The posting for today will introduce you to a subject that I will discuss in several postings.

TAX REFORM OR MORE SNOW JOBS?

Congress likes to treat us like they raise mushrooms:
You keep them in the dark, cover them with BS and at the first sign of life cut them off at the roots.

I think tax reform would be to totally simplify and reform our complicated tax system. Congress likes to make modifications with special exemptions for special groups which mean the rest of us pay more. It gives the congress power. I put through your exemption, now you help me. Now, it is even OK to send their aides some special gifts, so if the aide is getting a trip from a special group and you want to talk to the senator about a problem with that group, forget it, your mail will probably never reach that senator.

I want to see total tax reform. I would like to see a specialized group of experts study the situation and then come up with a better plan.

Believe it or not, my prayers have been answered. A group of successful business men have put together twenty million dollars and hired economists and accountants to make a study and they have discovered some very interesting things that will help us. In fact, if they can implement their findings your income will increase, much of the IRS staff will be absorbed into other duties, social security and even Medicaid will be fully funded. As a bonus our economy will expand as money from all over the world comes to or comes back to the USA for its tax advantages.

What this hired brain trust found was that in each product we buy, the price is increased by the cost of taxes paid by each participant of producing the product. Corporate income taxes, workers share of taxes paid by the companies, income taxes paid by truckers and other contract workers. The amount of tax paid varies by product but if you buy a VCR for $100.00 on average $22.00 is going to pay taxes. So the brain trust says stop taxes so the price will drop to $78.00 and then add back in $23.00 as a built in consumption or sales tax and now the price will still be about $100.00 but now there is a big difference.

Look at your last pay check and note the amount that is deducted for taxes and social security. If that amount were paid to you instead of being deducted see how much your take home pay will increase!

And that is not all the increase you will receive but you will have to wait for the next issue so I can feed this information to you in small bits so you can absorb it. The tax is known as the “Fair Tax” and you can research it on your own. But please come back as I lead you through the benefits and drawbacks of this program and why it will not pass unless you want it.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Steve Centanni and crew missing


STEVE CENTANNI TAKEN HOSTAGE!

Here is a photo of Steve at work in Daytona Beach during the last presidential campaign.
I was amazed to see him appear about every half hour and give an update. I assume he had to work hard to report in 30 different ways to say the crowd was waiting for the president. There was a press tent nearby where the reporters such as Steve could get press releases and sit at long tables to update their presentations. Now and then he and his crew would climb up on a flat bed trailer, fire up their camera and Steve would give report after report and try to look excited and interesting at each individual appearance. It was striking to see how much routine and boring work there was involved in preparation for a short minute of fame broadcast around the world.

It takes pros like Steve to make these appearances work, for example, on one appearance there seemed to be a short in the microphone wire and there was an indication of Steve even getting a short jolt of electricity. As the crew moved to help, Steve seemed to know which wires to twist and retaining ring to turn and the show went on with no indication of trouble.

I do not understand why they would go after Steve Centanni. He is a straight reporter. He gives the news and reports what is happening without any hint of personal feelings. Everyone gets a fair shake with Steve, just the report of what each has to say and no indication of bias. Why some group would take Steve does not make sense because they have silenced a reporter who gives their actions a fair description.

Steve has a long history of reporting from battlefields for Fox news and he has been in many risky situations. Let us hope his captors will keep him well. There is no indication who might have taken him, this group of masked, well organized and trained men who completed a well planned act of whisking him away from near a Palestinian security building in Gaza City.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Confusion

A HEADLINE WE DO NOT EXPECT TO SEE:
UN ENFORCES RESOLUTION WITH SANCTIONS.

A HEADLINE WE DO EXPECT TO SEE:
MORE BRIBES SUSPECTED AT UN.

CONFUSION

Here is the topic of the day!

Confusion is the key word.
We are not sure what is going to happen in Israel and Lebanon.
Where would you send a message to Hezbollah? They are not a country; they are not a member of the UN and are not bound by agreements with it. We only think we know who the head of the group is; he is a cleric who wants to kill many of us if not all of us. He teaches his followers that their supreme being will give them carnal rewards in heaven and it is honorable to kill us.

Word coming out of Israel is that the troops fought under difficult and confusing conditions. The people are unhappy with the truce agreement and more so as they learn more about it. They blame their prime minister and the United States and in particular, our president.

Militarily our best approach would have been to assist Israel and help them win. We need to consider the influence of Iran and Syria as suppliers and enablers. However, we followed the wishes of the critics and worked for a diplomatic solution and now we will be blamed for that.

We are one of the most powerful nations in the world and we are fighting the financial interests of the two other strong nations plus two that are on the verge of being a serious problem and another that is emerging as a serious problem.

You know who I mean. China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and don’t forget France. Which of these are interested in financial gains and how many are ready to buy influence in the UN?

We can look for a strong leader to take us out of this mess but no country has faced a problem with these same conditions or as serious.

Congress needs to get beyond the politics and work for a solution. This is a time when men and women of quality will place the safety of their constituents ahead of their own political aspirations.
Who among you can lead us like Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK or Regan. Bush has the dedication but he lacks the confidence of the nation to back a bold solution. Many will say the confidence was stolen from him by powerful interests. Those interests are too selfish to give it back and he has about 2 years to go. We cannot wait for a new leader to emerge. If Congress does not pull together, the failure of our nation will be placed upon them by historical reflection.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Press, free press and congress

Newspaper headlines we will never see!
500 WMD'S FOUND IN IRAQ
(A couple months ago)


THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS!

The American Society of Newspaper Editors has a statement that ends with: “These principles are intended to preserve, protect and strengthen the bond of trust and respect between American journalists and the American people, a bond that is essential to sustain the grant of freedom entrusted to both by the nation’s founders.” The ASNE further states: “Freedom of the press belongs to the people. It must be defended against encroachment or assault from any quarter, public or private. Journalists must be constantly alert to see that the public’s business is conducted in public. They must be vigilant against all who would exploit the press for selfish purposes.”

If the press were meeting the responsibility of freedom entrusted to it why then would so many subscribers be going to other sources for news. Why would there be so many objections from a large segment of the population about bias. Why would there be so many objections published about bias and unfair coverage?

However, I do not think the press wants to distort the news but they seem to be guided by their own societal influences. In our major cities we have some fine entrepreneurs who are leaders in their community. If you want to work for them or receive some other benefit from them you will be careful to understand their viewpoint and might even emulate it. At the very least you are not going to argue with them. Therefore, that person will tend to think that his or her viewpoint reflects the majority viewpoint of the community. When this influence is apparent in the press or other media the leaders and those around them can easily feel they express the majority opinion when in fact, commitment to that opinion might be shallow.

The right to freedom of the press is found in The Bill of Rights, Amendment #1.
It is part of a longer sentence and includes other directives so look for yourself and see if you agree that it is a very simple statement without any explanation or limitations:

Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press.

Possibly the framers were considering an event such as a building burning down or a duel between two men of distinction and they wisely decided and the states agreed that congress would not enact any laws that restricted the transference of that information to us. These were prudent men, in simpler times wanting to convey information to their citizens.
Madison’s notes were simple and his draft read: “….and the freedom of the press as one of the great bulwarks of liberty shall be inviolable.” This was changed by the committee,
“The freedom of …and of the press…shall not be infringed” This was again changed by the senate to its present form.
There is no indication of debate about the subject other than Madison warning against abstract propositions and keeping it simple to aid ratification.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/06.html
My impression of case law and decisions by the supreme court have been related to supporting the principle of the press having access to records and that is not our problem.
http://usinfo.stategov/journals/itdhr/0297/ijde/goodale.htm
Our problem is the lack of complete disclosure of the viewpoint of all sides or the subtle repetition of a favorite viewpoint.
There were also prudent gentlemen concerning themselves with ethics of various situations, especially in medicine and law. Restrictive codes of ethics were developed by the press and these have given me guidance in my comments.

Before we proceed with the ethics we should consider the times and conditions related to the founding of our constitution.
In the 1770’s our country faced a serious turmoil caused by the throwing off of British rule, taxation, trade restrictions and westward expansion. However, the loss of these restrictions also caused the loss of protection and markets provided by the Brits. My most enjoyable and concise source of this information has been “A Brilliant Solution” by historian and author Carol Berkin, (Harcourt 2003). Dr. Berkin writes an enlightening view of the conditions at the time of the preparation of our constitution and I urge you to obtain and read the results of her research. She describes the controversies that developed between the states, some tariffs established, the difficulties of doing commerce and the frustration that brought the original states to band together as a confederation and then establish a constitution which became law when ratified by just 9 states with large rural areas.

When the decision was made to adopt such a simplistic directive that congress will not abridge the freedom of the press I wanted to understand what the supporters had in mind and that led me to an 1800 dictionary to define “press” which is related to the business of publishing the “News”. The “news” is defined as a previously unreported event. These are not clues that help me understand their simple, all inclusive action.

During my research I looked at the history of codes of ethics and that seems to be a historical thread of interest. It is quite possible that the early press recognized the void left by no clear definition of the press and so the press attempted to define itself so that by following some standards of performance it would preclude the investigation or consideration by the congress.
If we assume this is the reason for establishing the codes of ethics then we see a clear and interesting pattern with a code that has defined the operation of the press.
You can read the statement of principles of the American Society of Newspaper Editors on line. Just search newspaper code of ethics for many resources. I did find the Olympian in Washington was an easy summary list to review. http://news.theolympian.com/ethics/ and the Virginian Pilot also had an interesting presentation. You want to look at the New York and Los Angeles Times codes of ethics although it appears these might have been revised in recent years.
Finding the older, more original codes helps to give the early thinking of how the press wanted itself to be considered.

When you review these codes you understand the definition the press gave itself. It established its identity and standards to meet so that the public could be assured of receiving complete and unbiased news from a group worthy of the protection of our constitution.

If the press does not meet the standards and definition of its process as defined by itself, does it then fail to meet the definition in the constitution and therefore be subject to standards to be enacted by congress? The first amendment says congress will make no laws that abridge the freedom of the press, but if the press fails to meet the standards established by the press itself does it then fail to meet the definition of the term press in the first amendment and is therefore eligible for control by the congress?

Examples from a code of ethics:
“A fair-minded reader of Times news coverage should not be able to discern the private opinions of those who contributed to that coverage, or to infer that the newspaper is promoting any agenda.”
“Reporters should try genuinely to understand all points of view.”
“People who will be shown in an adverse light in an article must be given a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves.”
“Relying in print on unnamed sources should be a last resort,…”
“Fabrication of any type is unacceptable.”
“The Times does not identify suspects of criminal investigations who have not been charged or arrested.” ….”If someone we have identified as a suspect ultimately is not charged, we should make that known in a follow-up story. The follow-up should be played comparably to the original story if possible.”
“Editorial employees may not use their positions at the paper to promote personal agendas or causes. Nor should they allow their outside activities to undermine the impartiality of Times coverage. In fact or in appearance.”
“Staff members may not engage in political advocacy-as members of a campaign or an organization specifically concerned with political change. Nor may they contribute money to a partisan campaign or candidate.” (Note: visit the LA Times)

The next consideration is to evaluate the performance of the press over the past few years. A great way to review how well the press has performed is to read the book “Blog” by Hugh Hewitt. (Nelson Press, 2005). It is an easy and enjoyable read and anyone interested in this subject will enjoy it..

Mr. Hewitt is a radio show host, a professor of law at Chapman University Law School, author of several books, columnist and a blogger. He can be found at http://www.hughhewitt.com/ His book and his web site will give many examples of media distortion and bias. If you have reviewed the codes of ethics you will see that the press is not meeting its own standards. Other media such as television and the internet do not have the sophisticated codes such as are found in the press so it is not likely that they could be included in the action being discussed.

Mr. Hewitt’s book will give well documented examples of how the bloggers have made many of these failures of the press and the media obvious to the public and resulted in changes in the position of those involved. Maybe bloggers can be the safety control of the media but I think the media and the press must recognize their unique position and do something to make changes. If they do not make corrections soon, I feel there is justification to amend the constitution to define the certain limits, relying heavily on the standards established by the standards of the media itself, their code of ethics and I feel as long as the change is confined to the handling of the news, not the access to the news it should receive a favorable hearing before the courts.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Joe Lieberman

HEADLINES WE DREAM ABOUT!

BLAIR, BUSH,PAKISTAN COUP
DILIGENCE KEEPS COUNTRIES SAFE

CONGRESS CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION IN FAILURE OF US ATTEMPS TO INTERCEPT PLANE BOMBINGS.

JOE LIEBERMAN

Did Lieberman lose in Connecticut?

Lieberman finished with 47% of the Democratic Vote and his opponent received 52%.

Leo Hindery, a Democratic fund raiser appeared on Fox News channel and stated that he could read a lot of anti Bush in the vote. If that is true, he means 52% of Democrats, if that is true Hinderey needs to worry about the 47% of Bush approval in his own party.

Did Joe Lieberman really lose?
There are 700,000 Democratic registered voters, 450,000 Republican and 930,000 independent voters. (Heard on Fox)

So if Lamont gets 52% of the Democrats, 47% of the Independents and 10% of the Republicans he will have a total of 804,000 votes.

If Lieberman gets 47% of the Democrats, 25% of the Republicans and 50% of the independents he ends up with 861,000 votes and wins the election.

The Democrats have many places to use their funds that are more important than Connecticut. They know Lieberman will still stay with the party vote so there is no incentive to pour more money into the state.

The Republican probably could not win but Lieberman has the best prospects. I used figures based on 100% turnout. The Anti vote will have a better turn out and that will be the anti Lamont.

To check out the voter statistics check out www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/election_results/statistics/enrolhst.pdf

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Simple solutions 7-07

Simple solutions workshop for August 2007:

How come about 1/3 of the oil we be buy comes from Canada and yet we worry about taking oil from the North part of Alaska? How come environmentalists are not concerned with locations closer to our border and the headwaters to some of our streams?

How come we always harp on Richard Cheney about the money he makes from Halliburton and the edge they get because he is in a position to help them? I hear one of the largest stockholders was Lyndon Johnson and now it is his estate. Lady Bird must be doing OK. I wonder who her friends are.

How come you cannot quote someone else as testimony in a court case and keep their identity confidential? The media does it all the time and will crucify someone with information from unnamed sources.

How come we have one million four hundred thousand active military (according to Wikipedia) but only 140,000 are available to go to Iraq? (And many of these are from the reserves, not the active troops). Does that mean that 90% of our troops are not capable of helping to defend us?

Just suppose about 20,000 thieves and murderers descended on a large city, took some police officers as hostages and took control of the water servicing that city, threatening to cut off its supply. These thieves hid among the population and used them as shields. About 10,000 well equipped police officers were dispatched to try to capture them and it became a long and difficult process. Every time a civilian shield was shot the police were reprimanded, not the thieves. Surrounding mayors and governors refused to send help but demanded that the police work for a cease fire. What? Ask a murderer to agree to a cease fire? You mean you recognize the thieves, give them status and expect them to make an honorable commitment?
Get a life America. A similar scenario is happening now in the far east and it will come here soon. Part of our supply of oil for heat and light is threatened to be cut off if we fight back. The thieves are already infiltrating our sanctuary without borders and preparing to attack us. (See WWW.CNSnews.com)