Rachel Maddow offers Republican Voters 3 Minutes of Political Sanity

Hatred only breeds more hatred.

North Carolina pastor calls for death of gays, lesbians by trapping them inside electric fence? Read More...



First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

~ Pastor Martin Niemöller

“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” ~ Sinclair Lewis

Mitt Romney ~ Serial Flip Flopper?

YouTube has changed forever how a campaign manages the theme and messages of a candidate. Love it or hate it, in 2012, every recorded word a politician utters in front of voters becomes part of the digital public record. In an exclusive news release to Reuters in January, Google reported roughly '60 hours of video is now uploaded to YouTube every minute'. The theory that a candidate can use an 'etch-a-sketch' to change political direction in the middle of a campaign is dead. Campaigns are no longer a debate over ideas but about the actual use of words. And yes, this blogger believes a politician's use of words reveals something about the person. Read More...

Betty White endorses Obama for re-election?
Read More...

Newt Gingrich endorses Mitt Romney?

Question: "Are you calling Mitt Romney a lair?"
Newt: "Yes."


Romney Pays Surprise Visit to his Money in the Caymans?
No Timetable for Withdrawal, Says Presumptive Nominee
Read More...

Economics 101?

How did Mitt Romney get Rich?


Is Romney the Wrong Kind of Rich?
Read More...

Where is K Street?

According to the latest CNN/ORC International survey, 72% of Americans favor enactment of the so-called 'Buffet Rule'. Despite its popularity among a majority of voters, the Republicans in Congress continue to block all legislation dealing with tax fairness and corporate welfare.
Read More...

"Power is crack. Money buys crack." ~ Self


Congress approves wide-ranging
ethics rule?
Read More...

"Words can be deleted, but the facts won't be deleted with them."
~ Ai Weiei



On June 13th, 2009, my wife and I were still living in the Chinese city of Changsha. After lunch, I turned on CCTV to catch up on the latest news. There on my TV screen were the CCTV news anchors discussing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory with a visiting Iranian Professor and a representative from the Iranian Embassy. A graphic crawl indicated that CCTV had scheduled ALL DAY extended coverage of the Iranian Election.

After about 20 minutes, the TV went black. Roughly two minutes later, a travel documentary started airing. No mention was made about why the station went dark or the sudden, unannounced change in programming. Curious, this blogger logged onto the internet and discovered that Iranians in Tehran were taking to the streets to protest the election results.

Economic sanctions against Iran? What sanctions? One member of the security council will continue doing business with the current Iranian Government (as well as the DPRK).

It is what it is?

Tea Party Socialists in North Dakota?
Read More...

My Dog Is On The Roof? I Love Cars?

In 50 years, how will future historians and political scientists judge the impact of social-networking and unlimited Super PAC money on the ideological battles being waged in 2012 and beyond?


"Few businessmen are capable of being in politics, they don't understand the democratic process, they have neither the tolerance or the depth it takes. Democracy isn't a business." ~ Malcolm Forbes

Greatest Moment in Television History?

All in the Family: Fan Favorites DVD

Does anybody know the phone numbers to Rush Limbaugh's pharmacists?

I had a sudden urge to wear a polyester, wild print disco shirt with bell bottom pants. Thankfully, it passed rather quickly...

Mr. Lee singing "Man in the Mirror"

July 2009

Seoul, R.O.K.

Campaign Humor?

Sadly, this bit of YouTube political satire sounds less crazy than the candidate's actual quotes on the campaign trail...

Worst Political Joke of the Week?
Gynecologist to patient: Ma'am, I think I see your problem. There are too many Republicans in your vagina.

Contraception Crusade?

Rick Sextorum surging in the polls?

Up to this point, this blogger has avoided writing anything of substance regarding this specific GOP hopeful. Why? To be honest, I've always considered the former Pennsylvania Senator a one-dimensional candidate.

Basically, his key political talking points are centered around three main social-conservative issues: abortion, same-sex marriage and birth control. On this last point, the candidate is on record as saying that states should have the right to ban all forms of birth control. Read more...

At a time when the 2012 election should be about jobs, jobs and jobs, this candidate continues to attract voters with a theocratic agenda regarding the role government in the private lives of its own citizens. Read More...

Limited government? Really? A woman who is raped should be denied the option of taking the morning after pill (a form of contraception)? A daughter, wife or mother must carry around her pain and shame for nine months to fulfill some religious, moral obligation to society? A zygote has more rights than a victim of rape or incest? Since when did an acorn dipped in water become a tree? Every Sperm is Sacred?


Morality? What morality? How is a product of rape a gift?

And condoms, which have helped turn the tide against the human tragedy of the AIDS pandemic, should be outlawed? Believe it or not, banning condoms will not stop people from having sex, so why even go back down this rather dangerous public health road? The Vatican and the Catholic Church? Humanae Vitae?

Is it really 2012? Read More...

This whole political mythology that the Republican Party somehow holds a monopoly on so-called Family Values is completely absurd. Read More...

In 2009, by it's own published estimates, Catholic Charities received 67% of its funding from "Government Revenue". Read More...

If a so-called religious organization receives more than 50% of its funding from the government, should it still be allowed to call itself a religious charity? When did a hospital become a church? Why is the government giving taxpayer money to religious institutions in the first place?

In Florida, Mitt Romney destroyed Newt Gingrich with $15,000,000 worth of negative TV and radio ads. No matter what this blogger thinks or writes about Rick Santorum, it's clear that Romney's Restore Our Future Death Star is already preparing to put down The Alliance to Restore the Republic rebellion in Arizona and Michigan. While money "can't buy you love" (or votes), it sure helps when you're a Presidential hopeful battling all sides of the political Force.

Special Note to Dr. Ron Paul Supporters:
Speaking of liberty, Viagra is sold as an over-the-counter drug in China.

Possible Definition of Mainstream Media?

Twenty years ago, if a Presidential candidate said something to a small crowd in a coffee shop in New Hampshire, the words and emotions of that moment would forever stay in that moment.

Times have changed. Believe it or not, it was just seven years ago yesterday the domain name YouTube.com was activated. It's difficult to image today's digital world without an endless stream of uploaded cute puppy and dancing baby videos. Beyond the funny and humorous, with a cell phone, one person has the power to change the political conversation. Links to a YouTube video, shared on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, can actually be "the shot heard around the world".

In an exclusive news release to Reuters, Google reported that YouTube receives more than four billion video views a day. Additionally, 60 hours of material are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Read More...

Despite being BLOCKED by the Chinese and Iranian Government, judging this website by just the raw numbers, YouTube is already recognized globally as mainstream.

In terms of describing and defining the mainstream media itself, radio stations, TV stations and printed newspapers are all traditional, brick and mortar type business operations.

In the view of this blogger, if a syndicated talk show host reaches millions of daily listeners on more than 600 radio stations, by definition, that individual is a card-carrying member of the mainstream media. If this same college dropout earns more than $40,000,000s a year speaking into a Golden Microphone and actually watched Superbowl XLVI in the luxury box of the New England Patriots owner, Rush Limbaugh's sheer wealth, political connections and public notoriety makes him the poster child of today's mainstream media.

Happy Birthday Charles Darwin?

There's a certain truth to the saying that "a dog is man's best friend". For this blogger and his wife, our JoJo is family (see photo).

Which brings me to the point of this particular post. At the time Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, Boston Terriers, as a breed, did not exist. But then again, we could deny that a man-made process employing elements of natural selection helped create the distinctive look and personality of our beloved family member. With actual physical evidence that evolutionary processes are part of the natural order of life, why do a significant percentage of Americans still believe otherwise? Read More...

We love JoJo not because he's a Boston Terrier. We love him because he loves us. He brings joy to our daily lives. This blogger would no sooner deny his existence then the existence of God. "All dogs go to Heaven!"

Still confused? Add an R to the word evolution and it's actually possible to understand something about the guiding principals and the original intent of America's Founding Fathers. In 1776, there was no contradiction between individual faith and freedom, a belief in a God and the use science as a tool to explain our world. Read More...

America's Darwin Problem?
Read More...

"If someone in 2012 wants to criticize Henry Ford because he didn't know everything about automobiles a century ago, it's a little silly. If someone says evolution did not happen, walk away, just like you should walk away if someone says astrology works or the Moon is made of cheese."
~ Hank Campbell
Read More...

Sadly, on more days than not, the political battles in 2012 feels like the country is undergoing a rapid process of de-evolution. Read More...


Suggested Reading: The Galileo Affair

Super Bowl Madness?

Original audition for ESPN's SportsCenter?

George Carlin ~ The American Dream

While Bill Gates & Warren Buffet are well-known Billionaire philanthropists, behind the scenes, the Koch Brothers have spent millions upon millions of dollars to change the way Americans think. Is it wrong? Perhaps. It all depends on your flavor of Kool-Aid. READ MORE...

Possible Definition of Cre·a·tiv·i·ty?

[kree-uh-tiv-i-tee]

Karl Rove's Answering Machine?

Rick Perry: Hey Karl. This is Rick again. After our Vail meeting with the Koch Brothers back in June, this whole running for President sounded like a sure thing. Heck, waiting until after the debt ceiling crisis to announce the campaign was outstanding advice.

[PAUSE]

I'm not sure why no one is answering my calls. I've left a dozen messages with the folks over at Faux News, but they keep telling me you're out. Anyhow, it'd be great buddy if you could call me back. The wife's cooked up your favorite brisket and potato salad...

[BEEP]

Hello? Karl? You there? Hello?

[CLICK]

Astroturfing versus Occupy?
Wikipedia: The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. Can you say corporate greed in bed with an unresponsive government?

Bilingual Sign in Burger King Parking Lot, Socorro, New Mexico (September 2009).
Burger King Deluxe Latex Mask

Bloomberg Markets Magazine
Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer
With Secret Iran Sales
By Asjylyn Loder and David Evans - Oct 3, 2011
Read More...

The following comment was posted by an anonymous reader regarding Bloomberg's featured exposé on Koch Industries:

"As a Kock employee I know for a fact that if you call their compliance line to report anything that violates their code of coduct that you will end up being fired. I've seen it happen with several former employees, and they are in the process of trying to fire a person who just reported illegal activities.

So maybe you should look up the facts first. I live the horror of the Koch brothers everyday. They only believe in liberalism for themselves and their billionaire friends. The rest of us are just ants that need to be squashed."


"The culture of investment banks was conveyed to commercial banks and everyone got involved in the high-risk gambling mentality. That mentality was core to the problem that we're facing now." 
~ Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning economist (September 19, 2008)

Suggested Reading Links:
Glass-Steagall Act
Astroturfing
Echo Chamber
Nation of Whiners?
Health Care Reform Fact Checker

Breaking News: North Korean Kim Jong-il Dead?

This may be the first real foreign policy test of the Obama Administration.

As I've already stated in a previous post, since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the DPRK has been a proxy state of the People's Republic of China.

With the announced death of Kim Jong-il, it remains to be seen how Beijing will respond to any unforeseen internal power struggle within North Korea itself.

Despite the best efforts of Beijing's leaders, it's still possible the death of Kim Jong-il could eventually lead to a crisis similar to what the Chinese themselves experienced following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 (see Gang of Four). Historically, the transition of power within a Communist country after the death of a cult of personality type leader is not uncharted territory. The question remains whether a Stalin or a Gorbachev is waiting in the wings to eventually seize the reigns of power in Pyongyang.

With or without Kim Jong-il, the CCP's economic and military approach to the DPRK will remain the same. For both China and North Korea, the shared political goal for both regimes can best be described with three simple words: Stability. Stability. Stability.

Let me be clear about this next point. Despite its policy to maintain political stability on the Korean Peninsula, if the DPRK ever attacks South Korea, blood will be on the hands of the CCP and the PLA.

"As soon as man began considering himself the source of the highest meaning in the world and the measure of everything, the world began to lose its human dimension and man began to lose control of it."
~ Václav Havel

For this blogger, it's interesting how the weekend passing of a man like Václav Havel contrasts with the death of the DPRK's "Dear Leader".
The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central-Eastern Europe [Paperback]

...perspective...

North Korean Performers
Wangjing, Chaoyang District, Beijing
June 2008