History Repeats Itself in the Middle East

A senseless movie clip is obviously being used as a motivator to commit crimes against Americans in Muslim countries and nations with high Muslim populations. It has been reported that some of the rioters have been using relatively sophisticated weapons such as rocket propelled grenade launchers (not exactly the kinds of weapons in the hands of most rioters). Relying on television reporting, I can only conclude that these riots are not spontaneous but are the work of Al-Qaeda and other associated groups.

Some people are comparing the attack on the embassy in Libya to the hostages taken by Iran in 1979. They are incorrect. Republicans who are condemning Obama should recall the death of American marines in Lebanon during the Reagan presidency. 241 American servicemen were killed in that October 1983 massacre. Major motivation for that bombing was the ill will generated by the Multinational Force (MNF) among Lebanese Muslims, especially Shiʿa living in the slums of West Beirut and around the airport where the Marines were headquartered. That MNF group was there to bring peace to that war torn nation. President Reagan ordered the marines to begin withdrawing from Lebanon immediately after the bombing. Their withdrawal was completed on February 26, four months later.

There was no serious retaliation for the Beirut bombing from the Americans. We never seem to learn!

Sure, Go Ahead and Vote for Mitt Romney

Neither candidate for president is acceptable to me.

Barack Obama spent his time focusing on a new health care law instead of focusing on the economy. We all know how that turned out. Unemployment is still over 8% and we have health law that large numbers of Americans do not like.

Mitt Romney is a very wealthy businessman who made his money maximizing the profits for his employer, Bain Capital. Companies do not concern themselves with the number of jobs created. They concern themselves with maximizing their profits. As governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney created a health care program that is almost identical to the Obama plan. For reasons that I do not understand he now opposes that plan for the entire nation. While governor, Mr. Romney supported abortion rights but today he opposes abortion for any reason. ON a host of other issues Mr. Romney has switched his views from those he held when governor and as a candidate for senator. That earns his the title of “flip-flopper.”

Let’s look at what has happened in the Obama administration which is a good indicator of his second term. Let’s consider what a Romney administration is likely to do based upon Mr. Romney’s own words.

1) Obama has not brought about the revival of the economy. Then again it was WWII that brought the USA out of the Great Depression. FDR was unsuccessful in his efforts.

2) Both political parties have outsourced the jobs we need for those lacking technical skills. Neither party has put in place significant re-training programs for the unemployed.

3) Both political parties have willingly provided tax deductions and subsidies for big business.

4) The Christian coalition wants to take America back to the 1950s. Those were the days when obtaining an abortion wasn’t legal anywhere in the nation.

5) Trickle down economics were a failure. Thirty years ago CEOs and other top corporate managers earned 20 times the average worker pay but today they earn 200 times the average worker pay.

Morningstar’s footnoted blog reports that the Fed-Ex ” total compensation for the chairman, president, and CEO, Frederick W. Smith, jumped to $13.68 million for fiscal 2012, compared to $7.26 million in fiscal 2011. The other NEOs received total compensation ranging between $5.7 million and $7.7 million, with each of the top five executives getting an increase of more than 60% from his prior year’s total.”

6) Supreme Court appointments are critical to the future of the nation. Conservative justices would overturn Roe vs. Wade and other progressive rulings.

7) Conservatives would end the Medicare and Social Security programs that have enabled working people to live their retired lives without fear of serious illness or starvation.

8) The GOP, based upon its leading members, would enlarge the military and challenge any nation that dares to defy the United States.

9) A Republican administration would reduce all government regulations. Would reduce taxes for corporations. Would support “drill baby drill.” Would build a fence along the Mexican border from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.

Personally, I do not believe either party cares enough about the average American to significantly improve their situation.

The Democratic Party just does a better job of conveying that they are the party with concern for all Americans. Can we believe them? Do we have choice?

Proud to be White Mister!

Proud to be White!

I have been wondering about why Whites are racists,and no other race is……

Proud to be White
Michael Richards makes his point…
Michael Richards better known as Kramer from TVs Seinfeld does make a good point.

This was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in his comedy act.
He makes some very interesting points…

Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying attention to this?

There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.. You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.

You call me ‘White boy,’ ‘Cracker,’ ‘Honkey,’ ‘Whitey,’ ‘Caveman’… And that’s OK…
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink .. You call me a racist.

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you….
So why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?

You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma’uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET….

If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we’d be racists.

If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.

If we had White History Month, we’d be racists.

If we had any organization for only whites to ‘advance’ OUR lives, we’d be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that??

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships… You know we’d be racists.

There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US …
Yet if there were ‘White colleges’, that would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights.
If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you’re not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, car jack us, and shoot at us.
But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.

I am proud…… But you call me a racist.

Why is it that only whites can be racists??

There is nothing improper about this e-mail…
Let’s see which of you are proud enough to send it on.
I sadly don’t think many will.

That’s why we have LOST most of OUR RIGHTS in �this country.
We won’t stand up for ourselves!

BE PROUD TO BE WHITE!

It’s not a crime YET….But getting very close!

Barack Obama Then and Now

This video confirms what you thought. Barack Obama has the same thoughts and ideas today that he had four years ago. There is nothing new. I wrote back on December 21, 2008 that we might be inaugurating a new president on January 20, 2013.

Surface by Microsoft coming October 26

I can hardly wait! As a dedicated PC user, I have been disappointed by the offerings of the primary PC manufacturers.

Apple’s iPad tablet computer is reported to hold 70% of market share. None of the competitors have been able to come even close to making a dent in Apple’s dominance. H-P has dropped out of the market entirely and Dell offers a tablet but I do not know anyone with the unit.

Thus the entry of the Surface by Microsoft might bring on even more sales and a significant migration from the laptop format. To add extra spice it is rumored that a low cost 7 inch version may be offered at $199. That could be the reason that Apple is reportedly introducing its own 7” iPad.

On our recent trip to Europe I did see a few people carrying tablet computers. The really are too big to use as a camera. However, for finding your way around New York, London, Paris, Rome, etc. they would be a great benefit. Of course they will be an easy way to update your blog.

No Sale at the Democratic Convention

Every national political convention is exciting. I am certain that all those people who were at the Democratic Convention were thrilled to be there. They are the group that will return home and spearhead the next 60 days of hard campaigning.

The Democrats do put on a far more emotional event than Republicans. It probably has to do with the kinds of people, their culture, that makes Democrats.

Bill Clinton was the star speaker at this convention. If there was ever a man who could win a third term as president of the United States, this is that person. But, he is not the candidate.

Too many people are unhappy with the Obama administration for his re-election to be an easy path. There was nothing I heard in his speech tonight that gives me hope that he can turn this nation’s economy around in the next four years. Then again, there was nothing in the Romney speech that gives me that kind of hope.

A lack of specifics in the candidate’s plans leaves me sad and disappointed. Unless there is some dramatic event before November 6, I will struggle to decide my choice before that date.

Women as Chattel

Men reading this column. Are you out of your F*#%$@g minds?

Many American Men are one step away from their Muslim Arabic brethren!

Oxford Street, London UK - notice women wearing burqa with face covering niqab — Oxford Street, London UK – notice women wearing burqa with face covering niqab

The world has been controlled by men. In the past women were considered chattel (things owned other than real property (real estate). Men decided every action and every behavior of the women in their lives. Thus An all-male panel testifying before Congress on birth control. The lingering behavior of an American congressional, all-male panel, that doesn’t include one doctor. When Democrats proposed women to be on the panel, they were told the women weren’t “qualified.”

On our journey to Europe we spent five nights in London. Our stay there was at the Cumberland Hotel. The hotel is a very short block from the Marble Arch and the Oxford Street shopping area.

To our surprise the hotel guests were at least 90% Muslim. At least one quarter of the women were dressed in burqas with the face covering niqab. For the most part the women on the lifts (elevators) looked at the floor during their ride to their rooms.

When we went to the London Eye the buying ticket line was a 30 minute wait. My wife did not need to accompany me in the line and she found a seat while I waited in line. Behind me were a couple from Saudi Arabia waiting to buy the tickets. I spoke to the husband but the wife never uttered a word during that wait accept her whispered words to her husband. We know the reason. Women are not to go unescorted anywhere and never speak to another man.

The women are treated like chattel in Arabic countries. Most of us say that is terrible. Many Americans say that is not part of our Western culture. However, some of us in the USA want to tell women how to care for their bodies. How to behave. How to dress. And most significantly decide under what conditions they can obtain an abortion.

Michael Hulshof-Schmidt’s WordPress blog tells of Lousiana’s “17th Century” attitude towards women of all ages. Mitt Romney says that he is in agreement with Paul Ryan on abortion/conception laws. Ryan would deny abortion under all circumstances and declare that an abortion is murder.

“Rick Santorum’s biggest financial backer — and in the world of big-money politics, this means this guy has bucks, which in the US means he has power — “joked” that women should use aspirin as birth control.”

What a great country! Freedom for all – as long as you are a man!!

Michelle Obama’s Message – We Are One Of You

Michelle Obama did an excellent job of telling all of us that she, her family, Barack, and his family are all just like the average families of America. Her message, Honesty and Hard Work Count. It was a well presented message.

It was a good message for the First Lady to present to the nation. It just did not discuss the fact that too many Americans are either unemployed or under employed.

As a start to a political convention this event was well done on day one. I am quite sure that the rest of this convention will be equally well done. Conventions don’t solve problems.

President Obama will have to offer details of his plans for a second term. Mitt Romney gave us no detail on his plans. There is no evidence that either of these men can deliver an American recovery

London to Paris by Train

The ride to London’s St Pancras International Station was an easy 10 minute trip by coach (bus). Once inside the railroad station we walked through a shopping mall that was as nice as any enclosed suburban mall in the United States. We were advised by the Trafalgar tour guide that the cost of food on the train was relatively high. She suggested we buy a sandwich or wrap at the Marks and Spencer store (and we had thought M&S was merely a downtown department store).

My wife chose a wrap and I selected a sandwich. Along with a bottle of water our next stop was the rail station security. It was a replica of the security we had experienced at LAX. Once passed through that check point we presented our passports to French customs for entry and then seated ourselves until the train was available for boarding. It was all very modern with moving sidewalks and escalators to the boarding platform. Union Station in Los Angeles has a long was to go to catch up with this facility.

On the platform at London’s St Pancras International Station

The 306 mile train trip took 2 ½ hours on their high speed train. That included one stop in England. Websites say the train travels at speeds up to 180 mph. The train travels near that speed most of the way. It is a remarkable experience. There is nothing like this in the USA.

Leaders of the USA keep telling Americans that we are the extraordinary country but our visit to London and Paris tells a different story.