President Bush just doesn’t get it. The vast majority of elected officials are not saying we need to "cut and run" — far from it. They are saying we need a real plan, a plan that says what we will accomplish, how we will do it, and an idea of just how much longer will be needed to accomplish those plans. Is it so difficult to present a coherent plan for success in Iraq? For this administration, and this this president in particular, apparently so.
I thought this was rather funny. People need to get a sense of humor and not have such thin skins.
Israeli politics is going through a major change these days. Ariel Sharon left Likud to form a "centrist" political party willing to embrace the Peace Process and now he’s grabbed long-time Labor leader Shimon Peres away from the party he’s led for .. well .. forever. It seems rather petty on the part of Peres to leave Labor because it looks like he did so simply because he lost the leadership role. For Sharon, this may turn out to be a shrewd political move. Most polling shows his new party, Kadima (meaning "forward"), winning the majority of seats in the Knesset and now that he’s attracting centrists politicians from both parties Israel’s political landscape may be changed forever.
To my thinking this is a good thing. Israel has been ruled by either Labor or Likud since its modern beginnings. Change is good. It’s interesting to see a country like Israel embrace is so quickly and easily. I doubt we could see something like that in this country.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is going to suggest that cable operators change to an à la carte method of pricing instead of only offering package deals. Some say this could mean an end to niche channels, but is that a bad thing? Why the hell should I be forced to surf through dozens of channels I don’t watch just to see the few channels I like. Personally, I would rather not subscribe to any of the new channels, especially FOX, so why should I have to pay for them? It would not be a terrible thing if some of the crap cable channels went away. It’s also the right thing for consumers. This is just another way for parents to have control over what their children see.
Missouri is a rather red state these days. Republicans control the state government (for now), both of our senators are Republicans, and most of our Congressman (and woman), as well. That’s why I find it odd our broadcast airwaves are full of ads by the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, a stem-cell research advocacy group. They even have former Senator John Danforth, a pro-life Republican and Episcopalian minister, doing ads in support of their initiative. Danforth has always been a favorite of mine. He’s one of those rare Republicans who is able to reach out to the other side, isn’t afraid to stand up for sensible ideas and program the wingnuts hate, and is an all-around nice guy. So I’m not surprised to see him supporting this initiative. It’s a very sensible plan and makes clear it will only support "…research, therapies or cures that are permitted by federal law … provided that such activities are conducted
ethically and safely and do not involve human reproductive cloning to
create babies."
What I’m surprised about is that there is absolutely no opposition advertising. None. The pro-life movement is very strong in this state, so why haven’t they started beating the killing-babies-drum? Curious.
Damn, Larry Wilkerson has one major axe to grind! I’m not sure what this man thinks he accomplishing by saying things like this, but it certainly won’t endear him to Republicans and Iraq War supporters.
Link: Brothers on the march to Islamic State
You know, a lot of folks like to knock Egypt’s Mubarak for not democratizing his country more, but is this really in our best interests? I know, I know, why would I ever think to defend a man who is guilty of doing terrible things to his citizens in order to remain in control? However, if the election of Islamists is the trade-off, I sometimes wonder. Of course, Mubarak is at least partly to blame for the rise of radical Islam in Egypt. The problem is, we do not need a well-armed country like Egypt to become a radical Islamic state. It wouldn’t take long for a major conflict to arise between them and Israel. So what do we do? Do we support free elections that will almost certainly lead to control of the government by radical Islamists, or do we turn a blind eye to Mubarak’s attempts to eradicate any opposition? Either way, we lose.
Why is it necessary for Hollywood to remake movies like Yours, Mine, & Ours? It wasn’t that great of a movie when Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda made the film in 1968. It’s especially sad Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo are doing such boring tripe. They are, both of them, very good actors. Rene Russo especially is capable of so much more.
Link: Harry Potter passes $400 mln at world box office
It’s only the second week since Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opened worldwide and already it’s approaching the half billion dollar mark. When you consider the film will easily gross $250 to $300 million in United States alone, one can bet this film will surpass $1 billion in worldwide box office and make J. K. Rowling even more rich than she is already.
I’ve been reading several of the news stories about President Bush’s desire — if that’s not too strong a word — to bomb the al-Jazeera news network. Let me just say I have my problems with al-Jazeera. In many ways I think they are enablers for some of the dysfunctional behavior in the Arab world. However, since when do we start bombing groups and organizations just because they say, print, or do things we don’t like? Especially in an allied country like Qatar? If this is true it’s just reprehensible that a president of our country would even discuss the idea. I just hope it isn’t.