tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13141461222541489562009-11-10T08:11:47.632-08:00Rants, observations, diatribes & digressions on current affairs, world news & politics, politics, politics.KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-69993228151639447062009-11-10T08:09:00.000-08:002009-11-10T08:11:42.114-08:00

The American Family Association, a religious organization described as conservative and Christian, has called for a ban on service in the U.S. military by those of the Muslim faith, according to Mother Jones. This might seem shocking at first, flying in the face of U.S. constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and separation of church and state. But it's simply addressing a basic fact:

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-77762669510038166692009-10-20T17:25:00.000-07:002009-10-20T17:25:59.606-07:00

This interesting second thoughts piece from Newser blogger and founder, Michael Wolff, takes a second look at the conventional wisdom evinced by most of the blathering class: that the Obama administration's frontal assault on Fox News, depicting it as the propaganda mill that so many on the left and even in the middle feel it to be, is madness. His conclusions might hearten many outside the

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-49309694252045880052009-10-15T17:23:00.000-07:002009-10-15T17:24:15.546-07:00

30 Republican senators voted against an amendment designed to protect woman employees of US defense contractors from rape, physical abuse, and other abusive workplace practices, claiming to do anything else would amount to government interference with commerce, since the rapes and other abuse are no one else's business but the companies and the victims. If that sounds weird, read on and find out

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-24206266683967834592009-10-09T17:03:00.000-07:002009-10-09T17:11:10.483-07:00

Many -- including, we suspect, the president himself --  were surprised by today's announcement that the Nobel Peace Prize was going to U.S. President, Barack Obama. Reactions were largely laudatory, occasionally bemused, but about the only folks coming right out and condemning the largely unexpected award were the U.S.'s number one enemies, the Afghan/Pakistani Taliban, joined by a number of

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-39214814513790239532009-09-13T11:41:00.000-07:002009-09-13T11:53:55.801-07:00

Representative Joe Wilson, Republican from South Carolina, just doesn't seem to get it. Chastened, apparently, by the outrage expressed by other members of Congress in both houses and on both sides of the aisle after Wilson heckled the President as he attempted to address Congress and the US citizenry, Rep. Wilson quickly offered a private apology to President Obama. That's between him and

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-26901003566375559392009-09-13T10:03:00.001-07:002009-09-13T10:11:52.125-07:00

This reader couldn't help but not an interesting slip of the tongue from Lindsay Graham, one of the few Republican politicians from South Carolina not caught up in a political or sexual scandal.While trying to run interference for South Carolina representative Joe Wilson, who may be facing punitive action in Congress for his startling breach of Congressional decorum in yelling "You lie!" at the

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-91699298843332974972009-08-28T19:00:00.001-07:002009-08-28T19:14:10.076-07:00

Is no lie too outrageous, no scare tactic too outlandish, no deception too shameful for the once Grand Old Party?The national Republican Party has mailed a fundraising effort claiming Democrats are trying to single out Republican to deny them healthcare.Of course, the claim is completely and utterly unfounded.Like other absurd lies promoted by leading Republicans like former vice presidential

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-66904461781913475012009-07-07T08:36:00.001-07:002009-07-07T08:45:39.144-07:00

Sarah Palin opened up a little to ABC News over the weekend, letting it be known that she and her family have been discussing leaving Alaska. When asked about future political plans she was vague but left the door open on future political aspirations.Since one of the principal reasons Palin has given for her sudden resignation as Alaska governor -- with 18 months left on her term -- were

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-66714051816223302292009-06-21T15:06:00.000-07:002009-06-21T15:13:58.037-07:00

Some have suggested that the Iranian leadership have shown contempt for the truth.I would submit that they have shown contempt for their people and contempt for many of the principles of good leadership and responsibility found in the Koran.But I would say they regard the truth with fear.Why does anyone fear the truth? Why do tyrants and criminals work so hard to keep people ignorant and weak?

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-12704222624692050282009-06-17T08:06:00.000-07:002009-06-17T08:06:49.632-07:00

Iran elections: Regime cracks down on opposition as further unrest looms | World news | guardian.co.uk: "There were also unconfirmed reports that Mohammad Asgari, who was responsible for the security of the IT network in Iran's interior ministry, was killed yesterday in a suspicious car accident in Tehran. Asgari had reportedly leaked evidence that the elections were rigged to alter the votes

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-66927016933176591812009-05-05T09:06:00.000-07:002009-05-05T09:19:25.426-07:00

Well... the facts are trickling in on the horrific wedding feast massacre in Turkey Monday evening.When I read the initial headlines, the first thing I thought was an internecine war between religious groups that consider each other infidels (as is the sad, time-honored custom even within religions in that bitterly divided part of the world). Or perhaps it was an ethnic feud between Kurds and

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-265345369662770832009-04-30T09:43:00.000-07:002009-04-30T10:05:49.911-07:00

It's hollow laugh time scanning the headlines this a.m.The Republican Party is apparently slowly waking to the fact that something like 70% to 80% of US citizens see them as a BIG part of the problem and not much of any solution at all. (I say this as someone who was a Republican, himself, only about a year ago -- although it had been a number of years since I'd actually voted with my party in

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-77527860801066275142009-03-28T10:45:00.001-07:002009-03-28T10:46:33.396-07:00

Gee... how did we get in the mess we're in?Oh, yeah.8 years of the GOP calling the shots.I was a Republican for a decade... but it's neither the party of Teddy Roosevelt or Abe Lincoln any more. By a long shot.Not only have they proven themselves to be incompetent and unqualified "to run government like a business" -- I'm convinced that they put their own advantage above the welfare of the

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-5361747913995157452009-03-05T08:09:00.000-08:002009-03-05T08:15:31.943-08:00

Reading this article, Rush Limbaugh challenges President Obama to a debate, I was struck by one, really interesting tidbit:Only 11% of those under 40 have a favorable view of the talk show host who now claims the mantle of de facto head of the Republican party, according to polling taken last fall.And that does not bode well for the silver haired, recovering drug addict (still under court control

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-47477043345642588402009-03-02T20:37:00.000-08:002009-03-02T20:41:35.787-08:00

I was thinking about this blog article in the Christian Science Monitor: Limbaugh rips into GOP chair... which got me to thinking about this whole notion that radio commentator Rush Limbaugh is, effectively, the true leader of the GOP.The central analogy of Limbaugh’s explanation for why he wants Obama to fail in the attempt to salvage the U.S. economy says it all, I should think, the former

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-88389998812964496492009-03-01T10:17:00.000-08:002009-03-01T10:53:41.933-08:00

To hear many Republican politicians talk (and I was a highly disaffected Republican for about a decade so I've heard a few), the GOP is the party of small government and fiscal responsibility.When pressed, some of them will admit that our recent president, George W. Bush, had a little spending/borrowing problem.But none of them seem to much like to confront the sad actual record of Republican

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-38385961463869074662008-11-12T06:00:00.000-08:002008-12-04T19:50:54.917-08:00

KS2 Problema is all wore out... thankfully, the long haul is over.We're on hiatus for... a... while.But we'll be back. As long as the yoke of oppression rides hard on the backs of the worker, I... uh... you know. We'll be around.

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-77997799060092964142008-11-06T08:28:00.000-08:002008-11-06T09:59:41.724-08:00

It just keeps coming. In addition to the revelations discussed in the previous post, we're getting more tidbits from all over. ABC News has collected a few choice bits: Fox News reports that Palin didn't know Africa was a continent and did not know the member nations of the North American Free Trade Agreement -- the United States, Mexico and Canada -- when she was picked for vice president.

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-35693922979567227162008-11-06T07:37:00.000-08:002008-11-06T08:15:05.491-08:00

The New York Times dumped a big pile of ashes in the cold, lumpy oatmeal of the newly chastened Republican Party yesterday with their insider story-laced postmortem on the internal relations within the McCain-Palin campaign.Choice tidbits include the revelation that Palin's wardrobe budget was pegged by the McCain campaign was in the $20K to $25K range -- rather than the whopping $150,000 bill

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-88926380194323083262008-11-05T07:22:00.000-08:002008-11-05T09:34:41.563-08:00

For a few minutes, I was shamed by the implicit spirit of magnanimous forgiveness and inclusiveness in Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago.It was exactly the sort of thing I wanted to hear. It was the sort of thing I expected him to say when I voted for him -- and his apparently entirely genuine desire to work with those who oppose him is one of the things I admire most about him.But...

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-33011523126411067382008-11-02T16:19:00.000-08:002008-11-02T16:25:54.893-08:00

Campaign crunch time dirty tricks are at an all time high, according to voting rights experts contacted by the Associated Press -- and the Republican Party or their allies seem to be behind most of them:Associated Press: 'Tis the season for tricking voters

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-21606529039351564542008-10-31T07:47:00.000-07:002008-10-31T08:39:39.031-07:00

There has never, in the history of US politics, been a campaign so big or so well organized, as Barack Obama's.Add to that, so efficiently run.Recent campaign disclosures highlight the disciplined budgeting -- and bargain hunting -- that allowed the Obama campaign to deliver maximum political payload for every dollar. While other campaigns, notably those of chief rivals Hillary Clinton in the

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-54273390739491243252008-10-28T08:39:00.000-07:002008-10-28T08:47:37.777-07:00

The US's "host," the Iraqi government, has condemned Sunday's cross-border raid into Syria by US special forces apparently based in Iraq. According to the US government's Voice of America News:An Iraqi government spokesman said Baghdad "rejects" the raid. He added that Iraq does not want its territory to be used for attacks on neighboring countries. According to US sources, the raid targeted

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-35453018509141769972008-10-27T17:42:00.000-07:002008-10-27T17:50:40.851-07:00

The Atlantic Monthly has reprinted prominent conservative Andrew Sullivan's essay, The Top Ten Reasons Conservatives Should Vote For Obama.You'll have to read the Monthly to get the mostly brief explanations for each point but here they are in outline:10. A body blow to racial identity politics.9. Less debt.8. A return to realism and prudence in foreign policy. 7. An ability to understand the

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1314146122254148956.post-8842300428257261382008-10-26T16:24:00.000-07:002008-10-26T16:52:09.136-07:00

According to the UK's Telegraph, a US military official has confirmed the military incursion into Syria from across the Iraqi border -- an attack condemned by the Syrian government as "serious aggression."The raid was confirmed by a US official in Washington, who said it targeted elements of a network supplying foreign fighters to Iraq from North Africa and the Middle East.Offering details

KS2 Problemahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14799294054889705996noreply@blogger.com0