Presidential conversations

I heard The Shrub (thank you Molly Ivins for the nickname) has said that his Presidential "mentor" has been Ronald Regan. That just makes me chuckle. The last time that we had a President that communed with dead presidents was Richard Nixon as he wandered the halls of the White House in the last nights of his doomed presidency.

So, some questions we should consider...

Is man mentally stable if he communes with the dead? I'm presuming that if one has a "mentor", then there must be some conversation going on, even if it's one-sided.

Is Ronald Regan the right role model? Regan's administration got us started down this path of massive deregulation, which has in turn lead to the demands for airline reform in the form of a "passangers bill of rights", the current air line debacle, the financial crisis we now face, the ever (and unexplained) increases in fuel prices, and who knows what else. The only think that could be worse than having Regan as the "mentor" would be if The Shrub had Darth Vader as his veep. OH!!! Wait a minute....

Traveling Cell Phones

Check out the following link.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1383626

How many times have I been tempted to do the same thing? Maybe it just goes with being 60+. With as much travel as I do, I find it less than pleasant to hear everyone fire up their cell phones upon landing at an airport just so they can call someone and say, "We just landed and are taxiing in and I'll call you when I get off" or have to listen to some sales guy discuss the arm-twisting techniques necessary to get the president of ACME Corp buy an extra 10,000 widgets.

I also found http://www.phonejammer.com/ (they ship to the US) and am sorely tempted to order one that at least would eliminate the loud conversations within 50 feet of me.

As if air travel wasn't so bad NOW, can you imagine what will happen if the FAA/FCC let US air travelers start using their cell phones in flight? Jeeze, we see too much "air rage" now, so I can't imagine that it would be decreased if you had to get stuck sitting next to some idiot at 35,000 feet while he has a loud conversation with his golf buddy on the ground. (Have you noticed that cell phone users seem to believe that they have to yell to be heard?) When stuck next to someone talking on a cell phone too loudly I am tempted make a call as well and have a loud and colorful conversation.

I guess my rant is really based on the fact that it seems to me that our country has become a country of selfish and self-centered people. I can see it in road-rage incidents, drivers running red lights (and complaining that "red light cameras" are "unfair"), smokers believing that their rights out weigh mine, etc, etc, etc.

Bush is chewing up the Constitution

Let's get this straight. The forth amendment to the Constitution (ratified on 12/15/1791) says,

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

How can the President take unilateral action to suspend any amendment to the Constitution? (http://www.star-telegram.com/national_news/story/563260.html) If your answer is that he has the right to do it, then you must also believe that he has the right to totally suspend the Constitution.

Don't try to justify his actions with that lame crap about us being at war. The only war we are involved in is one of his own making, and our involvement in Iraq and Afganistan are military actions, but not wars. Article 1 of the Constitution states that only Congress has the power "To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water".

The events of 9/11 were criminal acts and not an act of war. I know this runs contrary to the dogma put out by the current administration, but go look at http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode of "act of war".

Bush is a President who should have been impeached and removed from office years ago. His "high crimes and misdemeanors" far exceed anything that Bill Clinton did (or had done to him). Why have we passively allowed this administration to drag our country down to the pitiful level that we now occupy in the world?

It's time to do something. And that "something" is NOT to elect anyone who proposes to continue on the path in the wilderness that we now find ourselves wandering, alone, in the dark.

Immigration issues...

I’m tired of having “illegal immigrants” equated to Hispanics. When ever you see a candidate for office start sounding off on the topics of the day, you frequently see images of Hispanic “illegal immigrants” scurrying across the Rio Grande or climbing over or under a border fence. Note the TV commercials of NC Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCory. (I’m from NC, so he’s the one I see on TV. Pick your own bigoted candidate in your own state.) McCory is a racist. He singles out the Hispanics. No where does he mention or show the longer and more unprotected border between the US and Canada. How many illegal Canadians, Irish, German, Chinese, Brazilian, English, Indian, Pakistani, Iraqi, Saudi illegal immigrants do we have in the country? How many Hispanic illegal immigrants have threatened the security of the US?

We need to have a sane immigration policy. Putting up fences is embarrassing. The last fence I know of that was erected control immigration was in Berlin in the 50s. Any fence we erect between us and Mexico will, ultimately, be just as effective and impressive. Better yet, let’s up up a fence between the US and Canada. I don’t remember any potential terrorists being stopped coming across the US - Mexican border, but there have been at least 2 stops made coming from Canada into the US. How many others have made the crossing in Washington, North Dakota, Minnesota, New York, etc?

Hello world!! We need to say more...

I’m tired of sitting back and biting my tongue while others spout about what’s right and wrong. It doesn’t matter to me if they are pontificating about politics, national policy, economics, foreign policy, race issues, etc, etc, etc. It’s time for me to speak out instead of just shaking my head.

So… let’s start with the current administration. What’s wrong with this administration that they have pursued a foreign policy that has lead to the downfall of our national image in the eyes of the rest of the world? That they have put our country in the position of being the aggressor in Iraq without reason? That they openly support torture as a for of interrogation? That they have pursued a secret “energy policy” that has resulted in the highest oil and gas prices in our history? That they have pursued an economic policy that has lead to the “sub-prime” debacle and the intervention in the banking industry to bail out long standing financial institutions?

It’s time for us acknowledge that Warren G Harding’s Tea Pot Dome scandal can step aside and let the current administration take it’s place at the top of the list of all-time worst Presidential administrations.