The Heat is On?

The New York Times led today with the news that the White House may be showing signs that it is beginning to cave under pressure from at home to end the war in Iraq. Apparently there is supposed to be a debate to determine whether or not troop reduction should start in 2008...conveniently amidst the heat of the presidential election. The numbers are supposed to drop by 46,000 troops and the fight is supposed to now focus on where Al Qaeda is suspected to be headquartered.

It would have been nice if our royal sovereign, the King/President Bush would have just signed the bill for a time-table instead of reheating Democratic leftovers and trying to pass them off as a new dish. I am pleased, however, that some of Bush's people are backing this idea, including Secretary Rice. If this is pulled off, this should be the first time there was a troop number of that size since 2004.

Maybe that pigeon pooping on him during his last press conference finally convinced him that even animals think his foreign policy is for the birds.

Sheri's Random Rant: The View

I would like to know who is actually watching this show and I demand that these people apologize to me. Thanks to you, that watered-down, four-headed version of Oprah has enough ratings to where I cannot turn the television without hearing about it.

And who gives a damn if Rosie O'Donnell is arguing with some blond Republican? What exactly have either of these people done to benefit mankind? O'Donnell's claims-to-fame are playing a corpulent version of Betty Rubble and arguing with a spoiled, attention-hungry rich guy with the worst hair ever and I have never heard of the other one before...and now they are media darlings?

At least when O'Donnell leaves that putrid excuse for entertainment will go back to the dry bit of airspace it has always been.

King Bush Wins!

The bill has passed. I feel so betrayed. This once great country is at the mercy of a tyrannical president and an impotent Congress. I cannot help but wonder why do I bother to vote.

Democrats Punk Out!

This is a sad day for America; Bush is officially the king of the United States.

The Democrats in Congress disappointed the hell out of me by letting Bush call their bluff with a bill that doesn't have a time-table. They have crippled the opportunity of exiting this disaster of a war. Why not just include a jewel encrusted crown and just make his monarchy official since they are too afraid to take this tyrant on with the bit of Constitutional power that they have?

Is there no one that will stand up to the Bush administration?

Wolfowitz Quits!

It was just too hot in the kitchen for World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz so he's getting out of it:

"Wolfowitz agreed to resign in negotiations with the bank's executive board, pre-empting a growing likelihood that he would have been formally reprimanded or fired, said bank officials who spoke on condition they not be named, citing the political sensitivity of the proceedings."

The end of his reign will occur at the end of June. I will give him credit for resigning; it is a far more dignified way of handling the situation.

Jerry Falwell Dies at 73

Link to WP article.

Sarkozy Wins!..Should I Panic?

Nicholas Sarkozy, son of immigrants but refers to other immigrants as "scum," is now the president of France.

I haven't paid much attention to this race, but what I do know about Sarkozy is not exactly favorable. From what I am understanding, France just elected Dick Cheney sans gun to run their country. But there are two benefits to Sarkozy winning, the first being his pro-American stance means there is a chance for France and the U.S. to get back on good terms with one another politically.

The second is that if he is as volatile as his language, then we get to thumb our noses at France for once.

When Mass Hysteria Clouds Reason

The Virginia Tech massacre was horrible, there is no doubt about that, however, we must still allow reason and logic to prevail over fear.

A high school student's dreams of being in the Marine Corps were dashed after they dropped him due to pending charges stemming from a violent essay he wrote for class. Why did he write a violent essay all of a sudden? Could it have had something to do with the fact that the assignment read "Be creative; there will be no judgment and no censorship." I read part of the essay and personally thought it was pretty ridiculous and he should have gotten an "F" for writing a crappy essay, but to have him face 30 days in a county jail and a $1500 fine when he has been an exemplary student his entire life is ludicrous.

And if anything, this rejection increases the chances that he would act on his words.

SENATE APPROVES BILL WITH IRAQ PULLOUT TIMETABLE

I can't believe it!

The Democratic-controlled Congress just basically flipped Bush's veto threats off by passing the bill anyway:

"The 51-46 vote was largely along party lines, and like House passage of the same bill a day earlier, fell far short of the two-thirds margin needed to overturn the president’s threatened veto. Nevertheless, the legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January."

Let's ride on a prayer that a miracle will take place and Bush will just give up the ghost and let this mess go.

A Thought on the Osprey

I am a little late on commenting about the controversial MV-22 Osprey - the multimillion dollar helioplane crafted by the Marine Corps, but as they say, better late than never. What I see when I look at the Osprey is millions of our tax dollars to reinvent a propeller airplane. The fuselage is suspended in space like a dangling target. The only person that I would put in the Osprey is Bin Laden.

What I would have liked to see is that money redirected to the R&D of satellite technology that can detect IEDs.

Boris Yeltsin Dies

Yeltsin dies at age 76.

WP article

Civil Rights Movement Veterans and Obama

One of my professors said recently that generals are always still stuck in the last war they fought. I find that to be true for the veterans of the Civil Rights movement as well. I am not alone in my sentiment, I am just one of the few that has the courage to speak up since it is perceived to be ungrateful to say anything about Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton.

But I have to do this.

Sharpton et al have repeatedly criticized candidates like Obama for not being more aggressive in their tactics when it comes to addressing issues like the Imus debacle. Obama criticized Imus--like just about everyone else--but according to the CRM vets, he didn't do it with enough force. Then what exactly should he have done? I freely admit that we have a long way to go as far as civil rights go, but we keep forgetting the progress that has been made. A rally isn't necessary anymore every time we face prejudice and instead of criticizing modern leaders for not having one, maybe our CRM vets should just take the time to realize this and bask in the glory of the fact that we don't have to have a rally every time something goes awry to get something done anymore.

Cartoon of the Day

No Money, No Honey

Kudos to Wolfowitz and his so-called feminist girlfriend, Shaha Riza, for showing the women of the world that the only way they can get ahead is by getting between the sheets.

Do I think he should resign? Of course. Not too long ago a U.S. president was being impeached for having inproper relations with his subordinate, so why should the president of the World Bank be treated with kid gloves? This is incident is in the same field. The only difference is that Monica Lewinsky didn't get an "outstanding" rating that resulted in an instant promotion. I am not hiding my disgust on this incident because it reeks of the ghosts of hypocrisy that haunted the Clinton administration. Not only that, the fact that Riza is a feminist just makes it worse.

A special thanks to Riza, for showing not just women in general, but especially Arab women, how empowered they can be...provided they are in the arms of the powerful.

Missing Emails Scandal

Can the gall of this administration get any greater?

Imus in the Can

I watched Imus in the Morning once and vowed never to do it again. He was that level of brash that only a redneck could love. In regards to his recent fall from grace, I have to say this: What did he expect? This isn't about first amendment rights, this is about a business protecting its interests and MSNBC is a business. Imus overstepped his boundary and his responsibility to his employer when he decided to dub two college kids as "nappy headed hoes."

He should have known better, and as far as I am concerned, one less blight has been taken off the face of television.

The Iranian Hostage Issue

A U.S. soldier asked a question yesterday that I was personally wondering myself: where was the mothership of the vessel of the captured British sailors?

(On a side note, I know this is wrong, but I am so glad that the spotlight is off us for once. Hopefully our beloved president will use this time to make some graceful exit plans.)

Bush to Democrats: Bring it on?

So Bush is going to cave in and let Congress have a private chat with Karl Rove, Bush's personal savior, and the rest of the brood.

What caught me so much about that announcement was not so much the fact that Bush is going to allow this to take place, but his "bring it on" attitude. What I heard in this announcement was not an agreement between branches but a declaration of war between political parties. Bush has made it quite clear that the buck stops with him and that he is not going to take kindly to any meddling Congress members.

I am curious to see how the Bush administration will affect the future of the American presidency on the domestic level. I foresee some attempts to make sure that it is easier to keep a president under control in the future.

Stuck with Lame Duck

I wasn't going to comment on the State of the Union address because the only reason I could justify watching it this year is to see how many 9/11 references would find their way in the president's speech.

Actually, I think I still won't comment on it.

The speech is not what is causing me to lose sleep, it is the fact that the options involved in dealing with this rogue administration. Congress could cut funding, which would not only hurt troops already in Iraq but could come back and severely damage any chance of getting better leadership in 2008, and if they impeach Bush, that would make Trigger-Happy Cheney our Commander-in-Chief, which is frightening beyond words.

We're stuck. There is nothing else that Congress can legally do. How the hell did this happy? When Bush ran did someone tell him to pick a vampire for a VP so that it would guarantee that no one would try to get rid of him? It seems that the best Congress can do is let his reign peter out and make sure they have a tighter grip on the next prez.

America the Ignorant?

Keith Ellison, a convert to Islam, became the first Muslim member to be sworn into Congress. There is a big row over his decision to use the Quran (which was owned by Thomas Jefferson) in his swearing-in photo instead of a Bible. Several television and radio personalities are claiming that the Congressman's decision to acknowledge his faith will "embolden terrorists," etc. Is the land of the free and the home of the brave really that ignorant?

If we want to stay true to "American values," there would be no religious text used at all. The people that make the biggest row obviously slept through American National Government and all of their history courses as well. If anything, the Enlightenment period was not religious-friendly and it is suspected that Thomas Jefferson was a closet atheist based on some of his writings. The fact that this country exists at all stems from the greed of European colonialism and imperialism, not a love of God. I doubt very much that Jesus would look kindly on how Native Americans were deprived of their homeland and Africans were kidnapped and enslaved seeing that both of those were major issues for Jews before and during His lifetime.

This is the same level of ignorance that was portrayed when blacks and women began to actively participate in American government and society outside of their accepted roles. The only reason anyone thought the sky was falling is because of their own fears of change. Ellison was elected in a landslide thanks to the democratic process, and if anything, having a Muslim in our government projects the American values of freedom that so many of my Christian counterparts are so quick to forget.