Saturday, May 20, 2006

Idiotic on the bordering, Mayor Nagin, Iraq's new government, Gaza, Dems on a rampage, Homeless vets, NK ICBM and NASCAR.



One look at the steely determination in the eyes of the great "War President", should be enough to convince any would be illegal border crosser that the United States means business.

The President, taking time off from his rigorous grind of fund raisers and vacations, is exhibiting his usual spirit of pitching in where he's needed most. The fabled Bush Magic Touch in now in place at the border. Just like Iraq, Afghanistan, New Orleans and the economy, there's little doubt how secure the border will be now.

But you'll still hear unpatriotic grumbling from some.

"Our position has always been that you're so concerned about illegal immigration
that what you're doing is making it more and more difficult for legal visitors
to come here," said Steve Ahlenius, president and chief executive of the McAllen
Chamber of Commerce. "Every time somebody mentions a wall, it drives me crazy.
It's a 19th-century solution to a 21st-century problem."

Ray Nagin, New Orleans said yes. Congratulations Mr. Mayor.

NEW ORLEANS, May 20 -- Mayor C. Ray Nagin was reelected Saturday, overcoming a ceaseless barrage of criticism stemming from the chaos of Hurricane Katrina and the stalled recovery to achieve what many considered an improbable victory.
In addition to the frustrations of post-hurricane New Orleans, Nagin had to fend off a strong challenge by Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the scion of a politically powerful clan, who outspent him by large a margin.

Iraq approved a new government, the White House believes this will reduce violence and allow for a withdrawal of American Forces. That's what they're saying. But they also said that we would be greeted as liberators and the war wouldn't cost American taxpayers anything.

The good news was greeted in Iraq by more attacks that left 27 dead and dozens wounded.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's parliament approved a national unity government
Saturday, achieving a goal Washington hopes will reduce violence so U.S. forces
can eventually go home. But as the legislators met, a series of attacks killed
at least 27 people and wounded dozens.

In Gaza the rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is driving the Palestinians toward civil war.

The new force's showy deployment this week was the latest sign of the
Palestinian Authority's evolution into a government of rival armed camps, a
result of the economic hardship and political rivalry sharpening in the
Palestinian territories.

Israel is doing it's best to help the situation.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- -- An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday killed
Islamic Jihad's most senior militant in the Gaza coastal area, Israeli and
Palestinians sources said.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it conducted
an airstrike targeting Mohammed Al Dahdouh.

It looks like the real Democrats are getting a little tired of their politicians voting Republican. 'Bout time. If we want a party that stands for something, weeding out these slugs is the best place to start.

May 19 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic activist groups that mounted an aggressive
campaign against President George W. Bush in the 2004 election have a new
target: Democrats who support his policies.
A loose network of
organizations, ranging from women's groups to Internet bloggers, is pressuring
incumbents such as Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Representatives

Jane Harman of California and Melissa Bean of Illinois, in some cases by
backing insurgent candidates in primary elections.

And don't forget Dan Boren of Oklahoma. Supposed to be my Congressman.

And while we're on the subject of Democrats voting Republican, it looks like Joe Lieberman just might get his butt handed to him in the Democratic Primary in Connecticut by a real Democrat, Ned Lamont.

Matt Stoller at MyDD is reporting that
Ned Lamont made the ballot - with 33 percent of delegates casting their votes
for him. The final count: 492 out of 1,502 went to Lamont (currently, any
changes are being asked for, so this count could change slightly). Lamont only
needed 15 percent to avoid the need to collect signatures - he got more than
twice needed.

I remember a few years ago, before Bush, going into my insurance office where they showed me a cartoon of a homeless veteran, sitting outside a cardboard box, begging for money. It had been printed and handed out by one of the local conservative nuts. The caption read, "It's a shame that a veteran is homeless while a draft dodger is sitting in the White". I told them, "Yeah, but it was Ronald Reagan who made those veterans homeless".

History repeats.

Gamboa is part of a small but growing trend among U.S. veterans of the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars --
homelessness.
On any given night the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) helps 200 to 250
of them, and more go uncounted. They are among nearly 200,000 homeless veterans
in America, largely from the Vietnam War.

Bush's hands off policy concerning negotiations with North Korea is starting to bear fruit.

TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea may be preparing to launch a long-range ballistic
missile that could reach parts of the United States, Japanese media reports said
on Friday, but Japan's government said it did not believe a launch was imminent.
Quoting unidentified South Korean government officials, public broadcaster
NHK said satellite pictures showed there had been signs since early this month
around a site in northeastern North Korea that pointed to a possible firing in
the near future.

And finally, NASCAR, as a nurtured redneck I would be remiss not to mention it. I used to never miss a race on TV. But that was the old NASCAR. The new NASCAR is about to over saturate the market. Besides, Australian V8 Supercars is better racing.

With Hollywood's help, NASCAR officials are integrating NASCAR drivers and story
lines into every form of entertainment imaginable: From cartoons for the
pre-kindergarten set to soap operas; from reality TV to made-for-TV dramas; from
MTV videos to live race-day concerts; and now, major studio releases.

Although the race tonight was good and having Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in the infield didn't hurt.

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I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons are generally Conservative. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly think any hon. Gentleman will question it.

John Stuart Mill (May 20 1806 – May 8 1873)