Talk About Priceless!

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Friday February 27, 2009 · 9:59 PM PST

2009/02/27 · 21:59

If you are like me, you can use a good laugh and smile, once in awhile... especially when so many things around you seem to be melting away, both figuratively and literally. That is why this diary is about... wait for it... pornography!

Not a normal area of interest for me, as personally, I am not a consumer but in this case, I make an exception. (I do have an interest from a social sense, especially if child pornography and a few other categories are involved, specifically an interest in detection, arrest, prosecution, and beyond.)

Can you imagine my reaction when I read a title, "Porn in the USA: Conservatives are biggest consumers"? Yep, that is the actual title appears on a piece in the online edition of New Scientist, 27 February 2009.

wgard

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Friday January 02, 2009 · 3:24 AM PST

2009/01/02 · 03:24

As with most days, I read the most recent online edition of the WaPo. One of the lead stories was titled, "Two Advisers Reflect on Eight Years With Bush", which can be found here.
It is actually very amusing, as even the WaPo synopsis had to say

Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and national security adviser Stephen Hadley express frustration over inability to improve the president's popularity.

I think the subtitle, "Bolten and Hadley Decry 'Mythologies' " says a great deal, in and of itself.
The first thing to come to mind was, what the hell is this recent and sudden concern with the president’s popularity? And then I thought, oh yes, it is all spin to bolster his legacy from topping the ‘worst president ever’ list!

For amusement, you really should read the article, but I will ~~share~~ burden you with a few of my other thoughts, if you don’t mind reading on a bit.

wgard

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Wednesday December 31, 2008 · 3:38 AM PST

2008/12/31 · 03:38

For those of you who may not have followed such matters, the ‘world’ is poised to add one second to the length of the year 2008. The last minute of 2008 (31-12-2008, 11:59) is to be one second longer, or 61 seconds before 2009 officially begins. For those who would like a more scientific, rational explanation of why this will happen, you can find it here or any of numerous other places.

But, it is not the explanation that bothers me... it effectively adds one more second to the malevolent reign of the GWB administration, one more second to a disastrous odessy, courtesy of BushCo. Of course, 2008 has only been the capstone to an unprecedented run of disastrous years, courtesy of Bushco.

Frankly, I do not want to endure even one more second of a GWB administration than is absolutely necessary. After all, the damage this crew can effect in the blink of an eye (and often has done), it may take years or even lifetimes to set right.

wgard

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Saturday October 25, 2008 · 4:50 AM PDT

2008/10/25 · 04:50

... and you will probably not like the question. In a nutshell, in our exuberance, in our expectations, in our belief in Barack Obama as a new future, have we set... has the bar been set too high, so high as to be unreachable?

Personally, I believe Obama to be the best hope on offer for the nation at this time in history, and I support him fully. But I worry, too. He faces so many daunting and seemingly intractable tasks, simply erasing even some of the most egregious missteps and overreaches of the GWB’s administration over the past eight years... all corrective measures in nature... I worry as to how that in itself will limit him and his vision for the nation.

There is the economy and financial system, there is the miniscule fact of war ongoing on two fronts, there is the issue of the legacy of an administration devoted to the theory of the ‘unitary executive’, there is a severely strained military, there is the diminution of civil liberties and the confluence of church and state, there is the fiscal deficit and an ever-increasing national debt, there is... well, I am sure you get the picture.

wgard

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Wednesday October 08, 2008 · 4:22 AM PDT

2008/10/08 · 04:22

I like many, if not most of you, watched the second presidential ‘debate’ between Obama and McCain. Before-hand, I had my own drinking game... one drink for every McCain utterance of , "My friends." Needless to say, I was not disappointed, for within the first 15 minutes, I was well on the way to inebriation! (I had to suspend the ‘game’ then, so that I could follow in some semblance of semi-consciousness.)

Thank God I did not toss one back for every time I heard a McCain ‘I know how to...’! He ‘knows’ how to solve the economic crises, he ‘knows’ how to restore jobs in the US, he ‘knows’ how to solve the economic crises (yes, plural), he ‘knows’ how to achieve ‘victory’ in Iraq, he ‘knows’ how to deal with the future of Social Security and Medicare, he ‘knows’ how to capture or kill Bin Ladin and deal with Pakistan, he ‘knows’ how to achieve energy security, he ‘knows’ how to ‘reach across the aisle’ to achieve bipartisan solutions, he ‘knows’ how to solve all problems... without a single specific or even a skeleton of a plan of approach!

wgard

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Tuesday July 08, 2008 · 5:25 AM PDT

2008/07/08 · 05:25

You may have heard, "truth is stranger than fiction," and indeed, that often seems the case. While that strange truth is usually just entertaining and innocuous, there are times when it is exactly the opposite... stupefying, shocking, even threatening.

Mimicking Ripley is not the intent here, though. It is simply to point you to a variety of recent articles, some of which just bring a smile, some that give pause for thought, and some that deal with very serious issues. Not surprisingly, many involve government and elected officials at various levels.

Aside from the trivial 'fun' articles, many are important but have been beneath the radar for whatever reason. They need greater exposure, for they often have implications that scream for attention.

The entries here do not comprehensively quote their referenced sources, except for maybe a one or two line teaser that might pique your interest, and, of course a link, along with maybe short comment. Better that you follow the links and look in the horse's mouth yourself:) Hope you enjoy.

Cheers:)

wgard

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Sunday July 06, 2008 · 2:28 AM PDT

2008/07/06 · 02:28

Aside from the trivial 'fun' articles, many are important but have been beneath the radar for whatever reason. They need greater exposure, for they have implications which scream for attention.

wgard

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Friday July 04, 2008 · 4:01 AM PDT

2008/07/04 · 04:01

You may have heard, "the truth is stranger than fiction," and indeed, often that seems the case. While that strange truth is usually just entertaining and innocuous, there are times when it is exactly the opposite... stupefying and malicious.

Here are a few instances which you may not have been aware. Not so surprisingly, many involve government and elected officials at various levels.

The entries here do not quote their referenced sources, except for maybe a one or two line teaser that might pique your interest, and, of course a link, along with maybe short comment. Hope you enjoy.

wgard

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Tuesday June 24, 2008 · 9:19 PM PDT

2008/06/24 · 21:19

I have never pimped a diary or a blog. What I have done is pick out parts of the best of them as a means of illustrating or promoting my point of view (which like everyone thinks of their own, I think is a correct one:). But, in this case, I am going to make an exception, with regard to a blog, and specifically to one item of content.

The blog is ‘The Washington Note’, a blog of Steve Clemmons. IMO, he gives some of the most reasoned and balanced views of what is happening in Washington, what is happening in the world, and particularly what is happening in US foreign policy, of anyone on the political scene. But, he is not just a ‘pundit’ – he is actively engaged in the process, interacting with movers and shakers not only in the US but around the world.

If you have not experienced ‘The Washington Note’, I encourage you to do so.
And now for the other part of the endorsement.

wgard

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Saturday April 26, 2008 · 5:50 AM PDT

2008/04/26 · 05:50

There was a time, long, long ago, when the two ‘toughest’ kids on the block or playground or in the neighbourhood would inevitably square off in a challenge for supremacy. Usually these combatants were relatively young and well-grounded in the community.

After a brief struggle of the participants, whether boxing or wrestling, or more usually a combination of the two, one would submit to the superiority of the other, and the codeword was ‘Uncle’. You could hear a shout of one, as the opponent was hopelessly pinned, demanding of the other, "Say Uncle!" You see, the utterance of that one word, ‘Uncle’, established the pecking order (at least for that day) on the playground or in the neighbourhood. It might well be challenged tomorrow, but for the time being, there was a ‘peace’ in the neighbourhood, on the baseball field, or wherever as one established his or her dominance. It might be reversed tomorrow, depending on the resolve of the combatants, but there it was for the day.
And that is exactly what this Democratic candidate contest has devolved to be... who can make who cry ‘Uncle’, no matter the cost.

Poll

43 votes Show Results

Is this primary now beneficial or not?

43 votes Vote Now!

Is this primary now beneficial or not?

It is still helping me define Barack and Hillary.

1 vote

It is helping neither of them so much as McCain.

9 votes

It is helping with the overall Democratic effort.

4 votes

It is detrimentally fragmenting the electorate, including Democratic voters.

8 votes

It can continue with no harm to the Democratic Party or GE candidate.

3 votes

It is harmful to the Democratic Party and GE candidateeven now.

12 votes

This is the American dream.

2 votes

It is a subversion of the electoral process.

0 votes

I don't know.

0 votes

I don't care.

1 vote

Why don't you go back to sleep?

3 votes

WTF? - Batter Up, or 4th and Long!

wgard

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Saturday February 02, 2008 · 3:15 AM PST

2008/02/02 · 03:15

Up front, I have to admit to being a fan of professional football ... not so much baseball, although that is the ‘national sport’, according to some. It is not a matter of anything other than personal preference for the level of movement, action.

Okay, both sports have their followers, and both are very much in the forefront of the national sporting psyche. But in the end, I think it is a measure of sanity to admit that both are simply what they are... sports!

Is the conflagration in Iraq going to turn on the outcome of the Superbowl, or on the outcome of the World Series? How about FISA and proposed changes to it? Or maybe the ‘stimulus package’ or the next budget, or investigation of politicization in the executive branch, especially in supposedly independent agencies of government, or the budget itself, or presidential signing statements effectively disavowing the control of Congress over spending, or any one of a thousand other things?

wgard

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Wednesday November 14, 2007 · 4:17 AM PST

2007/11/14 · 04:17

The costs of GWB's war of choice have been very much in the news in the last 24 hours. The illumination came with a CBO estimate that to date, the cost for Iraq alone is estimated at about $1.3 trillion, more than double the appropriated moneys to fund it. Of course, the CBO recognizes as 'costs' little things like continuing veterans' care, equipment replacement, etc.

When you throw in Afghanistan, the CBO pegs the costs at about $1.6 trillion... so far! As usual, this has become a Dem talking point, and rightly or wrongly, it is and will be one more in the arsenal of clubs with which to bring this administration to account... do ya think?

The fact is, the costs have been known for quite some time to exceed the funding requests by the administration by a factor of even more than two. But, in the Congress (House and Senate), when there is committee action, or debate (seldom, in a true sense), or a vote on funding for the war(s), there is never an acknowledge of the total costs, only what must be borrowed today to keep the war(s) perpetuated into an indeterminate number of tomorrows.

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Talk About Priceless!

I Truly Have To Laugh

Don’t Add A Second To 2008!

I Have To Ask

From The Bottom Of The Glass

Ripley, Do You Believe This? (3)

Ripley, Do You Believe This? (2)

Ripley, Do You Believe This?

If You Have Time, And You Want To Know Brilliance

Uncle!... Dammit! UNCLE!!!

WTF? - Batter Up, or 4th and Long!

Anyone Else Have A Problem With This?