THE JESUS TOMB?

My lunch companions were all atwitter about the news of a “Jesus tomb” that was supposedly found; it was on all the national news channels!

James Cameron of “Titanic” directorial fame is involved and I suppose his involvement adds a small amount of credibility to the whole thing.

Christian scholars from around the world jumped on this with vigor and probably correctly, called it a clever promotion of a documentary film on the Discovery channel, a book and a DVD.

The timing of the whole thing is also interesting with Easter just around the corner.

I feel these types of so called “religious discoveries” play a positive role in our society because they bring up discussions that usually reveal how totally ignorant the religious public is about the historicity of their religion; I am talking about Christians here.

Many Christians are still surprised to learn that Jesus had a family. They all know about Mary and Joseph but few are taught that the Bible (New Testament) talks about brothers and sisters of Jesus. One brother is supposedly older than Jesus – virgin birth?

One immediate scholarly criticism was how Jesus’ family burial tomb could be located in Jerusalem; they were all from Galilee and they were dirt poor – the tomb belongs to an obviously middle class family.

Well, it is obvious that Jesus was in Jerusalem when he was crucified. His mother was there and his disciples were there also. Were they there just for the Passover? Did they ever go back to Nazareth after the crucifixion?

St. Paul indicates that the followers of Jesus were headquartered in Jerusalem after Jesus’ death, ostensibly waiting for him to materialize after death. His brother James was the head of the clan in Jerusalem and one would assume that he would keep his mother close by. James is known to have been buried in Jerusalem.

St. Paul also indicates that he raised a lot of money for the “saints” in Jerusalem and for this reason they did not throw Paul out on his ass when he came around saying he knew what Jesus was all about even though he never met him. It is quite possible that the Jesus “family/clan” was actually well to do with all the contributions coming in so they actually may have been able to afford a tomb.

There is very little evidence about the “Jesus people” after his crucifixion. We know that the group was called the “Ebonites” and that they left Jerusalem after the Roman destruction of the city in 70AD. Some scholars suggest that they headed for Syria where they all eventually died out.

We do know that this group never considered Jesus as divine but as a holy prophet. Obviously, the people that invented Christianity wanted nothing to do with the original followers of Jesus; they were heretics!

My point is that the Gospels are not historic documents so there is much we don’t know and probably will never know. Even if we do find the tomb of Jesus; how do we confirm his bones as his?

The group that made the documentary base all on the coincidence of the names found on in the tomb: Jesus son of Joseph, Judah son of Jesus, Maria, Marianne, Joseph and Mathew. Since all these names were quite common at the time of Jesus, what are the odds that they could be THE Jesus family?

Just a quick note before I end, scholars rationalize that if miracles do not occur and have not occurred in recorded history then they probably never occurred in biblical times either. The assumption of Jesus into “heaven” is a nice story but just that; he is buried somewhere but where?

Even if we found him, Christians will not buy it cause’ to buy it would mean that the whole religion is based on a fallacy.

More as the story develops…

OBAMA NOT BLACK ENOUGH?

Turning to the Democratic side of the Presidential race, we have the Barack Obama phenomenon.

I found it interesting that many American Blacks do not consider him as their own, saying he is “not black enough”. What does that mean?

Well Obama is not a descendant from African American slaves like most if not all American Blacks are. His father is from Africa (Kenya, I think) while his mother is a white woman from Kansas.

Ostensibly, he is a 50/50 mixture which makes him neither white nor black but a variation of both. In the old days we used to call such people “mulattoes” but I don’t think there is a specific word for them today even though there are many more of them in today’s America.

Tiger Woods is American Black / Asian but all regard him as black. The fact is that it does not matter what you call yourself, its all about the way you look and if you look white you will be taken as white and if black.. I do remember movies where children of mixed parents could pass for white, so I guess it can work either way.

Unfortunately, in our society, it matters how you look and color is a big factor. I think we have come a long way and many white Americans were and are prepared to vote for a black person for president. People point to Colin Powell as someone that could have won the presidency if he would have run. I have to point out that Colin was from Jamaican ancestry not African American slave ancestry even though his forebearers were probably all slaves too.

Does it matter what type of black you are to the American public? I think it does.

Do you think Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton ever had a chance? I think not.

American blacks realize that African blacks do not hold American blacks in high regard. They consider them lower class. I know this from personal experience with blacks from Africa.

American blacks, according to the latest poll, are supporting Hilary Clinton, just like they supported ole’ Bill. They knew they could count on them to dish out the money while Barack may be less of a socialist and more middle class, working stock type like Chicago, where he lives.

Shaping up to be quite an interesting race on both sides of the aisle.

RUDY MY MAN?

Lately, I have been wondering that since I have crossed Senator McCain off my list as potential Republican presidential candidates, what do I think about the rest of the Republicans in the race. How about ole’ Rudy Giuliani (63)!

He reminds me a little of good ole’ Bill Clinton. They both are very centrist; Democrat Clinton behaved like a Republican when it came to the economy and government in general but he was definitely a liberal Democrat when it came to social issues. Giuliani spouts off good Republican ideals like small government, fiscal responsibility, etc. but holds traditionally Democratic social views.

They both absolutely like to play with the ladies.

I have been advocating, for a long time, for a third political party that would hold the same views as Bill and Rudy. So do I have my candidate?

Not so fast. Rudy has to win over the Republican Party. He obviously feels that the Republicans that elected Bush are no longer in charge. The new Republicans are fed up with Bush stepping all over historic Republican ideals that define the Party; they want to go back to their roots.

Remember being a religious fanatic does not make you a Republican. Under Bush, the religious right claimed the Republican Party but things have changed. There has been a backlash from serious Christians who feel it was a huge mistake to align with a specific Party especially one that has so many hypocrites and downright crooks and perverts. New Republicans do not want to be identified with the religious right either.

Under Bush, Republicans thought that going the ‘Christian values’ way guaranteed a political win; now going that way is a liability. Hell, even Democrats were beginning to act like holy rollers, thinking they might as well join in the movement if it meant winning – things have certainly changed. BUT McCain does not know that!

Rudy has been married three (3) times and was caught cheating on his second wife, the first marriage was annulled after fourteen (14) years but no children; no sex for 14 years? I know, I know that is not the deciding factor. Actually he claimed his first wife was his second cousin and he did not know it so the marriage never happened – sure, whatever you say – you can pay the Vatican and get an annulment for any reason.

Will the Republican Party hold that against him or think it may hinder his chances for winning. Well his current popularity seems to indicate that people don’t really give a shit about your personal life as long as you are not a perv of some sort. Remember the anti-gay Republican preacher that was outed as a flaming gay, buying sex and drugs and let us not forget the Republican Congressman and his sex-emails to House pages. Bottom line, the value people turned out not to have any values at all.

I think his liberal social views may be his biggest problem and I have to admire the fact that he is sticking with his personal views and not becoming a McCain who obviously bends his views with the prevailing or imagined wind.

Rudy uses the standard, I am against abortion but pro-choice. He likes gun control because he was a city mayor but he also supports capital punishment especially for acts of terrorism. His history attests to his crime fighting skills but he is soft on illegal immigration.

He still thinks of himself a Catholic and once closed a museum exhibit that showed a statue of the Virgin Mary in cow dung; he lost that one on first amendment rights.

I will say he is interesting and a bit complex. He has an independent mind and is not scared to tackle issues. In other words, he is not simply a Republican template. To me that means he is worth looking into.

He is not too mucho looking and that will play against him with people that vote on looks. You don’t think people actually do that?

ANARCHY IN IRAQ?

Reading the Sunday papers, I now see the military big shots as saying that Iraq is no longer considered in a civil war but more like in a state of anarchy. Interesting word this “anarchy”.

These same military types are suggesting that if this is the case, US troops should be pulled from harm’s way and positioned somewhere where they can safely await the outcome of the slaughter.

Interesting, that is what I suggested in my previous blog. Maybe these so called military brains do have some brain cells still working OR are starting to get some balls and stand up to the idiot that is running the ill-fated show in Iraq. Speak up boys!!!!

McCain -What are you doing?

The Blog RJ Eskow: McCain On Roe v Wade - And His Life In One Sad Sentence The Huffington Post

McCAIN HAS REALLY LOST IT NOW!

I have written off Senator McCain from my possible presidential material list some time ago for supporting Bush’s Iraq policy when he knew full well that it was wrong and damaging to us, Iraq and the rest of the world.

I just heard that he now, is calling for the overturn of Roe vs. Wade (legalized abortion) when in the past he maintained that it was a state issue. His pronouncement means that he is calling for a Supreme Court action to undo a national law – he has gone too far!

He has also hired the same assholes that attacked Kerry’s war record and for that matter, attacked him, his wife and his child. Does McCain think no one is watching?

He is obviously playing to the religious right with his anti-choice stance. His handlers don’t seem to notice that the country has had it with the holier than thou, religious hypocrites on the right; look where it has got us.

I am anti-abortion but pro-choice – yes, you can be both. No one likes abortion – be serious – but in some cases it is the preferred choice. I stand for the right of every couple to decide how to lead their own lives - period. I am also a realist; abortions will happen legally or illegally; let’s make them as safe as possible.

Bush calls himself pro-life and because of him, thousands have died in Iraq.

McCain is playing politics big time and that is sad – he could have been a contender – I planned to vote for him – what the hell happened?

Flash! Just today, McCain said that the Iraq war has been mismanaged for years. He blames everything on Rumsfeld. Sorry but Rumsfeld was following orders. McCain is trying too hard to remain a Republican. He does not notice that Republicans are abandoning ship; the only logical way to survive politically. Maybe McCain IS too old.

DEMOCRATS NEED A PLAN OR ELSE SHUT UP!

Democrats in Washington are furiously debating the war on Iraq and trying to pass an non-binding resolution that tells President Bush that they don’t agree with his Iraq policy and especially the new “surge” tactic – bullshit.

One thing McCain said that made sense was why waste your energy on such a meaningless resolution that does absolutely nothing. If you are going to disagree with Bush and his Iraq policy COME UP WITH AN ALTERNATIVE PLAN!

I would hope the Democrats, in all their wisdom or at least access to people with wisdom, could come up with a plan for Iraq to their liking and to the liking of the American people. I would venture to say that ANY REASONABLE plan would be readily accepted by the war weary American public.

No one has supported my plan of dividing Iraq into three (3) regions with a central government charged with only distributing oil revenues – well too bad – it was a good plan.

What’s left?

Well, we need to admit that a victory, at least a victory as envisioned by Bush (Iraqi Democracy) is impossible – period.

Next, we need to take our troops out of harm’s way and assign them to seal all borders – tightly; that has not been done until recently – stupid us.

Then allow the civil war to come to its natural conclusion – simple.

But how can we allow all those innocent people to just be slaughtered – what the fuck do you think we are doing now and have for years – grow up!

I think that if any of those Democrats running for president what a realistic shot at the presidency; they best come up with an Iraq plan, other than just removing our troops.

BILLIONS FOR WAR BUT AT WHAT COST!

A story on ABC News last night infuriated me.

The Bush Administration has, three years in a row, CUT the budget for cancer treatment clinical trials. These are trials where new and innovative cancer treatments are tried. In some cases, these trials are the last hope some cancer patients have because all other modes of treatments have been tried and failed.

The budget for these trials was $160 million originally and now has been whittled down to $130 million which means some trials just have to be abandoned.

Why is Bush cutting the funds supporting these trials? Well, it is obvious that he has to fund the war on Iraq somehow.

I want you to think about that while you ponder the latest report out of a Washington agency responsible for tracking our tax dollars and how they are spent. The report said that up to $10 BILLION dollars sent to Iraq are UNNACOUNTED for.

Now how does that make you feel?

IS "VACCINE' AN INTRUSION?

In my “Vaccine” Blog, how could I possibly welcome “government intrusion” into our lives and actually allow our government to “force” vaccination onto our citizens – humor or actually a good discussion point?

I have been adamantly against government intrusion into our lives all my life. My views on this subject are definitely Libertarian and border on the anarchistic; so why allow our government to “intrude” by mandating “this” vaccine for young girls.

Number one, parental approval is built into the plan so no girl is being forced to have the vaccine against her parent’s will.

The way I read it, schools will need to have girls vaccinated before they can attend the school or have a form from the parents expressly stating that they do not want their child to be vaccinated.

Currently, schools demand proof of vaccination for the common types of childhood diseases like polio, measles, etc. These vaccines are standard practice in this country and have led to a complete or near eradication of previously very dangerous medical conditions.

To my knowledge, only certain radical religious groups who feel any form of human medical intervention is “against” their religious beliefs and leave their medical well being in the hands of their god do not vaccinate their children, but they also don’t send their kids to public schools either.

So if we accept the standard vaccination rules as good and beneficial, why not the cervical cancer vaccine.

Or the bigger question, why do I allow and support our government’s interference in our lives in some cases but not others?

Specifically, let us talk about health. Americans, despite living in the richest and most advanced nations, are actually very unhealthy. They are at a greater risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease than most other industrialized countries; all because of lifestyle and our government can’t do a damn thing about it except preach a healthier lifestyle; it’s a free country!

On the other hand, making sure that infants and children are protected from disease and illness through the use of the latest medical technologies (vaccines) is, I think, a governmental responsibility since it benefits the individual as well as society as a whole.

Some may say the cervical cancer vaccine is different. It does not protect against a childhood disease or illness, it actually protects against a “possible” infection in the girl’s later life and then only IF she has sex with a carrier of the specific virus that causes the disease.

Simply put, if a vaccine is available that will prevent a “possible” disease from happening in the future; why not give it. The fact that it prevents a “sexually transmitted disease” or STD seems to make a difference.

If we discovered a vaccine against HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, etc. would we even hesitate to give it to our young? Would giving the vaccine somehow say something negative about the parents or would it be just plain good common medical sense since we have no control over the future behavior of our children even if we really think we do?

OR would it make our children into crazed sex addicts; fearing nothing from STD, they screw everything that moves at anytime and anywhere? I admit that this IS a commonly held belief.

I remember the time before HIV / AIDS. I don’t recall people screwing in the streets. Actually there was probably less sex between the unmarried then due to a healthy fear of pregnancy and a different social value system when it came to sex.

Unfortunately sometimes you have to force kids to take their medicine and parents to give the medicine.

PROSECUTORS IN THE NEWS!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

To: The Detroit Free Press
Re: “Teacher in sex-abuse case given new trial”, Feb. 8.

Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca thinks that the unanimous opinion of 12 jurors on guilt or innocence is sacrosanct. What about the ever growing number of legally convicted felons awaiting the death penalty for rape or other capital crimes, set free by DNA evidence; the prosecutor and the jurors in those cases were also absolutely sure of their guilt. I think some prosecutors, in their mad rush to convict and close a case, only look at and collect evidence that supports their case for guilt; information to the contrary is just not followed up on. Recent cases involving overzealous prosecutors have made national headlines and I think the public is justified in harboring a healthy skepticism, especially in so called, open and shut cases.

CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE!

OK, there is one issue that has me upset. It is about the new cervical cancer vaccine called “Gardasil”.

This vaccine prevents cervical cancer by blocking infection from the two strains of human papilloma virus that cause most cervical cancer. The virus is a common sexually transmitted disease. The vaccine also prevents genital warts. It should be given to girls before they become sexually active anywhere from 9 up.

It sounds like a medical breakthrough; another disease prevention tool but alas no my dear friends.

The conservatives in general and conservative parent groups are actually against giving the vaccine to young girls. Now you know what I mean when I say conservatives; yes, overly religious people, as I call them.

They feel the vaccine will encourage girls to be promiscuous; not scared to try sex. This same theory is used against putting young girls on birth control pills; they make having sex safe from pregnancy.

Before I go on, the plan is to vaccinated girls at such an early age that they will not know what the vaccine is for; they don’t have to be told and it is complicated to explain at that age so the argument that the vaccine will cause promiscuity is absurd.

Just yesterday, the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, showed some balls and common sense by signing an ordinance requiring all girls in the state to be vaccinated against this disease. He sidestepped opposition in the state legislature and issued an executive order – what a man; trying to save lives against fierce opposition – imagine.

Now legally, a parent can opt out of the vaccination but if that parent’s daughters come down with the disease in later years, I hope those girls sue the hell out of their parents for their inexcusable ignorance.

OUR NEW PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT!

Hey, have you noticed that the race is on for the presidency. Wow, for the first time in our history, the campaign has begun THIS early.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama are the front runners for the Democratic nomination and if they don’t do something really stupid, they will probably be the choices for president and vice-president in that order. One of the dangers of starting this early is that you now have much more time in which to fuck up – we shall see how they do.

Surprisingly, even some of my conservative acquaintances do not dismiss Hillary right away because she is a woman and are actually open to a woman president because anybody and I mean anybody is OK with them as long as Bush leaves and the Bush nightmare comes to an end. They will also accept a “black” as vice president – history is being made as we speak.

The reason I mention that Obama will in all probability be the candidate for vice-president is simply because he is too young and too inexperienced (born 1961) – he just doesn’t appear ready to lead.

None of the other Democrats declared for the presidency, I think, have a chance. Edwards has lost once and he should leave it at that. Kerry said he will not run again – smart. Al Gore would also be smart not to make a fool of himself by running. No one else appears as an attractive candidate so it is done: HILLARY AND BARACK.

Since we have so much time before the elections are held, we will definitely be talking about this subject again – you can count on it.

What about the Republican candidates?

February 2007 Update!

Wow it’s February already and I have not had a chance to blog for quite some time. Not that there is nothing going on but for some reason I am way too busy – this has to stop.

The President’s “State of the Union” speech was predictable. His handlers try to make him sound sane and somewhat smart but the nation now knows better.

The situation in Iraq is getting worst by the day. Our troop surge will add to American casualties but do little else. I notice that American soldiers are going out on patrol with Iraqi troops (read Shiites) and killing a whole bunch of Sunnis. I guess one way to stabilize Iraq is to kill all the Sunnis – it could happen!

Another thing I noticed is that we were starting to use Kurdish troops to patrol Baghdad. They at least don’t belong to either the Shia or Sunnis factions and don’t mind killing either BUT they really need to stay up north and protect the Kurd regions because they will be next on the list for extermination once the Shiites eliminate the Sunnis.

Bush will be asking for BILLIONS $$$ to support the war and to build up Iraq. He thinks that he may pay them to behave in a civil fashion. Actually, people will gratefully take the money but don’t expect them to use the money for the good of Iraq.

The Democrats are making grumbling sounds against Bush and the war but all gestures against the war are so far empty and therefore useless at achieving anything resembling progress in Iraq.

It appears that Bush will have his way till he leaves office so we are looking at two (2) more years of this bullshit at which time he will retire to his ranch in Texas and write a book blaming everyone for his dismal failure as president.

If it sounds that I am a little dispirited, well I am. Here we are, the most powerful and rich nation ever and we are being led by an asshole and there is not a damn thing anyone can do about it – pretty depressing.

I think the fact that this February is brutally cold and snowy may be adding to the overall feeling of malaise.

Hope to perk up soon.

A DEMOCRATIC PLAN IDEA FOR IRAQ

It appears that President Bush actually called 60 Minutes for an interview. In the interview he presented a challenge to the Democrats thinking of opposing his “troop surge” plan. He said that if they cut off funding for the surge, they better be prepared to tell the American public THEIR plan for Iraq.

He has a point. The Democrats, as of now, only plan to oppose HIS plan; they have NO plan of their own.

This is to say that pulling our troops out and letting the Iraqis conclude their de-facto CIVIL WAR is not an acceptable plan or is it. Bush says that just pulling out would allow our enemies to control Iraq and that would endanger the U.S. down the road.

What he is actually talking about is IRAN and there are indications that Iran is supporting the Shia majority in Iraq with weapons, etc. A nuclear Iran / Iraq partnership under the current Iranian leadership, would pose a much greater danger to the U.S. than poor ole’ Saddam ever did.

Condoleezza Rice is frantically traveling in the Middle East trying to drum up support for Bush’s plan by waving the possibility of a U.S. pull out with the inevitable rise of Iran as the big bully in the Middle East; something the Sunni countries like Saudi Arabia, et. al. are deathly scared of. Rice is saying – help us contain Iran or suffer the consequences!

Rice is also now trying to help the Israelis and Palestinians reach some type of accord; something Bush never gave a shit about before BUT NOW when he is desperate, he is saying, see - if you help us we will help the Palestinians – finally! I guess he is begging!

In the interview on 60 Minutes, I sensed that Bush knows he fucked up but believes his intentions were good and in the best interest of the country. He is desperate to find a clean solution to this nightmare but is willing to prolong the suffering until his presidency is over and THEN it becomes the problem of the next guy.

I did not sense that he believed a victory was possible AT ALL. He now sees that the Iraqi/Shia government is just waiting for the Americans to leave so they can finish the job and consolidate power under a THEOCRACY like that in Iran. That fat little cleric SADR is licking his chops already at the prospect of total power!

So what can the Democrats do? Senator Levin already voiced his concern about shutting Bush down and Levin is a big cheese in the Senate. Without a plan to hang their hats on they would appear just silly obstructionists and worse, allowing the remaining troops to be cannon fodder; not a good political position for retaking the presidency in 2008.

I say force the idiot to adopt the recommendations of the “Iraq Study Group”; instead of just shooting people, look for a political solution. Talk to the surrounding countries; see what they have to say. Explore a division along religious and ethnic lines: Kurd, Shia and Sunni. Allow them self determination in their respective regions but join them into a “weak” confederation that would JUST be there to distribute oil revenues – equally based on a per capita basis.

And here is the biggie; the U.S. would have to guarantee, militarily, that this loose confederation will be left alone by all other countries. This would entail leaving a small military force inside Iraq for a long time like we have in Germany, Japan and Korea – but the shooting will stop.

This plan may entail the disarming of the SHIA militias as well as the smaller Sunni militias – hey, it’s the price of peace – anyone have a better plan?

MAKE UNIONS FOLLOW THE LAW

I hate to get started on unionism because it gets my blood pressure up so high but I must. Detroit or shall I say the State of Michigan is union country. My family and friends are union people and I admit that unions were good for us ONCE but that was a long time ago.

Union membership has plummeted dramatically and most union leaders see the writing on the wall but they are not disappearing without a last stand.

Democrats are in power and union leaders are saying they put them in power. Reality says the Iraq war put the Democrats in power. Union leaders say the Democrats owe them and the Democrats will probably agree.

The unions want the Democrats to pass labor legislation to allow unions to organize companies by just collecting signatures, not votes. The unions have been stymied in the past when workers voted NOT to unionize. By not allowing the decision to unionize to be voted on, they can unionize a company on the sly.

Don’t understand? Unions can always get workers to sign a card to unionize, they just twist their arms, threaten their families, burn their cars, kill their dogs; need I go on. Those things don’t happen any more? Oh contraire, the unions have not changed a lick and they, after all, are fighting for their very lives.

James P Hoffa (Teamster) is leading the charge to ban voting or as they call it, allow unionization through signature collection “Employees Free Choice Act”; what a bunch of horseshit.

Write your Congressman, especially if he or she is a Democrat.

HEALTHCARE PLAN IS ROLLING

Long ago I voiced my recommendations to help fix the health system in this country. My words fell on deaf ears until Mitt Romney in Massachusetts called for UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE.

He did not mean SOCIALIZED MEDICINE as in Europe and Canada; those systems I have explained countless times are failing and should not be embraced here.

No he specifically called for MANDATORY HEALTH COVERAGE; you must have health insurance just like you must have auto insurance.

No Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California has called for the same proposal to be enacted in his state. I am starting to like that guy and his views, too bad he cannot run for president.

Briefly, the plan would allow many competing health insurance policies with a variety of options at various prices from the lowest priced to the deluxe, something for every wallet.

Medicaid would still be available for the poor and Medicare for the elderly. The state would also subsidize those who are “working poor” with kids who need help.

In my thinking, eliminating the uninsured would eliminate the high cost of treating them (legally you have to treat them) when they use the emergency room (highest cost of treatment) for every little ill.

In this way, preventive medicine could actually be practiced on the currently uninsured and the insured would not have to be burdened with ever increasing insurance premiums in an effort to pay for the uninsured.

The Terminator does it again.

ADIOS SENATOR McCAIN!

Senator John McCain has lost my support for the presidency in 2008. He won my support when he stood up to President Bush in the last campaign. He stood up to the religious right; he was a man for all seasons and for all parties. Democrats wanted to run him for vice president; imagine a Republican running for vice president on the Democratic ticket? He was THAT attractive.

What happened? Well for one, he started kissing Jerry Falwell’s ass (Religious Right) something you thought he would never do, I mean make friends but don’t bend over?

And recently, he came out strong in support of President Bush and his new “surge” plan for Iraq.

To me, supporting Bush’s new plan is abandoning all reason and forgetting everything that has transpired in Iraq to date. One would have to be allowing politics to come before the welfare of this country and that, a true American, should NEVER do.

You may argue that McCain believes leaving Iraq is unacceptable and he has voiced that opinion and so he should propose his own plan on ending this quagmire but to simply agree with Bush’s totally preposterous rationale indicates, to me at least, that McCain does not have the smarts to lead this country.

Adios Amigo!

BUSH'S FLAWED LOGIC

What has the water cooler crowd in your office been saying about last night’s address by President Bush and his new way forward in Iraq?

My crowd was down. We had a few staunch Bush supporters before but now, to the man / woman, all are against him and want the madness to end. Some are calling him an alien sent from Mars to disrupt the world as we know it.

It was painful to watch him. ABC News showed, before his speech, clips of his pronouncements in the past; all now proven to be false or outright lies. I think Bush himself felt that his words are now empty, without meaning because he has lost all credibility with the American people.

He set no time table but his military advisor suggested two (2) years; all Bush has left in his presidential term.

I did detect a warning in his speech. He warned Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf States that they face extreme danger if they do not support his plan. The countries mentioned are Sunni and if the U.S. pulls out, Shiite Iran will take over and make Iraq into a Shiite partner country; a formidable front against the Sunni nations.

Sunni nations like Saudi Arabia have admittedly been supporting the Sunni militias in Iraq. Bush’s warning is to cease and desist. Once that happens then the Iraqi army will be able to neutralize the Shiite militias and peace will reign over the country or at least Baghdad.

With the violence stopped, the Iraqi government can now get on with rebuilding the country into a democratic showcase.

This logic assumes that the Iraq government and army are Iraqi first and Sunni or Shiite second. Well, that is impossible and will never be possible; therefore the logic behind his plan is flawed and unrealistic.

Maliki, his government and his army and police are Shiite – no Sunnis need apply. They will work with the Americans to wipe out all the Sunnis. Once done, the Shiite clerics will solidify their power (theocracy) and then turn on the Kurds. Once the oil is safely in their hands, they will declare with Iran a new Persian Empire, now with atomic weapons.

I think the Sunni nations mentioned above, know this and they will continue to supply Iraq’s Sunnis with weapons and anything else they need to keep the Shiites from taking over the country so the violence will continue no matter what we do.

My wife asked can we just leave. What would happen? The country would revert back to what it was before Winston Churchill drew a pencil line on the map and called it Iraq; into Kurd, Shiite and Sunni areas.

THE CHURCH IN POLAND - Communist spies!

Things are happening in Poland that are of great interest to me and in my view, may change the way the Catholic Church is treated and perceived in that oh, so Catholic country.

I am of Polish heritage, do business in Poland and have visited the country on many occasions. I also am a religious history nut as you know, especially Christianity, Catholicism and their roles today.

Poland has always been VERY Catholic. The people were/ are totally brainwashed and manipulated by the Church in Poland. The Church IS part of the government even though not elected and holds enormous influence in all sectors of Polish life and always has.

Priests in Poland are like royalty, their hands kissed by old ladies, every wish met and boy do the live the high life; the best of everything paid for by the citizens of Poland, some who can not afford to give but MUST.

The first modern non-Italian Pope was a Pole. He was also credited with destroying Communism in Poland as well as contributing to its demise in general.

Under the many years of communist dictatorship in Poland, the Catholic Church stood firm in opposition to the godless bastards. Cardinal Wyszynski spent many years under arrest just because he would not give in to the communist government demands; he was a saint in the eyes of Poles.

Recently Cardinal Glemp, the primate of Poland for 25 years decided to retire. He appointed Archbishop Wielgus to take his place. Just before he was to be installed as the primate of Poland a newspaper accused him of serving as a spy for the Polish Communist Secret Police during the 1970s.

He denied it – they produced documents with his signatures – he confessed but said he did not inform on anyone, he just did it to get permission to study abroad.

The papers screamed LIAR and HYPOCRIT and ordinary Poles started getting up in church and saying GO TO HELL.

The Church organization started spinning the matter and said the MEDIA is making this all up and also forging papers (but he confessed). Glemp said to ‘forget about it’ – it means nothing.

The Vatican panicked and told Wielgus to resign / step down; someone else has to take his place. The Church called out all the brainwashed peasants telling them Media is “trying to destroy your Church”. The peasants went to the media capital, Warsaw and started rioting, beating up all who opposed them or the Church. The Archbishop resigned.

Let me throw in another related issue. Another Bishop named “Janusz” of all things, just resigned also. Documents were found that also implicated him cooperating with the secret police. He informed on people buying masses (prayers) to free Poland from the communist oppression. I wonder what the secret police did with those holy Poles praying for freedom. The Bishop obviously did not care he got what he wanted; whatever that was.

To understand the emotions this issue is bringing out in Poland you have to empathize a little. Here you are being oppressed by the communists and the only Polish institution standing up to them is the Church. Going to church is YOUR ONLY way to protest the occupation.

You go to confession because that what a good Catholic is suppose to do and you confess your sins or maybe even crimes against the state, to a holy man, a confidant that is on your side, the side of God who will eventually defeat the communists. Now you find out he may have gone to the secret police to tell them about your crimes or anything else you may have said against the state –wow – what a revelation. Do you see why Poles are PISSED?

My mother, who is very Catholic, is also pissed. She always considered priests as MEN who behaved like MEN. She continues to pray to the Virgin Mary because she can “trust her” to help her; priests and the Church cannot be counted on – they are after all, human creations.

I have been talking to my friends in Poland and they admit that this is BIG and may change how the Church operates in Poland. The Church is strong and has the brainless droids it controls. This should be quite exiting – more as the story develops.

WHAT IF DADDY BUSH DEPOSED SADDAM?

In the midst of the Iraq war debate, I was asked if George Bush Sr. could have prevented the current debacle by going after Saddam when he had the chance.

As you remember, we had a pretty easy time in Desert Storm and basically dispatched the Iraqi army within the first hundred hours of engagement. They never really put up a defense and either gave up or ran. Our air force caught the remnants jammed on the highway to Baghdad and basically annihilated them; burned out shells of tanks and trucks littered the road.

Many people here said, you got them, now finish the job by going to Baghdad and overthrowing Saddam and his cohorts. Bush Senior declined and called our troops back. Was this a good decision?

Allowing our troops to go after Saddam meant we were invading Iraq and not merely throwing them out of Kuwait. Our Arab coalition partners would have objected and so would have the United Nations; they authorized only freeing Kuwait of Iraqi invaders.

Bush did signal to the Shiites and Kurds in Iraq that this is their chance to overthrow Saddam and when they tried, Saddam crushed them and Bush did nothing to help them; they assumed he would.

Bush was scared that if he had deposed Saddam, neighboring nations like Iran, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia would move into the void and partition Iraq and therefore destabilize the region. Bush thought it would be better to allow Saddam to at least keep Iraq in one piece and stable, even though hundreds of Kurds were gassed and hundreds of Southern Shiites were executed to keep Iraq stable and under his boot.

If Bush Sr. did depose Saddam after Desert Storm the country would have broken up into Kurd, Shiite and Sunni regions and a civil war would have ensued mainly for control of the oil revenues and we now know how the rest of the story would have developed; we are seeing it develop right now.

So Bush Sr. probably made the right decision at that time and he did, belatedly, try to help the Kurds in the north and the Shiites in the south by establishing two (2) “no fly zones”; a little late but at least it was something.

If Bush Junior did not invade Iraq but contained and pressured Saddam while concentrating on wiping out Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and trying to make that country a self reliant democratic nation – well that would be a different story, one that could possible have seen a victory for all concerned but obviously, that is not how it happened.