Yemen's handling of Cole bomber stuns Bush antiterror chief

President Bush's top counterterrorism adviser flew to Yemen last week to praise that country's cooperation in the war on terrorism just days before Yemeni authorities reportedly pardoned and released one of the principal architects of the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

You know, I wrote about this before, and there is an easy way to fix it. Simply find them and kill them all. When the Israeli's started hunting down members of Black September after the 1972 Olympic massacre, those responsible were terrified. They thought that any moment, they'd surely be killed. That's the same goal here. Keep them on edge at all times so they can't kill again, and then once found, put a bullet in the back of their heads.

It sounds extreme to some, but this guy is directly responsible for the deaths of 17 American sailors who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. So, if Yemen won't cover our backs when it comes to dealing with terrorists, then maybe we should take a tougher approach to the matter.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Protests Come At A Price

I was on my way to bed, when I ran across this story. The "God Hates Fags" folks who protest soldier's funerals have lost a lawsuit and have been ordered to pay $11 million dollars.

Privacy at such things does mean something and if you invade someone's privacy like that, it can cost you dearly.

That being said, if they were protesting on public property, I really have a hard time seeing that this won't get overturned on appeal. As much as I despise them, they do have a right to protest. Of course, certain key facts are left out of the story, such as where they were, what was said, and other critical facts about the case.

If they were on public property and they weren't interfering with anyone going to or from the funeral (very unlikely, as I've seen video of them purposefully invading people's privacy), then they would have a strong argument.

Personally, if it was my family member's funeral and they were protesting, I don't know how I'd react. Maybe I'd say some angry words, maybe someone would eat a fist. But I at least know enough about myself to tell someone "What you are doing is endangering your safety. I could snap and bad things might happen".

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Kucinich Questions Bush's Mental Health

"I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his mental health," Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board on Tuesday. "There's something wrong. He does not seem to understand his words have real impact."

This is from the same guy who said he wouldn't order the death of Osama Bin Laden and has seen UFO's.

In response, Republican National Committee spokesman Dan Ronayne said it was hard to take Kucinich seriously.

And who can blame him? Kucinich wants the everyone to get rid of their nuclear weapons, has said that if Al-Qaeda got a hold of a nuclear weapon, he'd go with "peace through peace", whatever the hell that means, voted against a resolution condemning the Iranian President who called for the destruction of Israel, and tried to cover up for the idiotic resolution condemning Turkey for Nancy Pelosi by saying that "she had her plate full" when support for it dropped out.

So, yes, Kucinich, let's start questioning politicians mental health, starting with yours.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Russians Are Downers

They want to ban Halloween in Russian schools because it's a "cult of death"? Wow, you know you've got a big stick up your ass if you start banning holidays.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Hillary Clinton's Performance Last Night

Wow, if you want a prime example of Hillary's ability to say one thing and flip which ever way the wind blows, this video sums it up entirely.

Should illegal immigrants get the ability to get driver's licenses in the state of New York (Where she is a Senator)

Answer to a newspaper: It makes a lot of sense.

But watch the video and watch her squirm.



Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween all!

Make sure you keep your kids safe and have fun trick or treating!

For those of you outside of the US that don't know, Halloween is a time honored tradition that dates back as far as anyone can remember. Children get dressed up in their favorite costumes, such as super heroes, animals, or scary monsters.

They go out with their parents or an older child and go door to door and say "Trick or treat" and then the person at the home usually hands out candy or a small toy.

It's just one of those childhood traditions and it gives memories that last a lifetime.


Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Earmarks

Sometimes you simply have to wonder what the hell politicians are thinking.

In tiny Bishop, California, five hours north of Los Angeles, Rep. Buck McKeon, R-California, wants to build a museum honoring the mule.

McKeon has requested a $50,000 earmark to explore the possibility of building a museum in the town that every Memorial Day weekend holds the biggest mule celebration in the United States.

That's not $50k for the museum, that's $50k to EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY of a museum.

And Republicans wonder why they are getting their asses kicked when it comes to fiscal responsibility.

New roads?  Better schools?  I'm all for earmarks like that, but this is $50,000, someone's yearly salary, to simply take a peek to see if a mule museum is feasible.  What do we as taxpayers get for that $50k?

And the requests aren't limited to one party. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, often called the "King of Pork" by critics, has asked for $150,000 to restore the W.A. Young and Sons Foundry to a "key historic property," according to the description posted on Murtha's Web site.

Both McKeon and Murtha refused to talk to CNN about their earmark requests.

No surprise there.

Earlier this year CNN asked House members to disclose their earmarks. Of the more than 430 members, only 47 provided earmark requests, 68 said they would not release their requests and six said they had not made any requests. The others did not return CNN's request for a list of their earmarks.

So, politicians don't want to be publicly accountable for their earmarks, but want to hold Bush's feet to the fire over his accountability?  It's called hypocrisy, regardless of political party and it needs to stop now.

Earmarks have been a political hot button for years. Commonly derided as "pork," pet projects are tucked into spending bills. In 2006, Congress approved a record $29 billion in earmarks.

$29 billion in earmarks.  That's almost as much as Democrats were complaining they needed for insuring 10 million children under the SCHIP program.

So in other words, they want to have their cake and eat it too.  If you want something, you have to pay for it.  If you can't afford both, then you need to pick one.  The Democratically controlled Congress picked their earmarks over the SCHIP program and they now have to live with that decision, even if it means pissed off voters.

Personally, I would LOVE to have a nice Acura NSX-T.  I've worked hard all my life and made sure to be a good provider to my family.  I could go into extreme debt over it and get one, but it makes no sense to me to spend that kind of money PLUS interest to get something I want now.

Now, I could get myself out of debt and then go for the Acura, but I need to do the debt first.  Congress is acting like a spoiled 20-something with an unlimited credit card.

People are rightfully pissed about the federal debt and yet, Democrats complain about Bush vetoing a program that would have added billions of dollars a year to the debt.

McKeon's and Murtha's requests come at a time when Rep. John Boehner, the Republican minority leader, is trying to force reforms in how Congressional members ask for and receive funding for pet projects.

Boehner, of Ohio, is gathering signatures in hopes of forcing a vote to make public every earmark in every bill. Boehner says it would be unreasonable to force a vote on each of the 16,000 expected earmarks Congress will approve in this year's spending bills. But he says some amount of exposure will cut down on the more outrageous requests.

Boehner tries to lead by example. He has never asked for a single earmark. And he recently wrote an editorial urging his fellow Republicans to return to their fiscally conservative roots and stop asking for so many pork-barrel projects.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.  If people are asking for 16,000 earmarks, then Congress should vote on every one.  That way the more frivolous ones would get tossed in a hurry.  It's not a matter of "we need these 16,000 earmarks", it's "we don't want to waste our time on voting for each one".

That says something significant.  They don't readily care about the financial situation of the US.  They don't want to actually do their job.  They certainly don't want to be publicly ashamed into showing what kind of idiotic earmarks that they are asking for.  And if Boehner can get by without asking for earmarks, there's no reason why Murtha can't either.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

I am not gay

Larry Craig - Part 2!  Electric boogaloo!

A lawmaker from Spokane, Washington is being blackmailed by a man who says he had gay sex with him in a hotel room.

However Curtis says there was no sex and he isn't gay.

Sound familiar?

The alleged late night encounter is in sharp contrast to Curtis' political persona. While in Olympia, Curtis has voted against domestic partnerships for gay couples and opposed a bill that would have outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Yep, sounds REAL familiar.

Late Monday The Columbian newspaper got a hold of Representative Curtis, who said that he did not solicit anyone for sex, that he is not gay and that he got into this mess just trying to help someone out.

Maybe this guy is indeed a victim of a blackmail attempt and he's innocent, but you have to admit that things look awfully familiar to you.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Checkpoint Baghdad : Is Karbala Ready for Handover?

So, a newsweek reporter is best to decide on if certain parts of Iraq can be handed over to Iraqi security forces?  Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't US and Iraqi forces on the ground, the best ones to decide that?

But is Karbala ready for the big handover? Last week Iraqi security forces shut down the main roads into the city as militia elements shot it out near the city center, and there were reports of a car bomb in the city yesterday. In late August fighting during the Shaabaniya religious festival, which commemorates the birthday of the 12th Shia imam, left dozens of people dead and hundreds wounded.

Yes, these things happen, but why is it so bad that the Iraqi's deal with it instead of US forces?  The Iraqi's have been trained and working hard on getting their footing, so if everyone thinks they are ok to start on these problems, why not?

Some of the overeager Iraqi security guards even insisted on disarming American soldiers before letting them near the VIP tent where Maliki was sitting. Still, Gen. Lynch reassured Iraqi officials in his speech. “We’re only a phone call away,” he said.

So the guard was a bit overzealous.  No big deal.  He was simply doing his job.

So until Newsweek can show a concrete reason why the Iraqi's can't take over, I fail to see why they would put out a sensationalist story when they have no proof to back it up.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Christine Hassler: The 20-Something Life: Your Question On Generation Boomerang Answered - Living Now on The Huffington Post

Dear Christine,

My twenty-two year old daughter moved back home after graduating from college last May. Her father and I are still married and welcomed her back into our home - but we were not planning on it. We love our daughter and understand it's financially challenging out there right now, but we don't want to enable her either. We always thought that after college she'd be on her own, and now I'm back to doing her laundry. Are we doing the right thing? I really do love having her here, but is it appropriate for my grown child to be living at home?

- Wanna be Empty Nester, 49, Chicago

 

Typical.  Here's a thought: How about you kick them in the ass and tell them to either go to college, get a job, or join the military.  Happy 18th Birthday, these are your choices.  But of course, it's "cruel and hard out there", which is a crock of shit.  It's only tough for people who are used to having high speed internet, 3,000 square foot homes, swimming pools, and other amenities that their parents afforded to them.

News flash, those parents built that up from scratch, and so can the kids.  They can move into a shitty apartment with 3 other room mates while they work at Burger King and build up a life for themselves.

Stop coddling your children.  Let them fall down.  Let them make mistakes.  Sure, give them advice on what to do, but the decision is ultimately up to them.  If you don't pull the tit from their mouth, they'll be suckling for their entire lives. 

For example, my aunt on my father's side is 10 years older then I am and STILL lives at home from time to time with her parents.  My grandfather, whom I love and respect more then 99% of people in my family, is an enabler.  He simply can't say "no" to her.  Yet, she continues to take advantage of his good graces.  I've even personally seen her pay him back $10 she owes him and 30 minutes later, borrow $50.  I swear to God, I've seen it.

As soon as parents start acting like parents, you'll stop seeing this "generation boomerang"

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Please don't blame us for $93 oil: OPEC | Reuters

"Please don't blame us for $93 oil," Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah told reporters on the fringes of an international energy conference.

"The market is out of control."

Bullshit.  OPEC controls a very large portion of the oil market and can freely bump up production to any level they'd like.  However, they don't simply because it makes them more money.  If they truly wanted to get prices down, they would bump production up until oil fell back down to the $30-$40 range.  Yet, a few people seem to forget one minor problem.

This is the same guy who only 21 days ago said:

"If we take into account inflation from 1972 to the present day, the real and fair price for oil should be more than 100 dollars," Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah said in remarks aired by Al-Jazeera television on Tuesday.

So, three weeks ago, we should have been grateful for the $80 we were paying, but now that it's starting to hit it's "real and fair price", they want us to bend over and take it up the ass?

Fuck them.  The SECOND a decent car comes out that lets me get my daily commute done without using a drop of oil, such as the Chevy Volt, I'm leaving OPEC a big, fat, "fuck you".

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Iran defiant ahead of nuclear talks with Russia | Reuters

"This nation will not negotiate with anyone over its obvious and legal rights," Ahmadinejad told student members of the Basij religious militia, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"We are not even interested in negotiating with you (the United States) and the Iranian nation does not need America."

Ok, it sounds like Iran has made up it's mind.  But yet, Russian President Putin has this to say:

Russia says dialogue, not more penalties or military action as mooted in the United States, is the way to ease an escalating international stand-off over Tehran's atomic ambitions.

Well Russia, Iran seems to have made up it's mind about what it wants and does not want to do about it's nuclear program.  I fail to see the point of negotiations if Iran isn't willing to come to the table over those negotiations.

China has already rejected sanctions that Israel is asking for.  It's almost as if Russia and China WANT Iran to be attacked over their nuclear program.

We've asked politely for them to stop enrichment.  We've been going through the UN for sanctions, and yet, we have foot dragging on the part of Russia and China:

Responding to Livni's message, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman underscored his country's stance that a negotiated settlement was still viable.
"We believe that a peaceful resolution of the Iran issue through negotiation is the best choice," spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference. "China has always maintained that in international relations sanctions should not be rashly applied."

China and Russia both agreed to more sanctions if Iran didn't stop enrichment.  Iran has said "no".  Therefore, if the Russians and Chinese were men of their words, they'd back tougher sanctions.

And how are sanctions being "rashly applied" since we've had a problem with Iran's nuclear program for YEARS now.  Even the IAEA recently said:

"We have information that there has been maybe some studies about possible weaponization," said Mohamed ElBaradei, who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency. "That's why we have said that we cannot give Iran a pass right now, because there is still a lot of question marks. "

Yet, China and Russia are STILL foot dragging.  There were experiments with weaponization.  Why?  If Iran's nuclear program was strictly for "peaceful purposes", why the experiments?  What about the radiation contamination found at Tehran University by the IAEA?

There's simply something fishy going on here and Iran needs to be brutally punished for it.  If the UN's permanent Security Council members cannot be trusted to fulfill it's duties to clamp down on proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials, then maybe they shouldn't be on the Security Council.

There's a reason why even Europe is backing more sanctions.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Why SCHIP Won't Pass

And you wonder why I'm against such a large increase in the SCHIP program.

"You leave it up to the states to say you can't have an income level over 300 percent (of poverty), but you can deduct $20,000 for a housing allowance or you can deduct $15,000 for shelter or whatever," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. "So, what you've got here is the classic bait and switch."

Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan, said that allowing states to exempt some income helps to ensure that low-income families don't have to resort to welfare to get health care for their children.

So in other words, if someone's paying rent or a mortgage, they get to deduct that from their income.  WHAT???  Why should they?  What would they do if they didn't pay that rent?  Where would they live?  When you start fudging with who is eligible for your program, it's completely ripe for abuse.

Putting out an increase of $35 billion would mean that people who normally wouldn't need this coverage, would then start getting onto this program.  Yet, employer paid healthcare wouldn't get used as much.  Why should the government pay for health insurance when employers can cover that?  So according to these numbers, some families of four could theoretically earn as much as $97,000 a year and STILL be qualified for this program.

That's $62,000 a year in normal earnings, 20k in housing allowance, and 15k in other expenses as illustrated by Rep. Joe Barton.  Just taking our the "other expenses" leaves a family of four with $82k a year in possible earnings that they would be able to be qualified for this program.

Let me put this in perspective for you.  I have a friend who he and his wife earn 60k a year with four children.  So a family of 6 survives on 60k a year, and all children have health insurance and they all are very healthy.  Why?  Because the parents get on their kids' butts about getting outside and playing, exercising, and eating healthy.

It's called being a responsible parent.  If you feed your kids crap all day long and don't keep an eye on them, they develop health problems.

So if they can survive on 60k a year and STILL manage without the federal government's handouts, then why does someone who makes upwards of 90k a year get a pass?

It's not fair to those who are legitimately working and providing for their families and those who don't.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Cheney hunting trip under fire for Confederate flag - CNN.com

Good Lord everyone wants to get their collective panties in an uproar over something as trivial as a confederate flag in one garage in a separate building where Cheney goes hunting.

Of course, professional "I'm offended" guy Al Sharpton is calling for all sorts of stuff he knows he won't get:

Sharpton demanded Cheney distance himself from the exclusive club where the Stars and Bars was flown, and said he might hold a prayer vigil there.

"This is an outrage - he ought to leave immediately," Sharpton told The News. "He ought to apologize to the American people for being there in the first place."

But here lies the difference:

Cheney spokeswoman Lee Anne McBride said Cheney did not know anything about the controversy.

"The VP did not see the flag and neither did anyone on staff," said McBride.

Why should Cheney apologize for something he didn't know about?  Better yet, when is Al Sharpton going to apologize for the entire Tawana Brawley case?  Al Sharpton made inflammatory statements about an innocent man calling him a rapist.  However, when it was found that the story was concocted, he refused to apologize.

So until that happens, Al Sharpton has zero credibility in asking for apologies from anyone.

Besides, it's not like it was being flown in front of the building.  It was probably put up by a mechanic for whatever reason, racist or not, and not officially sanctioned by the management at the club.

You can argue that it's a symbol of racism or not, but to ask the Vice President to apologize for something he has no control or knowledge of is idiocy, and Al Sharpton knows it.

Attention whore.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Official: Blackwater guards offered limited immunity - CNN.com

So which is it?  Were they offered blanket immunity from prosecution like one official tells it?  Or are they given limited immunity?

Personally, I don't know if I trust what they are saying might be true or not.  If they make incriminating statements and those can't be used against them in court, then that would at least give investigators information they might already have and lead towards a heavier way of prosecuting the men involved.

Regardless of what happened, the Iraqi parliament is voting on limiting immunity for US contractors because of this incident.

But before we throw these guys under the bus, I want to know the truth about whether or not they came under fire first.  There's conflicting reports about who shot first.

So until we know that, we can't really judge them.  However, the immunity deal is significant in that it points towards guilt.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Saudi king chides UK on terrorism

Ok, if I can't post tonight, I at LEAST have to post about the biggest crock of hypocrisy I've seen in a long time.  Saudi Arabian King Abdullah accuses Britain of not doing enough to fight terrorism.

This is from the same guy who leads a country where the vast majority of schools teach hatred of Jews and Americans.  This is from a country where the majority of the 9/11 hijackers are from.  This is from a country where a good portion of the wealthy actively supports terrorism with financial contributions.

This is a country where they think that setting a bomb off inside a restaurant is an acceptable way of "resistance".

Until you deal with your own problems, I would steer VERY clear of the terrorism issue.  You know what they say about people who live in glass houses Abdullah.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Day off.....Maybe

I may have to take the day off of posting tonight because of a bunch of things going on. Typical Monday morning stuff, but I got overwhelmed and I have to run over to a family member's house to fix up a major problem. If I get a moment to post, I will, but I can't promise anything. :)

If I can't post tonight, I will definitely post tomorrow.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Rules And Policies Of The Forums

I've been getting a lot of questions about the forums, so I thought I'd be clear on the policies and rules that I have in place.

Privacy:

Unless I am greeted at the front door with a law enforcement officer, your privacy is strictly confidential. Your email address and other bits of information are not going to be seen by anyone's eyes except mine and anyone else who helps me run the back end of this site.

Since I'm the only one who runs it, that means just me. :)

Your email address will NEVER be sold, traded, shared, or otherwise leave my protection to any spammers, advertisers, or anyone else, except where applicable by law. (such as a crime being committed and the FBI comes to my door with a warrant.)

Warrants: Law enforcement officers MUST have a court ordered warrant in hand to get any information about anyone on this site. You won't be seeing me wilfully sharing your information like telecommunications companies did just a short while ago with the NSA.

If you're that worried about it, when you register on the forums, simply put in a mailinator.com address. I use it for when I'm super paranoid about spammers, but you can have it apply to this situation as well.


Differing political ideology:

Your posts will NEVER be removed for your opinion. If you are a hard core left wing, liberal wingnut, you may feel free to post as often as you'd like, about any topic you'd like, and it will not be removed. I don't work like liberal sites where if a conservative comes on and spits out their opinion, it's immediately removed because it doesn't jive with what everyone else is agreeing with *cough* Daily Kos *cough*.

I don't expect you to be polite. Manners are a nice thing, but occasionally, a debate may turn into a "fuck you". That's the nice thing about America, you have the right to tell someone to fuck off, and you have that right here. I'm not saying that every argument will end that way, but if it does, then so be it.

Of course, if you have any questions or problems, please feel free to contact me and I will address them immediately.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Democrats Plan a Shorter Workweek

I think we all remember Nancy Pelosi telling everyone that they would have to work a 5 day work week like everyone else in America does. I'm so sure that we all remember it, that I'm not even going to give a direct cite or quote.

However, after only just 10 MONTHS on the job, they can't seem to handle the workload.

The House majority leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, told fellow Democrats this week that the House would not be in session next year on Fridays, except in June for work on appropriations bills.

Explaining that decision to reporters, Mr. Hoyer said, “I do intend to have more time for members to work in their districts and to be close to their families.”

Hey, how's this, how about their families move to Washington DC? How about they have monthly or quarterly meetings in their districts so they can stay connected to their constituency? How about they set up a website with an email address and other contact information, so they can communicate openly with everyone? Nah, that would be too much wouldn't it?

His comments drew snickers from Republicans, who are quite happy to share their view that the American people did not get much value for all the extra time lawmakers spent in Washington.

“Is this a reward for our accomplishments in 2007?” asked Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the Republican whip.

And of course he's right. They promised the world to American voters and now they aren't doing jack for them. They are giving them the "same old same old". And they will have a NASTY surprise in store for them come election time.

And on Friday, President Bush once again hammered Congressional Democrats, accusing them of failing to meet basic responsibilities like approving annual budget bills and confirming his nominee for attorney general, Michael B. Mukasey.

“This is not what Congressional leaders promised when they took control of Congress earlier this year,” Mr. Bush said. “Congress needs to keep their promise, to stop wasting time, and get essential work done on behalf of the American people.”

He's right on target again. Congress made many campaign promises such as ending the Iraq war, universal health care, and more. I can half way understand if they can't get some of these things done because of the way that Congress is set up to work, but for even a basic thing that they have complete control over, the 5 day work week, they can't even get that right.

The Democrats, by contrast, say that after 10 months of putting in longer days and weeks, they have made significant gains. They cited legislation, including an increase in the minimum wage and new ethics and lobbying rules, as well as in the nitty-gritty work of House committees, which they say has provided much-needed oversight of the Bush administration and will also set the stage for an ambitious agenda next year.

Yes, let's talk about that. The increase in minimum wage only went through because they tacked it onto a military spending budget that was desperately needed. The new "ethics and lobbying rules" don't change much of anything. In fact, in some areas, it loosened it up a bit.

And they blame Mr. Bush and Republicans for Congress’s low approval ratings, which they say will only help the Democrats expand their majority in 2008.

So they're blaming Bush for the fact they can't seem to work a 5 day work week? Of course, they are completely delusional in that they quote that this is Bush's fault, but internal memos show that to be factually incorrect:

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/internal-dem-memo-faults-party-message-2007-10-26.html

“Our message sounds like an audit report on defense logistics,” wrote Dave Helfert, a former Appropriations spokesman who now works for Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). “Why are we defending [the State Children’s Health Insurance Program] instead of advocating a ‘Healthy Kids’ plan?”

Because Democrats love to raise taxes on the successful to provide nanny state programs for the poor? How's that for a brutally honest answer? You're wanting to spend billions of dollars in making sure kids get health insurance, yet you don't do anything about promoting the health of the children, the core of the problem. Get them to exercise and eat right, most of the time, and these children won't need to see a doctor as often. They won't have a lot of the health problems that we see now.

Don't give them a pill to fix a problem that can be fixed with going outside and playing or riding their bikes. Parents should get on the ball about actually parenting. Give them nutritious foods, turn off the Xbox, get on their ass about homework. These things are what made previous generations great, there's no reason why it won't work the same way now.

“Everybody’s a message expert,” said one Democratic leadership aide. “The fact of the matter is Democrats are working hard to communicate our accomplishments. There is work to be done and that’s why Democrats are working together and mounting an aggressive campaign to discuss the real victories we have won for the American people.”

Ok, you have the floor. Name the accomplishments Democrats have made in the first 10 months of their control over both parts of Congress......that's ok....I'll wait.

As a case in point, he cited Democrats’ frustration over the likely showdown with President Bush over supplemental spending for the Iraq war. Democrats are discussing not sending a supplemental spending bill to the floor until Bush changes course on the war. But that makes many Democrats nervous that Bush will use the tactic to say Democrats aren’t supporting the troops.

“Are we any more prepared to deal with the threats that are going to come about cutting off funds to the troops?” asked the aide.

Violence in Iraq is down 70%. This is an indisputable fact. Yet, they are STILL trying to cut off the funds for soldiers in Iraq. Tell me how that is even fathomable. We've just handed off security of a province to the Iraqi's, are making great strides, yet they want to cut it off now. Then they have the gall to get upset when you call them on their "planning for surrender".

But he also noted that the number of the memo’s readers might have been limited by the fact that the memo was a long attachment, which makes it less likely to be read by BlackBerry-wielding aides.

If they can't be bothered to actually read what's going on in Congress, these aides need to be fired. If you aren't doing your job correctly, you shouldn't have your job. I don't do my job right, I'm in the unemployment line, so there should be no reason why they can't read up on these things as well.

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Kidnapping, bombs going off, but more importantly....

A bunch of leaders in Iraq were kidnapped today, and that is a bad thing. However, there is a bit of good news in the article.....WAY down the article...That the US is handing complete control of the Karbala province over to the Iraqi security forces. This is an area with about 500,000 people in it. This is extremely significant, as it's showing steps are being taken for the Iraqi's to get back on their feet and this is one way for them to show it.

As a side note, my stories will now be copied and pasted into the forums for a more lively discussion. Head on over there and feel free to check it out.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

How I party

I'm what you would call a "connected guy". I have my fingers in just about every imaginable pie there is. I personally know and have favors owed to me by CEO's, Lawyers, Doctors, all the way down to the bouncers at bars and full contact cage fighters.

So it's not uncommon for me to get a phone call from someone whom I've helped in the past asking me if I want tickets to various events. Tonight, I got VIP seating at a Sport Fight event and after event party.

Now, it may come across like I'm bragging, I'm not trying to convey that message. However, my usual people who owe me favors went all out tonight and I thought I'd share how my evening went.

First, I was picked up at my cousin's place, and we went down to the fights. My cage fighter buddy won his fight (he's one tough bastard). Afterwards, I went to the after-event party at a club in downtown Vancouver, Washington. I was lead to the VIP room, where these GORGEOUS women were there in various Halloween costumes.

One young lady in particular looked like she wasn't having any fun sitting right outside the VIP room. So, I decided to invite her in. Her eyes lit up and she brought in all her friends (All very beautiful women). She then sat on my lap and playfully flirted with me for a few hours while we bullshitted for a little while, while Gary the Retard from the Howard Stern show sat next to her and kept asking to see her boobies.

What's funny is that Gary never got to see them, but I did. Made my ego shoot up a bit. Sometimes a little ego stroking is a lot of fun.

All the while, one of her friends was so drunk, the guys in my group managed to talk her into stripping down to her shirt and underwear, but she kept on putting her pants back on. Like she was a half a prude or something. Either way, a GREAT time was had by all. The best part? The entire evening cost me NOTHING. My friends who owed me favors for undeleting hundreds of baby photos, rebuilding their wive's laptops, and other favors, took care of the entire bill. Tickets, transportation, food, booze, it was all on them. It felt kind of nice for people to take care of me for a change. :)

But anyways, here's a picture of me, the lovely lady and Gary the Retard in the VIP room:

What. The. Fuck.

Ok, If you want to make peace in the Middle East, talking with people who tried before sounds like a good idea right? Condoleeza Rice is asking for tips from Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.

Clinton I can completely understand. He had Arafat and various Israeli Prime Ministers at the White House many times to try to broker a peaceful agreement, but Carter?

Why don't you ask him about the Panama canal while you're at it.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
http://forums.rightwinglunatic.com

Forums!

I have set up a forum on a hosting site. Feel free to head on over at the link on the right hand side. Please note, I don't remove posts unless they are advertisements, or direct threats against another user or public official.

In other words, you can get on there and be a dick all you want, but the minute you spam or threaten, you're yanked.

Please note, I've set it up the way I think most of you would like (topics of the day, karma system, etc), however, I will tweak it accordingly when certain features become more or less popular. Kind of a "play it by ear" type of thing.

Enjoy!

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Weekly Radio Show

This weeks radio show will be postponed due to a scheduling conflict. I will have a member of the United States Navy joining me, and he is going to be picking the topic. When his schedule frees up (sometime in the next few days I hope), we'll have our show. If his schedule does not free up in the near future, I will put together another show within the next few days.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Cafferty

 

Watch how this idiot likes to point the finger at the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He has such a blatant bias, it's not even funny.  What's worse is that while he does mention Afghanistan, you can see that he cannot tell the difference between both wars. 

He also makes no distinction that everyone was and is for the war in Afghanistan.  You remember, to get Osama?  I guess this guy just wants to be a historical revisionist.  But no matter, he just wants ratings and people pissed off, so he asks the inflammatory statement "what should we do with the money", and yet, only one person makes a reasonable statement "Why do we need to spend the money" if we're not spending it on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Cafferty simply fails to mention to his audience that if we weren't at war, we wouldn't be borrowing money to pay for the war.  Period.  Yet, in his "journalistic integrity", he makes inflammatory questions that have nothing to do with the topic at hand.

For example, if you weren't paying rent, what could you do with the money?  If you weren't paying a car payment, what could you do with the money?  Well there's all sorts of pie in the sky ideas that money could better be spent on, but the simple fact remains is that the money is needed elsewhere.

I just get irritated by "journalists" who don't simply report the news anymore.  It's always with a political slant or bias instead of just "X happened today".

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Al-Qaida anger at Jazeera on Laden tape

I don't think I'd ever live to see this day.  But Osama Bin Laden criticizes the insurgency in Iraq and it's really pissed people off at the people who broadcasted it:  Al-Jazeera.

Al-Qaida sympathizers have unleashed a torrent of anger against Al-Jazeera television, accusing it of misrepresenting Osama bin Laden's latest audiotape by airing excerpts in which he criticizes mistakes by insurgents in Iraq.

"It's not about Al-Jazeera, it's about their shock from bin Laden," said Diaa Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on Islamic militant groups. "For the first time, bin Laden, who used to be the spiritual leader who gives guidance, became a critic of al-Qaida and is confessing mistakes. This is unusual."

But...but...Osama is supposed to praise us at all times!  We never do anything wrong!  With the insurgency splintering in Iraq, Al-Qaeda members are starting to get worried and pissed that their almighty leader would dare criticize them.  Their world is changing, and hopefully, we can drive a wedge between them and the leadership.  Fracturing Al-Qaeda from the inside is as much fun as it would be if they were on the receiving end of a Tomahawk missile....well almost.

Now with Al-Jazeera, they have both sides of the terrorism coin pissed at them.  It's pretty much win-win for us.

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Keep pushing OPEC, it's going to get worse for you

A barrel of oil is now at $92 dollars for no other reason then "tensions" in the Middle East, and "trouble in Nigeria".

Well, just a few days ago BP was fined over $300 million dollars for market fixing.  And who does that money go to?  Not you or I.  It goes to the government, even though it was you and I who were gouged at the pump.

Why not punish BP to the tune of $1 off every gallon of gas they sell until they reach the $300 million dollar mark?  Give the money back to the customers.

But the higher the cost of a barrel of oil goes, the further I keep looking at alternatives like:

http://www.milesautomotive.com/showroom.php

and

http://www.chevy.com/electriccar

So keep it up oil companies and OPEC, your days of gouging me are numbered.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Kansas church sued after cheering Marine's death

Do you see what you get when you practice your "freedom of speech"?  You get to see the direct consequences of your speech.

Before the March 2006 funeral for Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, a Marine who was killed in Iraq, protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church, a tiny fundamentalist splinter group, picketed the service with signs that read, "God Hates You" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers."

Albert Snyder, the father of Snyder, sued the church in U.S. district court here, claiming invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

And I hope he wins.  There's too many lawsuit happy people in this country.  People suing McDonalds for beef in their cooking oils, legitimate accidents that weren't negligence, only pure happenstance, and other such things are costing people and corporations billions of dollars a year.

And we all pay for it.

However, when you invade someone's privacy like that.  To invade a funeral, which is one of the most private things you have in your life, and spew out hatred, you're simply asking for trouble.

I'm actually very surprised that no one has been hurt or killed in these protests.  I'm not saying I'd get violent, but I do know enough about myself to know I don't know how I'd react if someone was protesting my son's funeral.  I may very well get violent.  That's a troubling thing for me and anyone else.  When you're pushed to the limits, anyone is capable of anything.  There are people in prison right now who've said "I was just pushed until I snapped".

And if something like that happened, the funeral attendees would go to jail, but to tell you the truth, I can't say I'd blame them.  Jury nullification is that they call that. :)

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Bush takes shot at Blanco while touring wildfires

As the California wildfires continued to rage Thursday, so too did the political feud between President Bush and Gov. Kathleen Blanco that has smoldered since the federal government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina.

The latest flare-up came when Bush, while touring the California disaster area, took an apparent swipe at Blanco's post-Katrina leadership as he complimented California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"It makes a significant difference when you have somebody in the statehouse willing to take the lead," Bush said, according to the Associated Press.

Ouch.  But it is true.  Governor Blanco didn't ask for the help she needed until very late in the game, which is a little thing called "states rights".  FEMA of course caught the brunt end of things, but what I find curious is the complete lack of just rolling up your sleeves to rebuild from everyone around.

Everyone wanted to point the finger of blame at someone else.  No one stood up and said "I am in charge and I am responsible.  If you have a problem with the way things are going, come talk to me".

But now, with the California wildfires going on, FEMA is doing a bit of sneaky stuff.  They are having their own personnel pose as reporters and lob softball questions such as:

"what it means to have an emergency declaration as opposed to a major disaster declaration" signed by the president.

Stop the blame game people.  If a natural disaster happens, deal with getting it resolved and as many people rescued or evacuated as possible.  Don't wait for the government to come help you.  You have two legs, use them.  You can cover 20 miles in a day if you really wanted to on foot.  So don't expect people to feel sorry for you if you are ordered to evacuate and you stay behind or you drag ass in doing it.

If a cop tells me to evacuate, I'm grabbing my rifle, a backpack of clothes and my wife.  With those three things, my family can survive for weeks or even months at a time.  And there's no reason why you can't too.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

My Way News - U.S. Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Man, we just can't win with some people.  We're taking the sanctions route instead of the military strike route, and there's already people pissed about it.  If you're all so smart, what would you do?  Obviously the Iranians aren't backing down because they think that the Russians and Chinese have their back at the UN Security Council.

Of course, if we took the military route, people would have their panties all up in a twist.

Of course, now the Iranians are trying to put on a brave face, but they face some serious problems.  Their economy is in the shitter, the inflation rate is over 15%, and they have most of the world against them.

But that hasn't stopped the rhetoric from them:

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also said sanctions were "doomed to fail," calling them "worthless and ineffective" and criticizing the U.S. for pursuing confrontational policies.

"The U.S. is well aware that it might be easy to start such an action against Iran but ending that would not be then in the hands of U.S. officials. Such action will definitely end up in U.S. collapse."

First off, if they are "doomed to fail" and "worthless and ineffective", why are you even acknowledging them?  Surely you could just laugh it off and go about your merry little way, but you seem to be a little more towards the nervous side of things.

Of course Iran would like the US to collapse, but let's face it, it simply isn't going to happen.  If we strike Iran, we could have their nuclear program AND their military in shambles within weeks.

Russian President Putin of course, tries to stand up for his buddies, but ends up looking like a confused idiot.

"Why worsen the situation and bring it to a dead end by threatening sanctions or military action?" Putin said in comments apparently directed at the U.S. "Running around like a madman with a razor blade, waving it around, is not the best way to resolve the situation."

Those are really your only choices Putin.  Sanctions or military strikes.  If you have any other ideas, we're listening with open ears, but you've said nothing and DONE nothing about their nuclear program.  Simply put, you don't care what the Iranians do as long as they poke a finger into the eye of the US.  Plus, they are a customer of your military weapons, why piss them off and ruin your chances to get back onto the world stage?

I don't mind if someone disagrees with us, but the simple fact is that they said in the previous set of sanctions, that if Iran didn't stop enrichment, that they would back additional sanctions.  They are now backtracking on that deal and forcing us to deal with the situation at hand by ourselves and our allies.

Perhaps Russia wouldn't mind if Chechnya got their own nuclear program?  All of a sudden, the Russians would start getting VERY nervous and start talking about sanctions and military strikes.

Perhaps they wouldn't mind if we gave them help on making their own nuclear reactor?

That's the difference between us and Russia.  We're trying to do what's right and they are trying to do what is detrimental to us.

Perhaps we should turn the tide against Russia and see how they like it.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Photos show cleansing of suspect Syrian site

New commercial satellite photos show that a Syrian site believed to have been attacked by Israel last month no longer bears any obvious traces of what some analysts said appeared to have been a partly built nuclear reactor.

Sure, it's easy to say it was a "he said, she said" bit, but check out the photos of before and after the strike.

Syria sure did make a hurry of cleaning up the site.  If it was indeed an "unused building" like the Syrians say it was, then why the hurried up cleaning job?  It would be a coup for them to have photos and video evidence of "Israeli aggression", but they didn't.  They were extremely quiet about the whole thing and wanted to clean it up as quickly as possible.

The evidence is mounting, and it's pretty hard to deny something was going on.

Any attempt by Syrian authorities to clean up the site would make it difficult, if not impossible, for international weapons inspectors to determine the exact nature of the activity there. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna have said they hoped to analyze the satellite images and ultimately inspect the site in person.

So even if the IAEA eventually gets there, there's probably no way to find out truly what was there.  However, Israel is saying the have photos from inside the structure.  If true, Syria is in a world of hurt.

The striking difference in the satellite photos surprised even some outside experts who were skeptical that Syria might be developing a nuclear program.

It's nice to see when skeptics who normally try to say how America is being a bully, admit that we may very well be onto something.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

North Korea And Syria

Finally, we're starting to see some politicians with balls to ask the tough questions.

After the private meeting with Representative Ros-Lehtinen, Ms. Rice went before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and defended her diplomatic approach to North Korea, saying she was using “the teeth of diplomacy, not just the carrots of diplomacy.”

This elicited a challenge from Representative Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado. “I would really like to know specifically what those teeth might be,” he said.

Ms. Rice refused to comment on the Israeli strike, but repeated what has become the official view about any North Korean involvement in a Syrian nuclear program: “The president has made very clear that North Korean or Syrian or anybody else’s proliferation is of deep concern to the United States.”

Mr. Tancredo persisted: “So if in fact it turns out to be the case that they did provide weaponry or some form of nuclear materials to Syria, then that would put them in violation of the agreement?”

That's precisely what I asked a short while ago. I want to know if North Korea is indeed supplying nuclear technology to other nations as they negotiate with us. If they are, they need to be punished severely for it. Fuel oil shut off, nuclear program bombed into rubble, sanctions at the UN, humanitarian aid cut to the bone, military blockades. I'm talking about letting them know we're not fucking around here.

They're pulling the same bullshit they pulled when they made a deal with the Clinton administration. They took the offer, then made the nuclear program anyways. Now they are seeing that they may not be able to do that again, so they're trying to sell it so they get some money in their pockets for their trouble.

You can't make a deal with someone, sneak around the deal, and expect to get away with it. Otherwise, what would be the point of us making a deal? China, Japan, and South Korea have a lot more to worry about with North Korea then we do. However, if we're helping them out with North Korea, it makes you wonder why China isn't helping out when it comes to Iran. They were all gung ho about getting the North Koreans nuclear program dismantled, but they are dragging feet when it comes to Iran.

And you wonder why I'm so mistrustful of the Chinese.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Those Mean Old Jews!

Whaaah! Israelis don't like it when we fire rockets at their civilians and they are cutting off electricity! That's soooo mean! I want the international community to do something about it!

The gall of the Palestinians sometimes stinks to high heaven.

According to the plan, one of the power lines connecting Israel and Gaza will be shut down at first for 15 minutes after a rocket attack, gradually increasing the cutoff length if the barrages continue, up to a two-hour limit. In addition, Israel will begin reducing the amount of gasoline it allows into the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians and human rights groups denounced the measure as collective punishment. One of the groups, Gisha, issued a statement warning, "Playing with electricity is playing with fire," adding, "Even a brief interruption in electricity threatens the safety and well-being of Gaza residents."

Don't like it? Start turning in Hamas members who are firing rockets into Israel. Start telling Israeli's where to find weapons caches. There's an easy way to stop all of these punishments: end the attacks. Don't want to help? Tough, learn to read by candle light.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Democrats And Taxes

Democrats have rightfully earned the reputation for raising taxes on hard working people, and Charles Rangel is no different. His tax plan calls for one of the largest tax increases in history.

4.5% addition tax increases on corporations and people making more than $150k a year, or $200k a year for married couples. It will also repeal tax cuts that were made a few short years go.

It will take the current top tax rate of 35% and raise it to 44%.

When are Democrats going to stop trying to make successful people pay for everything? The top 50% of wage earners pay more than 96% of all tax revenue. Yet, the bottom 50% pay only 4% of the revenue, but end up costing the government more money then they earn.

Why can't Democrats support an across the board, flat tax? Why is say a 20% tax rate on anyone, regardless of income, such a bad thing? Because Democrats believe that the wealthy and the successful are their own piggy bank. Then you wonder why so many of them are caught doing shady things to avoid having to pay as much taxes.

If I was paying $100k a year in tax, and the government wanted an addition 4% on top of that, why should I? Why not make everyone pay equally? Why does someone who didn't pay attention in college or someone who took the lazy way out get to suck on the governments proverbial tit, while hard working Americans pay for them?

You want healthcare? Get a job to pay for it. You want roads, schools, and police officers? They all cost money. It's simply not fair to expect one group of people to pay significantly more for benefits that many of them simply don't see. Rightfully, it should be an "all or nothing" kind of deal.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Guiliani Could End Illegal Immigration?

That's a bold statement to be making. But Rudy supposedly has a plan to significantly reduce or eliminate illegal immigration.

"It can be done. It is not impossible," Giuliani told his audience at a town hall-style meeting. "You can do this, you can stop them at the border."

Giuliani said he would boost the number of border security agents to 18,000 from the current 12,000, and build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border with technological monitoring to reduce illegal immigration.

He also would deploy federal agents along the border at 50-mile intervals, using high-tech monitors to detect people trying to enter the country illegally.

You see, that's actually refreshing. Not a lot of politicians will give you the meat of what they have planned to fix a national problem. They just simply say: "Vote for me, I'll fix it" But then when pressed, they don't give you anything, just some vague talking points and a smile for the cameras.

The same thing plagued John Kerry during his 2004 Presidential election bid. He kept saying how everything was going wrong and how he'd fix it all. Yet, when people started asking tough questions, he folded like a bad hand of poker.

People saw through this and he was not elected.

I don't think this will end illegal immigration across the board. I think this may end illegal MEXICAN immigration though. What about Canada? Soon, you'll start seeing people traffickers putting Mexicans on boats or air planes, landing in Canada, then they go from there. Border security means BOTH borders.

Until you fix that, you're only solving 1/2 of the problem.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Most California Fires Were Arson

According to this article, at least some of the California fires going on as we speak were arson.

However, according to a trusted source of mine with first hand knowledge, most, if not all of the fires were deliberately set. One man has already been arrested:

Catalino Pineda, 41, was arrested Wednesday, Officer Kate Lopez told CNN. Witnesses told police they saw him lighting a fire on a hillside in the West Hills area of San Fernando -- northwest of Los Angeles -- then walking away, Lopez said.

However, look for further arrests in this case.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Terrorists Plan To Hit Seattle/Tacoma

With the recent suspicious ferry incident and a story from a source that I trust implicitly, I have a suspicion that there's a plot being developed in the Seattle/Tacoma, Washington area.

I wrote about the ferry incident a while back, but this story from my source is more chilling.  He reports that while on an Amtrak train, four young men (around early twenties), got onto the train and asked if there was assigned seating.  The conductor said no and that anyone could sit anywhere.

They then split into two groups.  Two of them went to the front of the train and sat on either side of the aisle, while the other two went to the back of the train (same car) and sat at the last row, one on either side.

All four men had identical backpacks and were acting very nervously.  Nothing came of the incident (obviously), yet the conductor didn't find it suspicious that four men, with identical backpacks, were sitting in such an odd formation.

Now, let's play out the "what if" game.  If they had bombs in their backpacks, they would have successfully cut off any chance of escape.  The death toll would be in the mid 50's up to around 150 people.  However, on the other hand, if they didn't have bombs on them, was it a dry run?  Were they hoping to get the conductor to call the police and sue for "racial profiling"?

There's a lot of unanswered questions, but the FBI is investigating.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Panel Pushes for Nominee to Denounce Technique

Is waterboarding torture?  That's what a Senate Committee wanted to know from the possible future Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

In his confirmation hearings last week, Mr. Mukasey, a retired federal judge from New York, declined to say if waterboarding was torture or was otherwise illegal; he insisted he was not aware of how the technique was carried out.

In their letter to Mr. Mukasey on Tuesday, the committee’s chairman, Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, and the panel’s other nine Democrats said they found it “surprising that you are unfamiliar with waterboarding since it has been the subject of much public discussion” and asserted that “your unwillingness to state that waterboarding is illegal may place Americans at risk of being subject to this abusive technique.”

The letter continued, “Please respond to the following question: Is the use of waterboarding, or inducing the misperception of drowning, as an interrogation technique illegal under U.S. law, including treaty obligations?” The senators requested a “prompt response” since Mr. Mukasey’s nomination is still before the committee.

So is waterboarding torture?  Well it certainly isn't a walk in the park.  However, it has been known to work in getting information from stubborn prisoners.

“Waterboarding works,” the former officer said. “Drowning is a baseline fear. So is falling. People dream about it. It’s human nature. Suffocation is a very scary thing. When you’re waterboarded, you’re inverted, so it exacerbates the fear. It’s not painful, but it scares the shit out of you.”

So it's not necessarily physically painful, but the psychological effect is devestating.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he claimed, “didn’t resist. He sang right away. He cracked real quick.” He said, “A lot of them want to talk. Their egos are unimaginable. KSM was just a little doughboy. He couldn’t stand toe to toe and fight it out.”

So was Mohammed waterboarded?  With conflicting reports, it's difficult to tell, but he did talk about other plots and did give up names.  That in of itself is powerful evidence.  Plus, Khalid doesn't have a bruise or a broken bone in his body.

So, what defines torture?  To me, if you leave a lasting mark or pain that lasts longer then the session goes, you're probably torturing.  However, things such as waterboarding are a fine line item to me.  You could argue it is, and you could argue it isn't.  But you can't argue that it's not effective.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

"Don't Tase Me Bro!"

I didn't think much would come of this, but officers in the no infamous "don't tase me bro" incident, have been cleared of wrongdoing.

''Don't Tase me, Bro,'' Meyer, 21, squealed after police put the screaming, combative student down on the ground and relaxed him with 50,000 volts from a Taser.

FDLE has determined that University of Florida police did nothing improper in subduing Meyer after he resisted arrest.

Yes, I'm sure that being hit with a Taser is "relaxing", but if you're asked to leave a building and you do not, you're now trespassing, which is a crime.  Officers gave him repeated warnings and even flashed the Taser to let him know they weren't messing around.  He reached his hands up to grab onto anything he could, and he got zapped for it.

Of course, I expect the liberals to come out of he woodwork to say how America is becoming a "police state" and how his "rights were violated" and other such nonsense.  But then again, I expect that from them.

You have the right to free speech, you don't have the right to an audience.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Report: 'World at peak oil output' - CNN.com

I think we've all heard about "peak oil".  If you haven't, peak oil is about the most we're going to get out of the ground while still maintaining it's relative inexpensiveness. 

Now, there's a report saying that we have hit peak oil in 2006.

The German-based Energy Watch Group released a report Tuesday saying the world's oil production peaked in 2006 and from now on will drop by around 3 percent a year. It says that by as early as 2030, the global availability of oil will be half of what it was at its peak.

Scary stuff right?  You'd think that we'd be having $20 a gallon for gas and fights over the lines at the gas station for this kind of thing.

However, there are two problems with that.  First off, many of you aren't old enough to remember the "oil shortage" in the 1970's.  There were supply problems left and right and there was talk of running out of oil.  Which is something that may very well happen one day.

However, all of a sudden, there was a glut of oil in the 90's when a barrel of oil plummeted to $10 a barrel, something that OPEC isn't going to allow to happen ever again.  So, what to do?

Well auto manufacturers are already working on alternative fuel vehicles such as electric and hydrogen powered cars.  So, if all of a sudden there are cars that can get 300 miles to the charge and be "refueled" in less than 5 minutes, OPEC and peak oil problems simply don't exist.

So while I do agree that we may have hit or are going to hit peak oil soon, I don't think we should stop trying to push alternative fueled vehicles, otherwise, we'll simply be back where we started from again in the future.

Think about it, if oil suddenly shoots up to say $200 a barrel, and you only need oil to change in your engine once in a great while, do you really care?  Of course, you'd care if you still had a vehicle that ran on petroleum, but once those started getting phased out for electric or hydrogen cars, you'll start seeing the market self adjust.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Robert Goulet needs a lung transplant - CNN.com

I have nothing personal against Robert Goulet, however, I did want to touch on celebrities and their needs for donated organs.  For example, David Crosby, a chronic drug and alcohol user, needed a new liver.  A donated liver waiting list was years long, yet, somehow, he managed to get one, while other people, who didn't abuse their livers, died.

Now, Robert Goulet needs a new set of lungs.  I'm not trying to sound cruel here, but the guy is 73 years old and has lived a full life.  If he gets a new set of lungs, how much longer do you suppose he'll live?  What about a person in their twenties or thirties?  They would live a lot longer and have a better chance of not having complications simply because the young have better immune systems.

Robert has entertained a lot of people, and probably has the money to pay for such an operation.  However, if there is a waiting list, I think he should gracefully step aside and let someone else with bigger needs them him get those lungs.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

USATODAY.com - FBI: al-Qaeda detainee spoke of fire plot

You know, Al-Qaeda must be REALLY grasping at straws if they think a plot to set a massive fire in California would cause much destruction.  Sure, the current fire going on down there is causing a lot of grief for a lot of people, but it's all property damage and a significantly low number of deaths (two as of this writing).

California has fires like this ALL THE TIME.  Oregon and Washington are simply too wet to have the massive damage that California is experiencing.  Plus, Oregon and Washington have some of the most rugged terrain in the nation, filled with rivers and clearings that don't allow fires to spread like they would in California.

Nice try, you've just managed to make yourselves look like idiots.  Next up, they'll be trying to cause tornados in Kansas.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

China says U.S. missile shield threatens global stability

How I love to point out hypocrisy.  Although usually, my target are Democrats, today it's China.

The placement of U.S. missile defenses in Europe will not ease global security concerns but will undermine the global strategic balance, the Chinese foreign minister said Wednesday.

Ok, fair enough.  But then you have this:

China to test space weapon in launching moon satellite

Even though we have treaties in place that prohibit the militarization of space based weapons.

So, China, take your "stability" bullshit rhetoric and tell it to the UN or any other idiotic group of people who might buy into it.  Your massive amount of spying on our military networks coupled with this incident and the shooting down of satellites earlier this year don't give you an ounce of credibility towards the argument about "global stability".

In fact, I think it may add to stability simply because if China attempted to shoot a satellite out of the sky, this system might be able to prevent the satellite from being destroyed.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Countrywide offers help with mortgages - Mortgage Mess - MSNBC.com

"Hey guys, we'd REALLY appreciate it if you would pay us back the $400,000 loan we gave you while you were working at McDonalds for $5 an hour".

Now all of a sudden, Countrywide is trying to "work with borrowers".  Before, they were trying to stick it to people with ARM loans and all sorts of exotic loans to make even more money.  Well now the reality of it all has sunk in and they are in deep trouble with people who simply shouldn't have been given such a loan in the first place.

Well suck it down Countrywide.  You made a bad business decision, now you have to live with it.  The government isn't going to help you out.  Hillary isn't going to help you out.

So let this be an expensive lesson to you.  If you decide to rip people off or allow them to extend themselves further then you normally would, then you deserve every bit of headaches that comes along with it.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Senators Say White House Cut Deal With Panel on FISA - washingtonpost.com

You know they've got a lot to hide when they are trying to get immunity for telecommunications companies retroactively.

Senate Judiciary Committee members yesterday angrily accused the White House of allowing the Senate Intelligence Committee to review documents on its warrantless surveillance program in return for agreeing that telecommunications companies should get immunity from lawsuits.

But the problem is simply this:  If you broke the law when it was a law, then you need to face the consequences of that action.  Qwest turned down the government's request for information because they thought they would be in violation of that law.  Now, all the other telecommunications companies out there are shitting in their pants because they are facing multi-billion dollar, class action lawsuits.

Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said yesterday that what the White House did was "not exactly" a quid pro quo....On Friday, White House press secretary Dana Perino said that Intelligence Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) and ranking member Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.)'s staff "showed a willingness" to include immunity in their legislation. "Because they were willing to do that, we were willing to show them some of the documents that they asked to see."

Sounds like quid pro quo to me Fratto.  You show me yours, and I'll show you mine appears to be the way of thinking over there.  But the bottom line is, if I kill someone, then later on, murder is legalized, my actions were still against the law at that time, and thus, I've committed a crime.

You'd find me hard pressed to believe that they didn't knowingly break the law.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Breitbart.tv » Rep. Pete Stark Apologizes for Bush Insult as Censure Vote Falls Short

"I hope that with this apology I will become as insignificant as I should be."

"Oh, poor me!  I got a large amount of backlash from my comments and now I want to play the victim!"

That's pretty much sums up what he's saying.  He's trying to say that he's upset that his comments weren't picked up by the members of Congress and ran with.  He's upset that Americans were pissed at his comments, and now he's trying desperately to get this swept under the rug before election time.

Of course, there are people who are pissed that he apologized.

Because he spoke out against President Bush and tried to make him sound like a monster, those on the left thought it was a great thing he said.  But when members of Congress thought better of it, they got upset that he issued an apology.

Personally, he can take his apology and shove it up his ass for all I care.  He said what he said, and I don't care if he apologizes or not.  His true feelings came out in his first speech, so screw him.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Clinton vows review of executive power

Oh please, like Hillary is ever going to do anything to give up power.

Hillary Clinton would launch a policy review as president with an eye towards giving up some of the executive powers accumulated by George Bush, she tells Guardian America in an interview today.

The New York senator and frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination also accuses the Bush administration's broad brush approach to terrorism of making it harder to understand "what it is we were up against", and expresses concerns about the attitude of the president's nominee for attorney general to interrogation and "expansive" executive power.

And if you buy into that, I've got some great oceanside property to sell you in Colorado.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

N.Y. lawmakers move on anti-noose bill - Yahoo! News

Ahh how I indeed love "knee jerk" reactions to things going on in the news.  With the recent "Jena 6" case, lawmakers in New York are trying to make it a crime to display a noose.

What's worse, is that I expect this kind of behavior from a Democrat, but it's coming from Republican Dean Skelos.

Mr. Skelos has GOT to know that this won't stand up in court.  It's got freedom of speech issues written all over it.  And Democrats should denounce this bill as well.  They seem to support flag burning, so they shouldn't have a problem with a hangman's noose.

The bottom line is that this is simply a "feel good" attempt to make voters think you're actually doing something.  What will end up happening is that the ACLU will sue, the NY tax payers will have to pay for an attorney to defend against the lawsuit, and a Federal judge will throw it out.

With such blatant attempts to put a law onto the books that's clearly unconstitutional, lawmakers should partially foot the bill for the eventual lawsuit.

That would prevent lawmakers from passing ridiculous laws that they know won't pass muster.  I'm not saying that every law that gets struck down is passed onto the lawmaker, however, there should be some kind of penalty for frivolous laws being passed.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Pelosi wavers on Armenia resolution - Politics - MSNBC.com

Democrat Nancy Pelosi's pledge of a new direction took a detour when she fumbled an Armenian genocide resolution and raised questions about her leadership as the highest ranking member of the U.S. Congress.

Pelosi, 67, speaker of the House of Representatives and next in line to the presidency after the vice president, swore she would push the controversial resolution to a vote, then blinked when some fellow Democrats withdrew their support in the face of furious reaction from Turkey.

That's what I've been telling you all along.  Nancy Pelosi will only go with what's popular, instead of what's "right".  She tried to pull this stunt and said she'd "see it through", then when support dropped, she dropped the issue entirely.

It's one of the worst types of leaders.  Ones who will say or do anything, but if the wind blows, they'll switch up positions and act like the whole thing never happened.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich offered another excuse for Pelosi's misstep: she had too much on her plate.

This delusional idiot shouldn't be bothering to offer excuses.  He's already got a laundry list of his own problems to deal with.  Besides, what kind of excuse is "she had too much on her plate"?  That's one of the lamest excuses I've ever heard.  If she believed it was the right thing to do, how does having too much on her plate deviate from that?

She took a throw of the dice and it ended up backfiring in her face.  Now she's trying to retreat and make it all go away quietly.  Well it won't work that way as long as there are people like me around Nancy.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

His Name Was Michael Murphy

In June 2005, Murphy, 29, led his four-man Navy SEAL team into the 10,000-foot peaks of Afghanistan's Hindu Kush to search for a terrorist thought to be in the region. But they were soon spotted and started taking fire from more than 40 insurgents.

The report said that at one point Murphy was hit in the back and dropped the handset but retrieved it and completed his call, even saying "thank you" at the end of his transmission.

Luttrell witnessed Murphy's heroism.

"I looked back up at Mikey and he took two rounds to the back and sat back up, hung up the phone. ... That was the last time I saw him."

Shot in the stomach, twice in the back, this guy exposed himself to get help for the members of his team.  If that doesn't exemplify what a real hero is, you'd be hard pressed to give me a better example.

It's men like these that give me great pride in the military and our nation.

What's worse is that I was listening to Howard Stern earlier this morning and Robin was talking about Murphy and Howard said "My God, you've got to wonder what we're doing over there" and started to get on his soapbox.  When corrected about where this took place, Howard took a step back and shut his mouth. 

I wrote an angry letter to Stern about it simply because I think when celebrities open their mouths about world events, they tend to be misinformed and act like holier then thou idiots in the process.  I simply wanted to point that out to Stern.

Thank you for your service Lt. Michael Murphy.  If there were more men like you, our nation would be a better place.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Dog Saves Jogger During Assault - News Story - WSB Atlanta

Gwinnett County police are calling a dog a hero after he saved his owner from an attack at a park.

Police say the woman was jogging in Tribble Mill Park two weeks ago.

A man approached her and shoved her against a tree, where he groped her.

That's when her yellow Labrador retriever, Jack, came to the rescue. He jumped on the man and chomped on his leg.

The attacker ran away.

The woman was okay.

No arrests have been been made.

Good dog.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Violence in Iraq drops sharply: Ministry | Reuters

Wait a minute, I thought things were going very badly in Iraq?  At least that's what liberals would like you to believe.  But unfortunately, that's not the case. 

Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf told reporters that there had been a 70 percent decrease in violence countrywide in the three months from July to September over the previous quarter.

70% decrease since the surge happened?  Why, you'd think that it was actually WORKING or something??  In the Anbar province, violence has dropped 82%.  And this is according to the Iraqi's themselves.

Democrats in Congress don't really have a leg to stand on anymore when it comes to Iraq.  They keep trying to play up the "bad situation" in Iraq, but the numbers simply aren't there for their argument.  They'd LIKE you to believe that things are going badly, but the truth is, the surge of troops and change in tactics are working and the Iraqi's are starting to stand up for themselves.

 

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Busy Day

Good Lord what a busy day. I'm in the middle of moving a live server over to IMAP from POP3 and having to do it while the business continues to function uninterrupted. It's like working on a car engine while it's still running. It can be done, but one slip up and you have an explosion on your hands.

As a side note, I'd like to thank all my readers for their emails of support and praise for the first podcast that I put out. Of course, there's always room for improvement, and I'm looking to get some liberal friends of mine into the mix as a "ying" to my "yang". I can always spit out my opinion, but it's great listening when you hear someone bring up points that you would love to make if you were there in the studio.

I am currently working on next week's show. However, I have not picked a topic yet. If you would like to have a topic discussed, let me know and I'll see if I can make that the topic for the show. If you do suggest a topic, also through in a couple of questions that you would like to have answered and I'll gladly throw those in as well.

My main goal is to have this site grow to a point where we have active participants across the entire political spectrum. We're slowly getting there, but there's always room for one more. :)

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

Kurds Declare Truce

Perhaps, but will the Turkish folks take one to the chin and not respond in kind?

They are already sending more troops and equipment to the Iraqi border.

However, I simply can't see the Turks taking this one and not killing some Kurds in response. We certainly wouldn't allow it, so why should Turkey? They certainly have a right to defend themselves. Now only if we can get Iran to attack Turkey, things might calm down a bit in that department. :)

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com

More Money For Iraq And Afghanistan

The Bush administration on Monday asked for an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the 2008 request for total war funding to $189.3 billion.

Sounds pretty typical so far, but then the fun begins.

Minutes after Bush spoke, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, warned the president not to expect Congress to "rubber-stamp" the latest request.

"In the coming weeks, we will hold it up to the light of day and fight for the change of strategy and redeployment of troops that is long overdue," Reid said.

Funny, it sounds VERY familiar. Oh yeah, that's what you and Nancy Pelosi said during your campaign of 2006. Well here we are almost a year later, and you've accomplished exactly squat. Save the rhetoric for the Daily Kos idiots out there who might buy into a line of crap like that Reid. The only thing you're good at is undermining troop morale and photo ops. I simply cannot wait until the citizens of Nevada wise up and see you for the underhanded weasel you really are.

Here's my prediction: Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and/or John Murtha will make a grand speech about how they are "working hard" to end the war in Iraq. How they are not going to "cave" "rubber stamp" or any other phrase of the day to the Bush administration, and yet, they will cave. Bush will get every penny he asks for. Don't believe me? Bookmark this article and check back to it to see how accurate I am in my predictions.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com