August 2008 Archives

The Bush administration has found yet another way to waste taxpayer money while providing huge sums to private contractors. According to a survey of activities in 2007 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about a third of the federal professional intelligence workforce now consists of contractors, mostly in the Washington, DC area.

I applaud John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his vice president nominee. In many ways this choice was far more impressive than Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden. Better yet, the McCain selection will make the general election campaign far more interesting and competitive.

Sen. McCain's choice of Gov. Sarah Palin demonstrates once again his poor judgment. Sen. McCain is elderly and that increases the liklihood of Gov. Palin having to step in as President of the United States. This fact reflects poor judgment on McCain's part on several levels.

Sen. Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech was vastly more than that. And it was vastly more than a list of political promises. It was a solemn promise to America that this election is not about him, it is about us. It is about whether we choose the change we all know is desperately needed or, we respond to the fears his opponents will attempt to instill in us, to not take a chance on change. It was brilliant, truthful, and hit to the core of what this election is truly about.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) simply doesn't care about American workers. This is made obvious by his attempt to kill the E-Verify program requiring employers to verify legal status of potential employees through a computerized system before hiring them.

Hillary Clinton clearly recognized what the Party of Democrats and the future of the Democratic Party needed from her, and she she delivered it. But, equally important, she recognized what her "pant suit" women's brigade needed to move past the hurt the disappointment of Hillary's loss to Barack, and she delivered that as well.

Michelle Obama clearly had a goal in her speech tonight at the Democratic Convention. That goal was to fill in the blanks that so many Americans need filled in order to feel that Obama shares their hopes, their values, and their vision for a better America. That goal was evident in her speech because she fulfilled that goal admirably.

America is but one Katrina, one serious terrorist attack, one large earthquake, one more war away from an economic depression that will send tens of millions of Americans into the streets homeless, jobless, and waiting in line at charitable organization and government soup kitchen doors for meals.

The final results are in on this historic November day. Despite the hundreds of millions of dollars he raised, Barack Obama has lost the 2008 presidential election. American voters have boldly spoken truth to arrogance. Turned out that all those pre-election opinion polls that showed Obama's inability to get over 50 percent support were prescient. Much of the public was never comfortable with Obama, though he clearly was so comfortable acting like he already was president.

NONPARTISAN? INDEPENDENT? With registered Independent voters now outnumbering Democratic or Republican registered voters, the words 'non-partisan' and 'independent' get misused and abused by partisan interests. Many voters don't trust words like these because of their abuse and misuse. It is understandable. Like everything else, these words are used by partisan groups and individuals for political advantage. Let's clear up some of the confusion.

Once upon a time when governments no longer served most of their citizens it was the most economically disadvantaged that could be counted on to rebel against tyranny and injustice. Times have changed, for the worse, despite the spread of democracy.

With the doom and gloom hovering over consumers, the economy, Afghanistan, and corruption in government, it is important to revel in what good news comes our way. Otherwise, we risk becoming jaded and cynical, and that leads to apathy and inaction to improve what has gone wrong. There are various items of good news to cover. Let's take a look at this last week's worth.