I'm the village idiot, I don't have anything to do with this pathetic little opera, I just felt like passing through!
Yesterday there was a national protest dubbed, Day Without Immigrants. In the late afternoon I could hear the protesters marching by my office chanting something I couldn’t hear well enough to understand. The core of this issue and the cause of the protest is the McCain-Kennedy bill (H.R.2330, S.1033). It is interesting to me that … Read more
The American public thinks U.S. taxes are unjust. They think that middle and low income families pay too much and the rich pay too little. This while the rich pay as much as 35% of their income to the government and individuals pay, on average, about half of that. In my opinion what is missing … Read more
You have to dig to find them but every now and then there are articles in our news media that give a glimpse of what’s happening in Iraq. Don’t get me wrong. I’m quite certain that the bombings, kidnappings and other attacks reported do happen. I just wonder what else is going on. I mean … Read more
My wife decided to turn off cable television about six years ago. For six years we have not had commercial TV in our home. One of the many great decisions my wife has talked me into over the years. As a result of this decision I get my news from the Internet. Which means, I … Read more
Whatever else you might say, Iraqis are quickly figuring out this freedom of speech thing. Muqtada Al-Sadr speaks out against Mr. Rumsfeld with a tone and outspokenness that he never would have survived under Saddam Hussein. Likewise, we have seen the Iraqi equivalent of Joe Six-Pack freely speaking out against all manner of things that, … Read more
I am glad that the three Christian Peacemaker Team members were found and freed. I am sorry that one of their members was killed. However, I quite honestly do not understand what they hoped to accomplish by going to Iraq nor do I understand the logic of peace activism. In the end, one who is … Read more
The new government in Afghanistan is at an interesting crossroad. I have to wonder why this particular man has been brought to trial and that trial is being made so public. Surely this is not the only Afghan who has converted from Islam to some other religion. While I think the International community most definitely … Read more
Iraqi’s are discovering the cost of freedom, the difficulty of democracy, and the hard work of getting along. Reading the quotes from Iraqis in this article, I am struck by what seems to be an underlying notion that everything is the fault and responsibility of the United States. It seems that only Sardar Muhsin Maheed … Read more
This article cites poll after poll almost as if they represented factual references. One gets the impression that impeachment is the political equivalent of getting the gong on the old 70’s TV show, “The Gong Show”. It’s a pity really. It’s easy to do whatever the polls suggest will be popular. However, I am not … Read more
What does the birth of a democracy look like? What happens when a society – that has lived under despotic rule for as long as most can remember – attempts to transform, to evolve itself, to a higher form? Shiites Told: Leave Home Or Be Killed (registration required) The Iraqis are working out their future, … Read more