President Fails to Lift Bullshit Ban

      Amongst all the hype and controversy concerning Bush lifting the offshore drilling ban, one key argument has seemed to have flown beneath the public discourse for too long.   Correct me if I'm wrong, but up until reading this post from Bob Cesca high lighting the common misconception that this oil will be "ours" for the keeping.  Unless the off shore drilling platforms and their locations nationalized, they will produce oil for the highest bidder no matter their country of origin.  Compare this to that of another gas station opening amidst an area already occupied by three other gas stations.  Now for fun let's say two of those gas stations, although having different names, are in fact, one in the same.  There will be no outrageous declines in fuel costs.  The only result of this experiment would be that competition amongst the stations would increase by some degree, causing a slight drop fuel.  Although lower, the cost will still fluctuate in the market place on the daily.  The myth, propped up by McBush, was that this magical notion of off shore drilling would suddenly push us into a new age of energy independence (a.k.a. we don't have to give our gas money to the Middle East) where we would thrive on our fuel...Up to ten years before anyone sees a drop of that gas.  Put that money into anything-amtrack, wind power, solar power, and the newest of new ideas.  I'm not the scientist, but I love the hypothetical, and to watch it be thrown away.

John McCain is a qualified hero, not president

   I was reading the Daily Kos when I came across this article written by Lt. General Robert G. Gard (pictured center), pertaining to the notion that prisoner of war status grants you the experience required to be a Commander-in-Chief.  Now I know this argument has been made a million times already in the past few days by everyone and their left-wing mom's but I think it's refreshing to have these suspicions confirmed by another veteran who served in Vietnam as well as Korea.  As we all know a typical defensive tactic from the right would be to criticize the original critics by claiming they couldn't possibly evaluate what a veteran's experience grants them without having a similar experience themselves. Well, to that I say word to my man Lt. Gen. Bobby Gard.  

   We live in age where the poor judgement of our politicians have left us in a hellish foreign policy scenario.  We need more then hope for an exit strategy.  We need carefully calculated troop withdrawals based upon the political climate within Iraq.  Our next leader needs to be able to understand the concerns of this nation and that of Iraq, and must attempt to balance them in the the best way.  

     It is important for us citizens to examine all aspects of a candidate, not just those highlighted by the candidate themselves (that goes for Obama too).  Not every politician is perfect and certainly not these two so it is important to identify their strengths and weaknesses objectively.  

Cameras

 Security cameras.  Once just for your local bank lobby or sketchy convenience store, have been made a part of the daily lives for Londoners since their first appearance circa 1984 (coincidence...?).   As if that whole system wasn't athouritarian enough for you, the latest implications have arrived:

Shouting Big Brother Cameras Use Child Voices  "A previously localized trial of CCTV cameras that allow local government officials to monitor people in the streets and shout orders at anyone they deem to be acting in an anti-social manner is to be enforced nationwide across the UK.  In a bizarre psychological move the cameras will speak in a child's voice.   In an incredibly Orwellian move, loudspeakers are to be fitted to surveillance cameras throughout major cities, allowing CCTV operators to bark commands at people who drop litter, act in an aggressive manner or loiter."

       Everything about this speaks bad.  With the alleged ever-constant threat of terrorism looming over people's heads, the governments, in either a desperate move to look like they are responding to threats or a perfectly calculated next step in the move towards has challenged the freedom of people everywhere.  While it is easy for us to sit stateside and wonder what kind of people would allow their country to do such a thing I give you this.  Even the hope machine didn't have the guts to call it like we all see it.  Or maybe that's just it, maybe we're just putting the blinders on ourselves.

Tom

just one more...

Do you think you can swallow one more half-hearted, semi-elitist, mostly unproductive blog?   Now more then ever I find myself constantly harassing my aim buddy list with links to news clips and articles and a bunch of other shit that people never actually read, watch, absorb...so it's time I saved us both a little time and just posted these things here.  

don't expect regular updates (i want to...but i'm just not that in to you just yet)

ben's (and not kren, mainly because I haven't run it by him yet) going to let me post stuff on his and kren's blog as well...

more to come.  eventually.