Been Too Long

If this blog were a child, pet or plant, it would have died from neglect by now. I understand that some people may not give a rat's ass if I don't write again, but I don't give a rat's ass about what they think about me, so we're even.

If I had to come up with a reason for my lack of posting, it's pretty simple, really. If I'm going to post something, I want it to be more substantial than simply saying, "What Keith said...." Keith Olbermann's special comments seem to be the words I want to say, but he seems to be able to put them together in a much more forceful way than I can. That's not to say that I don't think I'm a good writer. I do. Keith is just in a class all his own, the Edward R. Murrow of this generation.

I'm going to try to talk about a few issues that are in the news as far as Missouri politics (a lot of it is national in scope), as well as Kansas, our neighbor to the west.

Missouri Senate - McCaskill (D) v. Talent (R)

If you haven't heard about this race by now, you really need to get out more. If things weren't hot enough already, McCaskill's ad on the issue of stem cell research featuring actor Michael J. Fox turned up the spotlights to "Surface of the Sun" hot. In 4 days following the posting of that ad on YouTube, it was viewed more than 1 million times, even spawning response videos.

This race will have an effect down the ballot as a result of this ad, not necessarily on the House races or the ones for the state legislature. Amendment 2, a ballot initiative to amend the Missouri Constitution, would allow Missourians to receive the same treatments derived from embryonic stem cell research available to any other American. McCaskill supports stem cell research and Talent opposes it. As the Fox ad states, Senator Talent voted to criminalize this kind of research.

As those of you who know me can tell, I support Claire McCaskill as well as Amendment 2. There are several reasons why I support the current state auditor over the current senator. The most important is the stem cell research issue, but others include the minimum wage, subsidies for the oil and gas industry, tax cuts for the rich and the catastrophe in Iraq.

Elected in a special election to fill the last 4 years of a term to which Mel Carnahan was posthumously elected, Talent is seeking his first full term, 2nd overall. My gut tells me that he will not get a full term in the Senate. While Missouri has been trending Republican for a few years now, the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration have probably done as much harm to Talent as his own words have. Anecdotally, I haven't seen as many yard signs for Talent this time around like I did 4 years ago.

Prediction: Claire McCaskill replaces Jim Talent and rightfully reclaims for the Democrats the Senate seat once held by Harry Truman.

Amendment 2: Stem Cell Research

As mentioned above, Amendment 2 would allow embryonic stem cell research to benefit thousands of Missourians with curable diseases like Parkinson's and ALS as well has head and neck injuries that lead to paralysis.

One thing that opponents (most of whom seem to oppose the issue on moral grounds) have been trying to get across in their ads on television, billboards and in the newspaper is that this amendment will lead to human cloning. The text of the amendment is actually fairly clear on this issue. Embryonic stem cell research for the purpose of helping those of us that need it is expressly allowed. Research for the purpose of creating a human baby is expressly banned, a felony in fact.

Most of the people in the ad shown during the World Series (guaranteed to have a large audience due to the participation of the home-state Cardinals) were healthy athletes. Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan, Royals designated hitter Mike Sweeney and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner (formerly of the St. Louis Rams) all said that this initiative should be defeated because it would lead to cloning and the selling of eggs by fertility clinics, all of which couldn't be further from the truth because they are also banned by the proposed amendment.

One of the most prominent supporters of the proposal is former Republican senator John Danforth (also an Episcopal minister who officiated the funeral of President Ronald Reagan). Danforth has said that the level of rancor on both sides of this issue (as well as the Senate campaign) has him undecided on who to vote for in the Senate race. If it can even make a man like Danforth question who he's going to vote for (as a former Republican officeholder), it's enough to make anybody question what they're thinking. I've often disagreed with Danforth but I've always respected him because of his voice for moderation. One wonders how the world would be different if he'd been nominated to run for vice president instead of Dick Cheney.

Prediction: Amendment 2 passes by 5 points, possibly more.

Proposition B: Minimum Wage Increase

Another issue on the Missouri ballot would raise the minimum wage in Missouri from $5.15/hr to $6.50/hr (or the federal minimum, whichever is higher) and tie future annual increases to changes in the Consumer Price Index. At $6.50/hr., Missourians making the minimum wage would get a raise of $2,808/year.

As someone who's tried making a living with a minimum wage job, I know how hard it is. I was making $5.15/hr. and trying to go to school full time. That was 7 years ago. I also wasn't trying to feed any children, or try to pay for health insurance or for a car or any one of a number of things that families have to do now.

It isn't getting as much press as Amendment 2, but this ballot initiative will potentially help just as many people without a wait. And with annual increases, this brings more people into the real world where working hard and playing by the rules usually qualifies you for a pay increase every year.

Before the last minimum wage increase, you heard businesses complain about how it was going to hurt them and they'd have to lay people off. Well, that didn't exactly happen. It was during President Clinton's first term and we all know what happened to the economy while Big Dawg was in office. Being paid a higher wage makes people want to go to work and they're more productive while they're there. It gives them a feeling of more security, knowing they'll be better able to provide for their families.

Prediction: Proposition B continues flying just under the radar and passes with a 5-7 point margin.

Johnson County (KS) Question 1: Youth Soccer Complex

While I don't have a vote on this issue, I still care about it for a number of reasons. Kids need places to play soccer and the fields of Johnson County are overused and in need of serious help. I should know, having played on some of them. The proposal on the ballot would, if passed, issue $75 million in bonds to build and maintain a 24 field soccer complex. 8 of the fields would be natural grass, the rest artificial turf and all would have lights. There would also be a community center, park shelters, and bike and walking trails.

Opponents of the complex (the NIMBYs and people opposed to any/all tax increases) have been using misleading information as well as outright lies in an attempt to defeat this proposal. They say money from the bonds will help build a stadium for the Kansas City Wizards (also possibly slated for the same area), but the law and the ballot question both strictly prohibit a single penny from the bond issue being used for anything other than the park.

Opponents cite the Cownie complex in Des Moines as what Johnson County should be shooting for. This is really a false choice. The Cownie complex is only used for large tournaments and is losing approximately $1.5 million a year. The proposed park for Johnson County would be used 300 days a year and be self-sustaining.

From tournaments, and general daily use by youth and adult leagues, the overall economic impact is estimated to be approximately $500 million over the term of the bonds. This includes hotel and restaurant visits by youth teams from around the country and the world, sales taxes from anything they buy while they're in town and the creation of jobs.

Prediction: I'm not sure, but I do know it will be close.

Just remember to vote on Tuesday. If you don't and proceed to bitch about the results, I may have to hurt you.

Stress relief...

I've been away from this for far too long. I've been fairly stressed out from my job (working for a major telecommunications company), among other things. As a result, I'm not getting enough exercise, I'm eating too much, and I'm pissing off people at work that don't really deserve it when I snap at them. Some of them do deserve it for being stupid, but you'll get that anywhere.

For that reason, I've decided that I will, from now on, use this as my stress relief. I can rant for as long as I want without having to apologize to people afterwards for yelling at them. I can express my anger at the utter disrespect for the rule of law that this administration seems to want to bathe in. I can call President Bush every name in the book (and even some that aren't in the book) and not feel sorry about it. I can even try to bring attention to issues that I feel are important.

It is for this last reason that I've decided to write now. The budget reconciliation bill that passed the House on Wednesday contained a provision that is, at least to the impartial observer, troubling to say the least. The provision of which I speak (or write, in this case) would cap Medicare payments for oxygen use or equipment at 36 months (3 years). As NebraskaDem over at DailyKos said, "After that you either hit the lottery, learn to hold your breath or die." And that's pretty much how it is with the House Republicans, isn't it? We'll help out for a little while, but after that, you're on your own. This is one of those times when we need to help those who can't help themselves.

Now, that's not to say that all House Republicans are evil. 13 of them crossed the aisle to vote with the Democrats, including Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. This surprised me a little bit because those two didn't seem to have a heart, but they may be showing that they might have consciences. Every single Democrat voted no and the bill passed by the slimmest of margins, 216-214 (1 Democrat and 2 Republicans didn't vote). Here's the vote so you can see if your representative voted yes or no: Project Vote Smart.

While I don't directly advise any Democratic members of the House (or candidates who would like to be Democratic members of the House), I would have these words of wisdom for any who did seek my help. If Republicans are so pro-life, why are they willing to cut off someone's oxygen? Is it because they're evil, or because they've cornered the market on air? Hot air, that is.

Good night, Peter.

I am still in shock from the news. The man who had been the anchor of ABC's World News Tonight for more than half of my life, Peter Jennings, is dead. His death from lung cancer could not be completely unexpected, but it is still a surprise.

So is his age. When I heard how old he was, my first thought was, "He was 67?!" I didn't think he was quite that old, but I should have known. He started working for ABC News 6 years before I was born and I will be 35 next month. Still, his image is one of youth that still hadn't left him, and it went well with his voice, the one that seemed to say, "Everything will be okay."

But everything was not okay. In April, he announced that the health difficulty that he had dealt with for some time was lung cancer. If he had dealt with it sooner, he might still be with us. Now, though, is also not the time to say what he should or should not have done, but to remember the things that he seemed to stand for.

Jennings was never the one you went to for the salacious details of the latest scandal, in Washington or anywhere else. When you wanted the unvarnished truth, as painful as it might be to hear, that's when you wanted someone like him.

Jennings was the last of the Big Three. Tom Brokaw retired in November and Dan Rather stepped down back in March. Those three men controlled what we saw and heard on the network news for more than two decades. In a way, he was a throwback to another era, one in which what you said and how you said it were more important than what you wore and how you did your hair.

I wish I could have met him, just to talk about the things he'd seen, the people he'd met and the places he'd been. Just think of all the things that have happened since he took over as anchor in 1983. The Challenger disaster. Iran-Contra. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Operation Desert Storm. Election 2000. 9/11. The war in Iraq.

I could probably go on for quite a while, but I will close with this. As a journalist, Peter Jennings was one of the people I looked to as an example of how things should be done. He always seemed to be calm, cool and collected, even when things seemed to be going to hell in a handbasket. That is what I will miss the most. Good night, Peter.

Howard Dean: I Agree With George Bush

When the title of this post appeared in my email inbox today, it scared the hell out of me. I started feeling the floor, wondering if Hell had indeed frozen over. But when I got into the actual message, I realized he was talking about W's father. The note included the following quote from Bush Sr.

"Even though I'm a tranquil guy now at this stage of my life, I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors." -- GHWB, 4/26/99

As a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, he would have particularly strong feelings on the issue. Makes me wonder what he thinks of his son's flunkies revealing the name of a covert operative for political gain.

The normally docile press corps is turning back into the sharks we need them to be, as they are smelling blood in the water. Every day this week, they have pressed Press Secretary Scott McClelland on when, if ever, the president plans to keep his promise to fire anyone involved in the leaking of Valerie Plame's name. They have also turned up the heat on the president, asking him the same question. But firing Rove isn't enough. Rove must do time.

It is a federal crime to knowingly reveal classified information, including the name of an undercover operative for the CIA. No one is above the law. I don't care who you are or what political persuasion you claim. If you do the crime, you should have to do the time. Period, end of sentence, end of story.

The longer this drags out, the more damage it will do to the president's agenda, not that I'm complaining. But if this drags on too long, it will drag the entire government to a complete halt, and that's not good for the future of this country. I may be a liberal, but I don't want this country going to Hell in a handbasket any longer than it absolutely has to. Bush Jr. should fire Karl Rove and resist any temptation he may have to pardon him.

Governor Dean and I didn't agree with Bush Sr. on much of anything, but he seemed to have at least some brains. He didn't invade Iraq, for the same reasons Bush Jr. shouldn't have. He didn't run up the deficit as much as W has. He didn't ignore the will of the people quite like his son does.

In this case, though, Governor Dean agrees with Bush Sr. And I do too.

Why Fox News Must Go Away

As a writer/journalist, I'm a big fan of the 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution. It says, in part:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...

As Voltaire once said, "I may not like what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." That said, I think FOX News should go away.

If you've seen the movie Outfoxed, you've probably already come to the conclusion that FOX needs to cease to exist. They're only fair and balanced if you're a Republican who has his head in the sand and can't deal with reality very well. They say some of the most outrageous things and expect people to believe it. As an example of the kind of things I'm talking about, these are quotes from the last few days.

Brit Hume, on his thought when he heard London had been attacked: "I mean, my first thought when I heard -- just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, 'Hmmm, time to buy.'"

Most people's first thought, when they heard of the attack on London, was something like, "Oh, how awful. The terrorists have killed innocent people." Not Brit Hume, boy. He's thinking about his wallet.

Brian Kilmeade, talking about how great it is the terrorists attacked London: "And he [British Prime Minister Tony Blair] made the statement, clearly shaken, but clearly determined. This is his second address in the last hour. First to the people of London, and now at the G8 summit, where their topic Number 1 --believe it or not-- was global warming, the second was African aid. And that was the first time since 9-11 when they should know, and they do know now, that terrorism should be Number 1. But it's important for them all to be together. I think that works to our advantage, in the Western world's advantage, for people to experience something like this together, just 500 miles from where the attacks have happened."

Kilmeade's incredulousness at the audacity of a group of world leaders to talk about something other than terrorism is apalling. Even more disgusting is his assertion that London being attacked was a good thing, to give the Western world an "advantage".

John Gibson, saying why he thought Paris should have been awarded the 2012 Games: "By the way, just wanted to tell you people, we missed -- the International Olympic Committee missed a golden opportunity today. If they had picked France, if they had picked France instead of London to hold the Olympics, it would have been the one time we could look forward to where we didn't worry about terrorism. They'd blow up Paris, and who cares?"

He said this on Wednesday's edition of The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, which he was guest-hosting. You're probably thinking that he was just blowing smoke out his ass, that he didn't know London would be attacked the next day. Well, that's what makes his comments the next day on his own show that much more revealing into his and Fox's attitude.

"The bombings in London: This is why I thought the Brits should let the French have the Olympics -- let somebody else be worried about guys with backpack bombs for a while."

It's enough to make one wonder what France ever did to Gibson to get this kind of attitude.

Now, what FOX News is doing isn't illegal, but it is irresponsible journalism. They like to try acting like they know what they're talking about when they're really just making stuff up as they go along, and they make people like me look bad. The really sad part? There are people who believe this stuff and treat it like the gospel. They have been brainwashed so badly by FOX News that when they are presented with the truth, which is usually the exact opposite of the FOX News slant, they deny it and then call the person holding that view a traitor. But that's not too surprising. As Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean said in response to Vice President Dick Cheney's attack on him in an interview on FOX News...

"My view is FOX News is a propaganda outlet for the Republican Party and I don't comment on FOX News."

London

When I first heard about it, I was in my truck on my way to work. At the time, there were 2 confirmed dead and several wounded. As the day wore on, both numbers grew ever higher. As of this writing, there are 37 confirmed dead and at least 700 injured. A previously unknown group thought to be affiliated with al Qaeda has claimed responsibility on a website linked to Islamic radicals, although the authenticity of the claim has yet to be confirmed. British PM Tony Blair has vowed a massive manhunt for the people involved and has declared that Britain will not be intimidated.

The obvious question on the minds of most people, at least those with half a brain and at least some human decency, is "Why?" Coming less than 24 hours after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics, one has to wonder why there, and why now? London was probably targeted for one reason, the alliance between Blair and George W. Bush in the worldwide war against terrorism. Islamic radicals hate Bush and will do anything to destroy him and those with which he allies himself. This is nothing new, which brings us to the why now. The G8 summit's first official day of talks was today and the terrorists wanted to get as much exposure as they could. What better way to get it than to attack the host of the summit on the day it begins?

While not on the agenda for the summit, Iraq can also be said to have been a reason for London to be targetted. UK troops make up the second largest contingent of armed forces in Iraq. Again, Blair's relationship with Bush probably had some impact on where the terrorists decided to strike.

If there's one thing I cannot understand about terrorists, it's the fact that they almost always succeed in strengthening that which they are fighting against. Terrorists in Israel have often brought about a strengthening of Israel's resolve to fight back. The September 11th attacks on the United States brought about several months of very unified voices leading the country. While we've slid back from that quite a bit, we are still fairly united on the principle of not wanting to let the bad guys win, despite what some conservatives might say. Yes, I'm talking about you, Mr. Rove.

I was feeling every bit of my British ancestry today and probably will for several days. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the dead, injured and their families.

Welcome to my blog...

I wasn't sure if I would ever do this, but I thought the time had come. I'm a writer and I need to write.

I got the name of the blog from two things... one, I'm a Democrat (and proud to say so)... if you can't figure out where the other part comes from, I really can't help you. ;)

What can you expect when you come here? My unvarnished opinions, which you are free to disagree with. In my day job, I've learned not to take too much personally. If I did, I'd be in a psych ward by now.

I plan on posting something new at least once a week, more often if the muse inspires me that much. I will read and often respond to comments and I only ask that you treat me with the same level of respect that I will treat you with.

Again, welcome.