Written by Jack Lee

Carly Smithson was voted off American Idol! She says, "I am cool", but the public voted to boot her anyway. Was it her tattoos or her weirdo Islander husband with his Fijian-Moari warrior tattoos? Was it her choice of songs, like doing "Jesus Christ Super Star" as her last solo? Some think this final song about Jesus put people off or perhaps it was her crooked tooth? Well, who knows for sure, but Carly isn't too disappointed about coming in 6th. She thinks this could restart her singing career that flopped when she was just 15. At that time her first contract sold less than 700 records. As a parting shot Carly said she thinks American's may have misunderstood her pop culture look and message with ther tats, odd dress, etc.

Misunderstood or is it understood?

Smithson's departure leaves five contestants Syesha Mercado (my favorite), David Cook, David Archuleta (my #2), Brooke White and Jason Castro in the run for a recording contract and a shot at stardom.

Posted by Post Scripts at 08:46 AM | Comments (2)

April 24, 2008

“Is That All There Is?”

BIG hat tip to both Investors Business Daily and Peggy Lee for asking the obvious. It’s about time the old song had a subject worthy of its query… Pelosi’s energy policy failure!

Posted by Tina

“Democrats Fumble Ball On Energy” - Investors Business Daily

Surely the majority leader in the world's most important deliberative body should be able to come up with something better than what Pelosi and the Democrats have proposed. ** In a letter just this week to House Republican leader John Boehner, Pelosi touted an extensive record of energy success. But a look at Pelosi's "record" shows it to be pretty pathetic. ** She and congressional Democrats have pursued energy "price-gougers," even though more than 17 studies have shown the practice is virtually nonexistent; they've punished "Big Oil" with higher taxes, while handing subsidies to alternative energy; and they've sought to punish "market manipulators." ** None of these ideas work. Today, we have less energy and higher prices than before. Pelosi's party apparently suffers from a total lack of understanding of basic economics. When you tax and punish, you get less of something — not more. ** As we noted earlier this week, the price of oil has risen sharply since the Democrats, with their government-heavy energy schemes, took control of the House. Since January 2007, the first month for the Democrats in office, oil prices are up by more than 113%. And the price for a gallon of regular gas nationwide has surged from $2.29 a gallon to $3.47 as of April 21.

She now wants to do things like link arms sales to the Saudis with higher output for OPEC. …it would result in the U.S. being more dependent on foreign oil, not less.
The U.S. already gets 45% of its crude from OPEC. Should we now give them a stranglehold on our economy? ** Other Democrats seek to slap U.S. oil companies with windfall profits taxes, even though industry profits are just 8.3 cents on the dollar — about in line with the average for U.S. industry. Meanwhile, Ernst & Young reports, from 1992 to 2006, the five largest oil companies invested $765 billion, vs. profits of $662 billion. ** U.S. oil output has dropped 37% since 1988 to about 5.1 million barrels a day. Imports over the same time have surged 68% to 12.4 million barrels a day. These are not favorable trends.

Brazil recently announced it has found as much as 33 billion barrels of oil off its coast. Elsewhere in our own hemisphere, both Colombia and Peru have similarly had big oil and gas finds. ** It's no accident — they're looking for the stuff. Why aren't we? And why isn't Nancy Pelosi's Congress doing something to make sure we do?

AMEN!

Posted by Post Scripts at 09:12 PM | Comments (0)

Video of New Weapon

Dangerous new weapon defeats metal detectors, causing concern in schools and jails. Check out the new Lexan knuckles in this video...

http://blutube.policeone.com/Clip.aspx?key=23EAF938C51D7071

Posted by Post Scripts at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)

For Men Only - 9 Important things women say

Here are the nine things women often say that you need to understand...

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' ... that will bring on a 'whatever').

(8) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying you're an idiot!

(9) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to #3

Posted by Post Scripts at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)

A Pilot's Story - SR71 Blackbird

by Billy J. Foster (Beale AFB - Marysville)

In April 1986, following an attack on American soldiers in a Berlin disco, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Muammar Qaddafi's terrorist camps in Libya . My duty was to fly over Libya and take photos recording the damage our F-111's had inflicted. Qaddafi had established a 'line of death,' a territorial marking across the Gulf of Sidra , swearing to shoot down any intruder that crossed the boundary. On the morning of April 15, I rocketed past the line at 2,125 mph.

I was piloting the SR-71 spy plane, the world's fastest jet, accompanied by Maj Walter Watson, the aircraft's reconnaissance systems officer (RSO). We had crossed into Libya and were approaching our final turn over the bleak desert landscape when Walter informed me that he was receiving missile launch signals. I quickly increased our speed, calculating the time it would take for the weapons-most likely SA-2 and SA-4 surface-to-air missiles capable of Mach 5 - to reach our altitude. I estimated that we could beat the rocket-powered missiles to the turn and stayed our course, betting our lives on the plane's performance.

After several agonizingly long seconds, we made the turn and blasted toward the Mediterranean'You might want to pull it back,' Walter suggested. It was then that I noticed I still had the throttles full forward. The plane was flying a mile every 1.6 seconds, well above our Mach 3.2 limit. It was the fastest we would ever fly. I pulled the throttles to idle just south of Sicily, but we still overran the refueling tanker awaiting us over Gibraltar .

Scores of significant aircraft have been produced in the 100 years of flight, following the achievements of the Wright brothers, which we celebrate in December.. Aircraft such as the Boeing 707, the F-86 Sabre Jet, and the P-51 Mustang are among the important machines that have flown our skies. But the SR-71, also known as the Blackbird, stands alone as a significant contributor to Cold War victory and as the fastest plane ever-and only 93 Air Force pilots ever steered the 'sled,' as we called our aircraft.

As inconceivable as it may sound, I once discarded the plane. Literally. My first encounter with the SR-71 came when I was 10 years old in the form of molded black plastic in a Revell kit. Cementing together the long fuselage parts proved tricky, and my finished product looked less than menacing. Glue,oozing from the seams, discolored the black plastic. It seemed ungainly alongside the fighter planes in my collection, and I threw it away.

Twenty-nine years later, I stood awe-struck in a Beale Air Force Base hangar, staring at the very real SR-71 before me. I had applied to fly the world's fastest jet and was receiving my first walk-around of our nation's most prestigious aircraft. In my previous 13 years as an Air Force fighter pilot, I had never seen an aircraft with such presence. At 107 feet long, it appeared big, but far from ungainly.

Ironically, the plane was dripping, much like the misshapen model had assembled in my youth. Fuel was seeping through the joints, raining down on the hangar floor. At Mach 3, the plane would expand several inches because of the severe temperature, which could heat the leading edge of the wing to 1,100 degrees. To prevent cracking, expansion joints had been built into the plane. Sealant resembling rubber glue covered the seams, but when the plane was subsonic, fuel would leak through the joints.

The SR-71 was the brainchild of Kelly Johnson, the famed Lockheed designer who created the P-38, the F-104 Starfighter, and the U-2. After the Soviets shot down Gary Powers' U-2 in 1960, Johnson began to develop an aircraft that would fly three miles higher and five times faster than the spy plane-and still be capable of photographing your license plate. However, flying at 2,000 mph would create intense heat on the aircraft's skin. Lockheed engineers used a titanium alloy to construct more than 90 percent of the SR-71, creating special tools and manufacturing procedures to hand-build each of the 40 planes. Special heat-resistant fuel, oil, and hydraulic fluids that would function at 85,000 feet and higher also had to be developed.

In 1962, the first Blackbird successfully flew, and in 1966, the same year I graduated from high school, the Air Force began flying operational SR-71 missions. I came to the program in 1983 with a sterling record and a recommendation from my commander, completing the weeklong interview and meeting Walter, my partner for the next four years. He would ride four feet behind me, working all the cameras, radios, and electronic jamming equipment. I joked that if we were ever captured, he was the spy and I was just the driver. He told me to keep the pointy end forward.

We trained for a year, flying out of Beale AFB in California , Kadena Airbase in Okinawa, and RAF Mildenhall in England . On a typical training mission, we would take off near Sacramento, refuel over Nevada , accelerate into Montana , obtain high Mach over Colorado , turn right over New Mexico , speed across the Los Angeles Basin , run up the West Coast, turn right at Seattle , then return to Beale. Total flight time: two hours and 40 minutes.

One day, high above Arizona , we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. 'Ninety knots,' ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. 'One-twenty on the ground,' was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was 'Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,' ATC responded. The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter's mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ' Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.' We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast.

The Blackbird always showed us something new, each aircraft possessing its own unique personality. In time, we realized we were flying a national treasure. When we taxied out of our revetments for takeoff, people took notice. Traffic congregated near the airfield fences, because everyone wanted to see and hear the mighty SR-71. You could not be a part of this program and not come to love the airplane. Slowly, she revealed her secrets to us as we earned her trust.

One moonless night, while flying a routine training mission over the Pacific, I wondered what the sky would look like from 84,000 feet if the cockpit lighting were dark.While heading home on a straight course, I slowly turned down all of the lighting, reducing the glare and revealing the night sky. Within seconds, I turned the lights back up, fearful that the jet would know and somehow punish me. But my desire to see the sky overruled my caution, I dimmed the lighting again.. To my amazement,

I saw a bright light outside my window. As my eyes adjusted to the view, I realized that the brilliance was the broad expanse of the Milky Way, now a gleaming stripe across the sky.. Where dark spaces in the sky had usually existed, there were now dense clusters of sparkling stars. Shooting stars flashed across the canvas every few seconds. It was like a fireworks display with no sound. I knew I had to get my eyes back on the instruments, and reluctantly I brought my attention back inside. To my surprise, with the cockpit lighting still off, I could see every gauge, lit by starlight. In the plane's mirrors, I could see the eerie shine of my gold spacesuit incandescently illuminated in a celestial glow. I stole one last glance out the window.

Despite our speed, we seemed still before the heavens, humbled in the radiance of a much greater power. For those few moments, I felt a part of something far more significant than anything we were doing in the plane. The sharp sound of Walt's voice on the radio brought me back to the tasks at hand as I prepared for our descent.

The SR-71 was an expensive aircraft to operate. The most significant cost was tanker support, and in 1990, confronted with budget cutbacks, the Air Force retired the SR-71?The Blackbird had outrun nearly 4,000 missiles, not once taking a scratch from enemy fire.

On her final flight, the Blackbird, destined for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum , sped from Los Angeles to Washington in 64 minutes, averaging 2,145 mph and setting four speed records.

The SR-71 served six presidents, protecting America for a quarter of a century. Unbeknownst to most of the country, the plane flew over North Vietnam , Red China, North Korea , the Middle East, South Africa , Cuba , Nicaragua , Iran , Libya , and the Falkland Islands . On a weekly basis, the SR-71 kept watch over every Soviet nuclear submarine and mobile missile site, and all of their troop movements. It was a key factor in winning the Cold War.

I am proud to say I flew about 500 hours in this aircraft. I knew her well. She gave way to no plane, proudly dragging her sonic boom through enemy backyards with great

impunity. She defeated every missile, outran every MiG, and always brought us home. In the first 100 years of manned flight, no aircraft was more remarkable.

With the Libyan coast fast approaching now, Walt asks me for the third time, if I think the jet will get to the speed and altitude we want in time. I tell him yes. I know he is concerned. He is dealing with the data; that's what engineers do, and I am glad he is. But I have my hands on the stick and throttles and can feel the heart of a thoroughbred, running now with the power and perfection she was designed to possess. I also talk to her. Like the combat veteran she is, the jet senses the target area and seems to prepare herself.

For the first time in two days, the inlet door closes flush and all vibration is gone. We've become so used to the constant buzzing that the jet sounds quiet now in comparison. The Mach correspondingly increases slightly and the jet is flying in that confidently smooth and steady style we have so often seen at these speeds. We reach our target altitude and speed, with five miles to spare. Entering the target area, in response to the jet's new-found vitality, Walt says, 'That's amazing' and with my left hand pushing two throttles farther forward, I think to myself that there is much they don't teach in engineering school.

Out my left window, Libya looks like one huge sandbox. A featureless brown terrain stretches all the way to the horizon. There is no sign of any activity. Then Walt tells me that he is getting lots of electronic signals, and they are not the friendly kind. The jet is performing perfectly now, flying better than she has in weeks. She seems to know where she is. She likes the high Mach, as we penetrate deeper into Libyan airspace. Leaving the footprint of our sonic boom across Benghazi , I sit motionless, with stilled hands on throttles and the pitch control, my eyes glued to the gauges.

Only the Mach indicator is moving, steadily increasing in hundredths, in a rhythmic consistency similar to the long distance runner who has caught his second wind and picked up the pace. The jet was made for this kind of performance and she wasn't about to let an errant inlet door make her miss the show. With the power of forty locomotives, we puncture the quiet African sky and continue farther south across a bleak landscape.

Walt continues to update me with numerous reactions he sees on the DEF panel. He is receiving missile tracking signals. With each mile we traverse, every two seconds, I become more uncomfortable driving deeper into this barren and hostile land. I am glad the DEF panel is not in the front seat. It would be a big distraction now, seeing the lights flashing. In contrast, my cockpit is 'quiet' as the jet purrs and relishes her new-found strength, continuing to slowly accelerate.

The spikes are full aft now, tucked twenty-six inches deep into the nacelles. With all inlet doors tightly shut, at 3.24 Mach, the J-58s are more like ramjets now, gulping 100,000 cubic feet of air per second. We are a roaring express now, and as we roll through the enemy's backyard, I hope our speed continues to defeat the missile radars below. We are approaching a turn, and this is good. It will only make it more difficult for any launched missile to solve the solution for hitting our aircraft.

I push the speed up at Walt's request. The jet does not skip a beat, nothing fluctuates, and the cameras have a rock steady platform. Walt received missile launch signals. Before he can say anything else, my left hand instinctively moves the throttles yet farther forward. My eyes are glued to temperature gauges now, as I know the jet will willingly go to speeds that can harm her. The temps are relatively cool and from all the warm temps we've encountered thus far, this surprises me but then, it really doesn't surprise me. Mach 3.31 and Walt is quiet for the moment.

I move my gloved finger across the small silver wheel on the autopilot panel which controls the aircraft's pitch. With the deft feel known to Swiss watchmakers, surgeons, and 'dinosaurs' (old- time pilots who not only fly an airplane but 'feel it'), I rotate the pitch wheel somewhere between one-sixteenth and one-eighth inch location, a position which yields the 500-foot-per-minute climb I desire. The jet raises her nose one-sixth of a degree and knows, I'll push her higher as she goes faster. The Mach continues to rise, but during this segment of our route, I am in no mood to pull throttles back..

Walt's voice pierces the quiet of my cockpit with the news of more missile launch signals. The gravity of Walter's voice tells me that he believes the signals to be a more valid threat than the others. Within seconds he tells me to 'push it up' and I firmly press both throttles against their stops. For the next few seconds, I will let the jet go as fast as she wants. A final turn is coming up and we both know that if we can hit that turn at this speed, we most likely will defeat any missiles. We are not there yet, though, and I'm wondering if Walt will call for a defensive turn off our course.

With no words spoken, I sense Walter is thinking in concert with me about maintaining our programmed course. To keep from worrying, I glance outside, wondering if I'll be able to visually pick up a missile aimed at us. Odd are the thoughts that wander through one's mind in times like these. I found myself recalling the words of former SR-71 pilots who were fired upon while flying missions over North Vietnam They said the few errant missile detonations they were able to observe from the cockpit looked like implosions rather than explosions. This was due to the great speed at which the jet was hurling away from the exploding missile.

I see nothing outside except the endless expanse of a steel blue sky and the broad patch of tan earth far below. I have only had my eyes out of the cockpit for seconds, but it seems like many minutes since I have last checked the gauges inside. Returning my attention inward, I glance first at the miles counter telling me how many more to go, until we can start our turn. Then I note the Mach, and passing beyond 3.45, I realize that Walter and I have attained new personal records. The Mach continues to increase. The ride is incredibly smooth.

There seems to be a confirmed trust now, between me and the jet; she will not hesitate to deliver whatever speed we need, and I can count on no problems with the inlets. Walt and I are ultimately depending on the jet now - more so than normal - and she seems to know it. The cooler outside temperatures have awakened the spirit born into her years ago, when men dedicated to excellence took the time and care to build her well. With spikes and doors as tight as they can get, we are racing against the time it could take a missile to reach our altitude.

It is a race this jet will not let us lose. The Mach eases to 3.5 as we crest 80,000 feet. We are a bullet now - except faster. We hit the turn, and I feel some relief as our nose swings away from a country we have seen quite enough of. Screaming past Tripoli, our phenomenal speed continues to rise, and the screaming Sled pummelsthe enemy one more time, laying down a parting sonic boom. In seconds, we can see nothing but the expansive blue of the Mediterranean . I realize that I still have my left hand full-forward and we're continuing to rocket along in maximum afterburner.

The TDI now shows us Mach numbers, not only new to our experience but flat out scary. Walt says the DEF panel is now quiet, and I know it is time to reduce our incredible speed. I pull the throttles to the min 'burner range and the jet still doesn't want to slow down. Normally the Mach would be affected immediately, when making such a large throttle movement. But for just a few moments old 960 just sat out there at the high Mach, she seemed to love and like the proud Sled she was, only began to slow when we were well out of danger. I loved that jet.

Posted by Post Scripts at 12:53 PM | Comments (2)

April 23, 2008

College Campus PC “Run Amok”

Posted by Tina

“Flunking the Tenure Test,” by Doug Sneider – Washington Times

As pointed out in Ben Stein's new documentary, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed": "If professors value their careers, they will keep their mouths shut."

Cash in on the knowledge. This is the "go to" blog for frequent financial advice that ranges from tips to lower your monthly gasoline bill to those hot stock picks that could make you some big money! At PS we're not about any one thing, we're well diversified in our reporting! We believe all topics are fair game and we want your input on them too! However, in case you are a new reader, we DO love our politics and we are politically on the right or should I say... politically right?

Posted by Post Scripts at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

Daniel Morgenstern - Consumer Hero

by Jack Lee

This is a story about how one person made a big difference...

On several occasions Post Scripts published articles alerting you to a fraud, commonly known as the "Rife Machine" sold on the internet and eBay. This bunk machine produces radio "frequencies" that are supposed to match the "frequencies" that are alleged to bind the viruses that make us sick (all nonsense). According to the non-medical inventor, Raymond Royal Rife, a 1930's quack, this machine would destroy all viruses and cure all diseases, including cancer which he called a virus.

Despite advances in medical science to dispel all of Rife's theories as sheer quackery many desperate people have turned to the Rife machine for a cure. This makes the Rife fraud a particularly despicable scam because it scams seriously ill people, sometimes diverting them away from real medical help.

(Note: I know some of you may be wondering...no, not one person was every cured of anything by a Rife Machine, it's a total hoax that plays on the distrust with modern medicine and the wacky thoughts from conspiracy nuts.)

Although there were complaints eBay continued to allow the sales of Rife Machines on their site. Now enter one Daniel Morgenstern. Daniel persisted where others had given up and after many attempts he finally persuaded eBay to stop selling the Rife Machine. However, they still allowed sellers to publish links to quack articles and sales outlets. Daniel took them to task again and eBay has now finally shut down all connections to the Rife fraudsters!

Daniel you're a hero. You have taken the lead to do a great public service and save many victims from a terrible medical fraud! Kudos’ to you sir, I wish we had more like you!

Posted by Post Scripts at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)

Hillary Wins Big - Race Drags On

From the PoliGazette: "Hillary Clinton won big (enough) in Pennsylvania yesterday; she needed a double digit win, and she got it.

Hillary Clinton won big in Pennsylvania yesterday; probably with 55% against 45%. The result of her double digit victory is that she’ll remain in the race, and that the two Democratic rivals will continue to have a go at each other.

Some believe that this process is bad for the Democratic Party, others realize that, in the past, nominees were usually elected quite late in the year. Some also argue that the longer Clinton and Obama fight each other, the stronger the victor will be."

Jack's thought on this article: Despite the obvious advantages for the GOP never underestimate our ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Posted by Post Scripts at 09:09 AM | Comments (2)

Making Money In The Stock Market

by Jack Lee

In this article . . . Crude oil - Stock tip Huaneng Power - Housing Market Shiller prediction

Crude oil has now hit a record $120 a barrel despite rising US and global inventories which is usually the sign of a price trend reversal for big oil. Among the things now fueling this rise in oil are massive hedge fund speculators with hundreds of billions of dollars at their disposal who are buying up oil futures contracts. This takes the contracts out of the hands of refiners and this process eventually adds to the pump prices you pay. (Note: A contract is for a specific amount of oil to be delivered at a specific time)

(Do you think hedge funds should be prohibited from speculating on a product that effects national security? Something to ponder for sure.)

Meanwhile our refiners have been operating at about 85% of capacity, but even so consumers have cut back enough on consumption to cause their inventories to rise and that has the refiners nervous. In order to keep gasoline prices high the refiners will have to cut back even more, much more just to reduce the current inventory. Unfortunately for them it will take concerted cooperation among all our refiners to pull it off. Given the current consumer's rage and demand for the government look into what is happening to our pump prices, I have to wonder if the refiners are finally getting a bit timid and starting to worry?

I know, I know, this all runs contrary to what I just said yesterday about the oil monopoly having big brass one's and doing as they please...and that was true then and now. However, anyone who has ever played the stock market knows just one day can make a big difference and one wonders if that day is neigh?

Allow me to explain:

There are signs that the refiner's monopoly is going for the money in volume and producing slightly more gasoline than they did last month. This my friends could be the subtle signal there could be a retreat in crude oil prices not far off. Yes, there's a glimmer of hope on the horizon now when yesterday there was none thanks to the buildup of inventory.

If I played the oil futures market (and I don't - too aggressive for me) I think I would be shorting the "oil futures" above the $120 mark and as far out as possible. If you don't understand what was just said, you definitely shouldn't be doing it! The hedge funds could be in for a beating IF crude prices fall in our near future. Just don't expect oil to retreat too far, but then any break is welcome and that is a good deal for consumers and the economy.

Speaking of good deals, it was just a few days ago when I was speaking with friends about Huaneng Power (HNP) and I said I thought it had great potential. The fundamentals were obviously good and its 3 new power plants were online and more importantly located in strategic areas of China.

The quarterly report from HNP was just released today and get this, the Company realized revenues of RMB13.534 billion, representing an increase of 20.23% over the same period last year! You like good news in energy don't you? This is it and even though it's in China it still impacts us here. This is clean energy folks, energy they don't have to buy from the oil companies!

The stock price is up 14.32% for the day! However, the projection is for steady growth due to China's emerging needs and I believe it. The stock has been beaten down over the last 6 months to a low of $26 in recent days and it had been trading 6 months previously at over $50 a share. This stock looks like it could have a nice run ahead. For what it's worth, I'm bullish on HNP and yes, I do own this stock! (Do your own due diligence if you are thinking about buying any stock)

Ok, lets talk home prices now, but first fasten your seat belt! I think you are going to need it. Do you know who Robert Shiller is? Well, for starters he helped devise Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller index of residential real estate values and he is a Yale economist. He has been known for being the bearer of bad news and then he offered us some yesterday with this comment, "Housing prices nationwide could plunge more than the 30 percent fall from 1925 to 1933 invoking the dark days of the Great Depression." Did that get your attention? It should and then Shiller followed up with this, "I think there is a good chance we'll exceed that this time."

Shiller is widely cited expert in financial markets.

Posted by Post Scripts at 08:18 AM | Comments (8)

April 22, 2008

Today Was “Earth Day,” Celebrate This!

Posted by Tina

A little reality never hurt anyone…although it might become an inconvenient truth for YOU KNOW WHO.

“Happy Earth Day,” by Steven F. Hayward - Human Events

More than 30 years ago political scientist Anthony Downs discerned what he called the “issue-attention cycle,” a five-stage process by which the public and especially the news media grow alarmed over an issue, agitate for action, generate piles of scary headlines, and then begin to draw back as we come to recognize that the problem has been exaggerated or misconceived, and the price tag for action comes in. While Downs

thought that the issue-attention cycle for the environment would last longer than most issues, it appears the mother-of-all-environmental scares -- global warming -- is following his model and is going to begin to fade like other environmental alarms of the past such as the population bomb and the “we’re running out of everything” scares. ** The latest annual Gallup survey on the environment shows that only 37 percent of Americans say they worry about global warming “a great deal,” down from 41 percent last year, and, moreover, about the same as a decade ago. ** Air pollution is on its way to being eliminated entirely in the U.S. in about another 20 years. Levels of air pollution have fallen between 25 and 99 percent (depending on which pollutant you measure), with the nation’s worst areas showing the most progress. For example, Los Angeles has gone from having nearly 200 high ozone days in the 1970s to less than 25 days a year today. Many areas of the Los Angeles basin are now smog-free year round. ** Water pollution is more stubborn and harder to measure (and is being made worse in the Mississippi River basin by the government’s crazy ethanol mandate), but here too there have been major improvements since the first Earth Day in 1970. ** The Great Lakes have been cleaned up, with many previously endangered species of birds now thriving. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland doesn’t catch fire any more. The amount of toxic chemicals used in American industry has fallen by 61 percent over the last 20 years, even as industrial output has grown. Forestland in the U.S. has been expanding at a rate of nearly 1 million acres a year over the last generation. ** The world’s worst environmental problems are in poor nations, precisely because they are poor. Economic growth turns out to be the prerequisite for environmental protection—a fact that most environmentalists now grudgingly admit.

CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA - That includes EVERYBODY!!

Posted by Post Scripts at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)

Venezuela Deemed a “Powder Keg”

Does what’s happening in Venezuela offer a lesson that Americans would be wise to heed about now?
Posted by Tina

“The Powder Keg That is Venezuela,” by Michael J. Economides - Human Events

“The trouble with ideology and fanaticism is that they are not particularly suited to run countries.”

After years of failed and corrupt governments…he (Chavez) came to power via a type of populism still attractive in South America, where Che Guevara is a cult hero and Fidel Castro, not so covertly, is one of the most admired leaders… ** Venezuela has perhaps the unhealthiest economy in South America. All

productive sectors have been thwarted. Nationalization has been used to castrate companies from any profitability. After the usurpation of the national oil company PDVSA, the only enterprise that could barely afford it, next in line were the telecommunications and utilities but Chávez did not stop there and continued on to the cement and iron industries. None can really survive. ** Lands have been confiscated and artificial price and wage controls are imposed on everything. Food shortages suddenly spring up and, not surprisingly, people are hoarding. There is virtually no investment in infrastructure and deterioration is evident everywhere. ** To bolster the regime, services are given away and at a time of sky high oil prices, gasoline sells for 2 to 5 US cents a liter, less than 20 cents per gallon. ** The Venezuelan currency -- the Bolivar -- just shed three zeros to become Bolivar “fuerte.” The official exchange rate is 2.15 Bs to a dollar but nobody in the country seems to buy that…(it) dropped to as low as 6.5…more realistic rate would probably be seven or more. ** The country’s economic predicament may not be the worst part. Even more palpable is the prevalent social animosity. Chávez has directed such a venomous attack on the productive middle class that it has led to a counter-reaction. ** But what is far more worrisome is the hatred that now exists both ways between the poor and the middle classes, a hatred mostly generated by the incendiary Chavez rhetoric.

Sound at all familiar? This describes the basic direction and method of the democrat party: control and regulation of the private sector, taking of lands, inciting class envy, “giving” services away. It's more difficult to achieve "the ends" because of our Constitution but we are being pressed continually toward a "powder keg" situation here in America.

Please vote wisely in November.

Posted by Post Scripts at 09:55 PM | Comments (0)

8 Reasons to be Optimistic About Economy!

From the Economists View....

Charles Calomiris argues that the decline in credit due to current problems in financial markets is unlikely to cause a recession (This was written in 2007, lets see how he's done):

1. Housing prices may not be falling by as much as some economists say they are. (Actually was worse than expected)
2. Although the inventory of homes for sale has risen, housing construction activity has fallen substantially [which will support future prices]. (Wrong - see house prices below - they are tanking)

3. The shock to the availability of credit has been concentrated primarily in securitisations rather than in credit markets defined more broadly. (True and this has caused consumers to be worse off debt wise )
4. Aggregate financial market indicators improved substantially in September and subsequently. (They didn't continue improving)
5. ...nonfinancial firms are highly liquid and not overleveraged. (Subjective - they are over leveraged)
6. ...households' wealth is at an all-time high and continues to grow. ( So does the debt and less than zero savings)
7. Of central importance is the healthy condition of banks. (Guess he didn't see banking crisis coming.. B of A profits were down 77% 2 days ago)
8. Banks hold much more diversified portfolios today than they used to. ( Deregulation in 1999 caused most of the sub-prime disaster)

Charles Calomiris...go put on a dunce cap and sit in the corner.

Posted by Post Scripts at 11:01 AM | Comments (1)

Signs Spell Trouble

Posted by Jack

The City of Chico sales tax revenues began to show serious signs of decline for the first time in 12 years during the early part of 2007. Since then the decline has continued as the city seeks ways to ratchet down the projected deficit. In mid-2007 the City was looking at a $56 million shortfall, now despite all the tweeking they could come up with the city still needs to shave another 6 million over the next 2-3 years to balance the budget. Assistant City Manager Dennis Beardsley says making things worse, sales tax receipts right now are flat or down which is almost unheard of in Chico.

"..sales tax receipts right now are flat or down which is almost unheard of in Chico."

And on the national front this just in from MarketReport.com: Ford Motor Co. will likely point to further strides in its wrenching overhaul when it posts first-quarter results Thursday, but the severe downturn in the U.S. car market and expectations for when that will change will also take center stage.

Ford has lost more than $15 billion in the past two years, including $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007 as the reality of the slowing U.S. economy began to take hold.

New car market rapidly drying up - Home sales down 19.3% from last year!!!

And now this from TheStreet.com: We rate GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) a SELL. Our rating is based on the company’s declining revenue, deteriorating earnings and diminishing margins.

Deteriorating earnings. The company reported a net loss of $722.00 million during the quarter under review compared to net income of $950.00 million a year ago.
.
Diminishing margins and falling returns. During the quarter, gross profit margin slipped 889 basis points to
11.34% from 20.23%, due to falling revenues. Operating margin decreased to a negative 2.69% from a positive
of 8.22%. Furthermore, the return on assets remained negative at 26.02% from a year ago.

GM stock is down 31% over the last 12 months. GM, like Ford, is banking on sales to emerging markets to improve their bottom line.

Market update - At Session Lows at Midday - 12:05p ET April 22, 2008 (Briefing.com)

The major indices have spent the entirety of Tuesday's session in negative territory, and are trading with substantial losses. Traders have been disappointed with earnings misses by a few notable companies. At the same time, crude oil continues its rally as prices hit a new all-time high.

March existing home sales fell 2.0% to an annualized rate of 4.93 million from the prior reading of 5.03 million. This was slightly better than the expected reading of 4.92 million. Compared to last year, sales are down 19.3%. Prices have fallen 7.7% versus last year. Housing remains in a deep slump, but the rate of decline has slowed in recent months.

Euro UP 30% over the last two years against US dollar

. Weak dollar V. Euro: At the stock market session highs today (4/22/08), one euro bought as much as $1.6018, which is the most since the currency was introduced in 1999. The euro has since retreated a tad to just under $1.60. The official currency of the European Union is now up roughly 18% compared to last year, and 30% over the last two years.

Authors note:

While the left or the right may try to exploit these bad economic numbers for their own political gain, they are nontheless still hard numbers that we must deal with as our current economic reality.

The skyrocketing fuel prices are behind much of the economic slow down and there is little being done to abait this situation. Diesel is the life blood of the transportation industry and you can't hike the price of diesel up 29% in one year without affecting the cost of goods transported by rail and road. Why a 29% increase? Has the world's available oil supply dropped significantly? No. Have emerging nations increased their demand of oil by 29%? No. Has production been damaged? No. So if it is not purely a supply v demand effect that has spiked fuel prices, what could it be?

Oil is high because the oil cartel wants it high, don't you get it?

This huge oil monopoly is constantly pushing it right up to the edge of what you consumers will tolerate. They do this over and over because they can.

Get a clue, you have no watch dogs in government.

Last year's spike in fuel prices was a mere test run for this year's outright theivery. They knew from past experience they could price gouge consumers with impunity and now they are pushing it even further with every passing day. They are counting on believers in pure capitalism to defend their greed as just normal market forces that go up and go down like many other commodities...nothing to worry about, they say. But, there is everything to worry about! Today's high fuel prices are anything but a result of normal market forces and we're empowering the enemy that is robbing us by tolerating it and not demanding a federal investigation into price fixing and other monopolistic practices by the Big 5 and their friends.

You the consumer are being victimized by a vast oil monopoly that is price gouging our giant economy into a recession. These guys don't even bother to break out the fake earning charts and quarterly reports with all their hidden excess profits anymore, they just can't hide that much money anymore and besides they don't need to, because they got you and they know it.

If you made it a law that the CEO's and the BOD's would only make money based on volume of sales rather than a profit margin per unit this whole situation would change overnight.

Posted by Post Scripts at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2008

Of Waterboarding, Acts of Terror, and Selective Offenses

by Tina Grazier

Nothing in the political realm offends me more than the selective shock tactics used by those who would attempt to sway political and social opinion away from the just in favor of the unjust. So it is with great offence that I bring to your attention an ad to be shown in the UK and created, with the help of Malcom Nance, an American, by Amnesty International. The issue is waterboarding. First a reminder:

America and the world watched in horror on a crisp September morning as jets were flown into buildings killing thousands, some of them horribly, injuring countless others, and creating a nightmare of confusion, and fear. The shock was incredible in terms of personal grief, and the long and horrifying job of finding and identifying bodies and cleaning away the fallen structures. We also watched in shock and horror as terrorist thugs cut the head from a screaming Daniel Pearl. This act became a harbinger of similar ruthless and medieval events to take place in the days and weeks to come. We watched as trains, busses, mosques, synagogues, embassies and hotels filled with people have been blown to bits. Long before much of this happened, we practiced tolerance as year after long year terrorists strapped bombs to their own children, having taught them to blow themselves up in a crowded market or restaurant for maximum damage in Israel. We (the UN) played word games with Saddam, his sons and his thugs tortured, mutilated, raped, and murdered his own people.

All of these things and more have we witnessed. Yet, the only horror Amnesty International can't seem to stomach, the only thing it wishes to prosecute on the world’s stage is an interrogation technique that frightens, but does not physically harm or kill. An American has chosen to condemn the United States and to play the lead in Amnesty’s latest political farce, his credentials lending that special touch to his performance that activists always seem to relish.

“Amnesty unveils shock 'waterboarding' film,” By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent, Independent (UK)

An American expert in torture techniques has denounced his government for allowing "waterboarding" to be practised against terror suspects, just as a graphic advertisement showing the brutal reality of the technique is unveiled to British cinema-goers. ** Malcolm Nance, who trained hundreds of US servicemen and women to resist interrogation by putting them through "waterboarding" exercises, demanded an immediate end to the practice by all US personnel. ** He said: "They seem to think it is worth throwing the honour of 220 years of American decency in war out of the window. Waterboarding is out-and-out torture, and I'm deeply ashamed President Bush has authorised its use and dragged the US's reputation into the mud." ** Amnesty International is leading the campaign to persuade the US to abandon the practice – a form of torture used as long ago as the Spanish Inquisition – and is stepping up its efforts with the release of a graphic and disturbing advertisement. ** Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty International, said: "Our film shows you what the CIA doesn't want you to see – the disgusting reality of half-drowning a person.

For the record the technique does not actually cause drowning, half or otherwise, it only creates the sensation of drowning. Amnesty also gives the impression that this practice is occurring on a daily basis when there is no evidence to indicate it is used other than in extreme situations. So Amnesty is lying about what actually happens and they are lying on purpose…for effect. Like adding plenty of blood and guts in a horror scene, they exaggerate and embellish “what the CIA doesn’t want you to see” and call it a “half-drowning” so they can better sell their anti-Bush administration position. Let the visual histrionics and imaginings begin:

The broadcast begins with images of glistening clear liquid, suggesting it could be promoting a new brand of vodka or gin. But the camera pulls back to show water is being poured over the face of a desperate man strapped to a table. ** "For a few seconds, our film-makers did it for real. Even for those few seconds, it's horrifying to watch. The reality – in a secret prison with no one to stop it – is much, much worse."

"Horrifying"…yep, horrifying to watch, just as planned! Has Amnesty made films or ads about the methods and tactics of terrorists? No…not that I’ve heard. So, why in He** not?

Posted by Post Scripts at 10:26 PM | Comments (2)

“Capitalism Should Be Scrapped”

Posted by Tina

At least one of the world’s leaders thinks we’d all be better off living with raw sewage running in the gullies alongside the pathways that lead to a local marketplace. We’d be so much better off, he thinks...with disease and fever running rampant and nothing but filthy water to sooth our foreheads or quench our thirst…yep, this would be much better than running water, indoor plumbing, and modern hospitals and medicines:

“Capitalism harms planet - Morales,” by Laura Trevelyan - BBC News

New York - Bolivian President Evo Morales has told a UN forum that capitalism should be scrapped if the planet is to be saved from the effects of climate change. ''If we want to save our planet earth, we have a duty to put an end to the capitalist system,'' he said. Opening an UN meeting in New York on the rights of indigenous people, he also said the development of biofuels harmed the world's poorest people. The forum's theme is the global impact of climate change on native people.

Capitalism has brought us comfort and playthings but it has also brought tremendous advantage in terms of our quality of life.

Capitalism creates wealth and wealth is the fuel that problem solvers, innovators and entrepreneurs rely on to solve whatever needs and REAL problems we may encounter along the way.

Morales is right about biofuels, however…and we all know what extremist movement caused the RUSH to bring them to market…environmentalists…like Al Gore who has conveniently positioned himself to make a bundle on investments like biofuels.

Or …as Jerome J. Schmitt at the American Thinker put it today:

“No Starvation for Fuel!”

No Blood for Oil" is a spurious rallying cry on the left, but apparently it is acceptable for the poor in the third world to starve so that American Eco-activists can feel self-righteous about driving "flex-fuel" vehicles. According to the WORLD BANK: "almost all of the increase in global maize production from 2004 to 2007 (the period when grain prices rose sharply) went for biofuels production in the U.S.

Posted by Post Scripts at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)

Terrible Economy Effecting Elections

By Tina Grazier

Gasoline and food prices, not to mention foreclosures in the housing market, are taking a toll and it's just terrible! In fact the situation cuts so deeply into the average American's budget that it’s beginning to effect the election process. Oh no!!!

How long will it be before folks are forced to wear both shoes and socks with holes in them? How long ‘till a pot of beans is the only meal a family will have at the end of every long hard day? How long until we are forced to live several families to a home...and each home suffers the ravages of longterm neglect, becoming run down, ramshackle shacks? We are steeling ourselves to accept the inevitable doom.

Just this morning CBS News reports the following:

“Obama Banks $42M; Clinton's In The Red” – CBS News

Barack Obama began the month of April with a 5-1 cash advantage over a debt-saddled Hillary Rodham Clinton, setting the stage for his lopsided spending in the crucial primary state of Pennsylvania. ** Financial reports filed Sunday by the Democratic presidential candidates with the Federal Election Commission show Clinton had $10.3 million in debts at the start of the month and only about $9 million cash on hand for the primaries. Obama reported having $42 million for the primary and raised $41 million in March, including $888,000 for the general election.

That’s $41 million in just one month! These figures are just a drop in the bucket compared to totals raised by each campaign during this political season. We’ll probably never know the actual total spent since there are many entities that spend from their own coffers independently. Think about these figures the next time you begin to think...

Yep, Americans are down and out….headed for the po’ house…scraping the bottom of the barrel. It’s sooooo, soooo sad.

the truth is Americans are experiencing a belt tightening moment. It will pass. We are incredibly blessed and fortunate to be living in this great country...America.

Posted by Post Scripts at 10:12 AM | Comments (5)

Would Obama Lie To Get Elected? You betcha!

by Jack Lee

Given his recent "guilt by association" with two members of the former Weather Underground and the Reverend Wright fiasco, probably the last thing Obama needs is someone to question his veracity. But, here we go, Obama has been caught telling a big whopper...move over Hillary "Sniper Fire" Clinton, you've got company.

On Friday, Obama was talking to a crowd of Democrats in Erie, Pa., and he tossed some rocks at McCain that instantly got the crowd booing McCain's alleged comments. Obama said this about his opponent, "John McCain yesterday said that we are, that, that during George Bush's tenure, the economy actually made great progress,” Obama said. “That's his quote!”

These words make McCain sound totally out of touch, but now take a look at what McCain actually said about the economy:

Peter Cook (Bloomberg TV): Do you think that when Americans are asked, “Are you better off today than before George Bush took office over seven years ago,” what will their answer be?

McCain: Certainly at this time we are in very challenging times. We all recognize that. Families are sitting around the kitchen table this evening and figuring out whether they’re going to be able to keep their home or not. They’re figuring out why it is that someone in their family or their neighbor has lost their job. There’s no doubt that we are in enormous difficulties. I think if you look at the overall record and millions of jobs having been created, et cetera, et cetera, you could make an argument that there’s been great progress economically over that period of time. But that’s no comfort. That’s no comfort to families now that are facing these tremendous economic challenges.

What Obama claims is about as close to reality as Hillary's sniper fire comment, and I’m calling this one a big lie for political advantage. This is nothing new in political campaigns of course, but we caught Obama deliberately misrepresenting the truth to make McCain look foolish and for that low blow he should be held accountable!

Posted by Post Scripts at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)

Al-Qaeda in Iraq-Desperate Animals

Posted by Tina Grazier

A cornered animal becomes rabid in his desperation, striking out viscously in fear. These were my thoughts as I read the following:

“Al-Qaeda offers US head to Bush” – News24.com

Dubai - A leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq has announced a one-month campaign in which the group will "offer the head of an American" as a gift to US President George W Bush, according to an audiotape made public on Saturday. ** Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, better known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, made the announcement in a speech entitled, "The Paths to Victory," monitored by the Site Intelligence Group. ** In the speech to Islamist forums, he said mujahedeen, or holy warriors, would "offer the head of an American as a gift to the deceitful Bush, in any manner (they) see fit". ** The campaign, to be called "Attack of Righteousness," was announced in "celebration" of Bush announcing that 4000 Americans had died in the war in Iraq. ** Masri is regarded by US commanders as the real leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq although the jihadist group constantly claims it is led by an Iraqi, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. ** US commanders say Baghdadi is a "cyber invention" and that he is a straw man invented to put an Iraqi face on a terrorist group led by foreigners who infiltrated Iraq to sow chaos and undermine the US-backed government.

Posted by Post Scripts at 12:23 AM | Comments (1)

April 20, 2008

Meet Michael Yon – Blogger and Warrior

Posted by Tina

I'd like to alert you to a new book by Michael Yon: “Moment of Truth in Iraq – How a New ‘Greatest Generation’ of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope”.

Michael has made an enormous contribution as historian and witness to the bravery and commitment of our military and to the long and difficult unfolding of our efforts in Iraq. His writing offers an in the moment view of events from a Special Forces veteran:

There was a quick and heavy volume of fire. And then LTC Kurilla was shot. Kurilla was running when he was hit - in three places, including his femur, which was shattered. ** "The commander didn't seem to miss a stride. He did a crazy judo roll and came up shooting from a sitting position,"

Yon has more time embedded with combat units than any other journalist. You can purchase Michael Yon’s book on his website. I understand it’s up to #8 on the NYT bestseller list. Let’s move it to #1. Your purchase will also help to fund the vital mission he has assigned to himself – reporting accurately from Iraq. If you hurry you can get an autographed copy…good reading!

Posted by Post Scripts at 11:43 PM | Comments (4)

Let’s NOT Be “Swift Boat” Confused

Posted by Tina

We’ll be hearing the words “Swiftboat”, “Swiftboated” and “Swiftboating” a lot in the coming election. The use of these words can cause a bit of confusion given the pentient by our friends on the left to twist the truth and manipulate outcomes. Here’s a quick lesson in history…and grammar…from the American Thinker that serves to remind us all of the honorable service that the Swift Boat Veterans provided by exposing the truth regarding John Kerry’s service:

“Redefining 'Swiftboating' and Rewriting History,” by Henry P. Wickham, Jr.

If the words "swift" and "boat" must be combined and turned into a verb, then let us insist on its proper use. The word as a verb originates from the campaign undertaken in 2004 by the Swift Boat Veterans in response to the John Kerry presidential candidacy. The word means, or should mean, the exposure of a fraudulent autobiography of one seeking political office or public influence. It is the correction of a personal and professional record that has been selectively and dishonestly compiled, as the Swift Vets did so effectively to that of John Kerry. ** Although swiftboating may be a neologism, there are other recent examples of this phenomenon. Justus Reid Werner, in a seminal Commentary article, exposed the fraudulent life story created by Edward Said to advance his political agenda. Dan Rather's macho claims to be an "ex-marine", when he did not finish marine basic training, were also revealed to be fraudulent. This is swiftboating in its truest sense. ** The Left is now redefining and, therefore, misusing the term swiftboating, and this misuse has become one of the many notable aspects of the 2008 presidential campaign. Democratic candidates and their partisans in the blogosphere use this word to mean smearing their candidates for public office with lies and innuendo. For some blog sites, the word is now synonymous with "screeds," the "politics of smear and fear," and "character assassination of proven effectiveness." Recently, some candidates have angrily declared that they will not be swiftboated. ** To make the definition of swiftboating synonymous with "smears," "lies," and "innuendo" is to declare John Kerry's innocence. Once declared, one may conclude that it is the service of the Swift Vets that is tarnished, and that there may be some truth to Kerry's claims of heroism and charges of genocide in Vietnam. After all, both Kerry and the Swift Vets cannot be telling the truth. Whether explicitly, or implicitly with this newly created derogatory connotation of swiftboating, to declare Kerry's innocence is to do again to the Swift Vets in 2008 what Kerry and cohorts did to them in 1971. (emphasis mine)

NOT ON THIS BLOG

Posted by Post Scripts at 11:34 PM | Comments (0)

Gandhi’s Advice to the Jews

Yet another thing I was never taught in school.

by Tina Grazier

I love the Internet. It has given me a classroom filled with information where I can knock on the doors of the smartest tutors imaginable. I have at my fingertips the minds and works of scholars, scientists, journalists, writers, poets and historians. I can explore and study any and all subjects and follow events as they unfold. I learn

something new every day. Today’s dip into the well uncovered a real jaw dropper. I found it in an article, “Imagine a Free Tibet,” by David Bueche at the American Thinker:

Gandhi -- the poster boy of non-violence -- had this to say about the Jews, and how they should properly respond to the unenlightened Nazis. ** "The Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher's knife," he said. "They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs." ** Louis Fisher, Gandhi's biographer asked him: "You mean that the Jews should have committed collective suicide?" ** Gandhi responded, "Yes, that would have been heroism."

Reading the article I immediately thought of Richard Gear standing before the people of New York after the shock of September 11th.

The crowd before him included the firemen and police officers who had given so much and lost so many, both friends and family. Richard’s plea to them and the world was to turn feelings of shock, anger, and sadness into a positive expression of love. He said in essence that the energy we were about to muster in defense of ourselves could be turned and used to promote peace rather than as a catapult to war. I had to admire his commitment to the Buddhist tradition even as I shook my head in disbelief.

Of course, I went in search of more…

In an interview conducted in 1997 by Robert Thurman for “Mother Jones,” the Dalai Lama spoke about conflict and defending against ruthless attackers:

Thurman: In the current conflict in Sri Lanka between the Buddhist majority and the separatist Hindu Tamil Tigers -- a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives since it began 14 years ago -- many have found ways to justify the continuing involvement of Buddhists, including Buddhist clergy, in the violence. Essentially, the argument is that the kind of pacifism you advocate doesn't work in the real world, and that to let the enemy destroy Buddhist monuments and temples and kill Buddhists without fighting back is simply intolerable. ** The loss of your own nation to China has been used as an example of the futility of nonviolence and tolerance. When is something worth fighting for?

Dalai Lama: This is hard to explain. In our own case, we don't consider the loss of a monastery or a monument the end of our entire way of life. If one monastery is destroyed, sometimes it happens. Therefore, we don't need to respond with desperate violence. Although under particular circumstances, the violence method -- any method -- can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned. Also, if you resort to violent methods because the other side has destroyed your monastery, for example, you then have lost not only your monastery, but also your special Buddhist practices of detachment, love, and compassion. ** However, if the situation was such that there was only one learned lama or genuine practitioner alive, a person whose death would cause the whole of Tibet to lose all hope of keeping its Buddhist way of life, then it is conceivable that in order to protect that one person it might be justified for one or 10 enemies to be eliminated -- if there was no other way. I could justify violence only in this extreme case, to save the last living knowledge of Buddhism itself.

Heralded as men of peace, the Dalai Lama and Ghandi have much in common. While it may be noble and honorable to live one’s everyday life in a compassionate and loving manner, seeking to let go of attachments to the material world, is it indeed an act of love to merely watch, detached, as all others around you are murdered by ruthless killers? Is it likewise an act of peaceful tolerance to suggest that mass suicide is somehow holier than taking self-defensive measures? When placed in the context of evil acts being committed on the world stage, this immovable attachment to the principles of detachment, love and compassion begins to sound like self-involved pap; likewise, the unyielding adherence to peace as espoused by Ghandi.

It seems to me the only way to give peace a chance is to make sure everyone fully understands that violent unprovoked attacks will not be tolerated.

Posted by Post Scripts at 10:23 PM | Comments (2)

April 19, 2008

We're Progressives and We Believe in Obama!

by V. Gentry Williams - Proud Democrat and Barrack Obama Supporter

We believe every woman who becomes pregnant has a right to choose whether or not she will deliver that baby. If she can’t afford to pay for a medical abortion, we believe it is her right that government should help her pay for it because this is an inalienable right as a free American citizen to make that choice.

We believe every man, woman and child has the right to quality health insurance and if they can’t afford to pay for it, then we believe our government must provide it! This too is an inalienable right due them by a rich nation. For a fraction of what America now spends on making war we could have free healthcare and a free college education for anyone who wants it!

We believe it is government's job to protect us against a foreign invasion and protect us against criminals at home, but we also believe government should protect us from losing our jobs and keep us safe from sudden layoffs and guarantee us all a fair and livable wage with basic benefits like universal healthcare and a decent retirement. America can afford it, we are a rich country and we workers made it rich! We deserve these things because we deserve to share in the wealth now isolated in the pockets of a few wealthy families. It is our right as ctizens to share in the American dream!

“I’m in this race to take those tax breaks away from companies that are moving jobs overseas and put them in the pockets of hard working Americans who deserve it. And I won’t raise the minimum wage every ten years – I will raise it to keep pace so that workers don’t’ fall behind. That is why I am in it. To protect the American
worker. To fight for the American worker.” -- Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, November 10, 2007

We believe too many wealthy white people have cornered way too much money and in so doing they have exploited and deprived poor people from obtaining their fair share of the great wealth in America. We believe it is government’s job to tax the rich and help lift up the poor and also give back more to the middle class.

We believe that corporate welfare is an invention of the rich to become richer while exploiting the poor and middle class. We believe the hundreds of billions wasted on "corporate welfare" could be better used to feed and clothe our poor and provide all Americans with so much more, like better education through safe schools and higher paid teachers. We want to live a country where children do not go to school hungry because corporations are getting billions in tax refunds and other forms of corporate welfare!

We believe that America has become a ruthless bully on the world stage and disrespects the rights of sovereign nations to manage their own affairs. Corporate America is controlling our military to do their bidding. This is an outrage that must not stand, we want to bring our military home!

We believe that the American dream has been stolen by rich white people who run everything and keep people of color, women, gay people and poor people repressed from sharing in the American dream. We believe Obama will finally put an end to the "glass ceiling"and all people will then rise to their highest potential!

We believe that America now wages a war on the poor people in this country and in other nations of the world. American military is always invading poor countries to extend their power and steal the natural wealth and assets of the smaller countries. This is why America was attacked on 9-11!

We believe that Hispanic workers have been exploited by their white masters who get rich off their hard work and offer them little in return. We believe Obama will finally bring them into equality with all workers with fair wages and benefits. Currently they pay billions in taxes and get nothing in return, this must end!

We believe too many blacks are in prison because they could not afford a good attorney or get a fair trial because white juries that see a black man assume he is guilty. If being poor is a crime then we're guilty as charged. This is why black people are over-represented in our prisons. They are poor, they are victimized and they kept down by the rich class in America that makes all the rules. Obama is going to change that!

We believe Barrack Obama is going to end the war-mongering, not just in Iraq, but in the world. America's days as a world bully must end and peace must prevail. Give peace a chance - Obama wants to help us stop the spread of imperialism and end the BushCo coprorate war machine! No more blood for oil!

We believe Obama will offer the hand of friendship to all nations, rich and poor. Because he understands that when people are no longer poor, hungry and oppressed by imperialist expansionism then and only then will their dignity be restored and we will have peace. We shall then live as one people with respect for each other and for the world we share.

We believe Barrack Obama offers us hope for a clean earth, where the poor of the world are free famine, free from the guns of war and free of the constant exploitation by the greedy, self-serving rich white class that has kept the world down and in virtual slavery for over two thousand years.

We believe in Barrack Obama because he offers us hope. Hope to the poor, hope to the minorities, hope to undocumented citizens being exploited by rich white racists. Barrack Obama is feared by rich white people because he offers equality, fairness and opportunity to all people and this is something rich, white, America can’t stand because they might lose some of their power and control.

We believe it is time for the great masses of the poor and middle class to rise up against an elite white society and take back what is rightfully ours! Obama is our leader and our hope for a better day, for all of us. This is why we support Barrack Obama!

My appologies, but the above was a spoof! However, it was a spoof that is based on often repeated leftist rhetoric and what I believe most left of center democrats believe. If their rhetoric doesn't scare the #@$& out of you, it should because they are gaining ground on traditional American values! This fantastic bunch of leftist lies is motivating the so-called progressives and why Obama is their leader.

The issues and ideas I have noted previously are taken right out of the speeches by politicos like Obama, Hillary, Pelosi, Carter, etc., You can read also them on moveon.org and other leftist websites. These radical thoughts are reflected by TV personalities like Bill Maher, Keith Olbermann, Dan Rather or we see the more outrageous rhetoric repeated in Michael Moore's so-called documentary movies. Yesterday I listened to NPR as democrat activist and would-be politician, Jerry Springer, recited many of these very same ideas and issues. Then there is the Rev. Wright and his ilk... You don't have to look far to see the scary truth about democrats on the far left.

The left usually soft peddles these points and issues, but I wanted you to read it as it really is, so you would be reminded what we're up against. The leftwing of America is a populist movement, plain and simple. They buy votes usings give-a-ways. They are basically socialists trying to re-invent America based upon many false assumptions, old communist ideologies, using class warfare, hatred, racism and biggotry as motivators.

Jack Lee

Posted by Post Scripts at 03:52 PM | Comments (2)

Character and Experience Matter

Posted by Tina

Writing for the “Weekly Standard,” P. J. O’Rourke describes the intense activity that takes place aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt and makes a strong case for choosing McCain over his less experienced rivals…it’s also quite a tribute to America and to the Naval officers and sailors aboard this huge carrier.

“24 Hours on the 'Big Stick',” by P.J. O'Rourke

Carrier launches are astonishing events. The plane is moved to within what seems like a bowling alley's length of the bow. A blast shield larger than any government building driveway Khomeini-flipper rises behind the fighter jet, and the jet's twin engines are cranked to maximum thrust. A slot-car slot runs down the middle of the bowling alley. The powered-up jet is held at the end of its slot by a steel shear pin smaller than a V-8 can. When the shear pin shears the jet is unleashed and so is a steam catapult that hurls the plane down the slot, from 0 to 130 miles per hour in two seconds. And--if all goes well--the airplane is airborne. This is not a pilot taking off. This is a pilot as cat's eye marble pinched between boundless thumb and infinite forefinger of Heaven's own Wham-O slingshot. Carrier landings are more astonishing. We were in heavy seas. Spray was coming over the bow onto the flightdeck, 60 feet above the waterline.

Some say John McCain's character was formed in a North Vietnamese prison. I say those people should take a gander at what John chose to do--voluntarily. Being a carrier pilot requires aptitude, intelligence, skill, knowledge, discernment, and courage of a kind rarely found anywhere but in a poem of Homer's or a half gallon of Dewar's. ** Some people say John McCain isn't conservative enough. But there's more to conservatism than low taxes, Jesus, and waterboarding at Gitmo. Conservatism is also a matter of honor, duty, valor, patriotism, self-discipline, responsibility, good order, respect for our national institutions, reverence for the traditions of civilization, and adherence to the political honesty upon which all principles of democracy are based. Given what screw-ups we humans are in these respects, conservatism is also a matter of sense of humor. Heard any good quips lately from Hillary or Barack?

It’s a gooood read!

Posted by Post Scripts at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)

April 18, 2008

Why is William Ayers a Problem for Obama?

Gee, it might be his hate America past...and maybe his present as well.

Posted by Tina

Someone named “dave52” was good enough to post Ayers record. His comments followed a “Sun Times” article that dismisses concerns voters might have about Ayers association with candidate Obama. We’ll let you decide how serious their relationship might be. First a clip from the article:

“Obama's Ayers connection never bugged anyone”

Who is Ayers? ** For Obama, perhaps a problem, because of Ayers' extremist past -- which has never bothered anyone in Chicago. That's why back in the day when Obama was starting his political career -- making a visit to the Ayers home while running for a state Senate seat, and then agreeing to being on panels with him and serve on a foundation board together -- it was no big deal, or any deal, to any local political reporters or to the editorial boards of the Sun-Times or Tribune. ** Once Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground, and wife Bernardine Dohrn, also in the group -- surfaced after years on the lam, they settled easily in to the village known as Hyde Park-Kenwood in Chicago, fitting into the highly political, supremely philosophical community anchored by the University of Chicago. For outsiders, it's Cambridge, Berkeley and Evanston --without a lot of chain stores. It's also the place the Obamas call home.

Now Ayers record courtesy of commenter “dave52”:

“For those who have forgotten or weren't born yet here is a list of a few of the activities. Just think if this were happening today”:

7 October 1969 – Bombing of Haymarket Police Statue in Chicago, apparently as a "kickoff" for the "Days of Rage" riots in the city October 8-11, 1969. The Weathermen later claim credit for the bombing in their book, "Prairie Fire." ** 8 October-11, 1969 – The "Days of Rage" riots occur in Chicago in which 287 Weatherman members from throughout the country were arrested and a large amount of property damage was done. ** 6 December 1969 – Bombing of several Chicago Police cars parked in a precinct parking lot at 3600 North Halsted Street, Chicago. The WUO stated in their book "Prairie Fire" that they had did the explosion. ** 27 December-31, 1969 – Weathermen hold a "War Council" meeting in Flint, MI, where they finalize their plans to submerge into an underground status from which they plan to commit strategic acts of sabotage against the government. Thereafter they are called the "Weather Underground Organization" (WUO).

13 February 1970 - Bombing of several police vehicles of the Berkeley, California, Police Department. ** 16 February 1970 – Bombing of Golden Gate Park branch of the San Francisco Police Department, killing one officer and injuring a number of other policemen. ** 6 March 1970 – Bombing in the 13th Police District of the Detroit, Michigan. 34 sticks of dynamite are discovered. During February and early March, 1970, members of the WUO, led by Bill Ayers, are reported to be in Detroit, during that period, for the purpose of bombing a police facility. ** 6 March 1970 – "bomb factory" located in New York's Greenwich Village accidentally explodes. WUO members Theodore die in t. The bomb was intended to be planted at a non-commissioned officer's dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The bomb was packed with nails TO INFILICT MAXIMUM CASUALTIES UPON DETONATION. ** 30 March 1970 – Chicago Police discover a WUO "bomb factory" on Chicago’s north side. A subsequent discovery of a WUO "weapons cache" in a south side Chicago apartment several days later ends WUO activity in the city. ** 10 May 1970 – Bombing of The National Guard Association building in Washington, D.C. ** 21 May 1970 – The WUO under Bernardine Dohrn's name releases its "Declaration of a State of War" communique. ** 6 June 1970 – The WUO sends a letter claiming credit for bombing of the San Francisco Hall of Justice; however, no explosion actually took place. Months later, workmen in this building located an unexploded device which had apparently been dormant for some time. ** 9 June 1970 - Bombing of The New York City Police Headquarters. ** 27 July 1970 - Bombing of The Presidio army base in San Francisco. [NYT, 7/27/70] ** 12 September 1970 – The WUO helps Dr. Timothy Leary, break out and escape from the California Men's Colony prison. ** 8 October 1970 - Bombing of Marin County courthouse. [NYT, 8/10/70] ** 10 October 1970 - Bombing of Queens traffic-court building . [NYT, 10/10/70, p. 12] ** 14 October 1970 - Bombing of The Harvard Center for International Affairs [NYT, 10/14/70, p. 30]

1 March 1971 - Bombing of The United States Capitol . " [NYT, 3/2/71] ** April, 1971 – abandoned WUO "bomb factory" discovered in San Francisco, California. ** 29 August, 1971 - Bombing of the Office of California Prisons . [LAT, 8/29/71] ** 17 September 1971 - Bombing of The New York Department of Corrections in Albany, NY [NYT, 9/18/71] ** 15 October 1971 - Bombing of William Bundy's office in the MIT research center. [NYT, 10/16/71]

19 May 1972 - Bombing of The Pentagon . [NYT, 5/19/72]

18 May 1973 - Bombing of the 103rd Police Precinct in New York ** 28 September 1973 - Bombing of ITT headquarters in New York and Rome, Italy . [NYT, 9/28/73]

6 March 1974 - Bombing of the Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare offices in San Francisco ** 31 May 1974 - Bombing of The Office of the California Attorney General. ** 17 June 1974 - Bombing of Gulf Oil's Pittsburgh headquarters. ** 11 September 1974 – Bombing of Anaconda Corporation (part of the Rockefeller Corporation).

29 January 1975 - Bombing of the State Department in (AP. "State Department Rattled by Blast," The Daily Times-News, January 29 1975, p.1) ** 16 June 1975 - Bombing of Banco de Ponce (a Puerto Rican bank) in New York. ** September, 1975 – Bombing of the Kennecott Corporation.

October 20, 1981 - Brinks robbery in which several members of the Weather Underground stole over $1 million from a Brinks armored car near Nyack, New York. The robbers murdered 2 police officers and 1 Brinks guard. Several others were wounded. ** 1981 “Guilty as hel*. Free as a bird. America is a great country,” Ayers said when interviewed by David Horowitz.

September 11, 2001 “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.” Ayers is quoted in NYT article.

September 11th marks a tragic and terrible day for Americans. Ayers first thoughts included words that expressed what...sympathy...envy....solidarity....regret that he didn' t think of something this big himself? If Obama's association with this man doesn't present a serious problem for his campaign we are in real trouble.

Posted by Post Scripts at 10:35 PM | Comments (3)

High Cost of Gas Resulting in Rash of Thefts

Posted by Jack

Gas thefts, especially the pump and run type, are on the increase. Shown in the picture is a drive away thief who was ordered by the court to stand outside the station she stolen from for 8 hours with this sign in lieu of jail time. She was 90 minutes late...figures. The judge should have given her 30 days, but she said she was out of gas and had to walk.

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A recent phenomena are thieves using a drill to tap into your gas tank and drain it's contents. That's incredibly dangerous and it's only a matter of time that some thief is going to blow himself up using that method. He (or she) might only get $25-30 worth of gas, but the damage to your tank could run you several hundred not to mention all the inconvenience. However, a locking cap is still you best defense against theft. Diesel is popular enough to warrant taking precautions there too. At $4.39 a gallon it's a tempting target.

Posted by Post Scripts at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)

Shooting Prowlers, Burglars and Attackers

by Jack Lee

(The author is a retired police detective and security consultant with over 20 years of experience and training in law enforcement and dignitary protection)

Elizabeth was house sitting in the country for her Grandmother when she alerted by Lucy her pet Beagle who was growling at something outside in the carport. Liz went to the back door and flipped on a series of outside lights. As she opened the door Lucy immediately pushed past her and ran out and started barking hysterically at something under her pickup truck. Liz's first reaction was to think it was probably a raccoon or some other small animal.