The Iraq Conversation Extended and Continued

I have a hard time respecting the policy decisions of Democrats who call for a complete exit of US forces from Iraq. Sure you can pull an Obama... I never would have voted for the war or this war was launched with false evidence and the likes. But that does not change the fact that we are in war of our own making. We waged war on Iraq with essentially no provocation, and now we want to up and leave? It just seems wrong.

In the aftermath of World War II, when Europe was laid waste, we did not leave. We stayed. We gave them a Marshall plan. We rebuilt Japan. Why are the Democrats, historically the less isolationist of the two parties, so against fixing the mess we made? Or at lease trying to make amends? I am a firm believe that what goes around, comes around. And if that is true, something is going to bite us in the ass real soon.

Still my feelings on the positions of Obama and Edwards aside, John McCain's comments today were neither constructive nor well advised. It seems that the nonpartisan McCain of 2000 is forever gone, in his stead we have mini-Bush who can only pander to his "base" (and I use the term base loosely because it is unclear if he can truly convert the hardcore conservatives). After describing the Democrats as happy after passing legislation setting a timetable for with drawl from Iraq, he proceeded to say,

"What were they celebrating?Defeat? Surrender? In Iraq, only our enemies were cheering.”

You would think McCain would be suitably chastened after his "I'm a fuckwit" statement on security in Iraq earlier this week. Apparently not! If he's lucky, and I mean lucky, he may be able to secure his party's nomination. But as they say, it'll be a cold day in hell before he wins a general election... which reminds me, where does he stand on global warming?

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

I have been away from my blog for weeks, but no one seems to have missed me. How tragic is that? Well I blog for me, not for all the nameless, faceless people out there.

So here after my weeks away is my new, I'm dying to vent about list...

Sanjaya Malakar - Who is this rando and how did he get a spot on Idol? It's killing me! Is he even Indian? At worst (because he is giving us such a bad name), he can only be half Indian. I swear when I heard him try to channel Diana Ross with the hair and the music, I about died. Some people can sing and some people can't. But apparently, there is this new category of people who sound like strangled geese when they sing... Sanjaya that is where you belong, now it is up to the tweeners to realize that!

John McCain - Yes, the markets in Baghdad are safe when you are in bullet proof vests accompanied by a platoon of soldiers who have cleared the market for yeah. Puhleeze. McCain better get a grip on reality if he hopes to win this election. I think that cancerous lesion on his face may have spread to his brain.

Florida - Yuck! They foiled the Buckeyes again. As a Big Ten fan, I find it tragic. I think I may have a new hated school to put right up there with UMich, Chapel Hill, USC, and Duke.

Barack Obama - I just can't stand him. I am not sure why. There is something about the way he talks. He just seems to self-righteous and patronizing.

Breaking News...

Well talk about shockers. John McCain finally, formally announced that he would run for President. Please like there were any doubts? I thought the Bush/Cheney ass-kissing done of late was all testament to his desire to win a Republican nomination. But personally I wouldn't want to listen to anything coming out of his lips... who knows where they have been.

According to my favorite news outlet, People, Posh Spice is all set to have her own new show. Allegedly, it is all set to focus on the life and times of Posh Spice. But there are numerous directions a show like this could go in.

(1) What do washed up Brits like Posh and Becks do when they hit the mean streets of LA?
(2) Is there such a thing as too much plastic surgery?
(3) Can white, British, ex-Spice girls really rap?


So everyone I know seems to adore Grey's Anatomy. But honestly, since the end of the first season I have just not been that into it. I was hoping against hope that Meredith would die at the end of the 3-part arc, but clearly the Fates are working against me. So here are some things I propose to the writers of the show to get me to start watching again.

1. Meredith dies. Yeah, I know it's not going to happen. They never kill the title character, except that one time on Dallas, but then they turned that whole season into a dream sequence. I will continue dreaming...
2. More McSteamy. 'Cuz I just think he's pretty hot. So he's an arrogant bastard, but I kind of wish I had gone to med school if the real world makes doctor's that look like him.
3. Christina having a Prestina baby and then getting a sex change. Let's face it, she totally wears the pants in any relationship. Did Christina even show up to last season's prom in a dress? Dude, the lady's a man.
4. George being gay. Every drama needs it's requisite gay character, even Desperate Housewives has one. If you compare George to Christina, he is definitely a girl. His brothers certainly seem to think so. Every woman on the show bullies him, especially Izzie. He's wife is larger than him. It all makes sense.
5. Izzie turning into a Dr. Kevorkian like character. I mean she already "killed" one patient. This could be like a serial killer plot line. All daytime soaps seem to have them, why not test it out in primetime.
6. Alex's sperm come back to haunt him. It turns out he has fathered like 20 children in the greater Seattle area. Hey. It fits his real life story. And it would likely also kill any chance of Addisex. How awesome would it be if Addison was the OB-GYN for all of Alex's illegitimates? Talk about buzz kill.

What do you think? Have better suggestions?

And history appears to be repeating itself... just like Bush Sr. failed the read my lips test on taxes, so to did Junior fail to find the oft cited uranium in Iraq. And now, in what amounts to be one of the administrations biggest take backs, it appears that the North Korean nuclear arms program is not nearly as far along as the administration has led us to believe. When are the guys in Washington going to realize that the semi-lucid, very insane despots who run these countries are prone to saying random and crazy things to further consolidate what limited power they have. I mean seriously...

Obamania

Surprise, surprise... guess who's running for president! Barack Obama. I swear, I never saw that one coming.

I know the Democratic base loves him. Heck according to most polls, America loves him. But I gotta say, I still am not loving him. I have yet to hear him clearly articulate a single policy stance. What does he stand for? Universal health care? Gay marriage? The end of farm subsidies? All I know is Barack wants our troops home starting in May, and he never would have voted for the Iraq War. Well... that is easy to say when you weren't there...

The thing that bothers me the most of Obama's Iraq position, and this holds other Democrats with similar positions on Iraq (e.g., Murtha, Edwards, et al.), is what happens when we do pull out of Iraq? Will Iraq magically fix itself? or will it turn into the next Iraq? Or better yet will it turn into some sort of Valley of Death, ala Afghanistan, where Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia all come in to secure their interests? I am not really sure, and I would rather not find out. The US needs to find a way to work with other governments in the region. All the countries in the region have some vested interest in seeing a stable Iraq. Let's get them to the table and talk about how to secure the country. Let's get some monetary and military commitments. Leaving cold turkey is no solution.

Personally, at the moment if push comes to shove, I'd vote Edwards. I don't feel solid about his Iraq position, but I am inclined to think he is pandering to the liberal base and knows it. Besides which, Hillary gives Republicans and Independents the heebejeebes. Voting for her in the primaries would be a waste come a general election. But Edwards has real positions, is a great public speaker, and I think his populist platform sits well with the general electorate. Most importantly, he is a Southern Democrat and there is a real possibility he could turn a few of those states Blue.

Also slamming Democrats really just does not sit well with me. I feel like there is plenty to chastise Republicans for. Especially those Republicans who ran on "moderate" platforms for most of their careers as public servants. McCain in my opinion was always a wolf in sheep's clothing. He is not really a moderate Republican. He is conservative to the core, he just managed to pull the wool over everyones' eyes. But Rudy and Mitt are a different story all together. Rudy has always been a pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-gay rights politician. Highly commendable stances in my opinion, and vital to survive in the City. Romney was also a moderate when he ran for governor. But it is a testament to the power of the crazy conservative Republican base that post politicians have been revisiting their social policy stances. Talk about flip-floppers. Karl Rove, cat got your tongue?

Why Does Everyone Love John McCain?

Why does everyone love John McCain? I just don't understand it. Anytime the 2008 election comes up, people make the same comments (that I too am guilty of):

• Hillary Clinton is going to win the Democratic primary.
• Hillary Clinton cannot win the South.
• Barack Obama will win the Democratic primary.
• Barack Obama will be the Vice Presidential candidate (the first African American Vice Presidential candidate).
• John McCain will win the Republican primary and the election.

People seem to have this bizarre belief that McCain is a maverick, that he is not really that conservative, that he'll pick a Democratic running mate, etc. Personally, I think, Stephen Colbert got it right when he said, and I paraphrase, John McCain is such a maverick, he eats his salad with a desert fork.

Here are some, in my opinion, little known facts about John McCain.

• Does not believe in a woman's right to choose and believes Roe vs. Wade should be overturned.
• Voted NO on investigating contracts awarded in Iraq and Afghanistan (because clearly Haliburton deserved all the money for no results).
• Graduated 5th from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy which is apparently a McCain tradition of sorts (makes you wonder if he is smarter than G.W. Bush or just has better speech writers)
• Voted NO on raising the minimum wage from $6.25 to $7.25 (easy decision when your wife's heir to an Anheuser-Busch distribution dynasty and you haven't worked a day in your life)
• Voted NO on background checks at gun shows (because a criminal would never try to buy a gun at a gun show. who are you kidding??)
• Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to the list of hate crimes and does not believe in gay marriages
• Has limited interest in alternative energy options like ethanol, which are "not worth it" (tell that to the Brazilians who run the majority of their cars on that stuff and are hence less dependent on foreign oil).
• Caved on his anti-torture beliefs to reach a compromise with the president that allowed for reinterpretation of the Geneva Conventions (as a former POW himself, I am sure this must have pained McCain because now our enemies can cite our behavior to rationalize their own, but of all those in Congress McCain had the most leverage to push the administration to obey international rules/norms that have been in place for a half century).

Don't get me wrong for all the McCain "cons" I have listed, I think he is generally a decent person. He has spoken out in favor of campaign finance reform and against pork barrel spending. He together with a few others (e.g. Arlen Specter) have helped check the growing extremism of the Republican party. These are things I can respect. However, unlike most, they do not make me see him as a political savior. McCain has bent over backwards a few too many times to gain entry to the Republican fold. It is hard for me to see him as a straight-shooter now. That being said, I am not convinced that I won't vote for McCain in 2008, nor am I convinced that I will vote for him. He'll have to re-earn my vote!

Unbelievable!

Guess who is No. 2 in the polls. You would think I'd be happy seeing as how it is not Michigan, but strangely I am not. Most bizarre sensation. In any case, the BCS has proven yet again how un-friggin'-believable they are (and not in a good way). What on earth has USC done to merit such fanatical devotion on the part of the BCS? I do not understand how a 28-21 win over a no-name, nothing Pac-10 team should vault anyone to a No. 2 spot. BCS must die! I want the Rose Bowl to be the way it was supposed to be...

Ok. So North Korea has a bomb. In my world, this is a not such a good thing. Call me crazy... my roommate does! You'd think the South Koreans and Chinese might be a bit concerned about the nuclear threat at their doorstep. But apparently not. Instead they are planning to undermine the Security Council's economic sanctions against the North Korean regime. Honestly, I cannot believe we fought a war for this Peninsula. If South Korea wants to play kiss-ass, I say we pull our troops out and let North Korea have their way with them. Also, who wants to guess how many days 'til Iran denotes their bomb, given all the internation uproar and condemation it will bring (*snicker*). 10... 9... 8...

Liberals and the McCain love fest. I do not get it! He is all over Bush (seriously, the hugs and kisses are enough to make you nauseous), and liberals defend with talk of how it is only "party politics". Yet when Lieberman votes for the Iraq War, praises Bush, he is forced to run as an Independent. I just don't get it. McCain voted for the war too! He is against time tables for leaving Iraq. He blames Bill Clinton (remember your god you liberal yahoos) for North Korea; I mean forget that Bush labelled them a core member of the Axis of Evil and then promptly forgot their existence. He is anti-abortion. He spoke at Bob Jones University, which would probably never allow his Bangladeshi daughter to set foot on campus. He was a member of the Keating Five, S&L disaster. For all his protestations, he still voted for a Bush endorsed torture bill. Honestly, McCain to me is dangerous. He is not a moral maverick. He is a hard core conservative, maybe not a Christian conservative, but still a hardcore conservative, and liberals should beware...