Archive for Politics

Rand Paul Yields The Floor; Filibuster Ends at 12:40 a.m.

March 6, 2013 Politics No comments

I have refrained from discussing politics for a long time, mainly because I see both parties as worthless, albeit for different reasons. Rand Paul, Senator from Kentucky, has just given me (and I’m sure millions of others) a wake-up call. He just spent the whole of the day filibustering drone strikes from the Obama Administration. For more, read this pull quote from Breitbart.com:

During his “talking” filibuster, which originally began as a one-man stand against the Obama administration’s refusal to state clearly that it would be unconstitutional to use drones to kill U.S. citizens on U.S. soil if they did not pose an imminent terrorist threat, Paul drew national attention and support across party lines.

Paul cited, as one of his reasons for stopping, the need to use the bathroom. Traditionally, the rules of the Senate do not permit a “talking” filibuster to be sustained if the Senator conducting the filibuster leaves the chamber. He expressed regret that he had not broken the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s record of over 24 hours, but declared that the effort–in which won support from Senators of both parties–had been worth the effort.

Good job, Rand. You have earned yourself heaps of respect for this stand.

On Sandy Hook…

December 15, 2012 Christmas, Cowardice, Crime, Holidays, Law, Massacres, Murder, Politics No comments

Words fail.

If you have children, cling to them during this time. We are guaranteed nothing in life.

Election Night

November 7, 2012 Corruption, Politics No comments

It looks like, much to my disgust, Barack Obama will continue on as President of the United States. Never have I felt so dejected to be an American citizen.

For four years, I had hoped my fellow citizens would have had enough of creeping Socialism entering into the country. I had hoped that some of my fellow compatriots would fight for things just a tad more important than the right to sodomy (which everyone can do behind closed doors anyway) or killing babies (which women do with impunity). As it turns out, I was wrong. The American populace are perfectly happy being a servile, sickening group of gluttons who have no idea what hell they will unleash upon themselves. They deserve it. The tragedy is that those who don’t want this will also suffer, and terribly so. God help us all.

With that, it may be good to remind you all to take heart. Barack Obama will be out of office in four years, no matter what. The country will be in tatters, but he will be gone. We can survive him.

I wonder, however, if we can survive a blinded, blinkered, full half of the citizenry so poisoned, ignorant and foul in their political thinking that they would kill any hope of real progress for bread and circuses.

Scrub SOPA

January 19, 2012 Copyright, Corruption, Hypocrisy, Incompetence, Internet, Law, Music, Politics, Technology No comments

The Editorial Board at National Review is thoroughly against SOPA, PIPA and any other lame piece of trash that blocks creativity and censors the end user. I understand that Anonymous wants to make a point by shutting down and attacking websites, this will end up backfiring on them in the end. The reality is that conservative (not “Conservative,” per se) voters and lawmakers who understand business are going to be more effective in crafting laws that would be far more equitable for everyone. When an educated voting populace learns how business works, good laws protecting copyright will emerge. You need the laws to protect and motivate businesses to grow, including those in the arts. Still, common sense should also be used regarding sharing files, blogging, getting off of the backs of podcasters, and leaving those people who might download an out-of-print album alone. Do I have a problem going after rogue governments who blatantly rob intellectual property? Hell, no I don’t! But I do have a problem not being able to share an out-of-print album of progressive rock or jazz or classical music because some worm at the RIAA insists I’m stealing something from their organization.

Take the time to read National Review’s commentary here.

Argentina takes control of newsprint supplies

December 23, 2011 Argentina, Corruption, Incompetence, Politics, Press No comments

Unfortunately, Argentina has a long history with fascism, and an act like this should be called for what it is. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President (and, one would presume, wanna-be dictator of the country), doesn’t like Clarín, a newspaper who has rightfully criticized her shoddy leadership. Her husband, the late Néstor Kirchner, was marginally better as a leader, and didn’t have the audacity to pull a stunt like seizing Clarin in a naked display of governmental abuse. It seems Peronism never really went away.

Václav Havel, dissident playwright and former Czech president, dies

December 18, 2011 Anti-Communism, Czech Republic, Diplomacy, Ethics, Literature, Politics, Theater No comments

There are not too many playwrights who become influential politicians in their later years, but in the case of Václav Havel, he proved to be a very competent one. Even fewer could count among his friends Ronald Reagan and Frank Zappa. Havel passed away on December 18th, 2011. His leadership and his pen will both be missed.

Rest in peace.

Christopher Hitchens, RIP

December 16, 2011 Atheism, Bias, Christianity, Ethics, Literature, Obituaries, Politics, Press, Religion, Revisionism No comments

It is with sadness, though not an unexpected one, to report that one of the greatest polemicists of our day, the ever controversial, every-annoying, utterly brilliant Christopher Hitchens has died.

I came into contact with Hitchens’ writing about ten years ago, a bit after 9/11. Before then, I had dismissed him offhand as just another pathetic atheist after his utterly repugnant comments regarding Blessed Mother Teresa (irony of ironies, the next post ties the two together one last time). The horribly acidic taste of his grotesque atheism never really left my mind until the root causes of his disposition were exposed by the man himself in candid interviews and his autobiography, Hitch-22, a book truly worth reading. That topic is for another day.

It was his political discourses that interested me more, as he had started his political life as a Trotskyite who finally grew up by the time 9/11 occurred. His former cronies never quite forgave him for such a change of heart. Delusional liars rarely do accept it when one of their own wakes up to reality. There will be many comments, many articles, many news bites and obituaries you will find on the great Hitch today. Read them, but read ALL of them, not just by the writers you like. He was a multi-faceted writer, and probably one of the most interesting commentators of the last thirty years.

May you rest well, Hitch, and because so many of us prayed for your benefit, may God hear our prayers and show you mercy.