A Short Guide to Iraq - must read.

click here

Dear Readers - Beware, pt. 2 - Decentralization

There was a bit about infrastructure that I had mentioned earlier, and it has to do with this: For decades the US has built its national security perimeter to protect, at its core, the steady and low priced supply of oil and gas, in an effort to maintain a strong consumer base. Low oil means low cost of goods, and large amounts. We have maintained our economic stronghold not by way of manufacturing, but by owning and consuming. With only 4% of the worlds population we have maintained a consumption level hovering somewhere around 25% of the global total. Not bad for a weakening manufacturing sector. And the manufacturing sector we did maintain was based around important and growing sectors... the US, while not necessarily producing computer components did largely own and operate the computer companies. We were the Dot Com country. And, in terms of national defense, we owned and operated the worlds arms. And because so many of the products being manufactured overseas were headed here, and that we purchased so much of the oil, all things were traded with respect to the Dollar. But the dollar has fallen. Dot Com money can now be made elsewhere. Other populations, enormous populations are beginning to catch up with the US in terms of total product consumption, and with these enormous populations comes a shift in the attention of corporations who are looking ahead to consolidate the area of product consumption because of the higher efficiency that comes with such a shift. If X, which is limited in terms of how much can be produced, can either be sold in countries A, B, and D to the point of sell-out, or just to country C, and sell just as much, it is obvious where those companies will go... to country C. And with this shift, America has begun losing its edge. It is an edge that is only maintained if the US is the number one leader in producing the goods that the world wants. There are countless places that everyday goods can be manufactured for cheaper. The US will never make a television or an mp3 player as cheap as elsewhere. By owning the companies, however, we can maintain a strong position. But to remain truly on the cutting edge we must be the inventors of the auto-industry, the oil industry, the dot-com eras, and next, the alternative energy sector. Already we are far behind, but it is not by any means too late for the US to catch up. This topic brings me to Decentralization: A large part of the USE (US Empire) construction has been centered on oil policy. In effort to keep goods moving, maintaining a military stronghold on areas of resource acquisition, and allowing for a strong transportation sector, the US has tied its national security strategy with the oil and gas industry. Transportation, Energy, and Goods are all key sectors in "national security," in the same regard that a healthy economy is considered a key component of security. Stability=security. The oil industry first started out as companies that represented their prospective countries (not officially, necessarily) would go out and make contracts, and when the oil came out of the ground, the company would send it where ever was profitable. But as nations slowly began tying themselves to these oil companies, oil contracts began requiring a destination for the product that came out of the ground. Very quickly company officials realized how inefficient this was. A new strategy was devised. It pools the global oil, not necessarily literally, but figuratively. Companies would mix oil in pipelines, production facilities, and as demand increased there was a more "equality" in the trading price. The US could pull from closer supplies even if its companies were drilling further away. Supplies were sold closer to origin, in theory. But state owned oil companies put a glitch in this system. With nationally owned oil companies comes national interest. If a nationalized company is not playing/paying into the international system there is a sudden inequality. Add to that, this is a different game altogether and the majors lose stronghold and profits. When the Chinese drill oil and ship it directly home instead of adding it the pool set for global availability, there is a depletion in that pool, and prices for those that rely on the pool go up. In recent years the Chinese and the Russians have done a fine job of going out and finding oil and keeping it to themselves. Meanwhile, here in the US companies would like to drill our national reserves for the sake of selling overseas. Much of the oil produced in Alaska will never see US soil because it is shipped to Japan and China... much closer in terms of shipping, which means even more profitable than if it were sold to the US. That is how the pooling system works. For the US to lessen its dependence on foreign oil it would have to come up with a strategy that would ensure US companies prioritize the US in terms of making oil and gas availability a priority. The problem is probably unsolvable however, because these are not US companies any more. They are international conglomerates. Their loyalty is to shareholders, not nation states. So the other option, more feasible in my opinion, is to decentralize our national energy grid. Instead of relying on massive energy producers that are spread across the country it is time for a new national energy strategy that localizes energy consumption with the locally available resources. Sun across the south and southwest. Tidal on the coastal regions. Hydro near available river systems. Coal in more localized areas. Wind all over the place. And even more specific in terms of decentralization make a nationwide effort to retrofit old buildings and promote in new construction a local energy production system. Even in the northern regions of the country a massive shift in energy is now available by installing solar hot water heaters on business and homes. In much of the country solar energy can be created for every home on its own rooftop, and in many areas an excess of energy can be produced and sold back to the grid. Wind produced energy can reduce the usage of many rural communities throughout the central regions of the country. The point is that if every community in America can reduce its energy production by even a fraction that we can lower the total energy use in the US by a significant amount. And while this will not directly lower the global increase that is currently underway with the rapid expansion of China and India, the new technologies that will certainly come about with a growingly independent United States, the US can protect its economy and lifestyle, even greatly improve it with cleaner air and less industrial pollution, by selling our new technologies overseas to other growing economies. Currently alternatives to gas, oil, coal, and nuclear energy are being sold to us, at a very high price, by European nations. We are not the leaders in this next step towards energy independence, and our economy is suffering as a result. We need to make it a game. Right now when the typical American hears "Alternative Energy," they become downtrodden with the thought of an expensive and overly inefficient way of acquiring their needs. Instead Americans need to adopt the idea of a fun competition. It is fun to be energy independent. It is fun to be able to heat your house, run your electronics and refrigerator and sell power BACK to the energy companies at the end of the day. These are not nasty, painful tasks, they are fun things to try to accomplish, like learning to brew beer, or how to build your own built in book shelves. As Americans invest more time in decentralizing their lives (not just energy, but in terms of food, goods, entertainment, etc) they will realize how much of life is lost in the centralization/Walmartization of the world. Local foods, locally made goods, local entertainment, these are often far better than anything that requires global wide shipment. And we can do the same with our energy production with a little effort and ingenuity. The world is watching to see how the US will face its current state, which is in debt, stuck in expensive wars and facing economic instability as a result mostly of a catastrophic and unprecedented increase in fuel supply. (Yes, Europe has had these expensive prices for years, but it has also built itself an extensive public transport infrastructure, the likes of which is inaccessible to most Americans.) If we can turn this corner and come out all the sharper, the world will watch and follow our lead.

Dear Readers - Beware

Nearly a month since the last attempt to take me off line, and only now am I able to finally get functioning again. A wicked blow, first to my hard drive with an electro-magnetic pulse, planted directly underneath my desk, then later in a back alley in Tehran with a Louisville slugger. This hit went deep, nearly shattering my lower spinal connectivity, but alas, I am recovered and operable, and finally have coded my way to reconnection. All this for a blog? What many readers do not realize is the finer network of global participants. This blog finds its way into the hearts and minds of a global audience, and for some, along with wired monies, this is a sort of directors guide on how to go about spending allocated finances. Yes, the Lawson Review is feared and revered world wide. Only in North America is it scoffed at by so many. Anyway, on we go. And the news has been, well slow. Americans do not seem to know what to do with this lag in election cycle. We have been so deeply enthralled by for what, two years now, it seems, and so with this lag, perhaps in the most important point in the cycle, suddenly there is nothing to talk about. McCain, war hero or not, is pretty much off the radar. People in general like or dislike Barack H. Obama. And the issues are getting all blurred. Just when it seemed like the American public could maintain an attention span of longer than one week (we followed the Democratic primaries for months! Can you believe it?!) all of a sudden everyone has lost sight of everything. Now, overnight (or in the last month that I have been absent) Everything IS Gas Prices! Gas Prices this. Gas Prices that. And can you believe it?! Obama doesn't promote cutting the federal gas tax for the summer. Nor does he support more drilling?! When it seems that everyone should know that these are at best the solutions of a severely mentally handicapped person. Cutting the federal gas tax would first allow petro companies to raise their prices more and make the tax amount an added bonus to their already record breaking profits. Drilling more? Let the companies have at it. There are thousands of unused, but usable leases. Their goal with more leases is a monopoly on what should be considered a national heritage. Show us that you are using what you have, and if those start running low, then and only then can you have more. It is called "preservation" for a reason. There are infrastructure issues that need to be addressed, global infrastructure issues. Oh yes, and there is that whole "war" thing going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. That might have something to do with prices. More on all of this soon. I am, I promise, back in business, at least until they try to take me down again. Heads up America. We are walking a fine edge right now. There are two ridges that lead us safely down the mountain, but if we jump off on either side, we have thousands of feet to fall.

The Pinochio Effect

Sometimes it is fun to pat your own back.... Click the above title...

Back from Tehran

I know, things have been slowed down here for a bit. Eb and flow. Ups and downs. Left and right. During my respite I seem to have managed to lose myself and much of the work I have been working on. For all my love of the Mac, it was a bitter blow drawn this last week when my hard drive breathed its last breath. Only one day before I had been lamenting the fact that I could not seem to get my external hard-drive to connect in an effort to back up all my things. I am a regular backer-upper, but on this occasion rather than putting everything on a dvd I decided to wait until I could get my external hard-drive working again or track down a new one if necessary. The next day the beast crashed and I lost nearly everything. With luck, the photos of my daughter over the last three years were by chance saved. Praise be to Allah. My wife will not slit my throat in my sleep now. And I only have a minute here, but something needs to be said about all this nonsense that is coming out of the AM radio. First, nuclear energy will do nothing what-so-ever to curb our use of oil and "free us from the Middle East." Secondly, regardless of how much we drill in the States, we will not lower our fuel prices. ANWR oil will go directly to the Chinese and Japanese market, and there is not enough to even put a dent in the global production scale. Our military is not only the largest user of oil in the world, literally, but when the military is out on adventures, as it is right now, there is not only an increase in usage, but also an increase in market security. This should be our first consideration if we truly want to work towards lower prices. War causes nervous market behavior, and we are certainly not "keeping the peace" right now...

Waste Management, Inc.

Leading By Example? The US and Guantanimo Detention.

US Ranks Last in Developed Nations Healthcare

Wondering how the US healthcare system ranks when compared to other industrialized "first world" nations? Well, according to a study published in "Health Affairs," a publication by the non-profit Commonwealth Fund, the US ranks last. So, while we all love America, lets not be so arrogant as to say "we have the best healthcare in the world," because at least by some very specific measures, we do not. The last thing America needs is the complacency that comes with arrogance.

Swirling, Whirling Rhubbish... and no, this is not about the current election Cycle. Click for More Details

The Finest Cup

This beautiful creature is the child of my Rancillio Sylvia... a cup made with Vivace beans from Seattle. If you are jealous, it is rightly so. If you are not... you probably should be. ?

War, Inc.

Here is a pretty interesting article with J. Cussack about his new film, War, Inc.  Be sure to watch the trailer posted on the upper left of the article page. http://www.alternet.org/movies/85726/?page=entire

Barack's "Seattle Coffee Shop" Problem

THIS IS THE NEW INTERNET LETTER CIRCULATING THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE WEB. OBVIOUSLY THE LAWSON REVIEW LAUGHS WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AT THIS LAST DITCH ATTEMPT TO SULLY BARACK'S REPUTATION. READ, AND LAUGH: The gullible "American Public"----over 40 years ago----thought that Fidel Castro was going to be the savior of western civilization when he was trying to take over Cuba . He took over Cuba and we know what happened. The "American Public" is again swooning over a new face----Barack Obama----with little background for the job he's seeking. You are not old enough to remember how Castro was first perceived before all of us found out his "true colors." I think there is a lot of similarities between the "stories" of Fidel and Barack. As you will see in this piece about Barack's mother, she was hardly some innocent little girl from Kansas . (When I think about what Barack brings to the table, Hillary never looked so good.) "FRANK" INTERESTING Subject: Stanley Ann Dunham - Barack's Mother Stanley Ann Dunham Barack's Momma Stanley Ann Dunham, Mercer Island High School St anley Ann Dunham Obana Soetoro (November 29, 1942 - November 7, 1995), known as Ann Dunham and Stanley Ann Dunham, was an American anthropologist, left-wing social activist, and the mother of Senator Barack Obama. She was born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Stanleyand Madelyn Dunham. Her father (who gave his only child his name) was a furniture salesman in downtown Seattle, Washington, and her mother worked for a bank. After a year living in Seattle , her family moved to Mercer Island , Washington , in 1956 so that 13-year old Ann could attend theMercer Island High School that had just opened. At the school she was on the debate team and graduated in 1960. Her family moved to Hawaii and Ann attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she studied anthropology. When Ann Dunham arrived in Hawaii , she was a full fledged radical leftist and practitioner of critical theory. She also began to engage in miscegenation (inter-racial relationships) as part of her attack on society. Susan Blake, one of her friends has stated she never dated the crew-cut white boys, She had a world view, even as a young girl. It was embracing the different, rather than that ethnocentric thing of shunning the different. That was where her mind took her. In Hawaii she met Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. from Kenya in her Russian language class. Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. was born August 4, 1961. Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. left Ann and their son in 1963 to attend Harvard in Boston. Press reports claim Ann Dunham and Barack Hussein Obama Sr. were divorced around this time; however, no evidence has yet been presented to show they were ever married. The senior Obama obtained a masters degree in economics at Harvard and returned to Kenya in 1965 where he obtained a position in the Kenyan government. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1982. Two years later, when her son was five, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian oil manager and practicing Muslim whom she meet at the university. In 1967 they moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. While in Indonesia Ann got a job at the American embassy teaching English. Barack's half-sister, Maya Soetoro was born in Indonesia . Ann, Obama and his sister Maya moved back to Hawaii .. Ann Dunham soon returned to Indonesia with Maya but divorced Soetoro in the late 1970s. Dunham traveled around the world, pursuing a career in rural development that took her to Ghana, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh. In 1986 Ann Dunham worked on a developmental project in Pakistan . Later that year Ann and her daughter traveled the Silk Road in China . In 1992 she earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Hawaii . Her dissertation, "Peasant blacksmithing in Indonesia : Surviving and Thriving Against All Odds," was 1067 pages long. She worked for the Ford Foundation and promoted Microlending. During Obama's campaign for the 2008 presidential election he portrayed his mother as a conservative girl from Kansas; however in reality she was a radical leftist and cutural Marxist. She lived in the Seattle area; spending her teenage years in Seattle 's coffee shops with other young radical leftist. Obama claims his mother's family were conservative Methodists or Baptists from Kansas . However his mother's parents were members of a left-wing Unitarian church near Seattle . The church located in Bellevue, Washington was knicknamed "the little red church," because of its communist leanings. The school Ann at tended, Mercer Island High School , was a hotbed of pro-Marxist radical teachers. John Stenhouse, board member, told the House Un-American Activities Subcommittee that he had been a member of the Communist Party USA and this school has a number of Marxists on it's staff. Two teachers at this school, Val Foubert and Jim Wichterman, both Frankfurt School style Marxists, taught a critical theory curriculum to students which included rejection of societal norms, attacks on Christianity, the traditional family, and assigned readings by Karl Marx. The hallway between Fouberts and Wichterman classrooms was sometimes called "anarchy ally." Dunham has been described by her friends as "a fellow traveler..." meaning a communist sympathizer. In an interview, Barack Hussein Obama referred to his mother as "the dominant figure in my formative years... The values she taught me continue to be my touchstone when it comes to how I go about the world of politics." Before she died Ann Dunham wanted to adopt a mixed-race Korean baby, fathered by a Black American stationed in South Korea . Ann Dunham died in Hawaii in 1995 of ovarian cancer and uterine cancer. SERIOUSLY... "LITTLE RED CHURCH" "TEENAGE YEARS IN A COFFEE SHOP" "WANTED TO ADOPT A MIXED RACE BABY" AND WROTE A 1000+PAGE THESIS... WOW, SOUNDS LIKE A HORRIBLE WOMAN, EH?

Tornado-ravaged Oklahoma town might not rebuild

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080512/ap_on_re_us/severe_weather

Monsanto's Harvest of Fear: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805

What Nuclear Renaissance?

Is going nuclear such a good idea? http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080512/parenti

Clinton Uses Bush Play Book - How Proud Dems Must Be...(click for article)

Here is a small part of this article: ..."On primary election day in Pennsylvania, even with polls showing her well ahead in that state, Hillary went lower in her grab for votes. Seizing upon a question as to how she would respond to a nuclear attack by Iran--which doesn't have nuclear weapons--on Israel, which does, Hillary mocked reasoned discourse by promising to "totally obliterate them," in an apparent reference to the population of Iran. That is not a word gaffe; it is an assertion of the right of our nation to commit genocide on an unprecedented scale." ..."What better argument do the ayatollahs need to justify their obtaining a nuclear "deterrent" than that the possible leader of the first nation to develop nuclear weapons, and the only one to ever use them to kill people, now threatens the people of Iran with obliteration?"

Rush Limbaugh: Anti-Democracy, Anti-American! (clik)

Rush Limbaugh has taken third grade pride in the fact that he is able to get thousands of zombies around the US to listen to his every word as though it were the Gospel of Jesus. And now, in one of the most anti-democratic behaviors ever taken to a large scale in this country, Rush is encouraging Republican voters to switch their registration during the primary season to vote for a candidate none want as their president - Hilary Clinton - because they believe she is more beatable in the general election or that as long as the Democratic race is dragged out that their candidate can remain strong enough to win through November.

Proof that the Main Stream Media, All of Them, Are Run by Third Grade Children

The most recent "gaffe" on the part of Barack Obama is not something he said, but rather, an itch he scratched on his face during a speech. And the most childish of childish interpretations? That he was giving Hillary Clinton the finger?!!?! OMG! WTF? Barack toooottaallly gave Hil-Bil the FU! Sweeet. Oh, wait, no... not at all really. In fact the offending finger protruded only perhaps 1CM further than it might normally when in line with its neighboring fingers. For those who don't speak metric, thats less than an inch... And the saddest part of this... several... many several in fact, "news" outlets (more like fecal outlets) carried this crap as a news story yesterday....

Drought: Rivers Running Dry | Newsweek Leadership and the Environment | Newsweek.com

http://www.newsweek.com/id/132892

Dr Steve Brule Wine Tasting - AOL Video

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/dr-steve-brule-wine-tasting/3251264159?icid=acvsv1

Brush It Off - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/opinion/20dowd.html?em&ex=1208836800&en=4ce7f00da87bbd33&ei=5087

10 things to know about McCain

http://pol.moveon.org/mccain10/email.html?rc=homepage

Wife's beer fortune gives McCain access to millions - CNN.com

Who is that plastic woman? http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/03/mccains.money.politics.ap/

Is Hillary the Next "Election Nadar"

Polls coming out reflect that Americans are tired of the Democratic ballet, and are switching to McCain, even though he supports the same policies they are tired of. Hillary, in effort to pump her own ego is unwilling to concede defeat, further damaging the party. If the Democrats lose in November, I think it is safe to start calling Hillary "Ralph."

Who is the Patriot? And who the hell is Jeremiah Wright? Click here.

Lies and the Liars That Tell Them

The Obama Bounce Back (click)

Here is an interesting article (above.) For all the talk of "misspoken words" in this campaign, first with Hillary and The Sniper Fire (which was not "misspoken" but rather a very simple, dressed down lie) and now with Barack... well, Barack at least can clarify. After similar attacks against Sen. Kerry in the last campaign, I would sit on the couch in horror to see how badly he would handle the attacks, yelling at the tv, "explain yourself, dumb ass!" But he never did, and lost because of it... his own fault, really. But Barack does not back down. If something is not clear to the press, he speaks as if to adults (which to the press is not necessary, but to the American public, is quite refreshing) and restates himself with the assumption that people will understand that not everything in ones life can come across on television screens clearly. And yes, Americans in small towns are upset. They are upset about NAFTA, at outsourcing, at the ultra-weak dollar, the extremely rapid increase in gas prices (this under "the Big OIL" Veep), a faltering Wall Street and plummeting realty/banking situation... Yes, Americans are upset. And yes, in the past the folks on the right have used the subject of "Guns and Religion" to distract these people from real issues. And that was Barack's point. And unlike the desires of Hannity, it seems like people might be listening to his clarification on the issues. Barack is the first candidate in years that I have not needed to yell at through the television monitor. Finally a Democrat who seems to have his own Carl Rove, and who seems to be playing it about as well as he can. Now, if we could get the rest of the party behind him, he could be making ground against osteo-McCain. That was mean. I am sorry. I misspoke.

Hope is a Word like a Snowdrift. - Jack Kerouac

They say that Obama is the "candidate of hope," and I have to admit my biased, though if you have read recent posts you very likely know that I have been wrapped up in this "candidate of hope," just as many in the nation, but I'll admit I am becoming nervous. But aren't we all. As a nation we are a nervous people, and it seems the number of well grounded individuals is becoming more or less a thing of the past. Or, perhaps it is that as we becoming more aware of our surroundings… something that comes with passing time, we begin seeing the potential for harm, the regret of inevitability, and how quickly things are not being improved, and so, we are nervous. Our media, both electronic and in print do not help our nerves, though they rarely touch on anything profound. Constantly we are shown ways to improve our lives, things that cost money and take time, and so, even if subconscious, we inevitably face the challenge of warding off the distractions of consumption. But it is escapeable. But we again are faced with unattainable challenges. We hear constantly the destruction of distant wars, violence and pollution of unconscionable proportions, sometimes it eats away even closer to home than we want to realize. We are inundated with news of destruction, civil, human, and ecological destruction, all of which we have relatively no control of. We can change our lives as much as we see fit, but regardless, with as fast and as far as news travels, there will always be more harm to hear about. It can be quite disturbing and destruptive. And yes, we all want to do something. Here in lies the doom of many, because as much as you want to do something, there are other things to do too, besides saving the world. There are bills to feed, and children to eat. Wait, that didn't come out right. Or did it? So, amidst all of it there is this very strange "election" process, which we all know is corrupted, not only by inadequate institutions, but also by truly money and power hungry crazy people. We have seen them before. They are nothing new in the political arena. Our societies, as much as we want to be rid of them, can not get rid of them. There is something flawed, not only in these specific systems of government, (of which, we must admit, ours is still one of the best of), but also something deficit in the very heart of humanity, that all this while we still have not been able to breed ourselves out of the traits we like the least. This greed of destruction that has lead so many, throughout history, into positions of power, we still have not figured out a way to get rid of it. In order for a country to operate in a civil fashion there must be an elected government, and we have it, but still, we seem somehow to lose control of the government. They still spend our money in ways we would rather they not. But because our system represents such an enormously varying population, there is a split between what everyone would like their money to go for. Some would have war, others would have welfare, and still others just the infrastructure, like roads, bridges, and schools. How do we decide? And how do we define? Words like "national defense" can mean fifty different things to fifty different people. How do we choose? So we elect our people and hope that they can work it out. But I think that we are at a time nationally when a lot of people feel disinfrachised with the relationship between the electorate and the elected. People do not feel like the people they are electing are making a difference in positive ways. Not everywhere, but a lot of places. So what does Obama represent? Hope. Hope that maybe there is someone we can put into one of the very powerful and effective positions who will make good decisions that actually will affect a lot of people. (A President can do more than recycle his or her own plastic bottles and aluminum cans.) So there is hope. And for all their words, we all know there is no hope of true change, not only in specific policies, but in general direction and leadership of the nation in the persons of Clinton and McCain. These two are tied deeply in the roots of the tree that is Washington. They both go to the same stadium to play one another in the same game. What people are looking for is someone that will lead the way to a new game. But then these stories arrise about Obama's church. And where are the people in the news, the community leaders in Chicago, the people he helped, where are these people chanting his name so loudly that the news has to pay attention? Surely they are out there, right? He was a "community organizer" for pete's sake. And it makes everyone a little nervous, not that he might be a terrorist infiltrating the White House, as the loonies would have us believe, but that perhaps even this vessel of hope is not what it cracked up to be. [I do not worry about his reported "lack of experience," though. There have been plenty before that "lacked experience," and as for the experience that the others have, well…. Well to be honest, they probably all have their merits. McCain, for example, has been practicing playing President in the mirror for a decade. And he probably would do an alright job, but at the same time, I can't help but wonder, do we really want a 70 year old as President? Not that he is mentally incapable, because certainly he is capable I am sure, but physically, aren't we a little more confortable with someone that could run down the hall in an emergency? We've all seen the movies… we all know what is required from time to time. The President, whoever it is, at some point in his or her career will have to run down a hallway, and perhaps even to a helicopter. And sure, McCain would probably be fine doing that, but isn't it going to wear him out a bit more, so that the next day, when he has to be working at 4:45, he won't be thinking, "man, that really hurt my ankle running to the helicopter yesterday… and my hip seems to hurt a little too. And I better get some metamucil." Oh, and that there is likely to be no major changes to our 2 trillion dollar war, our trade policy, or long term energy policy… there is that too.] I feel I am rambling now though, and I've kept you long enough. Obama, for reasons of change, true change, change in the connections utilized in Washington, dollars and the way they spread around the globe, that kind of change is likely only with a new face in the Washington, Obama is the only candidate that can offer that, and he seems to genuinely want to do so. And he seems genuine. But we are all still nervous. Hope is a frightening word, because sometimes more painful than no hope is a hope that lets us down. (Reader survey: Is it better to have hoped and lost hope than to have never hoped at all?)

Obama's remarks spark Hillary's last ditch effort...

"Elitist" & "Out of Touch" ....McCain, Hillary, or Obama? Readers?

Famous Are the Flowers: Hawaiian Resistance Then--and Now

Is Hawaii our Tibet? http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080428/langer

Russia Utilizing Mongolian Uranium?

There are several things to watch with this subject. First off, what condition of care can Mongolia expect from the Russians in terms of long term care for nuclear facilities? Judging by the job Russia did in Central Asia... not much. Also, there are other energy matters at work here. Beyond the scope of uranium availability, there is likely to be extensive mineral and natural resource exploration taking place, opened by this opportunity. Expect to see some form of US counter to this "soft invasion" by the Russians. Also, watch the Chinese.

Curious how the internet connects between continents?

Consider This My Public Service Announcement (clik)

This is a re-post from May, 2006... Because the Damn Sun is still killing more people every year than Al Qaeda... Sunblock / Sunscreen... What is the difference. The basics are that Sunblock uses zinc oxide or some similar oxide to block and absorb the sun itself, while Sun Screen uses chemicals that chemically absorb the UVA and UVB rays. Use one or the other, and most doctors recommend using them daily for all sun exposure. Also, drink green tea and wear sun repellant clothing. T-shirts on average only provide an SPF of about 4. Not so hot, so don't consider your shoulders protected unless you have something more.... Why? you ask... Because the Lawson Review cares.... more than Sean Hannity!

Elephant Self Portrait...