Mr Netanyahu Goes To Congress.



This week, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu's addressed Congress and basically rebutted President Obama's speech requesting Israel to draw back to it's 'pre-1967 borders'. I find it interesting that nearly every story I read or hear states that this is a long standing US stance while blatantly leaving out that the previous administration official reverse of this “stance” or “near policy”. Regardless of which side you fall on this issue, that's a pretty major thing to leave out and forget. Am I wrong?

I do find it interesting that from the many instances of standing applause during Netanyahu's address, Republicans and Democrats seem to be giving Israel “carte blanche”. The US remains a staunch supporter of Israel. It doesn't mean it has to support everything Israel does. Many of this year's Republican candidates for President or Republicans simply positioning themselves in some sort of Republican hierarchy continue to cloak themselves in all things 'Ronald Reagan'. They forget that Reagan, while a good supporter of Israel, didn't approve of things Israel was doing in the early 80's. In other words, Reagan era support for Israel did not necessarily mean unconditional support for absolutely everything Israel did. At the time, the US was trying to establish good relations with Iraq and Saddam Hussein because of their war with Iran – indicating that US and Israel interests weren't exactly 100% mutual or exact at the time.
 
Conservative Columnist Jack Hunter recently wrote: Yesterday’s Cold Warriors might have wanted to defeat Communism and no doubt considered Israel an ally, but by and large their hawkishness reflected a desire to put America first. Yesterday’s religious Right was also thoroughly anti-Communist and they also considered Israel an ally—but their politics were primarily born of the belief that America was no longer putting God first. Now both groups put Israel first.
 
While I am not suggesting we abandon Israel at all, we need to act a little more autonomous and not be so quick affirm everything our dear brother/friend attempts, in my opinion. Mr Hunter brings up another good point later in the article when he asks "Can you imagine Republicans today—especially GOP hawks and Christian conservatives—opposing Israel on anything?" Blindly supporting an ally is just as bad as blindly supporting, or NOT supporting something. I suppose it's human nature to do so. What say you?

Sunday Musings - Impending Doom?

You know how you always see, hear, or read “these are wacky times we’re livin’ in”? Ever since I was a young child, most of the churches I attended preached about how we’re in “the end times”. Though I’ve been hearing that and pretty much seeing points of their view (before dismissing the argument in general) for the past 40 years, I’m now coming to a clearer understanding of what they meant. I’m not really writing about the recent earthquake horrors in Japan or the fixation on the horror that Charlie Sheen has apprently become. Even if you take away the religious aspects, the current “everything” climate here in the US is a little disconcerning even for the most optimistic of us. I’ve noticed my own behavior changing slightly. I’m cutting down on non essential stuff, like most of us are doing I suppose. I’m more aware of what’s being spent now in my household. I’m now paying dearly for years of financial inattentiveness and carelessness. I’m freaking REALLY hard right now on the new 4 year commitment on my new (to me) car. Of course, a readily available 24-hour news cycle doesn’t help things.


Just this morning, I found myself looking at websites that sell non-perishable food like the MREs the military has for field soldiers. An MRE, or ‘Meal, Ready to Eat’, (per Wikipedia) is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available. Most local “Army/Navy” stores have them. Apparently, I’m not alone in my mini-paranoia as there are many websites offering MRE’s and other similar “survival” or long lasting, non perishable foods. Some you can purchase per meal/day/week/month/year quantities. One site offers you 6 meals free- you just pay the shipping & handling (http://www.efoodsdirect.com/). Another has the previous mentioned quantities available - http://www.thereadystore.com/mre?gclid=CJOG4_jfy6cCFYqW7QodHme5EA ). A search engine result lists numbers of similar companies. I’ve has these MRE’s before- they’re not bad. Even if you’re not sliding into the aspect of a coming armageddon or apocalypse, these MRE types of foods are perfect for those 2 or 3 day power outages or camping when ‘the fish just aren’t biting’.


Of course, eating isn’t the only thing we’ll have to worry about if things definitively go awry. I mean, we probably won’t be able to access any money or savings. What will we use for trade? I’ve been hearing people have been stocking up on platinum, gold, silver, and other metals like copper and such.

Stocking up on guns and ammo is popular, even without “planning ahead”. Though I consider myself an “aggressive” pacifist, I’m a fervent supporter of the second amendment to U.S. Constitution regarding the “right to bear arms”. Then again, I don’t smoke pot and yet I’m a supporter of decriminalizing it, so what does that say about me? I also believe we in the US could do a version of socialized medicine much better than we’re planning to do or have planned to do. The obvious reasons why recent/current/future methods of this fails should be addressed but won’t because of political finger pointing and jersey wearing.

I don’t pretend to know all the answers to our problems and realize they aren’t as simplistic as they’re being discussed. We can’t fix our problems financially on a city/state/regional/national in a short time. I DO know that hard decisions must be made. I do like SC governor Nikki Haley’s approach of having each agency begin their annual budget planning with a zero budget, then making it out towards a lesser amount than the previous year. Is this good to do in your opinion? Should the government have to budget themselves like we do in our own households? The mere printing of money to cover our trillions in deficit is mind boggling. So much, that it’s probably why the public outcry is relatively to a minimum; with the exception to the Tea Party and other groups. Does anyone else see this reckless spending as trouble? I know, I know, this coming from a guy who has just taken on the burden of paying for a much needed car every two weeks onto his already strained financial situation.


BTW- GO HEELS!! BEAT THE STEENKIN' BLUE DEVILS!!

REVENGE OF THE HOLIDAY PENGUINS!!

Good day! Stayed up WAY too late watching Craig Ferguson’s ‘Doctor Who’ themes show this morning. The ‘newest’ Dr Who, Tom Smith, made his American TV debut on the talk show. I’m not a fan of Dr Who and haven’t seen an entire episode since the 80’s, but I do like pretty much every and anything Craig Ferguson does. Still like TBS’s ‘Conan’. It is what it is.


So for the next couple of weeks, it’s gonna be “Black Friday” for many stores. Is this just one of those things that we’ll have to get along with? Many of the stores have their super duper low price sales events last weekend through his week, and pretty much into next week before the actual “Black Friday”. I can predict NOW how the media stories, soon following the Friday after Thanksgiving; will be declaring this year’s “Black Friday” sales the lowest in a while or ever. I guess this makes sense to no one else but me.

Another royal wedding is expected to take place next year. Wonder how many stories will be published about the weeding being called off or “steamy” pics of Kate Middleton?

South Carolina’s preterm birthrate fell from 15.5 percent in 2007 to 14.3 percent in 2008. The March of Dimes has set a preterm birthrate goal of 7.6 percent. South Carolina is one of 14 states that received an ‘F’ according to the March of Dimes 2010 Premature Birth Report Card released today.

Saw the trailer for MTV’s LOOSE remake of “Teen Wolf”. This doesn’t look that bad to me really, however, this movie looks to be way short of the Canadian made ‘over-the-top’ and obviously camp version Michael J Fox appeared in in the 80’s.

Green Lantern trailer looks decent; didn’t knock my shoes off. Ryan Reynolds seems a little “flighty” for Hal Jordan to me. I swear, if he’s too funny in this, they might have well cast Will Ferrell in the role.

Some of my friends are beaming about the entire ‘Beatles’ catalogue now available on iTunes. Though on some songs, I’m not a big fan of the re-mastering. It seems some of the bass is too emphasized compared to the way I first heard them and the CD/FLAC versions before the re-doing. Everyone else is probably cool about it.

Bill Nye the science guy fainted during a speech at the ‘other’ USC on the left coast last night. He was taken away before the end of his speech to seek medical help. His current status is unknown at this time.

Well, this happens on many of these weight loss reality shows, but rarely makes headlines. Here’s another one that’s deep in the hoopla. One of the contestants for ABC's new weight-loss reality show had to be taken into medical custody after suffering from dangerous dehydration levels. The 25 year-old woman was reportedly taking diet pills, though ABC denies that the medication that caused her severe dehydration was in any way related to her attempts at weight loss.

Having been a part of the media, it really, really pains me to point THIS out. But all of the recent media headlining, glaring fury over the new TSA procedures at airports is really over-the-top and all about the knee-jerk reaction to something that affects less than 7% of the U.S... Many polls indicate that the percentage of people who aren’t bothered by the “new rules” concerning this brouhaha is around 80%. Most Americans overwhelmingly support those full body scanners. So what’s the deal about the right wingers on talk radio and the evening news shows? My point is that if you listen to talk radio or look at the news outlets, you’d think this is bigger than our economy and healthcare. In trying to point this out, let me add that I personally believe the new rules and procedures are ridiculous. The byproduct of such nonsense? You get video like a 3 year old being patted down and people relating their woes as a result of their own acts of civil disobedience. Listen, police or anybody in authority is capable of terrible injustice and abuse. When these things occur, they must be dealt with swiftly. In my opinion, stop this well meaning ‘crap’ and look for those who usually commit or attempt to commit these types of crimes. Profiling is vital in this area of airline crime deterrents. Then, when white Timothy McVeigh looking terrorists begin blowing things up or flying planes into buildings, then we profile that way.

What say you?

Happy Tuesday!

Hope you're having a great day. Let's get to some of the stuff I saw on the interweb today...

TBS has given the hit CBS series " Big Bang Theory" one of most lucrative TV syndication deals ever. Although terms were not discussed, Variety has stated that it “set a record price for a cable off-network sitcom purchase.” Big Bang is now in it's third season and currently is the highest-rated sitcom on television among adults aged 18 to 49.

In SHOCKING news, eating bacon, sausage, hot dogs and other processed meats can raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study. Some OTHER SHOCKING new research suggests that exposure to high levels of organophosphate pesticides, commonly found on berries, celery and other produce, could raise the odds for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.

In REALLY?!?! news, China has criticized the United States for violating human rights regarding Arizona's tough new law cracking down on illegal immigration. REALLY?!?!?!

A waitress at a Charlotte, NC Brixx Oven eatery is out of a job after griping on her Facebook page about the $5 tip she got from a couple who sat at their table for three hours

2010 Miss USA, Rima Fakih has been hit with a scandal. A video and pictures show the 24-year-old girl taking the stage of the Coliseum Gentleman's Club and performing a stripper dance in front of the crowd. However, she did not take off her clothes during the competition. One image, meanwhile, captures her with dollar bills slipped in her bra as she came out as the winner at the event. 2009 Miss USA, Carrie Prejean, lost her first runner-up title after her semi topless photos were found.

According to CBR News (CBR.COM), There’s a chance "Heroes" could return just long enough to wave goodbye to fans according to reports that NBC may talk to creator Tim Kring about producing a movie or some other event to wrap up remaining storylines

Charlie Sheen has agreed to a new contract that will keep him on 'Two and a Half Men" for two more seasons.

Consumers are more satisfied than ever with their cell phone service, according to survey being published Tuesday. The American Customer Satisfaction Index for cell phone service was 72 on a 100-point scale in the first quarter this year. That rose three points from last year and is the highest grade since the survey started looking at wireless in 2004.

"Iron Man 2" held off another summer blockbuster, "Robin Hood," to remain at the top of the box office for a second-straight week. The sequel, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the Marvel Comics superhero, made just over $52 million for a total of $211.2 million since its May 7 debut.

Monday Monday Afternoon

Here's some stuff on the world wide net early this afternoon!

Illustrator Frank Frazetta passed away today at the age of 82. He has drawn several iconic comic book and fantasy characters such as Conan the Barbarian. He has worked for DC Comics but recently created and drew original characters for Image Comics.


TMZ is reporting that callers have been flooding phone lines at the Miss USA pageant complaining about the racy photos degrading the “wholesome” pageant that stresses its college scholarships. See for yourself - http://missuniverse.com/missusa/members/contestants .To me, this is just a way to drawn interest into the pageant.

Twitter has confirmed the existence of a bug that can force one user to follow another. The bug appears to have originally been noticed by a Turkish blog, followed by the blog Webrazzi, which successfully tested it out and forced the Twitter accounts of industry luminaries like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Evan Williams to follow a dummy profile. The flaw allowed members to add followers to their own accounts, basically, by tweeting "accept" followed by "@" and any given Twitter user name. Twitter spokesman Sean Garrett told CNET that the bug is "unfortunately" real, and that "we're focused on fixing it now (and) hope to know a lot more about the specifics once that's done."

CASH FOR CAULKERS – is a new proposal modeled after last year’s “cash for clunkers” program rewarding home owners for making their homes for energy efficient. It’ll cost the US taxpayers over $6.6 billion dollars. Evil, right wing FOX news website has a calculator for you to see how much of this proposal, if passed, you would be on the hook for…. http://www.foxnews.com/topics/cash-for-caulkers.htm


British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has resigned and announced he is stepping down in September... Yippee!!


Presidential frontrunner Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino has won a decisive victory in today's elections in the Philippines.


Lena Horne remains dead..


Former New Edition member/ ex Mr. Whitney Houston Bobby Brown is engaged. Over the weekend he proposed to his girlfriend Alicia Etheridge. No relation to Melissa Etheridge (HA!)


From Billboard.com -- Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are among the artists who will perform at a benefit to assist victims of the middle Tennessee flooding. The concert was organized by McGraw, Hill, and Red Light Management. Nashville Rising: a Benefit Concert for Flood Recovery will take place June 22 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Also on the bill are Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Miley Cyrus, Amy Grant, Miranda Lambert, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes and Michael W. Smith.


Attorney General Eric Holder said changes may be needed to allow law ... about their Miranda rights to a lawyer and to remain silent under interrogation. He states said changes may be needed to allow law enforcement more time to question suspected terrorists before they are told about their Miranda rights to a lawyer and to remain silent under interrogation.


And finally, poor old $100 million –aire Albert Haynesworth of the Washington Redskins. He was a no-show for the team's second voluntary minicamp this weekend and some of his lesser paid millionaire teammates aren't happy about continued absence. D- coordinator Jim Haslett is changing the ‘skins defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4- which Albert may not be too happy about.


Of course, while these early minicamps are “voluntary”, the Redskins finished last season with only 4 wins. It’s kind of like one of those voluntary- Involuntary things. PLUS he has the stigma of being paid so much and not quite performing up to high standards and expectations last year. It seems that every story I’ve read since Mike Shanahan replaced Jim Zorn as the coach of the Redskins earlier this year concerning Albert has been negative. It’s almost predictable to me. And that’s a shame. AND a fact of life in the NFL unfortunately.