Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Did you catch the Tom Brokaw special on Dateline last night with Aron Ralston? Great story - truly unbelievable. Odd that it appeared on TV, just when I happened to be looking at Aron's book in Sam's Club. It was a good thing for Aron that he was as experienced as he was. And to watch all that he's done since then - I'm telling you, this boy must have done the Big Boy upstairs some pretty nice favors! Check out his book here .

Politics
Looks like the heat is being turned up a bit on Bush's AWOL period. Obviously a non-guilty person would have come out and been fighting mad that people were slandering him. Odd isn't it, that Bush hasn't made a single statement about it, isn't it? Heck, even when they offer awards for people who served with him to come forward to confirm his stance, they can't find anyone. Don't think Dan Rather would stick his neck out like he has done on this one, without proof. Stay tuned!

I still remain bewildered as to why so many Americans get the impression we're safer with Bush - the situation is exactly the opposite, folks! If you piss someone off enough, they're gonna pop you one right in the ol' kisser. I'm afraid the American public is a hopeless case - they deserve what they get, if they get Bush. How can you possibly believe that he has accomplished something over the past 4 years? Kerry may come from a "rich man's" world, but just about anybody in politics today does come from that world, so let's at least elect somebody with half a brain, for crying out loud. As far as his designation of being a "flip-flopper" - thank God! Give me a flip-flopper anyday - it shows someone who is constantly evaluating the facts and forming new opinions based on those facts, not someone who is rigid and stuck in a cave for the last 20 years. That's the problem with too many people today - they become rigid in their thinking and refuse to consider new approaches. (Take a look at the Neocons who wanted to go to war in Iraq for the past 10 years - or more)

Bill Moyers on our Govt and how "people" failed us
Then on page 265 the final report of the Commission concludes that the terrorists "exploited deep institutional failings within our government."

That is not the whole truth. What are institutions if not the lengthened influence of individuals? "The system failed" is the catchphrase now in vogue in Washington. Critics and fans alike of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush still rely on this hollow analysis. But "the system" is no mindless mechanism operating independently of the men and women individuals with names, power, and obligations – who are charged with making it work. Before "the system" can fail, they must fail.

The Commissioners avoided blaming any government officials, past or present, for the failure to prevent the attacks. They maintain that their job was not to assign individual blame, but provide the most complete and frank account of the decisive events surrounding the attack. To that end, they succeeded.

But to stop there is to stop short. Read the final report of the Commission carefully – connect the dots – and a fuller pattern emerges: Key government officials failed the system, and they failed the American people. Read more here

Gun Bill Expires
Thanks a million GW ! You and the Congress need your brains examined. " As regressive milestones go, few are as frightful in this new era of homeland security as the decision by Congress and the Bush administration to allow the expiration of the 10-year-old law protecting the public from assault rifles and other rapid-fire battlefield weapons. The law - a far from perfect but demonstrably effective restraint on high-tech gunslingers - expires on Monday with not a whimper from the White House. ".... "Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford pleaded with President Bush to do more than give passive lip support to the ban, just as most major law enforcement agencies told him the law was a vital check on gun mayhem across the nation. But rather than protecting the law, the administration invested its single-party control of government on behalf of the National Rifle Association, not the public. Instead of trying to control assault weapons, Republican Congressional leaders tried to outlaw legitimate damage suits by gun victims against irresponsible manufacturers and dealers. "

Books
For a good read, check out New York Time's columnist Maureen Dowd's book "Bushworld - Enter at your Own Risk" . And get ready for "The Family" by Kitty Kelley. It will have the Bushies choking.

Quote of the Day
"The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments."
William H. Borah

Unusual Event of the Day
Having sex with corpses is now officially illegal in California after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill barring necrophilia, a spokeswoman says - The trials and tribulations of the Terminator. Bet he hadn't considered that one before entering office!

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