What a difference a week can make! After losing the Olympic bid, Obama winds prestigious Nobel prize

Last night I decided to sleep on the couch to take advantage of the cool air coming from the south and woke up later than usual (as I seem to lately since I re-arranged the furniture in the living room). After the pre-requisite yawning, scratching of my nether-regions, farting, etc, I decided to make today a late and lazy day due to the constant drizzle that has been falling in the Chicagoland region for the past two days. I turned on the TV and channel surfed, settling on the remaining minutes of ‘The View’ to see out of curiosity what that uber-hypocrite Elizabeth Hasslebeck was spouting today.

Fortunately she was absent from today’s airing, and after Whoopie and Joy oohed and aahed the latest kiddies’ Halloween costumes, the program cut for commercial break. The station promo’d their top stories for the mid-day news and to my surprise announced they would have reaction to the awarding of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama.

“Huh? What?!” was my immediate reaction, and I grabbed my phone to check the latest headline from CNN. Sure enough – CNN confirmed that Obama WAS awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

I was stunned.

I instantly began surfing the news channels, flicking between CNN and MSNBC…and yes, even entering the code to temporarily unblock Fox News to see what their reaction was.

While CNN and MSNBC were covering reactions from around the world and from the White House, and whether the award was justified or premature, Fox News – keeping to their seemingly latest mission statement of being the unofficial cable news network of ‘NO’ – made the announcement partisan and focused on the angle that it was a further rejection of the Bush policies, and that it was premature and questionable. However, they did NOT spend much airtime on the story as I seriously think that they – like the rest of the world – are at a loss at this latest development.

My thoughts?

Mixed – I’m caught off-guard as everyone on this news.

According to an article in The Washington Post chairman of the Norwegian Committee Thorbjorn Jagland said this morning that the prize "is a clear signal to the world that we want to advocate the same as he has done to promote international diplomacy. We are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do."

This statement comes as a blow to those that accused the president of apologizing for America in his visits to other countries in the early days of his presidency, but serves as justification to those who say that Obama’s foreign policies steeped in diplomacy and international cooperation is the right direction for America. They see this as further validation that the Bush administration’s policies was sorely resented by the rest of the world and how tarnished America’s image has been with the international community.

On the other hand we can look at it as a liability for Obama. This prize was clearly awarded based on future expectations that might be hard to fulfill given the complex war in Afghanistan and the current occupation of Iraq, as well as future actions regarding aid to Third World countries and policies with developing nations such as Pakistan, India, and the Asian economic powerhouses.

Obama responded to the news this morning with a six-minute speech given in the Rose Garden. "Let me be clear — I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations," he said. "...This award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity." (Courtesy of Time.com)

Some Republicans are taking the political high road – possibly as a step in their bid for the 2012 presidential elections. Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty said the "appropriate response is to say congratulations no matter what the circumstance for the selection is.” (Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.)

The last statement has fallen on deaf ears in the Republican Party. Republican National Chairman Michael Steele, who criticized President Barack Obama's overseas sales trip on behalf of the U.S. Olympic Committee, issued a grudging statement this morning in response to the president's winning Nobel peace prize. “The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama actually accomplished? It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights.” (Courtesy of The Baltimore Sun.)

Coming on the heels of America’s loss for the bid for the 2016 bid to host the Summer Olympics in Chicago, this latest news show how much can happen in the space of one week.

Regardless of your opinion of this latest news one thing is certain – President Obama is turning out to be one of the one of the most controversial and intriguing of American presidents.

NO, NO, NO - DON'T DO ANYTHING. STOP. SIT. WAIT. YOU HAVE NO SAY IN THIS, DO YOU?

I mean, this entire town-hall debacle on healthcare is only for right-wing Republican “birther” buffoons, gray-haired senior citizens with time on their hands, and gun-toting NRA members, right?

Why should any of us get involved or take action?!

After all – we all know that Washington is full of politicians that are either out for themselves, or so crooked and corrupt that nothing we do or say will get their attention.

Right?

WRONG.

Do NOT be fooled into thinking that this issue is just a circus show for you to watch on TV and political talk shows while awaiting the outcome. Healthcare reform is a serious topic that affects all Americans, and has mushroomed into a battle-royal between ordinary, hard-working American citizens and the gluttonous denizens in the corporate world.

Now don’t get me wrong: I – like many Americans – cherish the basics of capitalism that drive our economy: competition between businesses and organizations to provide quality products to the consumer at a fair price.

But in this global market over-crowded with insatiable up-and-coming “every-man-for-yourself” greedy pigs armed with singular, ladder-climbing corporate interests only see a few selective words - competition between businesses and organizations at a price – and ignored the remaining tenant of this honest principle. These soulless creatures view the consumer as an unlimited resource for wealth, and seek obscene profits regardless of the cost – human lives or otherwise.

(For example, can anyone say “the Iraqi War”, Halliburton and Richard ‘Dick’ Cheney? But I digress…….)

Health insurance companies - initially set up by privatization to oversee and control the escalating costs of the healthcare industry through fair market competition – have taken the term GREEDY CAPITALIST PIGS to a new level. Since 2001 to 2007 the profits of the health insurance industry has increased by 400% with executives and CEOs making salaries that are 200 times greater than most in the working class...while the income of the middle class society has remained stagnant and/or contracted over the past 20 years.

Now, in a knee jerk reaction stemming from fear of losing control of their lucrative cash-cow system, the health insurance companies are funding the organizing of these so-called “protest groups” whose sole purpose is to disrupt any rational discussion on healthcare reform that may actually benefit the consumer instead of the corporation They are stoking the fear and insecurities of the weak and ignorant-all for the purpose of keeping them in the wealth and lifestyle to which they’ve become accustomed.

And they are using the illegitimate whore of capitalism as their mouthpiece: the Republican Party. After all, all that’s left of the Republican Party are….well…..”birthers”, deathers” and racists – and for ANY price they are the most easily manipulated minds – an important element in a propaganda campaign.

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING – AND YOU SHOULD.

Healthcare reform affects you: you who are insured and you who are not insured. You who are insured may think you have a great plan while you’re healthy – but God forbid you have a serious illness such as cancer, a serious organ condition, any major life-threatening injury – and you will see exactly how great your insurance really is. Medical crisis is now the leading factor in bankruptcy cases over the past 15 years.

So, sit there. Do nothing. This will “take care of itself”, or “has nothing to do with me” ……..

…until you’re faced with a life-threatening crisis. And while you’re sitting in the emergency room waiting the average 8 hours or more to see a doctor you may think to yourself, “maybe I should have done something….”

Like contacting your congressperson and letting them know how you feel about the issue: go to this link https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml , select you state and zip code to locate who your elected representative is. Then shoot them a quick and concise note telling them exactly how you feel about the issue of health care reform.

Or visit the local office of your congressional representative to speak with someone about your concerns. Go to http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml to locate your district representative’s local office and make a visit – you may be surprised at the sense of accomplishment you feel after!

Or you could just do nothing.

NO, NO, NO - DON'T DO ANYTHING. STOP. SIT. WAIT. YOU HAVE NO SAY IN THIS, DO YOU?

On a personal observation - the Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot with their attacks on Sotomayer

I have been watching in amazement and awe how blatantly out-of-touch the right-wing side of the Republican Party have become. Their comments over the last few months have not only inflamed the liberal left - it has also alienated a lot moderate independent American voters.

Now it seems that the unofficial mouthpieces of the GOP such as Rush, Newt and Cheney - now comically referred to as THE RNC on political talk shows - are out to drive the final nails in the coffin of the GOP - by alienating the largest minority group in the US: the Hispanic population.

Gingrich and other conservatives have dominated the public discussion over the past four days with incendiary allegations about Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor - the first Hispanic person ever to be nominated to the Supreme Court - with attacks on her views on race and her qualifications for the bench.

Gingrich, for example, focused on a 2001 speech in which Sotomayor said: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male." [sic]

Gingrich wrote to followers on his Twitter account: "White man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw."

Limbaugh labeled Sotomayor "a reverse racist" over a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit against a group of white firefighters who sued New Haven, Conn., for alleged discrimination.

Former Bush administration adviser Karl Rove has questioned the intellect of Sotomayor, a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, while Curt Levey of the conservative Committee for Justice argued she was "picked because she's a woman and Hispanic, not because she was the best qualified."

Condemnation on these remarks have come fast and furious from not only the Dems and liberals, but from within the ranks of the GOP themselves. Some moderate members of the GOP - who in recent months have kept quiet on recent comments of those conservative and right wings mouthpieces of the party - are now expressing not only their concern of the impact these remarks have made to the image of the party, but at the alarming rate at which members are leaving the GOP. These moderates and elected GOP officials are now working on damage control by appearing this weekend on the standard political discussion panels on both network and cable television to tone down the rhetoric and rein in the negative comments dominating the newscasts.

I personally witnessed the reaction to these comments as I did laundry at a nearby laundry-mat one evening this week while surrounded by a large number of Hispanic patrons. Not much attention was being made to most of the news items blaring from the TVs in the facility but the minute the topic changed to Judge Sotomayor, most heads turned to listen. There was a lot of clucking and head shaking by the Hispanics as they listened to Brian Williams reporting on the verbal attacks being made by the GOP towards the Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court, the disgust clearly apparent on their face.

At this rate maybe the cynics are right (pun intended) that the Republican Party is quickly headed into the annals of history as a minority party from the south with as much impact and power as a rabbi preaching at a mosque in Tehran.

And while the remaining members of the GOP anxiously wait for a true leader to guide them with a new vision, the faux-leaders seem to want to continue the damage while shooting themselves and the GOP in the foot.

At this rate - they soon won't have ANYTHING left to stand on.

THE UNDISPUTED LEADER OF THE RETHUGLICAN PARTY?

Currently, the latest bru-ha-ha dominating the political talk shows focuses on the verbal war between radio comedienne Rush Limbaugh and the Republican National Committee (RNC), or as I prefer to call them: the Rethuglicans.

Rush Limbaugh is no newcomer to making the news. A self-inducing hypocrite (his personal drug addiction issues), a closet racist and self-loathing homophobe Limbaugh has been caught up in past controversies such as labeling President Obama a 'Magic negro", repeatedly calling for the failure of said president, encouraging fraudulent activity in last year's Ohio primaries, making racist comments about NFL players....the list is too long to detail here.

Now, Limbaugh is currently embroiled in a fight with the leadership of the Rethuglican Party.

I don't know EXACTLY what was the trigger issue between the Rethugs and Limbaugh (I tend to ignore irrational, irresponsible and delusional rants aka anything said lately by the Republican Party and its members), but one thing I DO know is that it is unacceptable for a media personality uncredited by time served in elected office to be declared the head of any major political American party.

Rush Limbaugh is all mouth and no action - only stroking his ego in compensation for his male short-comings. He has absolutely NO administrative experience of any kind, and is only inflammatory in his tirades for personal profit.

I am usually NOT one to rally behind the Rethugs BUT.........

In order for this country's continued success we NEED a strong, VIABLE AND CREDIBLE opposition. The RNC needs to get their act together and put this clown in his place or they will never be taken seriously for a long, LONG time. This leadership issue COULD prove detrimental to our country.

Rethugs, I know its hard to take advice from the opposition but do not be played by this clown. Limbaugh is only looking out for one thing and one thing only - his own personal success.

He doesn't give a shit about you, our country or his alleged conservative declarations.

Please - will someone stand up and take control of this situation AWAY from Limbaugh?

Do that and you WILL be the leader of the RNC.......

CAN SARAH PALIN JUST GO AWAY ALREADY?!

PLEASE?!

She is the most vividly portrayed epitome of a back-stabbing opportunist I've ever come across. The Palins are really just a bunch of "Wasilla hillbillies raiding Nordstroms from coast-to-coast..." as quoted by a McCain campaign worker.

I'm sure McCain is kicking himself BIG TIME for bringing this red-neck hick into the national spotlight.

FOR EVERY OBAMA FANATIC, THERE'S A REPUBLICAN IN PALIN DENIAL

Over the past few days, listening to the political pundits dissect and analyze the vice-presidential debate held last Thursday, I have come to a stark realization of a new phenomenon: the oblivious Palin disciple.  
 
The Palin disciple is a Republican who - regardless of rational criticism of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's grasp of national issues - still delude themselves that she is ready at a moment's notice to take control of the highest office in the land and the most powerful position in the world. 
 
Let's put this delusion into the harsh light of cold reality: if (God/Yahweh/Allah/Krishna/Buddha forbid) something should happen to Barack Obama that he is unable to carry on the duties of president, are we confident that Senator Joe Biden is capable of filling his spot at a moment's notice?  
 
The answer is a very confident YES.  
 
If something should happen to John McCain that he is unable to carry on the duties of president, are we confident that Governor Sarah Palin is capable of filling his spot at a moment's notice?  
 
The answer is a loud and resounding NO!  
 
And before any Republican can repeat the much overused phrase, "she has executive experience as a governor", let me remind you of another governor who also had executive experience: GEORGE W. BUSH.  
 
Do I really, REALLY, need to finish that line of thought?  
 
Contributing NEWSWEEK bi-partisan reporter Fareed Zakaria said in an recent article (published 9-20-08) "Can we now admit the obvious? Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be vice president. She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start." He ends his article by hinting that John McCain is now running a campaign only for personal victory: "In these times, for John McCain to have chosen this person to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. McCain says that he always puts country first. In this important case, it is simply not true." (http://www.fareedzakaria.com/articles/articles.html)
 
To quote a comment made by Karen Tumulty of TIME Magazine on today's airing of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos with regards to the large viewership of the VP debate (est. 72 million viewers): "[sic] a lot of people tuned in for the same reason they watch auto racing; they thought there might have been a big crash with a fireball at the end of it.." (http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5957630)
 
A lot of people saw the CBS interviews and are either disappointed, amused, or simply angry - NOT inspired. Watching a VP debate in eager anticipation of seeing a particular candidate fumble and make an ass of herself is NOT a vote of confidence in the ticket, my dear Republicans, no matter how you try to spin it. 
 
And this is not a sentiment shared only by die-hard partisan Democrats or the so called liberal media. Palin's obvious lack of knowledge of national and international issues is a concern being openly expressed by a number of known conservatives in the media (Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post Writers Group, "The Palin Problem" 9-26-08), and being discussed in quiet dismay in Republican social circles. (http://townhall.com/columnists/KathleenParker/2008/09/26/the_palin_problem)
 
Still, die-hard Palin-Republicans and other such conservative pundits - rather than provide some constructive criticism of their candidate to lend credibility to their defense of the ticket - deliver unrealistic partisan answers with a very obvious "I-drank-the-Kool-Aid" look plastered on their faces, tempered with a "if His Holiness McCain says she's qualified - then she's qualified!" rationale. 
 
Other members of the Republican Party, in an attempt to defend Gov Palin's lack-luster performance, have voiced their frustration that the media is treating Obama as a rock star by failing to publicize his gaffes.  
 
Not true.  
 
ALL MEDIA have willingly pointed out errors made by the Obama/Biden campaign, and on even more than one occasion said that Obama has fudged some of the facts about McCain in rally speeches. But these incidents are few and far between, and are NOTHING in comparison to the blatant Rove-ian tactics that are the backbone of the McCain/Palin ticket.  
 
Also, labeling ALL media - including the major networks of ABC, CBS and NBC as "the liberal media" - with the exception of the Fox News Channel is NOT fooling anyone either.  
 
Simply put, Obama is running a cautious, careful campaign and is taking care not to make irrational and rash decisions, and he has every right to be guarded. If he loses his temper or makes a sudden rash comment he may come across as "militant", something that will not sit well with voters in southern states, or other such states with an apartheid mentality.  
 
McCain, on the other hand, is running his campaign on the fly and with gut instinct - a fact confirmed by campaign insiders. This seems to be very much in keeping with the style of Sen. McCain, which is why he lacked initial support by his own party. And his decisions lately has come into question by all.  
 
It is now apparent that Republicans now find themselves in the same position that Democrats found themselves in 2004 with regards to John Kerry/John Edwards: they are supporting the McCain/Palin ticket only because they are following party lines, and not because they think that the ticket is a sound one. Remember, McCain did NOT have the support of the Republican Party when he decided to run for president, and that feeling, although diminished during the first ten days after the RNC convention, has resurfaced due to the poor performance of Gov Palin in her infamous CBS interviews, and bolstered with the erratic behavior of Sen. McCain during the first weeks of the Wall Street/financial crisis.  
 
This coming week is going to be interesting - and the McCain campaign has already started playing dirty, with Gov Palin at a recent rally trying to link Obama with a so-called domestic terrorist group of the 70s.  
 
Be careful of what you throw McCain; you have the smear of the Keating 5 scandal lurking in your history, an incident that has far too many similarities with the current financial crisis on Wall Street and the banking sector. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_5) Do you really want to take pot-shots now?  
 
Maybe that gut feeling is just indigestion over your "Palin" decision.  

THE BALLARD OF SARAH PALIN

JOHN McCAIN - LOST IN SPACE

DNC (OR AT LEAST MY) PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE

Tonight I watched (after a few necessary mind-numbing drinks) the speech of RNC vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

After all, no one - not even, it seems, John McSame - knew exactly who this person was. The only way to know the competition is to listen to their side of the story.

Firstly, I had to endure the low-blow jabs of former (and much over-hyped and over-rated) mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani. Blow after below-the-groin blow he laid into the DNC and it's candidates. That was to be expected. He has been reduced from former RNC presidential hopeful (with 0 votes in the primaries) to RNC grunt. Where he stepped over the line was a direct attack on the city of Chicago. His statement that serving as a "community leader in the suburbs of the third largest city in the nation was somehow inconsequential" (sic) was an outright declaration of war to the residents of Chicago. I mean, the McSame campaign probably figured, "Hey! We won't get any votes there so why not level one at them...", but did they not think ahead that the 10 million residents of the Chicagoland area who might take offense at that remark have relatives in other states that they would share their ire with?

(Remember that '70s ad for Faberge shampoo? "They'll tell two friends..and THEY'LL tell two friends....and so on...and so on...").

Kudos to Giuliani though - he mentioned 9/11 only ONCE this time..........

Then came the main act herself - Sarah Palin.

What would she be like? Will she come across as a strong confident woman? Will she somehow prove the naysayers wrong and put forth strong arguments?

No, in my opinion - she came across as her true self: a narrow-minded, back-woods, back-stabbing bitch. T

HIS is the person who McSame thinks will be able to fill the role of president if something should happen to him (if he is elected as president)? This redneck hate-spewing religious zealot?

God/Yahweh/Allah/Krishna/Buddha help us.

She made reference to the fact that persons expressed concern that she should be spending more time with her children - why didn't they make the same claims to the male candidates of this campaign?

BECAUSE, STUPID, IF GOD/YAHWEH/ALLAH/KRISHNA/BUDDHA INTENDED FOR MEN TO BEAR AND NURTURE CHILDREN HE WOULD HAVE GIVEN US VAGINAS AND LACTATING BREASTS!!!!!!!

AND SOME MEN HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TAKE UP THE ROLE OF CARE-GIVERS, BUT YOU HAVE FOUGHT AGAINST GAY ADOPTION YOU STUPID HEIFER!

Sheesh!

In my opinion she also made a HUGE boo-boo: she described the media as weak-kneed lap-dogs.

Big mistake. HUGE.

If you were a well known public figure you could take that chance. When you're a little known public official from a remote state you're only setting yourself up for the ire of investigative journalists. And that is a mean crowd to pick a fight; remember Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein?

Now instead of looking forward to a riveting election campaign I am having flashbacks to the 2004 campaign - one side rooting for change and a new direction; the other side basing they're campaign on ignorance stoked on manufactured patriotism.

Suddenly I feel very afraid......

But one thing was clear: Sarah, you are no Hillary Clinton. You are Pale-in-Comparison.

And let's hope the voting public sees you for what your truly are: a Pale-imitation.

G W BUSH ADDRESSES REPUBLICAN CONVENTION...

...and spouts his usual rhetoric and bullshit:

"...we live in a dangerous world..."

"..we must remember the events of September 11..."

"..we need someone who will protect us from the dangers of the world..."

Well, DUH!!!! It's written in the U.S. constitution as one of the duties of a sitting president!

Dubya, Americans are not dumb (although this statement might be called into question as they voted you in for a second term in 2004) - they know that these are difficult times and that we need to be on our guard to ensure that our shores are protected.

Your speech last night only reinforced what his presidency has been all about - administering through fear and promoting ignorance rather than understanding.

Your inept administration has squandered any goodwill other nations felt towards the U.S.A. before you came into power.

YOU made the world more dangerous for Americans through arrogance and muscle-flexing: Americans and the U.S.A. are hated now more than ever in modern history by the rest of the world - thanks to your blunders.

Your presentation last night only underscored the glaring fact: your time in the White House is up.

And your reasons endorsing McSame is a rallying cry to all voters NOT to select the GOP ticket this November.

Let's see what the 'hockey mom' from Alaska has to say tonight......and I predict her speech will draw even more numbers than Obama's speech due to curiosity of who this person is.

God/Allah/Yahweh/Krishna/Buddha help us.......