Our Economy, your Bill

Watching the news I see that many people don't think the President is getting the credit he deserves for the economy. That's funny? For eight years I was told that the President really had very little to do with the economy. That it was congress that decided spending and other issues. I'm confused. Which one is it?
I believe the President can do quite a bit about the economy. One thing he can do is start a war. (preempt....I'm not talking about Afghanistan I'm talking about Iraq. )
I wonder if our American family paid most of our bills just how rich we would be? How would our economy be then? Thank you China and Japan for paying our bills.

Let me see if I can get this all straight. We send our jobs and industry to other countries so they can be strong enough to fiance our debt and we get those great prices at walmart too!
But wait!....... We have to pay interest on that debt. Our tax money will have to pay that. There goes our great walmart savings. But wait!......the corporations that outsource are getting rich on low cost labor. And they keep getting all these tax breaks. I think that means you and I have to pay more of it. But wait!.......The rich got these really big tax breaks. I think that means you and I will have to pay more of it. Darn it! I guess I know who's living the American dream. Thank you average American for your subsidy.

Tired Of Bush

I feel your pain guys! Once all the lame arguements have been dispelled you would think they would come up with something new...Not this bunch. This is why they will bite it in 06.

Bush:The terrorists have a strategic goal. They want us to leave Iraq before our work is done. They want to shake the will of the civilized world. In the past, the terrorists have cited the examples of Beirut and Somalia, claiming that if you inflict harm on Americans, we will run from a challenge. In this, they are mistaken.

Digby: It's one of their more ridiculous beliefs and yet it is the foundation of neocon thinking about how to deal with terrorism. They honestly think that if we stay in Iraq that we will prove to the terrorists that we are tough ... and then they will not be able to attack us anymore. As unbelievable as it is, this simple-minded psychological diagnosis of the problem is one of the main reasons why we are stuck in this quagmire.

Everyday I am more amazed that they keep trying to cram this barnyard manure down our throats. Everyday I am even more amazed at the US citizens that are so uncurious that they continue to believe.

Yep guys, I'm getting tired of it too.

Full story here.

A Quiz

When it comes to spiritual matters I consider myself an independant. I'm never comfortable in any specific religion. Mostly because I adamantly detest self aggrandizing dogma. However, I do have spiritual principals that I live by. Here is an interesting quiz that will match you up with a religion. Are you really the religion you think you are?
I came out at the top with Unitarian 100%/ Liberal Quaker 97% /Bahai 95% and Reformed Jew 94%. After reading the descriptions I think the Quaker and Jew are closest. At the bottom of my list..what I most definately am not: Mainline to conservative Christian Protestent 36%/ Roman Catholic 35% and nontheist(Atheist) 25%. Pretty on the money there.
Now the strange part. What is the vast majority of Roswell, NM? Conservative Christians and Catholics! Thanks to my friends on the blog and on the show that help me feel at home here. From the religions to living in a small town, I'm normally comfortable with neither..I'd be like a fish out of water without you.
Ok, a little fun. Take the quiz. I'd be interested to see all the results. Were they close or way off. I thought it was pretty close for me but I forever remain an independant. That's one of those principals I live by.

Quiz here

A " Fargo" Moment

My favorite movie for some time now has been "Fargo". I like it because it has some very good life lessons in it. The primary one dramatized as Jerry trys to con everybody and then keeps trying to pull his ass out of the fire by hook or crook. The longer he goes the worse it gets until he, one person, has created disaster for everyone who even associated with him plus some who haven't. I was reading this article tonight and suddenly George Bush had the undeniable look of Jerry Lundegaard.

There is a remarkable article in the latest issue of the American Jewish weekly, Forward. It calls for President Bush to be impeached and put on trial "for misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 BC sent his legions into Germany and lost them".
To describe Iraq as the most foolish war of the last 2,014 years is a sweeping statement, but the writer is well qualified to know.
He is Martin van Creveld, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and one of the world's foremost military historians. Several of his books have influenced modern military theory and he is the only non-American author on the US Army's list of required reading for officers...........True, there is now a multi-party electoral system, but it has institutionalised and consolidated the country's ethnic, sectarian and tribal divisions - exactly the sort of thing that should be avoided when attempting to democratise.......The fall of Saddam has brought the rise of Zarqawi and his ilk, levels of corruption in Iraq seem as bad as ever, and at the weekend former prime minister Iyad Allawi caused a stir by asserting that the human rights are no better protected now than under the rule of Saddam......No one can claim that any of this was unexpected. The dangers had been foreseen by numerous analysts and commentators long before the war started but they were ignored in Washington, mainly for ideological reasons.
There were, of course, some in the neoconservative lobby who foresaw it too and thought it would be a good thing - shaking up the entire Middle East in a wave of "creative destruction".
The result is that even if the US tries to leave Iraq now, in purely practical terms it is unlikely to be able to do so.........Tehran is certain to emerge as the biggest winner from the war ... Now that Iraq is gone, it is hard to see how anybody except the United States can keep the Gulf states, and their oil, out of the mullahs' clutches.
"A divided, chaotic, government-less Iraq is very likely to become a hornets' nest. From it, a hundred mini-Zarqawis will spread all over the Middle East, conducting acts of sabotage and seeking to overthrow governments in Allah's name.
"The Gulf States apart, the most vulnerable country is Jordan, as evidenced by the recent attacks in Amman. However, Turkey, Egypt and, to a lesser extent, Israel are also likely to feel the impact. Some of these countries, Jordan in particular, are going to require American assistance."
As described in the article, van Creveld's plan seems to imply that the US should abandon Iraq to its fate and concentrate instead on protecting American allies in the region from adverse consequences.

God this pisses me off!!!!!!

Reading Room

Come back to New Mexico. Video

What was not a lie?

Opps. Should have guessed this would happen.

Ya...what he said.

The story of "Curveball" and his questionable intelligence.

Video

You decide for yourself. I would sincerely feel bad if he was falling into old habits.