Political Parlor Games and Obama’s Oracle

The Obama Oracle predicts the need for at least 825 BILLION in additional stimulus to the economy. It seems the parlor games are in full swing. The Democrats put some dubious spending in the proposal. Things like re-sodding the lawn on the Washington Mall. The oinking could be heard across the aisle. Too much pork the Republicans cried. Not enough tax cuts was the simple refrain. Obama was listening to the poetry of the Congress. Obama chose to go to Capital Hill himself to meet with Republican leaders (Republican Leader is an official oxy moron).

Economic Illiteracy

Illiteracy. Generally we think of this word in terms of simple reading and writing. Some have changed the phraseology to ‘functional illiteracy.’ I suppose this means that a person knows the alphabet, can discern some words, and can perhaps sign their name. People are ‘functionally illiterate’ when their comprehension of reading impairs their ability to function in a complex society. If we apply this axiom to our economy, we might easily conclude that most of us are economically functionally illiterate.

Detainee Hypocrisy of Politicians

Sam Brownback (an appropriate name for this man) is busy covering his tracks. He is a Republican Senator from the great state of Kansas. Senator Brownback ran for President and brought the morque of the Republican candidates down about 20 points. (Morque is the scale of combined morals and IQ). Senator Brownback is in a big toot about potentially having the detainees at GITMO being moved to the Federal Prison at Leavenworth, Kansas.

Amazing Grace – Dr. Wintley Phipps

Dr. Wintley Phipps can make an atheist believe. There is no way to listen to this man sing without feeling something divine. We are truly living in a blessed time – a time when this talent can be readily shared across the globe.

Inauguration 2009: Exploring the Hero Myth

The idea of hero is old, and treasured in mythology. The hero metaphor influences our understanding of the world. This ancient value of hero lends credence to the fierce patriotism of America. No Congressman will vote against our military, our heroes.

Obama, Cheney, Gitmo, and the Founding Fathers

In the beginning there was a revolution. Talk of revolution whispered through the ranks of community leaders. The whispering was necessary because if King George III heard of the treasonous acts he would have the perpetrators jailed, and the possibly deported to some far off prison colony – all with out the benefit of due process. The leaders finally agreed on revolution, a Declaration of Independence was drafted, and the participants secretly stole into Philadelphia to sign the now historic document.

Redneck Gazette – Fight the Bad Guys

Redneck Gazette Fourth Edition Get The Bad Folks > Osama Bin Laden George Bush Fails Well, Ronald Reagan said, “There you go again.” And here we go again. Osama Bin Laden, that fella what kicked our butts in New York back in 2001, is poking at us again. This time he did an audio tape […]

Bernie Madoff, Traitor, Turncoat, Judas, Treason

Is there a greater crime against our country than that which Bernie Madoff is charged?  I don’t think so.  This is not ‘just’ stealing 50 Billion dollars – this is about the harm done to our way of life.  Our way of life is based on capitalism tempered by faith, or consideration for others.  Bernie […]

Ann Coulter – an America Tragedy

When Ann Coulter is dismissed or challenged by anyone in the media the radical right claims another attack by the Main Stream Media.  Back and forth bickering that accomplishes nothing other than to continue to polarize America. To be clear up front, this writer has never been a fan of Ann Coulter.  But Ms. Coulter […]

WalMart Sweat Labor – The Case for Tariffs

My son and I agree on just about everything philosophically – but we differ in problem solution.  He and his friends are on a big toot to boycott WalMart in protest of Chinese sweat labor.  There is no argument from me on the atrocities of the Chinese labor market.  But the idea of boycotting WalMart […]

Medicine and Money: Traveling for Health Care

When the debate over providing health care for all citizens arises people often look to other countries, less wealthy, that manage to take care of their citizens. Sometimes the point to Canada or England; and the favorite of the opposition to taking care of children is France. The French are a convenient target for all things not good for America.

Bush and Cheney are WMD’s

George W. Bush, mixed with equal amounts of Dick Cheney, produces Weapons of Mass Destruction. These two men, more than Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden, have themselves destroyed mass numbers of humans. And about 5,000 of the dead are American service men. We can not even begin to count the number of innocent Iraqi’s killed in a war of vengeance.

The lethal combination of Bush and Cheney needed only a spark of inflamation. The entire Republican Party has bought into this mixture of vengeance and lusts after another opportunity to mix their potions of destruction.

The Prophecy of Ohg Rea Tone – 2009

Prophecy is only valuable if it presents opportunity for change.  Absolutes are for the cynical, for those who presume their destiny is predetermined.  Free will suggests we have something to say about our life.  In the tradition of ancient Bible Prophets we will offer some conditional prophecy for 2009: If we reward failure, failure will […]

Sorry, We’re Booked, White House Tells Obamas

By Helene Cooper Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama met Barack Obama’s campaign plane in Colorado on Nov. 1. (Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times) Updated | 3:12 p.m. CHICAGO—The White House has turned down a request from the family of President-elect Barack Obama to move into Blair House in early January so that his daughters […]

Surnames are Sacred Cows

In 1986 a friend of mine was named the new Abbot of a Benedictine Monastery. I was proud to just be a friend at the ceremonial induction. The trappings of a basilica, with sunlight filtered through ornate stained glass windows, candles burning with gentle flames, rows of black robed monks walking in cadence to the […]

The Future Is Not What It Used To Be

I studied electronics at The Electronics Institute in Kansas City. That was a long time ago. We studied vacuum tubes. Vacuum tube radios and television and radar systems. It was the dawn of the transistor – we talked about transistors in class, and experimented with diodes in building full-wave bridge power supplies. Resonant circuits were […]

The Staying Power of Hannah Montana – and Miley Cyrus

I have written before that I know more about 1521 C.E. Europe than I do about pop culture in America today. But this magazine of ours has prompted me to look around. I even wrote a post on Lindsay Lohan. Hannah Montana’s name came up recently because she was selling out a concert in Kansas […]

Meanwhile in Chicago

Posted by michaelscherer The Good Governor Blagojevich is back on the job, per the Chicago Tribune. [Spokesman Lucio] Guerrero said Blagojevich is back at work in the James R. Thompson Center and has met with staff to discuss the state budget and short term loans to help alleviate some of the state’s money pressures. Guerrero […]

Tabloid Voyeurism Sells

We are not talking about the National Enquirer here folks.  We are talking about Cable News, Network News, Print Newspapers, Print Magazines, and of course the internet boom in journalistic voyeurism.  We just gave an example  – the use of the term ‘journalistic voyeurism’ is much more interesting than say, ‘Journalistic practice.’ The Fireside Post […]

Axioms of Simple People

The world often seems over populated with simple people.  Simple people generally expose themselves rather quickly.  They may be conservative or liberal, Democrat or Republican, Christian or atheist, black or white, rich or poor.  We recognize them through their life axioms.  The simplified axioms seem harmless on the surface – but that is the problem.  […]

THe Finer Points of Space Exploration

I was eight years old when the Soviet Union launched the first orbiting Satellite, sputnik. The space race began as a competition of pride between two countries determined to prove them selves as more advanced than the other. It became something of much greater importance. Our space exploration has produced, energized, and accelerated some of […]

Clean Body, Clean Mind?

Columnist Lee Dye reports: Maybe what the world really needs is a hot, sudsy bath. Researchers in Great Britain have found that even just washing your hands may make you less harsh in your judgment of others. Their study, published in the journal Psychological Science, asserts that feeling clean can “reduce the perceived seriousness of […]

OJ – Celebrity Tragedy

OJ Simpson has been a darling of the media for forty years.  Few celebrities reach this level of achievement, we might think of Elvis and the Beatles.  We could debate the similarities of these celebrities – rags to riches, riches to rags, stardom and tragedy.  But OJ is strikingly different. Elvis Presley was a confused […]

Palin – Everything That Is Wrong With America

Sarah Palin is on the airways.  Most notably defending herself against accusations of incompetence by ‘anonymous’ members of the John McCain Campaign staff.  With tags like diva and whack job, Palin took some personal hits.  If Palin is the future of the Republican Party – then the future of the Republican Party is in deep […]

Obama’s New World Order

By Karen Tumulty and Mark Thompson It was hard to miss the message that Barack Obama was sending with the powerful tableau lined up behind him onstage in Chicago. “I assembled this team because I’m a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions,” the President-elect said of his national-security picks. The top three members […]