What ever happened to Syria

Ever since our government started imploding, Syria dropped out of the headlines. The civil war didn't stop, just the headlines. And for US foreign policy that was a good thing, or at least for the home team's appearances. Tonight, however, I read through an article about the Obama's administration worst nightmare is playing out. If you are curious it is a short article from the Business Insider. Basically recaps the current geo political situation in Syria right now.

And as the article states no good news for Obama. And for us and the rest of the world a huge cancerous debacle that is spreading way too fast for anybody's good, even the Middle East. And yet it is all the Middle East players building on it.

So what does the good ole USA do? Whatever political momentum Obama may have picked up with surviving the shutdown could be quashed in a heartbeat if they don't come up with a strategy to work out a solution in Geneva, or where ever.

Personally I still think we should stay out of it, but hate to say it, but may not be feasible long term. That sucks, but a reality.

So what do we do. Obama has tried to sidestep the situation hoping to get everyone to do something. Then he got caught between a rock and hard place over the chemical red line. And what sucks more for him and our policy Putin bailed him out. And worse Russia and Assad look good solving the chemical issue. Or at least the perception they did something.

So we have to go back to the drawing board with no ink and paper. We really don't have a good place to start right now.


So everyone get your thinking caps on , this one is going to take some work. I believe the administration and myself are open to suggestions.


And lately can't figure what to do to get our exports up. We still need balance of trade to help our economy. We just can't continue as mostly a service economy and expect things to get better for the long haul. Wall Street still hasn't done any favors.

And finally for the night, cannot wait for primary season,next spring. Probably going to be a thrilling ride thanks to the Grand Old Party.

Having beautiful fall weather here in North Texas. I hope all of you get to enjoy a few more weeks before winter sets in.

Is the fourth estate still the fourth estate?

The relationship between the press and our government goes back further than even our government's existence. Ben Franklin wrote:" freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government;when the support is taken away the constitution of a free society is dissolved and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics and limited monarchies derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistates." In our modern world we tend to forget how important these words were at the time. Nowadays we spit out so much garbage it is a disservice to what our founding fathers brought us.

The press at the time of our constitution was partisan. The press was used by various framers of the constitution to argue their points and reasons to what they wanted to include in the constitution and subsequent bill of rights.

One of the more famous writings found in the press of the time was the Federalist papers. In number 84 there is even the argument that maybe we did not need to have a bill of rights to include freedom of speech and press since the constitution did not specify any rules or regulations on speech or press. Eventually Mr. Hamilton lost his point and this became the first of the bill of rights.

So the press has always been a major part of what our government does. Eventually why the term fourth estate came about. The press conveyed upon itself its own importance in influencing public policy by influencing public opinion. Fast forward to the 21st century.

Where does the press stand now? Some will complain about partisanship in today's press. By itself this is not a bad thing. As briefly mentioned in this post partisanship can be beneficial at times. Unfortunately in today's world the partisan press groups like Fox news for conservatives or MSNBC for liberals do not meet expectations of being able to deliver a well thought out partisan argument. They pander to their perceived audience and not address a healthy argument that addresses both sides if an issue to make a point that supports their side of the issue. And the overall press has given in to corporate greed and panders its stories and presentation to sell ads and make money first. The ideal the press holds out for itself of effecting public discussion is lost in its own noise.

The press wanted the label of the fourth estate to elevate itself in the importance of public debate, basically alluding to the fourth estate being the fourth branch of government. If it wanted to be that ideal, it is now failing to that goal.

The almost good news and it goes back to Mr. Franklin's point of a free society needing free speech is and I hate sounding like I am tooting my own horn, but the internet and the blogging world has become or becoming more of the vessel of free speech our society needs. It has potential, but even as it grows it sets itself back. The blogging community tends to follow like minded individuals. IE, first person starts a blog, friend or second person likes it and then eventually you have a community of people following each other's blog that all agree with each other.

And where does this leave us in trying to have a forum to further our public debate to make the three true branches of government understand and perform to the people. We need to hold the press accountable for their actions. Maybe not in the same way as our representatives, but in some ways that let them know we are more important than ad numbers. We, the
people, to maintain,our more perfect union have a responsibility to read not just with what we agree, but with a view to become well versed on the issues so we can demand better from our elected leaders. This means we must demand from the fourth estate better quality and better content or their demise as the fourth estate is just as much our fault as theirs.

We can continue to blog and exercise our freedom of speech, in fact we must. Our opinions though need the professional outlet the press can give us. And on a side note it is amazing how much better the framers of our constitution wrote than modern political writers and legislators. It is a shame that a country that was founded on high ideals and eloquent writing has devolved into petty brinkmanship to try and make a point. There are so many ways we should strive to be better (myself included,I wish I could write half as well as our founders).

If we want to demand better from our government we must demand better from ourselves. And for tonight that means we need to look at our resources in public policy and demand they meet our needs as the fourth estate.


Cheers, salud, good night.

Didn't we learn anything from the 20th century?

This all started a couple of days ago when I was reading a story about how a right wing party was being investigated as a criminal institution. And then the neurons started firing so fast I couldn't keep up with the tidal wave of thoughts running through my head. I started thinking about what all happened in the 20th century. It boggles my mind that we still are dealing with extremism day in and day out on this planet.

One thought I did manage to hold onto is there is a difference between being right wing and being conservative. Sometimes hard to tell the difference, but there are some things to review. Right wing ideology uses many conservative ideas in their platform. Right wing nationalists speak to patriotism and a strong national defense. Right wing politicians talk about preserving national identity under the guise of protecting jobs for its citizens. Right wing in the United States wants smaller and less intrusive government. And these are some of the same ideals conservatives espouse, but there are differences especially in approach.

Conservatives have ideals and will work to implement them. The right wing has uncompromising ideology that they use to ramp up their base. Conservatives are patriotic and believe in strong national defense, but understand especially in the U. S. to protect the ideals and values of the people and country. The right wing demands adherence to a dogmatic patriotism that relies more on symbols than substance. Conservatives work to grow their base and incorporate new ideas to further their agenda. Conservatives know educated electorate are healthy for their country. The right wing needs blind adherence to their party and does not want to share with other groups.

Of course there is more to the differences than this short discussion. The main point really comes from what we learned from the 18th century. This is when conservatives and liberals worked together, made compromises ( and stuck to their views), to create something called The Constitution of the United States along with the Bill of Rights.

So where does the "tea party" fall in all this? Hmmmm name sounds nice, but could this group of so called patriots actually been part of producing a document they state they love as flag waving Americans?

Our country was built on strong values, shared beliefs, and compromises to get it done. Where are we headed now?

A few questions as we stare into a very ugly political abyss.

God save the constitution, the constitution is dying.

visualize it, Visualize it, VISUALIZE IT

There is a theory, or idea that if you can see it, put it out there, or visualize it, then it will come true.

Well most Cowboys fans have gotten so use to Tony Romo blowing it in big games or at least they perceive that to be the case that everyone in Dallas was expecting Romo to throw an interception that they "visualized" it happening. And if that is the case, then it is not Mr Romo's fault he threw that interception, but everyone in Dallas' fault. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


What is really scary I think Jerry Jones thinks like that. Hahahahahahahahaha

Hope everyone is surviving the millennium.


And the NFC East is either really bad or the AFC West is that good. Sad, but true, but my Cowboys still have good chance to make the playoffs. Gotta say I hope they do and get better along the way to give themselves a chance.


Don't forget The Red Chair on Smashwords.com.

And it is great days to visit our State Fair.

more shutdown comments

In related news civility is being removed from the dictionary.

If this shutdown is about healthcare reform, why do I feel so damn sick.

One solution being discussed is removing the taxes on medical devices. If Congress doesn't get its act together there is some medical devices I would like to apply to them. And I will pay that tax.

The media keeps talking about which side will win. If one side wins it guarantees the people will lose.


Singing "why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends...." oh yeah that was back in the seventies before we were addicted to greed and narcissism. ( War was always a good group).

Go figure this one: Govt workers on furlough, but having to work weren't allowed to take their prescheduled vacation days. So basically no pay and no vacation, but on furlough.


The IRS is still collecting your money, but sent everyone home that is suppose to help you. Oh and by the way its your fault if its wrong.

And only nine more shopping days for Uncle Sam's credit card unless Congress gets Visa to raise the limit.

Add your own comments if so inclined.

Be careful what you wish for

Interesting strategy the Republicans have going. Take something that has passed into law, but bypass it by not funding it. They have failed repeatedly to repeal it, but still want to find a way to get rid of it. Can this accomplish their goal of not having the ACA?

They seem to think so. The Republicans put the country on alert that they think ACA is wrong or bad and they have a noble cause to prevent it. Personally I am not a fan of the ACA, or Obamacare. I think it is too convoluted and compromised to help us out in the long run. So you might think I should be for the tea party efforts to prevent it. I would like to see a better healthcare plan, but I think the tea party could care less about any plan or they would have presented one.

What is happening now is that Obamacare is not the problem. The disconnect is the strategy. It sounds noble and righteous to stand up for what you believe in, even if you are in the minority. Unfortunately the people against Obamacare are in the minority. Most reasonable polls have support for repeal at about 35 to 40% tops. And even some of the people against Obamacare when asked questions about the specifics end up supporting it because they didn't realize what it entails.

So this strategy of not funding it because you can't overturn it is going to open a can of worms no one really wants. I fear the Republicans have no idea the can of worms they are opening. It might not show up now, but somewhere down the road you might fear the various tactics used that derived from this strategy. Our whole way of life held hostage by wild and crazy politicians or small groups holding up funding or debt ceiling limits by not funding them or stopping funding bills. And of course someone will find ways to take this even further.

I am not a supporter of President Obama, but unfortunately he is right that he cannot let this pass. He is going to get hit once people start wanting this piecemeal strategy of funding the government so it looks like something is being done, but in the long run this is a strategy that will do much more harm than any good of slowing Obamacare down.

Some shutdown comments

Teaparty Jane, you ignorant slut (love regurgitating SNL quotes).

There are more children in Washington DC than kindergartens around the country.

If Congress can't fund the govt., doesn't that make them by default non essential and they shouldn't get paid.

Well it is October, Congress is getting ready for Halloween. Time to scare the pants off us.
Or is it all one big trick?

Tinparty man "if I only had a brain"


Moderate Americans are looking for something. It detached from their bodies and are rolling out the door.

And if I wanted a government this dysfunctional I would have run for office.