Ya know how they said we're not supposed to draw parallels between Iraq and Vietnam?

well, ummm, shouldn't they have let us know they were listening to Kissinger telling 'em what to do?

It's tempting to trot out the old line about those who fail to learn the lessons of history, but in our current predicament we are confronted with homocidal jokers who refuse to even acknowledge history...

Flames? Downward Spiral?

Watch him augur in...

Now Allen has pissed off the Confederates...

That guy just can't seem to make anyone happy...

TN - Senate

Another safe seat for the Repubs going down in flames. As Yani pointed out the dems need to win 6 seats. He conceded 4 seats which left 2 to pick up. As I posted earlier VA is trending and Macaca Allen is basically a racist which does not play well in 2006 so this blog is predicting it as a Dem take over. The other seat I said to look at is TN. Look like that race is turning as well. Congressional Quarterly is change the race to "no clear favorite" which means it has moved from solid repub to toss-up. That is looking more and more like 6 seats. Don't forget the MO is still out there...

Lamont for Ct - Senate!!

I may not live in VA...

But the VA-Senate race sure doesn't look like the sure thing that Yanni seems to think it is.

WOW!!

All I can say is watch it.... All 10 minutes... Exactly what we all want to say but don't have a national media spotlight to say it.

I give you the Edward R. Murrow of the 21st century... Keith Olberman

PA - Senate

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, trails Democratic State Treasurer Robert Casey Jr. by 12 percentage points, in a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Casey leads Santorum 51 percent to 39 percent with 4 percent backing Green Party nominee Carl Romanelli, in the poll released Tuesday morning by the university. Five percent of the poll's respondents were undecided.

Another poll recently conducted by Temple University for the Philadelphia Inquirer showed Casey leading Santorum 49 percent to 39 percent with 8 percent saying they were undecided and Romanelli garnering 3 percent.

From CNN

More Repub in trouble

NIE

As if this was something we already did not know the National Intelligence Estimate states that the Iraq war has created more terrorist and more radicals. "The estimate concludes that the radical Islamic movement has expanded from a core of Qaeda operatives and affiliated groups to include a new class of 'self-generating' cells inspired by al Qaeda's leadership but without any direct connection to Osama bin Laden or his top lieutenants," the newspaper [NYTimes] said.

The Dems have started to focus on this and will use it to drive home the point that the Iraq War was and is a distraction and that the Republican policy is a total failure that most of the country is knows that it is.

Do what is right... vote for a new direction in Nov.

Dems win in Nov

So lets assume that Yanni is correct about the 4 senate seats. That leaves only 2 pick up for the dems. There are at least three seats out there to be picked up Missouri, Tenn and VA. Lets look at them one by one.

Tenn - The race is Corker v. Harold Ford Jr. In the latest poll Ford is up six point on Corker. Corker has been hammered for his tenure as Mayor of Chattanooga. Corker has also been accused of thwarting efforts to improve the 911 emergency system while he was mayor of Chattanooga. Unanswered 911 emergency calls rose from 8.8%, the rate when Corker took office in 2001, to 16.9% in 2005, the year when he left. According to Jimmie Dotson, the former police chief of Chattanooga, Corker repeatedly denied requests to fund more communications officers for the 911 system. Ford is a conservative Dem and this Blog predicts a tough victory but a victory none the less.

Missouri - This is a close race but the state as a whole has been trending purple along with Kansas. In the end this is a race that is too close to call so I will give it to the Repubs.

VA - The most fun race in the country right now. On one side you have a former Regan repub turned Dem in Webb on the other you have a Bona Fide racist in Allen. Lets start with the Macaca incident where he called a VA citizen a racist term, basically called him a monkey, while on tape. Then it has been hanging with the CCC, denying he is jewish, the confederate flag collection, droping the N-bomb... in fact there is just too many to count. For a brief up date go here. so in the end I think that Allen's racist past and present has finally caught up to him and sunk not only the Senate race but also his presidential ambitions. So this seat goes blue in a red state.

As for NJ Kean can only run on dads name for so long and I think Menendez pulls out a close one.

I would also like to make one correction form the previous posts.

This blog supports, reccomends and strongly endorses Ned Lamont for CT. Senate. Keeping this seat out of Loserman's hand will be like picking up another Dem seat!

Only 42 days till Victory!

Dems win in Nov

So lets assume that Yanni is correct about the 4 senate seats. That leaves only 2 pick up for the dems. There are at least three seats out there to be picked up Missouri, Tenn and VA. Lets look at them one by one.

Tenn - The race is Corker v. Harold Ford Jr. In the latest poll Ford is up six point on Corker. Corker has been hammered for his tenure as Mayor of Chattanooga. Corker has also been accused of thwarting efforts to improve the 911 emergency system while he was mayor of Chattanooga. Unanswered 911 emergency calls rose from 8.8%, the rate when Corker took office in 2001, to 16.9% in 2005, the year when he left. According to Jimmie Dotson, the former police chief of Chattanooga, Corker repeatedly denied requests to fund more communications officers for the 911 system. Ford is a conservative Dem and this Blog predicts a tough victory but a victory none the less.

Missouri - This is a close race but the state as a whole has been trending purple along with Kansas. In the end this is a race that is too close to call so I will give it to the Repubs.

VA - The most fun race in the country right now. On one side you have a former Regan repub turned Dem in Webb on the other you have a Bona Fide racist in Allen. Lets start with the Macaca incident where he called a VA citizen a racist term, basically called him a monkey, while on tape. Then it has been hanging with the CCC, denying he is jewish, the confederate flag collection, droping the N-bomb... in fact there is just too many to count. For a brief up date go here. so in the end I think that Allen's racist past and present has finally caught up to him and sunk not only the Senate race but also his presidential ambitions. So this seat goes blue in a red state.

As for NJ Kean can only run on dads name for so long and I think Menendez pulls out a close one.

I would also like to make one correction form the previous posts.

This blog supports, reccomends and strongly endorses Ned Lamont for CT. Senate. Keeping this seat out of Loserman's hand will be like picking up another Dem seat!

Only 42 days till Victory!

Things Looking Up for Republicans

With only a month and a half left before the mid-term elections things are looking better for Republicans. While many bloggers out there are predicting a loss of the House and Senate for the Republicans, this blog pointed out months ago that the Senate would likely stay Republican. Now, with a month and a half before the election, that looks like an accurrate prediction.

Again, the Senate is now 55 Republicans; 44 Democrats; and 1 Independent who votes with the Democrats. In order to take control of the Senate, the Democrats need to pick up 6 seats. Fortunately, for America, this still seems highly improbable.

The Democrats are now favored in a few races where Republicans now hold Senate seats. (1) Ohio - Republican Mike DeWine is in a close race with Sherrod Brown. DeWine is closing the gap and is now down 2 points. (2) Rick Santorum - Republican Senator from Pennsylvania is still down to Casey. However, the gap is closing quickly. (3) Lincoln Chafee - Republican from Rhode Island. He is down in the polls. (4) Conrad Burns Republican from Montana is down 7 against his Democrat opponent.

If the Democrats win all 4 seats - they still won't have enough. The other close races seem to be leaning heavily towards the Republicans, including: George Allen in Virginia; Larry Corker in Tennessee; and Jim Talent in Missouri. On top of all this - the Republicans have an OUTSTANDING chance to pick up New Jersey where Senator Bob Menendez has faced ethical challenges that have been highlighted in his race against Tom Kean.

So, this blog stands by its prediction made previously. The Republicans will lose seats in the Senate but not enough to lose control of the Senate.

In addition, in a show of bipartisanship, part of this blog would like to formally endorse Joe Lieberman for Senate in Connecticut. He is a true statesman. We need more moderate people like him in public office. John F. Kennedy once wrote a book called, "Profiles in Courage." Lieberman is a modern day profile in courage. GO JOE GO.

If you'd like to give money to the Lieberman campaign, please click on the following link:

http://www.joe2006.com/

The passer rating formula sucks.

Or so the newspaper tells me.

Also, not only are the Skins 0-2, both of my fantasy teams are as well.

Tomorrow I will trek down to Reliant Stadium to see my first pro game here in Houston (third pro game overall) and, hopefully, watch the Skins get back on track.

In other news, if anyone wants to buy a greenhouse or greenhouse accessories, I'm the guy to call!

Thank you Senate Repubs!!

I would like to thank the Senate Repubs for opposing the Bu$h admins torture rules. See I can be bipartisan.

Moment of Silence

One of my heroes has passed away. Ann Richards died yesterday of cancer at 73. Ann was one of the reasons I got involved in politics and I have always found her to be an inspiration. She went to Baylor and was the driving force behind getting Baylor into the Big 12. The year I graduated from Baylor she was there to receive an honorary degree for her work for Baylor, and as I walked across the stage I stepped out of line to shake her hand and tell her what a huge fan of hers I was. I thought I was going to get jumped by Texas State police but she was very gracious and I got away without a fist fight. She broke down walls all over polictics and was truely a remarkable person. She will be greatly missed and I will always be "Another Man for Ann"!

Property Rights??? What Stinking Property Rights

The Commonwealth of Virginia is fortunate to have a 4 seasons resort known as Massanutten. Whether you want to ski, play golf, visit wineries, swim, hike or visit the new water park - Massanutten has something for everybody.

The fact that this area is so great has caused the mountain's development to grow. There is a sizeable time-share community on the mountain. Then, a sizeable number of individually owned homes that are rented on some weekends exit. Finally, some individuals have chosen to retire or live year-round on the mountain.

Well, even though property values have gone through the roof on the mountain, the year-round residents now want to exclude weekend rentals, claiming that they cause too much noise, traffic and problems in the community. For some reason, (obviously money) they haven't taken on the time-share corporation to exclude time-shares.

To me - this is just crazy. I mean, come on!!! First, you bought a house on a freaking mountain resort!!! Secondly, your property value has gained through the development. And, thirdly, if you want to be absolutely pure, why aren't you taking on the time shares???

A similar analogy would be this: After years of begging for posting rights, Tim and Colin finally gave them to me. Would I, now, legally move to exclude them from posting on this blog?

Where is the outrage?

"World Trade Center" the Movie: Top of the Class or Just Plain Crass???

Oliver Stone is the king of reinventing history through movies. Nevertheless, I do have to say that I generally do like his completely fictional movies. While too many Americans watch these loosely based historical films like JFK and use them as their only guide for history - and thus now have an inaccurate sense of history because of Stone - I generally enjoy Stone's fictional take on non-fiction. His films, generally speaking, are entertaining and thought-provoking.

Stone's most recent flick, however - World Trade Center - has given me pause for several reasons.

First, I've been reluctant to see it because I lived through a massive evacuation on 9/11; lived right next door, at the time, to the burning Pentagon; and dealt with many of the 9/11 families in the aftermath. That day is forever etched into my mind, and I don't think I'm quite ready to relive it in a public movie theater.

Secondly, I find it completely reprehensible for millionaire moguls like Stone to be making money from a horrific event in American history that cost so many honest, hard working civilians their lives. Wouldn't it be better - and emulate the sense of American generosity - for the profits of this film to go to help the victims' families of 9/11?

So, this brings me to my question: are the proceeds of the movie going to the victims' families of 9/11? I honestly don't know but would like to know.

If the millionaire media moguls profiteer off of this, it just seems repugnant to me. No one should, in good taste, profit off the horrific events of that day a mere five years after it happened. Sure, I've seen Civil War movies; World War II movies; Vietnam movies, etc... But, those movies came after we've all been able to get some distance from the matter.

In my view, the millionaires who are making movies like World Trade Center should be offering the profits to the victims' families. I wonder if the victims are even getting a penny from Mr. Stone. If you all know something I don't, please offer it here and tell me these victims are being helped by the movie.

One thing is for sure.... I was stunned to read in this weekend's Parade magazine that one of the film's stars - Maggie Gyllenhaal - reportedly said that the U.S. was responsible for the attacks on 9/11. DISGUSTING. She says the US is responsible for all of these deaths. Meanwhile, she is more than happy I'm sure to make money from capitalism and freedom the U.S. stands for and from the hard working American movie-goer who forks over $10 plus for a ticket.

Thoughts anybody?

I love the sound of crickets in the afternoon...

It sounds like... nothing...

Finally, I can post again...

I know people have been terribly upset with the lack of posting here lately. Fortunately, the Manning brothers and Yanni stepped up to the plate and filled in while I was unable to post...

In other news, we have more or less moved into our new house and, as part of fulfilling the American dream, today we bought ourselves a home security system.

This we purchased not long after I watched a drug deal go down in front of our beautiful new home a few days ago...

Thank you Katrina!