Help An Iraqi Who Has Helped Us
KVI 570's Bryan Suits, an all around good guy, whose ideas I often "borrow" in my personal life and on this blog, and I use the word borrow to mean "steal without giving any credit", needs a favor. His former translator is trying to LEGALLY come to the United States. You, the two loyal AndrewsDads readers can help by writing an email to:
kenneth.murray@us.army.mil
stating your support for Alaa to receive a Visa.
Important:
Make sure you address the letter: "To Whom It May Concern", not to Capt. Miller
Karl over @ Leaning Straight Up has a better version of this same post.
It is also listed on the KVI Blog, scroll down to Alaa's First Election. You can see Lt. Suits YouTube video of Alaa in action here.
Update:
Thanks to Ace for the link. If you do not visit Ace 'O Spades on a regular basis, you should... just do not blame me if you are easily offended.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
A Solution To Many Of America's Problems
I am going to throw this out to the public but remember, it was my idea, you heard it here first.
One of America's biggest problems is energy independence. Another is the terrorist issue, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. What is one way we could solve both problems with one solution? Easy answer, become energy independent. No more need to buy oil from the Middle East, no more billions of dollars available to those who would like to see us dead.
So how do we do this? Being the capitalist society we are, monetary incentives and disincentives. Now stick with me for a second... we raise the tax on gas and other oil products that come from outside our borders. Call it the foreign oil tax. Not sure the proper amount per liter, quart, gallon or barrel but enough to cause at least some mild discomfort from the consumers and enough to raise some serious cash. Then we take that money, and I am talking multiple billions per year, and we have a national contest, make it a reality show. An American Idol type event called American Energy Independence. Anyone and everyone who is an American citizen, any individual, group, team, company, non profit, church, club, quilting circle whomever, whatever are eligible to submit a plan to a blue ribbon panel with the goal of making America energy independent. The ultimate goal would be a source of energy that is homegrown with bonus points for renewable, cheap and clean.
The foreign oil tax money would be used to fund the research and development of the top ideas deemed worthy of pursuit. There would be a limit to how many are currently being funded and every so often, say 6 months, each plans progress would be reviewed and ranked by probability of success. Any new plan, or even updated old plan, that has been submitted that looks more promising than the current list would replace any existing plan for funding.
The ultimate winner gets any money left over and all future foreign oil tax revenue in addition to a reasonable royalty fee on all future units of energy sold. And by reasonable I mean enough to make Bill Gates wish he had not wasted his time on software.
One condition. The name of the ultimate product has to be called VOOM! Because I really like reading Dr. Suess to Andrew and like I said, it was my idea.
I am going to throw this out to the public but remember, it was my idea, you heard it here first.
One of America's biggest problems is energy independence. Another is the terrorist issue, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. What is one way we could solve both problems with one solution? Easy answer, become energy independent. No more need to buy oil from the Middle East, no more billions of dollars available to those who would like to see us dead.
So how do we do this? Being the capitalist society we are, monetary incentives and disincentives. Now stick with me for a second... we raise the tax on gas and other oil products that come from outside our borders. Call it the foreign oil tax. Not sure the proper amount per liter, quart, gallon or barrel but enough to cause at least some mild discomfort from the consumers and enough to raise some serious cash. Then we take that money, and I am talking multiple billions per year, and we have a national contest, make it a reality show. An American Idol type event called American Energy Independence. Anyone and everyone who is an American citizen, any individual, group, team, company, non profit, church, club, quilting circle whomever, whatever are eligible to submit a plan to a blue ribbon panel with the goal of making America energy independent. The ultimate goal would be a source of energy that is homegrown with bonus points for renewable, cheap and clean.
The foreign oil tax money would be used to fund the research and development of the top ideas deemed worthy of pursuit. There would be a limit to how many are currently being funded and every so often, say 6 months, each plans progress would be reviewed and ranked by probability of success. Any new plan, or even updated old plan, that has been submitted that looks more promising than the current list would replace any existing plan for funding.
The ultimate winner gets any money left over and all future foreign oil tax revenue in addition to a reasonable royalty fee on all future units of energy sold. And by reasonable I mean enough to make Bill Gates wish he had not wasted his time on software.
One condition. The name of the ultimate product has to be called VOOM! Because I really like reading Dr. Suess to Andrew and like I said, it was my idea.
"End" The War?
That seems to be the new phrase, "End The War". Now before we decide to do this, someone needs to explain to me how exactly pulling out of Iraq "ends" the war. A war ends if one side wins and the other loses or a truce is negotiated. Unilaterally leaving does not end it as what you are actually doing is quitting, surrendering, telling the other side you win. The war will not be over.
Imagine you live next to someone who is doing something you do not approve of. Maybe illegal, maybe unethical, using environmentally damaging pesticides, burning leaves against local laws, criminally abusing his dog or worse. So you as a concerned citizen and all around good person decide to "wage your own personal war" on this behavior and decide to do something about this. So you politely ask the neighbor to stop. The next day your garden shed mysteriously catches fire and the behavior continues. The next week you report him to the officials in charge and the next day your garage burns down and the behavior continues. If you now decide to sell your house to "end the war", do you think the behavior will stop once you leave?
As KVI radio host Bryan Suits said earlier today, and I am obviously paraphrasing, the Democrats do not want to end the war. They could stop it tomorrow if they would like by simply cutting off funds. What they are going to do is use the war as a sledgehammer against Republicans for as long as they can and that requires the war to continue.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you should start seeing articles such as this: No safe way for U.S. to leave Iraq, experts from traditionally liberal leaning sources warning about the dire results if we were to up and leave Iraq as the Democrats claim they want.
That seems to be the new phrase, "End The War". Now before we decide to do this, someone needs to explain to me how exactly pulling out of Iraq "ends" the war. A war ends if one side wins and the other loses or a truce is negotiated. Unilaterally leaving does not end it as what you are actually doing is quitting, surrendering, telling the other side you win. The war will not be over.
Imagine you live next to someone who is doing something you do not approve of. Maybe illegal, maybe unethical, using environmentally damaging pesticides, burning leaves against local laws, criminally abusing his dog or worse. So you as a concerned citizen and all around good person decide to "wage your own personal war" on this behavior and decide to do something about this. So you politely ask the neighbor to stop. The next day your garden shed mysteriously catches fire and the behavior continues. The next week you report him to the officials in charge and the next day your garage burns down and the behavior continues. If you now decide to sell your house to "end the war", do you think the behavior will stop once you leave?
As KVI radio host Bryan Suits said earlier today, and I am obviously paraphrasing, the Democrats do not want to end the war. They could stop it tomorrow if they would like by simply cutting off funds. What they are going to do is use the war as a sledgehammer against Republicans for as long as they can and that requires the war to continue.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you should start seeing articles such as this: No safe way for U.S. to leave Iraq, experts from traditionally liberal leaning sources warning about the dire results if we were to up and leave Iraq as the Democrats claim they want.
(CNN) -- Pulling U.S. forces from Iraq could trigger catastrophe, CNN analysts and other observers warn, affecting not just Iraq but its neighbors in the Middle East, with far-reaching global implications.
May Day, The Perfect Day For An Immigration Protest
Former King 5 anchor Lou Dobbs recently penned an article on the CNN website questioning the choice of May Day for the recent immigration protests:
Dobbs: A peculiar day for immigration rallies
Now the "May Day" connection is actually a minor part of his article but in fact it is the major reason why the day was selected because:
Understand that the immigration protests are put on by groups such as International Answer
For those unfamiliar with International Answer:
Just whatever you do, as the Seattle Times pointed out in an article about the local protest, do not question their patriotism.
Update:
Some really good pictures of the Seattle Rally from the My Own Side Blog by way of Sound Politics with lots of Marxist, Socialists, ANSWER and of course, you gotta have Che.
Former King 5 anchor Lou Dobbs recently penned an article on the CNN website questioning the choice of May Day for the recent immigration protests:
Dobbs: A peculiar day for immigration rallies
May Day was a peculiar choice for those demonstrations, a day in many countries in which international socialism is celebrated and a reminder of those old Soviet Union military parades.
Now the "May Day" connection is actually a minor part of his article but in fact it is the major reason why the day was selected because:
May Day also refers to various socialist and labor movement celebrations conducted on May 1, unrelated to the traditional celebrations, to commemorate the Haymarket martyrs of 1886 and the international socialist movement generally. The latter event is an important holiday in Communist and Socialist countries.
Understand that the immigration protests are put on by groups such as International Answer
In addition to anti-war activism, ANSWER is involved in advocacy for rights for illegal immigrants, for whom it supports immediate and unconditional amnesty.
ANSWER was more prominent in the promotion of a May Day "Day Without An Immigrant" strike and boycott, because this call was controversial within the immigrant rights movement, contributing to a growing division between its left-wing advocates and moderates who believed a strike and boycott would be counterproductive
For those unfamiliar with International Answer:
Act Now to Stop War and End Racism — also known as International ANSWER and the ANSWER Coalition — is a American protest organization involved in the post-9/11 anti-war movement.
...
ANSWER characterizes itself as anti-imperialist, and its steering committee consists of socialists, Marxists, civil rights advocates, and left-wing progressive organizations from the Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, Filipino, Haitian, and Latin American communities. Many of ANSWER's leaders were members of Workers World Party (WWP) at the time of ANSWER's founding, and are current members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a Marxist-Leninist organization that formed in 2004.
Just whatever you do, as the Seattle Times pointed out in an article about the local protest, do not question their patriotism.
Update:
Some really good pictures of the Seattle Rally from the My Own Side Blog by way of Sound Politics with lots of Marxist, Socialists, ANSWER and of course, you gotta have Che.
McDermott "Fights" For The First Amendment
And by "fights" I mean blatantly breaks the law, lies to his constituents in the process and does everything he can to avoid taking responsibility for his actions.
Now I disagree with everything single thing Representative McDermott does and believes in. Not some, not most, everything, and trust me... it is not that much. What he did was wrong, unethical and illegal... but... I at least would have had a sliver of respect for the guy if at the time he had turned over the tapes, he had done so publicly. If he would have stood on the Capital steps in front of news cameras and played the tapes for all to see and hear, at least you could say he had convictions and stood by them. At least he could say this is what I believe and I know what I am doing is legally wrong but I am doing so anyway because of the greater good. But that is not what he did. And he did not do that because he knew it was wrong, he knew it was unethical, he knew it was illegal and he is not man enough to stand behind his convictions, to take responsibility for his actions. He did not believe what he did was the correct thing to do.
Bet the house on this one... Representative McDermott will not be paying the fine out of his own personal checking account.
For more details on the issue, check out LSU's post at NW Bloggers and the Recorded telephone conversations section of Jim McDermot's Wikipedia page
And by "fights" I mean blatantly breaks the law, lies to his constituents in the process and does everything he can to avoid taking responsibility for his actions.
Now I disagree with everything single thing Representative McDermott does and believes in. Not some, not most, everything, and trust me... it is not that much. What he did was wrong, unethical and illegal... but... I at least would have had a sliver of respect for the guy if at the time he had turned over the tapes, he had done so publicly. If he would have stood on the Capital steps in front of news cameras and played the tapes for all to see and hear, at least you could say he had convictions and stood by them. At least he could say this is what I believe and I know what I am doing is legally wrong but I am doing so anyway because of the greater good. But that is not what he did. And he did not do that because he knew it was wrong, he knew it was unethical, he knew it was illegal and he is not man enough to stand behind his convictions, to take responsibility for his actions. He did not believe what he did was the correct thing to do.
Bet the house on this one... Representative McDermott will not be paying the fine out of his own personal checking account.
For more details on the issue, check out LSU's post at NW Bloggers and the Recorded telephone conversations section of Jim McDermot's Wikipedia page
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