WHAT GAME ARE THEY PLAYING?

After McCain selected who will be his running mate for the presidential elections my question is...Does he know what game he's playing?
It seems to me that McCain who up to now was engaged in a game of Political Poker, he decides to draft now a female replica of Charlton Heston. His choice, Sarah Palin, an ex mayor of a town of a little over six thousand people in Alaska, and currently the Governor of Alaska, a state purchased by the USA from the Russian Empire in 1867. With this move, McCain has already secured 3 electoral votes. The problem for McCain is that Palin is not Hillary Clinton. If he thinks that she is going to get the women vote that otherwise would have gone to Hillary, he's for a big surprise. Sarah Palin, I don't care how intelligent she might be and whatever other attributes, is a conservative who wants to make abortion illegal, who does not believe in contraception and who eats moose burgers, in other words she is pro gun rights and enjoys killing animals for fun. I don't think those are the women who voted for Hillary. Additionally, how experienced can she be in basic economics when her only economical worries up to now have been making sure Alaska continues to export oil, gas and fish. That means she is for drilling in Alaska, to contribute to the 3% total oil production that is consumed in the world.
Now here is another angle that we did not know about McCain...he likes women for their looks. His wife Cindy was a beauty contest winner. So was Sarah Palin. Should someone tell McCain that he is running for the most important position in the world and not to be a judge at a Miss Universe contest?

I am sure that McCain is not looking to buy a house in Alaska. He already has seven of them in the USA, and at his age the cold weather is not the most advisable, especially if you become ill enough or die, to relinquish powers to an unknown person who likes to shoot Caribou, and who at one point of her life was known as Sarah Barracuda. But what is he really trying to achieve with this surprising election? This country wants change and it has clearly stated that during the Democratic Convention. What change can Palin bring to the table? An anti-abortion law? A strong support to the oil companies to drill in the USA and get larger tax breaks than the ones McCain wants to give them? Or, a free for all gun rights so every American can possess in addition to Winchesters, Mossbergs, Remingtons and other, machine guns and bazookas?

(not the bazookas on the right!)

Somebody should tell this Republican team that if you get to the White House (which, fortunately with the curriculum they both bring and their archaic ideas it will not happen) this country is larger and more diversified than Alaska and that we have a total of 300 million people versus Alaska's population of about 700 thousand people. Only about 0.23% of this country's total. Gun possession may be a way of life in Alaska, and an unfortunate right for the entire country, but it is time we start looking at the crime rates in every state and do something about a better control of who sells these weapons and who buys them and for what purpose.
As a Democrat I am really excited about McCain's choice. I was hoping for Lieberman, the chameleon, the one who changes parties when his team is losing. That would have forced him to change once again, but this time he would have to retire and go back to his travelling trunk with Mr.Wences (he is also dead). I said I am excited about McCain's pick for the Vice president position, because it is another McCain's gaffe, like for instance the one about...."Iraq is a peaceful place now", as a suicide terrorist exploded (what a shame!) and killed 60 people a few days later; or like..."I thought that people who only make 4 million dollars a year are still comfortably part of the middle class".

What kind of game are the republicans playing? Parcheesi. I remember that game! I was 7 years old, many years ago. You moved forward, then you got trapped and went back to home, then you kept rolling the die (yes, die is the correct plural of dice) and could not get out for a while till you got a double or a 5 (I forgot that rule). That's the game Republicans are playing today, because that's what they are inheriting from the Parcheesi Master, George W. Bush. Not a good game to play when everybody else play with Blackberries, Wii, X-Box, and other ultra modern technology gadgets.
Like Obama said...EIGHT IS ENOUGH! And he wasn't talking about a family movie. He was talking about a horror flick that we all had to watch and be part of it. Thank you John McCain and Sarah Palin, for bringing down the curtain without any calls come November.

THE DISGUSTING RIGHT WING EXTREMISTS

Somehow I feel that the title of this blog is too generous, but as it progresses I will come up with more adjectives that best describe these sub-species.
They are all over the Internet sending malicious emails, fabricating lies against Obama, trying to scare everyone whose I.Q is comparable to theirs. What I don't understand is why they are not sued for slender, or at least ridiculed by the Obama campaign. Is it because Obama is too much of a gentleman and prefers not to lower himself to their level? Or is it because democrats don't know how to fight dirty like republicans do?

The fact is that these reptiles are inundating the Internet with false accusations and it seems that they never run out of poison from their bi forked viperine tongues.
I find their comments so nauseating that I have decided from now on not to read their repugnant writings.
I suppose it is the only option they have left during these presidential campaigns, inasmuch as they know they have lost their power and they will be kicked out of the White House come January 2009. Poor sore losers! They know that McCain is very old to be Commander-in-Chief and that he is a two-face republican. They also know that he does not share their extremist right wing radical ideals and as such they cannot say good things about him, so they decide to go full blast with their inventions against Obama.

After these elections they will hibernate for the next four years with their tails between their legs, and will surface again for the next elections, disseminating their vicious lies once more. That is the only thing they know how to do well. There will be millions of Americans who will believe every single lie they read and will fall for this type of brainwashing, pushing them to vote for the wrong person, in this case McCain. You can see it now, it is starting to cause a decline in the polls for Obama and although I do not believe 100% in polls, it is clear that Americans are already being influenced by this negative campaign. It happened before with Kerry and Edwards and it is happening again with Obama. We tend to forget about the real significant issues and lean favorably towards the gossip and false accusations. Unfortunate, but true.

One of the worst vile smear peddlers of the 2004 election has directed his slender to a new democratic target. Jerome Corsi, infamous for his lies and distortions on the Swift Boat smear campaign is now publishing a book against Obama using the same ultra right wing dirty tricks, which, of course, are attracting our gossip loving population. No one is going to stop him, especially the media which will give him plenty of coverage, as that will improve their ratings. Therefore, we are once again facing a presidential election where voters will cast their ballots influenced by these fabrications, instead of by the real pressing issues our country is faced with.

Although I am still confident that common sense will prevail and that we will finally kick the big oil supporters Republicans out of Office, this is not going to be an easy task. To eradicate cancer from a victim it usually takes a miracle but when the victim in this case is our country we are going to need in addition to divine intervention, to focus on the issues and dismiss all the paranoid comments of so many paranoid right wing extremists like Corsi. You can read more about this sick demented bigot on the Internet.

I probably failed using more appropriate and demeaning epithets. I am sure I did, because no matter what we say to describe these deranged people, we are always too kind to them. No matter what, I feel relieved I have contributed to tell them off. I only mentioned Jerome Corsi, but believe me, there are thousands of parasites like Corsi floating on the Internet and waiting to embed themselves in millions of naive gullible Americans, who either because of ignorance or perhaps because of their trust in other people, fall pray of these parasites.

If you love your country and you want to be a real patriot, don't let insects the likes of Corsi deposit their larvae in your skin. Look around to see what is wrong with this country and how we can change it to make it once again what it used to be. Maybe you are not sure about Obama, but you should be very sure that McCain is definitely not the solution, he is rather the salt added to our injury.

DEMOCRATS LOST THESE ELECTIONS!

Oh boy! We really blew it this time! Senator Edwards has finally admitted he had an affair!
The story was first reported by that prestigious newspaper "The National Enquirer", but because everything this newspaper prints is pure sensational garbage, no one gave it real importance. Apparently, the woman he had an affair with in the year 2006 has put some pressure in the issue claiming she had a child with him. John Edwards has made a full admission of this capital sin, punishable with the guillotine or to be hung from a tree in Missouri. However, he adamantly denies being the father of the child and has volunteered to a DNA paternity test.

This happened 2 years ago, while George W. Bush was still lying about the weapons of mass destruction, and being indifferent to the thousands of people left homeless due to hurricane Katrina. Of course, Bush has not admitted yet that we did not find those weapons in Iraq, and nothing has been done to offer relief to New Orleans and Biloxi victims, therefore those are still moot issues.
But why keep rehashing on such insignificant subjects, when we can dig out dirt from politicians, especially if they are popular and running for the US presidency, or already are. There I must admit that one of the very few exceptions not ever having an affair is our current president. I suppose because not other normal woman would find anything attractive about him. He looks like a monkey and he acts like one. Laura Bush, being such a nice person (I am not being facetious here, honest!) married him while under the influence or under hypnosis. I would have to assume it was the latter, because, as I said, she is saved from his petulance and presidential decisions .
Now, getting back to the issue. Sorry I always divert when I find an excuse to "bashing Bush". I have no doubt that the democrats are now in trouble. First, Clinton in the Oval Office getting a BJ courtesy of Monica Lewinski, that got him impeached. And why not? That oral affair was the cause of
the worst budget deficit this country has ever faced, of the highest unemployment we have experienced in the last 7 years, of an economy crisis, including $4 a gallon gas at the pumps , and finally of an invasion to a Middle East country. Please keep in mind I am only a mediocre writer, but not a historian, so I probably have all my facts and names confused on this subject.
And now, Edwards, committing the biggest mistake a political figure can commit...Adultery. The rest of them in the Senate are saved because they only have minor errors in their curriculum, such as robbery, lies, fraud, depravity, taking money from lobbyists, and giving themselves retirement and other benefits that "we the people" will never ever dream of obtaining for ourselves.
This whole thing brings me to a necessary comparison I find mandatory to make. The President of France, Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, married a beautiful woman, who is also intelligent, but she was a nude model in Italy before tying the knot with Sarkozy. French citizens and all other Europeans did not mind that. They voted for Sarkozy, they never made a relevant case of this couple before marrying or after. I guess because they are so stupid and they don't know that a president of a nation who marries a model who has posed in the nude, is totally handicapped to make decisions about the economy, health care, foreign policy, and other insignificant and irrelevant issues. These Europeans never bothered to check Sarkozy's personal life. They should have because it is not what he can do for his country, but what he can do for his personal life or to keep gossip and life intrusion at a level above the citizens' needs. When we elect a person to the highest office, or entertain voting for a candidate who is promising to take care of the poor people and the middle class, and straighten the economy, the first thing we should do is throw away all those absurdities and find out who he's engaged or married to, or how many affairs he's had. As a matter of fact, the substance for the elections should be focusing on the personal and private life and not on what they can do to improve our lives. We are so selfish! Even better, let us nominate The Enquirer and other media, print or TV as the arbiters of our future!

I am exhausted after this deep analysis to the point I may throw up. Problem is...should my vomiting be credited to my cynicism or to the fact that our priorities are totally screwed up. Both?

Afterthought: Is Edwards being crucified because he had an affair? or because he lied about it? In this case...Both!
Maybe I'm being too critical on this subject and the Democrats, although, badly injured might still win in November. The real and tragic truth is that "we the people' never win, regardless.

THE WAY OF THE WORLD

"The Way of the World".

It's the title of the newest book written by Pulitzer prize winner Ron Suskind. I can't wait to get my hands on it!
Meanwhile I want to comment on one very risky decision made by Suskind to expose the Bush administration. Suskind writes that sources intimately linked to former CIA director, George J. Tenet, have told him that the CIA was ordered by the Bush Administration (does not point the finger at George W. Bush directly, though it's understood) to fake the story about the weapons of mass destruction, in order to justify the Iraq invasion. Obviously, the White House has denied this and will try every possible way to criticize Suskind as a money thirsty writer, who will profit by "inventing" or writing sensationalistic stories. They have dismissed so far everything thrown at them, why not one more.
Unfortunately for the Bush administration, the weapons of mass destruction theory did not stand for lack of same, and the excuse for the invasion was conveniently changed three times already. The mere fact that no WMDs were found, led to many politicians and writers to research and investigate anything and everything in relation to those non existent weapons. Suskind has gone beyond the investigative process and was able to obtain reliable statements from some people directly under Tenet, incriminating directly Mr. Bush and company with this
ignominious lie and faked plan. Of, course, not without some "complications", such as what happened with Suskind's research assistant, Greg Jackson, who in September 2007 was detained in Manhattan, NY by Federal Agents to interrogate him and to confiscate all his notes, which according to Suskind it violated Jackson's First and Fourth Amendments rights. I see it beyond the rights violation. I see it as a criminal act trying to eliminate any information that would incriminate the culprits. Suskind, in this just published book, achieves with great conviction to educate us about the dangers of extremism at World's level. Extremism that has no limits with lies, racism, plots, religion, gender, and age...The Way of the World, as Suskind calls it.
Will this explosive discovery by the Pulitzer prize winner and acclaimed writer put his life in danger? I don't think so. That would be too obvious, He has taken a calculated risk by being the informer of such news and hopefully he has nothing to worry about, unless of course, he suddenly gets sick with some strange illness, or some "unexpected" accident.

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE AIRLINES EMPIRE

It all really started by the necessity of business transactions which required faster transportation of documents from one city to another. Banks were one of the most interested companies with this way of making business. There are many historians that you can find on the Internet, giving us a full account of the people, airplanes and reasons. This is not the reason for my blog. I only want to talk about two major differences in the airline industry. One, the glamorous years of commercial aviation of which I will talk about at the end of this blog, which reached its peak in the 80s until a movie star by the name of Ronald Reagan, who became President of our country, decided to open up the skies with a "Deregulation" law, allowing anyone to form his airline and obtain flying "slots" (that is what it is called when you apply to fly from one point to another during certain days and hours). Right after that, the proliferation of new airlines, with routes already served by the old ones, created a huge competitive market, which was good for the passengers by being able to shop for air fares, but totally ill-fated for the airlines, mainly the old ones. These airlines had to change their commercial philosophy and began applying for newer routes and additional slots in their already existing routes. The over saturation of flights and airplanes, covering the same routes, made the competition even tighter and airfares plummeted, commissions to travel agents, tour operators, incentive corporations, and any one who could form a group increased to the point where airlines needed to operate at full capacity to break even. That was the mess caused by Reagan, supposedly one of the best presidents this country had. Perhaps mainly because of that famous phrase "Tear down this wall " to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, referring to the Berlin wall dividing Germany into East (communist) and West (democratic). I, honestly do not recall other major accomplishments. But, then again, I may be bias. (Today, most of the Travel Agencies have disappeared, as they could not operate with zero commissions from the airlines).
Reagan, In addition to causing the airlines hit bottom today, that is about 20 years later, broke PATCO (Professional Air Traffic Controllers), an independent trade union organized in 1968, but under Federal Legislation, which forbade them to go on strike (although the U.S. Post Office, under same regulations went on strike and the workers were not fired as in PATCO, by Mr. Reagan). Traffic control suffered the consequences by the massive firing and more airlines, more planes and many more flights were and still are crossing the skies with less traffic controllers watching and supervising.
Both Airlines' insane competitive war, and firing of the traffic controllers were two big screw ups by Mr. Reagan, in spite of all the accolades he has been favored with.
How long could that commercial transportation industry survive without making drastic changes? Well, in my calculation I figure about 8 to 10 years ago. Between 1996 and 1998, commercial aviation as we knew it, began phase one of a complete turnaround to save their butts. Unfortunately saving themselves meant big layoffs, innumerable and absurd measures that violated the basic principal of their existence...CUSTOMER SERVICE. The airlines gradual digression has taken us to a current NON-CUSTOMER SERVICE. Airlines don't serve food anymore, unless flights are 5 hours or longer (some lower the bar at 4 hours). They have eliminated pillows and blankets. They have reduced the size of carry-ons you can take on board to place above your seat.
They are charging for more than one checked bag. They are charging for soft drinks, wine and beer. They make you pay more for a window or aisle seat. They have imposed an extra fee for long flights. They have removed in-flight movies But that is not all...
they want you to book your flights through the Internet so they can further reduce their reservations department staff, almost non existent today. Lately, some of them, have reconsidered to bring back pillows and blankets for a charge of $7.00 Oh, yes, you may take them home to beautify your house or to use on your sofa when you have a fight with your spouse. How considerate of these airlines! What's next? A surcharge if you are a fat ass and block the aisles as you walk to the toilet? A rental fee for seat belts? A surcharge if you bring your own sandwich? A coin operated toilet room? A "gratification fee" to allow you to kiss the stewardess? Ah, but some of them will give you a $ 5 discount coupon for "Bed, Bath and Beyond" for going through all the suffering imposed!
It is really so pathetic that perhaps what airlines should do today is to call themselves Sky Buses, remove all the logos and fuselage paint and instead sell the space to advertisers. Can you imagine how much money they will make? We the passengers could be considered as the product supporters for being inside, but, of course, without pay. Maybe we could earn more discount coupons towards the advertised product. I can imagine a "Frequent Flyer" deciding where to store in his house one thousand cans of coke, for instance. No more crew members, maybe just one called "collector", as in the old tramway or railroad times, to verify if we carry some sort of a ticket, or we chose to pay on board. Also, why 3 cockpit members? One pilot and the co-pilot will suffice. Co-pilots should pass a training to be as well flight engineers. That will reduce the cockpit cost to at least 30 percent. Another way of saving money could be eliminating all that non-sense paper and plastified instructions paraphernalia they place in the back of your seat. Who needs them anyway, if we are just cattle? I bet that would reduce the weight of the airplane by more or less 500 pounds, multiply by the entire fleet it could represent millions of dollars saved in fuel a year.

I believe you got the picture of the airlines future. Bottom line, we the passengers may even end up loading our own luggage in the belly compartments or another additional charge might be imposed so the airlines can offset the payroll of their ramp crew.

This, my friends, as McBush would say, is my vision of today's commercial aviation. It is based on actual facts plus my own suggestions.

Do you remember when men used to wear suits and ties and women big hats, high heels, and furs on their flights? How about when airlines used to take Polaroid pictures of passengers and hand toiletry pouches to everyone? Or when they offered you a choice of chicken, pasta, or red meat for your meal? Surely you recall when you could drink all the beer
and orange juice or sodas you desired for free! Some Super Constellation aircrafts offered sleep-in accommodations for first class passengers, but maybe you don't remember that because you may think a Super Constellation was a bunch of stars discovered by some astrologist much before your time, The good times of the airline industry were the glamorous years, the era when working for an airline was considered a privilege; the time when a passenger was pampered with dignity and elegance; the years when overbookings, long delayes and going to an airport was a pleasure. Airlines used to take you to a restaurant and foot the bill, to a hotel and pay for the overnight and pick you up to bring you back to the next morning flight if these delays were considerably long. If you could not be boarded for normal overbooking your ticket would be endorsed to another airline, and there were no penalties imposed if you had to make date or flight changes.
There are so many more differences between yesterday's commercial aviation and today's, that I wouldn't even call it commercial aviation anymore, "commercial frustration" suits better instead, because of the way we are treated and insulted by this deplorable deterioration
of the airlines and total lack of customer service.

If I haven't made my point it means that you are afraid of flying and never boarded an airplane. Otherwise, you certainly feel about this subject the same way I do, especially if you are old enough to remember and compare.
Will it ever improve? I don't think so, unless we find other ways and alternatives to fuel, which is the excuse all airlines give you today in order to justify their deficiencies and new measures to save money, so their CEOs can continue getting a fat check every month and millions in stock options when they retire or are fired.
Take it from me, I made a 34 year career working for some of these airlines. I was one of the lucky ones who lived through the glamorous years of the airline industry and quit 16 years ago when I realized the future of the airlines industry was bleaker than that of the extinct species shoe-shine boys.

NO. THESE ELECTIONS ARE NOT RACIST!

This is something I wanted to talk about for a while. It has to do with the barrage of Internet emails sent by cowards and liars against Barack Obama. The way these emails begin is with a scary title, such as... "And he could be our next President!". They are all very sneaky at the beginning, for example one of them starts telling you about some people who fled a communist country after going through unimaginable torture and suffering. They paint that story so sadly and soapy that the majority of the receivers of those emails immediately submerge into them and sympathize with the story. What they don't know is that at the very end of those pathetic, but probably true stories they have a surprise for the avid reader. It is a sublime, and sometimes not so sublime message, to warn you NOT TO VOTE FOR OBAMA. One way or another they want to scare you about a communist regime here in the USA, or that he is going to fill up the White House with Africans wearing a bone between their nostrils, or 6 wide rings around their neck, or a huge plate inserted in their lower lip.
Most of these emails are sent by people or organizations that block the receiver from sending a reply. It is part of their cowardice.
Also, many try to scare you with the calumny of Obama being a Muslim, which automatically at the same time, according to these slanderous people, every Muslim is a bad one. Although I cannot unmask any of these bad imitation of human beings, I tend to believe by their tone and lack of truth in their writings that they are frustrated narrow minded Republicans, probably very right wing fanatics and bullies. These are the same people that justify the Iraq invasion by claiming that the poor soldiers over there are protecting our freedom. Perhaps these soldiers should be sent to the White House if we really want to protect our freedom, but that is another theme I am not going to touch now. I am an American and I consider myself a patriot. This country welcomed me at the age of 20 and gave me all the opportunities a legal immigrant is given by our government. We never started a war and the only times we broke that privilege were Vietnam and Iraq, both unnecessary and totally irrelevant to our freedom and economy . We were the world heroes and saviors, the example to follow, the best middle class on this planet,and a society envied by all. What we now have is a racist society more visible and audible than ever, thanks to the Internet, where all these cowards can hide while sending lies to every one of us. I am going to warn you about one screen name: " JOHANNA SHAGER-HOCKER.
I don't know who she really is, except that she is definitely a right wing Republican and a RACIST. I have more untraceable names, but I will only disclose them here when I investigate a little bit more.
So please don't tell me that the reason Obama is not 30 points ahead of McBush is because his lack of experience and youth. It is RACISM.