Stomping your feet and calling your opponent names is seldom effective in defeating them. Therefore in the political arena using the bully pulpit as a substitute for effective and successful psychiatric therapy is seldom effective either. It might feel good to some, but often doesn’t result in real change. If Democrats what to trounce the rather poor slate of top tier candidates in the Republican field here are a few recommendations.

The successful democrat candidate will have to pick up 5 to 12% of the actual voters outside of his or her base. The so-called independents and or some of the so-called moderate republicans.

1: Put aside your rage at George Bush, Dick Chaney and Karl Rove. It will be hard, but if you do your chances of winning increase exponentially.

2: Propose a tax cut for everybody making under a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars a year.

3: Say bad things about the IRS.

4: Have somebody on your staff hold their nose and follow NASCAR. Study what they find, go to NASCAR events and try to have a good time. A few visits to the PBR wouldn’t hurt either.

5: Send Bill Clinton to Celebrity Bull Riding on Country Music Television.  

6: Join the NRA. Okay, Okay, have the doctor double your Effexor prescription. It’s only until the election is over.

7: Have Hillary join Country music stars Big and Rich on stage and sing along to “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.” Have singer Gretchen Wilson show Hillary how to ride a Cowboy.

8: Propose a big increase in the size of the military.

9: Join a conservative Mega-Church.

10. Purchase a small assault rifle. Well, maybe do this only if everything else fails.

If success if the best revenge, then the democrat candidate should try a few of these. If they do, they’ll scare the republicans to their core because they will have shown that they can think outside of the box.

John.

Its forty years after the Summer of Love in Gay San Francisco and the children of that age are running for the presidential nomination of the Democrat Party. Hillary, John and Obama are all jumping through hoops to get our attention. Hillary is the front runner.

Usually, most republicans would be jumping up and down with glee at the prospect of trouncing any of the three main democrat candidates. Defeating this lame trio of people should be an easy as shooting fish in a barrel. That is until you look at the republican top tier.

This contest could turn out to be lame verses lame and dumb verses dumber. As a line in one of my favorite 1960’s summer of love songs goes: “Very Strange.”

Now that Hillary has picked up the ever important endorsement from Fidel Castro, she looks to take the primary. Things could always change, but, Hillary is by far the best political chess player at this point in her party. I can’t wait for Hillary to get the Hugo Chavez endorsement. Let’s face it; Hillary rubs many people-including people in her own party-the wrong way. But that does not take away from her skill at surviving and turning lemons into lemonade.

At this point I tentative concede the democrat nomination to Hillary. A really fascinating choice for vice president would not be Barack Obama, but his wife Michelle. Hillary and Michelle-Now that’s a fighting pair.

John

Here we are, again, reading about the sexual crimes of another American politician, another Republican, and another member of the U.S. Senate. What I find so disturbing isn’t that a married male republican got caught with his sexuality exposed in a guilty plea; that seems to happen all the time. What upsets me is that  some men  are using public toilets to troll for a trick.

I’ve been in the Minneapolis airport restrooms a number of times. Men at this airport have tapped their toes and kicked their shoes under the stall wall towards mine several times. Now remember, I live in Chicago where nobody obeys the rules of civil privacy in public. After the offending dude kicked or tapped me with his shoe I thought he was being impolite so I kicked the dude back, hard, and said “Keep your ‘#@*%#’ shoe in your own stall.”

I once had a dude wearing a dress and with pumps tap my foot with his pump under the stall wall. I didn’t kick him because I feared I might be charged with a hate crime against transgender people.

Sadly, this incident supposedly took place in an airport, in a passenger only area, during the day, when children might be exposed to the lewd behavior. Everybody has a sexual nature. In our secular society same sex behavior is not a crime. In God’s kingdom, God decides who is guilty of sexual crimes and who isn’t.

My advice to all people is keep your sexuality at home, or at lease in your hotel. Also, if you’re having a conflicted sexual orientation: don’t run for political office, don’t seek the conservative ministry as a profession, don’t engage in sex in public places and don’t engage in anything that’s criminal.

Sadly, the next time I use the Minneapolis airport restroom I'll be sure not to look in the crack of the bathroom stall; I’ll still take my bag into the stall because the airport recording says not to leave you bag unattended; I’ll keep my feet in the center of the stall; I’ll report any impolite men in the stall next to me to the police; and I won’t tap my foot on the floor as I think of the 500 things I have to accomplish before the day is finished; Mostly I won’t plead guilty to things I didn’t do.

The bible would say:"Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near."

John

Well, they’ve done it again. Howard Dean, Donna Brazile and friends on the DNC have been sharpening their “ How to Win Friends and Influence People” skills by threatening  to ignore Florida’s voters sovereign  choice for democratic nominee   at the Democrat presidential convention in 2008.

Back in the highly contested 2000 election the DNC and friends screamed foul when they claimed that Bush stole the election because of faulty vote counting. Now the DNC is telling Florida: “ We don’t care who you vote for, unless you vote in the manner we dictate we’re not going to count your vote at all.”  

Senator Obama didn’t seem upset that the Florida Democrat voters might not get their votes counted.

Once again the Democrat party is attempting to usurp the sovereignty of Florida by dictating the manner in which their votes can be counted. So the DNC rules committee is more powerful then the Florida constitution.

I find it fascinating how various constitutions get in the way of people who want power.

Go Howard, GO! Alienate more of your voter base.

John

How do you go after Islamic terrorists and not offend Muslims?

Islam is a complicated religion with a complicated past and perhaps an even more complicated future. To many Muslims, the thought of killing non-Muslims and innocent people; establishing a global ultra orthodox caliphate under strict Sharia Law; going back to the 7^th century in Islamic history; and destroying liberal democracy holds no allure. These folks-most Muslims-have a legitimate complaint when it comes to the idea of islamophobia.  

Yet, within these large peaceful Muslim communities there are those hyenas with harsh Islamic theology that hide and wait. They are the sons and brothers and fathers of peaceful people who want nothing more then to work, enjoy their families, worship their god and improve their families. They’re angry and feel oppressed by the very liberal democratic culture they live in, immigrated to or were born.

Oppression is a very big deal to Muslims. When they feel oppressed violent radicals with a rage and thirst for blood will boil over and strike at what they view as their oppressors.

So, what is oppressive to many Muslims?  To some it is our liberal democracy, secular culture and tolerance, even of sinful things that is oppressive. These people are the individuals who go on to dance in the street when the world trade center falls down, Strap on suicide bombs and murder children and women, and threaten the very fabric of our culture.

This brand if Islam is not new. It’s been around since the time of the Islamic prophet Mohamed. What is new in recent history is amount of money these folks have had and their willingness to strike at their perceived enemies outside of their native lands.

So, when radicals use Islamic charities to funnel charity into violence, Muslims who want nothing to do with violence suffer. The suffering of innocent Muslims only stirs the anger pot in the Muslim community and the radicals grow in money power and influence.

Oddly enough, the global economy has provided most of the fuel to sustain these radical in their quest.

John

People in Chicago seem far more angry at Michael Vick then they are over the 30 plus children n Chicago who died as a result of homicide this year.  Far more Children in Chicago died from homicide then Illinois Solders have died in Iraq or Afghanistan.  We seem to have sealed off our social conscience from reality  and chosen to get mad at things that are very low on the scale of importance for the continuance of our society and humanity.

John

As I watched the Federal Bureaucrat pull the plug on the Utah Miner rescue I was reminded of Former President Jimmy Carter and his inept and cowardly response to Iran’s grab of  U.S. diplomats and holding them for over a year in 1979.  After the failed attempt at rescue and resulting loss of life, Carter tucked his tail between his legs and whimpered.  

The feds, the State of Utah and the Murray mining company have essentially done the same.

Going after the miners is the right thing to do, even if it’s cost is tragic. Brave men and women are willing to go after their brothers underground because they know that their brothers and sisters would come after them if they were in the same situation.

Have we really come to the place where we write off lives because they are too expensive or too dangerous to get back?   

What miner in his right mind would want to continue digging in the earth at a dirty and dangerous job when He know that if things go bad the company he works for and the government he pays for will write him off?

Creeping into my mind is the unfortunate thought that perhaps one factor in the cold analysis to abandon these me is the fact that three of them are Mexican. Lord I hope that isn’t a factor, but I’ve got to wonder.

John

The Federal Government, Utah State Government and Murry Mining Corporation have written off the miners in Utah. They say it’s too dangerous, too costly and I’m sure their lawyers and PR people are saying it’s too unstable a situation to do anything real about it.

Americans have always sent people into harms way to rescue and recover their wounded and dead. But, not now I guess.

What scares me about the whole situation is when will the government that we pay trillions of dollars for decide to write me and others like me off? If New York had followed the path taken in Utah,  9/11’s Ground Zero would still be a smoldering pile of twisted metal.

John

Is Hillary Clinton an Anti-Christ?

I used to think so, but not anymore. Hillary Clinton is a lawyer, though. Lawyers tend to thrive on confrontation, power and competition. She is tireless, calculating, good in a knife fight and is a skilled practitioner of the art of situational triangulation of integrity.  She is a power player.

Now, Hillary can lie, cheat, steal and stonewall with far greater skill then could Richard Nixon. I would hate to see Karl Rove and Hillary hookup because together they would rule the world. They might kill each other, but the nexus of power would be staggering while it lasted. Like Karl Rove Hillary has an enormous reservoir of pride. That can be her downfall. She likes to fight like a man, but tries to cower like a weakling who needs protection form the mean people who oppose her. Hillary, however, needs no protection from nobody. She is more then able to take care of herself.

People often ask if Ronald Regan would ever have become president without Nancy. I think it fair to say that Bubba certainly wouldn’t have become president without Hillary.

For better or for worse, Hillary is polarizing. Many in both parties despise her. Yet many in her party may end up voting for her.

I admire Hillary because she has been enormously successful. I despise what she stands for, despise how she achieved her success and think that her party could do much better when selecting a candidate. Yet, Hillary is Hillary and Hillary is successful.

Are you ready for four more years of the Hillary and Bubba Show? I can see it now, First Husband and former President Bill Clinton has move his old twinkie Monica back into the white house for more fun in games in the public eye….

God Help us.

John

Conservative Christians are really in the minority in our society. People who actually believe in the orthodox tenets of the faith common to Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox Greek and Syrian denominations and Coptic variations; People who accept these tenets and pick up their crosses and follow their savior are becoming more and more rare.

Yet, Conservative Christians strike terror into the unstable heart of our Secular Society. People who are betting their lives on an immutable truth are far less likely to hold their noses and vote for an unacceptable candidate then are the self described pragmatic members in society who view moral relativity with a measure of acceptance.

Of the top three current republican candidates, none pass the smell test for many conservative orthodox Christians. The smell test being blatant sin.  Of the top three democrat candidate candidates, only Obama comes close to passing the smell test, yet he has a habit of sticking his foot in his mouth.

So here are several issues I feel that the candidates must legitimately deal with. However, I don’t believe that any of the top six candidates are capable of legitimately dealing with these issues.

1. 1.Public Schools have failed the poor.
2. 2.Public assistance has failed the poor
3. 3.Tax and spend politics destroys the economy.
4. 4.No-Tax and big spend politics destroys the economy
5. 5.The war on terror is stalled, yet the threat to western society is greater then since Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Axis.
6. 6.The military is woefully understaffed and under-armed and ill-trained to fight this new kind of war.
7. 7.Many native born American citizens are furious about the immigration situation and they’re tired of being called racist, bigots and stupid.
8. 8.Conservative orthodox people are tired of being persecuted, called small minded, inflexible and dangerous for holding to their faith.
9. 9.The tax system is broken.
10. 10. Politicians on both sides of the isle act like prostitutes available for a fling for the right price.
11.  

There are many other issues to think about but these ten are but the place where I begin to agitate for change.

John

Only if Hillary is Satan, Obama is retarded and Edwards is a bad counterfeit of a Kennedy want to be. Oops, I didn’t turn the other cheek.

Ann is a lawyer. In a court room full of criminals, or politicians, or rabid liberals, she’s a foil for a point of view. Because she is a women and holds her opponents views up for dissection she’s hated and made fun of.

I am glad she’s not after me, but that’s what makes her a good lawyer.

John

Mike Huckabee is bubbling, slowly, in the GOP primary horserace. His candidacy is warming up but is currently far from steaming hot. He comes across like a comfortable senior pastor in a church you’re considering attending. I believe he’s a Southern Baptist, tried and true. This might wake up the Christian conservatives from hibernation and remind them why they’re hungry.

If it does, watch out.

The liberals and neoconservatives might need to start their attack now to try and stop and developing tidal wave.

John

Years ago, when I was studying with Zen master Tenei Hogen, I asked the question, “Why was Buddhism virtually non existent in India, it’s birthplace, in 1948?” His answer was startling. He said” The Muslims killed Buddhism in India and destroyed nearly everything associated with it as they rode through the Indian subcontinent.” I remembered his words when watching the Taliban bomb the giant Buddahs in Afghanistan.  

Now, modern Islamic terrorists have attacked The Yezidis, a pre Jewish tribe in Iraq.

I was watching a discussion between Islamic scholars about when to view the verses of the Koran literally and when to view such verses metaphorically. As in Judaism and Christianity, there is a divergence of view within Islam about how to look at and act upon the Muslim Texts.  Those Muslims who take the metaphorical view of Islam are in decline.

Many in the Islamic world view violent Jihad against Jews, Christians and non Muslims as perfectly acceptable, even a duty. To say that these people have hijacked Islam is fiction. The Islamic prophet Mohammed killed entire Jewish communities because they refused to convert to Islam. He even changed the city Muslims pray toward from Jerusalem to Mecca because the Jews refused to accept His faith.

Violence, in the name of Islam was not only practiced by Mohammed, but was also practiced by his followers up to this very day. To say that all of his followers practiced this is not true. Yet, millions died by the sword as Islam spread.

The fastest growing schools of Islam today happen to be those that have a view of their faith closer to that of the literal Mohammed. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and his followers are a version of these literalist Muslims. To these fellows I, a Christian, am cursed. As a Christian they view me as deluded by Satan. As a Trinitarian they view me as not worshiping their true god. They view the Bible as corrupt; The Torah as having been altered for bribes; and Christians as being unable to pray or practice charity properly.

Since I refuse to convert to Islam, according to the Grad Mufti, I am cursed and deserve death and Muslim hell. Killing me, they believe, will be a duty of all true Muslims. The timing of my demise is for these folks the only matter of debate.

Unfortunately for the Yezidis, some true believing Muslim figured the time was right for their demise.

John

Judging Candidates.

Most of us judge candidates by how comfortable we feel with the person and how we imagine they might perform when elected into office. The psychology of electoral comfort is a fascinating thing. People we’re not comfortable with, we usually won’t vote for. So, I’ve decided to list my comfort and discomfort with the declared candidates.

Hillary Clinton- Slick Hillary. She’s willing to lie, cheat, steal and bash anybody and anything that gets in her way. She attacks, attacks and attacks. Obedience to the law seems very unimportant to her, particularly if it inconveniences her.

Rudy Giuliani- A symbol of safety, but I’m not sure he deserves to be. He does not lie about his position on issues bothering social conservatives, but his philandering ways and modern liberal social conscience really bother me.

Barak Obama- I believe he threatened America when he said that if we don’t give the poor what they want they will explode. He threatened to invade Pakistan. He called the U.S. military murderers by targeting innocent civilians for bombing in Afghanistan.

Mitt Romney- The Mormon thing is a problem. The Mormon Church is far from a cohesive institution of theology, yet there are parts of Mormon Theology that bother me as much as Wahabi Theology. Mitt is guilty of triangulating and has a bit of knee jerk defensiveness about his faith.

John Edwards- Too pretty, Too rich, Too vein and Too John Edwards. A JFK want to be.

John McCain- He used to call the media his greatest supporters, but they have turned on him. He is loose cannon, and doesn’t mind spiting in to the wind unnecessarily. Has a bit of an uncontrolled temper.

As you can see, I’m not comfortable with any of the declared so-called top tiered candidates.

I don’t really see any undeclared democrats lurking outside the process so I presume that one of these three may be the democrat candidate.

Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson are lurking outside of the republican process, but it remains to be seen if they actually get in or are just splashing around in the political waters just for the fun of it.

Mike Huckabee, a so-called 2^nd tier candidate does interest me, but we’ll have to see if he can convert his 2^nd place Iowa Straw Poll finish into real political capital.

John

So, the Saudi Arabian Islamic equivalent of the pope believes that we unclean

non-believers deserve to die and killing us will bring pleasure to his god. He just disagrees with killing us at this time.

Now, the government of Saudi Arabia funds this man and his minions with billions of petrodollars dollars to spread this message around the world. In fact, he considers the good Muslim men who these atrocities to be preferable to us who are unclean.

John