If a selection committee was charged to pick the next president -- like choosing the CEO of a corporation -- John McCain would win hands down. He has the experience, the character and everything else that qualifies him for the job.
But presidents are not selected by committees, they are voted in by the American public, and the American public is not as discerning as a committee of professionals.
We as Americans often vote charm, charisma, looks and personality over intellect, experience and values. That's why people like George Bush (the father) who was perhaps the most qualified person to assume the presidency, gets booted out of office by a charismatic Governor of one of the poorest states in the country. That's why a good-looking upstart like John Kennedy could beat incumbent vice-president Richard Nixon.
It's not about experience, talent, intellect or ability.
We are a nation of starry-eyed celebrity watchers. Our heroes are sports figures, movie stars, recording artists and the super-rich. We don't care for what a person has accomplished, rather, we care how someone looks on camera.
And that's why we always get what we deserve.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Is Three A Charm? I Doubt It
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has approved a third round of sanctions against Iran with near unanimous support.
Among the Iranian officials hit with travel and financial sanctions by the United Nations Security Council on Monday is a prominent Revolutionary Guards commander close to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and a long list of technical figures involved in Iran's nuclear program
What Job Is Villaraigosa Going For In A Clinton Administration? Cast Your Vote
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa supports Sen. Hillary Clinton during a rally in Fort Worth, Texas. He has spent 18 of the last 65 days out of town campaigning for her.
For more than 2 1/2 years, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been the public face of Los Angeles, appearing in one neighborhood after the next and often leading the nightly news.
But over the last two months, he has devoted noticeable time and energy to a cause outside the city. By today, the mayor will have spent 18 of the last 65 days on the road for presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) -- visiting Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and Texas as the primary election season has intensified.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Strange Bedfellows
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday his landmark visit to Iraq opened a new chapter in "brotherly" relations between the two countries, which were once bitter enemies.
Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president to visit Iraq. He went from Baghdad's airport straight to a meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who gave him a red-carpet welcome. The two kissed four times on the cheek in the traditional fashion and a band played the two countries' national anthems.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Hero of Entebbe Dies
AP Reports:
Dan Shomron
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Former Israeli military chief Dan Shomron, the paratrooper who commanded the famed 1976 hostage rescue at Entebbe airport in Uganda, died Tuesday from the effects of a stroke. He was 70.
Dan Shomron
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Former Israeli military chief Dan Shomron, the paratrooper who commanded the famed 1976 hostage rescue at Entebbe airport in Uganda, died Tuesday from the effects of a stroke. He was 70.
He never recovered after being rushed to Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv on February 5, hospital spokeswoman Aviva Shemer said.
Israeli leaders remembered Shomron as one of the greatest military minds in the country's 60-year history.
Is Anybody Paying Attention??
AP Reports:
A top Iranian official on Sunday said the Islamic Republic has started using new centrifuges that speed up its ability to enrich uranium – a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported.
“We are running a new generation of centrifuges,” said Javad Vaidi, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Vaidi’s announcement confirmed reports earlier this month that Iran is using centrifuges that can enrich uranium at more than twice the speed of the machines that now form the backbone of its illicit nuclear program.
A top Iranian official on Sunday said the Islamic Republic has started using new centrifuges that speed up its ability to enrich uranium – a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported.
“We are running a new generation of centrifuges,” said Javad Vaidi, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Vaidi’s announcement confirmed reports earlier this month that Iran is using centrifuges that can enrich uranium at more than twice the speed of the machines that now form the backbone of its illicit nuclear program.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Again?
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader lashed out at the Democratic presidential candidates Monday after they said he could hurt their chances of taking back the White House.
Ralph Nader's decision to again run for president is drawing criticism from Democrats.
The longtime consumer advocate announced Sunday that he will launch his fourth consecutive White House bid -- fifth if his 1992 write-in campaign is included.
Guess We're Safe From N. Korea. Can We Say the Same About Iran?
From CNN: 
Technicians work inside North Korea's nuclear plant at Yongbyon.
Technicians work inside North Korea's nuclear plant at Yongbyon.
For a nation President Bush labeled as part of the "axis of evil," it was not an impressive sight: a dilapidated concrete hulk, built with few resources back in the early '80s.
Can I Show You Something In a Medium?
From Drudge:
Barack Obama
With a week to go until the Texas and Ohio primaries, stressed Clinton staffers circulated a photo over the weekend of a "dressed" Barack Obama.
The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat frontrunner fitted as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya.
The senator was on a five-country tour of Africa.
Barack Obama
With a week to go until the Texas and Ohio primaries, stressed Clinton staffers circulated a photo over the weekend of a "dressed" Barack Obama.
The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat frontrunner fitted as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya.
The senator was on a five-country tour of Africa.
Is Anything Not Israel's Fault?
From Jerusalem Post:
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a press conference following his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, not pictured, in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, Egypt.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged the US on Monday to make good on its promise to work for a Middle East peace settlement by the end of the year, warning that there would not be any future chances.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a press conference following his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, not pictured, in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, Egypt.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged the US on Monday to make good on its promise to work for a Middle East peace settlement by the end of the year, warning that there would not be any future chances.
The US "must understand it is to play an active role, not just as a supervisor, by intervening directly to help make peace," Abbas told reporters. He also urged Israel "to stop escalating the situation in the Palestinian territories and stop all attacks in the Gaza Strip, including firing missiles there."
Are Polls Ever Wrong?
From USA Today:
The air of inevitability that once surrounded Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton has shifted to challenger Barack Obama. In a new national USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, those surveyed predict by 73%-20% that Obama will be the Democratic nominee.
The air of inevitability that once surrounded Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton has shifted to challenger Barack Obama. In a new national USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, those surveyed predict by 73%-20% that Obama will be the Democratic nominee.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
My Ongoing Communication with Hillary Clinton
I will never, ever forget how you were there for me when I needed you the most. When you learned that my campaign needed your help, you didn't hesitate. And the overwhelming generosity that you showed in the past week is like nothing I have ever seen.
As the race for the nomination continues, I hope you'll remember that you have made this campaign your campaign. Our victories are your victories. I know that you are standing with me and that I can rely on you for help. And with your support, I know we'll win.
Again, thank you so much for all you have done. My heart is truly full.
Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
As the race for the nomination continues, I hope you'll remember that you have made this campaign your campaign. Our victories are your victories. I know that you are standing with me and that I can rely on you for help. And with your support, I know we'll win.
Again, thank you so much for all you have done. My heart is truly full.
Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Jerusalem On The Table?
Jerusalem Post reports:
Hatem Abdel Qader, the Jerusalem affairs adviser to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, confirmed Tuesday that Jerusalem is one of the issues currently being discussed by Israeli and PA negotiators.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Abdel Qader said Jerusalem "is not only on the table, it's also under the table."
Asked to explain the second part of his remark, he said: "This means that the negotiations with the Israelis are taking place both openly and secretly."
Hatem Abdel Qader, the Jerusalem affairs adviser to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, confirmed Tuesday that Jerusalem is one of the issues currently being discussed by Israeli and PA negotiators.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Abdel Qader said Jerusalem "is not only on the table, it's also under the table."
Asked to explain the second part of his remark, he said: "This means that the negotiations with the Israelis are taking place both openly and secretly."
'Hizbullah has a few thousand fighters'
From Jerusalem Post:
The [Israeli] army is on high alert along the northern border following reports that Hizbullah has deployed 50,000 men in southern Lebanon after last week's assassination of arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh in Syria.
Hizbullah supporters fix their flag on top of their rocket models in Bourj Qalawi near the southern port city of Tyre.
Defense officials expressed skepticism over the reports, saying Hizbullah had only several thousand fighters in total. The officials also said there were no indications on the ground of an increase in the Islamist organization's forces in the area.
The [Israeli] army is on high alert along the northern border following reports that Hizbullah has deployed 50,000 men in southern Lebanon after last week's assassination of arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh in Syria.
Hizbullah supporters fix their flag on top of their rocket models in Bourj Qalawi near the southern port city of Tyre.
Defense officials expressed skepticism over the reports, saying Hizbullah had only several thousand fighters in total. The officials also said there were no indications on the ground of an increase in the Islamist organization's forces in the area.
An Academic Boycott of Israel?
Alan Dershowitz writes about an academic boycott of Israel:
When a relatively small number of British academics tried to hijack the traditional trade union agenda of the British University and College Union by calling for an academic boycott of Israel, they expected little opposition. The union, after all, is British, and the nation whose academics were to be boycotted is Israel.
Anti-Israel sentiment among left-wing academics, journalists, and politicians in Britain is politically correct and relatively uncontroversial (as is anti-American sentiment). Several years earlier, a petition to boycott several Israeli universities initially passed but was later rescinded, and the British National Union of Journalists has also voted to boycott Israeli products. At about the same time, a British academic journal fired two of its board members apparently because they were Israeli Jews. Some popular British political leaders, most notoriously, London's Mayor "Red Ken" Livingstone, have made anti-Israel statements that border on anti-Semitism, in one instance comparing a Jewish journalist to a Nazi "war criminal."
But these union activists couldn't care less about academic freedom, or any other kind of freedom for that matter. Nor do they care much about the actual plight of the Palestinians. If they did, they would be supporting the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to make peace with Israel based on mutual compromise, rather than Hamas in its futile efforts to destroy Israel as well as the PA.
Israelis have received more Nobel and other international science prizes than all the Arab and Muslim nations combined. Cutting Israel's academics off from collaboration with other academics would deal a death blow to the Israeli high-tech economy, but it would also set back research and academic collaboration throughout the world.
Moreover, many Israeli academics, precisely those who would be boycotted, are at the forefront in advocating peace efforts. They, perhaps more than others, understand the "peace dividend" the world would reap if Israeli military expenses could be cut and the money devoted to life-saving scientific research.
It is for these reasons that so many American academics, of all religious, ideological and political backgrounds, reacted so strongly to the threat of an academic
When a relatively small number of British academics tried to hijack the traditional trade union agenda of the British University and College Union by calling for an academic boycott of Israel, they expected little opposition. The union, after all, is British, and the nation whose academics were to be boycotted is Israel.
Anti-Israel sentiment among left-wing academics, journalists, and politicians in Britain is politically correct and relatively uncontroversial (as is anti-American sentiment). Several years earlier, a petition to boycott several Israeli universities initially passed but was later rescinded, and the British National Union of Journalists has also voted to boycott Israeli products. At about the same time, a British academic journal fired two of its board members apparently because they were Israeli Jews. Some popular British political leaders, most notoriously, London's Mayor "Red Ken" Livingstone, have made anti-Israel statements that border on anti-Semitism, in one instance comparing a Jewish journalist to a Nazi "war criminal."
But these union activists couldn't care less about academic freedom, or any other kind of freedom for that matter. Nor do they care much about the actual plight of the Palestinians. If they did, they would be supporting the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to make peace with Israel based on mutual compromise, rather than Hamas in its futile efforts to destroy Israel as well as the PA.
Israelis have received more Nobel and other international science prizes than all the Arab and Muslim nations combined. Cutting Israel's academics off from collaboration with other academics would deal a death blow to the Israeli high-tech economy, but it would also set back research and academic collaboration throughout the world.
Moreover, many Israeli academics, precisely those who would be boycotted, are at the forefront in advocating peace efforts. They, perhaps more than others, understand the "peace dividend" the world would reap if Israeli military expenses could be cut and the money devoted to life-saving scientific research.
It is for these reasons that so many American academics, of all religious, ideological and political backgrounds, reacted so strongly to the threat of an academic
Is Peace Possible?
Since May 14, 1948, when the modern State of Israel declared its independence, with the support of the United Nations, including Russia, Israel has been in a state of war waged by its Arab neighbors and the Palestinian people.
There has never been one day since 1948 that this state of war hasn't existed. The organized Arab nations have tried time and time again to destroy Israel; in 1948 (24 hours after the Israel's declaration of statehood), 1956, 1967 and 1973. All wars, all started by Arab countries, all resulted in Israel being victorious and in the case of 1967 Israel expanding its borders as security measures.
At the same time, since 1948, Israel and every U.S. administration have tried to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Israel has consistently worked for peace, making concession after concession. The ultimate concessions were made at Camp David by Israel Prime Minister Barak, but flatly rejected by Yassir Arafat.
One has to wonder if the "peace process" as it has become to be known, is a reality or a charade. One has to wonder if peace is possible.
This is perhaps the ultimate pessimistic view of the Mid East situation. Just because a problem exists, does that mean there is a solution? I would submit not.
Life has myriad of problems with no satisfactory resolutions. Just because someone is ill, even if doctors know what the ailment is, doesn't mean there is a remedy to heal the patient. When a marriage goes bad, regardless of how hard husband and wife try, it doesn't mean there is a way to save it. Life is full of situations where there is simply no solution.
The problem with Israel and the Palestinians is not a matter of East Jerusalem, or the Golan Heights or the West Bank. It is not an issue of land. It is an issue of the very existence of Israel. All Arab nations and the Palestinian people have made it very clear that their ultimate goal is that there be no Israel, not what city or part is returned.
It is not a matter of who is right and who is wrong. The question is whether true peace is possible with Israel remaining as a Jewish state.
So, if total rejection of Israel is the underlying problem, as it always has been, how can there possibly be a solution to the conflict?
It is politically correct for the United States and Israel to continue to play the game of seeking peace. But perhaps the best Israel can do is accept that it always will be in a state of war, and focus on maintaining its security to protect its residents - while playing the peace seeking game.
A very bleak view of the situation, but can anyone prove that the Palestinians really want to coexist with Israel?
There has never been one day since 1948 that this state of war hasn't existed. The organized Arab nations have tried time and time again to destroy Israel; in 1948 (24 hours after the Israel's declaration of statehood), 1956, 1967 and 1973. All wars, all started by Arab countries, all resulted in Israel being victorious and in the case of 1967 Israel expanding its borders as security measures.
At the same time, since 1948, Israel and every U.S. administration have tried to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Israel has consistently worked for peace, making concession after concession. The ultimate concessions were made at Camp David by Israel Prime Minister Barak, but flatly rejected by Yassir Arafat.
One has to wonder if the "peace process" as it has become to be known, is a reality or a charade. One has to wonder if peace is possible.
This is perhaps the ultimate pessimistic view of the Mid East situation. Just because a problem exists, does that mean there is a solution? I would submit not.
Life has myriad of problems with no satisfactory resolutions. Just because someone is ill, even if doctors know what the ailment is, doesn't mean there is a remedy to heal the patient. When a marriage goes bad, regardless of how hard husband and wife try, it doesn't mean there is a way to save it. Life is full of situations where there is simply no solution.
The problem with Israel and the Palestinians is not a matter of East Jerusalem, or the Golan Heights or the West Bank. It is not an issue of land. It is an issue of the very existence of Israel. All Arab nations and the Palestinian people have made it very clear that their ultimate goal is that there be no Israel, not what city or part is returned.
It is not a matter of who is right and who is wrong. The question is whether true peace is possible with Israel remaining as a Jewish state.
So, if total rejection of Israel is the underlying problem, as it always has been, how can there possibly be a solution to the conflict?
It is politically correct for the United States and Israel to continue to play the game of seeking peace. But perhaps the best Israel can do is accept that it always will be in a state of war, and focus on maintaining its security to protect its residents - while playing the peace seeking game.
A very bleak view of the situation, but can anyone prove that the Palestinians really want to coexist with Israel?
Reporters Without Borders issues critical report
Reporters Without Borders today accused public officials around the world of “impotence, cowardice and duplicity” in defending freedom of expression.
“The spinelessness of some Western countries and major international bodies is harming press freedom,” secretary-general Robert Ménard said in the organisation’s annual press freedom report, out today (13 February) and available at www.rsf.org. “The lack of determination by democratic countries in defending the values they supposedly stand for is alarming.”
He charged that the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva had caved in to pressure from countries such as Iran and Uzbekistan and expressed concern at the softness of the European Union towards dictators who did not flinch at the threat of European
“The spinelessness of some Western countries and major international bodies is harming press freedom,” secretary-general Robert Ménard said in the organisation’s annual press freedom report, out today (13 February) and available at www.rsf.org. “The lack of determination by democratic countries in defending the values they supposedly stand for is alarming.”
He charged that the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva had caved in to pressure from countries such as Iran and Uzbekistan and expressed concern at the softness of the European Union towards dictators who did not flinch at the threat of European
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