FIVE EASY PIECES

We are "growing" as a people. One way in which we see this is that the "Religion" factor in Iraq's latest election a few days ago is a lot less prominent than the election of 2005. Most of the political factions then were religious in nature, but now other matters are more important. Many religious people in this country may have cause to "Fear" Obama because he has become such a Rock Star. He has an almost inappropriately "transparent" adminestration granting all these media interviews where the President speaks candidly about the issues and what he hopes to accomplish. There was one guy on the Rush Limbaugh program this morning who tried to scare us saying that "Rendition" of terrorist suspects will be increased by Obama and that "They will long for the day when they were back at Guantanamo Bay". I'm not buying a bit of it. These conservatives are nothing more nowdays than a bunch of hysterical squaking chickens- - and they are all headed for the political chopping block of Public Oppinion, and they know it. Meanwhile George Bush is a man according to the Thom Hartman show, that if profiled psychologically would fit the mode of the mass murderer. You hear things about young George Bush you don't read in Wickipedia. There is the whole matter of the death is his sister when George was seven and how young George had to "stuff his feelings" because his parents went golfing rather than attend the funeral. Both mother and father are described as "emotionally distant". They would have you believe otherwise now. But I'm not really buying that "reconsiliation" any more than I am buying the Patty Davis reconsiliation with Nancy. Lets face it. There are some issues that "just don't disappear like that". George W apparently like to joke and mock about that one Born Again woman he put to death, mocking her pleas for mercy. I still think we need to see a Real movie about George W that doesn't pull any punches.

Alright this is the afternoon just before three with Randy Rhodes’ waning moments on the air. Today there are certain Realities of which I was not aware when I got up this morning. You learn something every day. Michael Steel the new republican chairman has been called a “Token Black” by Thom Hartman. His logic is interesting in that he says Steel exploited his race to the hilt in a deceptive matter in a number of prior elections. His people put out brochures that claimed that he was a democrat and that this list they were handing out was a “Sample Democratic Ballot”. I guess this is the same guy who said “If you get in our way, we will knock you over”. Then there is the case of Tom Dashell. Hartman doesn’t believe he is the best choice for the department of Health and Human Services because he is not for the single payer health plan. But if he is in Obama’s administration he will pretty much have to toe the party line and do as Obama instructs him. But a better choice for the post would be a real doctor, a physician, namely Howard Dean. His politics are better all around, and he doesn’t have those nagging tax questions in his past. I think Dean should get the post because he’s a spirited man and I know that in whatever he sets his mind to do, he will give it his all.

Just to refresh your memory on Iraq before we forget about that nation entirely as we engage in a whole new round of killing in Afghanistan- - deaths from the Iraq War are one million Iraqis dead. There are 1.2 million widowed. There are 4.5 million people displaced, and I’m surprised that number isn’t higher. There are five million children orphaned. Joseph Stalin once said “One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic. Maybe if you have loved ones lost in the war, if it doesn’t hurt too much, perhaps when you put flowers on their graves, you could also say a prayer for the other side.

Pope Benedict is in hot water for two things. There are all those attacks on the Obama administration with the family planning stuff we talked about earlier. But he’s also in hot water for a story I didn’t fully grasp till just today. Pope Benedict reinstated a Bishop who had publicly denied the Holocaust. He says “No more than 300,000 Jews were gassed- and that wasn’t part of any organized plan. (as if that made it OK) and had been excommunicated. I don’t believe this is the sort of message the Pope wants to send, especially since he is German. (You’ll excuse me for playing the race card here) The Catholic Church is in big trouble if it can’t keep more in step with the times. Sometimes I don’t think this Pope knows better. Even Rev. Ted Haggard got the liberal version of “religion” last week in saying that Church ought to show more human love and compassion for the lost souls who are afflicted with being gay. Some Pastors (and one specifically comes to mind) are too busy frothing and foaming at the mouth to show the slightest bit of the sort of Love that Jesus expected us to have for all our brethren.

In soap land today’s episode could be called “Maggie Finds Out”. Maggie told Clowie to button up her blouse because Maggie saw she and Daniel making passionate love and Maggie said she was going to tell Lucas about it. But she was manipulated into saying nothing to Lucas at the moment. Were I Maggie I wouldn’t have backed down. We know it wasn’t her first indiscretion but her second. I don’t know if it would help Clowie’s case for Maggie to tell Lucas, “Yeah she made love with Daniel but she couldn’t help it. She was too overcome with such a passion as she’d never known.” Meanwhile Nicole is doing a professional manipulation job on Sammy’s doctor herself getting him to go along with all her terms, no matter how taxing or unreasonable.