Moron claiming Homeland Security misdeeds was lying

A UMass Dartmouth student who had recently claimed that he was visited by Homeland Security officials because of his inter-library loan request for "The Little Red Book" by Mao Zedong has now admitted to lying. His story changed somewhat over time and it fell apart under scrutiny.

According to the article, his tall tale blew up into an international story and was of keen interest in light of this past week's Patriot Act discussions and the domestic wiretapping admission by the Bush administration. The civil liberties people wanted to seize on this as proof that the government is Big Brother and that no person is safe from the evil clutches of the Bush administration. Once again, as usual, they don't have a leg to stand on.

Now don't get me wrong. I fully understand that the government isn't infallible and that they can and sometimes do overstep their bounds. However, we are now in a time of war and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt with regard to the safeguards they need to employ in order to protect us from another terrorist attack. If another attack occurs, these same morons who are fighting against these safeguards will be screaming that the government didn't do enough to protect our country. You can't please them either way.

7-footer wins WBA belt

Here's an item that was barely covered in the sports news. A 7-foot tall Russian beat John Ruiz this past weekend to win Ruiz' WBA heavyweight title. I saw a glimpse of the match in passing on ESPN. How do you even fight someone who is that tall? I guess your only real option is body shots, since you probably can't reach his head. And you would really have to struggle just to avoid low blows. Man, I wish I could've seen this fight.

Apparently, Ruiz is contesting the fight and thinks he should've won. In my opinion, Ruiz has always been a joke of a fighter. He doesn't box. All he does is lean on his opponents and hold onto them. I can only hope that he will finally retire and clear the way for some real boxers, not pseudo-wrestlers like him.

Possible good news from Iraq

For a while, it appeared that the end result of the Iraq elections would almost certainly be a mini-Iran, dominated by Shiites in favor of an Islamic theocracy. That is still a very real possibility, as the numbers could fall in that direction. However, a new possibility is now arising after the elections that were carried out this week.

The Sunnis, who are now claiming that the election was a success, could become the key to ensuring Iraq becomes a secular democracy instead of a Shiite theocracy. The Sunnis, of course, do not want to live in and be subject to the laws of a Shiite theocracy. And the Kurds have long been in favor of a secular government. Furthermore, the US-favored Iyad Allawi and his party are Shiites, but they favor secular rule. If these three groups can form a coalition that outnumbers the Shiites favoring theocracy, Iraq could wind up with a secular government after all. And that would be good news for the US and most of the civilized world.

My Christmas list: Item #2 - Term limits for all!

I know the chances of this happening are very slim, but I really wish we could get term limits once and for all. I think well-intentioned people often go to Washington and fall out of touch with the average person. Also, they often get corrupted by the political lobbying and free-flowing money that is part of the Washington machinery. If politicians knew that they were limited in how long they could stay and that they wouldn't have to depend on influence-buying dollars to keep them in Washington, they could finally begin representing the people again.

There are so many poster children for why we need term limits. These two dinosaurs would be at the top of the list, though.

Robert Byrd - over 50 years in Congress
Ted Stevens - over 30 years in Congress

Senility aside, these two "useless"-ocrats long ago outlived their usefulness.

And Georgia's senators and representatives have shameful records of hypocrisy on term limits. Several of them ran on a campaign platform of term limits, but conveniently forgot to adhere to their ideals/opinions once they got to Washington.

Please, for the sake of all that is right and good, can some brave elected soul do the right thing and start a movement to enact term limits?

My Christmas list: Item #1 - Four political parties

If I could have anything for Christmas, I would wish for the breakdown of the two-party system here in the US. As a person who voted for Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996, I often feel that neither political party represents me and my views. Yes, I am conservative in most respects, but the Republican party very often makes a mockery of the concept of responsible representative government. They are too insulated, too often corrupted, and too easily self-involved. And Democrats? Don't get me started. I can't even fathom how they take most of the positions they take (that is, when they do indeed come up with any intelligible positions). What I would like to see is a new four-party system.

I'm not a political scientist, but it appears that folks are generally conservative or liberal along two different dimensions: Fiscal matters (e.g., big government vs. small government) and social issues (i.e., abortion, church/state separation, gay marriage). The Republican party is often perceived to be more conservative on both dimensions (smaller government, socially conservative), and the Democratic party is often perceived to be more liberal on both dimensions (bigger government, socially liberal). However, the world is not nearly so black and white. There are social conservatives in the Democratic party and social liberals in the Republican party. And some folks may advocate big government in some areas, but not in others.

My recommendation is this: Break up each party into two new parties separated ideologically along the two dimensions. The resulting platforms would shake out as follows:

1. Fiscally conservative, socially conservative
2. Fiscally conservative, socially liberal
3. Fiscally liberal, socially conservative
4. Fiscally liberal, socially liberal

It would be pretty easy to imagine where many politicians today would fall in such a system. I would think that George Allen or Sam Brownback would fit into the first category. The second category would be the RINO's (Republicans in name only) such as Arlen Specter and Olympia Snowe. The third category? I would say Joe Lieberman and maybe Ben Nelson from Nebraska. And the lib/lib category would include folks like Teddy "the relic" Kennedy and "Chucky" Schumer. You know...the Socialists. :o)

A system like this would not solve all our country's problems -- far from it. It would, however, increase the likelihood of voters feeling connected to and possibly represented by a particular party. And I think that would be a positive development and a step in the right direction

An honest look at Evangelicals

Secular liberals often criticize Christians by saying that they care only about abortion and gay marriage. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Christians care about a wide range of issues including helping the poor, reaching out to the affirmed, and even global warming. While these positions/viewpoints of Christians usually receive little coverage from the MSM, they are central to the missions of most churches.

That's why I was pleasantly surprised to see MSNBC's article on the work Rick Warren and Saddleback Church are doing to help address global poverty and disease. Most efforts such as these by Christians go unrecognized (for good reason - they aren't acts designed for self-glorification). Nevertheless, it is still good for the secular world - a usually skeptical and often cynical secular world - to see that Christians do indeed focus on a broad array of issues. While many secularists will continue to find something - anything - to denigrate Christians for, an honest response by them should acknowledge what I've always known and said: Yes, abortion and gay marriage are very important issues and they will continue to matter a great deal to conservative Christians, but they are not the only two issues that matter.

Legalization of polygamy?

I'm usually not a big proponent of the "slippery slope" argument, but it is entirely valid in this case. Once marriage gets redefined to include relationships other than "one man/one woman", legal challenges such as this will bombard the courts. This particular "movement" is advocating the legal recognition of polygamy. What's next? Marriage between multiple men/women/couples? Marriage between a man/woman and his/her pet?

Marriage is only between one man and one woman. That has always been the case and will always be the case. I'm just glad I live in a country that recognizes this simple and obvious fact.

Biggest box office decline in twenty years

Apparently, the 2005 box office will see its biggest decline in twenty years. And is it any wonder that this is the case? Hollywood has been putting out crap lately. There are fewer and fewer movies that families can watch. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that Hollywood doesn't have a clue how the majority of the country lives nor do they have any idea about the values that the flyover states hold dear.

I thought that the recent box office slump and Hollyweird's love of the almighty dollar would make them wise up and start trying to figure out how to cater to the average American (and I'm talking about the REAL America here). Apparently I was wrong. Oh, well. There's always next year (although I'm not optimistic...).

Israel to build new homes in settlement

Israel has announced that they are building 200 new homes in a major settlement in the West Bank.

By nearly all accounts, this is contradictory to the US-backed road map for peace and it will probably create even more hard feelings and anger among the Palestinians and the broader Middle East. While I do back the US protection of and partnership with Israel, the US needs to take a VERY hard line on this. We give Israel unthinkable amounts of foreign aid and they continue to act like our enemies rather than our friends (remember the arms sales to China and the AIPAC/spying scandal).

The US takes a lot of crap around the world for its relationship with Israel and we should expect more from them. If I were in charge (I know, a scary proposition), I would deduct from our foreign aid to Israel an amount equal to 10 times the market value of every new house erected in violation of the road map for peace. That would stop the new development in a hurry and would give the US more credibility as a peace broker between Israel and Palestine.

I really think peace is possible there. I just hope the US will do the right thing and use its influence to keep the peace process on track -- regardless of which side strays from the road map.

"Sheets" Byrd is at it again

The anachronistic Robert Byrd says that he would bring the Senate to a virtual standstill if Republicans use the nuclear option to bust up a filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.

Really, Bob? Really? As opposed to the engine of change and progress that we have in the Senate right now? Do you really think that's a valid threat? Your obstructionist party fights on everything just for the sake of being the "No" party. Bringing the Senate to a virtual standstill would be very little change, if you ask me.

And for the life of me, I just can't understand how this former KLAN MEMBER keeps getting elected AS A DEMOCRAT in West friggin' Virginia. He's 88 years old and WAY past his prime (about 50 years past). He's either ignorant or senile. Or both.

Do us all a favor, Boob (oops, Bob) - just go away. You are the epitome of everything that is wrong with politicians.

West Virginia should be embarrassed by this man.

McCain in 2008?

This article over at Ankle Biting Pundits claims that beltway conservatives may be taking a second look at McCain for president in 2008. McCain has been derided by conservatives in the past for some of the positions he has taken, but I am open to possibly having him as our president. I know that he's socially liberal (usually a death knell in my world), but I do like McCain nonetheless. My reasoning:

• You have to respect his service (including many years as a POW).
• He is strong on defense.
• He did try to speak out against campaign finance abuses, although the McCain-Feingold bill proved to be weakly effective at best in 2004. At least he tried, though.
• It's not like Bush has been much of a fiscal conservative (I'm talking about government spending mostly). McCain couldn't be a bigger spender than Bush. Face it, no one could.
• He could help unite the country to some degree after what will likely be eight fully contentious years of Bush. And that followed eight contentious years under Clinton. I don't think McCain would inspire detractors like Bush has and Clinton did.
• He has a VERY GOOD chance of beating Hillary - and I'll vote for ANYONE that can beat Hillary
• He ISN'T NAMED BUSH OR CLINTON. My worst fear is that we get 4 years of Bush Sr., 8 years of Bill, 8 years of W, 8 years of Hillary, and 8 years of Jeb. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO FAMILIES IN THIS COUNTRY!!
• And last but not least, if W can move the Supreme Court to the right sufficiently while he is in office, a socially liberal Republican doesn't concern me nearly as much.

So, all in all, a McCain presidency isn't repulsive to me at this point.

UPDATE (06.13.06): I'm revisiting this post after watching McCain's vile attempt to give away our country on the immigration issue. This is the biggest issue to me now and McCain is SO FAR WRONG on this issue that he is now done in my book. Immigration trumps everything else I had previously mentioned.

Since Sliced Bread

From SinceSlicedBread:

Since Sliced Bread is a national call for fresh, common sense ideas. A call for ideas that will strengthen our economy and improve the day-to-day lives of working men and women and their families. It’s also a place where ordinary Americans and experts alike can discuss the important economic issues of our times.

This is an awesome concept. There are a lot of intelligent people throughout the country. SinceSlicedBread is trying to harness some of that intelligence and knowledge and creativity by soliciting ideas from contributors. As an incentive, they are offering cash prizes to those with the very best ideas. They have completed the submissions phase and will soon be going into the review phase.

I, for one, will be anxious to see what they come up with. Even more importantly, though, is whether or not Congress will take some of these good ideas and put them into action.

Check it out if you get a chance. I hope this is just the start of a revolutionary movement. Just imagine -- REAL participatory government.

Say it ain't so, Julio

Looks like the Bravos may lose Julio Franco. They refused to offer him artibration so you can't blame him, I guess. Still, I would hate to see him leave Atlanta. He is the oldest player in the game today and is still very productive. And he has always been such a class act and a man of character. Those types of guys aren't a dime a dozen in the major leagues.

Whatever happens, though, I wish him well. He's one of the good guys.

A tough immigration proposal from Republicans?

Finally. Still, I won't believe that the Republicans are serious about immigration reform until I see a plan AND its results. They're worried about alienating Hispanic voters, but I would hope that most law-abiding Hispanics would prefer a legal system for managing the situation. And the Republicans are ticking off the rest of their base by not getting this done.

Action on immigration is LONG overdue.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

I see that Javon Walker is dumping Drew Rosenhaus as his agent. I guess he was paying attention when Drew Rosenhaus "strategized" Terrell Owens (and himself) out of millions with his bad advice.

Sports agents are down there with car salesmen and politicians in the honesty and integrity department. So I doubt many tears will be shed if Rosenhaus gets cut out of some of his millions.

So much for tax overhaul

Alright, George. I know your attempt to fix social security became a big ol' mess, but now you're going to give up (I know, it says "delay", but we all know what that means) on the tax overhaul you've been promising? Aren't you even going to try? You've got the White House, the Senate, and the House and EVERYONE knows that the tax code is broken in a hundred different ways. At least give it a shot. This is a fix that is LONG overdue. Please don't go all "lame duck" on us. Not yet.

Boxing match on PPV

The Bernard Hopkins-Jermain Taylor fight is on HBO pay-per-view (PPV) tonight. I would like to see it, but I abso-friggin-lutely refuse to pay $30 or $40 to watch a fight on television. I wonder how many people actually do pay for PPV boxing matches. Surely not that many. However, they do continue to put matches on PPV, so someone is buying it. I guess they get enough business from sports bars to make it a profitable business model. Or maybe there are some folks who get it and then invite a bunch of friends over. Sort of a "you bring the burgers and I'll get the PPV."

I don't know. I just don't get it.

The Georgia Aquarium - No sushi bar?

I just saw that the Georgia Aquarium, which opened last month in Atlanta, has a restaurant called Cafe Aquaria. A restaurant sounds like a good idea. I'm sure it'll be a big moneymaker for them. Have you noticed what they serve, though? Wait, let me rephrase that. Have you noticed what they don't serve? That's right. They don't serve fish. It just struck me as funny, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. It would probably freak out the kiddies. Along the same lines, you wouldn't expect a restaurant at the zoo to serve bear-ka-bobs or giraffe nuggets, right?

:o)

Intro to rightonpeachtree

My first blog post. Finally.

I've been intending to start a blog for a while, but I'm just now getting around to it. I avidly read blogs and get most of my news from blogs, but I'm just now doing one of my own. I'm looking forward to it and I hope anyone who reads it will find it entertaining (me included). :o)

What will I blog about, you ask? Good question. I will write about whatever strikes me as interesting or worth discussing. This will include (but not be limited to) politics, religion, sports, entertainment, and local issues.

Regarding the blog's name, I live in a suburb of Atlanta. If you've ever been to Atlanta, you probably have noticed that every other road or street or boulevard has "Peachtree" in its name. Nearly any directions you receive to any location in Atlanta will instruct you to go "right on Peachtree" or "left on Peachtree" at some point. Since I lean to the right politically, I thought rightonpeachtree would be a catchy (and apt) name.

OK. That's it for now. More to come later.

Mike