An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Morning Coffee 08/20/08
Citizens’ U.S. Border Crossings Tracked
The federal government has been using its system of border checkpoints to greatly expand a database on travelers entering the country by collecting information on all U.S. citizens crossing by land, compiling data that will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations.
Officials say the Border Crossing Information system, disclosed last month by the Department of Homeland Security in a Federal Register notice, is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats. It also reflects the growing number of government systems containing personal information on Americans that can be shared for a broad range of law enforcement and intelligence purposes, some of which are exempt from some Privacy Act protections.
Huh? Ok, we have a border that is leaking like a sieve, with all kinds of illegal activity going on, right? Now, I get the idea of patterns with people, even legal citizens. We have a few who should be UNDER jails of our own. However, just how much money is being spent on tracking businessmen going to and from meetings and such across the border? I’m sure it happens on a frequent basis, and I don’t mean the ‘dirty dealings’ types of meetings either. So, instead of making sure the fence gets built, keeping track of invaders, they’re putting little numbers in little boxes to see who went where, how many times? Do I have this right?
Pickens seeks to help Nebraska increase wind power
Nebraska ranks sixth nationally in wind potential but only 20th in using wind to generate electricity.
It’s the kind of underachieving that would get a football coach fired.
But Gov. Dave Heineman and others involved in the development of wind energy said Nebraska is beginning to overcome some of the hurdles that have kept it out of the top 10.
In fact, the governor said Tuesday, Nebraska could climb into the top 10 within the next decade — an ambitious goal that would require more than a seven-fold increase in the state’s wind-generating capacity.
Wonder how much the Queen Moonbat has invested in this little adventure? I’ve only been through Nebraska a couple of times, and no offense, but there ain’t a whole lot there. Seems y’all have got a lot of potential for some windmills farms. Might as well make use of it, right?
The stakes are raised in a new Cold War
The United States and Poland have raised the stakes in the new Cold War with the signing of a deal for a US missile defence base to be situated in a country bordering Russia.
The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice and the Polish foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, have signed the pact at a short ceremony in Warsaw to applause from a specially invited audience.
The 10 US interceptor missiles will be deployed 115 miles from Russia’s western border. But just as significant is the US decision to agree to Polish demands for a battery of Patriot missiles as a reward for hosting the missile system. The Patriots are meant to protect Poland from short-range missiles from neighbours — such as Russia.
Given recent events, I question why it’s taken so long. As Reagan said, “Trust, but verify.” We didn’t ‘verify’.
Israeli Windsurfer Wins Olympic Medal
Tzuberi began the race, which took place off the Qingdao beach at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, in fourth place in the overall competition. To win a medal, he knew he had to finish the last race at least four places ahead of the three competitors in front of him. In the event, he finished second in this morning’s race, overcoming a false start; he returned to the starting line when he thought – mistakenly – that his start had been disqualified. He managed to make up for his delay, passing the first float in third place, and ultimately reaching second place.
They’re removing baseball and softball from the Olympics, but they have windsurfing? Excuse me, but does anyone else find that a bit….well…..STOOPID?
Obama: McCain ‘Doesn’t Know What He’s Up Against’
A combative Barack Obama said Tuesday that Republican John McCain “doesn’t know what he’s up against” in this election and challenged his rival to stop questioning his character and patriotism.
Obama, campaigning in a state where he hopes to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win in more than three decades, implored his supporters to fight for the presidency.
“Our job in this election is not just ‘win,’ although I’m a big believer in winning,” Obama said during the rally. “I don’t intend to lose this election. John McCain doesn’t know what he’s up against.”
Petty rantings of an immature politician? Honestly, I don’t know what he’s got his knickers in a twist about. McCain pretty much cleaned his clock at that forum set up on Saturday. The man speaks of nothing but winning, but not the why, hows, and wherefores. And BTW, B.? McCain may not know, but WE do know what we’re up against….and it ain’t purdy! (Why do I hear B. Hussein’s voice in my head going….’neener neener neener’?) Oh, and given your less than stellar performance on Saturday, I’m actually looking forward to a real debate or two. Should be fun.
Beebe: No rush to replace slain Ark. party leader
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said he won’t recommend a replacement for slain state Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney before delegates gather in Denver next week for the Democratic National Convention.
“It’s important to do it relatively quickly, but you don’t want to rush to it,” Beebe said Tuesday. “It’s the kind of decision that can be long-lasting, so you want to make sure you take enough time so you can make the correct and proper choice.”
Beebe said he will take the next several weeks to look at possible replacements for Gwatney, who was shot and killed in his office at the party headquarters last week. The gunman, Timothy Dale Johnson, was shot dead by police after leading them on a 30-mile chase.
Well, no, I don’t suppose there is a reason to rush a decision, but wouldn’t it be prudent to have someone in charge? At least temporarily? I would think they’d have a few folks who had been backing up Gwatney, and could do the job, at least for now.
As many as 182 Tennesseans may have had unauthorized criminal justice database checks run on them by a state patrol lieutenant who was placed on administrative leave Tuesday — more than a month and a half after the agency started the investigation.
Gov. Phil Bredesen seemed to downplay Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Ronnie Shirley’s actions, characterizing him as a “nosy” officer rather than someone out to misuse the information obtained on private individuals through the unauthorized checks.
Shirley is the politically connected officer who fixed a speeding ticket in 2004 for Bredesen’s top aide at the time, Deputy Gov. Dave Cooley. The officer escaped discipline when top patrol officials concocted a fake punishment to throw off the news media and the public, a deception later reported by The Tennessean.
Well, there’s a real interesting connection there, eh Phil? I’m not saying anything….just making an observation. Out of curiosity, I wonder what party affiliation those 182 have/had?
Obama Adviser Offers Some Advice to Damascus
The next president, whether Republican or Democrat, will make a Syrian-Israeli peace agreement a priority only if the two sides, meeting now in Turkey, make substantial progress before the inauguration.
That is what a foreign policy adviser to Senator Obama told Syria’s foreign minister last month while on a visit to Damascus. While the trip was not connected to the Obama campaign, Daniel Kurtzer nonetheless provided Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem with some advice of his own.
“I urged him to move ahead in the Israel-Syria negotiations as much as possible so that whoever is the next president would not start from too far down the track,” Mr. Kurtzer, a former American ambassador to Israel, said yesterday in a phone interview. “I did not say anything about Obama or McCain. I said whoever is the next president is not going to want to inherit a process that isn’t going anywhere.”
Is it really the job of a campaign adviser to offer advice to a foreign country? Seriously. I’d question a McCain adviser doing the same thing. Personal opinion, I’d have to say no. Unless either B. Hussein, or McCain was speaking, personally, to the folks, as their role as U.S. Senators…. Is it just me, or did someone step a bit over the line?
Taliban execute two ‘prostitutes’ in Pakistan
Taliban militants shot dead two women in the troubled northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar after accusing them of being prostitutes, police said on Wednesday.
The hardliners crushed the face of one of the women, apparently using rifle butts and stones, and left a note warning that others engaged in “immoral” activities would meet the same fate, they said.
“We warned these whores but they did not stop their business,” said the note left with the bodies of the women, one of whom was in her 20s and the other in her 40s, police said.
I tried to find out what their ACTUAL crime was, but there was nothing specific. As best I can figure out, they may have run a ‘beauty shop‘? Does anyone else have a serious problem here? Does anyone else see a need to turn that area into one GIANT field of glass? These are not people that can be reasoned with, or negotiated with….they are evil, pure and simple, and evil must be destroyed.
IRI not surprised by US propaganda
“The people of Iran are not surprised by positions taken by the American officials to deny the successful achievements of Iranians,” Qashqavis aid in a statements.
“It would be a surprising shock if the American officials welcomed the honorable progress of the Iranian nation.”
Yes, we are all so very impressed by Iran’s most recent technological advances, like…….Photoshop!
