some random ruminations

Some ruminations ********************** *Indiana long-time Senator Dick Luger will likely lose in Tuesday's primary. His overall conservative ratings are in the upper 70ies. What do the tea partiers, the purists, want? He is 80 yrs. old, with over 35 yrs. in the Senate...one of the ol' bulls. He works across the isle, and he is considered a gentlemen in the Senate club. **France's Pres. Sarko will likely lose in the Pres. second round voting today. His persona is not attractive; and he has been the French political leader for 5 yrs. The French voters seem not to want to spend another 5 yrs. with this guy. Enough is enough! His moderate Socialist opponent argues that the German/French alliance promoting euro zone austerity has caused severe hardships; and he pledges to moderate the German led austerity program. Good luck with that. The Greeks also vote today, and the large swath of the voter population are angry and don’t like the German/French austerity measures. The French and Greek voters will be sending the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the euro bankers a strong message today. “After Dallas, LBJ acted like Popeye after a can of spinach..” Unknown source in Robert Caro’s brilliant 4th installment of LBJ bio., Passage of Power -- I am reading this book, and it is a vivid page turner. I am a student in the JFK murder conspiracy school, and accept Caro as a non-believer in conspiracy. So I have some serious questions after getting to the end of Caro’s masterpiece: …why did he go on Air Force 1 in Dallas, when AF2 had the same communication capabilities? Caro does’t answer this. …Caro describes the conflict between Robert Kennedy and LBJ, including RFK’s opposition to having LBJ as VP candidate; the campaign to marginalize VP LBJ by RFK and the WH staff; the three episodes on the funeral weekend when RFK sorta blocks the Oval Office doors when LBJ wants to move in on Sat, when RFK comes in late to the first LBJ cabinet meeting, and when RFK seems to be in denial that LBJ was now the POTUS. But Caro ignores the more serious issues between these two men. More on that when I compose my review of Caro’s tomb. …there are many more questions, than answers. Former Pres. Bill Clinton wrote the NYT review of the Caro book this weekend. Being a member of the Club, former POTUSes, Clinton is generally laudatory of LBJ and Caro. More on Clinton’s review later, either here or elsewhere. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/books/review/the-passage-of-power-robert-caros-new-lbj-book.html?_r=1

Don't you bore me with talk of the jet stream, and our lack of winter and 70degree temps this weekend.

Don't you bore me with talk of the jet stream, and our lack of winter and 70degree temps this weekend.
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I stopped into the popular coffee shop Uncommon Grounds on Broadway in historic Saratoga Springs.
As I chatted with two regulars, the topic of the high temps., no snow winter, and the coming 70degree weekend came up.
On of us asked about the jet stream...what is it, and why should we care?
When one of us argued that climate change, the warming of world through human activity, causes the jet stream to move more to the extreme poles,,north and south...a lighbulb lit above us. (led bulb of course).

The northern jet stream has remained to the north of us all winter, preventing northern Artic and Canadian air from pushing out the warmer southern air.

So most of us can be bored with talk of jet streams and climate change.
Just bring on the good coffee.

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&article_id=2

A Santorum-Gingrich ticket? Let's get a reality check on this.

(..A senior adviser to Newt Gingrich told The Huffington Post Tuesday night the campaign likes the idea of Rick Santorum and Gingrich running on the same ticket for the presidency and vice presidency.

"Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum would make a powerful team against Barack Obama," the adviser said on the condition that his name not be used. "They have the capability to deny Gov. Romney the nomination.")
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/14/santorum-gingrich-ticket-floate...
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Well folks, politics ain't beanbag.

Newt stays in the race.
Because of the RNC rules on proportionality, Mitt is close to getting the majority of delegates for Tampa convention, but is short.
Leading up to Tampa, Rick and Newt get in a hotel room alone, and strike a grand bargain.
They will combine their delegates, and they will agree to form a joint ticket....with Newt as VP.
This bargain will be taken to the Tampa convention floor, and pandemonium ensues.
Mitt falls short of a majority on the first ballot, and many of his delegates move to Santorum on the second.
Rick and Newt emerge victorious at Tampa.

It will make a good HBO movie.
But let's take a reality check.
First, Newt's ego will not allow him to take VP slot.
And if he did, and the Santorum/Gingrich ticket wins in Nov., Newt as VP would make Cheney resemble a milquetoast VP.

When JFK/LBJ won in 1960, LBJ wrote a memo to POTUS-elect JFK outlining how the VP position would be the power center in the administration.
JFK never responded to the memo, and eventually marginalized LBJ.
Santorum would be faced with the same power conundrum with Newt.

Hellzapoppin. Mitt is now a country boy as the Miss. and Alabama primaries approach.

“Well I got me a fine wife I got me old fiddle
When the sun’s comin’ up I got cakes on the griddle
And life ain’t nothin’ but a funny funny riddle
Thank God I’m a country boy”
John Denver’s Thank God, I’m a country boy.
*****
“I am learning to say y’all and I like grits, and … strange things are happening to me,” Romney joked with the crowd.”
Mitt in Mississippi yesterday.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/08/10616094-endorsement-in-...
*****

Hellzapoppin. Mitt is now a country boy as the Miss. and Alabama primaries approach.
This man has moved so much to the right to win the GOP conservative voters that he will not be able to pivot to the center for the general election

And that seems to be Mitt’s weakness.
He is surrounded by neo-cons who whisper in his ear on when to attack Iran.
He seems to bend with the slightest political wind.

When the Texas primary approaches, he will go to Dallas and wear a Stetson and claim his great uncle died at the Alamo.
This man has class, and he appears to have a moral core, but he panders too much.

When JFK went to Dallas/Fort Worth, and was given a Stetson at the Fort Worth breakfast, he didn’t put it on and invited all the attendees to come up to the WH the following Monday and he will put it on (at least for a few seconds).
In contrast, Mitt will grab the hat. leap onto a horse, and take off for the Alamo.

Some random ruminations on Super Tuesday

Some random ruminations on Super Tuesday
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Romney narrowly won Ohio, even though he outspent his rivals by 5 to 1; and he had the troops on the ground.
Mitt appeals to the $100K + annual income voters; but he can't close the sale on those making under $100k and with the evangelicals.
The former accurately perceive Mitt as a Wall Street, country club multi-millionaire, with several houses and with an attractive wife who drives two gas guzzling Caddies.
The evangelicals believe Mormonism is a cult; and that will not change.

Virginia is a good example of Mitt's weakness in the South.
Santorum and Gingrich were not on the ballot; and even with only Ron Paul as competition, Paul got over 40% of the vote.
The GOP Virginia voters know Paul can't get the nomination; and if through some course in miracles, he did get the nod, he would be trounced by Obama.
But the Virginia social conservatives and evangelicals still voted for Paul, as the anti-Mitt candidate.

But Mitt also won about 180 delegates yesterday, bringin his total now to close to 400 of the 1100 needed.
It is not possible for any other candidate to win the delegate majority on the first convention ballot.

And the Ohio voters ended the political career of Dennis Kuchinch, the progressive Dennis the Menace.
He was soundly defeated by Toledo-based progressive Rep. Kaptur.
Kuchinch can teach, write, give speeches and become a MSNBC analyst; and his progressive voice will remain with us.
The same GOP Ohio voters gave the Congressional nod to Joe the Plumber. OMG.
Rep. Kaptur should dispatch him back to his garage.

(..Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) won a huge victory against fellow Dem. Rep. Dennis Kucinich in a member-versus-member primary, set up by the state’s redistricting. With nearly all precincts counted, “Kaptur led Kucinich 55 percent to 41 percent.”

And finally: That’s Joe the Congressman to you. Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher won the Republican nomination for a congressional seat in Ohio last night. He’ll face off against Kaptur in November. ..")http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/03/07/439425/morning-briefing-march-7-201/

"For the last decade, the international community has tried diplomacy -- it hasn't worked," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an audience at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee gala. "For six years the international community has applied sanctions -- that hasn't worked either. Israel has patiently waited for the international community to resolve this issue. We've waited for diplomacy to work, we've waited for sanctions to work. None of us can afford to wait much longer."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/benjamin-netanyahu-aipac-2012_n...
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PM Netanyahu used words that leave no ambiguity.
Israel will stike Iran soon.
The DC war party, the neo-cons, the Israeli lobby, and the rightwing govt. in Israel will strike; and the Middle East will be in flames.
How will Egypt react? Will the current military junta, and the future Arab Brotherhood, keep the Camp David peace treaty in force? Not likely.
What about Turkey?
Will Hamas and Hezbollah fire their hundreds of rockets into Israel?
What about Russia and Putin? Russia does not need Iran's oil, but both nations have strong links, and agreements, on trade and investments. Putin now has been emboldened by his strong victory Sunday.
Putin has strong anti-US feelings; and he is an authoritarian.

What about China, which does have important energy ties with Iran?

And didn't Nostrodomas predict nuclear war in the Middle East?

Hang on to our hats!!!

Romney and Iran

Romney and Iran
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If anyone doubts Romney’s neo-conservative foreign policy credentials, then read his op.ed. in yesterday’s Wash. Post. Linked below.

He assumes that Iran is building (a) military nuke. weapon(s), although the firm evidence is lacking on this conclusion.
He will rachet up the Iran sanctions.
And he will visit Jerusalem shortly after moving into the WH (” I will demonstrate our commitment to the world by making Jerusalem the destination of my first foreign trip. ..)
But he does not write that Jerusalem should continue to represent the three great religions in the world.

The neo-cons have attached themselves to Romney’s campaign, like active, fervent ideological barnacles on a wealthy cruise ship.
And these barnacles are “feathery little grabber things”, and they have grabbed hold of Mitt, Newt and very likely Santorum.
And barnacles feed on the “phytoplankon” of the billionaire pernicious,secret super-pacs.

The neo-cons barnacles that have attached themselves under the chairs of DC think tank offices, or the masthead of Bill Kristol’s Weekly Standard, are panting to return to power.
And Romney is their cats-paw to achieve that goal.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romney-how-i-would-check-ira...