I was well fed this Halloween (isn't the trickling blood enough evidence?). Look at the innocent cowboys next to me and my accomplice .. they sure didn't know what was coming.*evil laughter * Ha ha ha 
posted by mightypen @ 1:51 PM
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Since I'm doomed to burn in hell anyway, I'll let you in on a little secret.. I'm a Vampire !
posted by mightypen @ 1:49 PM
2 comments
When President Bush won the election on "moral values" it gave Republicans all over the United States a renewed sense of pride in their moral superiority. Since ethical standards are something that only the morally inferior need to follow, the GOP is moving to abandon an 11-year-old party rule that required a member of their leadership to step aside temporarily if indicted.This rule was originally adopted in August 1993 to put a spotlight on the legal troubles of prominent Democrats. The election loss has eternally damned the Democrats as immoral and faithless, so focussing on their legal troubles will not prove anything new, thus making the rule obsolete.
Under the revised rule, an indicted leader can keep his or her post while the Republican Steering Committee( controlled by party leaders ) decides whether to recommend any action by all GOP House members. The rule change applies equally to state and federal indictments. This new rule will allow Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) to keep his post even if a grand jury indicts him. The grand jury in Austin has indicted three of DeLay's political associates in connection with fundraising activities for a political action committee closely linked to DeLay. The investigation by the district attorney Mr. Earle, a Democrat, involves charges of illegally using corporate money to help Republicans win state legislative races in 2002. Those Republican victories in turn gave the state party enough legislative muscle to win redistricting changes that helped Congressional Republicans gain five additional seats in Texas on Nov. 2.
Mr.DeLay strongly came out to defend himself when he told reporters that he did not expect to be indicted but supported the rule change. He said that if there was no rule change Democrats could "have a political hack decide who our leadership is" by engineering a baseless indictment. He said Democrats "announced years ago that they were going to engage in the politics of personal destruction, and had me as a target." He went on to say that the charges being investigated by the "partisan" Earle, were " frivolous" and had "no substance and accused him of "criminalizing politics". I think DeLay's last comment should be taken very seriously and in order to keep politics free from crime , all investigation into dubious deals made by politicians should be stopped.
DeLay also said thatRepublican lawmakers "fixed the rules so that Democrats cannot use our rules against us." This makes perfect sense because ethical rules do not apply to people who have transended the bounds of moral superiority.
All Earle had to say in his defense was that partisanship played no role in his investigation and he had prosecuted more Democrats than Republicans during his long career (Thereby proving how devoid of values Democrats are).
Mr. Bonilla, a long time crony of Mr. DeLay, said revising the rule had been necessary to prevent politically inspired criminal investigations by "crackpot prosecutors" from determining the fate of top Republicans. I totally agree and think that these partisan prosecutors should be banned from conducting investigations, which should instead be conducted by unbiased "independent counsels" (like Ken Starr).
Some house Democrats (the whining losers) criticized this rule change and said the Republicans had "reached a new low" and "sold their soul" to maintain their grip on power. This seems ironical coming from a party that got whipped in the elections for the very same reasons.
The pain caused by my two emerging wisdom teeth has opened my eyes. Apparently people with good values are blessed with painless wisdom tooth growth , so I still have hope for the remaining two - *writhes in pain*
Go GOP .. Get Arlen Specter."
Hope this works !
posted by mightypen @ 10:55 PM
3 comments
Surprise, surprise its Condi Rice! President Bush wasted no time after Colin Powell's resignation in appointing Condoleeza Rice who served as his "faithful" National Security Adviser for the last 4 years, as Powell's replacement.
President Bush in a ceremony in the White House Roosevelt room with a teary-eyed Rice by his side said,''During the last four years, I have relied on her counsel, benefited from her great experience and appreciated her sound and steady judgement. Now I'm honoured that she's agreed to serve in my Cabinet.'' Hmmm..now we know who gets the actual credit for the administrations brilliant strategies for the last 4 years and I'm sure we can depend on Condi for even more brilliant diplomacy in the next 4 years..
Many top Republican leaders have said that," as secretary of state Ms. Rice would continue to promote the views of the president rather than her own." Condi has been Bush’s single closest foreign policy adviser and confidante from his Texas days. She tutored the "little traveled" Bush on foreign affairs during the 2000 presidential campaign. So profound was her influence on him then that he said "" . However Condi indignantly denied the magnitude of her influence in an interview early this year and said that the President now influenced her as much as she influenced him.Since then they've had a close relationship- Condi spends weekends with the Bush family at Camp David- and Bush trusts her completely to endorse his views, carry out his wishes and even complete his sentences. Thats definitely a lot of influence :)
Ivo H. Daalder, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution said,‘‘Her appointment means that the President wants to surround himself with the people he’s most comfortable with, and who are most loyal to his view of what foreign policy’s all about.That wasn’t the case with Powell. The President sees himself as vindicated by re-election, and therefore he’s going to implement a foreign policy that is closely tied to the one he has been wanting to run all along.’’
Well I have nothing more to say except if this is not ensuring that the "political capital " which was earned is being spent , then what is?
posted by mightypen @ 11:49 PM
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Colin Powell’s resignation was not unexpected,but that he would resign so soon before the second term officially began did come as a surprise.
Mr. Powell assumed office with the strong credentials of being a retired 4 star general and having served as Joint Chief of Staffs during Gulf War I under President George HW Bush. There was a strong expectation that he would set a course for foreign policy, but for all his international celebrity, he never developed a close bond with the president and more often than found himself at odds with Cheney, Rummy and other resident hawks like Condi Rice. His supporters say that he did not get credit for the work he did in improving relations with Russia and China. That may well be true- but that and anything good done by Mr. Powell will always be overshadowed by his image on Feb. 5, 2003, when he stood before the United Nations Security Council, and lied on the behalf of the Bush administration, making a case for the war on Iraq. That one single incident made him lose face in front of the international community.
But inspite of that, Mr. Powell was this administrations saving grace. I had hoped he would stick around because I think he fully understands the importance of resolving the Israel -Palestine conflict in order to establish stability and peace in the Middle East (Cheney and Rummy think that this issue is “overrated”) . Despite the UN debacle, he is still the most ( and probably only) respected member of the Bush cabinet overseas and the only person who is capable of the diplomacy required to address this issue.
I wonder what prompted a man like Colin Powell to stick by Bush in a war he did not support , stick out his neck and damage his credibility by lying just to make a case for this war and continue to remain in office when his foreign policy plans were constantly undercut by the White House. Will we ever find out? Maybe if he writes another book- but given the record of his loyalty I don’t think that’ll happen till 2008…..
posted by mightypen @ 9:10 PM
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Tamil Nadu police arrested the Kanchi Shankaracharya in Mehboobnagar after investigations established that he was a prime suspect in the murder of an employee of Kanchi mutt. The arrest was based on the confessions of 2 of the 14 people arrested in connection with this case. This arrest came as a surprise considering the seers proximity to influential and powerful people like industrialists and the AIADMK administration.
This story, which has the makings of a political potboiler, is on the front pages of all national publications. The self-proclaimed saviors of Hinduism are obviously using media attention to vent their spleen. Here are some of the outraged comments –
Jaideep Patel, VHP state unit General Secretary said “Shankaracharya's arrest is an insult to all Hindus and we will protest this till the end. Revenge will be taken for this act. Is the Central government trying to appease a section of the minority community by doing this?" I’m sure talk of revenge comes very easily to Patel given his background of instigating riots in Naroda Patia , which was supposedly revenge for Godhra.
Not to be left behind ,Praveen Togadia predictably said “this is an onslaught on Hindus". The man seems to think *anything * is an attack on Hinduism. He’s used this line so many times that its become stale. Togadia added "This is for the first time in the history of Hindus that Shanakaracharya has been arrested. Why all of a sudden, the seer was arrested while performing trikal puja.” The logic behind his statement (if there is any) baffles me. Does he mean to say that other shankaracharyas were not arrested inspite of their involvement in crime? Would he have been ok with the arrest had it taken place after the puja? Does he hope (like me) that this "historic" arrest will set a precedent and send a message that religious leaders are not above the law? Or am I reading too much into his statements (whe he's being idiotic like always)?
While protests happened elsewhere and the VHP claimed that this issue was no less serious than the attack on the Somnath temple, the temple town of Kanchi has remained quiet and protest free. The best quote which echoed the general atmosphere in Kanchi came from a taxi driver Saravanan, who said ,“Who cares what becomes of him? If he got a man killed, let him pay for it.” Hear hear ...
Well I for one hope that this really happens and that the case is not swept under the mat because of politics. I hope that somehow justice prevails and if that if the Shankaracharya has committed the crime he pays for it , thereby setting a precedent for the future and showing that no one is above the law , even if they think are “spiritually superior”.
posted by mightypen @ 10:03 PM
2 comments
Lots of events occurred last week like Arafats death, Ashcrofts resignation and new developments in Zahira's case - I have been writing about this in my diary but have been traveling so haven't had the time to blog this stuff. Watch this space for updates ..
posted by mightypen @ 1:00 PM
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I saw “What the bleep do we know?” yesterday. It is the wildest film I have seen in a long time. It is part documentary, part story, part visual effects and animation.The film describes the power of thought and talks about the science of possibilities in terms of creating your own reality.It equates human thoughts,emotions and actions to certain phenomena in quantum physics. Among the many issues explored is the relationship between religion and science and is dealt in a interesting way in this film.
This film was made by a group of scientists which include a number of physicists , neurologists, anaesthesiologists,physicians,spiritual teachers , mystics and scholars and stars the hearing impaired actress Marlee Martin. It was initially rejected by most big studios, but has managed to become quite popular against the odds.
I can’t really describe what this film is about more in detail than I have because it is something that you can understand only after watching it and savoring the experience.Visit www.whatthebleep.com for more details
posted by mightypen @ 2:54 PM
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posted by mightypen @ 10:40 PM
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I had the honor of meeting Holley Watts a few months ago,when we were in a course together. As an avid history buff I had read a lot about the Vietnam war when I was in college. When I first met Holley, the war was once again in the spotlight with all the unnecessary discussion about Kerry’s war record. In the one of our conversations she mentioned she had served at Vietnam and written a book about her experiences, which she was trying to get published.Just talking to her and reading her book, touched me in ways I had never imagined.
Her book, which is called “Who Knew…. Reflections on Vietnam”, is a memoir with witty and often poignant paragraphs and compelling pictures. Each page, which is a thoughtful compilation of words and pictures, effectively conveys Holley’s experience and tugs at the heartstrings of the reader.I asked Holley for her permission to quote a paragraph she had written about a soldier that had touched me deeply, on my blog. She asked me to point out which one it was and when I pointed out the page to her, she simply said, “I’m glad you chose that one – he was my boyfriend.” She went on to show me a few more pages, which had references to the same soldier. I was overwhelmed and had tears in my eyes.
Who knew how much difference an ordinary person who has had an extraordinary experience, can make to another person by just sharing?
The excerpt from Holley's book is in my next post.
This is a great book and definitely worth reading. Its also being used as educational material in schools like James Madison University in VA.
For more information or to order a book please contact Holley: email - holleywatts@yahoo.com or call at 540-476-1369.
posted by mightypen @ 6:33 PM
3 comments
London's Daily Mirror screamed in a Page 1 headline this week: "How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?"
:)
posted by mightypen @ 10:04 AM
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17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists...by Michael Moore
Dear Friends,
Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in the words of Monty Python, “always look on the bright side of life!” There IS some good news from Tuesday's election.
Here are 17 reasons not to slit your wrists:
1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again.
2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916.
3. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults (Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again that your parents are always wrong and you should never listen to them.
4. In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think the war wasn't worth fighting (51%), and don’t approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52%). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)
5. The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate. If the Democrats do their job, Bush won't be able to pack the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues. Did I say "if the Democrats do their job?" Um, maybe better to scratch this one.
6. Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the birthplace of our democracy. So did 6 of the 8 Great Lakes States. And the whole West Coast! Plus Hawaii. Ok, that's a start. We've got most of the fresh water, all of Broadway, and Mt. St. Helens. We can dehydrate them or bury them in lava. And no more show tunes!
7. Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any old nut -- a poisonous nut. A great nation was felled by a poisonous nut. May Ohio State pay dearly this Saturday when it faces Michigan.
8. 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years isn't such a long time! If you're ten years old and reading this, your golden years will be truly golden and you will be well cared for in your old age.
9. Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed on Tuesday, cannot get married in 11 new states. Thank God. Just think of all those wedding gifts we won't have to buy now.
10. Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress, including the return of Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. It's always good to have more blacks in there fighting for us and doing the job our candidates can't.
11. The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink up!
12. Admit it: We like the Bush twins and we don't want them to go away.
13. At the state legislative level, Democrats picked up a net of at least 3 chambers in Tuesday's elections. Of the 98 partisan-controlled state legislative chambers (house/assembly and senate), Democrats went into the 2004 elections in control of 44 chambers, Republicans controlled 53 chambers, and 1 chamber was tied. After Tuesday, Democrats now control 47 chambers, Republicans control 49 chambers, 1 chamber is tied and 1 chamber (Montana House) is still undecided.
14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than the one he's having this week. It's all downhill for him from here on out -- and, more significantly, he's just not going to want to do all the hard work that will be expected of him. It'll be like everyone's last month in 12th grade -- you've already made it, so it's party time! Perhaps he'll treat the next four years like a permanent Friday, spending even more time at the ranch or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn't he? He's already proved his point, avenged his father and kicked our ass.
15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very dark road, it is also just as likely that either of the following two scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and arrogant -- and thus, reckless -- that he will commit a blunder of such major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from office.
16. There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of them of voting age. We only lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide -- it means we're almost there. Imagine losing by 20 million. If you had 58 yards to go before you reached the goal line and then you barreled down 55 of those yards, would you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go home crying -- especially when you get to start the next down on the three yard line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope! More sports analogies are coming!!!
17. Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted for the candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's more than the total number of voters who voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton or Gore. Again, more people voted for Kerry than Reagan. If the media are looking for a trend it should be this -- that so many Americans were, for the first time since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal. The country has always been filled with evangelicals -- that is not news. What IS news is that so many people have shifted toward a Massachusetts liberal. In fact, that's BIG news. Which means, don't expect the mainstream media, the ones who brought you the Iraq War, to ever report the real truth about November 2, 2004. In fact, it's better that they don't. We'll need the element of surprise in 2008.
Feeling better? I hope so. As my friend Mort wrote me yesterday, "My Romanian grandfather used to say to me, 'Remember, Morton, this is such a wonderful country -- it doesn't even need a president!'"
But it needs us. Rest up, I'll write you again tomorrow.
Yours,
Michael MooreMMFlint@aol.comhttp://www.michaelmoore.com/ .com
posted by mightypen @ 12:52 PM
4 comments
We've been hearing conflicting reports about Yasser Arafat's condition since yesterday. The fact remains that he is critically ill and the Palestinian authorities are trying to appoint a leader to replace him in anticipation of the worst news.
Theres been a lot of speculation about what a new Palestinian leader would mean for Israel-Palestine relations. The new leader will definitely have a heavy burden on his shoulders to be acceptable to both parties in order to revive the peace process which has reached a stalemate.
posted by mightypen @ 10:53 AM
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Unfortunately,I think I’m right about what I said yesterday – that the Presidents declaration of reaching across the divide doesn’t ring true. Today in a press conference he said “ "Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it." He also mentioned that this was “ his style”. Claiming that he earned "capital" in the campaign is definitely not a move towards unity, because though he won a majority, almost half of American voters voted against him. Most of the people I know are upset about his triumph. But most of his remarks have sounded arrogant and stressed that he is free to do whatever he wants. If he ignores how many people are passionately opposed to him , it will only serve to increase the divide and will perhaps be one of his biggest blunders.
posted by mightypen @ 1:00 AM
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I had always looked at America as a land of freedom and opportunity from what I had read, seen and heard. After I came here that feeling was reinforced. I have always felt that one of the most wonderful American values is tolerance for ideas other than one’s own. It is this value that has drawn so many immigrants and made this country a melting pot. I’ve always thought that this value was responsible for people of diverse cultures and religions living here peacefully, without rioting. What upsets me is that this election, which was based on fear and intolerance, shows a complete move from this value. Let me end by quoting Tom Friedman, who put my thoughts into words so clearly in his column- “But what troubled me yesterday was my feeling that this election was tipped because of an outpouring of support for George Bush by people who don't just favor different policies than I do - they favor a whole different kind of America. We don't just disagree on what America should be doing; we disagree on what America is. Is it a country that does not intrude into people's sexual preferences and the marriage unions they want to make? Is it a country that allows a woman to have control over her body? Is it a country where the line between church and state bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers should be inviolate? Is it a country where religion doesn't trump science? And, most important, is it a country whose president mobilizes its deep moral energies to unite us - instead of dividing us from one another and from the world?”
posted by mightypen @ 4:15 PM
1 comments
Now that the disappointment and outrage of the outcome has lessened and acceptance has begun to sink in here are a few more thoughts –
I think that this election endorses the brilliance of Karl Rove’s political strategy. When I say this , it does not mean that I personally agree with his strategy, but the fact that his plan was successful cannot be denied. This can clearly be seen not only in the outcome of the election but also in all the 11 states that voted to ban gay marriage. Mr. Rove understood that the loss of popular vote in 2000 could be avenged if the “base” came out to vote and he made sure of that by running a divisive campaign.
I’m sure the democrats are bitterly analyzing their loss right now. The news channels are probably doing a deeper analysis of the same. Theres going to be brow beating and finger pointing. I’m no political pundit, but I believe that the Democrats should use this as an opportunity to get their act together and redefine themselves as a party with vision and clear principles that can be understood by everyone. They should be able to tell people why they should vote for them rather than why they should not vote for the GOP. This is the only way they will be able to connect to the ordinary people who currently view them as a party of “liberal elite”. One thing they should be wary of is falling into the trap of trying to bridge the ideological gap between themselves and the Republicans in order to increase their base. That’s an easy trap for a political party to fall into and I’ve seen it happen in India. By doing that they would be alienating their own base in order to pander to a one that will never vote for them at all. They can expand their own base and reach out to the moderates and independents by clearly defining their values and principles like I had stated earlier. Last but not the least, they need a leader who is able to effectively represent the party, connect to the people and communicate to them what he and the party stand for.
posted by mightypen @ 10:22 AM
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I hate to be negative, but I’m not looking forward to the next 4 years. When Kerry spoke about ending the division and beginning the healing in his concession speech and the President spoke about reaching across to the people who did not vote for him, I initially felt warm and fuzzy. But reality bites- In 2000, when he won the election running from the middle, he moved quickly to the right and this is reflected in all his policies. This time he ran from the right, in a bitterly divisive campaign and his victory is being touted as a “broad mandate” by the Republicans, is there any reason to believe that he will move from the right to the center? After all he is answerable to the religious conservatives who put him in office. I might have still believed what he said except that even when he was making his speech several Republican senators talked about how they could pursue their conservative policies now that they had a house majority. Also, he has refused to admit that any of his policies was a mistake- he could not even answer that question in the debate. I’ m curious to see how he plans to handle Iraq, the fiscal deficit and his other mistakes over the last 4 years (which he has refused to admit), which are now a colossal mess.
I really hope that he gives me a reason to think my pessimism was unfounded..
posted by mightypen @ 10:30 PM
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All the pollsters who predicted that Kerry would win based on exit polls are eating humble pie. The exit polls done in India during the last general elections were also totally inaccurate. Makes me feel that exit polling should be scrapped totally, so that we can be misled by our own imaginations until the actual results are declared :)
On a more serious note, the polls said that most of the people who voted for W, did so based on "moral values" like abortion, stem cell research and gay marriage. Webster's dictionary defines moral values as "accepted notions of what is right and wrong (in a community)." That gives the term a very broad meaning. So its important today to ask oneself what is considered moral in our community - Is it moral to start a war, based on fabricated evidence, that has led to the deaths of more than 100,000 innocent Iraqis and 1,100 American military personnel? Is it moral to permit prisoner abuse by snubbing the Geneva convention? Is it moral make the junior officers scapegoats and not penalise the higher ups? Is it moral to ignore civil liberties and suspect people of being terrorists because of their faith? Is it moral to cripple scientific research and take no measures to prevent environmental pollution? Is it moral to pass fiscally irresponsible tax cuts which are pro-rich and create a huge deficit? Is it moral to take no action about the rising healthcare costs, which affect the poor who cannot afford insurance?
Lastly, is it moral to divide a country based on fear and intolerance?
posted by mightypen @ 5:03 PM
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My eyes are still drooping from having been up all night watching the election coverage. After FL was called for Bush and PA for Kerry, it was evident that everything depended on OH. Totally taken in by the "too close to call" spin from news channels , I stayed up hoping that somehow Kerry would get OH, although it was obvious that W was leading. Now, after the concession , when W's been formally declared the winner, I'm left with this sense of disbelief that he won. Simply because irrespective of who is opponent was and what each of their policies were, the fact remains that his administration had a terrible record for the last 4 years and in my country an incumbent administration with a similar record would have been kicked out on their butts so hard that they wouldn’t have been able to sit for weeks! Well I guess democracy works its wonders in mysterious ways …
posted by mightypen @ 12:53 PM
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