Hey Dems: To This Independent, Your Largely Feigned Outrage Over the Joe Wilson "Liar" Outburst Is Offensive.

First, Wilson's outburst was completely pathetic and had no place in a joint session of Congress. I think Wilson realizes that, as his apology within an hour after Obama's speech would seem to reflect. Now on to business: For the Dems and the far left that props them up to put on this whole act of outrage the last 48 hours is offensive and disingenuous. This from a party that has gone around all summer labeling normal, mainstream independent folks like me as nazis, brownshirts, racists, and right-wing extremists for having the unmitigated gall to actually disagree with your party on your health care reform plan as well as on the other pieces of massive ultra-liberal legislation that have tried to ram-rod through the congress without reading. Where are your apologies? I haven't heard a one. You are a party of hypocrites (much like the republicans), as detailed on this space on a regular basis. And for you now to act this upset over a stupid remark from Wilson is offensive to me and, frankly, slimey. I would say that you should be ashamed of yourselves, but you'd have to actually have some shame in the first place for that comment to have any point.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/11/defiant-wilson-raises-more-than-200000-after-outburst/

Random Thoughts on Obama's Speech Tonight...

I think I actually in my blog post last night gave the dems more credit than they deserved for having a plan that they were about to hatch. Because Obama tonight just mealy-mouthed the public option once again. He didn't propose "trigger," nor did he propose public "co-ops". Nor did he say public option or else. He basically said he still likes the public option, but it's just "a means to an end" -- whatever that means. This smacks of a guy who called this Joint Session of Congress too early -- because he can't turn around and call another one in a few weeks, and he and his dems apparently don't have a bill yet that they think they can pass. One thing I've always given Obama a ton of credit for -- his political skill. But I don't see it on exhibition tonight. I see a guy who (just speaking from a purely politics perspective, divorced of my own viewpoints) should have held this Joint Session card awhile longer.

As for the speech, I only caught the second half live, but have listened to plenty of pundits tonight on both sides talk about the entirety of it. I thought the biting rhetoric towards repubs in several instances was a politcal mistake, since it's the middle that has largely driven so much of this opposition to the dems' plan, and that middle (and I'm being purely honest here -- I don't like the trend at all) is drifting towards the GOP these days. (I would prefer that so many of them remain Independent, because I trust the repubs no more than I do the dems, but I digress.) And I think in that atmosphere that is currently at play in the country, the anti-GOP rhetoric was fairly short-sighted on Obama's part.

As for the tort reform stuff -- puh-lease! You're not going to make it a part of the plan/bill you support, but rather you are going to "focus" on it in a few places in the country. Talk about empty lip service. Folks, disregard that silliness real fast.

So let's see, anything else here (I told you these were random thoughts!) -- yeah, actually: Like I said, I only heard the second half of the speech verbatim. I wasn't impressed. Obama obviously was reading from a teleprompter, but it largely SOUNDED LIKE HE WAS READING from a teleprompter. Perhaps the second half of the speech was the part he hadn't rehearsed as much, I have no idea. He did dial it up several notches towards the very end, but prior to that it sounded pretty routine, and he wasn't flowing that well -- sounded like he was reading. OK, I've rambled long enough. Just some random thoughts, as I said.

Where's the Harm? Right.

Was it so wrong for ACORN-employed workers to register a deceased Paul Newman to vote in Florida (allegedly -- first link below)? After all, we know Newman would have voted for the dems if only he had lived a few months longer (second link below). No harm, no foul, right?

But on the serious side of things: The obvious response from the left here will be to point out that ACORN itself apparently ratted out these employees. Commendable, I suppose, although what are the odds that ACORN looked into this and "turned in" these employees knowing that the state AG or FBI was about to lower the boom on ACORN otherwise (i.e., the proverbial preemptive strike)? And what about the lack of appropriate oversight, management and supervision that allowed these workers to be hired in the first place and then allowed them to pull off these kinds of shenanigans (allegedly)? No pats on the back from me, ACORN. I also don't really care that "none of the names in question actually voted," since the ACORN workers in question (if the allegations are true) clearly were taking steps towards trying to make that happen, even if they didn't ultimately succeed. That's why we throw people in the hoosegaw for "attempting" crimes.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/09/acorn-turns-florida-workers-voter-fraud-charges/
http://www.alternet.org/media/100666

Number Nine. Number Nine. Number Nine.

I woke up today and noticed that this is 09/09/09. Of course, Nine was John Lennon's favorite number (and often found its way into his song titles) because significant events in his life always seemed to fall on the 9th of a month (see first link below). The "Number Nine..." post title above comes from the voice heard on Lennon's "Revolution No. 9" from the Beatles' White Album -- a very weird assortment of sound effects and voices that goes for some 10 minutes or so (it's not a song at all). I also noticed that "The Beatles: Rock Band" hits stores today -- I'm sure no coincidence. And if I had to bet, I'd wager that Sesame Street was probably brought to us by the Number Nine today. Finally, the second linked article below explains that today "represents the last set of repeating, single-digit dates that we'll see for almost a century (until January 1, 2101)." You can't top that for significance! So here's to ya today, Number Nine!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_9_Dream

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090908/sc_livescience/why090909issospecial

Smells Like "Trigger" Spirit.

Predictions for what Obama may propose tomorrow night? It think it’s fairly clear that he will not be insisting upon a public option. There is the possibility of something along the lines of the bill that democratic Senator Max Baucus is working on, which would involve “public cooperatives” (whatever precisely that really means) rather than a public option, plus a requirement that all citizens obtain health insurance. But I think that’s improbable. Instead, I think what we’re probably going to hear from Obama is a proposal for the so-called “trigger.” The “trigger” means that the public option is only “triggered” if the private health insurance industry fails to meet some set of guidelines (who knows what those would be without a bill to look at) related to covering more uninsured persons.

As I’ve stated previously in this space, I am willing to listen to a plan that includes the “trigger,” but I will be looking very carefully at what’s being proposed. My fear is a “trigger” standard so rigid that a public option is almost certain to occur (I oppose a public option because I think it creates a very real danger of an eventual single payer system, which I oppose). Further, I can say that if we see Nancy Pelosi (whose “progressive” ultra left wing of the democratic party has previously hooted and howled at the “trigger” possibility) suddenly onboard with the “trigger,” then I’m going to be highly suspicious that something be rotten in Denmark. Put another way, if Pelosi’s suddenly onboard, it will be a huge red flag for me that the “trigger” is really just a disguised and guaranteed public option.

Also in the wind tonight: I have the additional fear that in connection with Obama’s speech tomorrow, we may well see congressional dems over the next 48 hours proclaim that they suddenly have a new and wonderful “compromise” bill, which they will likely claim is consistent with whatever Obama proposes tomorrow night. That’s the first part. The second part is that the dems will at the same time start pushing to vote on the “great compromise” within a few days before anyone gets a chance to read or digest it.

Bottom line: Watch out folks these upcoming days. The dems may well be lookin’ to hoodwink us and ram-rod another piece of legislation down our throats that we do not want. I hope I’m wrong, and I well could be. I’m just relaying what seems to be in the wind tonight, as best I can read the tea leaves.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/09/pelosi-and-reid-tell-president-we-have-the-votes-president-wants-bill-passed-soon.html
http://independentrage.blogspot.com/2009/09/obama-to-trigger-new-strategy-and-will.html

Happy Labor Day!

But as we celebrate this national day of rest and tip our hats to the American worker, take at least a few moments also to think about the large percentage of Americans currently unemployed and the still-limping economy (see linked story). We're not out of the woods yet. Hopefully come next Labor Day, we will be (or close).

http://www.kansascity.com/340/story/1428056.html

Education Secretary Duncan Says Sunday That It's "Silly" to Keep Kids Home to Avoid Obama Speech. I agree.

I don't quite understand the uproar about the Obama kids speech. I don't think I have a problem with any sitting American President (trust me, during my lifetime, I haven't liked most of them too much, regardless of party) addressing the nation's kids, just so long as politics are kept out of it. And I have no doubt that Obama will be keeping politics out of his speech. So no, I don't have a problem with it. But I have to say also, Obama's desire to have a personal audience with the nation's kids has struck me as just a little weird. I can't recall an American President ever trying to do this before. And another observation: Suppose W. Bush (and I am no fan of his) had sought to do the same thing, complete with a request that kids write a letter to themselves addressing what they can do to help out the Administration? Would there have been the same silly outcry from the left? Damn right there would have been. But oh well, I detail the absolute hypocrisy of the right and left in this space on a regular basis, so no need to harp on that again tonight. So bottom line: Obama speech to the kids is OK -- those in an uproar about it need to calm down.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/06/duncan-silly-to-keep-kids-home-to-avoid-obama-speech/

Van Jones resigns tonight!

I love the NBC headline: "Obama Aid Van Jones Resigns After GOP Attacks". AS IF it was the republicans that caused this! NBC is such a pathetically biased news organization by the way. Folks: Do not trust a word that comes out of their mouths! And take FoxNews with a grain of salt too, because they slant to the right. But I digress. It wasn't the "GOP" that caused this. It was the constant slew of radical, loony comments from Jones over the past 10 years, coupled with the public outcry over such a GOOF having such a high position of power in the federal government. Here's how I can guarantee you that it went down: Obama and his minions, seeing the constant coverage of this LOON in recent days (a new loony past quote came out on a daily basis), contacted Jones and told him, "you will resign and you will resign now." And so he resigned tonight. And who looks bad here? Jones? No, he's just an idiot who believes all kinds of radical loony things. Peace to him in his insanity. The person who looks bad is Obama, who knew full well what this dude Jones was all about when Obama appointed him, but Obama thought he could slip this dude (and all the other radicals amongst his various "czars") through and by the American people. Well Obama, Your Majesty, wrong thought!

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/NATL-Obama-Aide-Van-Jones-Resigns-After-GOP-Attacks-57578192.html

Shock and Awe!

The 2009 college football season kicks off in grand style today, with underdog Mizzou and Blaine Gabbert roughin' up the Illini, and BYU shocking the sports world with its defeat tonight of #3 Oklahoma. What a day!

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/tipsheet/tipsheet/mizzou-game-day/2009/09/gabbert-proves-himself-and-then-some/

http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=292480201

You Can't Take the "I" Out of Biden. What a Clown.

(See link below). With Obama off on another vacation this week, we get to hear from Biden. I concede that Biden is almost always good for a little comic relief from the White House, although that comes exclusively from laughing at him rather than with him. And what's with these presidents running off for myriad vacations every time the public starts to sour on them? Bush took that practice to the extreme, and admittedly Obama has a long ways to go before he gets to the level of the Bush vacation-taking. But while we're on the vacation subject, I think much of the country could use a little vacation from Obama & The Dems. So say "I" if you're with me on Obama & The Dems taking two weeks where they just leave us alone, don't try to ram-rod some massive piece of ultra-liberal legislation down our throats without having read it first, and don't call anyone who disagrees with them a nazi, racist or right-wing extremist. Are you with me? I think the "I"s have it.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/04/curl-biden-fills-vacationing-obamas-void/

Arrogance or Stupidity? Obama Actually Thought No One Would Care When the Radical Nature of His Czars Came to Light.

Recently, as each new day begins, a new revelation comes out about some radical leftist viewpoint held by one of Obama's myriad non-Senate-confirmed "Czars" (see link below as well as today's Loony Left-Winger of the Day for the latest example). This is a President who had a hard time filling many federal posts after taking office because of the extensive "vetting" process that he applied to candidates for those posts. So you can't tell me that he wasn't fully aware of all of the viewpoints of these various Czars before he appointed them. Apparently, though, being a radical freak with viewpoints representative of about 5% of the country is not something that Obama cares too much about when the vetting process discloses it. Further, Obama can't be so stupid as to believe that all these viewpoints -- which were publicly expressed in the past -- wouldn't come out in the media. No, he knew full well this stuff would be easily discoverable and might be covered by the media. But evidently he thought no one would care or that it wouldn't be that big of a deal. So full circle to my question in the headline: Arrogance or stupidity on Obama's part? Frankly, does it really matter? He looks very bad regardless of which is the truth.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/03/green-jobs-advisers-past-stir-trouble-white-house-critical-time/

Obama to "Trigger" New Strategy? And Will the Radical Left Be Receptive?

I think we can see emerging today the new strategy of the White House when it comes to building congressional support for a health care reform bill. As discussed by Politico.com's Glenn Thrush this afternoon (link below), it looks like Obama's new strategy is to try to appease "blue dog" democrats and even pluck a republican or two with promises of the so-called "public option" only being "triggered" -- to quote Thrush -- "years down the road if the private insurance industry doesn't come though with the type of reforms that cover more uninsured people." I can recall posting at least once in this space previously concerning the "trigger" notion -- that was a few months back as I recall, and it was being floated as a White House trial balloon and running head on into stiff resistance from the radical left (i.e. the Nancy Pelosi, Huffington Post crowd).

Two things here: First, will there be the same level of resistance again from the radicals (errrr, "progressives")? Who the heck knows. Second, should I and other Independents support a "triggered" plan? Too soon to say. I'll listen, but until we have a concrete bill publicly available and containing the White House's plan, all discussion of a "trigger" will be largely theoretical, abstract and, indeed, a likely waste of time in my view. My main concern will be with Obama & The Dems trying to sneak one past us, i.e. setting a "trigger" threshold that is so rigid and almost certain to occur that it is not really a "trigger" at all, but instead a near-guaranteed road to a public option. That will be the key issue to focus on if this "trigger" stuff even goes anywhere. Heck, the way this White House typically behaves, they may be denouncing the "trigger" idea come tomorrow after apparently supporting it today. Wouldn't be the first time.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0909/WH_luring_Snowe_with_trigger_on_public_option.html

"The Obama Slide"

That's the title of an outstanding column this week in the New York Times by "moderate" republican David Brooks (link to column below). I'll let you read it, but his basic proposition is that Obama better start moving towards the political center pretty quickly or he's in a world of hurt with respect to his chances of presidential success going forward. Brooks also discusses the trend towards Independents who voted for Obama now abandoning him right and left. Here's what I found to be the best passage of the column (touching upon issues that I often discuss in this space concerning the liberal world view):

"Amazingly, some liberals are now lashing out at Obama because the entire country doesn’t agree with The Huffington Post. Some now argue that the administration should just ignore the ignorant masses and ram health care through using reconciliation, the legislative maneuver that would reduce the need for moderate votes. This would be suicidal. You can’t pass the most important domestic reform in a generation when the majority of voters think you are on the wrong path. To do so would be a sign of unmitigated arrogance. If Obama agrees to use reconciliation, he will permanently affix himself to the liberal wing of his party and permanently alienate independents. He will be president of 35 percent of the country — and good luck getting anything done after that."

You nailed it there, Mr. Brooks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/opinion/01brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

Never Let a Pesky Little Budget Debate Get in the Way of a Good Game of Solitaire.

I found this picture from the Hartford Courant hilarious, if not a bit troubling at the same time. It's from the Connecticut House of Representatives last night as they pushed a midnight deadline to approve a state budget. Depicted is the House Minority Leader (a republican) speaking to the chamber while a couple of his colleagues play solitaire on their laptops (it additionally appears that an unpictured lawmaker is watching a baseball game on the far right). Who knows if these lawmakers are dems, repubs or some combination thereof.

Now, while funny, don't you think this is just a tad disrespectful? Even if you are bored out of your mind, keep the card games and baseball off the computer while a colleague is speaking. And it also begs the question, if these lawmakers had time to be bored and play games on the computer, then why did they run the budget approval right up until the midnight deadline? But I guess that would be asking for the political world to make too much sense, right? Can't have that.

http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/09/senate-debating-new-state-budg.html

Picture currently at: http://www.courant.com/

Conservative Commentator George Will Purportedly to Call for a U.S. Troop Pullout from Afghanistan in His Next Column.

(Link below). Having waited now for months for Obama to explain to the American people exactly what the objective and plan are in Afghanistan, and having become quite convinced that there is currently little or no coherent plan or objective over in that hellhole, I'm inclined to agree with Will at the moment. Another big question: Will anyone on the American left join Will in calling for a troop pullout? Don't hold your breath there. With a democrat in office, the American left by and large doesn't give a rat's behind about foreign wars that lack articulated plans and objectives. They only hit the streets when a republican is presiding over such wars. As I like to say, those hypocrites have run for the hills on this one!

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26628.html

Let's Debate the Health Care Reform Bill! Oops, There Isn't One.

I have to say I love how the far right and far left pundits and blogosphere have for weeks now been pointing to this obscure provision and that obscure provision from the so-called "health care reform bill." That's because there is no such bill, but rather several different versions between the House and Senate, and, as the link below explains, there's even a version (supported by the pictured Senator Chris Dodd) that has yet to be released to the public. So I say, let the right and left have all their endless little pissing matches over isolated language from these various versions on issues like "death panels," immigration and abortions. I'm much more interested in the actual bill upon which the House and Senate ultimately vote, and right now that's impossible to ascertain. My single largest concern continues to be the so-called "public option" and the possibility that it will be utilized to gradually transition to a single payer system (i.e. total government control of the health insurance industry). But how can even that issue be reasonably discussed when we now have no idea what's going to be contained in the actual bill that's voted upon in the House and Senate?

And a separate issue here is the most concerning to me. The secret Dodd version of the bill raises the specter of a rerun of what we saw when the massive cap-and-trade bill was ram-rodded through the House: 1000 plus pages of complex statutory jargon being passed without anyone having a chance to read it first, with 300 new pages added to the bill the same day it was voted upon and passed. Folks, these dem lawmakers in Congress are out of control, and it's clear to me that most of them really don't care what we think about it. I can't recall a more dangerous time in our country during my life, I really can't. For the people who do read this blog, I don't ask that you agree with me on everything or that you even respect a damn thing I say. I only ask that you keep your eyes wide open right now. This is no time to be napping.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203946904574301050879872972.html

I've Seen Tonight Perhaps the Most Disturbing Thing I've Seen Yet From the Obama Administration.

...which is really saying something, trust me. I'm just in the early stages of looking at this, but on its face it may be much more concerning than even such things as the ram-rodding through Congress of all of these huge pieces of ultra-liberal legislation that no one has read. The "this" to which I'm referring is Obama's so-called "diversity czar" of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), a position of apparently significant power within the FCC in terms of guiding FCC policy and regulations. His name is Mark Lloyd (pictured). Now, the FCC of course is the federal government body that regulates the American television and radio airwaves, among other things.

As the linked article below first explains, Lloyd's publicly stated vision for the FCC is to move towards a scheme (1) of much greater federal regulation of the airwaves and (2) a must stronger presence on the airwaves for public (i.e. government funded and/or controlled) broadcasting. Regardless of what one happens to think of those goals, the very disturbing thing here is the person himself (Lloyd) who will apparently have a significant amount of power to use towards achieving those goals. I've seen a lot of very worrisome past quotes from this guy, and I won't try to parrot them all back here. Rather, I'll just give you a little flavor. For example, this is a guy who appears to have an absolute disregard (if not pure disdain) for the free speech and free press components of the First Amendment -- rights that are as fundamental and untouchable to us as Americans and as human beings as any set of rights set forth anywhere in our Constitution. The linked article states as follows and quotes Lloyd's words from a 2006 book that he authored:

"For those who think any or all of these recommendations [of Lloyd] might infringe on the free speech rights of broadcasters, Lloyd says his concern is not the 'exaggerated' concerns over the First Amendment. 'It should be clear by now that my focus here is not freedom of speech or the press,' he said. 'This freedom is all too often an exaggeration. At the very least, blind references to freedom of speech or the press serve as a distraction from the critical examination of other communications policies . . . [T]he purpose of free speech is warped to protect global corporations and block rules that would promote democratic governance,' said Lloyd. '[T]he problem is not only the warp to our public philosophy of free speech, but that the government has abandoned its role of advancing the communications capabilities of real people.'"

Frankly, folks, I am dumbfounded tonight that a person who speaks with so little regard for the First Amendment has such an apparently strong position of power in the entity that regulates our airwaves, including the broadcast media on television and radio. Among other quotes from this guy that I've seen are ones expressing his apparent admiration for Hugo Chavez and the steps Chavez has taken to restrict the media and freedom of expression in Venezuela. To get down to brass tacks: Those of you folks who know me know that I'm not some right-winger, nor some conservative, who goes around crying foul and damnation at anything a democrat does. Heck, I distrust the repubs just as much as I do the dems. But this stuff here involving the kind of person we have in such a position of power at the FCC is truly frightening to me. I've just started to read about this guy tonight, so stay tuned -- more to come I'm sure.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/53055

This July, August: The Two Most Deadly Months Yet in Afghanistan.

Forty-four U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan in both July and August (link below). The American left continues to run for the hills on Afghanistan because wars without objectives are just fine with those hypocrites so long as a democrat is in office. I've heard some on the left claim recently, "Well, Obama said during the campaign we'd be staying in Afghanistan." Yes he did, but he talked about only modest troop increases, not the massive escalations in troop levels and spending that we have seen. And still I sit here -- months after first requesting it in this space -- waiting for Obama to use one of his national television appearances to explain in detail to the American people exactly what the plan is for Afghanistan. Because from everything I've read this year, there is no coherent plan, but instead just a bunch of chaos over in that absolute hellhole. So I wait. And it looks like I'll have to wait a while longer. I guess at least until the end of the year, after which (in election year 2010) Obama & The Dems probably won't have any interest in trying to ram-rod any additional pieces of massive ultra-liberal domestic legislation through the congress. Oh well, I've waited this long...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

My e-mail and open challenge tonight to my Congressman, Dennis Moore, concerning his refusal to hold a townhall to listen to us.

[As sent tonight to his congressional website:]
Dear Congressman Moore,

Your lack of courage to listen to and face the opponents of the health care reform bill that you support is very disheartening. One only need to look to Missouri and Claire McCaskill for a democratic politician who has the guts to hold multiple townhalls and listen to her opponents. I am not a republican or conservative, and frankly as a proud Independent, I eschew those factions just as much as I do democrats and liberals. We Independents control the fate of elections nationwide and in individual states like Kansas. As as one of those folks, I hereby challenge you to have a backbone and actually hold a public townhall so that you can listen to what your constituents have to say about the health care reform plan that you support. Until you do, I will continue to speak loudly about your lack of courage on my blog (http://independentrage.blogspot.com/), which provides a rare forum for Independents in this country to sound off, and I will also continue to speak about this on Facebook, and Twitter, and on the myriad other websites with which I am connected. I'll be waiting, congressman. For months now, my blog has had a national focus. Not anymore.

Kudos to Claire McCaskill

During this politically historic August in which many congressional dems have been hiding in caves (including my representative, Dennis Moore of Kansas), McCaskill has held multiple townhalls across the State of Missouri to face the often noisy opposition to Obama & The Dems' health care reform plan. Her latest town hall was in Jefferson City last night (link below). I may disagree with her support of that plan in its current form, but I respect her for not being afraid to face the opposition and listen to it, as opposed to insulting and dismissing it like so many other dems.

http://www.kansascity.com/116/story/1407649.html?storylink=omni_popular

A Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar Has Given Them the Call.

"Hookah bars" have become quite the rage with the 18-20 year old set these days (hit first link below for story/second link for music video). So let me get this straight: We don't allow them to drink, which is only encouraging them to go smoke it up in public with their friends? There's something very wrong there. 18-year-olds can vote, smoke and go fight in wars, but we don't allow them to drink until 3 years later? Which these days is helping the very dangerous activity of tobacco smoking make an apparent comeback? Wrong message, wrong law. My general recollection and understanding (correct me if I'm wrong here) is that the 21-year-old drinking age (a creature of statute in individual states) is largely a relic of Reagan era federal legislation that withholds substantial amounts of highway funds from any state that does not have such a law. Well, this ain't 1984, and I call on Obama & The Dems (since they have all the power in Washington these days) to take a close look at this and strongly consider changing it. And kids: Never use tobacco.

http://www.kansascity.com/746/story/1406157.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0

Rest In Peace tonight, Teddy Kennedy.

The news came down about 30 minutes ago that Ted Kennedy has passed away. I agreed with few of his viewpoints over the years ("the liberal Lion of the Senate"), but I must extend him a huge degree of credit: Because despite his failings whenever he tried to run for executive office, he was a man for whom I would never question his deep convictions, and he was one hell of an effective member of the legislative branch. He had the ability to sit down with opponents, negogiate, and hash out compromise agreements. That was his most wonderful skill. And there have been very few politicians in my lifetime who have had that same ability. I'm saddened that he was in ill health during the current health care reform debate, because if anyone might have been able to find some common ground between the far left, blue dogs, and even repubs, it would have been Teddy. As an American very proud of my Irish roots, and as one who considers Teddy's brother Jack to be the last great American President, I am very saddened by Teddy's passing tonight. Despite my general disagreement with many of his viewpoints, I still find inspiration whenever I listen to his 1980 concession speech at the Democratic National Convention -- it was the speech of his life. Those of us somewhere in the middle might not have ever agreed with a lot of what the Kennedy brothers espoused over the years, but we sure did love them for their conviction. Rest in peace, Teddy.

It's Good to See They All Can Agree.

Fidel Castro is on the same page with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, New York Governor David Paterson and other dems on the viewpoint that anyone with the audacity to disagree with Obama on anything is a racist right-winger (links below). Now, can we get a second from Hugo Chavez?

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSB30869920090825

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=106158

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/22/nyregion/22paterson.html

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/04/dnc-hammers-republican-backed-mob-rule/

http://blogs.abcnews.com/johnstossel/2009/08/every-critic-a-racist.html

I'm changing my tune tonight on Taco Bueno.

I realize my initial blog post regarding their restaurant was a bit over-the-top (hey, you dudes that know me know that I tend to roll that way a bit too often, at least on issues that tend to get me riled up, such as restaurants offering healthy alternatives to regular menu items). But it was heartfelt. Regardless, events tonight lead me to a general impression that Taco Bueno is more or less in the earlier stages of starting to offer some healthier alternatives, and since that process seems to be a work in progress, I didn't see those things on Taco Bueno's current online menu the other night.

So what "events"? First, it occurred to me tonight that while I saw no Fresco menu either at the Taco Bueno restaurants or on their website, I hadn't actually asked a Taco Bueno employee if they had such a menu. So I called my local one tonight in the KC area, and spoke to a very courteous, personable employee who told me that they don't have a Fresco menu per se, but that they will gladly make any menu item to order. My only problem with that is that while I can order a bean burrito without cheese and without chili sauce, I still don't know exactly what fat count I'm getting and it would probably taste fairly awful (it would be only refried beans in a shell).

But the second of the "events" was then to read an e-mail received today from Taco Bueno in response to an e-mail I sent them a few days back regarding their menu. Again it was a very courteous e-mail that explained that they are starting to implement some new low fat options. Included among those are chicken tacos under 10 grams of fat, on which I commend them. But I'm not a big grilled chicken guy (wish I was taste-wise, because it's an extremely healthy food). However, the same information e-mailed to me pointed out that pico de gallo, chunky salsa, and onions are apparently items that could be included in a "made to order" order, like the one referenced by the employee in KC. I'm actually excited about this: I think that if I'm allowed to order (and I take these dudes at face value that I will be) a bean burrito without cheese, without chili sauce, but with pico de gallo and/or salsa plus onions, I will basically be receiving the equivalent of the Taco Bell Fresco Bean Burrito. THAT I can eat! So I'm going to give that a try this week.

Moral of the story: Yours Truly likely would have been better served to look into things a little further before starting to rant and rave. But none of us are without faults, are we? ;)