PRINCETON, NJ -- Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Dick Cheney have little in common politically, but they receive almost identical image ratings from the American public. According to a May 29-31 Gallup Poll, 37% of Americans have a favorable view of Cheney and 34% have a favorable view of Pelosi. Both Cheney and Pelosi are viewed unfavorably by at least half of Americans.

I'm not a fan of Nancy Pelosi, even from before she became Speaker of the House; but to put her in the same category as Dick Cheney (the same level of 'disgusting') is ludicrous.

They are both disliked for opposite reasons.  She because she refuse to stand up against the Bush administration and he because he refused to admit any wrong doing and for his arrogant actions.  They are both disliked for their personalities.

The biggest shocker here is that Cheney's favorably has increased since March.  I guess it's true that Americans have short memories.

We Americans that still REMEMBER, must NEVER allow the others to completely forget what this man did to our nation the past 8 years in office.  If Democrats in office had any guts and sense of pride in their nation, this man and his so-called boss would be in jail today for war crimes and for lying to the American people.

So much for our kids safety...Budget Cuts GOP are recommending:

 

Republicans are suggesting killing a program that pays for building sidewalks, bike paths and crossing guards as part of the Safe Routes to Schools program. That would save $183 million a year.

 

So much for your pension if a federal worker....

 

--Eliminating retirement benefits for federal workers who retire before age 62 to save perhaps $267 million a year.

 

So much for helping opening up markets...

 

--$72 million a year in cuts to the Agriculture Department's Market Access Program that promotes the sale of brand name products overseas like Sunkist.

So much for women equality...

Termination of the Womens Educ Equity program

I say we cut PENSIONS for all GOP House of Representatives, they make entirely too much money as it is.  Or how about giving them only one TERM's worth of pension.

Obama Overture to Hamas Suggests Inevitability of Terror Group's Dominance Among Palestinians

In an apparent policy shift, President Obama on Thursday invited Hamas -- a designated terror organization -- to "play a role" in the future of the Palestinian people.

During his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo on Thursday, the U.S. president bluntly recognized the group, which has called for the destruction of Israel, in a two-sentence passage that was part of a broader discussion about the terms for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. 

"Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have to recognize they have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist," Obama said.

Give me a break.  Policy shift invites Terrorist?

 

Is that what President Nixon did when he became the first president of U.S. to visit China in 1972, ending 20 years of frosty relations between the two countries?  President Nixon said, "There is no reason for us to be enemies," he said. "Neither of us seeks the territory of the other; neither of us seeks domination over the other; neither of us seeks to stretch out our hands and rule the world."

 

Didn't President George W Bush end up visiting China even after they kept our downed airplane and crew hostage for 12 days in the beginning of his term?  24 American crewmen, including three women and eight code-breakers were taken into custody by the Chinese; how was this different than what Iran did during Carter's term?  The incident was called the Bush administration's first real foreign-policy crisis.  Yet even after all that, Bush pays an official visit to China?  Imagine if Carter had gone to visit Iran?

 

Is that what Ronald Reagan did when he sent Donald Rumsfeld to shake hands with Saddam Hussein the brutal dictator and man that used WMD against innocent citizens.  That happened at a time when Saddam was first alleged to have used chemical weapons. The meeting in late December 1983 paved the way for an official restoration of relations between Iraq and the US, which had been severed since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

 

Publicly describing the Soviet Union as an "evil empire", Reagan supported anti-Communist movements worldwide and spent his first term forgoing the strategy of détente by ordering a massive military buildup in an arms race with the USSR. Reagan negotiated with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, culminating in the INF Treaty and the decrease of both countries' nuclear arsenals.

 

It is only by showing a bit of strength and the willingness to compromise do we improve relationships with our enemies that's been proven over history.

 

We've tried the 'show of strength' way over the past 8 years.  All that did was get our men and women stuck in a bee hive in the Middle East in which we can never really pull out of now - unless there is peace.  President Obama's desire to 'talk' is just another option to try and create that peace. 

War didn't solve anything.

Sometimes it takes a little charm and understanding to get what you ultimately want.

It just occurred to me why China's shutting off Internet access today.  Its their 20th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army of China when they began their assault on the peaceful protesters of Tienanmen square.

China is ashamed of this action and now know that it was wrong but has to decided to "MOVE ON".

How terrible it must be to live without a First Amendment, without the right to challenge those in power.

Reminds you of the way our government has also decided to "Move On" when it comes to investigating and prosecuting anybody that committed war crimes and torture during the past 8 years?

At each year's anniversary will we too, see America 'shut out' any stories or facts about the way our government allowed the torturing of prisoners during our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2002-2008?

You should go read this story about 20 UFO's buzzing over Britain.  It shows a photo of what was seen.

Stunned families watched as the lights in the sky lined up in a flying formation before disappearing upwards into space.

The close-encounter snap was taken by quick-thinking engineer Paul Slight on his mobile phone at about 10.30pm on Sunday.

He was coming home from a day out cycling with friends in Lincoln when they spotted the lights in the sky.

The eerie extra-terrestrial crafts were hovering in the night sky over the town moving in different directions before eventually shooting straight up into the atmosphere.

"There were 26 of them at first, dodging and darting in between each other like they were playing a game.

"After that, seven more arrived from the right hand side and weaved through the crowd of lights like strange kinds of aircraft.

"After five minutes of moving around, the flickering yellow objects hung in the air for a second then shot off into the sky and disappeared.

"I have no idea what they were - I'm not usually a believer but what I saw was really weird.

"I have flown planes and helicopters before and I know these were not them, helicopters couldn't line up like that or move that fast."

In case you didn't know it, I'm a huge believer in the theory that we're not the only intelligent species in the universe.

I always use to say that I watched science fiction movies so that I could be 'prepared' in the event I would ever come face to face with an alien being.  Of course, if they ever did appear on my doorstep, I'd probably crap my pants.

On Hannity's America tonight, host Sean Hannity interviewed conservative talker Rush Limbaugh. In one of his first questions, Hannity attempted to portray the media as being unfair to Limbaugh by characterizing him as wanting President Obama to fail as president. Limbaugh, however, quickly corrected Hannity, insisting that he does indeed want Obama to fail:

HANNITY: Last time I'm here, I ask you...do you want [Obama] to succeed. You gave a very long answer that got reduced to Rush wants Obama to fail. Which wasn't what you said.

LIMBAUGH: Well, in a sense it was. It was. I don't hide from it, I do want and I still want Obama to fail.

Remember how the GOP went after Michael Moore for things he said during the Bush years with his Farenheit 911 movie and his comments during the Bush vs Kerry campaign? 

Perhaps the Democrats should revisit the past and watch how the GOP made Moore pretty much look like an extreme mad man.

Here's a little something that was written about Moore from David T. Hardy's website that got over a million hits:

Should a 400 lb man advise us on the evils of over-consumption?
Should the resident of a million-dollar apartment claim to be a poster boy of the working class?
Should a person who thought that Enron was a great investment, that Ralph Nader, Wesley Clark and John Kerry would win, and that North Korea's Kim Jong was changing for the better, advise us on ANYTHING?

The writer of this same website was accusing Moore of being narcissistic:

Here is (one) good definition of the narcissistic disorder, from the above link:

"A pattern of traits and behaviors which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. . . . An all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration or adulation and lack of empathy, usually beginning by early adulthood and present in various contexts. Five (or more) of the following criteria must be met:"

"Feels grandiose and self-important"

"Is obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, . . ."

"Firmly convinced that he or she is unique and, being special, can only be understood by, should only be treated by, or associate with, other special or unique, or high-status people (or institutions)"

"Requires excessive admiration, adulation, attention and affirmation - or, failing that, wishes to be feared and to be notorious (narcissistic supply)"

"Feels entitled. Expects unreasonable or special and favorable priority treatment. Demands automatic and full compliance with his or her expectations."

Now I ask you folks.  Who in the HECK does this REALLY remind YOU more of? 

Michael Moore or Rush Limbaugh?

Perhaps the Democrats need to study up on how the GOP demonized Michael Moore and do the same to Rush?

Gen. Sanchez:  I support the formation of a truth commission.

In front of a packed audience tonight at the Times Center in New York City, General Ricardo Sanchez, the former commander of all coalition forces in Iraq, called for a truth commission to investigate the abuses and torture which occurred there.

The General described the failures at all levels of civilian and military command that led to the abuses in Iraq, "and that is why I support the formation of a truth commission....."

"during my time in Iraq there was not one instance of actionable intelligence that came out of these interrogation techniques."

"For the American people to really know what happened, " he replied, "...this was an institutional failure, a personal failure on the part of many...."

"If we do not find out what happened," continued the General, "then we are doomed to repeat it."

As I mentioned before, it appears that they are crawling out of their cracks now.

Looks like George W Bush, Dick Cheney, Condi Rice and Mr. Rumsfeld along with many others may be needing lawyers soon.

There are four controversial issues in today's world that Americans are most interested in when it comes to the justice system.  Those four issues should be front and center during Congress's questioning of President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

Equal Rights
Abortion
Gun Rights
War Crimes

Equal rights has been front and center for centuries.  Americans need to know how the nominee feels about affirmative action rights, woman's rights, man's rights, racial rights, sexual rights, civil rights and religious rights.  The most recent rights being that of gay and lesbians.  How would Ms. Solomayor go about researching this type of case?

Abortion rights even though it was decided decades ago that a woman should have the right to choose, there are millions still continuing the fight against Roe vs Wade decision.  How would she approach such a case?

Gun rights is another issue that concerns millions.  Many feel that if 'some' guns like assault weapons are banned, that the next item will be their shot gun.  Again, how would she does she feel about the amendment allowing Americans the right to bare arms and at the same time try and yet try and control the spread of weapons in the hands of killers?

War crimes, last but in no way the least important.  In fact, I would consider it top of the list because it describes who we are as Americans.  Americans are currently divided on whether or not members of the previous administration should be prosecuted for possible war crimes during war in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Each week we have new stories from former members of the administration or from those that participated in those enhanced interrogations such as water boarding.  We currently have photos that the Obama administration has decided to  keep the world from seeing.  We have former interrogators saying the water boarding wasn't necessary that more information was received by following conventional interrogations.  We have the former investigator into the Abu Ghraib abuse, Maj. Gen. Tuguba, into the Abu Ghraib abuse saying the Bush administration committed war crimes.  And now General Petraeus says that we Americans violated the Geneva Conventions.  Exactly what do they mean by these statements?  The only way to find out is to have an independent investigation into war crimes and if such crimes are found, prosecute those involved.  How would the nominee approach this type of case?

The discussion on racial or gender comments made by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor are important, they aren't whatmost Americans care about.  The media is once again jumping into the story about what 'Entertainers' are talking about, instead of focusing on what makes America what she is.  A nation of laws and human rights.