Raputre Ready?

Just read on one of the blogs that some of our more ....um....religously active...friends are saying that THURSDAY is the day of the long-awaited RAPTURE......

damn....I wonder if I've got time to schedule a haircut?

Do I have to cancel Friday's dental appointment?

...so many questions...

On the other hand, the credit card payment is due on the 15th.....HAH! Take that Capital ONE!

ON EDIT: Ooops....another blog says that it's TUESDAY!!!! Funnier yet...all the Christian Radio stations are abuzz over it.....

some of the funnier comments I've read....

"...When the rapture comes, can I have your car?"

"..actually I'll be thrilled when all those @#$%& are gone..."

"ummm....Tuesday isn't good for me, can we pencil it in for sometime in August?.."

Sucker Punch.....

A large portion of the civilized world looked on in revulsion yesterday when Israeli warplanes struck an apartment complex in the City of Qana. The Huffington Post has a summary:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daily-briefing/2006/07/israel-declares-48-hour-strike.html

The attack took place in the southern Lebanese town of Qana, killing mainly women and children who were taking refuge in the basement of an apartment building. It was the bloodiest clash in this conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Worldwide condemnation of the offensive intensified calls for cease-fire, while protests in Beirut drew international attention. United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice canceled a scheduled trip to Beirut and is returning to Washington to work on a resolution to the conflict, although she stopped short of calling for an immediate cease-fire.

This bloody conflict has been going on for more than two weeks now and the death toll mounts alarmingly every day. The situation is being managed by people who are, in my humble opinion, ...let's just say, less than wise. In fact, I might even go so far as saying that the situation is being managed by people who are too foolish, impatient, idealistically driven and, above all, arrogant.

Supporters of Israel point out that the massive and disproportionate loss of civilian life in Lebanon is the fault of the Hizbollah because they use civilians as sheilds and often launch their random but deadly rocket attacks from the middle of civilian neighborhoods. In fact, the killing of four UN Observer personnel in an outpost in Southern Lebanon was blamed on Hizbollah for launching rockets either from or "near" that site (depending on whose propaganda you want to believe).

Make no mistake about it. Hizbollah is bad news. Their random rocket attacks kill Israeli civilians with sickening regularity. An also make no mistake about this: Hizbollah DOES use civilian populations as cover. But for Israel to strike those targets regardless of the presence of civilians under the guise of self-defense is just, plain stupid.

Why stupid?

Well, for one thing, deaths of civilians do nothing but bring more recruits to the ranks of Hizbollah. For another, civilian deaths bring about world-wide condemnation and erode international support for Israel and finally, because (as my old farmer friend, Russ, used to say) "This ain't my (or Israel's) first load of cabbages!"

Not only has Israel been down this road before, but they have also had the luxury of watching the United States bat it's figurative head against the proverbial wall trying to fight a popular insurgency in Iraq with little or no success since 2003. Anybody who has paid attention to the news or world events in general for the past 30 years or so knows that any extremeist organization with even a modicum of popular support in the general populace, will hide among them and, hence, use them as a defacto shield. Striking those civilian "shields", or "targets" (again depending on which press releases you read) is self-defeating for all the reasons cited above but the leadership of Israel, backed by the leadership (puke) of the United States, believes that they have to play the John Wayne role with their electorate in order to stay in power. Even if John Wayne foolishly walks into the trap Hizbollah has set.

I'm not even going to get into the purported reasons that George W. Bush has for allowing the conflict to go on, or, for that matter, the total incompetence of Condi Rice...just one issue at a time here.....and this one is simple, Israel is being "sucker punched" by Hizbollah.....

comments are welcome:

Madness! Sheer Madness!

When I first heard or read these words of pResident Bush yesterday, I thought, "Surely, these must have ben taken out of context by some over-zealous denizen of "Left-Blogostan". " But now, I've seen the words on video taped replays. I've read transcripts from major news sources and the words were real.

Here's a synopsis:

President Bush proudly declared that American foreign policy no longer seeks to “manage calm,” and derided policies that let anger and resentment lie “beneath the surface.” Bush said that the violence in the Middle East was evidence of a more effective foreign policy that addresses “root causes.”


a couple of snippets for your enjoyment (actually it's Tristero and not Digby's words)


This is sheer, abject lunacy of the sort that imagined the invasion of Iraq would lead to city squares in Iraq named after George W. Bush and the invasion would pay for itself out of oil revenues. The only appropriate reaction is to very loudly proclaim this is the reasoning of madmen. No rational human being thinks like this.
It's lunacy!


and another:

Repeat: there are no serious issues to be "engaged" in Bush's latest drooling remarks. The people who came up with an American foreign policy based on addressing "root causes" and no longer managing calm need straitjackets. Neither they, nor you, nor the rest of the world will benefit by opportunities to discuss these sick delusions. Under no circumstances should you try to do so.

It's madness....

Where are the rational voices?

e

Marshfield Headquarters Site determined

Hi everybody,

Just a quick note to let you know that an agreement has been reached on the location of the Marshfield Headquarters office of the Wood County Democrats.. It's in the old Franklin Building right on Central Avenue right between Penney's Court and the Daily Grind Coffee shop (convenient huh?) Dave negotiated a great deal and it appears that we'll be moving in around the10th of August.

Feel free to use this as an OPEN THREAD and jump in with comments about any subject you wish.

e

About that "I-word" again...

I understand there is a group meeting to strategize on the infamous I-word.

For all of you who have the courage to stand up and be counted on the subject I say congratulations. You have my admiration.










In the meantime, here are a few pictures for your enjoyment...l.

first, the newest darling of the Nation of Right Blogostan, Pam of the Rightwing blog Atlas Shrugged (a tribute to Ayn Rand which she may or may not have ever read) Her claim to fame is "Vblogging" or, video blogging......it's a site to behold....don't worry Pammy, we ALL wish the words on your tee-shirt were true. If you have a strong stomach you can see what I'm talking about here.

Oh yeah, she was scheduled to go to Israel to "Vblog Live!" but the invitation was cancelled by the Israeli Embassy. Geee.....I wonder why?







T
Then, of course, there's Ann Coulter who was on CNBC last night claiming that Bill Clinton....you remember him...the guy the Right Wing claimed was a seriel rapist....has

are you ready for this?

"...some latent homosexuality somewhere..." I'm not even going to touch this...not...with...a...ten-foot...pole.

Read the transcript on Raw Story, here
e

I think I would have done it differently

I'm watching the news rports on the violence in Lebanon and Israel with a sense of disbelief.

Disbelief because I understand that the real troublemakers in this fight are the Hizbollah, not the Lebanese people. I know that the Lebanese government is weak and tenative and holding onto power by a literal thread and that they can neither defeat nor curtail the activities of Hizbollah with their borders. I also know that Syria and Iran support Hizbollah financially as well as politically. The Lebanese government is no match for that kind of power.

So why is Israel bombing Lebanese civilians?

Why is Israel bombing and destroying the Lebanese army? ...the very same army that they should be SUPPORTING in order to help rid Lebanon of Hizbollah?

Why is Israel destroying the Lebanese infrastructure?

I don't understand......I simply do not understand.

I would have worked to STRENGTHEN the Lebanese government. I would have built trust and goodwill among the populace to counter Hizbollah propaganda and hate. I would have aided and assisted the Lebanese government in rooting out Hizbollah.

but then again, that's just me.

Speed of light....

I'm having trouble keeping up with everything these days. I don't know why but it appears that events (and time to deal with them) are whizzing by at the proverbial speed of light.

August 1st seems to be the date that everything breaks out of the starting blocks for the fall election but before I get to that point, I have a dozen or so nasty little local issues to deal with, and each one of those issues requires that I pay attention to details and nuances that will, in the end, make the difference between success or failure of my endeavors.

The same will hold true about how we will organize ourselves for the upcoming elections. We could, quite possibly, take a lesson from FAIR on how to organize our efforts. They've done a magnificent job so far and I suspect we will see success for them at the polls. Otherwise, with the lack of a Presidential campaign in progress, there is little to motivate the public to get out to work in a campaign, much less get them motivated to vote. I am suspecting that the individual candidates will have their campaign organizations working independently of our efforts and out role will be to simply provide a base, a platform, for those candidates to work off of.

However, I'm starting to get concerned about Governor Doyle's campaign. The Governor hasn't been one of my favorite Democrats, nor has he, I believe, been a particularly good politician, but he has been the last "firewall" against the crazieness the Republican-controlled houses of the legislature have been exhibiting for the past four years.

I don't think I would be as concerned about the possibility of losing the Governorship if there was even a slight glimmer of hope that the Democrats could take back one, if not both, of the houses of the legislature but the truth of the numbers is that a Democratic majority in either house is a mathematical impossibility. Therefore, for the next two, and possibly four, years, Governor Doyle is our last, best hope against Republican insanity. And if the unthinkable happens and Mark Green becomes Governor, don't expect him to stem the tide of Zein-like lunacy in the legislature.. he won't stop the crazies because he's one of the crazies!

It's hard to say what will actually happen in the various campaigns this year but I do know something for certain: the ELECTORATE IS IN A SURLEY, SURLEY MOOD. The calls that I'm getting from the public reflect this on the local level. The public seems to be fed up with politicians in general; they're tired of being spun; their tired of being frightened by "boogeymen" at every turn; they're tired of being treated like "mushrooms" (you know, kept in the dark and being fed BS). They're looking for somebody to take it out on. The trick for our candidates, I think, is to not give the public an excuse to take it out on them. Throw out the textbook! Throw out the hackneyed phrases! Throw out the "cutesy" campaign slogans. Tell the truth and tell it boldly. Tell the truth loudly and often. Do it today....because tomorrow is coming at you at the speed of light.

e