Mulsim Obama hates Charlie Brown...

Turns out, the mayor of Arlington, TN thinks that he really and truly knows the reason for Obama's speech the other night on Afghanistan. It was to pre-empt the Charlie Brown special, because, you know, Obama is a dirty Muslim, and doesn't believe in the Lord our Savior, Jesus H. Christ (does anyone know what the H stands for anyway??). Check out the link here on the story itself. Oh, of course, it was all much to do with nothing. Have people lost their ever loving minds though? Seriously? Obama is an evil Muslim who doesn't want people to see the Christmas Charlie Brown special? And this guy, is a mayor of a town, sure, it's probably a small town, but still. He's supposed to be a leader, and he's a fucking moron. Turning towards Afghanistan though. Obama pledged more troops. I don't know how I feel about this really. On the one hand, it's probably overdue, and on the other hand, I'd rather have all of our men and women back instead of in harm's way. So what do we do here? In speaking with some of the guys I work with, they're behind this troop escalation (it's not a surge, since the word surge indicates that there is some sort of plan for "winning" whatever that means). They have thought for a long time that we needed more guys on the ground in Afghanistan, and they are also proponents of letting them get out there, do their jobs. The Big A Army is good at blowing shit up, and killing bad guys. This much is true. Maybe, they're one of the most proficient groups we have at doing this, although, the Marines are right there with them. Our Army and Marines were never meant to be out and about within the people, building societies back, and doing counterinsurgency efforts. Our Green Berets, and SF soldiers though, are very good at this. It is a key component of their training. I believe what we need to do though is to kill as many of the bad guys as we can, and make it a price that they're not willing to pay any longer, again, remember, we're good at destroying things, and killing bad guys. We need to bring in specialists, being SF soldiers, or civilians that can show folks in Afghanistan how to create a society, and we also have to learn that, what functions as a government, or what functions as a society in Afghanistan is not even remotely going to be like what we have here in the United States. They're not going to have a Starbucks, and a Target on every corner in their country, and there is going to be a certain level of chaos almost always, but they are also a tribal nation. Run by local leaders, more so than a central government. We have a hard time wrapping our heads around that paradigm. Anyway, like I said, I just wish we could get all of our troops home. Garrisoned, and safe stateside. That might put me out of a job, but then again, that's a hit I think I'd be willing to take, if it meant, no more fighting for us. I also have come to believe that eventually, some guy in Pakistan is going to rat out Bin Laden, yeah, more than likely, he is somewhere in Pakistan. They're going to get sick of Predators dropping bombs on houses and people around them, and they're going to finally give him up, sick of his shit, and the trouble that he brings along with him. We'll probably snatch him up then, or kill him, but what will that really solve? Nothing really. At this point in time al Qaeda has been basically wiped out, and or spread out around the globe. We're looking at an organization that doesn't have a "central command" any longer so to speak, but what we have to be vigilant about is smaller cells, of 1-10 guys plotting smaller scale attacks against soft targets. Which means, that yes, battling terrorism is probably going to become more of a police action, than a military action. Why am I writing about this? Not sure really. It's that time of the year when cycling is in its down cycle, except for 'cross, and well, there are only 2 words I've got say about cyclocross. Katie. Compton. That woman is fucking hardcore no doubt. If she doesn't win the world championship this year, she's cursed, or something like that. Because really, she's on a tear, and she would be only the 2nd American to be a world champ in 'cross, the first being Matt Kelly. Whatever happened to that guy anyway? Didn't he just burn out, and disappear? I seem to remember him making a "comeback" so to speak at some point in time, but haven't heard from him since then. He was a world champ, and then, gone. Why do our young racers all seem to end up in that situation anyway? Going back to Compton, she'll be on the top step of the podium this year at the world championships, I can only hope. She's been killing it so far this year, and I'm pretty sure she'll keep on that path. If she doesn't, I'd be surprised, since she is head and shoulders above the rest of the women in the US at least. None seem able to keep up with her at all. She's a few gears higher than the rest. We'll see, we shall see. Good luck to her.

In 'ze weeds again...

And yet again, I've been in the weeds folks. Ah well, this working 80 hours per week (I shit you not), is not good for the soul, let alone, just some overall mental health. Reminds me of the days of when I thought that maybe at some point in my life I could be a pro bike racer. Sleep. Work. Ride. Repeat. Except now, it's sleep. Work. Sleep. Repeat. See, being in the automotive biz, we had a round of layoffs right before Christmas, which then put the department that I work for down 3 people. We didn't have any less work to do before the layoffs, but now, we have far less people to do it with, and hence, 80 hour weeks, but I digress.

I did spend the week before this one in Washington DC, for the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States. Yes, I was one of the millions of people that was there for this historical event. And I have to say, even though there was a lot of waiting in line, and a lot of hassle, and a shit-ton of people, damn it, it was worth it. Even though I was swarmed by thousands of people at every turn that I took, I remained happy, as did just about everyone else (my wife said fuck it and went home after waiting in line for 4 hours to get to our ticketed location near the Capitol). That was the overall vibe. Lots of people, and hardly a one was angry about, well, anything. I've got to tell you though, the security in that place on that day, in0fucking-credible. If you looked around the building rooftops near the Capitol, there wasn't one that didn't have a sniper team on top of it. There were about 10-15 helicopters all hovering over the city, and not just regular helicopters, nope. We're talking Blackhawks with door gunners, Super Cobra gunships, and AH-64 Apache Longbows. Then orbiting above the slow movers, there were a bunch of fighter planes flying high cover. That place was on lock down. In order to get where my tickets put me, I had to go through an airport style security check. Shoes off. Belt off. Empty all pockets. Go through the metal detector, get back dressed, and run to the field. I started standing on line at 6:30AM, I didn't enter the lawn until 11:30AM, just as Diane Feinstein started the "official" program. I made it just in time to hear the VP sworn in, and then Aretha, Yo Yo Ma and his buddies, and then the BIG show. I got to hear Chief Justice Roberts fuck up the oath (and I stood there saying to myself, that wasn't right), and then got to hear the speech. Again, even with all of the hassle, it was still worth it. It's true though, as soon as Obama got done talking, it was mass exodus from that place, and then, human gridlock on the streets. There were probably 15-20 minutes where I couldn't even move, let alone walk somewhere. Being that I'm not from DC, and sort of only know my way around a little bit, I got lost trying to find a Metro stop to take the train back to my sister in law's house. Well, I really didn't get lost, per se, but the 2 stations that I knew the locations to, were closed. I did end up walking around for 2 hours trying to find another one, but I was still in a good mood when I got back.

That evening, we got to attend the Southern States Inaugural Ball, which was just like prom. They even held it in a big gym at the DC Armory. Drinks were not free, which pissed me off, and then, they had a piss poor selection of beer on hand (Bud products only). The entertainment sucked. The food, was little, and not that good. But, we did get to see Biden and Obama before the night was over. Joe made his appearance first of course. And about 10 minutes later, I looked behind me, saw a guy in a dark suit talking into his jacket sleeve, and saw a sub machine gun slung over his shoulder, and decided that Obama was about to show up. He rolled onto the stage about 5 minutes later. We got a little speech, a little dance, and again, as soon as he left, the place cleared out, even though there was a second band getting ready to play (they sucked worse than the first one). The man has some serious drawing power, that's for damn sure.

That's what this kid has been up to. I have more to spew forth, but will save that for another time. It's Super Bowl Sunday, and it's almost time for the pre-game to start on the East Coast.

Everyone repeat after me...

Everyone repeat after me...

President Elect Barack Obama. Hell yes!

He did it. He won. We have wrested control of the White House from the republican death hold that it has been in here for 8 years now. I hope that Obama can bring the country back together, and lead like I know what he can. And really, to think, just a short 40 years ago or so, black people couldn't vote in most parts of our country, and now, we have an African American President of this country to the world. I do believe that we'll see a turn and an almost immediate change in how the world perceives the United States starting tomorrow morning, and moving forward through the next 4 years. 

And now, I want to see how many electoral votes Obama actually accumulates before this is all over and done with this evening.

Great job Mr. President Elect. You've earned it. Take a few days off, and then, get to work, and don't let us down. Don't let us down as a party, as a country, and as a citizen of the world.

Dear Senator McCain:

Dear Senator McCain:

There once was a time that I had a ton of respect for you. That was about 8 years ago. You ran a great campaign to try to get the nomination of your party to run for President of these here United States of America. What happened during that time was a travesty really. The person opposing you (George W. Bush) and his cronies (mostly Karl Rove and host of other shady characters) ran deceitful ads against you. Making horrible robo calls saying that you had fathered an illegitimate black child out of wedlock, and they attacked your character. Sir, you stood up to them, and would not stoop down to their level. You lost that campaign, but you did gain the respect of a lot of people outside of your party who wouldn't have thought of voting for you before. I was one of those converts, and might have voted for you if you had gained your party's nomination.

Sir, this holds true no longer. All of the dirty tricks that were played on you by those operatives, you have turned them against your foe Senator Barack Obama during this presidential campaign in 2008. You hired the same goons that usurped your good name, and ran nasty vile ads against you. Seeing the latest rounds of political ads from you, tells me that you're running the same playbook that George W. Bush ran against you 8 years ago. Here's the thing; it's not working this time around. Why? Mostly because now you come across as an old coot who doesn't know how to run a campaign. Stop with the "straight talk express". That bus rolled down a hill a long time ago. You attack Obama on character, not policy, and the sad thing is, is that the man has more character in his little finger than you have in your entire body. I'm certainly convinced of it, and there are a lot of other people who are convinced of it as well. You claim to want to put the country first, and that you're a man who believes that he can make great bi-partisan efforts once he is elected President. Senator McCain, you are not that man. Why? Mostly because you keep attacking the people that you say you can get along with. Your shameful ads recently talking about Congressional liberals and how bad they are is just a bunch of bullshit basically. You lie through your teeth. Your VP pick lies through her teeth. Hell, you've even got your wife in on the lying bit. You talk about Obama "palling" around with terrorists, which is supposed to invoke fear in people in the US. Thing is, again, it's not working because people can see right through your little charade.

Senator McCain, you have become what is horrible in politics in this country, and yet we keep hearing that you don't want to run this type of campaign, and you have even said so yourself before, thing is, it is your campaign, and it's utterly, and totally a piece of shit. You tell the American people that Barack Obama would do ANYTHING to become President. Isn't that what you're doing your senile imbecile? Why would you run for President if you didn't really want to win and take that awesome responsibility on your shoulders? Of course he's doing everything he can to win, and so are you, which is driving it straight into the gutter.

You talk about Obama hanging out with William Ayers, like they're old time chums. Guess what? I know that this won't surprise you, but they're not. Sure, they know each other. Sure, they served on the same board to do educational work (started by one of Ronald Reagan's best friends by the way), and sure he once donated $200 to him for his first State of Illinois campaign, but guess what? They're not pals. Not even close. Do they know each other? Sure. Are they bestest friends? Not even close. When you talk about Ayers, people seem to forget that you, just as recently as the other night, claimed that you were proud to know G. Gordon Liddy. I don't know why someone doesn't call you to task for this. Why? Well, let's review some of the things that Liddy did. First, he broke into the Watergate, causing the downfall of Nixon. He went to jail for that, for a number of years. A few years ago, he talked about how to kill federal ATF agents by shooting them in the head. This man had a party for you, AT HIS HOUSE, and has donated the maximum amount of money that he could to your campaign. You're proud to know this man? If Obama has an Ayers problem, then YOU have a G. Gordon Liddy problem. See, thing is, is that, I don't care that you know that scumbag, and I don't care that you are proud to know that scumbag. Why? Because it is a stupid game of guilt by association. Since you're playing it, it should be played against you as well. Obama though, he's too good to do that. He hasn't brought it up. Not once. Mostly because I think that he can see that the American people can see right through you and your craziness.

Senator McCain, you would be horrible for this country. You once were a "maverick", maybe. But those days are long gone. You voted, just this past 2 years, with what Bush wanted 95% of the time. Since Bush took office, you voted with him 90% of the time. You want to continue the destructive administration that has taken our country down quite a lot since 2001, and you actually think that this is a good idea? You talk about change, as if that's possible, considering the people who you most want to change, are the people in your own party, and your platform sounds just like George W. Bush redux.

To end this, you sir, have lost the respect that you had once gained from me. I respect you for your service to this country during a time of war, but that's it. And even that last little bit of respect that I have for you is starting to fade because you use your POW experience now as a campaign tool. Sir, you are going to lose in November, and you are going to lose horribly. You can't stop Barack Obama now, so maybe you should just lay down, take a nap, and get out of the way. In another 4 years from now when our country has gained back the respect that it lost, and its standing in the world, you'll see that I am right, and that Obama was the actual change for good. We can't survive even another 4 years with you, Senator McCain, leading this country. Rome is burning, and all you care about is calling a man a terrorist. You sir, are simply, a disgrace.