TEXAS POLITICS
Gov. Perry, "Rejecting funds was an easy call."
Oh yeah, always take the easy way out.

WOLVES
So animal haters with blood lust seem to be trying to exterminate wolves.  If they succeed, then we will hear a cry for extermination of all the vermin found in the wilds.  No kidding.  Up until recently, ranchers were poisoning the wild rodents because they thought that they posed a threat to their pastures.  Well, now there is a rule AGAINST poisoning wild animal because the poison can harm US.  Stalemate.  Wolves help control a disastrous, out of control increase in the population of mice, moles,  weasels, rats, etc.  We must use our heads and rethink this latest development.               bjj

WHAT AL-QAEDA CAN'T DO
In  the January 18th issue, Time has Peter Beinmart commenting about just that.  "The failed Christmas bombing shows how far the terrorist network has fallen since Sept. 11."  It cheered me up so much that I just have to share his reasoning. 
The Underwear bomber failed.  That particular plan went wrong because he was just ONE and the successes of previous bombings were usually multi-pronged events.  This one was under financed and under trained.  If successful he would have killed only 1/10th as many which does not compare with the horrific number killed 9-11.  This is the evidence of why we are safer now.  We have tightened our rules about the use of air flight, bin Laden no longer has the training camps, and we now have Pakistan's help.  It looks as if bin Laden is a has-been.                                    bjj

DEFICIT BATTLING PANEL
The Republicans are way too fond of saying that the Dems will not listen to them and they are not willing to operate in a bipartisan way.   So. Why will they not agree to a bipartisan panel to address the deficit and press for tax increases and spending cuts?  Two reasons may be - 1.They would rather bitch than try to cooperate. 2.They are afraid to admit that there is no other way to achieve real change.  I suppose that they think the problem will just go away by itself!  Well, put up or shut up!

NEWSWEEK.COM
 A viewer answered "The Trouble with Barack" with this:  So true, he started with a big hole that took eight years for the last regime to make. -

ROBERT MORGENTHAU
Upon retiring with 35 years in the job, the Manhattan D.A. explained his difficulties with getting along with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  "He doesn't want anybody around who doesn't kiss his ring, or other parts of his body."

BORING BANKING
Paul Krugman came out with an excellent column about the need to fix the banking industry.  Among other things, he said that banking should be boring, because what makes it exciting is the big risks, with leverage that they were doing.  Derivatives truly is a word that is synonymous with risky.  He also pointed out that Canadian banks  remained boring while ours were having a lot of fun and games with our money.  The Canadian banks are now perfectly normal, with no big problems to fix.  Bully for Canada!

REPUBLICAN POLITICS
Jonah Goldberg says that saying "no" has worked because that's what most Americans
say, too.  The best trick to give the GOP a turn around recipe, is to figure out what most Americans say yes, to.

DEMOCRATS' BLACK TUESDAY
Two Democratic senators quitting is seen as a terrible portent for 2010.  It seems a tad overblown given the fact that SIX  GOP senators also announced their retirements.
                                     bjj

THE FENCE
The latest news on the virtual fence is tha the government is considering downsizing it, and/or a reassessment of it.  There have been serious difficulties with installing it so that it works.  So far, it doesn't work properly.

THE REAL FENCE
The real fence in Texas is really a disaster, because those guys designing it and building it have essentially destroyed a Texas town - Brownsville.  I do not think that anyone expected that things would work out this way.  Nor do I think that they wanted to harm the people who lived in its way.  Remember, this does not follow the exact line between Mexico and the U.S.  In fact it has been wandering around several miles off that line, sometimes, removing the property owners from their own land.  It just makes my blood boil, because it is plain that it did not have to be done that way.   See The Texas Observer, Jan. 22, 2010.  The idiots who passed the law enabling this fence even allwed the builders to ignore our already existing laws protecting the environment and fauna.

One wonders how they think that this fence will do the trick.  The guys coming over it are doing ingenious things, such as stuffing bicycle tires in the cracks and climbing up on them.

I am convinced that most of the people screaming for a fence have as a motive hatred toward the Mexicans.  The fellows who were patrolling the fence seemed to act that way.  However, the real question is, is this fence going to work?  It seems pointless to me, because the ones who are trying to bomb us, ALL, ALL were using airplanes, NOT crossing the Rio Grande.  There is a serious logical disconnection there.  If our government cannot be logical and effective with problems, then we have a great need to vote them out.

Just think of the WASTED money!                         bjj

BAGHAM
Bagram is a prison in Afghanistan that is now being used for those prisoners deemed unsafe to release.  Prisoners are sent there from Guantanimo rather than being tried. 
In 2002 Redha Al-Najar was kidnapped in SWITZERLAND by our army.  He was taken to Bagram, after stopping at at least one "black site" where he presumably was tortured.  He is still in Bagram without being charged.  This shameful incident is repeated by other prisoners, some of whom very well could be totally innocent.  All have been denied the right to habeas corpus.  Now a team of lawyers are suing to get the right to be tried in our courtsfor three of the detainees.

I find this whole situation, which includes torture, to be totally abhorrent.  OUR GOVERNMENT IS DOING THIS?  GRATUITOUS TORTURE?  FLOUTING THE CONSTITUTION?  I am grateful that those lawyers are doing what they can.  What in the world is wrong with people nowadays?  I have always understood that habeas corpus was part of the DNA of the U.S.  I guess I was fooled.  Now we have to do the battle all over to get it back with TEETH.                       bjj

FUNNIEST ABORTION COMMENT, EVER/Ray Moncivais, letter to the editor
No man should dictate what a woman does with her body  unless, of course, women have the right to castrate men.

FUNNIEST DESCRIPTION OF THE HOUSE REPUBLICANS/ Gail Collins/The New York Times
Have you ever seen all the House Republicans in one place?  It's like a herd of rabid otters.

TCEQ
It's the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.  Thanks to Perry, the Gov. it has become little more than a protection racket for powerful polluters.  Now it has become a BLESSED INTERVENTION because the Obama administration picked a dream candidate to run the regional EPA office - Al Armendariz.  The days of Asarco style pollution. are doomed.  The Texas Greens are elated.                            bjj

THE WEEK OF DISASTERS
Not much good in this week.  First Mass. elected a GOP senator.  I guess they do not understand just how severe this will be.  I am sure there is plenty going on in the White House now.
On top of that, the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations can give campaign money in elections.  Wow!  Will we ever see how much money they will spend now?  I think both Alito and Roberts claimed the center during the pre-appointment hearings for Congress.  Now, they have come up with the most right wing ruling possible.  I am REALLY pushed out of shape!  All this really scares me.  I am having a hard time thinking that anything can work out right now.  We'll see.                          bjj

GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK
Apparently Obama is turning away a bit from Summers.  Summers needs to be dumped, so it may be that Obama is reluctant to dump anyone, but Summers is only one who desperately need to be ditched.   Anyway, now I am seeing comments about Paul Volker a bit more.  Volcker would be an excellent replacement for Summer's job.  Plus, he has plenty of experience.  We need a man like him, instead of someone constantly saying, "It can't be done."  I am looking forward to hearing about a new man in Summer's place.

TEXAS POLITICS
Gov. Perry says that the Texan people know best about what is good for our school children.  Of course, our school children always rank at the bottom on any survey regarding how well the children are doing.  He refused the money the U.S. gov. is offering in 'The Race to the top."  He turned down $9,000,000!  Is he smart, or what?  Of course, he does have a really fine head of hair!

UNSAVORY DEALMAKING
Now they are  accusing the Dems of unsavory dealmaking because Congress kept trying to get the others to join in on preparing the new laws.  I certainly am fed up with the way the media are attacking our president, just when he needs more suupport than ever.  We are still in a jam, and do need better support.  I am assuming that Rupert Murdock is throwing his money around with abandon to try and get things going wrong.      bjj

OBAMA'S TURN
If Obama should happen to see that those guys on his cabinet are dragging him down, and dumps them, then he likely would have a big surprise at how very many people  wanted him to control the banks.  This would be a very popular move.  Obama needs more popularity right now and this would do it.  I am, of course referring to Summers, Geithner and Rubin.                               bjj