Hunt for Bin Laden / Finding a Turd in a Dung Heap

Yahoo! News - U.S. Hunt for Bin Laden Gathers Steam: “By KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The United States is rounding up and questioning the relatives of fugitive al-Qaida leaders to generate information on the possible whereabouts of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and his top deputies. This tactic helped lead to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)’s capture…”

Good chance we will get this guy by year’s end. The President knows it will boost him in the polls, but will it really be possible to find a needle in a haystack ? Or should I say a turd in a pile of dung ? - zzb

Let the Games Begin…

Kerry Labels Bush a ‘Contradiction’ (washingtonpost.com): “YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, Feb. 24 — Lampooned by President Bush on Monday as a waffling politician, Democratic front-runner John F. Kerry fired back Tuesday, accusing President Bush of being a ‘walking contradiction’ who routinely says one thing and does another. ” — Dan Balz and Paul Farhi

The gloves are coming off… We are off to the races. The sad fact is many voters are loosing confidence in their leaders in general. Many young democrats, especially those that were supporting Dean, are saying they will not even vote. This is about the time that the “wedge” issues begin to surface. I think the big gorilla is the magnitude of off shore job outsourcing !!

Jordanian Prince Seeking Throne in Iraq ?

Jordanian Prince Seeking Kingdom in Iraq? “Last week, Hassan told Al-Arabiya satellite channel that he plans a visit to Baghdad ’soon’ to try to mediate political disputes among factions in the country. He did not say whom he would meet. The aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hassan is waiting to be invited… ” - Jamal Halaby / AP

Now this makes the most sense yet. This would be the best of both worlds if it indeed it is even plausible. The question is… What do the Iraqi’s want ? — zzb

Nader in La La Land

VOANews.com:

Ralph Nader says he is running for president this year because he believes both major political parties have become dominated by corporate interests who care little about the concerns of average Americans… - Jim Malone / VOA News

My prediction is that this, not so well thought out Nader bid for the White House, will not have legs. Without the umbrella of the Green Party he will not be represented on all of the state ballots ! His principles, may be sound and noble, but his thought process leaves a bit to be desired. His personal agenda, hidden or not, obviously seems to be to shift the Democratic discussion and focus further to the left. Much to the delight of the GOP ! - zzb

Nader to Announce Decision on 2004 Bid

Nader to Announce Decision on 2004 Bid: “WASHINGTON (AP) — Ralph Nader will announce Sunday whether he will make another run for the White House, but all signs indicate the consumer advocate plans to jump into the race as an independent.” - AP

Republicans need to get out in droves and vote for Nader in the primaries in those states that allow mixed party voting ! This could be manna from heaven for Mr. Bush who is being hurt again with speed bumps in the Iraqi Sovereignty timetable.

Running as an Independent may be more difficult than having the endorsement of the Green Party — but there is a very good chance that if Mr. Nader leverages the web properly a number of frustrated Deaniacs will vote for him as a protest vote against the Democratic National Committee machine. A vote against the “me too” establishment DNC / Beltway politics is what many of the Dean supporters found so intriguing about supporting Mr. Dean. They felt revolutionary. Ralph Nader addresses many of those same needs. - zzb

Iraqi Elections ??

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage

This situation in Iraq is unraveling fast for the President. The GOP’s worst fears may come to fruition… It had been predicted that the most difficult part of this “war” would be to construct the “peace”. This is proving to be very much the case. An Islamic Fascist government would be a disaster for the US administration. The time is NOT right for an election of any kind this year. To try and do otherwise would make a mockery out of democracy.

Unless the internal differences between political groups can be worked out, these elections should be postponed. U.S. election year politics cannot be allowed to create a disaster that may never be unraveled once Iraq is declared as a sovereign nation.

Backlash on Gay Marriage is Just Beginning…

Yahoo! News - Bush ‘Troubled’ by San Francisco’s Gay Marriages

The tact being taken in San Francisco is going to backfire on the more radical gays that are driving this. As you can read from this article, all the “in your face” attitude on the coast is doing is stoking the backlash fires. You can expect this to begin to grow as an issue in the President’s efforts to resonate with the Republican base. Kerry will flip flop as he has done on the rest of the issues and ensure that he is as teflon on this subject as the former resident of the white house was on most of his issues. None of these documents are worth the paper they are printed on. Talk about a polarizing issue.

There will be a major disconnect between what people will say in public on this issue, especially the media that is really avoiding it, and how they will vote once the curtain is drawn behind them in the voting booth. The media is afraid to have a real open debate on this subject and so far has only given press to the media event underway on the coast. I sense the gloves coming off soon as the more conservative elements of the GOP will demand some action by it’s leader. Do the majority of Americans agree with this degree of social change ? They are for the most part tolerant of “unions” and what folks do in private, but will have an issue with “marriage” as a “Right” and an institutionalization of gay lifestyle. It is way too close to conflicting with deeply seated religious values within the fabric of social structure in mainstream America and it’s view of family.

Same-sex marriage has become a hot-button issue in this presidential election year, with opponents saying it would destroy the institution of marriage. Bush’s stance could help him energize his conservative base before the November vote. — Excerpt from Reuter’s article

“I’m troubled by what I’ve seen,” Bush told reporters in his first public comments on the flood of City Hall weddings that have made San Francisco “Ground Zero” for the gay marriage movement. — Reuters

Back On Earth

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: “Edwards Pushes for Second in Wisconsin

Tue February 17, 2004 05:29 PM ET

Cited By Jim Loney

MADISON, Wis. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards raced through last-minute appeals to voters on Tuesday in Wisconsin, where a second-place finish would bolster his claim as the only legitimate challenger to front-runner John Kerry. “…

Getting our feet planted back on earth… My hunch is that Howard Dean will try to indirectly support John Edwards rather than outright supporting John Kerry. The rational ? Supporting Kerry would be the “mainstream beltway politics” thing to do. It will only happen as a last resort running up to the convention. I guess I am anticipating that Howard Dean, with such a large stake in his anti beltway position, could not live with himself if he knuckled under to DNC pressures this late in the game. It would make him appear as a hypocrite to all his followers. I think that force is pretty strong inside him. In the end it may be moot, but nonetheless it may make for some interesting speculations and who knows ? Since the mainstream press is looking for a NEW story to spin, this might be the one. Then look out. Public opinion will change again. Especially if Edwards does reasonably well tonight. Then you can fill in the blanks for yourself.

Just a hunch. - zzb

Intergalactic Sobriety

By Zardoz Z. Bachman



A new galaxy that may have helped awaken the universe | csmonitor.com — from Christian Science Monitor

Just to keep our worldly events in perspective, consider for a moment that as you read this, humanity, the self proclaimed “intelligent” life form on this planet, has been uncovering incredible, sobering and humbling knowledge of our universe at a magnitude and pace never before achieved in the history of man! This is of course ironically being accomplished, quietly, while our world media is pre-occupied with Janet Jackson, her nutty brother Michael, and all of the antics of the US and Global political process - not to mention world hunger, terrorism, A-Rod, Nascar, and who is doing what, to whom, and where on any particular reality show on any particular evening !

Witness THE most distant galaxy in the universe CURRENTLY known to man uncovered this past week.

Yanks and Rangers Complete Rodriguez Deal, Officials Say

Yanks and Rangers Complete Rodriguez Deal, Officials Say

Well this makes it all but official. That will happen tommorow at a press conference in Yankee Stadium. Get ready for one hell of an interesting baseball season. Especially between NY and Boston. Yankees still need pitching…. hmm…