A Time for Change

Well, I am off to Asia at the crack of dawn tomorrow for work.  It will take me 27 hours to get there so I  will be out of the loop a bit for the next 4 days or so.  I will be checking in and out briefly over there, but with a 12 hour time difference and work, that will be difficult.  Please keep coming.  I appreciate it more than you know.

See you all soon!

Is Sarah Palin’s middle name teflon?  It should be.    The Anchorage Daily News reports that Sarah Palin has essentially migrated the government away from Juneau, Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska, which is  also not so coincidentally near to where her home is located in Wasilla.

What’s the big deal?  For starters, the issue of where the seat of government will be in Alaska has been a hot topic for years.  Voters have decided to keep government in Juneau rather than moving the seat of government to Anchorage many times.  

The location of the state capital has been one of Alaska’s most emotional issues over the years. Ten times in the past 47 years voters wrestled with the issue of moving the seat of government, or the Legislature. The most recent statewide vote was in 2002, when two-thirds of Alaskans voted against a proposition to move legislative sessions to [Anchorage].

Prior governors have aligned thmselves with voters’ wishes by making sure that their staff and commissioners were in Juneau… until Sarah Palin came along.

Sarah Palin just sidestepped voter wishes by simply setting up her office in Anchorage.  She is rarely at the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau, preferring to commute from her home in Wasilla.  The Anchorage Daily News says that during her first 19 months in office, she spent more than half of her time in the Anchorage /Wasilla area despite the fact that the legislature is still in Juneau.

Palin collects $60 per diem “for food and incidentals, such as tips, while traveling on state business,” which in this case is actually time spent in her home in Wasilla.  So Alaska taxpayers have actually reimbursed her for the convenience of living in her own home rather than the mansion that is already there and available to her.  Former Governor, Frank Knowles criticized the practice, saying that “The purpose of the per diem is to cover expenses when away from home….’If you live at home and you get up in the morning and have a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, you don’t charge the state $16 for breakfast.’”

The issue of the per diem for expenses she incurs for living at home recently came up during her Vice-Presidential bid due to ethics concerns because she is not really “travelling.”  Her spokesperson said that she had been spending very little time in Juneau due to an alleged massive plumbing issue.  However, emails made available under sunshine laws show that really had nothing to do with it at all.  In Governor Palin’s own words, she said:

“Come end of legislative session i’m joining YOU, and the majority of the people of AK, by conducting the state’s business where the people are – where I can access them, and they can access me … We’re going to have to fundamentally change some perceptions of WHERE the admin needs to conduct its business in order to stay connected w/the world outside of Juneau”

So, getting back to my question, how does she get away with it?  She just does as she wants, has her people lie about it so that no one makes a big fuss about her ethical breaches and she hopes the issue just dies down.  That may work in Alaska Ms. Wasilla, but it isn’t going to fly in the part of the United States from which your husband wants Alaska to secede.

You just had to know that there would be a “War on Christmas” reference on team.sarah.org  

The racist emails that were sent by Palin’s staff was a shocking disclosure.  She has yet to come out and voice personal disapproval of that.  But the hate is not limited to private email.  The blogosphere is riddled with some very nasty and quasi-criminal threats.

Huffington Post just wrote about team.sara.org, an antiabortion website that is trying to get a Sarah Palin grass roots movement going.  The website claims to have over 60,000 members.  See some of the posts referenced in Geoffrey Dunn’s article below:

On one blog Heather describes Election Day as the “most terrible” in history and asks “how long until obama is shot??????” Josie responds: “There are plenty of people that would like to see Obama end that way.”

Nice. Then there’s the “Obama the Snowman” song:

Obama the Snowman
Was a very scary soul
With a marijuana pipe
And two eyes made out of skoal
Obama the Snowman
Is a Kenyan they say
He liked his white nose snow
But the Americans know
How he stole their country one day

And guess what? It sounds exactly like the kind of racist remarks that were being sent recently on State of Alaska government emails.

Under a post entitled “Police prepare for RIOTS,” by one BarbaraJo, one concerned blogger named Tommygun responded: “For people in urban/Obama areas–do this now: 1. Stock up on some basic supplies–food, health and hygiene, water, etc. 2. Keep track of where your family members are. 3. Work up meeting points in your community for your family (different spots in town where members are to go if problems occur). 4. Check and prepare any weapons you may have.”

In response, a blogger named Johnny got more to the point:

“Well niggers will occasionally chimp out like this, am I right?”

The hate is not limited to team.sarah.org though, although Palin certainly seems to drive a lot of these people out of their holes.  In fact, based on my review, it is rather benign compared to others, if you can believe that.

The below post is not uncommon on the Fox blogs with no apparent editorial intervention:

Comment by bigmarunga 

Frank Alford loaded a garbage can with $21,333 in dollar coins to pay his property taxes

Frank Alford of Floyd County, Indiana, doesn’t like property taxes much.  He’s angry. No wonder.  he claims they property taxes have risen on his rental property 48% since 2006 and  while the Indiana legislature passed tax relief, nothing has been done for rental property owners.

Since Frank is a man of action, last year in protest he paid with dollar bills.  This year he loaded up about 400 pounds of Susan B. Anthony dollar coins in a garbage can and brought a sign that says “Property taxes gone wild” to the Floyd County treasurer’s office.  

Local television station WLKY reports that he said, “”I’m letting them know I’m a very unhappy taxpayer.” 

“The owner who lives in their property got all kinds of tax breaks. They don’t give you no homestead exemption, no mortgage exemption, nothing,” he said. “You’re paying double what you’re paying than owning your own home.”

Frank is still ticked off.  ”If we don’t get some relief, it may be in quarters, dimes, or pennies next year,” he said. “I’m angry at them.”

The only living heir to her father’s legacy

Since Caroline Kennedy began her quest to be appointed to Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, some people have compared her to Sarah Palin.  Both resumes are thin, but Palin has been the governor of Alaska and did serve as the Mayor of that lovely little hamlet, Wasilla.  On the other hand, Caroline Kennedy has been responsible for some rather extensive projects that also have a lot of responsibility.

The Boston Globe swept that comparison away by simply saying that “Kennedy is no Sarah Palin – she is articulate and temperamentally modest to begin with – but she faces some of the same obstacles in persuading the public, and New York Governor David A. Paterson, that she has enough experience to do the job.”

In the The Washington Post, Kathleen Parker concedes that Palin has more political experience: “Suffice to say, she worked hard to get from Wasilla High to the governor’s mansion.”  But the Post draws the line there because Caroline Kennedy is not seeking as high a political office as Sarah Palin did in the 2008 election.  ”a Sen. Caroline Kennedy would not be a nuclear-enabled leader of the free world, whereas a Vice President Sarah Palin might have been.”

The Post is right that there is an enormous difference between holding a Senate seat for two years before an election and being a heartbeat away from a 73 year old man who a little over a month after the election will not commit to supporting her for a presidential run in 2012!

That is the basic distinction.  There are many others.  For starters, Caroline Kennedy is smart.  She has an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a law degree from Columbia.  Did I say that she is smart?  I thought I did.

Caroline Kennedy is also a well-respected author of numerous books, including two on the Bill of Rights, one of which focuses on the Fourth Amendment.  Somehow, I think that if Katie Couric asked her to name some United States Supreme Court decisions, she might be able to name a few. And I also think that she might be able to name some papers and magazines that she reads regularly. 

Then there are other qualities that place her above Bible Spice.  She is not in it for the money, the power or the glory.  She only wants to serve.  Imagine that.  She is not even in it for Neiman Marcus shopping sprees.  Altruism.  Now that would be a big word for Ms. Wasilla, but she can probably google it.

As for policy, if Caroline Kennedy doesn’t have an answer, she can figure it out.  She can be counted on to ferret out the issues and to draw her own conclusions from what she learns.  The same could not be said for Palin who let handlers taker over.

Did I say that Caroline Kennedy is smart?  

The great white highly divisive hope of the GOP

I am a little bit behind in my daily George Bush moment, but this is one of my many favorites and it is suitable for his “legacy” tour that is in the news today.

This is part of A time for Change’s farewell to George Bush.  Every night I will be posting something relating to him as we count the time down to the door hitting him on the way out of the White House.

Get down George Bush, but will you ever get back up again?

Rush Limbaugh appeals to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts

In an interview with Fareed Zakaria that will be broadcast this coming Sunday, Colin Powell voiced his disappointment with the Republican Party’s strategy of “shouting at the world.”  He represents a voice of reason in an increasingly unreasonable party.  

“I think the party has to take a hard look at itself,” Powell said in the interview… “There is nothing wrong with being conservative. There is nothing wrong with having socially conservative views — I don’t object to that. But if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities. In another 20 years, the majority in this country will be the minority.”

Powell, who crossed party lines and endorsed President-elect Barack Obama just weeks before the election, said the GOP must see what is in the “hearts and minds” of African-American, Hispanic and Asian voters “and not just try to influence them by… the principles and dogma.”

“I think the party has to stop shouting at the world and at the country,”Powell said. “I think that the party has to take a hard look at itself, and I’ve talked to a number of leaders in recent weeks and they understand that.”

I couldn’t agree more.  But then you have Fox News and Bill O’Reilly who claim that the only war “more important” than the war on terror is the non-existent “War on Christmas.”  The people representing the Republican Party on  TV and in other media appear to be delusional.  

Powell, who says he still considers himself a Republican, said his party should also stop listening to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

“Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?” Powell asked. “Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?”

This is an intelligent, rational, articulate statement on the sad state of this bankrupt party which hs allowed extremist and bellicose media personalities and pundits take the party to such an extreme that the average American is repelled by their ideology.

I am completely uncertain that Colin Powell’s voice of reason is what the party will be listening to when the party attempts to re-emerge.  Sadly, I think the extremist will; prevail and continue to push the party on the outer bounds of our society as we move farther and farther from the white Anglo Saxon protestant majority.

When the dust settles, I hope Colin Powell is left standing.

Caroline Kennedy endorsing Barack Obama

She is a star in her own right that would draw as much or more world attention to New York as Hillary Clinton has as a Senator from New York. Caroline Kennedy is keenly aware of her family’s history of public service.  It is a legacy that she has spoken about with a great deal of pride on many occasions.

After years of avoiding the media, this year she has very publicly supported Barack Obama. Her Op-Ed piece in the New York Times endorsing him created enormous media attention and placed her directly in the media spotlight.  And now that Hillary Clinton has accepted the position of Secretary of State, she has indicated that she is interested in filling her senate seat.

Her father was elected to the senate 56 years ago for Massachusetts, her uncle Edward Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the senate for 40 years.  Robert Kennedy served as a senator for New York from 1965 until he was assassinated in 1968.  

CNN quoted her father’s speechwriter, Ted Sorenson as saying that she would not likely “go that far” to hold a public office.  But she was quoted in a 2002 Time magazine interview as not ruling out a run for public office:

“I don’t have any plans to do that right now,” she said. “I don’t plan ahead. My kids are young, and I’m really happy to be able to be around. But I do care about issues, and I’m interested in them. So I don’t see that now, but you know, I have a long life ahead of me.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the New York Times that she was interested in the soon to be vacant senate seat and Governor David A. Paterson has confirmed that he has spoken with her about it.  

I would be extremely happy if she took the seat.  I think her father was one of the best presidents that this country has ever had and, as a student of his presidential history and his political ideals, I think she will contribute to the political dialogue in a very meaningful way.  I will also be happy if a well qualified female candidate such as Caroline Kennedy replaces Hillary Clinton. 

There may have been indications that this or something very similar was coming.  In her Op-Ed endorsement of Senator Obama, she wrote:

I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.

Perhaps she was not only writing about others, but about herself as well. 

Nazis at a resort near Auschwitz

I recently watched an interesting show about a scrapbook that a German soldier kept that recorded his days at Auschwitz, “Nazi Scrapbooks from Hell: The Auschwitz albums.” The Nazi soldier was Karl Hocker who arrived at the death camp when 8,000 Hungarian Jews were being murdered every day. It was an efficient killing machine, wiping out 437,00 in under 60 days if  I remember correctly.

The photo album documents the frolics of these Nazis at play. In the middle of the routine murder of thousands a day and the extinction of the Hungarian Jews, the scrapbook records all of the “happy” times that the soldiers had at the death camp, including picking blueberries, cocktails singing, playing with dogs and other frolics. The infamous Doctor Mengele is even in some of the photos, smiling and enjoying.

The documentary also shows some photos that two SS officers took over the course of just two days that show what the victims went through from the time that they disembarked the trains up to the door of the gas chambers and ovens.

Hocker as not convicted of causing death, but served 7 years. But the scrapbooks seem to suggest that he was in the thick of it.

It was odd to watch this show as the events in Mumbai unfolded. What makes a killer? What makes someone go along with it? How do you take part in beating, torturing and killing and then go out for cocktails afterward?

How do the terrorists from 9/11 and the Mumbai terror attacks live? Do they have fun while they plan mass murders? During the attacks? One report of the Mumbai incident said that when one of the young men killed, he smiled. How is that possible?

It all boils down to conscience.

Mob of Christmas Shopers at Wal-Mart Shortly Before Incident

Black Friday resulted in death at a Long Island Wal-Mart early this morning when a frenzied mob of Christmas shoppers pushed the doors off their hinges to get inside to bargain shop, crushing a temproray Wal-Mart employee to death who was near the door.  The New York Times reports:

A half-dozen Wal-Mart employees lined up in the entryway trying to hold back the crowd by pushing against the locked sliding doors, but they were overwhelmed by the force of the crowd…

As the doors snapped open and people streamed in, several people fell on top of one another. The 34-year-old employee who died was at the bottom of the pile, the police said.

Earlier in the evening the police had come to assist with crowd control, but were called away to deal with other similar situations at other area stores.  The crowd had been gathering since 9:00 p.m. Thanksgiving evening until it grew to 2,000.  At approximately 5:00 a.m. 

…a crowd of 2,000 anxious shoppers started pushing, shoving and piling against the locked sliding glass doors of the Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, N.Y… The shoppers broke the doors off their hinges and surged in, toppling a 34-year-old temporary employee who had been waiting with other workers in the store’s entryway.

People did not stop to help the employee as he lay on the ground, and they pushed against other Wal-Mart workers who were trying to aid the man. The crowd kept running into the store even after the police arrived, jostling and pushing officers who were trying to perform CPR, the police said.

“They were like a stampede,” said Nassau Det. Lt. Michael Fleming. “Hundreds of people walked past him, over him or around him.”

The employee, who was not identified, was taken from the Wal-Mart to nearby Franklin Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., the police said.  The police said that three other shoppers were injured and a 28-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant was taken to the hospital for observation.

Other reports have stated that even after the Wal-Mart workers asked the shoppers to leave the store, they did not leave and continued shopping.

Wal-Mart stated, “The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority,” Wal-Mart said in a statement.

The Police said that the store “could have done more” to prevent the incident.

“I’ve heard other people call this an accident, but it’s not,” he said. “This certainly was foreseeable.”

My question is, why not just open the doors when you could clearly see the crowd getting antsy.  What’s the harm of selling early?  On the other hand, how could those people not stop to help?  What a horrible senseless tragedy.  What is the price of a bargain? A human life.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Malay Desai, a correspondent for the Mumbai Mirror, told Al Jazeera: “There are reports of panic on the roads.

“Not all of the members of the planned operation have been gunned down yet, a lot of them are still roaming around the streets in Mumbai, firing at will and creating panic among the people of Mumbai.”

He confirmed that there had been a blast outside the city’s airport, saying it was a “peak time for flights coming from the West to Mumbai”.

A group calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for the attack, the AFP news reported, but Mahan Abedin, an insurgency analyst, told Al Jazeera: “At this stage, that name does not necessarily mean that much. I’ve never heard of that group.”

Speaking from Mumbai, Al Jazeera’s Riz Khan said: “This was a serious attack by people armed with AK47s.

The chief of the police anti-terrorist squad was  killed in the attacks [Reuters]

“The police were taken by surprise … they are not equipped for this. The attacks would have been organised as they struck several areas at once.”He said landmarks and heavily populated areas had come under attack.

“Seeing these two major landmarks – the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels – on fire is psychologically damaging for people in India and is comparable to the affects the September 11 attacks had on Americans in 2001.”

One woman, who gave her name as Souad, escaped an attack on the Oberoi hotel in the city.

She told Al Jazeera: “We heard no alarms, nothing. My husband opened the door and we couldn’t see outside – it was so dark with all the smoke – we couldn’t breathe.

“We were on the 17th floor of the hotel and we used towels to protect ourselves and then ran and got a taxi and then we just drove as far away as we could.”

Police said there were reports of shootings in other parts of the city, including some in five-star hotels.

Al Jazeera’s Matt McClure said: “There was at least five attacks – the largest on a Mumbai railstation and there were three on large, luxury hotels.

“It seems clear what the intent is here – to sow fear and leave people worried and thinking ‘nowhere is safe’.

Terrorists are still in Chabad House and are holding a number of Israeli hostages. Among those being held is Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg, the city’s envoy for the Jewish community. An Israeli rescue team is supposedly either on its way to  or already in Mumbai (depending on the news station) presumably to assist with or perform rescue operations.  A series of bombs have gone off in the early morning hours.  CNN has just reported fighting and a helicopter near the house.

Indian broadcasting Network reports that there is a siege at Mumbai’s Nariman House, which is the home of the Chabad-Lubovitch center.  Israel’s Haaretz.com reports

Israel’s Foreign Ministry early Thursday morning said it is attempting to locate an unspecified number of Israeli nationals missing in the Indian city of Mumbai. Members of the Israeli consulate staff were conducting searches in Mumbai hospitals for injured or missing Israelis, Israel Radio reported.

Indian and Bahraini media reported Wednesday night that gunfire was heard at Nariman House, a building believed to be owned by Chabad. On its Web site, Chabad expressed concern over the welfare of its representative to Mumbai, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, and his wife, Rivka Holtzberg, who have not been heard from since the attacks.

Chabad said its personnel are “working closely with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the U.S. government” to locate the Holtzbergs and other missing persons in the Chabad House area.

Mumbai’s Chabad House is said to be a popular stop for Israeli tourists. The Holtzbergs offer visitors a host of programs, including providing kosher food.

Indian officials still cannot confirm whether the terrorists are in the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels.

There is not much in formation about the terrorists or why they attacked Mumbai.  Some blogs and message boards from people in India are claiming that the Indian security was caught completely off guard and were slow to respond.  I am sure that for those who were caught in the crossfire or those who had loved ones in the middle of the terror, no action could have occurred soon enough.  

On an interesting note, once the terror started, CNN reports that people started using the social network to communicate eyewitness accounts, provide updates and to pass along information.  It is estimated that 80 Tweets (messages) were sent to Twitter every 5 seconds.  Such a use of Twitter no one could have imagined.  First-hand accounts of the deadly Mumbai attacks are pouring in on Twitter, Flickr, and other social media.

See Twitter accounts which are being updated minute by minute, including Mumbai and BreakingNewz.

There are also Google maps of the attack sites and posts on http://mumbai.metblogs.com/.

The above was taken from a combination of the New York Times, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Fox and CNN.  Streaming video can be seen from the CNN website and a number of other sits on the web.

Thank you all for reading my blog.  I have not been around that long so I really appreciate all of you dropping by to check out my view on the world.  I feel that we are all lucky this year.  Thank goodness that John McCain picked Sarah Palin for a running mate.  She was the catapult who brought people like me to vote for Obama.  Perhaps, more than anything, that whole episode showed us that it is very easy to see what we do not want out of our political leaders, but not so easy to identify what we do want.  

So far I have been pleased with Obama’s message of finding a common ground.  As I explain in the pages, Time, Change and Defining Moments, the great leaders of our country have recognized that as a “purple” America, we can do just about anything that we try to accomplish.  We have shown that when we pull together we have defied all odds, including sending a man to the moon in less than a decade.  I am really confident that we can meet and surpass the challenges that face us with courage, dignity and grace.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday today!

The Leoppold Restaurant, site of one of the terror attacks

It was the worst night of my life,”

Member of Australian Film Crew who was in New York on 9/11 describing the events at the Taj Mahal Hotel

CNN reports that approximately 26 young terrorists suspected to be from Pakistan entered the city by boat, captured vehicles, including a police vehicle, and randomly shot at crowds on their way to several locations in the city. They fired shots and lobbed grenades at the city’s central rail station prior to entering several luxury hotels where Americans are known to stay.

According to one interview of an eyewitness on CNN, an Australian film crew had just checked into the Taj Mahal and had left the lobby to meet up with other members of the group when they heard shots coming from the lobby. One of the party interviewed live this morning explained that they immediately sought a hiding place where they hunkered down.  There they heard the screams of others being dragged up the stairs by the terrorists. They also heard blasts and gun fire.  Determined to find a way out, members of the hotel staff assisted them in locating an escape route.

The film crew member interviewed by CNN reported that she had been in New York during 9/11, but that this was much more frightening to her because the 9/11 attacks were focused in one area and the New York police and firemen kept everyone well advised and calm.  In this situation, police presence was virtually nonexistent and there were multiple attacks all over the city.

Another eyewitness, Anthony Rose, reports that the terrorists executed people in the lobby execution style and lobbed grenades at doors to gain entrance.  

 In addition to the Taj Mahal Hotel, the terrorists also entered the Hotel Oberoi where they held hostages that were recently released this morning.  They are also holding hostages in the Chabad house where several Jewish families live. They also attacked a hospital. The Indian authorities have uncovered explosives planted in a restaurant and on a boat, indicating that the plan included an even more widespread terror attack.

CNN reported live that a woman escaped with a child from the Chabad House, but the fact that the child’s clothes were blood soaked speaks volumes about the horror of what happened there.  

Those who escaped from the hotels report numerous bodies in the hallways.  Once the city currently under siege has been secured, the death toll will likely mount from the over 100 reported dead to date and the over 300 injured.  If you are concerned about any loved one who may be in Mumbai, you are urged to cntact the State Department.

It appears that the attacks were focused on Americans and British.  The British Foreign Minister has already made a statement calling for Pakistan and India to come to terms.  Other world leaders have condemned the attacks.  

Given that CNN reported that the Indian Navy had boarded a Pakistani vessel, and that the terrorists spoke Punjab,  There is concern that if Indian officials connect this widespread assault on India’s financial center that there will be serious repercussions.  Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained for years due to a dispute between the two countries over Kashmir, which borders both countries.  Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim state within India, which is primarily Hindu.  “This conflict, between two of the world’s most populous countries, both with nuclear capability has the ominous potential to escalate into theater nuclear war, or beyond,” reports a website discussing flashpoints around the world. 

See the following for more information:

http://www.flashpoints.info/countries-conflicts/Kashmir-India_vs_Pakistan-web/Kashmir-India_vs_briefing.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/27/india.attacks/index.html

President-Elect Obama’s Senior Political Advisor told Fox News that he will not be taking a role similar to the one that Karl Rove had during George Bush’s administration.  Well, as much as I like David Axelrod, I do appreciate that it is Barack Obama who will be making decisions and not Axelrod!