In Memory of Sean Taylor

Sean.......you will be missed! Now we can only imagine what you would have accomplished.

The Drums of War are Beating Again

An average American speaks.......

I am pleading with all Americans to wake up, pay attention and listen to what our so called leaders are saying (again). George Bush is saying things like "unless we want World War III, we cannot allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons". Dick Cheney simply states that "we will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon". They are using the words "weapons of mass destruction" again. We have heard all these words before. We have seen this posturing of our "leaders" before. Why should we believe them again? Why should we let them get away with it again?

These are the men who have spent the last 7 years lying to us. They have subverted the Constitution, destroyed our civil liberties, sanctioned torture and put us in a war that cannot been won. Other countries in the world no longer look at America as a beacon of light for justice and a democracy to be emulated, now we are simply looked at as a country to fear.

Every time someone speaks out, these men and their spin network call them everything from un-American, un-patriotic, phony soldiers and sometimes even traitors. When Rep. Stark lets his emotions get the better of him on the floor of the House, they cry "that was mean, take that back". When MoveOn.org puts an ad in a newspaper, the outrage from the right screams unfair, they can't say that kind of stuff in America. What happens is that our Congress wastes their time and ours by writing, debating and voting on resolutions sanctioning Americans for speaking out. All this serves to distract us from the more important issues. The last I checked, I believe our Constitution gives us the right to speak.

So, I am speaking out. These men who took solemn oaths(1) to protect and defend the Constitution, instead interpret the Constitution as they see fit to meet their needs and plans. They and members of their administration have ignored and sometimes broken laws in the execution of their plans. They were complicit in outing a covert CIA operative because they were pissed off at her husband for exposing their lies. So I ask, who are the real traitors?

1. ("made in due legal or other express form, as a declaration or agreement: a solemn oath")

Bush Wants $46 Billion More For Wars

If George Bush was the CEO of some fictitious corporation and ran this corporation like he has the country, he'd be fired!!

He heads the planning for the roll-out of some great product (the Irag war), decides what's needed to produce this product (our military), whips up a media campaign to support the launch of this new product (baffles the public with BS), sells this new idea to his board of directors (the Congress).

Then completely screws up the entire product.
1. Insufficient planning
2. No exit strategy
3. Insufficient budget
4. Lousy execution
5. Substantial losses

But, does he take his losses and give up? Not our boy George. He just keeps changing the plan hoping things will get better. He escalates the ad campaign hoping to continue his successful selling of this product. Convinces his board of directors (by the way, they should now be fired also) that more money and more time will make this product succeed. I think my point is made.

How many times can he get away with this?

One more thought...now we know why he vetoed SCHIP. He knew he wanted the money for something else.

The Non-Congress

What is going on in Washington? This Congress (both the House and the Senate) are SO out of touch with their constituents and frankly they should be able to recognize that fact. But they seem to be oblivious!

The majority of the American people want some kind of change in the Iraq War. Some want out completely, some want a timetable for withdrawal, some would be satisfied with some kind of change in direction but Congress can't seem to agree on anything other than continued funding. Something like 74% of Americans support SCHIP even to the point of paying higher taxes to pay for this program, yet this Congress doesn't have the moral balls to override the President's veto of this bill. The Republicans can't seem to gather the strength to stand up to the President (top down rule is still the standard of the Republican party). The Democrats still haven't found their spines and to be honest, I'm starting to wonder if they ever will.

Our lawmakers are squandering their time on ridiculous measures like sanctioning MoveOn.org and debating whether or not to condemn the Ottoman Empire for something that happened a century ago.

Stand up America! These people work for you. You voted them into office and you can vote them out of office. Write to them, call them, email them, let them know that if they continue to govern this way they may not be in office next term.

Illegal Immigration

First, let me remind readers that The Drifting Mind is a Liberal Blog. I am a liberal and I make no apologies for that. With that said, my position may surprise you.

Yesterday, Prince William County, Virginia passed sweeping new immigration measures for the county. There is much discussion in the news, both local and national about this. First, let's understand that the operative word in this debate is "Illegal". These measures are not intended to attack immigrants in general. The wording is clear, anyone stopped or detained for breaking the law will be subject to having their immigration status checked. Police will be empowered to check the immigration status of anyone who breaks the law, whether for speeding or shoplifting, if they believe that person is in the country illegally. What the hell is so wrong with this? Immigration is a huge problem in our country and I applaud Prince William County and other local jurisdictions around the country for acting where the federal Government has failed. The measure also blocks illegal immigrants from using some county services such as, bus tours for senior citizens, leadership training programs for adults and rental and mortgage assistance. OK, why should we fund and provide mortgage assistance to illegal immigrants? Duh? This one I particularly enjoy, the measure will also prohibit illegal immigrants from getting business licenses! You mean that they could before?

The federal Government has not seriously addressed this problem. I'm not even sure they can meaningfully address this problem. Let the states and local jurisdictions do this, it will ultimately work better at the local level anyway.

We have a problem, we need to address the problem. If you are here legally, you don't have any need to be concerned. If people want to immigrate here and build a better future for themselves and their families, welcome. If you are here illegally, leave.

Billo's Mother Fucking Iced Tea

A little fun from The Drifting Mind. This is our first, of hopefully many products that will help spread the word and get more people thinking and questioning authority.

If you like this on a t-shirt, go to our online store and purchase yours today.

If you don't understand this, you don't watch the news.

If you have any ideas for The Drifting Mind, let us know.

A Politician With a Consciense

Today, former Vice President Al Gore won the Nobel Prize. As most people already know, Mr. Gore has been spending a lot of his time, over many years, trying to get people and governments all around the globe to wake up and understand what carbon emissions are actually doing to damage our planet. I received the following email from Mr. Gore earlier today...........

Dear Tom,

I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change--the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis--a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.

My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.

Thank you,

Al Gore

With politics being what it is today, Democrats and Republicans constantly fighting and bickering instead of focusing on what they should, it is refreshing to know that Mr. Gore (a politician) can be so selfless in accepting this great honor and donating the entire prize to continue the work he feels so passionate about.

I tip my hat to you Al. You don't need to thank us, we need to thank you! Our country and the world need many more people like you.

Thank you Mr. Vice President.

The one state recession.......

Last night I started watching the Republican Presidential debate. This debate was focused on the economy and as a real estate agent, I was interested. I turned the debate off after the first question. Both Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney responded to a question about the housing market by stating that the economy overall is in good shape and the housing market/crisis is not as bad as everyone says. In fact, they both stated that relative to the foreclosure crisis and it's affect on the economy, we are seeing a "one state recession". That state being Michigan where foreclosure rates are extremely high.

Here's the reality. Michigan's foreclosure rate of 1 filing for every 320 households ranked the third highest for July 2007. Detroit does rank the highest for metro areas with 1 filing for every 97 households. Nevada is actually the highest in the nation for July 2007 with a filing rate of 1 in every 199 households and Georgia ranked #2 with 1 filing for every 299 households.

Nationwide, foreclosures rates for July 2007 increased 9% from June 2007 and a whopping 93% increase from July 2006. The truth is that for July 2007, the foreclosure rate nationally was 1 filing for every 693 households.

Are they stupid or are they lying? I don't know. But I do know that they are WRONG. The housing market is a national problem. It is affecting consumer confidence and it's only a matter of time before this lack of consumer confidence begins to affect other areas of the economy. Wake up America! The first step to solving a problem is admitting there is a problem!


All of these statistics according to http://www.realtytrac.com/.
To view a list of foreclosures rates nationwide by state please visit: http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/Library.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=3221