A Shout to Yellowdog Grannie

I have a regular reader, whose comments I greatly appreciate, though I don't necessarily agree with. I respect her opinion, and she has helped me to reach the goal of creating open dialogue on issues.
Yellowdog Grannie
has posted a 9/11 tribute on her site, which is very well written and truley heartfelt, and, if you haven't read it yet, please go and read it.
What I also like about her site is that she has been posting a year-by-year autobiographical series, which includes the hit songs of the particular year, and other noteable events. Even though we are at odds politically, I highly recommend her blog site, and urch everyone to visit it regularly.

If I Were A Texan

I watched Kinky Friedman on Cavuto, yesterday, and he really made me wish I were a Texan so I could vote for him.
I first got exposed to the "Jewish Cowboy" over twenty years ago when I heard a very funny and irreverant song by Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, called "They Don't Make Jewboys Like They Used To." We don't have to worry about him overdoing political correctness. Later I learned that he was a novelist, and I read While the Cat’s Away, which I enjoyed immensely.
Now he is running for Governor of the great state of Texas, as an independent. The way things are looking, he could very well be the next Governor.
This country needs more people like Friedman in office. The major parties have bogged down in politics, which is not surprising as they are full of politicians. As Freidman put it, "A politician looks only to the next election. A statesman looks to future generations." I could apply that to the current players in Washington, but I won't do that here.
Friedman is definitely not a politician. He has vowed not to listen to lobbyists or special interest groups, He has declared that he will only stay in office for one term, because he is not a career politician. The three candidates against whom he is running are.
"The people have had enough of politicians," he said, "It is time for a statesman."
We know Friedman is down to earth an honest, if only because he does not plan a career in politics. He has nothing to gain by being dishonest.
When asked about Jesse Ventura, the former wrestler turned Governor of Minnesota, who also ran as an independent, Friedman said, "Jesse found out that wrestling is real and politics is fixed," citing the political problems Ventura had in following his agenda while in office.
What I liked the most about the interview was Kinky Friedman's parting remark:
"A good shepherd does not ignore his flock. I want to be a good shepherd."
If I were a Texan, he would have my vote.

Talk

If only we could talk to those countries with which we are at odds. The EU had talks with Iran scheduled today, over the nucler issue. But Iran cancelled the talks and Iran's President Ahmadinejad once again called for a debate with President Bush.
What purpose would such a debate serve? The US has already offered Iran technology to replace their own nuclear program, and Iran rejected it. Ahmadinejad has already made it clear that his country's program is not debatable. What would be debatable, then? Hezbollah? Hezbollah is literally Iran's Special Forces military unit. It is designed to strike world wide. There is nothing to debate there. Human rights? Does anyone really believe Ahmadinejad would even mention that his country political prisoners are allowed to starve to death? Would he mention that if a woman is raped in Iran that it is the victim, not the rapist, who is arrested and sentenced to death? If this seems unbelieveable, check Ghazal Omid's website.
The UN general assembly, where Iran's president wants to have the debate, does not even have a protocal for one on one debates such as the one Iran is proposing. On every issue, each interested party is given five minutes to deliver a speech on behalf of his or her government. There is no venue for the type of debate which answers point and counterpoint.
If you are really interested in where Ahmadinejad stands, he has a blog one can visit and read exactly where he stands. It is written in Farsi, but there are buttons on the right-hand sidebar that enable a translated view.
And, all you have to do to find where President Bush stands is turn on the television, radio, or read a newspaper. A debate would be pointless.
We do need to talk. We need to tell Iran that if they do not stop their uranium enrichment program, stop their support of an armed Hezbollah, and reform their human rights environment, they will not be getting refined gasoline, they will not be allowed to travel, and that the world will find oil from other sources. The entire world needs to tell Iran this. We can talk to Russia, which seems to be the key to Iran's issues. We need to offer Russia incentives to stop Iran's programs, and to agree to sanctions.
China does not want to jeopardize her trade relationship with the US, so that country could also be persuaded to approve sanctions against Iran.
It is okay to talk, we just need to talk about the right things to the right people.

Irwin will be missed

We were saddened Monday morning by the news that the "Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin had passed away as a result of a freak accident in which his heart was pierced by the barb of a stingray.
Often criticized for taking unnecessary risks by the media, his peers have assured us that he was always in control of the situation, and that he knew what he was doing. This makes the sudden demise of a true ambassador of wildlife even more shocking.
An avid conservationist, Irwin actively worked to preserve the habitats of large reptiles throughout the world, and was widely respected by other wild animal handlers as being one of the best at what he did,. He spoke of his work and the animals he worked with with expertise, passion, and compassion.
Dead at the age of forty-four, he will be dearly missed.