(send your thoughts)
Subject: Castro Leaves Power

This morning Fidel Castro announced that he will no longer be in control of the Cuban government, at least not formally. Yet, even with this announcement, the US Congress will still not lift, nor discuss the US/Cuba embargo. This makes no sense what so ever. The US has open trade with communist China, Saudi Arabia even Vietnam. But because of >900,000 people in Florida keep the entire nation from dealing with Cuba. No representatives from Florida can argue their point.

Even with all this ‘open air’ the other 49 states in the Union seem to keep their collective mouths shut, afraid of the political fall out if they decide to lift restrictions, but what fall out? One state, 900,000 votes (if they all vote)? Amazing that a nation of 100’s of millions is guided by 900,000 people.

The embargo on Cuba should be lifted. It carries no wait aside from giving countries such as Venezuela fodder for their anti-US rhetoric. It hurts US business and make Cuba a focal point for communist nations and their ability to oppose US policy. The Eagle carries arrows and an olive branch, lets try the latter for once.

Subject:More School Shootings

There was yet another school shooting. This time a nut job used legally purchased firearms to kill people on a college campus. Of course with this came the media rhetoric about gun laws. Listen, carrying a gun on campus is illegal, shooting a person is illegal, killing multiple people is illegal. This person broke all these laws, what is the possible point of yet another BS law against the average citizen? The follow up to that question is usually “if he didn’t have a gun he couldn’t kill”, well wake up. If a person wants you dead and is crazy enough, a gun is not the only method. Had this goof ball made a bomb in his basement and blown up a dorm, would you blame Clorox?
Subject: Sacramento Kings Cheerleaders

Photos come out of the Sacramento King’s cheerleading squad partying it up, taking their clothes off and drinking. Partying for sure, but how is this shocking? Has society really become so PC that a couple attractive women flirting and taking their clothes off is border-line offensive, at least to the point at which they have to apologize for their actions? Apparently. My only objection is that I was not invited.
Subject: A Barrel of Oil

The price of a barrel of oil, that question was never asked 10 years ago. Growing up I never heard in depth discussions on oil prices per barrel or the current projections on oil futures. But now, like some giant corporate chess match, we constantly here (daily) the status of a barrel of oil. This is done to some how justify the insane effects on day-to-day life by a 52 gallon drum of dead dinosaurs. A product that is the result of millions of years on dead carbon has resulted in current lives being wrecked by insane prices set around making certain groups tremendously wealthy. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Capitalism. I do believe that a capitalist society promotes the best possible product, but (and this is a J-Lo size butt) when it comes to a daily commodity, something that has been made necessary by the same corporations and governments that now criticize its use, there should be some semblances of control over cost. The stock market and futures prices should not dictate whether a person can buy two gallons of milk or one at the store. The governments of the world also enjoy putting the responsibility of the problem on the public: "if you didn't drive such a poorly built car" or "if you didn't do ..... quite so much" The true proponent of the problem is the industry itself. Whenever calls are made for alternatives to oil the same questions are posed: what about the infrastructure? The fact is, if it was a mandate that the problem be solved it would be. I'm so tired of hearing politicians 'projections' of when things should be efficient. "Vehicles should have ...mpg in 15 years" Are you insane? 15 years, you can't get this done for 15years? We went from computers to laptops to the iPhone in less then 30 years and you can't build pipelines in less then half that time? FYI, the bulk of oil revenue is not made of Joe Blow driving to work, but on airplanes, roads, ships and war.....not your Ford. So with that enjoy the annual "prices are going up this summer and this holiday season" lectures, along with the inherent "the storm season resulted in high prices" garbage that will be forced upon you. And take this to heart, the company simply wants to make money, that is the purpose of it, and this purpose is fine by me...just be honest to the cause.
Subject: The Environment

The environment, you know it well as does everyone else on this planet yet there are some out there who will claim to know what is good for the environment, and what is bad. What helps mother earth and what destroys it. Yet, they seem to leave out some key items when they draw their so-called scientific conclusions. For starters, the Earth has been around for millions of year, we can only go back a couple thousand for human existence and a few hundred for actual tangible scientific data on the environment we all share. But people claim to know what the world would be like if we all limited carbon dioxide, green house gases, etc.. The fact of the matter is there is no baseline for the environment. No magic set of statistics that dictate what is good and what is bad. The environment has existed well before human beings and it will do so well after. The only true environment we care about is the one we currently can sustain life in. Anyone who has witnessed a Tornado, Hurricane, Wild fire and the like first hand will tell you that mother earth is far more destructive then any cow gas, coal mine, or car on the road. But commentary like that doesn't go anywhere. Doesn't carry any weight in a political battle or on a funding budget line. So, instead of asking the real question, "how can we make our environment cleaner?" we traumatize the text and claim the Earth is dying and CNN's tag line "Planet in Peril". The planet is just fine folks, it has been for millions of years and it will continue to be long after we are gone.
Subject: Can the United States win the war in Iraq?

This question really makes no sense unless you define what it is you consider winning. If winning a war was removing a military and the current form of government, job finished. Now leaders have confused the term winning a war with standing up a government. In turn the US and other forces have turned into, not a military, but a glorified police force responsible for day to day security. No where in history has the attempt by a military to be a policing body ever worked. And it will not work now. The mistake leaders seem hell bent on keeping is that the US has in some way lost a war. The war was not lost, the police action was unsuccessful. When people ask should we bring the troops home and are greeted with "when the jobs done" they should reply what job? The war is over. The mission successful, why must the troops stay? The reason this is not the follow up commentary is because of the sad response, the Iraqi people have not stepped up to reclaim their nation. A sad truth arose after the fall of Saddam. The Iraqi people were, for lack of a better term, comfortable as a whole with a dictator. Now the balance has shifted and they are asked, by outside governments, to stand up a citizen involved body. They do not want or feel the need to. Dictatorships have worked for centuries around the world. Imposing a form of government on a society is not a military task but a task for the citizens of that country. The war in Iraq was won, the dream that Iraq would stand up its own non-dictatorship was a failure.