North American Union.

I have been reading a lot about this lately.  Someone’s idea of one North American currency called the Amero.  Former Mexican President Vincente Fox giving a speech at Wayne State Univ. in Detroit on this topic.

If I thought for a minute it was benefit the people of the United States, I would be all for it.  Something tells me this is not going to be beneficial to us and once it happens, can it be undone?

There are some days of the week, when hunkering down in my beloved Sonoran Desert is looking better and better.

McCain vs. Obama, Tale of the Tape Round 5

Senator McCain is running out of things he can counter punch with.  Governor Palin can draw crowds, but has her issues.  (Like Troopergate).

There IS only ONE issue now.  It’s the ECONOMY stupid!  Carly Fiorina’s mistake last week was telling the truth.  Kinda like Phil Gramm and whining.  She left out the fact that the Democrats are not really up to the job either.

Drop the foolishness with the social issues and let’s start solving the REAL issues.

How the United States Should Deal with Russia

     Russia vs. Georgia (The one in the Caucasus, not U.S.  See Sily Story for “our”  Georgia).  Should we do something about it.

     We need Russia’s help keeping that nutcase in Iran in line.  How should we deal with Russia though?

     As little as possible.  Russia is not going to change.  The Cold War never really ended.  Two hundred and fifty years of Mongol rule made Russia the way it is.  As a nation (not every single Russian person is like this), Russia is inward looking, uptight, afraid the outside plans to harm them. 

     Russia has one big problem.  It loses 800,000 people a year.  They have the highest abortion rate in the world, and TB, Alcohol, and AIDS are quietly decimating the male population. 

     Journalist Mark Steyn wrote in his book America Alone, that the Anti-Abortion film Silent Scream was shown to some Russian women in Moscow by a Baptist group who hoped to get these women to be horrified.

     The movie backfired.  All the women saw were the sanitized American clinics and hospitals.  It made them want to come to the United States even more.

     Russian women outlive their men by twenty years now.  You figure it out.  Russia is an issue…for now.  Bluntly I would ignore them.

Magic Bus Post, Kingman Arizona

I posted this on Jon Kelly’s blog on BBC.  He met some motorcycle riders in Kingman, Arizona.

Jon, that is true.  One of the great joys of living in Arizona IS the open space, whether hiking, on a motorcycle or just driving with the windows down.  I have been in England and yes much of it is crowded.
Obamasmama’s you are right about living in New York.  Brooklyn is where I grew up.  I now have a completely different world view from my mother and two sisters.  New Yorkers are internationalist and provincial in the same breath (ask me how that is possible).  On the other hand, my mother’s cousin in San Antonio is married to someone who is a friend of Senator McCain.  I am closer to my cousins in some ways.  You know who they are supporting.
To understand WHY Senator McCain chose Governor Palin (no, not Michael LOL, and you should see the comments on Palin’s Travels), read Deerhunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant.  Easy fun quick read.  You will get a real understanding.  For those of you who saw Governor Palin’s interview with Charlie Gibson, no question he did not like her and was looking down on her.  If the mainstream media is smart strategically, they will NOT interview her.  Why?  Because much of Middle America will just see it as the “Elite Media” coming down on one of their own.  You notice, ever since Senator McCain chose Governor Palin, she is the one being paid attention to.  The Obama camp attacks the Senator, but not her.
I was reading a New Europe article about the choice of Governor Palin.  Like them, at first, I thought Senator McCain had lost his mind.  (Friends of mine who are lifelong Arizonans say he is slipping).  Now, it is proving to be a clever if flippant move in some ways.
OldSouth, I like the way those guys protected the funeral home.  I work with bikers.  I like the bikers I work with.
Abiquiu, my Canadian Toastmasters friends are telling me about the mess you guys are having.
Ninjalinz, I remember Hells Angels HQ and CBGB well.
Buckeyeman, it is true, buying the motorcycle is not cheap, but you certainly save on gas.  And yes, I like Governor Janet.
Some Republicans in Arizona may cross over to Senator Obama or vote for the Libertarian Party.  Why?  A South Carolina and an Arizona Republican have issues they do not agree on.  Arizona Republicans fall into two types (as a very general rule).
1.  Economic Conservatives in Maricopa County.
2.  People who are really Libertarians.  They will not want Governor Palin telling them how to live.
I was supporting Senator McCain until he chose Governor Palin.  Now I am not so sure.
If you live in Arizona, Washington is VERY removed.  Geographically, we are closer to Mexico City, just to give you an idea.
Having said that, much of the land here is owned by some level of government.
I know what I want for me.  Bluntly, I am not happy with either candidate and I am a little afraid for the future.
Newsweek had an article about  Senator Obama making a stop at a diner in the Ozarks.  Some of these people will vote for the Democrats if they feel they are not being “talked down to.”  You have to read Deerhunting for Jesus for more detail.;-)
Much of what people in Europe do not understand about why our elections are going a certain way need to read some more detailed American History.  Guys like Andrew Jackson.  The people whose ancestors originated in Jon’s region, Southern Scotland and the Borders.  Read the Border Reviers by the late George MacDonald Fraser and you will get some idea.
Aw shucks, Rainlawrence, you didn’t think I would leave YOU out, did you?
To paraphrase Monty Python, are you a Chartered Accountant, planning to become a Lion Tamer?;-)  Do some more reading about us.  Much of our history is great, much is not.  I am not going to defend everything about us.  Don’t you want to know about your friends the Americans?  I like learning things about MY friends, the Brits.
This election is the most important in eighty years (because for that long, it is the first time with no incumbent).  Also we have a lot to overcome.   There are others I wanted to be President, but my opinion was not asked for.:-)  BBC actually has a story about what it takes to be President.  You tell me who is up to the way the job has evolved.
The Libertarian streak in me is growing, but we are going to need some government interference in the near future.

Jon, I have been putting comments about the bus trip on my blog and also lampooning the campaign.
http://www.tucsonmike.wordpress.com
Thank you for letting me share.

I am Afraid for My Country.

I originally posted this on Palin’s Travels.  We have a thread called Palin for President.  For a (welcome) change, I am not being silly and tongue in cheek.

It is especially poingnant I am writing this on September 11th. 

 

 Look, in past years, I might vote for the lesser of two evils. This year, I am voting for who will HARM me the least.

In the past, we may not have been happy with who won, but the country moved on.

This time, no matter who wins, we are going into uncharted waters. I’ll start with the Republicans, since I have been having the most fun with Sarah Palin on my blog.

Like my mother and sisters, I was leaning toward McCain (I was more grudging than the three mentioned ladies). I’ve said this before, John McCain is my Senator and I have always supported him. As President though, he really does not understand the economy, and on Foreign Policy, on the one hand, I would feel safer, because the schoolyard bullies of the world would be less likely to mess with him. (Like with Reagan, they may think McCain too crazy to cross LOL)! On the other hand, his Foreign Policy experience is Cold War, and that is what got us into Iraq. Sarah Palin is the only executive of the four, but I don’t want religion forced down my throat and I have read disturbing things about her bigotry.

Now the Democrats. My hope is Joe Biden can keep Obama grounded. Again, I am voting Democratic out of nowhere else to go, like my sisters. I think my mother is going to stay home. My favorite cousin is still voting for McCain as is a close friend.
Obama is good with groups and listening on a grassroots level. I do not think he has a real grasp of our problems. I think the Intl schoolyard bullies will see Obama as an easy mark.

I am genuinely afraid of the future for the first time. This election is splitting families and friends and raising all sorts of rancor. I really do fear for my country.

Passenger Rail in the United States

     Most of us know the sorry state of Amtrak.  There are now many Americans who have never been on a passenger train.  For many, trains are just the long freight trains they see as they drive down I-10 or that hold them up at the grade crossing.

     With gas prices skyrocketing, train use is up.  Trains are the most efficient way to move people.  It is time for real subsidized train service as in Europe.

    Normally, I do not like government inteference, but the railroads orgininally got land grants for their rights of way.  The government should call in the land grants.  The railroads would provide the service again.  I’ll bet they would make money if it is done right.  Some things are a national emergency and this is one of them.

If So and So is Elected.

     I am just having some fun with what might happen.  Situations change, so I could be dead wrong.

I will start with the Republicans.  There is much to admire about John McCain.  The Economist hit the nail on the head two weeks ago.  If you are looking for certain symbolism, vote for Senator Obama.  If you are looking for what someone has done, vote for Senator McCain.   Senator McCain has bled for the United States (literally).  My cousin was in the Hanoi Hilton with him, so I have personal stories.  He is my Senator. 

     That does not mean I don’t have concerns.  I enjoy Senator McCain being the maverick and taking on certain interest groups.  On Foreign Policy though, he is an old Cold Warrior.  It was old Cold Warriors who got us in trouble in Iraq, when Afghanistan is the place we should have been concentrating.  Then again, the bullies of the world were afraid of President Reagan.  That helped kill the Soviet Empire (though Putin is doing his damnest to bring it back.  He wont succeed, Russia has too many other problems, but that is for another posting).  Maybe they will behave with a President McCain.   Then there really would be a new sheriff in town.  (Hey, I live in Arizona and could not resist the Western analogy).  The Sheriff, has a new deputy, ya know.  You think HE’S bad?  Talk about bad cop and very dangerous bad cop!    With Gov. Palin, at best, Putin will be sent to bed without supper.  No milk and cookies for him.  Bad Putin!  At worst…To paraphrase the guy about be stoned in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, “worse, how could it be worse?”  I’ll let me readers let THEIR imaginations run wild.   I’d behave too.

     Senator Obama’s story is different.  He rose in politics from being a neighborhood organizer.  More like the old fashioned big city machine politics.  (Many wonder if he has corrupt Chicago politicians behind him).  He knows working for certain domestic issues, but foreign policy?  Would he be JFK to Putin’s Khurschev?  Maybe not, only because Putin does not have the power Khurschev had.    Will the bullies of the world be salivating, thinking Senator Obama is too nice (translation weak)? 

    Senator Obama has Senator Biden, who even with plagerizing, I think genuinely believes in public service and might help to keep a President Obama grounded.

     Do y’all see a pattern here?  I am picking on both sides.  I am not sure either ticket is up to what really ails us.  I am partly being silly when I say I think I know what is going to happen in a given administration, but like any Futurist, I can only make educated cases.  I can be way off base.

     Whichever ticket is elected, I would love to be proven wrong.  I would love to have someone say you goofed and everything worked out well. 

We shall see.   Until the debates.  For now it is interrupting my baseball pennant races.

Library Planning Meeting

This past Saturday, we went to a planning meeting at our local library branch.  It was a way to see what could be done to make the library a more active player in the Tucson-Pima County community and what was needed.

It was citizen participation at its best, but there needed to be more citizens there.

Is McCain’s Honor in Shreds?

Click on Minette Marrin of the Times of London.  I will let my readers judge.

Pit Bulls with Lipstick, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton

Wait a minute.  Wasn’t Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick  sent to prison for raising Pit Bulls to fight? I’d send my attack cat, Yerbie in there but he is not interested.