this is BS - the purple states are Obama states

this horse race crap has got to end.  Dan rather was on the news, yes he is still out there, and was covering the republican primaries like horse races.  most have no delegates at stake so they are beauty contests and meaningless in terms of nominating convention.  Dan is known for his horse race analogies for presidential elections:  once he used a metaphor about a hot texas night in a parking lot.....i cant remember, it was way over the top.  I mean, we need excitement here, people.  So the above map shows a dead heat!  a neck and neck horse race to the finish line! give  me a break.  Obama will get re elected unless......he is found in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.    those purple states are obama states.  the republicans are doing everything they can to self destruct.  Santorum is the next Reagan;  we thought George W was the next Reagan.  the republicans are looking for their next Reagan, fact is, Reagan is dead, he had one crappy term, his second term was scandelous.  remember the savings and loan fiasco?  George HW Bush bailed us out of that.  then we put up with George W and the housing inflation loosey goosey wall street bundling of mortgage backed securities (junk bonds in disguise, they were sold with insurance policies!!!).  I think we are entering a period of the Era of Good Feeling II:  like the one after Jefferson.  We'll get madison, monroe, and then....John Quincy?  well at least madison and monroe.  thats 16 years after Obama's second term.  maybe there is hope after all.  So contribute money to Santorum ( he is surging!) or to Gingrich, pour gas on the fire.

US Marines recruiting video - funny but very effective ! do you like pistachios?

US Marines recruiting video, not used.  With some editing i think it would be very effective.  very funny but it gets creepy with the jessica lynch stuff.  but i can see lots of guys wanting to serve with Jupiter Jones. he cool.

i think the actor is Ricky Lomax, who supposedly is a real US marine veteran.  He is member of screen actors guild, listed as a veteran.  he is very convincing.   

Memphis Tenn, 2nd dangerous, 12 th most miserable city in the US

Way to go School of urban Affairs, univ of Memphis !!!
2nd most dangerous city
12 the most miserable city.

map of binge drinking

I wrote a book chapter celebrating (?) the 75th anniversary of the publication of Andrew Carnegie's commissioned book, "Alcohol Control."  His book was written by his commission, funded by him, to show state governments how they could control the sale and distribution of Alcohol once prohibition was repealed.  He was an alcoholic, leading member of the anti saloon league.  (I got paid $3000 for a  31 page chapter, the most i have ever made at writing.) anyway, as you can see from the map, Pennsylvania is one of the biggest binge drinking states in the US.  Who cares?  ATOH (alcohol) is one of the few drugs that can penetrate the blood brain barrier, the only drug i believe that can be purchased over the counter, if you are 21 yrs old, or have a fake ID.  So what?  Alcohol can sedate the vagus nerve, which controls breathing.  so you can die from binge drinking, because you can stop breathing.  as someone who once had an allergic reaction and almost stopped breathing, i can testify that breathing is very important, especially if you ever faced not breathing and lived to tell about it.  Woody Allen once said that his brain was his second most favorite organ:  after my anaphylactic shock, i can safely say that my brain is my third most favorite organ, and my lungs my most favorite.  you can guess at number two.  anyway, binge drinking is a killer, and anyone who binge drinks needs counseling fast.  binge drinking is 5 drinks for a man, or 4 for a woman, drunk in a short period of time.  binge drinking can be minutes (chugging contests) or days.  binge drinking can be a measurement of society's decay, or social depression or social anxiety; for example, after the fall of the soviet union, binge drinking in Russia dramatically increased, life expectancy decreased, diseases of alcoholism (coronary and heart disease, cirrohsis), increased.  So what is wrong Pennsylvania?  how come so many of us are sedating ourselves with over the counter alcohol?  state wide depression?  Social anxiety?  Freud wrote a book, "Civilization and its Discontents" about societal mental illness, how a society can become psychotic (think Nazi Germany, think.....Khmer Rouge, the 700 club, Oral Roberts University, PA state system of higher education....)  can there be a societal anxiety in PA that leads its citizens to sedate themselves?  jesus, just writing about this makes me want to drink, but i am trying to lose the 8 lbs i gained last semester so nooooooo)

Just noticed: binge drinking increases with longitude.  binge drinking increases the further north you go.  this is also true around the globe: highest levels of alcoholism in countries closest to the artic circle.

And south dakota and tennessee have no data, i guess the state statiticians were too drunk to send in the numbers.

The Rabbi's Gift: A Parable about building a culture of respect

The story concerns a monastery that had fallen upon hard times. It was once a great order, but because of persecution, all its branch houses were lost and there were only five monks left in the decaying house: the abbot and four others, all over seventy in age. Clearly it was a dying order.

In the deep woods surrounding the monastery there was a little hut that a rabbi occasionally used for a hermitage. The old monks could always sense when the rabbi was in his hermitage.  It occurred to the abbot that a visit the rabbi might result in some advice to save his monastery.

The rabbi welcomed the abbot to his hut. But when the abbot explained his visit, the rabbi could say, "I know how it is" . "The spirit has gone out of the people. It is the same in my town. Almost no one comes to the synagogue anymore." So the old abbot and the old rabbi wept together. Then they read parts of the Torah and spoke of deep things. When the abbot had to leave, they embraced each other. "It has been a wonderful that we should meet after all these years," the abbot said, "but I have failed in my purpose for coming here. Is there nothing you can tell me that would help me save my dying order?"

"No, I am sorry," the rabbi responded. "I have no advice to give. But, I can tell you that the Messiah is one of you."

When the abbot returned to the monastery his fellow monks gathered around him to ask, "Well what did the rabbi say?" 

“The rabbi said something very mysterious, it was something cryptic. He said that the Messiah is one of us. I don't know what he meant?"

In the time that followed, the old monks wondered whether the significance to the rabbi's words. The Messiah is one of us? Could he possibly have meant one of us monks? If so, which one? 

Do you suppose he meant the abbot? Yes, if he meant anyone, he probably meant Father Abbot. He has been our leader for more than a generation. On the other hand, he might have meant Brother Thomas. Certainly Brother Thomas is a holy man. Everyone knows that Thomas is a man of light. Certainly he could not have meant Brother Elred! Elred gets crotchety at times. But come to think of it, even though he is a thorn in people's sides, when you look back on it, Elred is virtually always right. Often very right. Maybe the rabbi did mean Brother Elred. But surely not Brother Phillip. Phillip is so passive, a real nobody. But then, almost mysteriously, he has a gift for always being there when you need him. He just magically appears. Maybe Phillip is the Messiah. 

Of course the rabbi didn't mean me. He couldn't possibly have meant me. I'm just an ordinary person. Yet supposing he did? Suppose I am the Messiah? O God, not me. I couldn't be that much for You, could I?

As they contemplated, the old monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the chance that one among them might be the Messiah. And they began to treat themselves with extraordinary respect.

People still occasionally came to visit the monastery in its beautiful forest to picnic on its tiny lawn, to wander along some of its paths, even to meditate in the dilapidated chapel. As they did so, they sensed the aura of extraordinary respect that began to surround the five old monks and seemed to radiate out from them and permeate the atmosphere of the place. There was something strangely compelling, about it. Hardly knowing why, they began to come back to the monastery to picnic, to play, to pray. They brought their friends to this special place. And their friends brought their friends.

Then some of the younger men who came to visit the monastery started to talk more and more with the old monks. After a while one asked if he could join them. Then another, and another. So within a few years the monastery had once again become a thriving order and, thanks to the rabbi's gift, a vibrant center of light and spirituality in the realm.r

others, and expects to receive the best from others in return. It is the type of culture everyone deserves, and it is up to us to make it happen. In our daily lives, we can create a culture of respect with every personal interaction we have, whether it is with a store clerk, a dignitary, or a colleague.

Iron Lady: film about Margaret Thatcher, starring Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep never makes a bad movie (wait i will have to research that) and this film, Iron lady, is no exception.  the film is not so much about PM Thatcher and the 1980's, though that is shown, but it is more about maggie, the grocer's daughter, who had to rise up against a male dominated government and prejudice against her modest background (she actually waited on customers at her father's grocery store before going to Oxford.)  Much of the film is about Margaret as a senior lady, grieving the death of her husband, and of becoming slightly (?) dementia prone.  It begins with the Prime Minister visiting the local grocery store for a pint of milk, thoroughly out of touch with the diverse, modern London.  Or so it seems.  I really enjoyed the performance of ms. Streep, but wonder how the director, producers, selected her.  Its a british film, with an
american actor.  then again, I think Meryl has probably appeared on the London stage, and American actors enjoy a good presence in London (I am thinking about woody allen and the three films he made in London).  anyway, great film.  Much better than i anticipated.  And there was no Ronald Reagan appearance in it either - so much is made of Reagan and Thatcher by the reagan lovers - she was uniquely British, ronnie had nothing to do with her policies.  but she was an admirer of the american enterprise spirit.

Karen Santorum, Rick Santorum's wife, and her abortion history

Dr. Tom Allen, an obstetrician gynecologist, was a pioneer in abortion rights in Pittsburgh even before Roe v Wade 1973.  His story is here  So what?  He was the doctor who delivered Sen. Rick Santorum's wife, Karen Garver.  Forty some years later, Dr. Allen and Karen began a live in relationship while Karen was a student at Duquesne Univ School of Nursing.  As the story here tells, Karen at one point accompanied a woman to an abortion performed by Dr. Allen.

Ok, so what? Can people change their opinions? Sure.  Only she has written a "book" about abortion, and she is married to a Presidential candidate who regularly preaches against abortion and alternative relationships.

Why hasn't this been publicized more?  It probably will if Santorum is more than a spoiler candidate.  

Newt and Calista Gingrich's sordid past: more details from a Meme

by now you have read about the sordid details of Newt Gingrich's life, including his sexual affairs and his penchant for "open" marriages (whatever that is...).  Turns out, Newt and Calista's history is far more sinister, they were photographed as a loving couple at Auschwitz but a Google search shows additional photos (a Meme) that show a sinister side of their past involvement: yes, they were there in Haiti, they were there at the JFK assassination, even at Lincoln's assassination (Abe was too generous to African Americans, the Freedman's Bureau was just a precursor to the Food Stamp rip off, Abe had to be eliminated), and even at the tragic results of global warming.  Are these two traveling in Dr. Who's tele booth?  With these two in the White House, it will be Armaggedon.

Sabrina shows her projection equipment: nuff' said

marine snipers urinate on dead enemy

Ok i admit its gross, but these guys are marine snipers, trained to be killers.  there is a great book about how to train normal, regular people to be killers called On Killing: the Psychological Cost and its by a retired Lt. Col.  His point is that normal people dont want to kill, and training them to kill, esp killing up front and personal, is very difficult.  Marine snipers are normal people who have been put through intensive training to spot a person, and kill him at a long distance.  by surprise, usually.  they are killing people who want to kill them.  On journalist asked a sniper what he feels after he kills a terrorist, the answer?  "Recoil."  the mistake the marines made is (1) making that dumb video (2) sharing it with anyone.  what is more obscene, killing or peeing?  Ok its over the top to pee on someone after you kill them, then again, i have never been trained to become a killer by my government, so I dont know what kind of dehumanization i might feel for a bad guy i just killed.  Its war.  What do people think happens in war?  Of course, the marines involved will get punished, but not their high ranking officers who probably knew about this.  

early results new hampshire

Looks like Mitt is outpolled by the the alternative conservative candidates, Gingrich, Santorum (surging from behind) and Ron Paul.  We shall see what South Carolina holds.  Santorum will probably surge some more down there.  After SC the republican race will be clearer, and Mitt's position as front runner will be clearer.  Big question is what happens when its just Mitt and 2 others, or just one other republican - will Mitt be outpolled then?  Mitt will do better in Nov than any other republican candidate, but will he get the nomination?  Or will this be a Barry Goldwater year? (popular conservative gets republican nomination but nation rejects candidate)

Romney and Santorum (surged from behind) fight, Ron Paul third

I think Romney will have a tough time in New Hampshire and South Carolina with Santorum.  Rick Santorum (surged from behind in Iowa) is conservative alternative to Romney, he might give Romney a long nomination race.  If Romney drops out, then what happens to Ron Paul?  Ron will stay in for the long haul, he has no problem raising money, and he has fanatic supporters, and he knows how to run an inexpensive campaign if he has to.  So this republican race may go on for some time.  Ron Paul will survive past South Carolina, the longer he survives his improbably nomination becomes less improbable.  Romney i think is in trouble.  Even if he gets the nomination, he has little chance of beating Obama, unless the Republican party unites behind him, unless the Republicans can convince voters Romney really is conservative (Romney-Santorum ticket?). 

Headquarters Gentlemen's club closed New Year's Day!

what is this world coming to when NYC's premier gentlemen's club is closed New Year's Day ??  Did Tony Soprano close Badda Bing titty bar on holidays ?  The only good thing about this is that it gives Dennis Rodman a day off to field his topless women's basketball team.  Turns out there is already a topless team from a strip club in texas (I dont know who they play if they are the only team...does it matter? the whole idea is watching them run and jump up and down) and Dennis wants to challenge them to a game.  On the one hand, its good to see Dennis back in basketball (great rebounder) but why the strip club thing?  Why doesnt he just hand over his money to Goldman Sachs - thats a safer investment than a strip club.  Dumb question i guess.

"Santorum surges from behind..." in Iowa

This is a real headline, "Santorum surges from behind...."  The article refers to Santorum's recent increase in the alleged public opinion polls in Iowa.  Wait a minute: a rural, conservative at time populist state, has an important role in selecting a Presidential nominee for a global empire, and we pay attention to public opinion polls based on hundreds of republican voters (those who identify themselves in some way as republican voters) even though there is constant instability in the polling results.  And even if Santorum does well in the caucus votes, so what?  That means he isn't nuts?  That he doesn't say offensive, at times, intellectually stupid things? That he could never provide a challenge to Pres Obama?  Can you imagine Santorum in a debate with Obama?  He would have a better chance playing pick up game of basketball against Obama, one on one.  The joke is of course Dan Savage's web site devoted to Santorum:  Dan is an advice columnist, and is gay.  His columns are ....well...entertaining, not exactly Dear Abby stuff.  I read Dan Savage's column every week in Pittsburgh's city paper, and learn something everytime.  We need Dan Savage.  At any rate, Dan has a web site that has been hit so many times, that anyone who does a google search for "Santorum" gets his site, which is devoted to exposing Rick Santorum's intolerance, and ignorance, toward anyone with a sexual orientation different than Rick's.  I just can't believe that Rick doesn't have some kind of kinky, weird, elicit sexual outlet that hasn't been exposed so far: there has got to be an teenage intern, a pregnant staffer, a transgendered prostitute somewhere who has a story to tell about Santorum, i mean, Rick Santorum.  The real question is how Santorum will ever distance himself from his crazy anti gay remarks, equating the Supreme Court's decision on state sodomy laws with man on dog sex, with child abuse (anything other than man-woman sex is wrong, is the same as man-dog, man-boy, sex).  Can a gay man have oral sex with a woman and not have it be considered sodomy?  OMG...it just struck me....has Rick Santorum ever had ......I won't go there.  To understand Santorum, you have to understand his unhappy childhood (see above picture) - does that picture look hetero?  

Michelle Bachmann and Oral Roberts University

This is strange: Occupy protesters gathered outside of several republican candidates' headquarters in Iowa, including Michelle Bachman's HQ.  She was advised to use a side door to enter her HQ, since the front door was blocked by protesters.  She said the protesters were Pres. Obama's advance team, and showed how frightened Obama is of her campaign.  So she enters the building and is met by applause from her volunteers, many of who are volunteers from Oklahoma - what????  It turns out that volunteers from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa are helping Bachman, since she received her JD (law degree) from Oral Roberts University, back when ORU had a law school (it used to have a medical and dental school, and a large hospital). Thats why she wears so much makeup:  ORU women always wear lots of makeup to look "feminine" (seriously, the slutty look is considered feminine by right wing christian men).   A joke: what is Oklahoma's greatest oxymoron?  "Oral Roberts University." Another joke: the praying hands were once at the entrance to the hospital (moved when the hospital was sold), and intended to be open, welcoming people to enter the campus, however, during construction a worker on top of the hospital lost some loose change from his pocket, the coins fell down to the big open hands, and the hands mysteriously closed shut to catch the money. That's how they became the praying hands."  

One student told Bachman: 

"I appreciate your Christian faith," said Afame Ooceeh, a 29-year-old pre-med student. "I support you with all my heart."

Ooceeh, originally from Nigeria, is part of a contingent of 42 students from Oral Roberts, a Christian university where Bachmann attended law school. The group, which arrived Thursday, is chaperoned by Winston Frost, a professor who was in Bachmann's class.

"She was one of the most diligent students in the class," Frost told NBC News.

You can read about her law school days, and her curriculum, here.  Michelle was brainwashed at ORU.  Her positions on the Constitution, law, and christianity are nuts.  Flawed reasoning.  She makes statements that are historically inaccurate.  

Iran demonstrates 1950's technology - probably based on the missiles Reagan sold them

Pres. Reagan secretly sold surface to air missiles to Iran, during the Iran- Iraq war, ostensibly to free hostages in Lebanon, but also make profits and use the money to support the Contra rebels in Nicaragua who were fighting against a Parliamentary democratic socialist government.  So Iran launches surface to air missiles in the straits of Hormuz - so what?  I dont get what the big deal is about.  The technology is from the 1950's.  I remember surface to air missiles in place on lake shore drive in chicago during the cold war, to protect the city from a nuclear attack (seriously, this is no joke).  included is a picture of Nike missiles in Hyde Park, Chicago, from the 1950's - to defend chicago against a russian nuclear attack !  too funny....

Sen. Jane Orie of Pennsylvania - soon to be convict

This is Jane Orie, a state senator from PA.  Her sister is an elected judge.  Jane used state funds to employ her relatives (not a crime, its common) but not only did they not do the work they were hired to do but they engaged in campaign re election work.  She is on trial, calls the trial a vendetta against her family, the prosecutor is also elected and has had a family in PA politics.  At her trial Jane's attorney introduced evidence, clearly doctored, and the judge declared a mistrial.  It wasn't looking good for Jane, former staff members testifying against her to avoid prosecution themselves, and so she and her lawyer attempted to fool the judge with forged evidence.  The forgery was pathetic, easily recognized and the judge declared a mistrial.  Now she is facing another trial, with additional charges, but she can keep her lawyer the judge ruled (the lawyer is being investigated as well).  She is going to jail, for sure.  She has changed her hair style, from the Snooki puff to straight hair, i can't find a current photo to post, but she doesn't look so scary anymore.  But she is going to jail for sure.  Her sister probably won't get re elected.  the Orie family is out of politics.  Jane is the author of a bill that will regulate abortion clinics according to laws for health care clinics, which might mean some clinics will close due to increased costs, staffing.  Jane says its to prevent sleazy abortion clinics like the one operating in Philadelphia, but her hidden agenda is anti abortion.  Our right wing Governor Tom "frackin' Tom" Corbett will sign it into law.

Creepy abortion docs, or champions of privacy-abortion rights?

this is really bizarre:  two OB GYN's from other states are performing late term abortions in Maryland.  Is this some kind of abortion rights- right to privacy issue for the doc's, or just a way of making money?  Cant they make enough money without conducting late term abortions?  Is this ideological for them?  Or are they just really creepy doctors?  This just gives the anti abortion nuts a case to make for banning all late term abortions, that abortion doctors are creepy, that abortion clinics need to be regulated more.  In Pennsylvania, a state senator (who is currently on trial for fraud, producing false documents at her earlier trial - that's another story - she is definitely going to jail) introduced a bill to regulate abortion clinics as any other health care clinic, which would require abortion clinics to greatly expand their services, equipment, staff and so forth, ostensibly to prevent nightmare abortion clinics like the one in Philadelphia, but the hidden agenda is to close down as many abortion clinics as possible (the state senator soon to be convict is roman catholic).   

 Authorities say two out-of-state doctors who traveled to Maryland to perform late-term abortions have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder, an unusual use of a law that allows for murder charges in the death of a viable fetus.

Dr. Steven Brigham, of Voorhees, N.J., was taken into custody Wednesday night and is being held in the Camden County jail, according to police in Elkton, Md. Authorities also arrested Dr.Nicola Riley in Salt Lake City and she is in jail in Utah. Each is awaiting an extradition hearing.

A grand jury indicted the two doctors after a 16-month investigation, police said.

The investigation began in August 2010 after what authorities say was a botched procedure at Brigham's clinic in Elkton, located near the border of Maryland and Delaware.

An 18-year-old woman who was 21 weeks pregnant suffered a ruptured uterus and an injured bowel, according to documents filed in a previous investigation by medical regulators. Rather than call 911, Riley drove her to a nearby hospital, where both she and Brigham were uncooperative and Brigham refused to give his name, documents show.

A search of the clinic after the botched abortion revealed a freezer containing 35 late-term fetuses, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks, the documents show.

Brigham, 55, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy. Riley, 46, faces one count each of first- and second-degree murder and one conspiracy count.

The botched 2010 abortion led regulators to order Brigham to stop practicing medicine in Maryland without a license, and Riley's Maryland license was suspended. Brigham's New Jersey license was also suspended, leaving him without a valid license in any state, and New Jersey authorities are pursuing revocation of his license there. New Jersey authorities have cooperated with the Maryland criminal probe, said Thomas R. Calcagni, director of the State Division of Consumer Affairs.

According to regulators, Brigham would begin abortions in New Jersey and have his patients drive themselves to Maryland to complete the procedures, taking advantage of Maryland's more permissive laws. Brigham was not authorized to perform abortions in New Jersey after the first trimester, and regulators called his actions manipulative and deceptive.

Tips for Single Women - good advice

I agree with the advice this photo essay gives, except the one about wearing brassiere - if you need to wear one, don't, its not necessary, and your boyfriend will appreciate it.....

Priests fight in Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

Armenian priests fight over who sweeps what in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.  And it was the Palestinian police who had to break up the fight - there is lots of irony here....

Fat ass big tummy fat face dumb shit congressman Sensenbrenner criticizes the First Lady's physique

Look at Mrs. Obama, the First Lady, then look at the picture of this big belly fat ass congressman, and evaluate what he has to say.  You know how men get a big abdomen like that?  eating like an idiot, and drinking lots of booze.  I bet he has sleep apnea, no woman dares sleep in the same room with him because he snores like a rhinoceros.

terminating the US Postal Service

this should be good:  the postal service is going to be cut drastically next year, they are just waiting for xmas delivery to be over.  What does this mean?  no saturday delivery, so what.  Most importantly, all those small post offices in obscure rural towns will be closed.  the USPS is classic government, even though it is a corporation ( a gov corporation, like the TVA).  It has to accomplish a congressional mandate, to deliver mail everywhere, regardless of cost.  Rural american enjoys a post office in every small town, regardless of need or cost. they will be the first to go.  Post offices in NYC will not be closed; however, the post office in Perkins, OK ( i used to rent a small ranch house there) will be closed. the irony, is that those most affected by the USPS closures will be rural residents, those who support conservative republican efforts to cut government and the USPS.  the USPS has been subsidizing small town America for eons, and now this is over.  Our government subsidizes farms, small town post offices, and rural residential mortgages - without the US government, those anti government rural, fringe cult christian communities would have become ghost towns decades ago.  Does this mean an new exodus to the cities?  Will rural America become decimated?  Will Congress be reapportioned, and become more urban and Democratic?  Will the republicans self destruct by eliminating the USPS?  What a zoo.  

SRU graduate, political leader of Nigeria, Mr. Olisa A. Ozoewulu

I've been trying to get someone to publish this book review for one year, the damn local papers won't do it, even though it is about a very courageous SRU graduate who started a reform political party in Nigeria.  The Butler Eagle, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, even the ROCK Pride magazine all declined.  I have now sent it to the Rock student newspaper and to Allied News out of Grove City.  This guy really accomplished alot - and SRU cant seem to give him credit.  WTF???  Olisa is the guy in the middle holding the big book.

Book Review, by Mark Daniels, Professor of Political Science at Slippery Rock University.

The Sad Event: The Struggle for the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria…a positive learning experience, by Olisa A. Ozoewulu, Gold Press Limited, Ibadan Nigeria 2009  (978-978-088-277-8). (“Finalist: Current Events Political/Social, International Book Awards” competition, sponsored by JPX Media, Los Angeles, California, USA.)

            Olisa A. Uzoewulu is an alumnus of Slippery Rock University, a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and author of a book discussing his experiences founding and organizing a political party in his country’s struggling democracy.  Despite observing graft, corruption and fraud in Nigerian politics, Olisa has continued to see politics as a higher calling to public service that can provide for the common good and also lead to inner satisfaction and spiritual fulfillment.  His experiences and observations of democracy in a third world developing nation reflect many characteristics of mature democracies, like the United States, and provide lessons for idealistic participants in emerging democratic governments.

            Nigeria is a federal constitutional republic composed of 36 states and the federal capital territory of Abuja.   In 1997 Olisa decided to run for an elected position as Chairman of the Municipal Area Council of Abuja as a member of the Democratic Party of Nigeria.  Nigeria’s three main ethnic groups are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba.  As a native Igbo, Olisa organized to secure the support of his fellow Ibgo voters, but also reached out to other ethnic groups for support.  Winning the election would not mean just getting the most votes, but also receiving at least one third of the votes in two thirds of the wards in the council district which would show widespread support for the winning candidate among different ethnic groups throughout the district.  The results of the election were inconclusive: The candidate with the most votes failed to meet all the requirements for an electoral victory.  Olisa received the second highest number of votes, and under the rules of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria a run-off election was required.

            Olisa and his supporters petitioned for a run-off election, but the party of the leading candidate proposed a negotiated settlement.  The idea of an extra-constitutional settlement of an election is not unusual with emerging democratic governments, or with mature democratic governments either.  Recent elections in Afghanistan and Iraq have been followed by negotiations among leading parties for governments that are more representative of the diverse populations of their nations.  Even the United States has had negotiated settlements of contested elections, for example, the 1876 Presidential election.  In this case, however, Olisa’s party insisted on a run-off election.  Despite the rules of the Electoral Commission, the Minister of Abuja refused to conduct a run-off election and instead installed Olisa’s opponent into office.  Olisa took his case to the local tribunal court, and the court judged that the office should be vacated pending a run-off election:  the government ignored the court decision, there was no run-off election, and Olisa’s opponent continued to hold the position of Chairman in defiance of the local tribunal court’s decision.  Olisa’s response was to start a new political party that would compete for power on a national basis: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also referred to as the “Wulus” party.  

            Eventually a run-off election was conducted, and the new Wulus party participated along with other, well established parties.  The Wulus party resulted in a realignment of many factions in the electoral district.  Olisa recounts the intrigue of secret meetings, divided loyalties, attacks and betrayal that led Olisa to withdraw his candidacy for the position of Chairman, and in his place he recruited a new slate of party candidates and continued to direct his political party in the run-off election.  One amusing anecdote is the offering of St. Remy Brandy liquor as an inducement or bribe by leaders of factions seeking alignment with the PDP, something Olisa always declined.  Nonetheless, it is amusing to note that in a picture of an Abuja Municipal Area Council campaign session, a bottle of brandy is clearly visible in the background!

            The Wulus party was successful and won the Chairmanship in the run-off election, and Olisa continued to develop the PDP to win races in other electoral districts.  Similar to party organizations in other settings, like Chicago, Olisa used the ward unit as the beginning level for party organization.  Olisa decided to conduct an issue oriented campaign with as much interaction with voters as possible in order to expose voters to the public policy plans of the party and to expose candidates to the unique socio-cultural and economic conditions of the voters.  The opposing parties had greater financial resources to wage highly visible campaign tactics such as campaign trains of motorcycles, buses and cars that often drove past Olisa’s house in an effort of intimidation.  In response, the PDP engaged in charity works and donations to the poor in children’s homes, orphanages and hospitals, as well as an environmental campaign to clean up garbage in villages, markets and towns, in order to generate good coverage in the print media of their candidates.  They invited the press to cover the symbolic planting of a tree of “truth and justice.”  And similar to Democrat Rahm Emmanuel in the 2006 US House Congressional Elections, the PDP distributed funds to many candidates to achieve the maximum number of seats in area councils.  The PDP was successful in many races, but Olisa soon found that victory is often followed by disillusionment.

            As with many third world nations, and some developed nations also, politics is often the most attractive profession for those seeking money, power and fame.  Olisa observed corruption, tribalism, nepotism and the looting of public treasuries during his years in Nigerian politics, as well as many coup de tats.  He wonders if the money spent on the Nigerian military on training and weapons actually encourages the military leaders to seek political power by establishing military dictatorships.  Nigerian military leaders usually steal national resources to deposit in foreign financial institutions, and see politics as a form of patronage and employment for their family, tribe and loyal supporters.  These leaders, Olisa explains, are “idealess” leaders who see politics as a source of personal enrichment, and who only offer prayers to the common people for improvements in living conditions instead of sound planning and public policies.

            He concludes his book with suggestions for “sanitizing” and improving the quality of life for Nigerians through the reform of political parties.  He recommends that the government stop funding political parties, for this results in citizens viewing political parties as sources of employment or welfare.  He thinks political parties should search for or create funding to sustain their operational activities.  He may have overlooked the problem of self funded parties in the US that involves contributions from vested interests and the “buying” of influence from donors.  Perhaps Olisa should consider having the Nigerian government fund candidates, similar to our funding of Presidential elections, or the funding of state wide candidates for office in some selected states, such as New Hampshire.  Olisa also calls for political parties to become organs that will articulate new ideas and develop concepts that could develop the nation.  In addition, he thinks political parties should be involved in the intellectual training of members as a process of grooming future leaders. 

            Olisa concludes that his PDP “Wulus” party eventually succumbed to the entropy of the Nigerian political atmosphere and became an appendage of the government in power.  Supporters became more interested in what he describes as the “dramatis musicology” of the party slogan and motto, heard at rallies as: “PDP! PDP! PDP! Power! Power! Power!” then “ Power to the People! PDP, power to the elders, PDP,  power to the women, PDP, power to the youth PDP!”  He thinks this may only be PDP’s brand of Obama “yes I can or we can” but he seems to think these enthusiastic chants suggest a shallow message of the party that results in the attractiveness of the party for reasons other than relevant issues. But most importantly he is disillusioned by the emerging leaders who became the most corrupt.  Many of his observations are very representative of the dynamics of politics in other third world nations, but at times his experiences reflect the corruption and disaffection of politics in developed nations such as the US.

            Olisa’s faith in an eventual Nigerian government as good as its people is a reflection of his own personal religious faith.  As a Roman Catholic Christian, Olisa discusses the role that faith has played in his life, providing him with strength and vision and courage in the political arena.  One of the pictures in the book shows Olisa participating in a Muslim prayer session, and this also provides hope that there are political leaders in Nigeria that recognize the importance of religious tolerance in a country as religiously diverse as Nigeria.  Olisa concludes by expressing the hope that a nation so blessed by material and human resources as Nigeria will attain economic growth through democratic processes. The book itself is challenging to read because of its sophistication, and also because the vocabulary Olisa uses are his translations of adjectives, adverbs or noun phrases in his native language that sound awkward in English.

Slippery Rock University should be proud that it had a role, however small, in creating a Nigerian political leader who is dedicated to democratic principles and a set of high moral ethics.  Olisa A. Uzoewulu is one of SRU’s noblest alumnae.    

The best holiday gift? Oakmont's Police Chief says "Forgiveness" - fantastic!

My blogs recently have been awful, nasty and cynical.  so here is a happy one: Oakmont's police chief wrote his most recent column in the community newsletter entitled "The Best Holiday Gift? Forgiveness!"  Here is an excerpt:

As this holiday is upon us I reflect on the act of forgiveness as a special gift which can be given at this holiday season.....in law enforcement we are privy to much of the pain which our community members endure.  I hope that in this holiday season many of you will decide to lay down the bad feelings you have for others, release the burden of hate and resentment, and make a fresh start in the New Year by the simple act of forgiveness...while  forgiveness may lift a burden from someone else, its main power lies in the release of burden from the one who forgives...."

Wow. Unexpected.  I really am impressed by this message, a good one from law enforcement.  You know, police officers in Pennsylvania are actually called "peace officers" (The PA state police are called that as enacted in law by Gov. Pennypacker last century).  And i agree with Chief DiSanti, forgiveness can lead to peace, and lift a burden from a family and community.  Thanks Chief DiSanti for a wonderful holiday message, brilliant !  

Calista helps Newt to achieve patriotism

"There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," said Gingrich during an interview with CBN's David Brody. He was screwing Calista because of his patriotism.  I love it.  Gingrich has also said in the past that Clinton's impeachment was not about Clinton having extra marital sex, but LYING about it.  So its ok to screw around on your spouse, as long as you don't lie about it under oath, and God will forgive you (not understand you, but forgive you).  Never since Joseph Goebbels have we had someone so good using language to manipulate truth, emotions, and passion.  He also says in interview that we are under "attack" on two fronts, one, a Godless, atheistic secularism, and second, radical Islam:  and BOTH want to destroy our civilization. The pics show Calista as a young Congressional intern (a virgin from Luther College, even though she is Roman Catholic - hey wait - if they are Catholic, then they don't practice birth control, so why no kids?  have they used abortion as birth control? someone call the Pope) and as an angry bird looking for prey. Nice face lift BTW, hopefully the sutures will hold and her face won't fall down during a press conference.  One last thing: she gave him oral sex in his car?  I mean they had to meet somewhere - supposedly during their decade plus affair they had sex in his car-limo. (this post is beginning to sound like a letter to Penthouse....) 

Southern Airways: great planes Martin 404

remember taking a Southern Airways flight from Athens GA to Atlanta, connecting flight.  It was a Martin 404, first flew 1950's, there were cards on board to show safety exits, women had bobbed hair, really dated. This was mid 1970's.  On one flight i ordered a drink, Bourbon of course (its the South), they showed me the bourbon mini bottles, one was "Rebel Yell,"  I had to order it.  So i was drinking Rebel Yell bourbon while flying on a martin 404, Southern Airways.  great moment.  Cool plane.  it used to fly over the campus of UGa, I would see it and say, "one day when i get a letter of transport, i'll be on that plane, the plane to Lisbon," an obvious quote from Casablanca, lost on most people.  But Professor John Gist got it, laughed, good guy.

Sloths babies documentary coming to Animal Planet next week

Documentary on sloths soon to be released on Animal Planet.  Is it legal, ethical, to own a sloth as a pet?

Mary's pregnancy test surprises her....now to find a husband

yeah i heard some carpenter named joseph is looking for a wife.  I mean, he's got a job, from a good lineage, doesn't ask too many questions.  He's gotta go to Bethlehem in a few months though....

Ron Paul is the professor of republicans

Ron Paul at Iowa debate, just Ron Paul, the guy is amazing, he is the professor of the republicans.  The only republican who makes sense.  I disagree with his position on abortion, he is not libertarian on abortion.  with the exception of abortion (I am pro choice, pro privacy) i agree with his other positions.

Ron Paul has a chance

Gingrich is gaining ground with the right wing religious republican primary voter nut cases, and this may be a diaster for the Romney campaign.  Mitt is supported by big money but they will throw their support behind the primary winner.  If Gingrich dumps Romney in Iowa (he probably will), comes in strong second in New Hampshire (if he doesnt actually tie Romney) and then wins South Carolina and Florida (he probably will) the big question will be finances for Romney. He is rich, but will he throw his own money away in a futile bid for the white house?  If Gingrich is the sole survivor, the only viable alternative will be Ron Paul and Rick Santorum - Santorum is nuts, way nuts, not to mention incredibly stupid (he actually has a law degree, that is unexplainable, other than law school must be easier then we think).  Ron Paul may be the only alternative to Gingrich, and i think Ron would be a great opponent to Obama.  It would be an ideological race, a good policy issues debate race, and 99% dissatisfied with wall street might bond with the tea party and libertarians, and it would be an exciting race.  Ron Paul might just win if this happens, if the economy doesnt improve, and Iraq and Afghanistan continue to melt down.  I just gave ron paul $50 - does that make me a libertarian?  Or just a mischievous political scientist?

there may be 500,000 "earths" in our galaxie alone: "Beam me up Scotty!"

seems like scientists now believe there is life off of earth, at least half million planets in our galaxy that could support life as we know it (or don't know it?). In the words of james Tafficant, former congressman from Ohio, "Beam me up Scotty!"  he used to say that on the floor of the House, in the Congressional Record.  He quoted Star Trek in the House of Representatives.  James is out of prison (bribery, election fraud) and looking to run for elective office, might i suggest Republican Nomination for President?  He could join the other nut cases who are running.  Actually his quote was "Beam me up, there is no intelligent life here."  BTW, he received 15% of the vote in a Congressional election in 2002, while he was in prison.  

Saudi incest - rape father sentenced to 13 yrs, 2,080 lashes

An official Saudi newspaper says a man convicted of raping his daughter has been sentenced to receive 2,080 lashes over the course of a 13-year prison term.

The court in the holy city of Mecca found the man guilty of raping his teenage daughter for seven years while under the influence of drugs.

The Okaz newspaper reported Saturday that the man will receive the lashes in stages throughout his prison sentence. The man's name was not published.

I don't normally agree with Sharia law, but this sentence seems more than fair.  My verdict? Chinese justice: take him out back and give him one bullet to the back of the head (why waste bullets?).  But I think all Saudi men who rape, especially members of the Saudi family who rape their phillipino or bangladesh maids, should also be punished.  But i guess its good once in awhile to set an example, even if the Saudi royal family continue to be exempt from the rule of law (like the entire Bush family too).  At least this time they didnt order the rape victim lashed too !  Or order her to marry her father !

Nixon was on drugs

As to drug use, the book reports that Jack Dreyfus, eccentric founder of the Dreyfus Investment Fund and a longtime Nixon pal and financial supporter, gave Nixon 1,000 capsules of Dilantin in 1968 as part of his personal promotion of the drug. Dreyfus has confirmed this, saying he did so when Nixon's "mood wasn't so good." He said he later provided Nixon with another 1,000 capsules.

Introduced in the 1930s, Dilantin is a mood-altering, anti-convulsive drug most often used to control epileptic seizures. The book cites no direct evidence that Nixon ever used the pills.

Nixon loved martinis, another drug.  He would drink a pitcher and listen to the soundtrack of Victory at Sea on a portable Hi-Fi.

He also walked through the white house, drunk, with Henry Kissinger, talking to the portraits of past Presidents, asking Andy Jackson about his own travails as President - "they mocked your wife, Andy, how did you endure it?"  Then he asked Kissinger to knee and pray for guidance, god only knows who they were praying to.

Former American CIA intelligence officer continues imprisonment

Yes, Manuel Noriega continues his imprisonment, first in Florida, then France, and now back to Panama.  His crimes?  Drug trafficing, murder, pissing off the Bush administration.  Noriega was an important part of our anti communist policies in Latin America, after all, our Canal (even though we gave it to the panamanians during the Carter Administration) couldnt fall into commie hands.  But things change, and Noriega actually thought he was an independent ruler and not owned by the US.  So we invaded, which gave Bush a chance to test new military hardware (the B1 bomber, the B2 bomber - both of which were failures during the invasion and not needed to begin with), and then faulty intelligence led to the deaths of an entire SEAL team (they were supposed to kidnap Noriega at an airport but walked into a heavily armed camp and were basically ambushed by poor intelligence - they fought bravely but were decimated) and once the invasion looked bad, Noriega became an even worse bad guy.  When we buy a foreign leader, they are supposed to stay bought.  One of his charges was rape - imagine, the US Congress charging someone with rape, with all the sex going on in Congress they actually fantasize about a rape in Panama - and Noriega killed 11 officers to tried to stage a coup (probably with CIA backing, our former CIA agent was killing our latest CIA agents).  So our man in Panama became a pariah, and as a signal to other leaders of central america we bought off, we imprisoned him and now he heads back to Panama for another prison sentence.  We backed some really evil people during the cold war, were responsible for deaths and misery around the world to protect our "freedoms," and i think Noriega is long overdue for a US Government pension and a Section 8 apartment in Miami.  Aren't we providing million $ pensions to the Bush presidents now that they are out of power?

American Spring?

Now we are hearing about the Russian spring, compared to the Arab spring, where russians are protesting the election of Putin.  What a surprise, Putin won:  his party controlled the election, kinda like Bush's win in Ohio and Florida in 2000, and his win in Ohio in 2004.  So its compared with the Arab uprising in Tunisia, Libya, Syria, and I guess Yemen (although we support the Saudi troops fighting in Yemen against those for democracy, I think they are for democracy....).  But i havent heard the US press mentioning the American Spring - demonstrations against the 1% of the Americans who control the economy and the country.  Is this OUR Arab spring?  Could it be that democracy movements across the world are finally coming to the US?  But we only perceive democracy movements in foreign countries, like Russia, or Libya - are we really democratic here?  The people who contol the US, arent they the ones who supported Putin?  Who were working with a reformed Ghaddafi?  

Iran doesnt have NUKES but it does have a super hi tech spy plane....

CIA says it had a remote plane malfunction while flying over Afghanistan, originally they said it crashed.  Then Iran shows picture and CIA says its a fake.  Now Iran shows a video, and CIA admits its their plane.  Obviously, CIA has planes like this in Afghanistan to fly over Pakistan and Iran, not Afghanistan.  Imagine the billions we spent on this tech, just to give it to the iranians,  they say they downed it with electronic jamming, landed it themselves.  Kinda like a radio controlled toy plane, only this is hi tech stuff it would take Iran billions to develop themselves.  more tax money pissed away........

Top Gun: gayest movie ever says Quentin Tarentino

according to quentin tarentino, Top Gun is the gayest movie ever. Swordfight !!!!!!

after thinking about this, he might be right.  i mean, the whole volley ball on the beach scene, the shower scene, the "you can be my wingman" (ride my tail) at the end.  Whoa!