Really Pissed Off!

Having a problem as what to buy this year for Christmas? Are those toys safe? How about that clothing you wanted get for the kids, or for that matter, yourself? You’ve just entered the twilight zone of the world economy, and it’s starting to look really ugly. What you’ve saved in cheaply manufactured goods may well have to pay for medical treatment for lead and formaldehyde poisoning!

Exactly when did God find his or her way into American Politics? It appears that all of the Presidential candidates have had to define their religious beliefs, as an integral part of their candidacy and platform! Personally, I really don’t give a damn what their religious beliefs are, but more importantly, why should we be obsessed with this irrelevant matter. It should be irrelevant as far as the American public is concerned. It may or may not be for the particular candidate. How have we arrived at this point in History?

We have seen the nadir of American Foreign Policy under the watch of the Bush Administration. The United States stepped up to the plate after WW II and out of the shadow of Isolationism to become the leader of the Free World during the Cold War and beyond. We triumphed over the Soviet Union and became THE only super power left. With that, a considerable amount of responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of the United States. Unfortunately, the shoulders of George W. Bush are not wide enough to carry such a load, and we’ve now become a punch line, if not the laughing stock of the world!

John Stormer’s title of his controversial book lends a new meaning to the phrase, when we consider the Bush Administration’s exposure of CIA Operative Valerie Plame Wilson, as payback for Joe Wilson’s article in the New York Times. We have conveniently placed it aside, thanks to the lack of outrage by the Congress, the Media and the American Public!

As citizens of the United States of America, we are, without a doubt, the safest nation in the world. We are the only Super Power left standing after the 20th Century of Total War and as well as the Cold War. After the fall of the Soviet Union, The United States remained the only nation who could influence any other nation in the world. We have the most advanced and best equipped Armed Forces of any nation today. Yet, Americans are becoming paranoid regarding their safety.

It’s not very often that I can really believe that the Red Sox can actually go all the way to win. Many of Red Sox Nation are accustomed to the disappointment of watching them almost win, but fate intervenes and they loose the final game. Forget the curse, it’s something made up by the Boston media!

Why is America falling behind among the most advanced nations in the world? In Life Expectancy, we are rated 11th, just behind Austria with a rating of 75.0 years. Japan is rated number 1 at 79.1. On Health Coverage, the United States is rated last, after Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These figures are frightening, if you consider how far behind we have fallen over the past 20 years! In Education, the United States was rated 18th out of the top 24 nations in the world, and Finland was rated Number One! What does that say regarding America’s future?

While the American news media reports sporadically regarding the insurgency in Iraq, we never hear of the unrest and insurgency that has battle lines drawn between the Kurds in the north of Iraq and Turkey. As recently as Sunday, October 7, 2007, Turkish forces were said to have shelled Iraqi territory, as a result of an attack by the PKK (Kurdistan Worker’s Party), during which 13 Turkish soldiers were killed in the southern province of Simak, Turkey. Kurdish farmers showed observers the craters left by Turkish artillery shells, which were well inside Iraqi territory.