Some Quick Thoughts

Life caught up with me again, so now that I've broken away for a bit, I thought I'd share a few quick thoughts.

- China hosting the Olympics. The world may be thrilled watching our athletes compete, but I'm not. Ever since Tiananmen Square, I've had a healthy distrust of China, and with good reason. Judging from how they were acting before the Olympics (banning athletes from carrying Bibles) and the crap they've pulled or are alleged to have pulled during the events (having female gymnasts who are rumored to be too young under the new Olympic rules), no amount of feel-good stories will scrub away the tarnish. And let's not forget China has become notorious in recent years for murdering Christians. The tepid responses from President Bush and other politicians don't help matters any. Looks like they betrayed freedom for 30 silver medals.

- War and rumors of war. The situations between Israel and Iran and now between Russia and Georgia are troubling to say the least. In both cases, contrary to what some will say, we have a vested interest in both. Iran is easy because we understand Imadinnerjacket is nuts. With Russia, though, our vested interest is tougher to see because we don't understand the situation that well. But let me put it this way. Russia is starting to flex its muscles in a way we haven't seen since the 70s, and we need to pay close attention to Putin, a former bigwig at the KGB. Don't let his new position fool you. He's in control of Russia, and he will be a force to reckon with if we take our eyes off him.

- The Bear awakens? And since Putin has taken up the mantle of being America's leading foe, this may have an impact on the war on terrorism. The thing about Middle Eastern terrorism is that the groups are interconnected out of necessity. The groups can't fund themselves, so they rely on the benevolence of sympathetic neighbors, including the late Saddam Hussein, for weapons and financial support. Now, imagine the havoc these groups could raise with the backing of Putin's Russia. If there's one area where we've dropped the foreign policy ball under President Bush, it's Russia, and we're no closer to getting our heads around the implications of a revitalized anti-American Russia.

- The last word on the John Edwards scandal. Dude, you're the baby daddy. Admit it and get on with your double life.

- Pelosi's flip flop on oil. If you missed Monday night's "Larry King Live" you missed Nancy Pelosi saying she would be happy to open up a vote to end the Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling. Yeah, and after only a couple of weeks of saying there would be no vote on it. But the big question is why Pelosi isn't acting on her statement and calling a special session of the House. Actually, I know the answer: because she knows she'll lose the vote, which won't help her in her race to be reelected to her House seat. And who's competing against her? Cindy Sheehan.

- A call for honesty. Listening to the radio this evening, I heard a portion of an interview with Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson. Let me say that it was painfully milquetoast. Tillerson had an unenviable job, that being defending Exxon's profits against the assaults of the Leftists and an uninformed general public. Just once, I'd like to see an oil company executive tell the interviewer, "Listen. It's my job to run a profit. If I don't, the company goes under, which makes things a heck of a lot worse. So, keep jumping on our backs for doing what we're supposed to do. Just try to act surprised when we get crushed by your stupidity."

- PETA on illegal immigration. PETA is asking the government to rent out space for advertising on the wall being built across parts of the US-Mexico border. Their ad? Trying to get illegal immigrants to go vegan. Let me get this straight. The only thing that bothers PETA about illegal immigration is whether the people coming into our country illegally eat beef and pork? Talk about missing the point!

And finally...

- The reason Barack Obama will lose in November. For a long time, Republicans have been seen as dull and strict, while Democrats have been seen as fun-loving and free. Lately, though, it seems the "wrinkly old dude" John McCain is having more fun on the campaign trail at Barack Obama's expense than Obama has been. McCain's recent ads comparing Obama to celebrities have been funny and intelligent. Obama's responses, though, have been bitter and angry. In other words, McCain's acting like the cool uncle who bought you comic books and let you have your first beer when your mom wasn't looking, and Obama's acting like the cranky old man who always told you to stay off his lawn. Not a good way to win converts, Barack.