Of being busy and a world gone mad

I'm very sorry that I've not posted recently. Immediately after my last post world events had slowed enough that I didn't feel there was anything that I really wanted to comment on. Then August began, and all heck began to break loose.

On the first of the month there was a personal matter than arose, and as a result I didn't get to make my daily internet rounds. That set me behind on my reading and getting up-to-date, and I only have caught up in the last couple of days. And there are so many things that I'd like to comment on right now that I'm a bit overwhelmed about where to begin. That being said, I'm going to make some brief comments and hopefully I'll flesh things out in the coming days.

The Death of King Faud - This happened on the first of the month as well. No, this wasn't my personal matter. *laughs* But in the five or so rotations of Headline News I'd seen that day, I did begin to feel a personal attachment to the story. Now, I knew the moment I heard the news that it meant that gas wasn't going to see the cheap side of the $2/gal mark in Ohio for quite a while, if ever again. But the news people were trying to paint a rosy picture. They were talking up how Faud hadn't been in power for years because of a stroke, that Prince Abdullah had really been in power, so nothing was really going to change. I thought differently. Even if Faud was only a figurehead, and Abdullah really had been running the show, the people were going to see the death of Faud as a chance to change the monarchy. And it seems that there is some unrest underway in Saudi Arabia because, lo and behold, people are seeing this as an opportunity for change. As a result, oil prices are setting new record-highs each day, and the weekend price hike is seeing prices at $2.559/gal here.

The Taft Administration - This has more pratfalls and jokes than a 1975 episode of Saturday Night. The Workers' Compensation fund is invested to the tune of about $30 million in rare coins that then go missing. More money from the same fund is invested in stocks and bonds that perform well below what the rest of the market is doing. The Chief of Staff has to resign because he spent a week of vacation in the Florida vacation home of a contributor to the party without declaring it as a gift equal to the value of one week's rental at a comparable vacation home. The governor himself is now embroiled in a scandal regarding rounds of golf at some of the most prestigious of Ohio's private golf clubs. The governor's approval rating was down at 19% about a month ago. Can it get any worse? Maybe if statewide unemployment hit double-digits, but I'm not even sure about that.

Hillary 2008 - There's been more speculation about the "inevitability" of Hillary Clinton getting the Democratic nomination in 2008. I've been saying "dear god, no" about the possibility of Ms. Clinton being a candidate since 2000. She will lose in a general election. I have no doubt about this. This is the worst possible thing that could happen to the Democrats.

Cindy Sheehan - The right wing is painting this poor woman as a traitor and as dishonouring the memory of her son who was killed in Iraq. This is awful, because all the woman wants is for the president to talk to her and explain to her just why it was that her son had go to Iraq and die five days into his tour.

Ohio Marines in Iraq- Two dozen Ohio Marine Reservists have been killed in the last week and a half. This is a state that had overwhelmingly supported the war. That support is evaporating. The memorial that is materializing at Rickenbacker Airbase/Airport is a testament to this. I feel badly for the families who have been touched by this. I appreciate the sacrifice made by the Marines. I just wish that the sacrifice hadn't been asked of them.

Tom DeLay - His pal, Jack Abramoff, has been indicted. Can charges against the House Majority Leader be far behind? We can hope.