Aloha Daze

A very interesting news clip from MemriTV.com.

That says about everything.

RLR

From an article at FOXNews.com.

Coalition forces launched the largest air assault in Iraq since U.S. forces invaded that country in 2003, the U.S. military confirmed Thursday.

I see this operation as an opportunity to take the fight to the insurgents, as well as a solid way to have the US Military working with the Iraqi Military to identify and remove some of the cancer that is eating at Iraq.

Prediction: The Democratic left will not recognize this as a military operation, but instead will claim that “Bush did this because his approval numbers are so low.” They’ll make this claim because they can’t get past their “Hate Bush” attitude, and because they can’t believe that a President wouldn’t be interested in their approval numbers.

RLR

BDS: Bush Derangement Syndrome.

It’s an affliction that effects left wing extremists, liberals, and moonbat wackos. Symptoms are easily displayed in a single-minded line of thought or display of emotion: When talking about anything on the face of this Earth that is wrong, it’s Bush’s (or his administration’s) fault, common sense and logic be danged.

People that suffer from BDS are so dedicated to blaming Bush for everything wrong in this country [and nothing right], that they usually end up letting their emotions get the better of them, and cloud any logic or common sense.

I recently checked a site - mostly full of liberals and moonbats - to see the following BDS examples.

We find that people think that there is no war [or that it was caused entirely by Bush], and that Bush won the last two elections because of “purged voter rolls, thrown away voter registrations of democratic voters, [and] rigged and/or hackable voting machines with deliberately unverifible results.” (The concept of Bush have actually been voted into office legally never occured to the poster.)

Another poster pondered if Bush had anything to do with no terrorist attacks having occured since 9/11: “Probably not, my theory is that while we ignore the terrorists at our peril, they are still too few in number and too [bleep bleep] stupid to actually do more than occasionally get lucky.”

Other comments, like the previous one, need nothing but to be listed, to be seen for what they are, which are emotional responses: “I don’t mind the right-wingers still having faith in the chimp; he’s Their Man and is still on the right side of the issues as far as they’re concerned. It’s the … 20% [of voters that got Bush elected] that I want to punch in the face and scream “I [bleep!]ING TOLD YOU SO!” to [them] while they lie on the sidewalk bleeding.”

Here’s a scary comment that a poster made. They would “still support a Gore candidacy in a heartbeat. Possibly because I think he’s become a far better individual in the last 5 years.” (Nevermind the lies that Gore spoke of when he was in Saudi Arabia recently, talking about the atrocities that Americans have done to Arabs living in America.)

Ironically, one poster said “It’s unfortunate how emotion and bad information can trump simple logic and facts.”

How very true. Yet most liberals and moonbats still believe in two basic beliefs: Bush Lied ™ and Everything Bad is Bush’s Fault ™.

So why do I post on my site more politics, in a world that seems full of political pundit blogs already? Because I feel for these poor BDS sufferers, and I’m doing my best to help them see that it isn’t Bush [or his administration] that’s responsible for everything wrong, or right… but it’s their failure to get past anything Bush related that is the real problem.

Well… that… and I like to see the moonbat liberals cry and whine everytime Bush does ANYthing.

RLR

Well now, ain’t that just perfect.

After much bipartisan political poo about nothing, Dubai Ports World decided to pull out of the agreement. This made Republicans and Democrats happy. (Although the Dems would have been happier had they blocked the deal all by themselves, but I digress.)

President Bush said:

“I’m concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies around the world, particularly in the Middle East,” Bush said in remarks to the National Newspaper Association. “In order to win the War on Terror, we have got to strengthen our relationships and friendships with moderate, Arab countries in the Midddle East. UAE is a committed ally in the War on terror, they are a key partner for our military in a critical region.”

Yet bipartisan pinheads have managed to kill the deal.

In my previous post, I suggested that we need to examine the deal more closely. (The Senate later voted to ignore GOP requests to wait until a 45-day review of the deal is completed before they try to stop it.)

And while I had my reservations about the deal, I’m certain I didn’t want to kill it, and then alienate the United Arab Emirates… which is effectively what has just happened.

This has basically been a test of the United States. Embarrasingly enough, it looks as though we’ve failed it.

To basically say, “I don’t want that Arab company to manage the ports… but it’s not racially motivated. It’s not because they’re Arabs.” But then, it is. Because there isn’t any other good reason other than that.

And now this:

Members of Dubai’s royal family were said to be furious on Thursday over U.S. plans to reject their bid to operate terminals at U.S. ports - and they’re threatening to cancel American business deals and perhaps even boot U.S. military forces from strategic bases in the UAE.

Well, gee, I didn’t see that coming.

In a time when Republicans should have stepped up to the plate and backed their President, they instead backed off, took the easy road, and distanced themselves… because it’s election year and, hey, you can’t be seen with a President that actually makes solid decisions. Better to disagree in hopes of getting re-elected.

Don’t worry about who you insult. Or embarrass.

RLR

Dust out the classroom, boys and girls, the moonbat is flying back in to teach.

From FOXNews.com:

A high school teacher who was placed on leave after comparing President Bush’s State of the Union address to speeches by Adolf Hitler has been reinstated without any loss of pay, his attorney and school officials said Friday.

Well, you know how it is… just because you yell louder, and have other moonbat friends helping you indoctrinate teach students about socialogical issues … er.. world ge… I mean, human geography [what?]… comparing the leader of the free world to one of the most vile human creatures to ever walk this Earth [because, y'know, the United States is responsible for everything wrong on planet Earth today, and Bush Lied ™, and, and, and, ...]

…

No… No I just don’t get it. Free speech is a beautiful thing, and what makes this country great… But presenting only one side to students that are - more than likely - too intimidated to argue with their high school teacher… Well… it must be nice to be able to preach your rehetoric to a captured audience. A nice way to create brand new moonbats for the next generation to have to put up with… I mean… to be able to teach the next generation.

I wonder. If I were to ask the students in Jay Bennish’s class which island had the state capital of Hawaii on it, would they answer correctly?

Or would they just tell me that I was trying to trick them?

Yeah. That would be it. I would be a right-wing conservative wacko, trying to trick students into learning geography in a geography class.

Wouldn’t want to confuse the issues, would I?

RLR

There are a number of resorts and hotels here Oahu, as one might imagine.

About 95% of them are located either at Honolulu International Airport or Waikiki. Another 3% can be found at the growing location on the Leeward side of the island called Ko’Olina (the “next Waikiki,” if the developer and owners have their way.) The other hotels and resorts are spread across the three corners of the island: Windward, North Shore, and the far-Leeward side of the island.

For some visitors/tourists, it’s all about Waikiki: shows, beaches, sun, surf, food and fun. For others, it’s about “getting away from it all” but still enjoying everything that Oahu has to offer. For the rest, it’s about really getting away from it all.

But with most of the tourist traffic heading to Waikiki, it’s up to the hotels on the other three corners to offer world, and shoot for the moon, to get tourists to their remote locations.

On the North Shore of Oahu, that hotel is Turtle Bay. It’s a beautiful location, with some amazing meeting rooms, restaurants, and various other [in my opinion] untapped potential.

Not a new idea, the owners (Oaktree Capital) want to continue their plans to greatly increase the size of the resort. These plans have been on the table for several years now.

This is a tough one. I’m not one to bite the hand that feeds me, and I’m certainly not trying to do so here, but I think this is worth mentioning.

Turtle Bay has a fantastic potential, but has some … issues … regarding the Local 5 Union. I won’t try and address the issues here; I’m not involved.

But I think it’s important to work out such issues before trying to grow. A building needs a solid foundation. A business is no different. And whether the Union is at fault, or Turtle Bay, it’s important to work out the differences either way. I’ve not seen that from either side. It’s up to the management group at Turtle Bay to resolve the issue. They do, after all, represent the owners. Not to mention that it’s good business to make sure everyone is as enthusiastic about future growth for the Resort as the owners seem to be.

Now the owners recently finished spending some $60 million upgrading and updating the hotel. But when I recently walked around the resort, I saw several unfinished parts and pieces. Some were amazingly large unfinished issues. For example, I watched a woman, in her wedding dress, walk across broken rocks and busted sidewalks to get to her wedding on the beach. That sidewalk should have been fixed a long time ago, and with a budget of $60 million, they should have spent a measly few hundred dollars to do it.

I might be wrong. For some other reason I’m not familiar with, that sidewalk might have been busted up for any number of reasons. But that’s just an example. There were other projects that should have been finished and fixed up. I doubt that an excuse can be placed on all of the unfinished projects. And herein lies my point.

Jerry Doyle, actor and now talk show host, says often on his program that you should “question everything.” That’s what I think Oaktree Capital should do. They need to find out why their investment, Turtle Bay, is still having issues with the Local 5 Union. They need to find out why there are still portions of their investment that haven’t been fixed, improved or installed. Oaktree Capital needs to question everybody. The management group they hired [Benchmark Hospitality] to run Turtle Bay. The Local 5 Union. The local community that has reservations about Turtle Bay’s growth. Everything.

What can I say? For $60 million, I’d want answers and solutions. Not more problems and questions.

For more, see the most recent article from the Honolulu Star Bulletin titled “Proposed development at Turtle Bay bothers residents.”

RLR

Here in Hawaii, we’re not at all unfamiliar with rain. We get our fair share and, depending on which island, you can practically set your watch to the regular small showers that we get in Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu.

However, in the last week or two, we’re getting more than our fair share. A great deal more. Kaua’i - known as the Garden Island - is getting flooded, right along with O’ahu (the island known as the Gathering Place) and Hawai’i (the Big Island).

Here on Oahu, the Windward side of the island is taking the full force of the flooding. Although it is an island, those that have never been here would be amazed at the climate differences between one side of the island and another. On most average days, the South Shore [Waikiki] is sunny with the occasional light shower. Windward [Kaneohe] can look like something out of the movie Jurassic Park - extremely tropical with usually strong tradewinds and showers more often than the other parts of the island. North Shore, popular in name due to the fantastic surf conditions that have made it the most popular surfing location on the planet, and host to the popular show Lost, gets a little of everything… sunny conditions, rainy conditions, and windy conditions. In fact, it’s likely that this combination is what makes the surf location what it is today. Finally there is the Leeward side (Waianae) of the island, which enjoys if not sunny, then at least dry conditions most of the time. It is said that, if it rains in the Leeward side [Makaha Valley in particular], then that usually means that the entire Hawaiian island chain is getting rain.

Such is certainly true now. From the Honolulu Star Bulletin:

Nearly a foot of muddy rainwater rushed down Hauula Homestead Road and into at least five homes last night as heavy showers stalled over parts of Windward Oahu still recovering from last week’s flooding.

For a little reference, here is the island of Oahu, with Windward and Leeward sides highlighted. The blue dot indicates Makaha Valley.

RLR

So I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the debate about the Dubai Ports World deal. Normally, I’d go with President Bush on this one - as I’m one to believe that he’s in a position of power and knowledge that should easily dwarf mine.

But I’ve been undecided on this issue from almost the moment I was aware of it. Until now.

I must agree with the majority on this one: I think that the Dubai deal is questionable and should receive a deeper consideration. Why? Well, I do like the idea of keeping some friends in the Middle East. We could use the help and the extra eyes when it comes to watching places like Iran.

On the other hand, I have a real issue with a country that won’t recognize Israel, and in fact boycotts the country.

Now, having said that, I also recognize that we already have nothing but foreign companies running the ports around our country. So while I don’t mind if the purchase of the management goes through with Dubai Ports World, I do believe that stronger security measures need to be put in place.

What really has me cheesed off is these Democrats that are crawling out from under their rocks, now claiming that they’re all for homeland security. Bite me. These Dems have been blocking serious attempts at putting security in place from the first day that Bush has been doing the work. Now they expect us all to believe that they’ve become concerned about their country’s security?

Give me a break.

—

Update - Thur Mar 9 2006 @ 2:15PM

It now seems as though Dubai Port World will make the decision for Bush. Instead of GOP leaders having to block the deal, DPW has said it will give up it’s stake in US ports. From a report at FOXNews.com:

A United Arab Emirates-owned company said Thursday it would give up its management stake in a controversial ports deal that has taken Washington by storm and has caused massive upheaval in the president’s own party. … “Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve that relationship, DP World has decided to transfer fully the U.S. operation of P&O Operations North America to a United States entity,” DP World’s chief operating officer, Edward H. Bilkey, said in a statement, read on the Senate floor by Sen. John Warner, R-Va. … The announcement was somewhat of a blow for Democrats, who were pushing for a Senate vote on an amendment that would halt the deal.”

I think that this should be an interesting move by all parties involved. Now let’s see what complaints the Dems have about this new scenario.

RLR

Alright. I admit it. For the first time in years I sat down and watched the Oscars. Why? One reason, really.

I’m a conservative that posts his political opinions in a column read by who knows how many hundreds [of search engines]. With a chance for the Democratic party [cleverly disguised as Hollywood] to make a political statement, I feel it’s important I watch for that. (Gee, where is Michael Moore when you need him?)

As a result, though, I did expect to see some politics involved in the choices for winners. Happily, when real talent was on the line, most of the time it was rewarded.

Until… they got to the category “Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song).”

They’d had musical numbers from the nominees all night. Dolly Parton for “Travelin’ Thru.” Kathleen “Bird” York for “In The Deep.” (Which I thought was a fantastic song. Good stuff. Great vocal talent!) And then there was the last nominee… and the winner.

Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard for “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp.”

First, I think the song stinks. The production number they had for it was just horrible compared to the other two nominees that sang earlier in the show. This song was just terrible.

Jon Stewart, host of the Oscars this year, mentioned how excited that the winners were to have won. Well no kidding. Really? I’d be excited too, if my dredge of a song won against real singers that had real talent. I’d be giddy, too.

I mean, c’mon people. Tell me that this wasn’t polically motivated somehow. All I can figure is that, because the movie that the song is from is about a pimp that makes it as a rap singer, we must be polically correct and agree with it. Here’s to the pimp that makes it as a singer! Yeah! Gimme a friggin’ break.

On the other hand, it looks like an upset for best picture. “Brokeback Mountain” lost to winner “Crash.” No, I don’t have a problem with a gay movie. It’s not on my watch list [and likely never will be]. So what is my problem?

You can’t sit there and tell me that, because of the two- or three-hundred people that went and watched “Mountain,” it should receive such acclaim. I think it’s more politics than genuine quality or interest that drives the Oscars. I always have believed that, and I still do.

However, overall I saw movies that were deserving of awards actually receive them. “Wallace and Gromit” winning Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. “March of the Penguins” for Best Documentary Feature. Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” for Achievement in Visual Effects.

As for politics… there was a quick quip from Jon Stewart in the beginning about Bjork putting on a dress, and VP Dick Cheney accidently shooting her. But that was pretty much all the quips in regards to partisan politics from Stewart.

Not wanting to miss a chance to prove just how much better they are than everyone else, George “Looney” Clooney said, in his acceptance speech:

“I would say that, you know, we are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while. I think it’s probably a good thing. We’re the ones who talk about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn’t really popular. And we, you know, we bring up subjects. This Academy, this group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. I’m proud to be a part of this Academy. Proud to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch.”

So, he’s really proud to part of a group that did great things back in the day. ?? So? What has that got to do with current events? That and $2 gets you a bag of chips and a cup of coffee. I guess it’s because Hollywood is always fighting for the little guy. Yep. That’s Hollywood.

I did think it was a nifty idea to have Chicken Little deliver the nominee presentation for animated picture. That was good.

On the other hand, Ben Stiller putting on a green suit (leotard, really) was a one-off joke that was old almost the moment he did it. (For those that missed it, Stiller believed he was a floating head via green-screen special effects, when in fact there were no effects and he was simply dressed in a green leotard.) That joke was old immediately, but was salvaged best when Stiller said “this is blowing Spielberg’s mind!”… and the camera cut to Steven Spielberg who - even without a microphone - clearly said “No, it’s not.”

Overall, it was a big waste of time. Which means it was business as usual at the Oscars.

RLR

And what a revolting development it is.

Taken from the moonbat site United For Peace & Justice:

Storm the White House

Multi-Day Event, Beginning March 15, come when you can and stay as long as you can - we are taking over the White House until they leave.

Wednesday, March 15th 2006 12:00 AM
Washington, DC USA

TAKE THE WHITE HOUSE BY STORM - Stop Genocide, Torture and Occupation

U.N. SOS - We need your help to end the reign of international criminals.

It is our duty and the duty of the United Nations to rescue the people of the world from the U.S. dictators. Murder for occupation and theft of land is illegal. Murder of journalists is criminal. Remove the traitors who have stolen the U.S. budget and used it to commit international crimes against humanity.

If we were being bombed and our journalists were being murdered here in the U.S. by a foreign country’s military, we would hope that the people of that country would stop what they are doing and go to their president’s office and demand that it was stopped. If we were the ones burying thousands and thousands of our family members and watching the destruction of the homes, schools, churches and offices that we had worked for decades to build, we would hope that someone, somewhere would care enough to do something for us. We must stop the criminals in our government NOW. There is no meeting with Congress that is going to change what they are doing. We must put the power of the people into action and stay there until they leave!

Inviting everyone to the White House for a protest rally to show that we do not accept the criminal government, illegal wars and the permanent occupation planned for Iraq and Afghanistan. For Nat Turner, For Martin and Coretta, For all the Torture and Assassination in Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti and many others - We will not allow the Slave Holders that Still Prevail in this Country to Rule us any longer. Imprisonment and torture based on race, religion, resources or region is no different than the slavery we sought to abolish years ago. The Administration is Criminal and if they will not step down, we must storm in, show them how many of us do not accept a criminal government. How can we stand by and watch them kill our brothers, sisters, journalists and friends for their dollars?

We are calling on all citizens and governments in every country to stand with us. We are calling on all Member Nations of the U.N.; All Representatives and Justices in the World Court and International Criminal Courts; All Human Rights Advocates; All Soldiers and CIA agents and government officials who have been blackmailed or are in fear of the dictators to join us in ending this reign of corporate terror in our government. The World Criminal Courts need to incarcerate Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld for admitted crimes and known crimes of international scope. The Political Cooperative will put a new, temporary government in place that is comprised of people from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and all the organizations that have finally made us aware of the truth of the savage practices and illegal policies of our government in assassinating our own officials as well as people throughout the world who oppose their criminal activity. We need all of you to save U.S. victims and global victims from their ongoing criminal activity. We are calling on the military, police, citizens and religious organizations to stand with us and help us to bring democracy back to the United States and by doing so, free the world from the wrath, occupation, theft, torture, blackmail and assassination by the Criminals in the United States Government. What they have done all over the world is much worse than what Saddam Hussein has done, so why are they not in jail too? They have admitted to international and national crimes, so why have they not been taken to Court too?

Location:
White House, Washington DC Starting March 15th, come for as long as you can and bring signs that say U.N. SOS and “Leave Now” or whatever you would like to say. Ride Share and Room Share Plans can be made here: http://www.citysites.com/travel/tiki-view_tracker.php?trackerId=3 1600 Pennsylvania Ave Washington DC 20500

Contact:
Darrow Boggiano
admin@politicalcooperative.org

Sponsored By:
We are requesting participation from all members of the United Nations, PFAW, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Code Pink, police, soldiers, ACLU, CIA, NSA and International Courts of Justice/World Court. http://www.PoliticalCooperative.Org

Please. Yes. All the moonbats, just head on up there on March 15th. Introduce yourselves to the secret service and other police force representatives. They’ll be waiting with open arms [and handcuffs] to meet you.

If these moonbat nitwits do go, and get arrested for doing stupid stuff, at least the IQ of the left wing extremists will increase by a digit. (It may even reach as high as “2,” but I wouldn’t hold my breath.)

Two things:

First, they request that if you go, RSVP. (That way the police will have a checklist, to make sure they’ve arrested all the idiots that were planning on showing up to this thing.)

Second, the website that hosts this invitation says “Events listed are not necessarily endorsed or organized by UFPJ.”

Yeah. That should stop anyone from suing you or the government from investigating the UFPJ.

And the government should be investigating this. You can’t go around saying such tripe about marching on the White House to take over the government. Free speech ends where such treasonous acts begin.

Hey, I wonder if that “geography” teacher Jay Bennish will RSVP? Sounds like just his kind of similar-thinking crowd of moonbats to me. He’d be right at home! (… in a jail cell.)

RLR