Life with Monkeys

Ooops!

Obama likely to name Hillary Clinton to Cabinet. But wait! Can he?

The president-elect, no-drama Barack Obama, is expected to name his new secretary of State, all-drama Hillary Clinton, as early as tomorrow as part of the week's rollout for his national security team.

But can he?

As pointed out by a number of bloggers in recent hours, including our eloquent friend Susan over at Wake Up America, there's a clause in the U.S. Constitution (Article One, Section Six) that prohibits senators (or representatives) from taking a civil office if the legislator has voted to increase the pay for that job.

"No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office."

A president-elect who's a former part-time constitutional law professor, even one without his BlackBerry, presumably is aware of this prohibition, obviously designed to prevent double-dipping and raising your own salary, which is only allowed in Wall Street banks.

More To Be Thankful For

Liberals Angry Over Obama Keeping Gates as Pentagon Chief
President-elect Obama's expected selection of Robert Gates as his defense secretary and retired Gen. Jim Jones as his national security adviser is raising eyebrows among liberals.

More than a month before he takes the oath of office, President-elect Barack Obama already is testing the loyalty of his liberal base.

On Monday, he is expected to announce his national security team, which will include Robert Gates as his defense secretary, a carry-over from the Bush administration, and retired Gen. Jim Jones, who supported John McCain for president, as his national security adviser.

Liberal blogger Chris Bowers of The Open Left says the message sent by the selection of Gates undermines Democrats.

"The message would be clear," he writes in his blog. "Even Democrats agree that Democrats can't run the military."

Obama's outspoken opposition to the Iraq war before he became a U.S. senator was one of the reasons he was embraced early in the presidential race by the anti-war faction of the Democratic Party's base, so his apparent decision to keep a Bush adviser as defense secretary for at least a year has raised some eyebrows within that faction.

Bowers, a member of the Pennsylvania state Democratic committee, argues that Gates provided support and cover for practices from waterboarding to the use of psychotropic drugs on terror detainees. The blogger isn't as negative toward Jones but still called it "very disappointing."

"It is just so very frustrating," Bowers writes. "It seems like the only place progressives are making any gains is in the House. We are being entirely left out of Obama's major appointments so far. I guess everyone gets to play in Obama's administration, except progressives."

I Wish You A Lovely Thanksgiving

Of the secular holidays, Thanksgiving is my second favorite; Mother's Day being my very favorite. To me, it is less about the pilgrims and Indians and more about celebrating and honoring our own reasons to be thankful.  Last year on Thanksgiving, I was living in the jungle with my little family, in a country that does not celebrate Thanksgiving. We hooked up with some people we knew from SoCal who were there at the time and we all went to a Gringo spot where they had cooked a traditional Thanksgiving menu. I think that was the day I was most lonely for my country and beloved friends who we typically spend Thanksgiving with. This is a photo of the restaurant in Costa Rica and while it may appear rather rough, it is owned and operated by ex-pats who make very delicious food.  Still and all, it was not like being in the U.S. with our beloved friends.   And so, tomorrow will be particularly sweet for us. It is so true, you don't know what you've got til it's gone. That Joni Mitchell sure knows things! In this photo, I was looking at the sunset and wishing I was watching the sunset from home, here in SoCal. Living in the jungle gave me a fresh perspective and coming home, made me a more grateful person. Thanksgiving is about so much more than turkey and mashed potatoes. As far as I'm concerned, the most important element of Thanksgiving is...pumpkin pie!

The (Latest) Object of my Desire

After the many upheavals and challenges of my previous year, I have caught my breath, looked around and discovered that, though I live in the loveliest place ever, my living room looks tired. Rather like me, but that's a different post for a different day. Luckily my mister agrees (about the room, not about me looking tired, thank goodness!) and we set out to remedy the situation. Since our living room is decidedly small, small changes are all that are needed; the re-covering of a chair and bench and the purchase of a table lamp. It may sound silly but all of this began when I fell in love with a lamp. Yes, love. I rarely use the word love where an inanimate object is involved but there it is. And why do I love this lamp?  It has some of my favorite elements. Things that soothe and excite my senses. In the first place, the color is my favorite color ever, orange. Secondly, the lamp is made of glass and I love ANYTHING made of glass., so smooth and shiny. And practically speaking, it is perfect. It will accommodate one 150 watt bulb and has a dimmer on it. And it's orange. I know a wonderful young decorator who will order it for me. If you are in SoCal and need a decorator, David Galindo is your man. He has impeccable taste and a lovely young family. I just can't wait to get my new lamp. Did I happen to mention, it's orange?

Maybe They Should Just Say Thank You

Petraeus Directly Responsible for Killing of UK's Most Wanted Terrorist.....

Is there anything this man can't do?.....

Wow! Brits Complain After US Vaporizes Mastermind of Transatlantic Bomb Plot.....

MPs are demanding to know whether the Government knew in advance of a successful U.S. operation to kill a British terror suspect in Pakistan.

Rashid Rauf, 27  -  accused of masterminding the 2006 liquid bomb plot which paralysed airports  -  is said to have been killed in a missile attack early on Saturday.

Late on Friday he was apparently pinpointed at a remote stronghold in Pakistan's tribal badlands bordering Afghanistan.

A remote- control 'drone' then flew to Rauf's location  -  and unleashed three Hellfire missiles, destroying the mud-walled house and killing him and four Al Qaeda henchmen, according to Pakistan intelligence sources.

British police have had a warrant for Rauf's arrest since 2002 when he fled his native Birmingham.

Four years later intelligence reports suggested he was working in Pakistan for Al Qaeda  -  and had put together a team plotting to smuggle liquid bombs on to airliners and blow a number of them out of the sky simultaneously. 

He was arrested in Pakistan, but mysteriously escaped, possibly with the help of fanatics within the security services.

Rest here>>>

Simple As That

Victory in Iraq Day

 

"THE WAR IS OVER AND WE WON:" Michael Yon just phoned from Baghdad, and reports that things are much better than he had expected, and he had expected things to be good. "There's nothing going on. I'm with the 10th Mountain Division, and about half of the guys I'm with haven't fired their weapons on this tour and they've been here eight months. And the place we're at, South Baghdad, used to be one of the worst places in Iraq. And now there's nothing going on. I've been walking my feet off and haven't seen anything."

This post at the Mudville Gazette confirmed my conclusions.

On the political front in Iraq, victory has broken out as well. On Sunday, November 16, Iraq's cabinet approved a security agreement with the U.S. which top analysts and pundits are saying is the closest we'll ever get to a bureaucratic declaration of victory and of the war's end. Hugh Hewitt, for example, says:

The Battle For Iraq Has Been Won. Will The President-elect Preserve The Victory?

Yesterday's vote by the Iraqi cabinet to approve a status of forces agreement confirms what most reasonable people had concluded this summer --that the battle for Iraq is over and the country is stable and secure even though its enemies remain in small enclaves within the country and across the border in Iran. It has taken five years and come at a high cost in American lives lost and in thousands of wounded soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

It is, however, a crucial victory in the war against Islamist extremism and for stability in the Middle East.

The News & Observer newspaper came to the same conclusion three months ago, and many of the points are still valid:

Somebody has to write this. The United States has won the war in Iraq.

I'm compelled to proclaim victory because, these days, winning wars has become politically incorrect in Western societies. So much so that some political leaders opposed to the war refuse to recognize the definition of victory or to utter the word.

More than five years after the invasion, I still come across people who say they don't know what victory in Iraq means. That's on purpose. Feigning ignorance allows them to deny the obvious political and military progress that has been made and continues to be made each day.

The truth is, President Bush has been consistent in defining victory. Bottom line, it's leaving behind a functional and democratic Iraq capable of defending itself from internal and external threats. Iraq is on an irreversible path to meeting those goals.

...

There is no doubt that much work needs to be done in Iraq, particularly in political and cultural reconciliation. But for all the moaning about Parliament's failure to reach political benchmarks, Iraqis have achieved more political unity in their country than our Congress has in ours. A peaceful and stable Iraq is no longer in question. It's only a matter of time.

So the next time I come across an Iraqi War veteran, I'll not only thank him or her for their sacrifice in defending my freedom, I'll also offer congratulations for winning a war.

The full article (see the link) outlines many convincing facts about the state of victory in Iraq. The only thing missing is announcing the date of the war's end. Which this post rectifies.

If you don't want to rely on anecdotal evidence or political analysis, carefully study the official casualty statistics for U.S. troops in Iraq (see the chart to the right) and you will notice that they have reached extremely low levels, so low that they no longer even come close to rising to the level of "war"; it is now more dangerous to walk the streets of most major American cities than it is to be stationed in Iraq. For example, Chicago, just a single city in the United States, all by itself experienced twice as many shootings and killings of Americans as did the entire nation of Iraq over recent months:

125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer
Total Is About Double The U.S. Troop Death Toll In Iraq

CHICAGO (CBS) -- An estimated 125 people were shot and killed over the summer. That's nearly double the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.

What more need be said? Of course every death and injury of a U.S. soldier is a tragedy and I would wish to see a long string of zeros on that chart over the upcoming months. But being stationed in a nation and a region that has a long history of hostility to the U.S. and an equally long history of violence means that our troops will always face some danger there. Yet "danger" does not equal "war." Whatever lingering violence still exists is Iraq is now nothing more than a series of disconnected terrorist attacks, which have become completely ineffectual in changing the hearts and minds of the populace, or re-igniting another civil war.

Columnist Ed Morrissey on November 19 points to another kind of benchmark which indicates the war's end: the fact that the Iraqi government in now engaging in infrastructure building projects that would only be possibly in peacetime:

Victory in Iraq: The Baghdad Metro

Eighteen months ago, the capital of Iraq worried more about whether it would survive than traffic control. Now that victory over terrorism and sectarian violence has all but arrived, Baghdad has big plans for its future.
...
Iraq needs to fix its sewer and electrical services before attempting anything on this scale, but the plan demonstrates an optimism about the future that has erupted in its capital. They're already planning a traditional surface-level commuter train to help alleviate car traffic, which has grown overnight into a major headache. Roads and bridges closed due to violence have reopened, and people are once again on the move as Baghdad returns to life.
...
Representative governments have to deliver on their promises. That accounts for at least part of the optimism seen in Iraq, and for the sudden outbreak of big dreaming by Iraqis. They have their future in their own hands for the first time in decades, and the sudden liberation has fueled their imaginations. This, indeed, is what victory looks like.

Hot Jungle, Cold Fanta

Of the things I miss about living in the jungle, this is among them. As one drives through the jungle, there is an occasional 'pulperia' where one can find refreshments and foodstuffs and such; not entirely unlike the 7-11's we have here.  I love these little shops. I love that anyone with a little dough and determination can open one, I love that they always seem to stock the taste treat, Fanta Naranja and those of you who know me well, know how much I must love the added bonus of always finding shirtless men there!

 

It's Coming...

By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won. As no one seems willing to make the official statement, it is up to us. November 22, 2008. The day the American People will declare victory. May God bless America and the heroes in the military who made victory possible.

My Happy Place, Lunch

I lead a somewhat solitary life and I rather like it that way. I am a loner by nature BUT, several times a month, I see my home girls for lunch. If you have read my blog for any length of time, you have read about and seen some of the lovely dishes we have eaten. There is a restaurant we often go to called McKenna's, and whenever we go there, this is what I order; grilled hearts of romaine, with blue cheese and baby tomatoes, grilled onions with a wonderful Balsamic reduction.  I could eat this every day. Seriously, if I had the great good fortune to have a chef, I would ask him to make this for me every day. And yes, if I had a chef, it would be a him. So sexist, I know. Now that I think about it, I could make this. It wouldn't take much to put this together. I'm such a dork not to think of doing this already. I make this sort of thing all the time, just not this exact thing. So, I guess I will be getting the ingredients at the store and perhaps I will post a photo of my rendition.  As it was an achingly beautiful day, my home girls and I sat outside, in the sunshine. So sorry, pianogirl. I just had to mention it. Please forgive me...

I love Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Hell is the suffering of being unable to love". Dostoevsky

I saw this quote by one of my very favorite writers and it got me wondering. Is this really true? I mean, what about the suffering that comes from loving too much and not being loved in return? That's not nothing. And do people who are unable to love, really care? Do they even know what they are missing? Sure, the rest of us understand the profound deficit but would someone unable to love have any idea what an extraordinary and profound loss they're walking around with?
If you have never read anything by my beloved Fyodor Dostoevsky, you should pick up a copy of Notes from the Underground. Or The Idiot or Crime and Punishment. Or The Brothers Karamazov. Brilliant. All of them. Do yourself a favor, read them!

Torah in the Year of 'The One'

My monkey was given an assignment in his Jewish Rituals class. He was to read several passages from the Torah and interpret each one. He was also to find an illustration that expressed the message, as well. It was a lengthy process and I loved that it got us all talking about some of the concepts in the Torah; what is it to be holy, loyal, sanctimonius, etc. When it came time to find images for each concept, Ivan got very creative. He had great success until he got to the concept of sanctimoniusness. We discussed its meaning and I made a suggestion; how about an image of 'The One.' I didn't think there was a need to worry about offending the teacher; he is an Orthodox Jew and as such, likely a  Republican. If you click on the image, you will see Obama dressed as a monk. Not the image I would have chosen but it is Obama and that was the point. I have yet to find out how Ivan's project was received and I will be curious as to how the teacher grades the thing. Personally, I am just over-the-moon-happy that my monkey is going to a school where a class that is designed to teach my kid about Torah is taken as seriously as his Chemistry class. Can I get an 'Amen'?

I'm Just Sayin'

Toxic Feminism

 Coming out of the boys' dorm bathroom at my son's college, boys are confronted with this delightful propaganda bulletin board. It is entitled Male Privilege and is designed to make boys feel bad about being male. That's right. That is ALL it is intended to do. It lists things like that when men get married, they don't have to give up their identity by changing their last name and if boys get intoxicated, they don't have to worry about being raped. That sort of thing. I have always believed that being male had it's advantages just as I have benefited plenty from some advantages of being female. I didn't really give any of this much thought until I raised boys. I've seen how it is for my boy to work hard to earn money and spend it on dates, sometimes with a girl who is wholly ungrateful or undeserving. But, he is the man, he should pay for the date. Where was the board that had that information on it? When I saw this board, I was horrified that boys in college, many insecure and impressionable, might believe this tripe and feel that their mere existence was an insult to women! I turned to my boy and asked, "Do you believe this?" He said, "Please. I want to see the board that talks about how my girlfriends who are pretty never get tickets when they're pulled over and how girls get free drinks and into any club or party they want to go to. I want to see that board."  Relieved that my boy was immune to the feminist propaganda, I simply said, "Don't hold your breath."

Back Among The Living

Nothing feeds my soul like touching food. It's true. I think touching food is a primal and very satisfying activity. On Sunday's we have a Farmer's Market nearby. I usually go by myself or a girlfriend but as my mister had never been to said market, I brought him along. Lucky thing; he was good enough to pay, carry the food, and snap the shots. How lucky am I? I got completely carried away with the tomatoes and ended up with so many that I had to find a recipe and make soup out of them! I should have taken photos; the soup turned out to be absolutely delicious but really, can something made with a base of sauteed onions (yes, I use them in everything!) and butter, ever be bad?

Where is it?

I have lost my mojo. I find myself irritable, aggravated, and blue.  I am hopeful I will find my mojo again but after this election cycle, I am suffering from post election stress disorder. Yeah, I realize it isn't as well known as post traumatic stress disorder but it is very real. One of the symptoms is the inability to suffer fools whose only problem with the outcome of the election is that gays didn't preserve the right to marry! Grrr. My saving grace? My little monkey is delicious and very sweet right now, my closest friends and favorite neighbors are the loveliest people and NOT IDIOTS and my college monkey will come home for an overnight this weekend. I thank G-d for my many blessings and I am hopeful my mojo will return after a brief period of mourning. For now, I am taking a vacation from talk radio, reading political blogs, and talking to fools! I highly recommend it.

Jewish Medicine

I woke up with a hangover although last night, I did not drink any alcohol. I did indulge in an obscene amount of M&M's though. The heaviness in my head and heart was emotional, I know. But today is a new day, a new era, as a country, we have made history. Of that, we should be proud. There may be pockets or incidents of racism but as a culture, racism is no more. Your color will not keep you from reaching the highest echelon of any field, if you are qualified and tenacious. 'Nuff said! I set about making soup to cure my emotional hangover.  I sauteed mirepois (onions, celery, and carrots) in butter and olive oil, add stock and cook for a while, then add cooked, shredded chicken and voila; Jewish Medicine. Though I suspect Jews aren't the only ones who enjoy this dish! I am now in possession of a huge amount of soup. Guess what's for lunch and dinner around here for the next few days?

Good Luck With That, Amerikkka

McCain for President, Please

McCain for President

By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON -- Contrarian that I am, I'm voting for John McCain. I'm not talking about bucking the polls or the media consensus that it's over before it's over. I'm talking about bucking the rush of wet-fingered conservatives leaping to Barack Obama before they're left out in the cold without a single state dinner for the next four years.

I stand athwart the rush of conservative ship-jumpers of every stripe -- neo (Ken Adelman), moderate (Colin Powell), genetic/ironic (Christopher Buckley) and socialist/atheist (Christopher Hitchens) -- yelling "Stop!" I shall have no part of this motley crew. I will go down with the McCain ship. I'd rather lose an election than lose my bearings.

First, I'll have no truck with the phony case ginned up to rationalize voting for the most liberal and inexperienced presidential nominee in living memory. The "erratic" temperament issue, for example. As if McCain's risky and unsuccessful but in no way irrational attempt to tactically maneuver his way through the economic tsunami that came crashing down a month ago renders unfit for office a man who demonstrated the most admirable equanimity and courage in the face of unimaginable pressures as a prisoner of war, and who later steadily navigated innumerable challenges and setbacks, not the least of which was the collapse of his campaign just a year ago.

McCain the "erratic" is a cheap Obama talking point. The 40-year record testifies to McCain the stalwart.

Nor will I countenance the "dirty campaign" pretense. The double standard here is stunning. Obama ran a scurrilous Spanish-language ad falsely associating McCain with anti-Hispanic slurs. Another ad falsely claimed McCain supports "cutting Social Security benefits in half." And for months Democrats insisted that McCain sought 100 years of war in Iraq.

McCain's critics are offended that he raised the issue of William Ayers. What's astonishing is that Obama was himself not offended by William Ayers.

Moreover, the most remarkable of all tactical choices of this election season is the attack that never was. Out of extreme (and unnecessary) conscientiousness, McCain refused to raise the legitimate issue of Obama's most egregious association -- with the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Dirty campaigning, indeed.

The case for McCain is straightforward. The financial crisis has made us forget, or just blindly deny, how dangerous the world out there is. We have a generations-long struggle with Islamic jihadism. An apocalyptic soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. A nuclear-armed Pakistan in danger of fragmentation. A rising Russia pushing the limits of revanchism. Plus the sure-to-come Falklands-like surprise popping out of nowhere.

Who do you want answering that phone at 3 a.m.? A man who's been cramming on these issues for the last year, who's never had to make an executive decision affecting so much as a city, let alone the world? A foreign policy novice instinctively inclined to the flabbiest, most vaporous multilateralism (e.g., the Berlin Wall came down because of "a world that stands as one"), and who refers to the most deliberate act of war since Pearl Harbor as "the tragedy of 9/11," a term more appropriate for a bus accident?

Or do you want a man who is the most prepared, most knowledgeable, most serious foreign policy thinker in the United States Senate? A man who not only has the best instincts, but has the honor and the courage to, yes, put country first, as when he carried the lonely fight for the surge that turned Iraq from catastrophic defeat into achievable strategic victory?

There's just no comparison. Obama's own running mate warned this week that Obama's youth and inexperience will invite a crisis -- indeed a crisis "generated" precisely to test him. Can you be serious about national security and vote on Nov. 4 to invite that test?

And how will he pass it? Well, how has he fared on the only two significant foreign policy tests he has faced since he's been in the Senate? The first was the surge. Obama failed spectacularly. He not only opposed it. He tried to denigrate it, stop it and, finally, deny its success.

The second test was Georgia, to which Obama responded instinctively with evenhanded moral equivalence, urging restraint on both sides. McCain did not have to consult his advisers to instantly identify the aggressor.

Today's economic crisis, like every other in our history, will in time pass. But the barbarians will still be at the gates. Whom do you want on the parapet? I'm for the guy who can tell the lion from the lamb.

Listen Up, People!

I'm So Sorry...

Taking A Break

As the election draws near, I find myself worried and aggravated! I hide it as best I can and try to focus on the many blessings in my life. It's not too hard, really. My monkey is sick of hearing anything politics-related and frankly, I am too. I was talking with my favorite neighbor, John, (shhh, don't tell my other neighbors) and he proclaimed that the election is essentially over. I sure hope he is wrong but he is ridiculously smart and I don't imagine he is wrong very often. In any event, the monkey suggested he and my mister play catch on the beach. The monkey is considering trying out for the baseball team at school in the spring. I think that's great. I know nothing of sports and I don't really mind. It's enough for me that I can watch the kids play whatever sport they play and if they enjoy it, that's all that matters to me.  I was raised in a family that was oblivious to sports. My parents were in show business and that was what I was surrounded by in my formative years. My father was the least athletic person I have ever known although he was a spectacular dancer and any woman who had the great good fortune of dancing with him, would leave his arms floating on air.

Obama Supporting Islamic Terror Regime in Kenya

Bill Sure Holds A Grudge!

Bill Clinton: Obama Got Lots of Help on Economic Crisis Response

Bill Clinton says at a rally that Barack Obama called a round of advisers during the height of the economic crisis and said, "tell me what ... to do."

Barack Obama speaks with Bill Clinton at a rally in Kissimmee, Fla., Wednesday. (AP Photo)

Barack Obama cultivated the image of a cool and collected leader during the height of the economic crisis last month, when lawmakers on Capitol Hill scrambled to draft a workable bailout package after a meltdown on Wall Street. 

And when John McCain suspended his campaign to dive head first into the fray, Obama's campaign accused the Republican of being "unsteady." 

But to hear Bill Clinton tell it, the Democratic nominee didn't quite have a handle on the situation himself. 

"I haven't cleared this with him and he may even be mad at me for saying this so close to the election, but I know what else he said to his economic advisers (during the crisis)," Clinton told the crowd at a Wednesday night rally with Obama in Florida. "He said, 'Tell me what the right thing to do is. What's the right thing for America? Don't tell me what's popular. You tell me what's right -- I'll figure out how to sell it.'" 

Clinton said when the crisis broke, Obama called his own advisers as well as those of the former two-term president, Hillary Clinton, Warren Buffet and others. 

"He called those people. You know why? Because he knew it was complicated and before he said anything he wanted to understand," Clinton said. "That's what a president does in a crisis." 

The seeming praise may come off as a backhanded compliment, especially since Obama repeatedly accuses McCain of admitting he doesn't know much about the economy. McCain's campaign said Clinton's remark shows Obama was uncertain when Wall Street seemed to be on the verge of crumbling. 

"Barack Obama had no idea what the right thing to do is or at least that's Bill Clinton's impression," McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb said. 

"It's disturbing that ... Barack Obama's response to this is 'Tell me what to do and I will sell it,'" Goldfarb added. "That's been Barack Obama's entire campaign -- is one big sales job." 

(I NEVER thought I would say this, but here goes,... I LOVE BILL CLINTON!)