I called it. I said the resolution won’t work. I said that the Sudanese government wouldn’t acquiesce. I’m right. Ambassador Bolton is wrong.

I should be the American Ambassador to the U.N.

The U.N. Security Council yesterday approved a long-sought resolution that would place an expanded peacekeeping force in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region under U.N. authority, even as the government appeared to have begun a new offensive against rebel forces.

 [washingtonpost.com - Bush Administration, White House, Cabinet Officials and Federal Agencies]

Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) sent Emma an email today that sounded fishy, so she researched it.

And so did I. Looks like the bill Senator Santorum is talking about is S. 1398, titled A bill to provide for the environmental restoration of the Great Lakes, the bill was submitted to the Senate on July 14^th, 2003 and the latest action taken was on that day (it was read twice and sent to rest at the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Senator Santorum added his name to the list in June of 2004.

The bill has been stranded in committee so long that Senator Dewine (sponsor) submitted the legislation again as S. 508 in March of 2005. Senator Santorum is not a co-sponsor on this bill.

So, Senator Santorum’s email may be technically accurate, but it’s certainly not a legitimate display of Santorum’s environment concern.

PA, remember our chat? I’m serious. Send this guy home, wherever that may be…

I met with Craig Weber (Dem-Challenger for US House NC 3^rd District) today. 

I want to put a couple of initial thoughts down before I get to reading and writing the posts for OCP and BlueNC.

He’s definitely a ‘man of the people’. He was a Marine and worked for 24 years in the television business (local news then on to help found the Weather Channel). He’s a local 3^rd District resident and has lived here most of his life.

He sees the direction that we’ve been taken and clearly isn’t happy with it. The current administration and Congress have created such a massive number of domestic and international problems that it’s not possible to speak to them all. He’s clearly strong on military issues and wants our forces today refocused on the ‘right’ War on Terror, instead of the false war in Iraq. He wants alternative energy measures to be implemented. He wants better economic, immigration and domestic plans.

There’s so much that can be done and if more candidates like Mr. Weber are elected, we’d be a heck of a lot closer to getting it done.

It’s enough to get a self-declared cynic to believe in the political process again…

 California leads the way, hopefully, pressing other states to follow.

It’s a glaring failure by the American government to move forward on “green policies”.

In case anyone’s noticed, Earth is the only planet capable of supporting human life…If we destroy this world, we destroy ourselves.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California catapulted to the forefront of U.S. efforts to fight global warming on Wednesday with an accord that will give the state the toughest laws in the nation on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and possibly spur a reluctant Washington to take similar action.

 [Reuters: Politics News]

 Maybe this is better than doing nothing…I’m not so sure, since it solidifies the world’s support for President al-Bashir and proves that there is no government in the world today that will stand against him and for the people of Sudan.

This should go down as a tremendous failure by both, Ambassador John Bolton and the U.N. leadership.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.S.-British-drafted resolution to create a United Nations peacekeeping force in Sudan’s Darfur region faces a vote on Thursday but troops will not be deployed without consent from the Khartoum government.

 [Reuters: Top News]

 Nothing like strengthening the addiction your customers have for your product…

The amount of nicotine in most cigarettes rose an average of almost 10 percent from 1998 to 2004, with brands most popular with young people and minorities registering the biggest increases and highest nicotine content, according to a new study.

 [washingtonpost.com - A Section]

“It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.”

William G. McAdoo

[Quotes of the Day]

explicate: to explain.

 [Dictionary.com Word of the Day]

From the article…

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003, when non-Arab rebels took up arms against the government, claiming the region was being marginalized. In response, the government mobilized Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, who have been accused of murder, rape and looting in an ethnic cleansing campaign.

So, from February 2003 to August 2006 is how long it takes the U.N. to get around to doing something about genocide. Nice.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sudan may consent to a U.N. peacekeeping force sooner than expected once the Security Council adopts a resolution authorizing the operation, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said on Wednesday.

It’s a week of startling admissions…First, Armitage, and now, Senator Ted “Tubes” Stevens.

A spokesman for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) just confirmed his boss was the man behind the secret hold on the Coburn/Obama spending database bill, which has captivated a segment of the political blogging community in recent days.

 [The Huffington Post | Raw Feed]