Pay your taxes already!

So, that makes three people in the Obama administration who've had tax problems so far. Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer withdrew their nominations and Timothy Giethner went on ahead to become our treasury secretary anyway.

Politicians and tax avoidance seems to be go hand-in-hand with Wall St. execs and incompetence (with benefits) and homosexual Republican guy-bashers.

Democrats have had a particularly tough time lately. What with Rangel, Blagovich and now the tax-cheating trio.

From my perspective -- everyone cheats on their taxes. However, if you are going to try to become the treasury secretary or nation's health czar, does it not behoove you to have your minions run a check and confirm that everything is a-ok?

In other words -- it is not the corruption but the incompetence that these people should be punished for.

"I want to make money..."

I don't think there is any political, commercial or moral corruption that would surprise me. However, I am still quite surprised (even shocked) by the amazing stupidity that once in a while surrounds corruption. Take the case of the Illinois governor. I mean how stupid do you have to be to sell, of all the seats in the world, the president-elect's seat? And that no -- no ordinary president-elect but the chosen one! Did not occur to him once that the media and the people will be over this replacement anyway? And then you take a hammer and swing it full-force right on to your tiny toe. Very sad -- not the corruption -- but the incompetence. If Mr. Blagojevich expects rewards for his gross incompetence then maybe he should've been heading a Wall St. bank and not a state.

“I’ve got this thing,” Mr. Blagojevich said on one recording, according to the affidavit, “and it’s [expletive] golden. And I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not going to do it. And I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”

Mumbai massacre

There isn't anything that I have to say that probably hasn't been said before. I just want to make a note of an op-ed by Thomas Friedman in The New York Times today. While I am not a great fan of Friedman's often superficial hysteria, I think he gets it this time. He indicates what I think (It is hard to say for sure on these subjects) that fundamentalism is inherently a problem that will have to be solved from inside. No amount of surveillance, counter-violance or wars by outsiders are going to resolve it. People in whose midst terrorists grow -- whether they be the people from Karachi or Columbine -- will have to deal with their own devils.

Why I love corporate America

Auto CEO's took private jets to ask for a bailout. I can understand why. If you've ever taken a private jet you would understand why you never ever want to fly commercial again. It costs, of course, but if you get used to it -- it is like cocaine.


Bet begging in a Bentley is unbecoming and going to a begging in a private jet is unseemly. However, this is one of those 'only in America' moments that one cannot help but enjoy. This is just brilliant. Thank you, America, for giving the world this wonderful gift. The world is forever indebted.

Jaipur this time

The horror continues. Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and now Jaipur. A very careful, systematic, city-by-city attack. More splattered body parts and more questions about how India is going to fight this disease that exists within it. This horrible venom that boils up every few days and destroys our clinical belief in a country that we assuredly consider united.

Every time this happens I question if there is ever an end to this. I don't really see an end in site. The economic growth should have helped but it doesn't seem to be widespread enough to eliminate all discontent.

This is clearly an economic problem more than a religious or political one. If there weren't enough poor people, there would be less animosity, less vitriol and less incentive to blow other people up.

Babe-in-the-woods or...

...the Whore of Babylon? That seemed to be the choice last night and surprisingly a lot of people picked the later. I guess when the going gets tough -- you want to stick to the same old. It may also be the "Will to Sloth" of general American voting population that helps those with the "Will to Power" to rise.

The gaping hellhole

The gaping hellhole that is Pakistan has sucked one more prominent life today. A country that has struggled to be humane since its inception has let another blow against hope. Benazir Bhutto's murder today proves once again what a scary place Pakistan is and what a shrewd man president Musharraf is. While Benazir was no angel, she was probably better than Musharraf and that would have meant a lot for Pakistan.

My heart goes out for the common man who is probably just struggling by to get from day to another day far removed from the chicanery of his leaders.

World is a better place already!

The Saudis are "pardoning" rape victims! Where is the world going? Will they actually allow women to drive next or (gulp)...vote?

Musharraf has to be one of the smartest evil political men to have ever existed. After years of fooling America into thinking that he is actually helping their cause to fight terrorism in the area, he has finally clamped emergency rule in the country claiming to fight the rise of Islamic terrorism. The man is almost a PR genius. He ought to be in Hollywood.

After you've been shown more than once in caricatures that are not too far of as Bush's dog on a short leash and then you've been unceremoniously ejected from the office with no tears shed -- why would you then want to face still more humiliation? Is it that politicians don't really get it or is it that they sort of get addicted to public humiliation? Will they do anything to be derided at -- as long as they can get some press?