"CLEAR AS MUD!"

Late breaking news from the State Department's PR unit:

FLASH: It has been announced that
Cindy Rice has agreed to go to the Middle East the moment
hostilities are over; and not to go over a moment earlier as long
as hostilities persist as per present governmental policy.

This will allow her to stand behind her earlier announcement that she will talk with none of the parties because they are involved in the hostilities in the first place. . However, her aides wanted to be sure that her position on negotiations does not preclude the Secretary of State from meeting with other recognized states even though they may have no connection to the current hostilities such as China and Germany. When asked why she would talk to Germany and China, she replied that it is important that the US maintain its agreement not to engage in negotiations with those who are presently engaged in conflict with each other as are Syria, Iran and Lebannon. .

It was made clear that this statement was meant to clarify the present status of non-negotiation with parties to the hostilities; it was not meant to preclude the Secretary of State from taking credit for any settlement arising from her not being present for non-negotiations with the warring states as per her earlier statements.

Furthermore, in a late breaking announcement, the Secretary of State want to convey to any of the involved parties that her absence was a sign from the United States that this country remained interested in negotiating a truce agreement as soon as the warring parties settled their grievances and were removed from non-negotiable status.

The president, too, indicated his satisfaction, that the Secretary of State would not be engaged in discussions designed to eliminate all hostilities because to do so would be an inevitable sign of weakness which would hamper the current impetus towards settlement of hostilities resulting from this country's non-involvement Which seems to be making excellent progress.

Due to the success of such non-meetings, it has been decided to hold them with greater frequency in the interests of peace and that all parties would make every effort not to attend in order to accelerate the cause of peace in the Middle East and as a warning to those who might harbor the misunderstanding that attendance at these meetings might exacerbate current progress towards the desired ends. The media has indicated that it intends to ramp up coverage of these non-events in the interest of all parties.

Reporting from the Newroom...
Les Aaron

The Vacuum of the Well-Meaning...

HUBGRAM
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9/24/06

"When Cold Warriors Rule, You Wind Up With The Equivalent of a Cold War!"



Okay, it wasn't enough that they tuned in my emails; it wasn't enough that they listened to me talking to my grand-kids and saying some pretty unintelligible things and it wasn't enough that they blocked my emails, lost my messages in the electronic ether, checked out my bills and disseminated my personal information to those who have no business knowing about my personal life, now they have truly gotten me mad. they are looking into my bank account!

What is going on here?

It is clear that Madison, Washington, Adams and the rest of the crowd would be totally pissed off if they knew what was going on here. I mean England might have been demanding with those taxes and all that but, hey, they didn't get into my correspondence, my banking, my conversations.

Where does this end?

Or does it go on until we find our collective backbones.... We need to set the record straight and we need to do it now. We have to remind all of our public officials and those who would willingly poke into my background and the backgrounds of my friends that we are a democracy that is founded on things like the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

These are not just a set of ordinary papers; these are papers that many of our heroes died defending. My dad spent four years in the service of his country to protect its documents; I spent another four years doing the same thing...as did my relatives and friends. I don't know how many died that I knew standing up for these documents that have formed our government and our way of life. And now they are being jetisoned for convenience.

First things first. We need to return to the rule of law. And we need to let our representatives know how we feel!

If we don't, they will believe that we are not interested enough in protecting our way of life.

The excuse about terrorism has gone far enough. 18 men have changed our democracy into a tyranny and as a result, bin Laden has won!

Shame on us!

Les Aaron

Euphemisms Don't Create Jobs!

Talk about a sleight of hand Republican Party, look around.
Notice anything missing?

Okay, I will give a clue.

Where is labor?

The last time I looked, labor was alive and well!

That was before the Republican magicians in management and government conspired to make labor disappear!

Now, you look around and you don't hear anything about it. And you might begin to puzzle how it all happened so quietly right under our noses.

Well, you emember those innocuous terms "downsizing, " "off-shoring," Green cards, merging and acquisitions,....well, they have all conspired to give us what the Republicans wanted all along: Democrats without their base.

In the past, the Dems could count on labor to do the heavy lifting; to stand out on the picket lines; to go out and get votes; to do the grunge work that nobody else was willing to take on...

Now, Labor is mostly gone. Replaced in part with a guest labor program and a relaxation of labor rules that has robbed labor of its backbone. Nor did it help, when most of our manufacturing base was shipped overseas because "we really didn't need manufacturing anymore..."

Even the august NYTimes never acknowledged that service jobs could never replace manufacturing jobs. Service jobs had no multiplier effect, they did not turn one dollar into six in the marketplace and, for the most part, they were low paying and part-time. But nobody seemed concerned.

Everything would work out fine according to the mantra of Republican management.

How will this impact our coming election?

A great deal; unless we can mobilize a new source of voter who is willing to take on the heavy lifting.

What we are seeing is not encouraging by any means.

And with Labor gone, what is going to happen to the "organizers, " the people who made things happen.

In the space of fifteen years, we have seen a labor-intensive workforce virtually disappear.
And all because of one little invention we were told would never replace a single job: the computer.

ironic!

Reminds me of viewing the guillotine as a way to eliminate painful punishments...

In the end, all one can say is that the republicans are very clever at euphemisms...

Les Aaron

Say Something Nice About Our Commander in Chief...

One of my grand-kids was entered into this contest to say something nice about our president in the spirit of the holiday. And she came to me because she was stuck.
This is a ten year old kid, mind you!
I told her I would help. That I could name at least five or ten nice things about our president.
And then she said, "like what?..." and I hammered and hawed.
"Okay, I am up to the challenge. Here's my list that we now need to incorporate into this essay which will be presented to the entire school.

"George W. Bush's father was president. That's nice! "
Ah, I'm gaining in confidence and I feel off to a pretty good start. Now, I'm running like a thoroughbread.

"And the president wears a nice suit and a tie to work. That's nice, too. "

"What else, grand-pa?"

"Let me think for a moment, dear. Ah, yes, the president is in pretty good shape by eating sensibly and going to bed early."

"Those things are not such a big deal for a president, grand-pa. What else can we say?"

"Mimi, I have the strange and distinct feeling that you are going to grow up and morph into a lawyer....You don't make it easy do you?"

"Please, grand-pa..."

"Now, I'm starting to develop the sweats; grandaughter has put grandpa on the spot and I am feeling the pressure."

Okay, okay....I got it. President Bush has some nice important friends."

"Grandpa, you promised. I want to know about him; not his friends."

"Okay, sweet pea! Cut ole' grandpa a little slack here, honey...."

"But it's for my paper..."
"Okay, okay....I got it. GWBush has the power to give all of our jobs to poor people in poor countries..."

"Why does that make him nice?"

"Well, he is helping those who need it most?"


"But, grandpa, if he gives them all of our jobs, what will be left for us?"

"Well, you asked how I can describe him using nice...."

"And what does that mean?"

"If he gives away all of our jobs, my legal eagle, it will be one nice kettle of fish."

G-R-A-N-D-P-A, you promised!

Hey, I can't help it; I ran out of all the nice things I could think of saying....however, there is only one other nice thing I can say."

"What's that, grandpa?"

I quit, dear, I am going to have a NICE cold glass of beer!"

Les Aaron

Would Tony Do It Better...

Hubgram

News and Views

May 24, 2006



Tony would be better!



Growing up on the Mean Streets of New York had its advantages!



I am now thinking of Father’s Day and, being a New Yorker, thinking of Father’s Day causes me to think of god-fathers and that leads for some reason to Tony Soprano, a pretty representative God Father of the Organized Crime variety….and I ask myself,

if Tony was running things, would they be this screwed up?



And I have to admit that if Tony was running things in Washington, I guarantee that they would be running a lot more smoothly. And if Tony was at the helm, there would be no no-bid contracts because he would know what he and his compadres were paying and there would be no double-dealing!



I mean Tony may not be the nicest guy in the world, but he does keep his goons in line and he does get things done. Maybe not in the prettiest way, but I guarantee that the clean-up in New Orleans would have been ahead of schedule…



As bad as Tony is pictured, he is also still a family man… Think about it. He has a mother and sister and uncle who were only out to screw Tony one way or the other; yet, in full knowledge of what they were trying to do, he still paid them respect. He still took care of them. That’s more than this government is doing for the people that the government swore to protect.



Would Tony have let those guys from overseas get all the good jobs? I doubt it. Would he allow his organization to run at a growing deficit every month? Hell no! Would Tony allow the environment to be destroyed? No way! Despite what you say is bad about Tony, he loves and respects Nature. You can see it when he sits down and looks over all he presides over and feels pride and contentment.



And Tony is smart—something we don’t often take into consideration. He’s not going to let his organization be swayed by a neighboring organization to take the heat for a bad decision or to clean up somebody else’s mess. Do you think he would threaten Iraq; or Persia? Damn right! He might extol a little black mail but he always leaves a little on the table. Because in his lexicon it’s alright to take but always leave a little on the table. Maybe these greedy SOB’s at the top should take a lesson from Tony’s book of management. They might last longer and go further!...



Moreover, he doesn't go to bed after sending his guys into battle without thinking or worrying about the consequences. I mean, afterall, he goes to a shrink to discuss what he is thinking and doing. This is a person who reflects on his actions and wonders whether he is doing the right thing. This is the measure of a person who can take corrective action and has no pride of authorship--a quality that you would like to have in the guy running things...



Sure, he's frustrated. Sure, he has problems but he is the first to admit it.

And he doesn't get so distanced from reality that he loses sight of it and tries to snooker the rest of his family with lie after lie.



Anyway, if I had my druthers, I would rather go with a guy who knows good food and knows what he doesn’t know, than someone who speaks with God but gets the words scrambled.…



What do you think?



Les Aaron

Veterans Savaged Again!

Hubgram
News and Views
May 23, 2006
___________________________________



Veterans Records Stolen!...

The story made the news yesterday evening.
And it didn't seem to make sense.
Apparently, a VA official took 26 million files home and those files were stolen
when somebody came into the home and robbed the records.

Wow! They actually published such a story--but what's even more alarming is that they expect the public to believe it.

Let the questions begin:

Why was an official allowed to take records home? And if that was conventional policy, why was he allowed to take 26 million records which has to be a large part of the VA's total universe? To allow this to happen indicates not only that security is poor, it seems patently non-existent..

Then, according to the individual who came forward, why would somebody break into his home and just take the computer and the files and leave everything else?

I'm sorry, this story doesn't seem to lack credibility.

What that indicates is that somebody from the outside with no involvement to the employee knew that this person had some valuable files and that those files would have great value on the open market. It also meant that this was not an ordinary criminal; that it was somebody who was not interested in the ordinary loot stolen in such incidents--the TV, the stereo, jewelry; none of which were apparently disturbed but only in the VA records. The probabilities of all of these things being true are remote..


Pardon the expression, it sounds more like an opportunity to rip off your employer and make a big haul with no "heavy-lifting."

. But this is just not any employer. This is the VA. It's records refer to those who have already given more than should be expected of anyone. Now, they face another problem that will not go away.

And to paraphrase the government's answer: Veterans need to be vigilant! ANd they will pretty much be responsible for what happens to their records.

Admittedly, this is the VA's first response and it will change; but it is a damned poor one. Instead of consoling these veterans that they don't have to worrry; that the government will take care of this (since they were responsible for it in the first place), the veterans now have another worry added to their plate.

For as sure as night follows day, whoever stole these records did so intentionally. They knew that they had a license to make money with these records and, unquestionably, they are going to turn this into profit at the veterans' expense..

There are international groups who do nothing else but seek out records of the innocent so that they can scam them, steal money from their accounts and in every way possible, invade their privacy.

To my way of thinking, knowing what is going on in the world today, the VA must be held responsible here for its abysmal record protection. . They should have instituted safeguards so that no employee could remove records from VA headquarters. The government should have instituted protections for its veterans so that they wouldn't be subjected to additional stress.
This is a given. And if I were in the shoes to adjudicate this problem, heads would roll including the head of the Agency for having such poor security in their facility.

Veterans do not deserve to be tormented for something that the government did or failed to do. They have already been subjected to cuts in benefits and closings of VA hospitals not to mention whatever problems they have inherited from their duty assignments. It is simply not fair that we burden them again!
Moreover, security for government agencies has to fall under the newly formed mega-agency, Homeland Security. It is another failing grade for this embattled agency that seems to have not improved protection but only added to an uncontrollable bureaucracy.
Les Aaron
the Armchair Curmudgeon

PRE-ORDER "THE GUERILLA GUIDE TO TAKING BACK THE WHITE HOUSE" AT INTRODUCTORY PRICE OF $24.00. EMAIL HUBMASTER@AOL. COM. In Subject Area Write BOOK

"SMOKE AND MIRRORS"

HUBGRAM

May 21, 2006
News and Views


Smoke and Mirrors At the Highest Level?

Americans have been polarized by the Immigrant issues. And this issue has occupied the headlines now for weeks.

And that is good news at least for some: The occupants of the White House.
Questions prompt questions. We might ask:
While the Immigration Issue has exploded, why now? Why has this sudden interest in the border problem defused all other discussion of issues?

Why are people so polarized about Immigration when they seem willing to settle over the War, unemployment, “off-shoring,” poisoning of the environment, escalating gasoline prices, corruption at the highest levels, eavesdropping and on and on?

Despite the fact that voters on both sides of the issue have vociferously defended their positions, the Latino question has completely snuffed out discussion on everything else. Among the most hotly contested debates center on whether the Latinos who have crossed the border illegally should be granted amnesty? That is the bottom line.

Collateral issues abound: Should those who are illegally here be accorded the same rights as those who have painstakingly abided by the law? Should our borders be protected by the National Guard? Or is that a violation of Posse Comitatus? Should we build a wall to prevent still others from crossing illegally? Is Vincente Fox right? Do we really do have an obligation to our neighbors south of the border? All issues that have Americans spewing forth invective as never before.

Nevertheless, while this issue is a major issue, is it more important than all of the other issues that have been swept aside? And interestingly enough hasn’t this debate been a godsend to the White House occupants under siege? And could it have been orchestrated for the purpose of diverting attention from more smoldering issues?

In fact, since this hype began, we’ve heard little about eavesdropping investigations, “leaks,” money laundering, manipulation, illegal gifts to Congressmen and women, influence peddling and all other forms of corruption and dishonesty at the highest levels of government—a far cry from the promise of A Contract With America, Newt Gingrich’s promise to the American people about what would happen when Republicans took office.

In short, the Republicans couldn’t have had it better under the circumstances which nevertheless forces us to posit the question as to whether the entire Mexican problem being raised right now was a sophisticated set piece orchestrated by a White House under fire. Were we deliberately “conned” in order to refocus the debate away from the sins and misdemeanors of a White House under intense media scrutiny?

On might immediately dismiss such an argument if we didn’t have chapter and verse on such tactics propagated by the likes of Donald Segretti, Lee Atwater, Dick Armey and Newt Gingrich and an army of others who would resort to any strategy to make Republicans look good at the expense of Democrats—who were accused of everything from excelling in the Black Arts to the Great Flood!

In view of what happened, it is not out of line to suspect the Republican Juggernaut of virtually any and all tactics to remove attention from themselves during these days when Bush’s poll numbers are falling faster than grand-ma’s chest when her bra gives out.

Whatever the reason, the greater the focus on the border, the less the focus on the White House’s troubles.

Perhaps this is giving the White House too much credit, but probably keeping themselves off camera right now is probably the greatest thing that could have happened to a government under attack from every quarter and allows the White House time to rebuild its arguments and regain support from its loyalist minions.

It remains to be seen as we enter a new hurricane season, mid-term elections, and increasing challenges both here and abroad, whether the Mexican issue will be just the forerunner of an explosion of feeling from the American people who refuse to be put off any longer by smoke screens.

Les Aaron .