Posted: 02 Jul 2010 09:09 PM PDT

Spitzer is independently wealthy, arrived with a silver spoon, and his toxic behavior should not be rewarded by giving him his own soapbox - athough hardly anyone is watchng CNN. In a country of 300 million people, is there really no one else who could do the job AND who has not make a mockery of our justice system?

Punditry is not brain surgery, and if Spitzer's being paid for his opinion, it can't be worth much- we already know that he has incredibly delusional and flawed judgement about his own behavior. I'd even give him a bigger pass if he had 'fessed up - but he was caught. Big difference. The self-deception required for Spitzer's level of legal and moral deviancy, reveals a very corrupt, decrepit human being. He should be in jail for violating his oath of office and as the chief law enforcement officer. He should be held to a higher standard.

McCrystal will become a lobbyist in the defense industry - of course. He will also consult with our military, and other friendly governments, of which there are fewer than ever, around the world.

On one hand, these military men put their lives on the line at the behest of our current civilian leaders who do not respect them, and do not value the lives of soldiers and appreciate the sacrifices being made. Watch Band of Brothers and you witness the REMF's giving orders to aggrandize themselves at the expense of the front line men.

Thank goodness Gen. Petraeus' new rules of engagement will once again favor our military, and not the Afghan civilians and terrorists. Let's also hope Petraeus eliminates the completely @ssinine "Courage of Restraint" awards. No wonder the Taliban have gone on offense. We've been sending blood in the water signals -which obviously invites aggression.

Gen Petraeus also revealed that No ONE in the military recommended the July 2011 pull out date - that is purely a political reward to the extreme left - that puts our sons and daughters in moral danger and the Afghans realize - "Hey the Americans don't have our backs. We'd better negotiate with the Taliban and welcome them back as our overlords."

Mark Steyn writes:

"When people see a strong horse and a weak horse," said Osama bin Laden many years ago, "by nature they will like the strong horse." The world does not see President Obama as the strong horse. He has announced that U.S. troop withdrawals will begin in 12 months' time. Karzai takes him at his word, and is obliged to prepare for a post-American order in Afghanistan, which means reaching his accommodations with those who'll still be around when the Yanks are over over there. The new government in London takes him at his word, too. Liam Fox, the defence secretary, wants as rapid a British pullout as possible.

When Obama announced an Afghan "surge" dependent on such elements as mythical NATO trainers and then added that, however it went, U.S. forces would begin checking out in July 2011, he in effect ruled out the possibility of victory. Over 1,000 American troops have died in Afghanistan, 300 British soldiers, 148 Canadians. What will our soldiers be dying for in the sunset of the West's Afghan expedition? What is Obama's characteristically postmodern "surge" intended to achieve? More Afghan police sleeping in fields? Greater opportunities for women? Take Your Child Bride to Work Day in Kandahar? British troops, said Liam Fox, are not in Afghanistan "for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country." And, even if they were, in certain provinces "education policy" seems to be returning to something all but indistinguishable from Mullah Omar's days. The New York Post carried a picture of women registering to vote in Herat, all in identical top-to-toe bright blue burkas, just as they would have looked on Sept. 10, 2001.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/07/01/where-nice-obama-has-got-us/

The rest of the article is well - worth reading. With McCrystal out of the way, maybe Petraeus can re-masculinize our image in the Arab world.

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CAZ: Philosophy collides with reality

Posted: 03 Jul 2010 01:08 PM PDT

The Bay County Sheriff's Office investigation that led to an injunction against the owner of the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy is a frightening precedent of law enforcement stretching the limits of the law to achieve moral and personal objectives.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office investigation that led to an injunction against the owner of the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy was a necessary step for a county with a record number of drug overdoses this year related to pills improperly prescribed in South Florida.

I'm celebrating my independence this Fourth of July by arguing both points.

Sheriff Frank McKeithen believes prescriptions from South Florida are killing residents here, he is tired of waiting on authorities in South Florida to deal with it and he is offended.

If you want to take the first position, you are geared up for a philosophical debate devoid of emotion. The arguments make sense in the confines of a nice office.

What have we come to, that authorities can target a business that is filling legal prescriptions? Couldn't that authority be abused? What might be next, a pharmacy filling too many prescriptions for anti-depressants?

If you want to take the second position, perhaps you knew one or more of the 15 people who died of overdoses here between January 2009 and September. Perhaps you have a family member who drives to Tallahassee daily to obtain methadone to help them get off the hydrocodone, only to become addicted to that.

Either way, you ought to read the affidavit the Sheriff's Office used to obtain the injunction against the Medicine Shoppe. If it's your desire to criticize on this one, the affidavit might harsh your mellow.

In the last year, McKeithen sent two letters to local pharmacists asking for their help in fighting the pill-mill problem and going into detail about the abuse and deaths.

In the affidavit, an investigator details the arrest of a 23-year-old for delivery of liquid oxycodone, a narcotic so powerful it is generally reserved for the dying. She obtained it from South Florida and filled it at the Medicine Shoppe. She said she had back pain.

In March, McKeithen contacted the pharmacy owner Ismail Mohamed and explained the problem. The affidavit said Mohamed agreed he would not fill such prescriptions.

In May, a man under arrest for possession of oxycodone from a South Florida prescription said he had it filled at the Medicine Shoppe because no one in his hometown would.

On June 21, two residents of Walton County were arrested on oxycodone-related charges.

Both said they came to the Medicine Shoppe because no pharmacists in their hometown would fill it.

That same day, Katrina Clark died in a traffic crash and the investigation showed "she had been receiving large volumes of controlled substances, to include oxycodone, through South Florida" and the prescriptions were filled at the Medicine Shoppe. They found liquid oxycodone in her home, in a bottle "consistent with" bottles from the Medicine Shoppe.

On June 22, McKeithen again went to the Medicine Shoppe and spoke with Mohamed, telling him about the wreck and death, and asking him not to fill such prescriptions.

Later that same day, the affidavit said, Mohamed filled a prescription for a man for two bottles of liquid oxycodone. The man was arrested, and indicated he had no medical problems. Mohamed was arrested on a misdemeanor charge.

June 23, the pharmacy filled a prescription for hydrocodone without a pharmacist present as required under Florida Statute, the affidavit said.

That brought about the injunction prohibiting Mohamed from filling prescriptions for certain powerful painkillers from the judicial circuits where the pill mills are located as well as this judicial circuit.

McKeithen doesn't shy away from making his missions public, and he arms himself with legal precedent. He's clear on his objectives, whether it's illegal immigrants or the war on methamphetamine.

The philosophical part of me wants to rebel at the idea of forcing people to do right. The human part of me sees the dead and dying and suffering, cannot believe this is not being stopped at the source in South Florida, and is glad the sheriff is taking action.

I don't know the answer, but I know public discussions are healthy.

We need to know that whatever is going on, good or bad, we're all aware of it and willing to hash it out again the next time it happens.

Mike Cazalas is editor of The News Herald. He can be contacted at mmcazalas@pcnh.com or 850-747-5094.

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Bulls upbeat in bids for free agents

Posted: 03 Jul 2010 10:16 AM PDT

"At the end of the day your decision goes on what's best for you and your family," Wade said outside Trump Tower. "I think that the organizations I've been brought in to meet with are all good organizations. And all can add something to my life, and not just basketball-wise. I understand that if myself and another guy and we have some good players around we'll be good. To me it's about what makes forty years of my life and not just about the next ten."

Team officials were buoyed by their second visit with Wade and truly believe he has an open mind about leaving the Heat, the only franchise he has known in his his seven NBA seasons. Other league executives are more skeptical, particularly since Wade almost certainly will want a sixth contractual year.

That means Wade would have to convince Heat President Pat Riley to sign-and-trade him to the Bulls. The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel quoted a reputable agent saying Wade's interest in the Bulls is "all a smokescreen."

A source close to Wade told the Tribune: "(Wade) was very impressed by the first meeting. He's really taking free agency seriously."

In the interview with NBC-Ch. 5, Wade confirmed a Tribune report that he and the Bulls cleared up Wade's comments to the newspaper in late May questioning the organization's loyalty to its star players.

"It was one of the first things addressed in the meeting," Wade said. "We've cleared it up, and they totally understand what I was saying. It's over."

As for James, the Bulls were hoping to secure a verbal commitment from one of the top stars before their meeting to add to their core of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. That hasn't happened.

Bosh Tweeted today: "Finally back in my environment. #freeagency has been a whirlwind. This decision is not going to be easy..."

So the dominoes should start falling soon.

Below is NBC-Ch. 5's interview with Dwyane Wade:

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Philosophy

Sunday, July 4, 2010

“Philosophy 101 With Liz Smith: The Theoretical Future of General McChrystal” plus 2 more

“Philosophy 101 With Liz Smith: The Theoretical Future of General McChrystal” plus 2 more

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