Indexes
The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.
- Students 'protest' the eating of turkeys on Thanksgiving (82)
- Does citing the facts on immigration mean I am a hate-monger? (75)
- Minister takes to the streets to recruit new members (72)
- Huber upsets Sieglock in 10th Assembly race (34)
- Former gang member hopes to make a difference in Lodi (34)
- Is the U.S. Constitution obsolete? (30)
- Automakers need a simple car (30)
- Lodi fills position of deputy city manager (17)
- Update: Huber appears to have made comeback victory (16)
- Galt Boys and Girls Club in danger of closing (14)
Obama should do his homework
Quote from Barrack Obama: When president ... "I'm going to call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and give them a new mission, and that is to bring the war in Iraq to a close. We are going to get out."
It is incredible indeed that this raw rookie seeking to become our commander in chief is apparently not aware that the Joint Chiefs of Staff are not empowered to perform such a function; it is rather the United Combatant Commands called CENTCOM, which includes 26 commanders from other countries as well. Possibly, Obama should do some homework before making such a headline-seeking comment, as the present news from Iraq is good; we have routed the enemy, the surge obviously worked.
Obama's polished-sounding speeches consist of great headline material but always seem to lack substance in support of his ever-changing words. This man is obviously without a core value system. While one of his headline slogans says "Yes We Can," he says "no" to oil drilling, "no" to nuclear power, "no" to clean coal, no, no, no to everything that would enhance America and its economy; this despite the fact the industrialized world is being held hostage by oil-producing nations where every aspect of human life depends heavily on energy.
It is indeed a shame that we as a nation squander our vast God-given natural resources, which happen to dwarf any other nation's potential. Hello!
F.W. "Bill" Stamos
Lodi

Reader Feedback
citizen wrote on Jul 24, 2008 10:43 PM:
Cogito wrote on Jul 24, 2008 10:13 PM:
sam wrote on Jul 24, 2008 7:08 PM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 24, 2008 6:19 PM:
Do you think that Iran has the ability to block the Straits of Hormuz? The United States would start making artificial reefs out of their ships.
Again, your ignorance shows. The problem with the Strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with Iranian ships and everything to do with the land based anti ship missile batteries that dominate the 21 mile wide strait.
Could the Iranians permanently close the strait? Of course not but, given the volume of traffic in the straits and the range of their missiles they could probably sink 10 to 15 tankers in the hours it would take the US to bomb their missile batteries.
The effects on the world oil markets are hard to quantify but it is a fair guess that people would have to quickly get used to filling their Hummers with $8.00 gas. "
Snowman wrote on Jul 24, 2008 10:31 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 24, 2008 9:42 AM:
Ivan, Your interpretation of Prager has been noted. How little you know about Prager
Indeed Ivan, I guess you have not been initiated into the Great Mysteries of the Prager Cult.
Wait until you have donned the special underwear and all will be revealed.
:) "
Brian wrote on Jul 24, 2008 9:35 AM:
" I'm all for talk radio but I dated one of these Prager followers a while back and they are some weird, weird folks.
I told the lady that I already had a Church and a Savior and I wasn't in the market for a new one. "
Ivan, Your interpretation of Prager has been noted. How little you know about Prager. "
jeff wrote on Jul 24, 2008 8:30 AM:
So by all means, try again and speak, er I mean YELL, about stuff that you nothing about. And if the peasants keep complaining about being hungry... LET THEM EAT CAKE! "
Ivan Dixon wrote on Jul 24, 2008 7:47 AM:
I told the lady that I already had a Church and a Savior and I wasn't in the market for a new one. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:18 PM:
Liberals could care less about these people. They would rather see them suffer under the heavy hand of tyranny. This historical fact will be undeniable. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:12 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:05 PM:
Brian wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:22 PM:
Savage.
Leonard's contention that conservatives need talk radio because they can't form their own opinion is so weak. Prager talks on many subjects. He has visited 82 countries. He is the author of several books. He is a scholar. I could go on more about the others. Savage is the author of almost twenty books, 4 alone made the NY Times best seller list as political books. "
Brian wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:14 PM:
I always refer to Michael Savage's book "Liberalism Is A Mental Disorder"
when I think there may be hope for liberals. He gets me right back on track
that there is no hope. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:02 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:50 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:39 PM:
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pardonchartlst.htm "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:36 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:34 PM:
Talk about using political pals to get them off the hook.... "
Brian wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:17 PM:
L-Yes, many times just on this blogg alone. The one time on this blogg I name him you have the nerve to imply that I don't want to talk about the issues. Take your blinders off. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:59 PM:
" Leonard, Where does your hatred of President Bush come from?
I am not sure that I hate Bush in a personal sense. He seems like a good husband, a loving father and, from what I've heard, he's a kick to have a beer with.
That said, as President, Bush has betrayed America at every turn. His actions have resulted in the deaths of thousands of soldiers, the destruction of our economy, the rape of our environment and subversion of our Constitution.
To sum it up, I guess I would say that I try to hate the Treason and not the Traitor. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:54 PM:
Limbaugh spent years calling for harsh, even draconian prison sentences for first time drug offenders.
Then, when he himself is caught breaking the law and abusing drugs, he uses his political connections to avoid serving any jail time whatsoever.
How you can respect the man after that is a mystery to me. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:38 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:36 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:31 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:22 PM:
Snowman wrote on Jul 23, 2008 7:30 PM:
Who in their right mind would get an interest only home loan? Or an ajustable rate loan? Idiots should not be able to buy houses. "
Snowman wrote on Jul 23, 2008 7:17 PM:
Sorry you have credit card debt you cannot pay off. You blog says it all. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 7:15 PM:
Jeff wrote on Jul 23, 2008 6:41 PM:
Do you actually believe that the whole sub-prime crisis and the crumbling of our mortgage lending companies is because of 'stupid people'? Do you really believe that lending corporations would allow their whole world to come down by 'stupid people'?
Perhaps you should look into the de-regulation passed several years ago (see: Former Senator Phil Gramm, sr. McCain Econ. Advisor). This de-regulation allowed mortgages to be bundled and traded on the stock market. Sign some loans, bundle a bunch together, then quickly sell them off for a profit. Mortgage companies didn't care if the payments would be made, they were going to be someone elses problem. They gave bonuses per loan written, so loan writers didn't care to check income, and some even did their best to conceal dramatic intrest/payment increases (see: predatory). And of course as more loans went bad, the stocks and markets and mortage companies lost value, some to the point of collapse.
But of course all of that is the fault of 'stupid people'. Who's being stupid here? "
snowman wrote on Jul 23, 2008 6:19 PM:
Bad housing loans with stupid borrowers not reading the fine print on their loans and living on credit cards are problems I agree have done a lot of harm to our economy.
How can anyone not pay off a credit card every month? How ridiculous to make payments, even minimum payments. If you cannot pay off your debt at the end of the month, you are over spending. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 6:12 PM:
All over this country, people are losing their homes because they owe more on home equity loans than their houses are worth.
This crisis was fueled by three things.
1) An incompetent and corrupt Administration that allowed lenders to write their own rules.
2) Predatory credit companies that made bad loans knowing that the victims could never pay them back but safe in the knowledge that the loans would have been sold to another institution by the time they defaulted.
3) Greedy borrowers who were duped into taking out loans that they could never pay out on terms that they could never meet.
All three of these groups are responsible for what is happening and all three should be held strictly accountable for their actions. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 2:06 PM:
It seems to me that we have two well qualified candidates to choose between this year, either one of which would make a competent President.
Have you ever thought about discussing the actual issues instead of simply calling names? "
Brian wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:59 PM:
" If there is one thing the Bush Administration has demonstrated over and over again it is their remarkable ability to seize defeat from the jaws of victory. "
Chuckle, there could very well have been no victory at all if Messiah Obama got his way. White flags at twenty paces? "
Brian wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:56 PM:
Yep, and had Obama got his way there would be no mission to be accomplished.
He preferred to serve up white flags at twenty paces. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:54 PM:
Brian wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:54 PM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:50 PM:
That remains to be seen. The initial results look hopeful but nothing is guaranteed. Remember that we are dealing with an Administration that has already declared victory a couple of times.
The full mission is still not yet accomplished. "
Brian wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:45 PM:
Leonard, I differ with you in that there were Democrats who voted for the surge too. That said, are they chickenhawks too? Had it been a democratic majority that voted for the surge I suspect you would be a little less critical of those voting.
Obama's trying really hard to take the credit away from the Republican majority that voted for the successful surge. His visit there is nothing more than a photo-op and the military are just his props. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:37 PM:
" Leonard, Come on, if Rush looses weight, and is not on drugs, how are you going to discredit him? He is the smartest man in America.. The doctor of Democracy, The great Maha Rushy. America's truth detector. Equal time
You're joking, right?
The man is a drug addled pig not to mention an absolute hypocrite. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:30 PM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:37 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:29 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:27 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:18 AM:
Don't believe everything Talk Radio tells you to believe. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 11:16 AM:
" So Leonard are you advocating socialism or what?
Hardly bright eyes, I was being sarcastic. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:20 AM:
citizen wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:18 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:17 AM:
That and letting Bin-Laden go caused the real National disaster - 9/11
And when will Bush bring Bin Laden to justice? It seems that he isn't even particularly interested in doing so anymore.
Our brave fighting men and women have done a hell of a job prosecuting the war on terror over the last 7 years but at every step they have been held back by the criminal incompetence of the Commander in Chief. Any gains we have made against terrorism have been inspite of Bush not because of him. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:15 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:14 AM:
Clinton was the National disaster with him pardoning all of the crooks at the end of his impeached tenure.
Hmmm... I am surprised that you would want to start down this road since the speculation is that Bush will pardon a record number of criminals before he leaves office.
He's already made a good start with Scooter Libby and he apparently has even set up a special office to greenlight requests from convicted lobbyists and other high ranking Republicans.
They say that Jack Abramoff and Senator Larry Craig will both get full pardons. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:10 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:05 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:00 AM:
citizen wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:21 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:20 AM:
Not exactly reliable.
BTW, I googled the same phrase you did and I found plenty of reputable pages detailing the surplus under Clinton and in the first year of the Bush National Disaster. "
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:04 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:59 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:58 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:43 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 23, 2008 5:24 AM:
" I do not like spending, but I think that a majority of that spending IS war spending.
No, while military spending has increased along with every other category of spending, the vast bulk of Bush' record breaking deficits is from non military spending. "
WY wrote on Jul 22, 2008 11:49 PM:
WY wrote on Jul 22, 2008 11:45 PM:
Lets keep up with the Jones no matter what.
What ever happened to the 20% down or.. how about just qualification for a lone without creative writing. Or just telling yourself "NO, self, we can't afford it! "
citizen wrote on Jul 22, 2008 10:13 PM:
citizen wrote on Jul 22, 2008 10:02 PM:
jeff wrote on Jul 22, 2008 8:20 PM:
http://videosrv6.cs.washington.edu/general/5minuteU.wmv?MSWMExt=.asf "
voter wrote on Jul 22, 2008 8:07 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:49 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:38 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:38 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:37 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:31 PM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 6:46 PM:
http://www.plus2net.com/html_tutorial/bold-tag.php
The thing you have to remember is to close your tags or you will end up bolding the whole page which is embarrassing not to mention annoying. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 6:43 PM:
The amount of discretionary spending in the budgets Bush has sent to Congress has increased a whopping 26% during the time Bush has been in office. "
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 6:40 PM:
Jeff wrote on Jul 22, 2008 5:33 PM:
Jeff wrote on Jul 22, 2008 5:31 PM:
I mad no such claims. I did however bring up the fact that he was prescient enough to realize that energy conservation and reduction of dependence on foreign oil was going to be a very important concept. One that, as we should all be able to agree, is extremely important now. I don't know about you, but rather than dealing with a crisis today, I would've rather avoided it by action 30 years ago.
And no, the sole solution was not and is not just drill for more. "
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 2:34 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 2:32 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 2:31 PM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 2:30 PM:
This guy brought about the worst economy in this country ever.
Your claim that the late 70's was worse than the Great Depression sort of tends to discredit the rest of what you write. "
citizen wrote on Jul 22, 2008 2:23 PM:
Ivan Dixon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 1:50 PM:
Great? Where were you? "
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 1:44 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 1:42 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 1:35 PM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 1:29 PM:
Ivan Dixon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 12:42 PM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 11:10 AM:
" L, How was it that when Reagan was president, he had a liberal congress that ran deficits, and the economy was great
How many balanced budgets did Reagan send to Congress? "
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 11:09 AM:
" Also, the budget deficit has been reduced from 3.5% of GDP in 2003 to 1.9% GDP in 2006
Bush, who started with a surplus, ran an enormous deficit in 2006. If that is what you Repugs call sound finance it might go along way towards explaining the current state of the country.
In any case, estimates are showing that the deficit for the current fiscal year will break all records, for the most part due to run away executive funding requests and diminished revenues.
Spin all you want there is no way you will turn this sows ear into a silk purse. George W. Bush has been a disaster for the economy, just as he has been for every other aspect of the national well being. He has failed on every front and he will certainly go down as The Worst President in History "
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 10:35 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 10:33 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 10:29 AM:
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 10:27 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 10:00 AM:
" L, Can you imagine if we had not lowered taxes
Yes I can. The rich would be slightly less rich and the country would be considerably less in debt.
What a horrible nightmare....
Do you have any understanding of the role of deficit spending in the economy? Among other things, deficits drive down the value of the dollar which results in inflationary spirals like the one we are seeing across the board and most specifically in the energy market. When combined with negligible economic growth (ala W) this results in chronic stagflation and economic hardship for the American people.
If you had any sense, you would hang your head in shame and beg the American people's forgiveness for your small part in causing this National Disaster. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 9:53 AM:
No matter how you cut it, reducing income while increasing spending is a recipe for bankruptcy.
This is the legacy of the Bush Economic Catastrophe and it is one that our great grandchildren will still be paying for a hundred years from now. "
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 9:32 AM:
Jeff wrote on Jul 22, 2008 9:01 AM:
And I agree about Obama on economics. He needs an adviser like McCain's top economic advisor, former Senator Phil Gramm. That guys great! He helped lobby for the de-regulation that led to the sub-prime mortgage crisis AND the impact of oil speculation driving the oil market. Wow, that's a spectacular feat. Anyone who disagrees... any idea of a bad economy, it's just in your head, and stop whining. Bunch of whiners... Phil Gramm's not whining. Heck he's still lobbying for mortgage companies. He doesn't have ecomonic problems. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:33 AM:
Moving the Federal Government from a surplus to the largest deficit in HISTORY is an accomplishment that deserves notice, particularly when it was done with your own party controlling Congress. "
falcon wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:25 AM:
Leonard wrote on Jul 22, 2008 5:40 AM:
Will those who had the courage to vote for the surge be thanked by Obama by making it possible for him to visit Iraq under these good conditions?
I think it would be more appropriate for Obama to thank the brave men and women who have fought to bring some measure of security to the country. In that context, thanking the comfortable Congressmen who voted to send the troops there, most of whom are Chickenhawks like yourself, would be a little absurd. "
Brian wrote on Jul 22, 2008 12:22 AM:
TO NO NO NOES. This seems fitting. "
Brian wrote on Jul 22, 2008 12:18 AM:
Bob Hussein Loblaw wrote on Jul 21, 2008 8:18 PM:
Ivan Dixon wrote on Jul 21, 2008 6:07 PM:
I'd say that our Commander in Chief has done a pretty good job over the last eight years, considering the deck he's playing with. "
Cogito wrote on Jul 21, 2008 12:47 PM:
T & C wrote on Jul 21, 2008 8:54 AM:
nextel wrote on Jul 21, 2008 7:32 AM:
voter wrote on Jul 21, 2008 7:05 AM:
Squander??? Get a dictionary out, Bill. Mr. Obama's policies would promote the opposite--conservation of nonrenewable resources and a steady shift to cleaner, more renewable options. "
Leonard wrote on Jul 21, 2008 3:57 AM:
Well, it looks like Wild Bill Stamos has gone off half-cocked yet again. Bill, before you wasted your time scribbling this nonsense you might have bothered to look up the phrase Chain of Command. Fox News, your favorite source of information, describes the American Chain of Command as follows.
Running from the president to the secretary of defense to the commander of the combatant command, the chain of command for the United States military is spelled out by the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. The secretaries of the military departments assign all forces under their jurisdiction to the unified and specific combatant commands to perform missions assigned by those commands.
Under the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958, the Departments of Army, Navy and Air Force were eliminated from the chain of "operational" command. Commanders of unified and specified commands now respond to the president and the secretary of defense through the joint chief of staff.
See Bill, a little simple homework with your favorite sources could have saved you all the embarrassment this letter will inevitably bring. "
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