"My wheelchair has DIED!! I'm right outside the BUILDING!! Do YOU speak ENGLISH?!?"

The headline above is a word for word plea that I heard while walking past an assisted living facility here in Valley Village, California. The frustrated tenant at that facility ended his rant by yelling, "I'm calling the POLICE for help!!!"

Yes, he was on a cell phone. I was walking behind him when I realized that his motorized wheelchair had lost power at an intersection. He is obviously a proud man because he refused my offer to help. Instead, he used his arms and hands to move the wheelchair to the front door of the assisted living facility, a front door that could be reached only by climbing steps. Yes, if he had gone in a different direction, he would have arrived at a door in which he could have entered without encountering steps, but this was the shorter distance to get to what he thought would result in immediate "assistance" at this "assisted" living facility.

This man had tried to communicate with the person who was on the other end of the phone for a minute or so when he suddenly realized there was a very good chance that the person he was speaking with didn't understand him. That's when he yelled what I wrote in the headline and then added his following line about "calling the police" in the first paragraph.

SHORT COMMENTARY:

You see, this is one of the very big problems regarding modern immigrants to this country. ILLEGAL and LEGAL! So many of them refuse to make the effort to LEARN ENGLISH!!!

Oh, bleeding heart editorial writers for the Los Angeles and New York Times who mean well will tell us over and over again about the benefits we gain from this massive infusion of legal and illegal foreigners. But what they refuse to acknowledge is how many of these foreigners feel it's their divine right to bring their culture and language with them and expecting us to adapt to them as opposed to them adapting to us! Not to mention the free schooling they take advantage of along with free health care, automatic citizenship for children they deliberately have here so they can take advantage of that stupid law and then use that citizenship as a "sympathy chip" when mommy and daddy face deportation. You know what the howling is then, don't you? "You're breaking up the family!!! Wah, wah, you're breaking UP the FAMILY!!!"

What a load of horse manure! If illegal mommy and daddy get deported, no law or no immigration official or no judge will tell them that illegal mommy and daddy have to go, but that legal child or children have to stay! Illegal Mommy and daddy can simply take their children with them, the family stays united and the rest of us are spared THE PHONY THEATRICS!

Folks, I've said it before and I'll say it again. The overall immigration problem (especially illegal immigration) isn't about folks being prejudiced against Latinos. I mention Latinos because there are far more of them who are here illegally than Asians, Russians or any other nationality you can think of.

The problem is, we have TOO MANY PEOPLE HERE NOW!!!

And then when the problem gets compounded by so many of these immigrants refusing to learn English and American banks and all other businesses roll over and see to it that their deliberate lack of language skills is addressed by making life miserable for the rest of us, is it any wonder that there is a growing movement in this country that in essence has American people saying, "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!"

You know. Just like that poor guy in the wheelchair the other day.

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net
I write back to everyone.


AMERICAN IDOL AND THE FINAL TEN!!!

Last night, the American Idol singers were told to choose a song from the year they were born.
What you're about to read are short notes I wrote about all of last night's singers, the songs they sang and who I think deserves to be eliminated tonight.

1: Ramiele sang, "Alone". And because of voice problems, she probably felt alone. Overall? A so-so performance.

2: Jason let it be known that it was his birthday. Happy Birthday, Jason. The song Jason sang was "Fragile". And Jason appeared to sing the song in a fragile way. I mean, you could barely hear him. Jason is a major candidate to be sent home tonight.

3: Syesha sang, "If I were your Woman". Each week, Syesha comes across as more and more adorable, but I didn't think her singing of this Gladys Knight classic was as good as two of three judges thought it was. She should be safe as far as the judging from viewers goes, but in order to win this thing, she's going to have to get better.

4: Chikezie sang, "If Only for one Night". Chikezie has been a personal favorite of mine because of all the chances he has taken. The one constant about being a risk taker is that you'll usually shine or cause others to whine. Chikezie got the whine treatment last night and he deserved it. I hope it doesn't cost him the opportunity to return next week.

5: Brooke sang, "Every Breath you Take" and I liked it. The judges didn't agree with me, but I don't think she's in danger tonight.

6: Michael decided to go with two for the price of one. A combination of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions". This was ambitious, big time risky and it WORKED! BIG time!!!

7: Carly sang, "Total Eclipse of the Heart". It was good, but she's been better. Carly got worked over pretty good by the judges and that's because of high expectations. Carly is arguably the best singer in this group of final ten. Because by showing us what she's capable of, she's raised the bar to such a point, that anything less than that is looked upon unfavorably. She might be sent home tonight and if so, that would be a big shame.

8: Young David sang, "You're the Voice". The song and young David's performance did nothing for me! Young David is a much better singer than Sanjaya, but he's got that Sanjaya following, so he probably won't be eliminated tonight. Yo, David! Cuteness can take you just so far. Ask Sanjaya.

9: Kristy sang, "God Bless the USA". I like Kristy, I think she's adorable, if I were 20 years younger I'd be calling in a favor by asking the A.I. people to set up a "meet and greet", but I've been worried about Kristy. She has come darn close to being eliminated twice! And it's because she just wasn't singing well. I have a little test I call, "The tingle test". If your singing makes me "tingle" you're on, baby! And last night, Kristy was ON!!!

10: Older David sang, "Billy Jean". Older David went for the gusto. He took a big time risky approach that could have been a disaster, but it WORKED! Man, did it work!

To me, the main candidates in danger of being eliminated tonight are Young David, Carly, Chikezie, Jason and Ramiele. I think it should be Jason.

THE NEXT BLOG?

Unless something comes up, a week from today, I'll write the next one. And you know that at least one of the subjects will be something that makes me say, "Whaaaat?!?"

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS: Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net
I write back to everyone.

FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY, WE INVADED IRAQ!

And about two months later, President Bush exited a jet that had landed on an aircraft carrier and said, "Mission accomplished!!!"

Well, heck, we all make mistakes!

That was a big one, wasn't it? The mistake, I mean? And we were told some pretty big lies about why we went there, weren't we? There were NO weapons of mass distruction and Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11. Zilch! Nada! But here we are, five years later, almost four thousand Americans killed, tens of thousands of Americans have suffered life altering injuries, billions that will eventually become trillions of American dollars have been spent and the BIG question has NEVER been ANSWERED!!!

Which is, we've DONE all this FOR WHAT?!? Is anybody (in power) EVER gonna answer that question? TRUTHFULLY? Or are we going to have to wait until everyone who was involved is dead? You know, like the Kennedy assassination?

Vice President Dick Cheney was on Good Morning America and after giving his overall (positive) view about Iraq, he admitted it had been more difficult and expensive than we (the administration) thought it would be. The GMA interviewer then asked, "What do you say to the two thirds of Americans who believe that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake and wrong?" Cheney's answer was, "SO?"

In other words, the Vice President of the United States was (in essence) saying, "American people? We don't answer to no stinkin' American people!"

AMERICA'S RACIAL DIVIDE!!!

And if you're asking, "What racial divide?", you're not alone.

It's an uncomfortable topic, isn't it?

Most of us (who are white), live in a vacuum. A self imposed vacuum. We know we aren't racists and we know that our friends aren't racists. Oh, there's Uncle Jonah and yeah, Aunt Elizabeth (we almost forgot about her), but shoot, everybody knows she's "touched" and you can't take her seriously! And Uncle Jonah? Well, he's old and he thinks black folks are a little different, that's all. He comes from a different time.

There's been a lot of talk about one of Barack Obama's preacher friends. Man by the name of Jeremiah Wright. He's now retired, but some tapes featuring excerpts from some of Wright's sermons have surfaced. And in these excerpts, you hear angry words from an angry man. An elderly black American who remembers what it was like to have to sit in the back of the bus which was minor compared to what he went through on a daily basis. Which was the overt and covert treatment he received from a lot of white folks who considered him to be something less than a human being. Why? For the simple reason that his skin is black.

A number of talk show hosts are raising hell about incendiary statements that Reverend Jeremiah Wright has made over the years and they're trying to use those statements (among other things) to make the case that Barack Obama had to know about these statements, quite possibly he agrees with these statements and therefore, Obama isn't qualified to be President of the United States.

And some of these talk show hosts say they're shocked that things like the things Reverend Wright has said are words that are spoken in a church!

Then we get back to that white folks who live in a vacuum thing. The Bush administration is filled with those kinds of people. But so are most white neighborhoods. People like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have no idea what goes on in some black churches, but in Hannity's case, he says he plans to go to one. Which would be his first one. Limbaugh? No chance. Folks figured out his act a long time ago and he doesn't figure to change. Hannity might change, because he strikes me as a guy who is simply naive when it comes to a lot of things.

Barack Obama gave a speech about the racial divide yesterday. It might end up costing him the nomination, but I thought it was terrific. And if this leads us to honestly examining the racial divide that would involve the hurting of a lot of feelings, his speech will end up being regarded in the history books as one of the greatest speeches in American history.

There is a racial divide, people. I heard the Silver Star awarded Colonel Oliver North tell that to Sean Hannity today. North knows because of the time he spent in the military and simply making it his business to be around all kinds of folks. No Silver Star, but otherwise, I'm the same way.

In the privacy of their homes and (what used to be) privacy of some churches, people do talk and think (in their own ways) the same as thoughts expressed by Reverend Wright. And you don't have to go any further than John McCain's former religious guru, Texas Televangelist John Hagee to find the comparison. As soon as the connection was made public, McCain threw Hagee under the bus. Which is what Obama has pretty much done with Wright and what Hillary Clinton did with Geraldine Ferraro.

An honest to goodness, no holds barred national discussion about the "racial divide" would be wonderful for this country. But then again, so would an honest answer to the "FOR WHAT?!?" question about Iraq.

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net
I write back to everyone.

ANOTHER BEATLES NIGHT ON AMERICAN IDOL!!!

American Idol producers had so much fun having their final 12 contestants sing Beatles songs last week, that they decided to have the final 11 contestants sing Beatles songs this week. Judge Simon Cowell would end up saying he thought it was a mistake and I agree with him.

Interestingly enough, not one word was said about the McCartney divorce ruling. A ruling that gave the former party girl/model Heather Mills, $48, 700, 000. That's forty eight million, seven hundred thousand dollars or about $34,000 for each day she was married to Paul McCartney. Nice work if you can get it, huh?

Back to last night's singing competition. What you're about to read are short notes I wrote about all of last night's singers, the songs they sang and who I think will probably be eliminated tonight

1: Amanda sang, "Back in the U.S.S.R". Lots of energy, but to me, just a so-so result. The judges pretty much agreed with me, but that didn't stop Amanda from firing back with some remarks of her own which came across (in a good way) as a woman with a lot of confidence. Confidence that's deserved, because I think she's one of the favorites to win the whole thing.

2: Kristy sang, "You've Got to Hide your Love Away". I want Kristy to do well. She seems to be so darn adorable (as well as beautiful), but so far, she's not coming across as that good of a singer. The judges tended to agree with that assessment and Simon, after being whacha call, a little cruel, got a verbal response from Kristy which was, "I can blow you out of your SOCKS and you KNOW it!!" That got a smile out of Simon and a "You GO, girl!" from the rest of us.

3: David (the young David) sang, "The Long and Winding Road". Some of it was good, it was sweet, I'm still not sold on this young man, but it was a big improvement over last week.

4: Michael sang, "A Day in the Life". Some of it was so-so, but the overall feeling was that the performance was awful. A definite candidate to be eliminated tonight. After the judges gave Michael their bad reviews, Vanilla Deluxe Host Ryan Seacrest prodded David into mentioning that David had sung this particular song for a friend who passed away recently. That's something that should have been stated before he sang. I know he's cute Ryan and you probably were trying to help, but c'mon!

5: Brooke sang, "Here Comes the Sun". The judges and I disagreed on this one. I liked the way she decided to sing this song and her on stage personality is/was infectious. But when the judges gave their unfavorable critiques, she spent way too much time making excuses. Yo, Brooke! Unless you have a sharp retort like Amanda and Kristy did, you gotta live by the "Never complain, never explain" philosophy.

6: David (the older David) sang, "Day Tripper". Up to this point, I thought it had been a pretty disappointing show. But to me, what David did, was the best performance of the night! The judges disagreed.

7: Carly sang, "Blackbird". This woman is a favorite to win it all and I liked what she did with "Blackbird". I thought she showed us another side of her range and I thought her expression at the end was terrific. The judges, for the most part, disagreed with me.

8: Jason sang, "Michelle". I thought it was a very sweet rendition, a little weak on stage presence, but an overall nice job with the song. I think the judges pretty much disagreed with me on this performance as well.

9: Syesha sang, "Yesterday". Syesha has a great personality, she's a bonafide "looker", but to me, not a very good singer. Needless to day, the judges disagreed.

10: Chikezie sang, "I've Just Seen a Face". This guy continues to be full of surprises when he's on stage and so far (to me) the surprises have worked. He also played the harmonica and I liked that! Needless to say, the judges disagreed, but I still think that Chikezie will go a long way in this competition.

11: Ramiele sang, "I Should have known Better". It's tempting to try to tie the song title into her performance, but I actually thought she was fun to watch and hear. I forgot to write down what the judges seemed to think.

To me, the main candidates in danger of being eliminated tonight are Michael, Kristy, Syesha and Brooke (because she talked too much to the judges). Michael is the one who should go!

THE NEXT BLOG?

Probably in a week. That seems to be the pattern now. And you know that at least one of the subjects will be about something that makes me say, "Whaaaat?!?

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS: Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net
I write back to everyone.

"HOLY COW, WE CAN'T GET bin LADEN, BUT WE GOT SPITZER!!!"

And give David Letterman the rim shot he deserves!

This Eliot Spitzer business has turned into a can't resist comedy feast for Letterman and all the comedians.

But on a serious note, the bin Laden inclusion in Letterman's line is instructive. If you're responsible for the killing of thousands of our citizens and the destruction of a lot of our property, crimes that Osama bin Laden is responsible for, the current occupants of this most dysfunctional White House have talked the talk about bringing bin Laden to justice, but they haven't walked the walk.

Buuuut...If you're a major campaign contributor and your life as a client is disrupted because some high end prostitution rings were busted or shady Wall Street activity was forced to cease and heavy fines were forced to be paid, our dysfunctional friends in the White House are "at your service".

You can easily imagine a likely conversation. "Who the hell is this New York Attorney General
Spitzer?!?" So what if some of our "friends" need some private recreation time or are involved in stuff on Wall Street that is good for the economy! Send some people from Justice to do some checking up on this sanctimonious son of a bitch. If there's nothing there, keep looking until we tell you to stop looking! But if you find something, keep it quieter than quiet and make sure that every step taken is a step that will pass all legal muster because we want to bring him to his knees!!!"

Yes, that's what I think happened to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, a man who resigned today, a resignation that will officially take place Monday, March 17.

I'm not defending Spitzer (more on that in a second), but I'm making the point about what our government CAN do about "bad guys" if they really WANT to do something about bad guys. And make no mistake about interpretation here. Former Governor Eliot Spitzer is a bad guy. Not because he bought the services of hookers. I don't care about that! What I do care about is the "holier than thou" position he took about the buying of those services before we found out that he's one of the biggest purchasers of all! Governor, if you're gonna talk the talk and walk the walk, I might not agree with you, but I'll repect the hell out of you. You didn't walk the walk, Governor, and now, like so many you previously prosecuted, you are learning a new walk. It's called, "The Perp Walk".

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT PROFESSIONAL ENABLERS!!!

Have you been listening to the bought and paid for gasbags like Limbaugh and Hannity doing their pig squealing bleats of outrage over this Spitzer business? Look, I have a lot of respect for Rush Limbaugh. He's a guy who was living a life of mediocrity until he discovered how far a good carnival act directed at the gullible could take him. His response to race baiting? "I'm joking!" His response to his "all drug abusers should be in jail" rants? "Oops!"

I could go on and on, but most people with half a brain know he shouldn't be taken seriously. Those who do take him seriously get filed under the category of, "They live among us!" and we smile.

On the other hand, Sean Hannity is a real puzzle to me. He plays the "morality" card as strong if not stronger than Spitzer ever did, but one of Hannity's idols is guy most of us know as "Mayor Rudy". If "Mayor Rudy" is your idol and you (Sean Hannity) are a moral zealot, I can't help but think you (Hannity) give new meaning to the word, "naive".

And both guys (Limbaugh and Hannity) play the "patriotism" card. Man, do they play it. And their actual military experience is? Okay. If you think that's an unfair question or is irrelevant, let me ask a different question. When is the last time you heard Limbaugh OR Hannity ask why (after all these years) we haven't made progress in the apprehension or killing of Osama bin Laden?

Is it because their masters haven't given them permission to ask THE question about our so-called war on terror? Of course there's the "What's the REAL reason we're in Iraq?" question, a question they don't ask because they fill the airwaves with the mind numbing drivel their masters have fed to them.

My overall point here? Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are (really) no different than the hookers former Governor Spitzer hired. Former Governor Spitzer gave his hookers money and told them what he wanted. How and why Limbaugh and Hannity do what they do, is no different. As Don King likes to say, "Only in America!"

THE BUDGET BUSTING GAS PRICES AND TWO SOLUTIONS DESIGNED TO HELP FIX OUR ECONOMY!!!

How about those gas prices? There doesn't appear to be a ceiling, does there? Same deal with food prices. And isn't it nice that some "experts" are finally saying we might be in a recession? Yo, if we're not careful, we're gonna be in a DEpression!!!

Some of you reading for the first time might think I'm some kind of pointy-headed bleeding heart liberal, but I'm not. I'm very conservative to the point of (perhaps) being more of a Libertarian. These so-called conservative people in the Bush administration spend money like we used to say that "drunken sailors did on shore leave". Of course that's an expression that most people in the Bush administration would be unfamiliar with because of their lack of military experience, but that's another story.

I believe in a strong defense and I think our military should be used in places to get Osama bin Laden because he ordered an attack on us. I don't believe in spending our money like it's Monopoly money. I do believe that things should be regulated, because deregulation always leads to benefits for the "few of us" as opposed to the "most of us".

I am sick and tired of hearing about how we've got to be less dependent on foreign oil and us not DOING anything about it.

I'm also sick and tired of hearing about how we plan to "bail out" certain businesses regarding this foreclosure mess involving countless numbers of homes.

It is long past time to STAND UP to the people who have ALL the ANSWERS but NONE of the SOLUTIONS and to begin drilling for oil HERE, in THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!

Environmental problems? Yo, we're faced with survival problems!!!

THE SOLUTION FOR THE HOME FORECLOSURES MESS???

Allow me to make this very simple. A lot of people got suckered into buying homes with no (or very little) money down and adjustable interest rates that buyers either ignored or never understood.

Banks and other lending instutions told the home buyers that the deal they (the buyers) were getting was a GREAT DEAL!

As we now know, for many buyers, it wasn't a great deal. At least for them, the buyers.

There's been a lot of talk about giving "relief" to lending institutions and buyers now, but the majority of any relief would benefit the lenders more than the buyers.

Here's MY solution! THE BANKS AND LENDING INSTITUTIONS SHOULD BE TOLD THAT BECAUSE THEY MADE THESE LOANS ON THE BASIS OF THESE LOANS
BEING GREAT DEALS FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS, THE BANKS AND LENDING INSTITUTIONS SHOULD SIMPLY TAKE THE HOMES BACK AND DISPOSE OF THEM ANYWAY THEY WANT TO! NO GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE OF ANY KIND! I MEAN, THEY WERE GREAT DEALS, RIGHT? WHY SHOULD WE, THE TAXPAYERS PAY A SINGLE DIME TO HELP OUT BANKS?!?

WHEW!!! I feel so much better!

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net
I respond to everyone.

THE PHENOMENON KNOWN AS AMERICAN IDOL!!!

Last night, American Idol's "Final 12" performed. We're being told that this group of American Idol contestants is the best group of 12 in the history of American Idol. Tonight, one of the 12 will be told they have to go home.

The songs sung were all songs that the Beatles made famous. What you're about to read are short notes I wrote about all of last night's singers, the songs they sang and who I think will probably be eliminated tonight. I'll also tell you who I think the singers are who have the best chance of WINNING this competition.

1: Syesha was first and she sang, "Got To Get You Into My Life". One word describes Syesha's performance. HORRIBLE!

2: Chikezie sang, "She's A Woman". Chikezie chose a different way to sing this song, but by the time he finished, everyone agreed that "it worked", including me.

3: Ramiele sang, "In My Life". So-so, bland, etc.

4: Jason sang, "If I Fell". Jason played the guitar, took some risks and I didn't like it.

5: Carly sang, "Come Together". This young woman can REALLY sing and I thought her performance was terrific!

6: David sang, "Elenore Rigby". What he did (singing wise) at the beginning was awful. I thought he had a strong ending, but overall, I don't see a long future for him.

7: Brooke sang, "Let It Be". The judges liked it, but I thought it was so-so.

8: David sang, "I Saw Her Standing There". Terrible. A main candidate to be eliminated.

9: Amanda sang, "You Can't Do That". This woman is a good singer, but you'd never know it off what she did with THIS song. I root for people who take risks, but the risk she took, was the WRONG risk.

10: Michael sang, "Across The Universe". I thought it was okay.

11: Kristy sang "Eight Days A Week". If this were a beauty competition, Kristy would win, but in order to be our next American Idol, she's going to have to sing a lot better than she sang last night.

12: David sang, "We Can Work It Out". I've been reading a lot of predictions declaring that this guy is a major candidate to be the NEXT American Idol. Maybe so, but NOT so based on what I heard last night. And I'm not saying this because he forgot some lyrics at the beginning.
David was simply bad and came across to me as being overrated.

To me, the main candidates in danger of being eliminated tonight are Syesha, Jason, #8 David,
Kristy and #12 David. I think that Syesha and #8 David will be in the final two for elimination and quite frankly, both should be asked to leave. The grim reaper choice here is Syesha.

I might change my mind as we get deeper into the competition, but right now, my final three to win would be Chikezie, Carly and Amanda, with Carly having the overall winning edge.

THE NEXT BLOG?

Soon! And you know that at least one of the subjects will be about something that makes me say, "Whaaaat?!?

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net
I write back to everyone.

President Bush, a man who used lies to get us INTO Iraq, has endorsed John McCain, a guy who apparently LOVES wars!!!!

And who's waggin' the tails on these two dogs?

This war in Iraq is about what?!? A desire to put the United States of America into the position of having to file for bankruptcy?!?

I mean, we've all heard the term, "stupid is as stupid does", but these two guys are taking this term to extremes.

Question: How much money are we willing to spend on a war, that has put us into the trillion dollar category and a war that our "leaders" have never answered the "Why?!?" question to unless you believe the "We're fighting the war on terror" answer or you haven't heard about the admitted horse manure about Iraq's involvement with 9/11.

Yes, we have a terrorist problem. And it's leader, Osama bin Laden, is hiding out in Pakistan. Cut off the head of the snake, (bin Laden) and his mythical stature of invincibility vanishes.

But no, for who knows what idiotic reason, this bumbling bunch of leaders in the Bush administration decided to attack Iraq. Vengeance on Saddam Hussein because "He tried to kill my daddy!!!"? An attempt to hijack the oil from Iraq? Who knows? I don't pretend to understand President Bush's mind. But if you buy the "We're fighting the war on terror!" reason, I have a bridge you can also buy. And it'll be a hell of a lot cheaper than this war you're apparently willing to pay for.

Here's a newsflash, gang! If this war in Iraq was REALLY important for reasons that apply to ALL of us instead of just a FEW of us, an attempt to reinstate the military DRAFT would have been proposed along with higher taxes to PAY for this war because of the SACRIFICE that was necessary. Sacrifice that we would ALL have to participate in, because the mission was THAT IMPORTANT!!!

Neither one of those things were requested.

WHY?!?

BECAUSE THEN, WE WOULD HAVE TO HAD BEEN TOLD THE REAL REASON(S) FOR THIS MISSION, A MISSION THAT SEEMS TO HAVE NO END IN SIGHT.

As I've stated before, I would (unconditionally) support a military operation in Pakistan to "cut the head off of the snake", the head being, Osama bin Laden's.

Pakistan is allegedly an ally of ours, so they shouldn't object to this, should they? And if they do object, shouldn't we explain to them how important this is to us?

And if they still object? Well, then we'd have to assume they're no longer an ally of ours, wouldn't we? I mean these kinds of relationships change all the time. It wasn't that long ago when Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein was considered to be an ally of ours.

Saudi Arabia is supposedly an ally of ours. fifteen of the 9/11 airplane hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and Saudia Arabia (right now) is refusing to give us, their American allies a break on these outlandish oil prices that are helping to cripple our economy.

And yes, President Bush, we are creeping towards $4 a gallon. In fact, it costs more than that in some American communities now! And how you, the President of the United States wasn't aware of that is further proof that we have witnessed (perhaps) the worst president in our history being responsible for decisions that were made (or in some terrible cases) not made.

And now THIS president is endorsing John McCain to be our NEXT president?

Just the thought of it gives me a feeling. But it ain't a warm and fuzzy one.

MEANWHILE, WHAT'S UP WITH THE DEMOCRATS?!?

Are we going to be looking at a Clinton-Obama ticket?!?

And that's the only way I think that duo would exist. If Clinton was the presidential candidate and Obama was the vice presidential candidate.

If Obama wins the nomination, I don't think he'd pick Clinton to be his running mate and I'm not sure she'd agree to that anyway.

And what about Joe Biden?!?

Senator Joe Biden would be a terrific choice as a running mate for either Clinton or Obama, but a Clinton-Obama ticket would be difficult to deny because the thinking would be that eight years later, Obama would then be the democrat's candidate for president.

McCAIN'S RUNNING MATE WILL BE....???

First of all, whoever it is, figures to be a lot younger than McCain. I mean, he wouldn't pick Joe Lieberman, would he?

Mike Huckabee? A possible guitar playing VP would be a much lighter touch than the current VP, who seems to have a bunker mentality with all the hiding out he does.

I'm sorry. I forgot. President Bush said Dick Cheney is the best Vice President we've had in our history. And cynics would suggest that compliment is given because Vice President Cheney let President Bush believe he really was/is our President.

I'm joking! At least I hope I am.

But back to McCain? Who do you think McCain should choose as his running mate. Please tell me by writing to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net

SHOWBIZ STUFF!!!

"American Idol" loves to give us stuff to talk about, don't they? It's been revealed that one of the favorites in the men's category, David Hernandez, is a guy who has an interesting past. For three years in a Phoenix gay cabaret, Hernandez worked as a stripper and gave lots of lap dances to male customers.

"American Idol's" response to this story? Zilch. In fact, all the A.I. contestants have been barred from giving interviews until this blows over.

Dina Lohan? Mother of the year?

And then again, maybe not.

Dina Lohan is the faded beauty who imagines otherwise and who's oldest daughter just happens to be Lindsay Lohan, a bonafide beauty who's had some recent problems involving rehab stays, etc.

Mother Dina has loved the attention she's gotten while being near Lindsay in different clubs, but because she is Lindsay's mother, one might think that as a parent, she would be trying to provide guidance of some kind for Lindsay. Well, one might think that, but one would be wrong!

No, Mother Dina has decided to star in a new unscripted (wink-wink) series , "Living Lohan" which will also star Mother Dina's 14-year old daughter Ali. When will we get to see this series? Sometime this summer on the wonderful channel known as E!

Hmmm...We've seen what a wonderful influence Britney Spears' mother has been on her two show business daughters.

We've seen what a wonderful influence Mother Dina has been on daughter Lindsay.

Yo, daughter Ali! Good luck!!!

THE NEXT BLOG?

Soon! And you know that at least one of the subjects will be about something that makes me say, "Whaaaat?!?"

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net
I respond to everyone.