Uma Richie's blog
Posted at 1:06pm on Jul. 7, 2008 Cindy McCain Bolsters Asia Pacific Security with a Smile
By Uma Richie
On June 3 in his Democratic primary victory speech, Barack Obama declared, “I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick...”
Apparently not one to settle for “just words,” less than three weeks later Cindy McCain was in Nha Trang, Vietnam inspecting the work of Operation Smile, an organization that provides free corrective surgery for childhood facial deformities such as cleft palate. Although the Associated Press discounted Mrs. McCain’s visit as “showcasing her charity work,” her timing reveals much more than a lightweight photo opportunity.
Please read on...
Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 11:08am on Jun. 24, 2008 Scientific American pulls an Obama
By Uma Richie
A news update in the July 2008 print edition of
The Antarctic ozone hole that forms every spring has kept that continent’s interior cold even as the rest of the world has warmed over the past few decades. Thanks to the global ban on chlorofluorocarbons, stratospheric ozone levels there are slowly recovering. A repaired hole, however, could speed Antarctic ice melting and change weather patterns, according to a computer model by Judith Perlwitz of the University of Colorado at Boulder and her colleagues. With more ozone, the lower stratosphere would absorb more ultraviolet light and warm up by as much as nine degrees Celsius.
Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:16pm on May 21, 2008 Voluntary Term Limits: A Hail Mary Plan
By Uma Richie
Last week Peggy Noonan painted a dreary picture of Republican prospects in November. I agree that we have our work cut out for us; however, given that Congress has an 18 percent approval rating with five months until the election, it would be wrong to declare that all is lost.
Several recent RedState diaries proposed new versions of the 1994 Contract with America. Similarly, Newt Gingrich has developed a Platform of the American People. I wholeheartedly support these efforts, but believe they will bear no fruit without a provision for term limits such as the following (House version):
“In 1994 Republicans running for Congress signed a Contract with America that was intended to clean up the way business is conducted on Capitol Hill. Part of that contract was to vote on term limits for federal legislators. As promised, the term limits proposal came to a vote in 1995 but failed to garner the two-thirds super majority needed for a Constitutional amendment. In the 13 years since, we found with many regrets that corruption knows no party. Certain members of the Republican caucus have disgraced this institution, and we vow to do what is in our power to restore your confidence in us. That is why we pledge, if elected, to serve no more than four consecutive terms (open seats, first and second term incumbents) or two more terms (all others).”
Read more...
Posted in Congress — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:33pm on May 13, 2008 Hazleton, PA Needs a Straight Talk Whistle Stop
By Uma Richie
Closing his April 15 economy speech, John McCain said:
“As I have always done, I will make my case to every American who will listen. I will not confine myself to the comfort of speaking only to those who agree with me. I will make my case to all the people. I will listen to those who disagree. I will try to persuade them. I will debate. And I will learn from them.”
If McCain is sincere, he should take the Straight Talk Express to Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
Hazleton, a small city whose fortunes rose and fell with the anthracite coal industry, is the kind of place the Barak Obama displayed disdain for and ignorance of in his Bittergate comments. Over the past few years Hazleton has gained national attention in the illegal immigration debate. The town is appealing its loss to the ACLU in lawsuits regarding municipal enforcement of federal anti-illegal immigration legislation. Local opinion would probably position against McCain’s amnesty plan.
During the April primary election campaign Hazleton’s mayor Republican Lou Barletta, who is challenging 12-term House incumbent Paul Kanjorski (PA-11), invited Senators Clinton, McCain, and Obama to visit. As the Hazleton Standard Speaker laments, none accepted.
Incidentally, the paper endorsed Senator Rick Santorum in his unsuccessful 2006 reelection bid against Bob Casey, Jr. for the simple reason that Santorum was the only candidate who had the guts to set foot in the town. (I am sorry, this editorial is no longer available on line.)
Hazleton is in many ways representative of small town America. Its difficulties are complex and can’t be smoothed over with a drive-by speech in front of a limping factory. It is tired of being ignored in favor of big city politics only to be hauled into court when it tries to solve its own problems within the context of the law.
All in all, a whistle stop in Hazleton would show that John McCain is a leader who cares about fly-over country, who is willing to listen to both sides of a debate, and who has the courage to venture into uncertain territory.
Posted in Immigration — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 8:40am on May 8, 2008 C3PO, the She-Nerd's McDreamy
By Uma Richie
It is a truth academically purported, that a single man in possession of no social skills, must be in want of a fembot.
The Marriage Amendment was never a hot button issue for me. Sure, I support it -- Marriage, one man, one woman, got it, can we move on? I never considered the institution of marriage a potential slippery slope victim.
Then I discovered robot love.
After the fiasco of my first post , I abandoned my efforts on the follow-up “Cavalry Carnage in the American Civil War” and clicked over to Scientific American. For those not familiar with that publication, it targets an academic audience looking to keep apace of technological developments outside their chosen field. If you can muscle past the anti-God arrogance of the editorial staff, it is an interesting read. However left it leans, it is certainly not a periodical on the fringe.
There I found the article "Not Tonight, Dear, I Have to Reboot" which explores the possibility of marriage between humans, particularly anti-social ones, and robots. You may have read similar stories over the past few months. What bothered me about this particular piece was the publication that carried it. More suitable for a Larry Flynt smut mag than a so-called science periodical, the article gives new meaning to the words “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.”
I will refrain from posting the tawdry details; however, there are two quotes that provide insight into how David Levy, the researcher on this project, feels about humans and marriage.
In a question and answer segment, the clearly misogynist Levy states, “Then I got the idea that sex with dolls is like sex with prostitutes—you know the prostitute doesn't love you and care for you, is only interested in the size of your wallet.”
Where is the outrage from liberal feminists?
Later he says, “I think the nature of marriage in the future is that it will be what we want it to be. If you and your partner decide to be married, you decide what the bounds are, what its purpose is to you.”
Scientific American’s decision to grant credibility to Levy’s work tells me everything I need to know about the left’s designs for marriage. Levy is British, but I nominate federal funding of any similar American research for the chopping block in the first round of McCain era spending cuts.
And, yes, sign me up for that Marriage Amendment.
Posted in Life Issues — Comments (13) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:04am on May 5, 2008 One more for (content deleted)
By Uma Richie
The previous content of this blog was deleted at the request of c17wife.
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