Author: R J Adams

It’s a term that’s used so frequently of late, the mind becomes irked by the lack of clarification. It’s not that it would be particularly interesting to know. In fact, it’s one of those boring questions you don’t really want to learn the answer to, yet feel that, well, if ‘they’ are going to keep using the term, ‘they’ really ought to answer it for us.

Who are these Superdelegates the media keeps ranting on about whenever the names Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are mentioned? And where do they come from?

Are they, perhaps, poised to fly in from some distant galaxy, form formation over Washington, and give us a fantastic aerobatic display in kinky, skin-tight, red and blue costumes with enormous capes?

Having finally cracked the mystery of their identify, I can say with sincerity that I absolutely hope not.

To avoid sickness, migraine, and even the possibility of suicidal tendencies, try to not imagine the following names (a mere smattering) dressed in the manner previously suggested: Janet Napolitano of Arizona; Nancy Pelosi; Dianne Feinstein of California; Henry Waxman; ex-President Jimmy Carter; Ted Kennedy; John Kerry…….no, you’re right, it’s not a pretty sight.

Thanks to TIME magazine, the whole, interminable list is set out on their website for us to yawn over.^[1] Those mentioned above are the pick of the crop. Most, I’d never heard of, and I’ll bet you haven’t either. One gets the distinct impression, reading through the names, that “Superdelegates” are members of some exclusive club that no-one else would ever want to belong to.

None of them, to my knowledge, has ever been known to fly, do twirls in phone kiosks, or swing from New York skyscrapers on spiderweb. In fact, they all sound just as boring as I imagined they would be.

Still, if Obama and Clinton do finish their political Derby neck and neck, the “Superdelegates” will have the chance to do something really important – demolish any slight hope that these nomination races are in any way democratic.

With so many “Superdelegates” to choose from the corporate lobbyists must be having a field day.

Two prominent “Superdelegates” were omitted from the examples above: unsurprisingly, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Of course, in the best interests of gentlemanly politics, they’ll each vote for the other.

^{[1] List of the Democratic Superdelegates, TIME, The Page.}

Filed under: Sleep aids

Have we all got George W Bush wrong? I mean, he made a mess of Iraq and Afghanistan and global warming, and a few other things, but Africa loves him. Judging from news reports emanating from US and even some UK media outlets, George has just about saved the life of every African child on the continent.

Does this mean George Bush will, after all, go down in history as a great US president?

Unfortunately for George, probably not.

Mister Bush has spent the last few days slogging his way through the ‘success stories’ of Africa, leaving the not so successful – Sudan, Somalia, D.R.C., Angola, to name just a few – to their inglorious fate.

Mister Bush was hell-bent on glorifying his (read: American people’s) vast spending on combating AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis; all, in themselves, worthy causes and the recipients of great dollops of US cash.

The media would have Americans believe the progress made in combating these diseases has resulted from purely American funding. In fact, the fund raising has been global, with regular annual contributions from forty-four other nations.

Nevertheless, the US pledged $724,000,000 in 2007, between a quarter and a third of the globally pledged amount of $2,573,061,210.

That’s a fair chunk of money and representative of the most powerful economy on the planet.

Unfortunately, the US failed to deliver nearly $193,000,000, which means its actual donation amounted to only $531,007,853, less than a quarter of the full sum globally pledged and received – $2,283,390,073.^[1]

In fact, according to today’s Washington Post:

“At a briefing in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Mark Dybul, the president’s global AIDS coordinator, asserted that the United States is the largest contributor to the fund, which is certainly true. And he said the president has proposed an increase in the U.S. contribution for next year, which is debatable at best.

“The president is requesting an increase for our contribution to the Global Fund, an increase above his last year request from $300 million to $500 million,” Dybul told reporters.

A casual listener might think the United States is increasing its contribution to the Global Fund. Not really: As is often the case with Washington budget claims, it’s important to look at exactly what is being asserted. Bush did request $300 million for the Global Fund for the current fiscal year, but Congress decided to go further and approved $841 million. So even though Bush’s request for $500 million for the next fiscal year is higher than he requested the year before, in reality it would cut the contribution back from the $841 million it is getting in cold hard cash this year.” ^[2]

It would seem George W Bush, while making a valiant attempt to rescue his legacy from the trash can, will still give as little as possible to any cause that isn’t supported by the sharp end of an M16.

^{[1] Global Fund (Figures can be downloaded as .xlr file)}

^{[2] So Who’s Counting – Washington Post, February 18th, 2008}

Filed under: George (of the African) Bush

“Can I really buy a gun on the Internet?”

That question, along with a detailed answer describing just how easy it is, can be found in the sidebar of “TopGlock”, a website advertising hand guns for sale over the internet.

This site, along with “thegunstore.com”, “thegunsource.com” and, according to their advertising, another “100 Web sites that sell firearms, firearms’ accessories and hunting supplies”, is owned by Eric Thompson.

It’s hardly surprising then that both Stephen Kazmierczak, who recently slaughtered a number of students at the Northern Illinois University, and Cho Seung-Hui, the perpetrator of the massacre at Virginia Tech, were both customers of Mister Thompson.

Stephen Kazmierczak purchased two magazines and a holster. Cho Seung-Hui obtained one of the weapons he used in the Virginia Tech shooting from a website owned by Mister Thompson.

In a statement today, Mister Thompson stated:

““TGSCOM Inc. is assisting in any way we can with the on-going investigation into Stephen Kazmierczak’s evil actions. We have also included a link to the NIU Memorial Fund that has been established to assist the victims of this tragedy. We have made a donation ourselves.”

“Today’s discovery is doubly difficult for us at TGSCOM Inc. as we are still saddened by the Virginia Tech murders. As a father, my heart breaks for the parents who lost a son or daughter to the acts of these madmen.”

“My hope is that we will all learn from this tragedy and develop solutions that will allow people to better protect themselves from depraved people who do not have any regard for human life.”

“All of us at TGSCOM Inc. are saddened and shocked by this senseless act of violence. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of the victims and the students at Northern Illinois University.”

This was followed by an update:

“”For now, the most important thing we can all do is send our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of the victims of this heinous act. I’d also suggest making a contribution to the NIU Memorial Fund.”

” I do agree that our country must have an open and honest discussion about how we can better protect ourselves from the murderous acts of sociopaths like Stephen Kazmierczak and Cho Seung-Hui. I hope and pray I will never again be in a position where I am asked questions about selling items used in a crime. The next news story I want to be involved in is how I sold a firearm to someone who helped prevent tragedy – not cause it. But for today, I’m hugging my kids a little closer and thinking about the parents of the NIU students who are suffering a pain I cannot imagine.”

Eric Thompson is in no way responsible for the deaths at either Virginia Tech or NIU. His business is perfectly legal, even if the moral aspects are in doubt. The question of whether his business should continue to be legal, in the light of these revelations, is highly relevant.

Mister Thompson hopes and prays he will never again be involved in selling weapons used in a crime. He’d rather he sold his wares to someone who helped prevent a tragedy.

Mister Thompson, it may just be I don’t read the right newspapers or watch the right news media, but while instances of crimes like Virginia Tech and NIU regularly cross my vision, I have yet to ever come across one instance of an individual using a gun to avert a tragedy.

If that, truly, is your fervent prayer – have you ever considered becoming a florist?

^{My thanks to Al at “Vineyard Views” for the information.}

Filed under: Floral tribute