Obama sighted at Hammonassett Beach

Just back from his world-wind tour of the Middle East and Europe, Barack Obama was sighted over West Beach at Hammonassett State Beach Park in Madison, Connecticut.

Obama was easily spotted from as far as 5 miles away descending toward the beach. He was easily identifiable as black, round head with menacing eyes and large tentacles; most notable was that he was alleged to be full of hot air.

Reports were that he was pickpocketing bystanders from on high in order to demonstrate his new found proposed method for taking new revenue from middle class wage earners in order to advance his new spending agenda based loosely on the Robin Hood legend of take from those who have and redistribute to those who don't work.

Of course, this isn't Obama - it only looks and acts like Obama. It's actually a kite that we saw from Meigs Point. Pretty cool though.


"Look out Lady, Obama is headed for your pocket!"

Obama's Propaganda Tour

This article was originally posted on Radiofreewesthartford.com

Even the neutral observer would have to agree that the last few weeks for Barack Obama have been nothing short of stellar in terms of publicity and photo-opportunities. Meeting with heads of state, dining with kings and diplomats around the globe gives the Senator would-be standing in the world community. In contrast to the Victory Tower in Berlin – which Obama used as his most recent campaign backdrop, John McCain’s visit to the Sausage Haus, a German Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio was a sad attempt to either poke fun at or upstage Obama in some way. Its days like these that make you wonder whether or not the McCain campaign takes Obama as serious as they should. While Obama spoke in front of thousands of people to a world-wide audience, McCain should hands with a half a dozen people over beer and bratwurst in a dark lit restaurant.

The troubles of the McCain bid are a story for another day. To be fair, McCain and his campaign team are their own worst enemy. Tired, uninspiring, and reactive won’t produce the intended result in the media age of energy and glitz. That isn’t to suggest that substance and policy don’t matter – it does – but delivery is also a key element of any successful leader. And right now the McCain campaign has a long way to go to inspire even its own supporters.

Lately, and in the eyes of the media, Obama can do no wrong. Both the American and International Press coverage has been incredibly friendly – if not overtly pro-Obama, as few reporters have challenged him on his policy positions. Yesterday’s Lehrer NewsHour was a perfect example of how the media is aiding the Obama campaign. The PBS show invited three European journalists who instead of providing straightforward news analysis, opted to sing praises of Obama while at the same time being very clear that McCain, while somewhat respected by Europeans, represented views not welcome in Europe. The continuous references by our national media to “Obama-Mania” sweeping the continent are enough to make you question the fairness in news coverage. Could PBS’s news coverage do any more to support Obama? Jim Lehrer, once regarded as somewhat impartial, should be ashamed at the coverage of his news team. Not one challenging remark to anything Obama says or does. And his somber delivery of the news summary isn’t a substitute for fair, impartial reporting. Oh sure, he’s not responsible for the words of his guests, but he is responsible for the questioning by the segment host, and selecting guests with alternative opinions and mindsets.

In fact to show further evidence of further bias, yesterday afternoon MSNBC decided it was time to run a short story on President Bush’s twisting of words and phrases in the same segment as Obama’s European tour. Purpose? Overtly try to diminish our current President in order to make Obama look appealing and more presidential. It’s a sad commentary on MSNBC when executives can use their programming to help the Democratic Party achieve its goals.

Most of us know what Barack Obama’s international tour is really about. It is frankly nothing more than a planned attempt to quickly improve an otherwise poor resume – which lacks in experience on the international stage and understanding of complex international policy issues. The lack of substance in Obama’s speeches reflects his inexperience. Anyone can talk about a defeating tyranny, collaboration among nations, and working together for a brighter tomorrow. But those are the words of a dreamer and not a pragmatist, particularly when they aren’t backed up by substance and plans of any sort. Surely the media must recognize that for all the hype, Obama’s words equate to nothing more than poetic cheerleading on the world stage - words that appeal to emotion rather than thought. When previous American Presidents gave speeches in Berlin, they had something to say – not so with Barack Obama who says little, and calls for an empty appeal for change.

Obama says, “Now is our time.” Who’s time, and to do what? These are empty statements. And yet the propagandists in the network newsrooms found amazing ways to shape this into a meaningful speech of some sort. No one dared question his point and its purpose. No news anchor dared go against the script.

The fact is that this whole tour is embarrassing and shameful. United States Presidential Campaigns have sunk to a new low. Would-be candidates taking their propaganda, dog and pony shows on the road in front of international historic landmarks is sickening. Shouldn’t the media be asking if the words of Mr. Obama meet the same quality and stature of what the memorials he campaigns in front of stands for?

Well, of course not. That’s not the media’s job. For the last several years, their mission has been the same, well documented and observed – to tow the line of the Democratic Party, and to cast a dark shadow on Republican viewpoints (except of course when the Republican goes against his own Party). If this is a sign of what’s to come, McCain surely has an uphill battle.

Obama gives America a black eye

Since when did it become fashionable to use foreign landmarks for the purposes of campaigning in U.S. Elections? Since when did it become acceptable to put foreign governments in a state of security risk all for the purposes of trying to appear internationally astute?

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Barack Obama's latest bomb is shameful to say the least. Disrupting Berlin and giving a useless campaign speech at the Victory Column is not only disappointing, its also unnecessary.

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What exactly does a structure built in 1864 to commemorate Prussia's victory over Denmark have to do with anything regarding this campaign or American foreign policy?

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Is Obama going to make ground breaking news about German-Danish relations? A relevant comment to today's military situation in Iraq? Does he intend to use this backdrop to criticize US foreign policy (a clear no-no in that American diplomats are never to criticize the US Government's actions abroad). Who exactly does Obama think he is?

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It's one thing to hold a laughable resume with little experience, and its another to travel to foriegn lands and pretend to be a knowledgeable diplomat.

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This whole experience seemed to have put the German government in an awkward state. Obviously he has no business making a speech within their borders (its purely photo-op) and he insisted on doing this anyway despite German misgivings about the need and nature of the speech. It's embarrassing to the point that they nearly had to relent so as not to seem biased. But the fact remains that he has no business speaking in foreign capitals or using foreign cities as a backdrop for his campaign.

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How self-centered. How ignorant. How opportunistic.

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What's next? Tower of London? The Eifel Tower? The Catherdral? The Leaning Tower of Pisa? Any place else you can get a good photo op?

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Just another black eye for America - our Presidential candidates now deem foreign landmarks and cities as exceptable territory to campaign from. Obama is pathetic, and so are his 300 or so advisers that should have told him that the whistle stop tour of his should have started in Maine and ended in San Francisco.

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Just another reason to not vote for Obama. And some of you think George Bush is embarrassing. This guy hasn't even been elected and he's already pissing off foreign heads of state.

Another year...

When birthday's come and go, its not like the old days.

I'm lucky that my older daughter was born a few digits ahead of me in the July calendar. My birthday is sort of forgotten in the shuffle which I suppose is just as well.

The best present of all is seeing the little ones happy. The best present I can give them is our ability to make sure their birthdays are enjoyable. I'm not a needy person, and I don't care about the Joneses, but I do care that my kids are clean, properly dressed and positioned to have a great youth full of fond memories. This is why I work. If I were alone, I'd be on a sailboat drinking beer all the time not worrying about anything except the tide calendar and the weather.


But back to the main point, I think a key thing these days is making sure that my daughter and her younger sister understand that none of what they have received should be taken for granted, nor should it be simply expected. Material things are long forgotten - there are few presents that I distinctly remember as a kid - its the memories that remain.


Again, I really dislike my birthday. I dislike the weeks before and after. But I'm happy for my daughters' birthdays. Their anniversaries should be celebrated with all of the pageantry and glee possible.