The End of the Internet Generation?

As college graduates enter the workforce in fields with stagnant wages, many are being forced to decide if being "wired" is a necessity.

Click HERE for the story.

Source: Press of Atlantic City

Track the $8.5 Trillion Government Bailout!

If you want to track the ridiculous $8.5 trillion U.S. government bailout, then click HERE to see where your tax dollars are going. Spend, spend, spend. Cash rules everything around me!

If anyone stumbles across this post, do you agree or disagree with the government bailout?

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Bringin' SexyBack to Tennessee?

Tennessee to honor Justin Timberlake for his contributions to the music game?

USPTO PATENT BAR EXAMINATION - APRIL 19, 2007

Several people have emailed me asking why I have not updated my blog in weeks. The reason is that I am currently studying for the USPTO patent bar examination. The exam requires 150-400 hours of studying, so I have been a hermit. The test is on April 19, 2007. If I pass it, then I should have more time to write and post on here.

In the meantime, I have started an intellectual property/entertainment blog to discuss legal matters, you can check it at:

http://legalelements.blogspot.com/.

I'll hopefully be back shortly to write and discuss all things political!

MAYOR HERENTON WANTS TO BUILD A NEW FOOTBALL STADIUM?

Polar Donkey's blog addressed the issue about a new football stadium for the city of Memphis that was mentioned by Mayor Herenton on New Years Day.

While I was not at Mayor Herenton's event, the idea of a new football stadium is one of the craziest ideas I have ever heard. Why? Why? Why? Why?

The stadium/arena business has been HUGE the last 10-15 years as every team in every professional league wanted a new stadium. Some cities even built these arenas without a team in place. In the late 1980s, Memphis was in serious consideration for an NFL team. At that point, a new football stadium made sense. That dream ended when the NFL decided to expand to Jacksonville and Charlotte in 1995. Memphis did receive its NFL team for a short period in 1997 when the Oilers moved from Houston while waiting for its Nashville stadium. However due to lack of attendance, the team left a year early.

In this day and age in Memphis, a new stadium does not make sense. I imagine that the city would have a much better use for $100M than a new stadium even if it is privately financed. While it may be privately financed, there will still be issues for the city to deal with such as traffic congestion, viable locations, environmental factors, parking and infrastructure needs.

I would agree that a new stadium makes sense if and only if the following occur:

• Violent crime in the city is significantly reduced;
• Infant mortality rates are reduced;
• Communities are revitalized;
• Political corruption and kickbacks are ended;
• Overall health is improved;
• Living wages are increased (not by legislation, but by the market forces);
• Public education is improved;

If UM wants to build its own stadium, then more power to the university. UM does need a better football stadium, because it will help improve the program get better recruits and better non-conference opponents. Perhaps a new stadium may even entice one of the BCS conferences such as the SEC or Big East to offer membership to UM. While this would be one potential benefit from a stadium, it is not the city's responsibility to provide the stadium especially when there are so many pressing needs that have not been addressed.

Perhaps the Mayor has a plan for improving all the above while also getting his stadium, but I just do not see how it will be possible.

1986 World Series (Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets) -- on R.B.I. Baseball!!!

Amazing!!! Game six of the 1986 world series re-enacted in RBI Baseball. All the drama, all the intrigue, all the heartbreak, all the Mookie! Courtesy of: http://www.nationalhighfiveday.com

THE WRESTLING ANGLE THAT NEVER WAS (JERRY LAWLER VS. NICK WIZ)

Disclaimer: This is an idea that I pitched to one of my friends early in my Congressional campaign during the primary. While we never seriously considered doing the angle, the idea turned out to be pretty good. I didn't mention it while I was running, because it would have been distracting to the campaign. I recall the backlash that occurred when my father, uncle & cousins appeared at the Coliseum with Lawler a few years back.

Needless to say, I'm a big pro wrestling fan. I don't watch it as much I did in the 80s and 90s, but I still follow it. I've written matches for e-feds and created numerous characters. I wrote a screenplay for a pro-wrestling cartoon called the LAWF. One of our angles in the screenplay had a group of wrestlers attempting to take over the league similar to the NWO/WCW in 1996-98.

When I first decided to run for office, many critics denounced me as a "carpetbagger." While there was not a lot I could do about such statements, my friends & I wanted to have some fun with it. Therefore, we decided to write up a proposed angle to Jerry Lawler for the Congressional primary. My friend Nick Wiz was ready to drop everything in LA and head to Memphis for the duration. After writing the angle, I never did anything with it. Needless to say that had I proceeded with the angle, it would have been political suicide. However, it would have been a lot of fun! Please remember the goal here was to be a "heel" or bad guy. It was all for show! Here is the proposed wrestling angle that never was...ENJOY!

-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph S. Ford, Jr. [mailto:jford@legalelements.com]
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 2:27 PM
To: 'nick fury'; 'Nick fury'
Cc: 'justinford2006'; 'bigoak'; 'Big Roob'
Subject: Jerry Lawler vs. Nick Wiz

Nick—

So the campaigning is going GREAT...I did an interview for local channel WPTY, and the interview took place on the same set as the MEMPHIS WRESTLING set. Once I saw that, I wasn’t even worried about my campaign interview. I kept talking about getting on the show. However, WPTY only leases the set to MEMPHIS WRESTLING, so they couldn’t hook anything up.

However, my brother is going to speak with Jerry Lawler about your proposed Andy Kaufman Part 2 angle. Here is what I need from you. I need you to draft up the proposed angle from your perspective since you would be the one directly involved. It doesn’t have to be more than a couple of pages.

Here is how I would book it, but feel free to add your thoughts:

--Sometime around Memorial Day, you show up at the end of a live MEMPHIS WRESTLING event ala Scott Hall when he first appeared solo on WCW at the end of a Nitro. You would introduce yourself to Lawler and basically say that you represent me, and that you are there to right a wrong. Basically, you’ll say that Lawler cost my dad the mayoral election in 1999 and that once I win the Congress seat, we’re shutting down this backwoods wrestling organization and starting LAWF in its place. Lawler will be pissed and demand that I come out. You say that I’m too LA for this league, but I will be appearing soon when they can put on a MAJOR EVENT. For now, Nick Wiz will be controlling MEMPHIS WRESTLING, and is the new man in town.

--Each week, you’ll come out at random times and screw Lawler and his allies in their various matches. You can play up the Kaufman type stuff and say that I will be appearing soon. Over the weeks, the heat builds. I won’t appear live, but I’ll cut a promo or two where it appears that I endorse what you are doing. Certain MEMPHIS WRESTLERS can even jump ship to LAWF. You give them LAWF t-shirts on the promise to take them to the top in wrestling. You can even help them win matches with briefcase shots.

--You can also heckle Lawler from the crowd at WWE Raw events.

--Lawler starts getting pissed at some point and demands that I appear. You say that you will produce me, but only at a major event about 2-3 weeks out from the primary election. The primary election is August 3, 2006.

--When the event happens in mid-July, you along with the other LAWF wrestlers come out to huge heat. You get on the mic and start riling up the crowd. Finally, you introduce me and when I come out, I get some huge heel heat. You have an LAWF t-shirt for me to put on, and that is symbolic of me leaving Memphis behind once and for all. After a few moments, I flip the script, throw the LAWF shirt in your face and reveal a Memphis jersey. I grab the mic and hype that I am Memphis 4 Life or something. At that point Lawler suddenly comes out in the ring, and you get your bump (piledriver, table shot, etc.) to a huge applause. Lawler and I shake hands and the event ends.

--From there, you can continue the LAWF angle if you want. If not, then we can then sell our LAWF script. No matter what, we would be a part of wrestling history forever.

Add your thoughts, because I would love to propose this idea to Lawler.

Holla back.

Joe

THE RETURN OF TRENT LOTT...

The Republicans tried to send him out to pasture after his insensitive remarks a few years ago...but he wasn't going out like a silly sucker. Instead, he was rebuilt...bigger...faster... stronger...smarter...with cyborg computer powers...x-ray vision...and the ability to time travel back to the Jim Crow era...et cetera!

Now he's back. Sen. Lott has regained his leadership post in the Senate among the Republicans as the Minority Whip. For the record, Sen. McConnell will be the top-ranking Senate GOP leader.

You can read the full story here: LOTT ANNOUNCES TO THE WORLD: "I'M BACK B*TCHES AND THIS TIME IT'S PERSONAL"

Well he really didn't say it like that, but he was probably thinking it. Like or dislike Sen. Lott, the man is the consummate politician. If you look up politician in a dictionary, you'll likely see Sen. Lott's picture. This move tells me that the Republicans are hoping to take it back to the glory days of 2002.

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT KING OF MEMPHIS?

Now that the latest biggest election ever is over, I feel like I have a hangover. No one is talking about politics. I'm not hearing the rumours and speculations anymore. What gives? If this keeps up, I'm going to have to return to ninja college for an advanced degree in kick-fighting.

On a serious tip, I alluded to this next question in a previous post, but who will be running for Mayor of Memphis next year? That is the $2,000,000.00 question!

I don't recall which blog I read it on, but I recall seeing someone make the point that W.W. might not even run in 2007. If someone can give me the cite, I'll link it here. The blogger further stated that W.W may be delaying an announcement so that he can "annoint" a successor to file in the last days. That would be genius! I had not even considered that possibility, but it would make sense.

I had assumed that W.W. wanted one final political war to cement his legacy forever in the eyes of Memphians. However, if he could put one of his people into the office, the W.W. legacy (good or bad) would be complete without having to battle.

To whomever is considering a mayoral run in 2007, please file ASAP! You should not base your decision on what W.W. does or does not do. If there are no strong candidates in the race, then W.W. will not need to run. However, if there is a strong candidate, then W.W. will likely have to run or risk not having one of his people in the seat. If W.W. waits until the last minute to announce that he IS NOT running, then there will be a race to file down at the Election Commission from scores of candidates. Think of the 2006 9th District Congressional Democratic primary times five!

It will take a lot of effort to defeat W.W., but perhaps the voters do not want to vote him out. W.W. has been in power since 1991, and I do not see him giving it up so easily. I also do not see his base of voters giving it up so easily. In fact a politician like W.W. gets stronger the more odds are stacked against him. 2007 will be a HUGE battle that lesser politicans will not survive.

So who will be the next "King of Memphis?" Here is my analysis of some possible contenders. I don't do odds, because that would be promoting gambling and this site does not promote gambling unless it's a back-alley cards game.

Harold Ford, Jr. -- This is the position that he should be running for, but he has indicated that he is not interested in this battle. While HFJ could beat W.W., W.W. would deliver some serious wounds to young HFJ (even more so than Sen. Corker). I would not completely discount HFJ running despite what he said, because if he truly wants to be the President, he has to realize that you reach that seat through an executive position. If HFJ waits until 2010 to run for Governor, then he's old news and forgotten. There are no other executive positions on the horizon that make sense except for the mayor's seat. Jr's national and international appeal would definitely attract glamour and celebrity to the city. 3/4 term as the Mayor of Memphis (2007-2010), 2 terms as TN governor (2010-2018), and then you're ready for the Presidency in the year 2020. HFJ will not become the President as a CNN sock puppet.

Carol Chumney -- I heard that she will be running against W.W. While stranger things have happened, I do not see Memphis electing a female mayor in 2007. It would probably make the most sense considering the way the office has been run lately, but I do not see it happening. If there are 20+ candidates in the race, then she may be able to pull it off especially if she has an excited base. She will get a lot of the progressive voters -- but will it be enough?

Jerry Lawler -- If you can't get out of a Chris Masters' Master Lock on Monday Night Raw, then how can you be the Mayor?

Rickey Peete -- This is the dark horse in the race. While he has been convicted of crimes, that is not necessarily to his detriment. D.C. voters elected Marion Berry after he got caught with the crack pipes. He has proven that he can raise a lot of money, so he could battle with W.W. However, Peete & W.W. are aligned in the same cliques, so he would not likely go directly against W.W. However, he could be W.W.'s potential "annointee."

Deidre Malone -- I believe it was the LWC who first stated she might be running. Now I hear she is not interested. However, she would be the PERFECT person for W.W. to hand the mayoral seat if he wants to annoint the mayor. I don't hear many negatives about her as a politician, and she is good around people. She has also remained scandal-free as far as I can tell. A W.W. endorsement for the seat could surprisingly put her in power.

Myron Lowery -- No chance in my opinion. He barely beat Sir Isaac for the City Council in 2003. Next.

Ed Stanton III -- He fought hard in the Congressional primary finishing in 5th place, and acquired many supporters. He has the Fed Ex money behind him, so that is always a consideration. As a former Assistant City Attorney, he can point to experience in the municipal government. One of my good friends always says, "only a young person will be beat Willie." I agree. If someone does defeat W.W., he/she will likely be under the age of 40. Is Ed Stanton ready to be the mayor?

Marvell Mitchell/Ron Redwing -- Like Ed Stanton, they competed well in the Congressional primary. Redwing alienated some people with racial comments, but he had thousands of supporters. Mitchell has money which will be a MAJOR factor in this race. However, do enough people know them?

Jerry West -- I am a huge NBA fan, so I would love to see the Logo as Mayor. A longshot, but if West could pull it off, then perhaps the Grizzlies could win their 1st playoff game.

Nikki Tinker -- Great showing in the Congressional race. Unfortunately, there are no bronze and silver medals in politics. I do not see her having much of a chance to win the mayor's race. W.W. would dissect her being from Alabama like the prize-fighter he dreams of becoming. However, if Ms. Tinker could get Oprah to walk the stump with her (or even do a live show somewhere in Memphis with Ms. Tinker), then we may be addressing her in October 2007 as Mayor Tinker.

Joe Ford Sr. -- The current County Commissioner Chairman and 2nd place finisher to W.W. in 1999. Many people want Joe Sr. to run. People LOVE rematches and this would be a biggest political rematch in recent Memphis politics. I agree with them. However with the Jake and HFJ losses last week, many say that the Ford machine is finished. However, Ophelia was the one Ford winner last week -- and she won with over 70% of the votes. She's from the original generation of Fords just like Joe Sr. Jake and HFJ are from the next generation, so they're more like sequels. And except for the movie Aliens, people typically do not like sequels. If Joe Sr. can put together a solid campaign team, he could beat W.W., because Joe Sr. has a lot of cross-over appeal to whites and Republicans. Any candidate will need cross-over appeal to defeat W.W.

Feel free to add any other potential candidates to this list and I'll analyze his/her respective chances to be KING OF MEMPHIS.

(**UPDATE** - Thanks to the Wintermute who informed me that this was originally discussed on 55-40 at WILLIE STAY OR GO.)

2006 POST-ELECTION WRAPUP!

Man, what a wild political ride 2006 has been! This is the 4th national election that I have followed in-depth. However, this election was way more interesting, because I was actually a participant in the process.

I took a break from my blog for a couple of weeks, because I didn't want my words to be used in the various campaigns. Now that results are in, I can resume posting random news and thoughts.

While I may have done the politician thing earlier this year, I am a media person at heart. I did my elementary school morning announcements. I wrote for my high school newspaper. I programmed an FM radio show for 2 years in college. I interned in the media/public relations offices for sports organizations in graduate school. And I have produced movies and TV shows while also repping clients in entertainment/media. I am much more at home doing media work as opposed to political work.

Although I could be considered a part of the so-titled "Ford Family Machine," I would be a part of it in name only, because I did not grow up around the traditional members of the machine such Sr., John and Emmitt.

I used to hate politics, because I thought it was full of BS and slick talk. I'm a practical, logical person and politicians were too fake to me. Whenever I had a chance to be around it, I refused. Except for some voter registration drives in my teens and random campaign work on the 1999 mayor's race, I was detached from politics. In fact, I didn't attend my 1st official political event until the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles where HFJ was the keynote speaker. Coincidentally, this is also when I first met State Senator Steve Cohen.

I probably wouldn't have gone to that event had it not been in Southern California. After being around the political scene for those days, I became a lot more interested in politics and became a sponge for information. I'm still no political expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy writing.

With that being said, here are my bullet point thoughts on the 2006 elections:

• Congrats to all the winners in the primaries and general elections around the country;
• Congrats to all candidates;
• I will never forget the Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional seat, though I doubt I will run for a political office anytime soon.
• I first met Bob Corker at the Dutch Treat Luncheon in March, 2006. We both spoke and he said that we would see each other up on Capitol Hill. It reminded me of that old Marino/Montana Pepsi commercial in 1985 where Montana bought Marino a Diet Pepsi in light of the 49ers Super Bowl victory over the Dolphins. Marino promised he would be buying next year. Unfortunately, QB Marino never made it to the Bowl again, so he couldn't hold up his end of the bargain. Just like Marino, I didn't hold up my end of the bargain.
• If I couldn't win the Congress seat, I wanted to see Steve Cohen win. He was the most qualified candidate for the position. Good luck in DC! The District will need your best efforts.
• HFJ ran a great campaign and he should be proud of his efforts. He's now a true national personality. I am interested in seeing what HFJ does next...mayor? governor? corporate executive? lobbyist? actor? model? attorney? media host?
• Speaking of mayor, who is going to run against W.W. Herenton or will he rule forever? I hear people in the streets yelling for HFJ to run against Willie.
• With that being said, would you support HFJ over Willie for Mayor?
• Except for Joe Sr., Ophelia and Roderic, it was not a great political year for Fords (myself included). There are still people who support the family and non-family with the same last name, but any future candidates must definitely be qualified for the position or there will be other losses.
• As my brother Justin said, the machine is not broken. There are merely a few defective parts. When you have defective parts, you don't destroy the machine. You send the defective parts back to the factory for retooling and modification. If the parts are beyond repair, then you get new parts. That is what needs to happen here. Candidates need to prove themselves worthy at a local level.
• Democrats should not worry about impeaching Bush right now. There are too many problems in our country and an impeachment would open up a partisan battle that would be economically wasteful. It would then give Republicans ammunition in 2008 to win back the House and retain the Presidency.
• Although I lost in the primary, I was able to garner 9,334 votes with only two full-time members on my campaign staff and very little money. The alleged carpetbagger candidate and his 21-year old campaign manager brother - that was pretty much it. We ran a grassroots campaign that simply couldn't compete when Tinker and Cohen broke out their bank and started their commercial wars. However, I am still proud of our efforts and the respect we gained in the Memphis political scene.
• Thanks to all the supporters and staff!
• Julian Bolton, where are you? I still owe you one for your last campaign commercial. It is too bad that your flawed strategy didn't get you a sufficient number of votes to advance.
• Who will get Sen. Cohen's state senate seat (try saying that 3 times fast)? I hope that he/she is a qualified candidate.
• Where there be another People's Convention for the Memphis mayor's race?
• The Governator won a sequel out in California. I never really liked Angelides and that sentiment seemed to be widespread.
• Mr. T, thanks for keeping my name out of your mouth.
• Many of the candidates in the 2006 Congressional race need to run for city offices in 2007. I'm talking about Lee Harris, Bill Whitman, Ed Stanton and Joe Kyles. Run, run, run!
• Hillary, please do not run for President! You will not win.
• Hang onto your hats...the 2007 Memphis City elections will be wilder than the 2006 County and General Elections.
• Web logs (blogs) have made politics into an entirely different animal. I know that I turned to the blogs for all the latest information (true or not). This was true throughout the country. I tried to catch them all whether positive or negative...Volunteer Voters, The Ford Report, Blogging for Corker, Pesky Fly, Leftwingcracker, 55-40, West TN Liberal, River City Mud, Freedonian, Daily Docket, Voting in Memphis, Blue Collar Republican, Thaddeus Matthews, Polar Donkey, Daily Kos, etc...

A LETTER TO MY SENATOR (2003)

Several people have asked and sent me messages about an email I sent to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) back in March, 2003 -- a few days before the start of the Iraq War. I addressed my concerns to Sen. Feinstein as a private citizen on the then-pending Operation Iraqi Liberation/Freedom. I posted the email on my myspace blog back during the Congressional election.

It is printed just as I first wrote it in 2003 when I was 29 years old, so I apologize in advance for any grammatical or spelling errors. I also use movie plots and characters to analogize complicated things from time to time.

*******************************

-----Original Message-----From: Joseph S. Ford, Jr. [mailto:jford@bluegalaxy.us] Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 7:31 PMTo: senator@feinstein.senate.govCc: henry.yang@chancellor.ucsb.edu; Rep.Harold.Ford.Jr@mail.house.gov; senator@boxer.senate.gov; henry.waxman@mail.house.gov; lois.capps@mail.house.gov; senator@alexander.senate.gov; senator@frist.senate.gov

Subject: A Letter to My Senator: SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN c/o Guillermo Gonzalez

Dear Guillermo:


Hey, how are you doing? Julia Hawkins from your Washington D.C. office asked me to contact you regarding the opportunity to speak with Sen. Feinstein. With the current state of affairs in the domestic and international world, I want to let my voice be heard by Sen. Feinstein before any potential conflict may erupt in Iraq or elsewhere on or after 3/17/2003. Please pass the below letter along to Senator Feinstein.


Thanks,
Joseph Ford



***********************************


Dear Senator Feinstein:


Thank you so much for your valuable time. I really appreciate your letter of congratulations for my Pepperdine law school graduation last spring. It was definitely a motivating factor throughout my study for last summer's CA bar exam. I passed the exam in November and will finally be swearing in on April 4 here in Los Angeles. I will also be taking the Tennessee bar and possibly waiving into the D.C. bar later this year.


I have two things I want to discuss with you: (1) the U.S. war with Iraq...


...(1) As a concerned citizen exercising his civic duty, I want to let my voice be heard on the record in these times of seeming chaos and conflict throughout the world. It seems imminent that our country will soon go to war -- a war that will possibly change the way of life for our country permanently. While I am not in the political sector, my family in Memphis, Tennessee is, including my dad, my uncles and my cousin U.S. Rep. Harold Ford. During high school, I participated in the TN Senate Youth and Boys State programs, so I keep abreast of the world political events and issues.


I am currently producing movies and developing an entertainment/intellectual property law practice in Los Angeles. As I look around my city, I see and hear people worried about the imminent war and the possible worldwide financial recession/collapse (possibly due to the upcoming peak of the world's oil production which is rumored to happen later this decade). When U.S. domestic oil production peaked in the early 1970s, the gas and energy shortages here substantially affected the U.S. economy in many negative ways. What will be the result for the world's economy when the oil production of the entire world peaks? Unless some cheap energy source is available as soon as the production peak is reached, there will be much destruction and chaos as the world's countries and corporations battle to control the remaining limited oil reserves. Oil will still be around for another 50-60 years after the production peak is reached, but only the rich and powerful will have access to it as it gets more and more scarce.


While I am not privy to the information that my elected officials have, various internet sites leak independent, underground news stories that our mainstream, corporate media seems to miss. While some of these underground stories may be true, many of these stories may simply just be the product of some radical, creative thinkers. However, a few of these news reports make much more sense than the news which is reported (or not) in our mainstream media -- namely the true motives, effects and beneficiaries of this upcoming war.


Since only my elected officials have the classified information that is leading us to war, I can only form conclusions using my knowledge and analyzing information from a number of different sources. Since I am usually correct in my well-researched conclusions, it is because of my conclusion of where this war will eventually lead that I am fearful for the future of my country and my republic. I really hope my conclusions are wrong!


With your knowledge from various select congressional committee memberships, I have faith that equipped with the real knowledge you will make the right decisions. While my country has not been perfect over its existence, it has contributed more to human society than any other country in recorded history. For hundreds of years, nations have looked to us for guidance in hopes that their respective countries could flourish and prosper like our country. In two great wars and a cold war last century, the U.S. brought freedom to oppressed societies and brought hope to other nations worldwide. However at some point over the last fifty years, our united country has changed from being a beacon of hope to a disunited beacon of force. Perhaps it was Sept. 11, or perhaps it was at some other time. Nevertheless, this country has changed.


Now a majority of the world views this country as a bully concerned only about profit. People are fleeing the country to immigrate elsewhere, fifty years of beneficial alliances are eroding and career government officials are resigning all in protest to the war plans. This is unprecedented in the modern American era. I saw your recent appearance on Chris Matthews' "Hardball", and I agree with many of the views that you expressed. However, I disagree with our current executive administration's stance and position on invading Iraq to remove its leader. While Saddam is a dangerous man who eliminates all rivals to his power in rather inhumane ways, he is not the only evil leader in the world. Some of the world's other evil leaders are in some cases, our closest allies and friends. In fact, during the times that Saddam was using chemical weapons both on his people and the people of Iran, Saddam was one of our biggest allies in the Middle East. To remove one "gangster" (who I believe was declared 95% disarmed by the U.N. in the mid-1990s) which will likely kill a potential of 500,000 Iraqi civilians known as "collateral damage" is ridiculous especially when the U.N. weapons inspectors are asking for more time to complete their operations peacefully.


A unilateral war killing even one innocent Iraqi civilian will brand America and its leadership as war criminals in the eyes of many nations around the world if it happens without U.N. approval. It will also ignite fury amongst the 1 billion Muslims of the world. If 19 extremist terrorists can take out our financial base in New York with only boxcutters, what will 1 billion do to our country when they see the destruction inflicted on their brothers/sisters by the huge 21,000 pound bombs dropped in the middle of the night? Is the worst-case scenario of losing American troops, enraging the entire Muslim world against us, racking up a huge $1 trillion bill during a recession for the war expenses, diverting military resources away from our war on terrorism which is still on-going, ignoring the rising crisis on the Korean peninsula, indirectly causing the deaths of some 500,000 innocent Iraqis including some 200,000 children, and contaminating Iraq for many years with cancer-causing depleted uranium munitions really worth it to "free" the country from Saddam's tyranny and oppression when no imminent threat to our security has been proven by the executive branch? Merely saying that you have proof is not proof, though the executive branch uses such logic to justify its unilateral action.


If Saddam Hussein is really the threat so claimed, wouldn't it be more efficient to simply conduct a covert, "G.I. Joe-style" operation to take him out with minimal casualties instead of destroying the five million-populated Baghdad? Although current Presidential executive orders forbid these types of operations, this rule could be easily changed by merely having the President sign a new executive order. If there is credible, provable evidence linking Saddam to an imminent U.S. security threat, surely such an operation would be completely justified both legally and morally. From the pictures of the city I have seen online, the scenery of Baghdad resembles the cosmopolitan metropolis scenery here in Los Angeles. Hypothetically, if in the future the countries of the world decide to rid the U.S. of its weapons of mass destruction for the actions of its leaders, I would hate for Los Angeles and its people to be on the receiving end of a "Shock and Awe" as Baghdad will be hit with during the first few days of the war. I cannot imagine the horror that millions of ordinary Iraqis, unaffiliated whatsoever to the country's politics or Saddam, feel each night as they go to sleep -- wondering if they will wake up in a pile of rubble or whether they will wake up at all.


If the members of Congress truly believe that our executive branch is doing what is right for the true security and principles of our country as founded, then you all have my full support. Several of my family members and friends have been called up to active military status, so I pray for their safe return home. The U.S. troops and soldiers of this war have my unconditional support. I have truly been blessed to live my entire 29 years in the greatest country of all-time thanks to the sacrifices and blood of soldiers from generations past fighting to preserve liberty, civil rights, freedom and the Constitution. Our forefathers designed our government with a checks and balances system to keep us from falling into a unilateral tyranny. When the executive branch is the only branch of our government making war decisions, it is apparent that some, if not all, of these checks have bounced. Given the significant importance of the Iraqi situation, I do not hear Congress exercising any of its powerful given rights. If our country is destined to go to war with Iraq, then it is time for Congress to stand-up and call for an emergency meeting to formally declare war on Iraq. If there is not enough support for the war declaration amongst the representatives of the people, then the war effort needs to be stopped immediately and real meaningful diplomacy must be reinstated. If there is enough support for the formal war declaration from Congress, then our President would be vindicated and would be fully authorized under our laws and Constitution to do whatever is necessary in Iraq. In these trying times, the President should do everything by the book to ensure that he is making the correct decisions based on what is best for the people of America and the country as a whole, and not for the benefit of a few appointed officials and/or various lobby groups who may have allegiances to entities other than the U.S. If the President's evidence is completely solid, then he should have no problem convincing Congress to authorize the declaration (though I personally do not believe there would be enough support for a congressional war declaration).


If the President's stated goal is to bring democracy to the world, then he should begin first by practicing the principles of democracy both at home with Congress and abroad with the U.N. However, the President was not even elected according to the democratic wishes of his own people who cast over 600,000 more votes for the President's 2000 challenger Al Gore, Jr. If there are so many nations and people of the world against this war, shouldn't the President be asking the reasons why instead trying to bluff or bribe these nations to go along with his position? Of course legitimate U.S. interests must take precedence over U.N mandates, but aren't these sovereign U.N. nation's considerations and concerns all a part of the democratic process? Unfortunately, I believe that Congress gave away its war powers to the executive branch back before the Nov. 2002 elections, so it may already be too late for Congress to stop the war as it so already appears. Nevertheless, I truly believe that you will do everything in your power to ensure that our country continues to abide by the principles and ideals of our Constitution as we approach this crucial point in American History.

THE END OF HABEAS CORPUS??? (A Special Commentary by Keith Olbermann)

Is this truly the end of habeas corpus in this country? I recall that Abe Lincoln once suspended it, but that was during the War Between the States. This is a little scary. Check out the video to get Olbermann's thoughts.

THE NOVEMBER SURPRISE -- SADDAM'S VERDICT TO BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 5???

This is an interesting story to say the least. Supposedly, a verdict in the Saddam case will come down on November 5 -- two (2) days before the U.S. midterm elections. If the verdict is guilty as expected, then it will likely cause a spike in the polls for the pro-war candidates.

What effect, if any, will a guilty verdict have on the close races?

Click here to read more.

BEST THING EVER (Invisibility)...

When I was in elementary school, science was always my favorite subject especially the final textbook chapters dealing with the future. This was in the 1980s before I was exiled to the Shaolin temples for training. However, I remember those scientists had such great visions of life in the year 2006.

Flying cars, jet packs, food in a capsule, weekend getaways to Mars & Jupiter, energy from Mr. Fusion, griffins, time machines, fire-breathing dragons, killer Transformer robots, teleporting machines and invisibility.

Well after reviewing the state of technology in 2006, the future has failed me. People still drive on rubber tires. There's still nothing on TV. McDonald's still gives me gas.

The future is not as advertised...that is until I read the below story. It appears that the scientists are finally delivering and have developed a crude invisibility cloak. Yes! Perhaps, we'll start seeing some of these other future promises.

One question though, is there anything positive that can come from invisibility? Every possible use of invisibility I can think of is potentially negative. From sneaking into girl's locker rooms to vaults at a bank, invisibility is definitely a technology that will be misused.


SCIENTISTS CREATE CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY

***UPDATE: Based on the fact that I cannot think of many positive uses for invisibility, it MAY NOT be the best thing.

***UPDATE #2: Thanks to Wintermute for pointing out my typo.

Relatives have 'inside track' in lobbying for tax dollars...

Here is an article that I saw yesterday in the USA Today...

By Matt Kelley and Peter Eisler

Members of Congress and their staffs are barred from using their positions for personal profit. But their spouses and other relatives can — and often do — cash in when lawmakers spend taxpayer dollars.

Lobbying groups employed 30 family members last year to influence spending bills that their relatives with ties to the House and Senate appropriations committees oversaw or helped write, a USA TODAY investigation found. Combined, they generated millions of dollars in fees for themselves or their firms.

The connections are so pervasive that, in 2005 alone, appropriations bills contained about $750 million for projects championed by lobbyists whose relatives were involved in writing the spending bills.

"It smells bad; it is bad," Mickey Edwards, a Princeton University lecturer, said when told of the newspaper's findings. "If it is not already completely outlawed, it should be." Edwards served on the House Appropriations Committee during his 16 years as a Republican congressman from Oklahoma.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

USA vs. China (What if it comes to a shooting war?)

This article presents some interesting hypotheticals to consider:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/HD20Ad03.html

WHAT WILL THE DEMOCRATS DO IF THEY TAKE OVER?

http://alternet.org/story/43125/

DON'T SING IT, BRING IT!!!

The Space Ninja hit upon a wrestling theme today which is quite appropriate for this upcoming post that some viewers may find interesting.

Earlier today, I received word that one of Jake Ford's campaign managers (I believe his name was Tyrone or something similar) wanted to speak with me. It seems that Mr. T (as I'll call him, but no disrespect to the former A-Team star) did not like the fact that I endorsed Sen. Cohen for the 9th Congressional District seat over Jake Ford. As I stated way back in early April, I would be supporting the winner of the Democratic primary...period! Mr. T is now accusing me of sabotaging Jake's campaign (as if Jake isn't doing a bang-up job already without my assistance).

Well, I called Mr. T, but I knew immediately that it was not going to be a friendly conversation. Mr. T started using all these random mob words that I'm sure he picked up from watching "Scarface" or "Goodfellas" one too many times. Needless to say, Mr. T started trying to out-talk me on the phone by raising his voice...a big no no! When I immediately told him to shut the hell up, he basically told me that he would see me in the streets and hung up. I called him back wanting to hear more of his not-so-veiled threats, but he hung up again saying that there was no need to talk.

Now I'm confused, because didn't you just reach out to the people in my camp demanding to speak with me? I guess Mr. T thought I was going to be scared of him. Not! I negotiate deals on a daily basis with real sharks in the Los Angeles music industry, so Mr. T, you do not put fear in my heart.

I do not know if Mr. T is truly a member of the Jake Ford camp. If he is not an official staff member, then I apologize to Jake Ford and to the entire Jake Ford for Congress staff and crew for any negativity that may be associated with this ass-clown. But if Mr. T is a part of the Jake Ford camp, then this Mr. T guy is a certified idiot.

How are you going to be a Congressional campaign manager, but claim to have 20,000 soldiers in the street ready to do your bidding? I'm sure those affiliations will look real good for you if by some miracle Jake does indeed win the election. Don't worry though, if you get caught slippin', I'll get you a legal referral, because I know plenty of defense attorneys who would be willing to take your money.

I have held my tongue about Jake's campaign throughout this general election season, but my patience is wearing thin. As Mr. Scott Hall used to say (see picture above), if you have a problem with me Mr. T, then "don't sing it, bring it." However based on the fact that you hung up the phone after only 20 seconds of me dissing you, you are the type of coward who hides behind much stronger people.

I guess you are getting desperate Mr. T, because the election is winding down and as a campaign manager, you have been an utter failure. And I'm not talking about the likely ass-whooping that your candidate is about the receive. I'm talking about you trying to bring the streets into this race. Can you be a little bit more original?

Can you imagine if Bob Corker's campaign manager told HFJ that he'll see him in the streets to "handle" things?

My advice...stop watching so many gangster movies and pick up a book. You might learn something.

So Mr. T, keep my name out of your mouth from this point forward and worry about winning your election. In case you don't know, one of the many advantages of being able to practice law is that you have the full legal system at your disposal to use as necessary. If you bring up my name again Mr. T, you'll have a lot more to worry about than your imminent loss.

NEWTON JAKE FORD GOES WILD???

I cannot independently confirm if the following story is true, but I have seen several confirmations from people that it did happen.

The Peskyfly has the full details of the Congressional debate at:

http://thepeskyfly.blogspot.com/2006/10/jake-ford-candidate-volatile-child-or.html

I don't really know Newton Jake. I've only seen him a few times in my life, so I couldn't tell you much about him except that he appears to enjoy violence. The last time the Ninja saw Newton Jake earlier this year, he threatened to whoop four (4) different people in a public place within a 30-minute span. Whether Newton Jake was joking, I do not know. Nevertheless, I hear so many hearsay stories about the guy, I feel as if I know him like other blog celebrities (see also Lindsey Lohan, K.Fed, Paris Hilton, Bobby Brown and Sienna Miller).

If what the Peskyfly said above is indeed true, then I have one request for young Newton Jake. Please get out of the race!

While I enjoy your daily antics, you are doing a terrible disservice to your family, your brother HFJ, your community and yourself. If you lose, do you think anyone in Memphis will ever hire you for a job after this piss-poor performance and lack of qualifications? Your papa will not be able maintain your monthly allowance forever, especially if your actions end up costing Harold, Sr. both seats. In fact, you might have to actually start working at the funeral home where you claim to work.

If you applied for a job this afternoon using a non-Ford name while stating your real qualifications, you definitely would not be called in for an interview. However, someone is blowing smoke (no pun intended) up your cornholio for an anticipated victory on November 7. While I may be wrong (and if I am, I'll eat humble pie), I believe that NASA will put a man on the sun long before you'll be elected to Congress.

Please call up Jerry Lawler and resume your pro wrestling career. While your last rasslin' career was limited to Memphis Wrestling, you could be ready for the big stage. Is Raw scheduled for a Memphis stop before the November 7 election? On last night's WWE Monday Night Raw, John Cena did a finishing move (the F-U) on Kevin Federline on national TV in Los Angeles (see picture above). The crowd loved it and K.Fed was a good sport, because he knew the crowd was going to boo him.

I am quite sure Vince McMahon would get huge ratings if Newton Jake agreed to let Lawler piledrive him on the announcer's table at the Fed Ex Forum.

I can hear Jim Ross commentating it right now, "Dammit King, he's just a kid. This guy's not a wrestler. He's allegedly a Congressional candidate. You can't do this. This isn't right...Not on the table. No! No! My god! King is whooping Jake like a government mule at the Oklahoma U homecoming."

The Memphis crowd would love it! There would be "Fucktard" signs throughout the arena. Newton Jake would be the #1 heel in rasslin'. I know I would watch it with my enhanced ninja goggles.

But seriously, fans of the Space Ninja blog have noticed my criticisms of Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. from time to time. However, I truly feel for HFJ in this situation. HFJ is a man who is caught in the middle, because everyone wants him to do the right thing and endorse the Democratic nominee Sen. Cohen for the 9th District over his unqualified brother. I bet that HFJ is just hoping and praying that his campaign is strong enough to withstand the negativity and loss of votes that Newton Jake's actions will likely cause. If HFJ loses in a close race, then there will be people (myself included) who will blame Newton Jake for HFJ's loss.

Considering the past between these brothers, is it possible that Newton Jake wants HFJ to lose?

On November 7, we'll find out! Stay tuned.

THE MYSPACE.COM SOCIAL GUIDE

This is a shameless cheap plug (sorry!), but yours truly appears in his first book as an unofficial myspace celebrity for using the site in this past summer's Congressional race.

Peace,
Joe

Courtesy disclaimer: This blog (including but not limited to Joseph S. Ford, Jr., Space Ninja and Remixx World) has NOT received any compensation or renumeration in exchange for posting the below information. The posting is for entertainment and informational purposes only.

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The MYSPACE SOCIAL GUIDE is the first and only book about social life on Myspace.com! The book has expert advice from some of the hottest bands, artists, celebrities, and personalities in America. It’s real, raw, funny, and slightly offensive. It’s entertaining. The ultimate guide to making business connections, promoting yourself, promoting your music, promoting your art, promoting your film, expressing your creativity, finding hot dates, and entertaining yourself!!!

www.myspacesocialguide.com