The Republican Tea Party...a dismal turn-out in San Francisco! Movement on ice...

Sarah Palin has a cowboy mentality @ heart!

The Tea Party's head honchos were anticipating a huge turn-out in San Francisco this past weekend.

Instead of the thousands of innocent lambs expected to meekly show up for slaughter only a couple-of-hundred curious locals drifted into a near-empty foot-ball-sized park in the picturesque Bay area.

Embarrassing, eh?

Had the tea totlers known voter support  had cooled somewhat - and that potential swing ballotters were  inclined to stay away or attend other more entertaining cultural events around town - maybe they would have chosen a venue that was more appropriate - and in particular - capable of at least visually cloaking the awful truth.

The Repupublican Tea Party has lost  steam.

And, he shine is off the once-gleaming "tea" service, too.

What happened?

It appears that the rag-tag gang of upstarts may be capable of boosting the morale of the republicans, but pundits are scratching their noggins and wondering aloud, what good is that?

The tea party has transformed - rolled over, if you will - and become a-bit-of a paper tiger.

Their roar can be heard, but it is doubtful that they will have enough influence to steer voters in their direction.

An old truism applies here:

"You can lead a horse to water, but can't make him drink."

Even Sarah Palin - who attracted crowds on a novelty basis once - is facing a backlash now in the cold hard light of day.

She's a hoot to egg on, but not a candidate worthy of their vote.

After all, Palin  can't serve up any change, fresh leadership, or what-have-you.

A reality check, perhaps.

What America needs is a bright star with the wherewithall to move the country in a spanking-new direction.

In the final analysis - Palin and her hapless cronies - just can't cut it.

http://www.thetattler.biz

Barack Obama...torture bill signed. Human Rights advocates applaud move...

Human Rights advocates are applauding three executive orders Barack Obama's signed into Law the first day in office.

On their face, the orders seek to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, end the CIA's use of interrogation techniques that many in the civilized world regard as outright torture - and ultimately - shut down a network of shadowy overseas prisons where the dirty work of the intelligence agency has been carried out since the war in Iraq began.

Many Americans may recall viewing a shocking expose about the issues on Sixty Minutes last year which established wrongdoing on the part of the CIA.

The in-depth probe established that sly government agents registered a plane to a P.O. Box under a fictitious business name - and under the guise of being a private enterprise - flew alleged terrorists overseas to allies of the U.S. who were ready able and willing to torture the suspects to extract information.

The feature film, Rendition (a thinly-veiled account of the scandal) stirred up a lot of controversy, too, when it was released in theatres nationwide and pointed an accusing finger at the wrongful (and potentially illegal) activities of the CIA.

In that feature, Meryl Streep's character - a U.S. Official - uttered a line that resonated with hundreds of thousands of filmgoers here and abroad.

"Americans do not torture people."

No, they just farm the work out, to keep their hands clean.

Post: 10/11/07

http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2007/10/renditionamericans-dont-torture-people.html

Although the executive orders ensure that the U.S. will break free from a Bush administration policy that has been highly criticized - and likewise brought a lot of scorn upon Americans - the new President has not addressed any of the particulars.

For example, no decisions have been made about what to do with the detainees when Guantanamo is shuttered for good.

In addition, sources note that in spite of the executive orders signed this week, the CIA appears to still have a bit of "wiggle room" in respect to methods used to extract highly-sensitive information from terrorists.

The surprisingly quick move on the part of Obama was based on his position that the "executive orders" reflected an understanding that dates back to the Founding Fathers.

"We are willing to observe core standards of conduct not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard."

As John Adams astutely noted:

"People and Nations are forged in the fires of adversity."

http://www.julianayrs.com