by Andrea Shea-King — published on August 6th, 2008
Cell phones. How did we get along without them?
I remember my first — a mobile phone that weighed at least five pounds. It was a company phone, assigned to me when NASA returned the space shuttles to flight status. We had learned our lesson after the Challenger disaster when in the ensuing panic, all phone lines went into overload. No calls in. No calls out.
This black Motorola brick that I carried around in its accompanying black shoulder-strapped case gave me unprecedented communication ability with my corporate counterparts, which was essential in the event of — God forbid — another space shuttle disaster.
What a novelty it was to talk on it while driving! The handset was much like our home phones — or “landlines” as they’re now called. An antenna affixed to my car’s exterior gave me extended range, and I was looking for excuses to use it!
Fast forward twenty years and today’s mobile phones are palm-sized and multi-functional in ways we couldn’t have imagined in 1988. And they are ubiquitous.
Now we learn that cell phone usage could increase our risk of cancer.
Dr. Ronald Heberman, director of the U of Pitt Cancer Institute, recently warned cell phone users to limit their usage. He’s basing his claim on early data that contradicts studies that have not found a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public “lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration”.
Tonight we’ll explore those claims with Shelly Kalnitsky, who’s taking the warning seriously, and has created a device called Waveshield. He says the device reduces the emission of cell phone radiation up to 97%, and has similar devices for portable home phones too.
After the interview, we’ll talk about today’s top stories and I’ll take your calls.
The show begins at 9 p.m. ET and you can listen to it live, or later in the archive. Hit the button below to get there.
by Andrea Shea-King — published on July 17th, 2008
Some of Washington’s best and brightest conservative writers can be found at The American Spectator, a daily online magazine (often mentioned by el Rushbo who frequently includes it in his “stack of stuff’) that features conservative perspectives and analyses on the day’s events and issues.
ON THE RADIO! Tonight at 9 ET we’ll be talking to two of these sharp political writers.
“Despite the dispirited state of the GOP, the ideological muddling of the McCain campaign, and the media accolades for Obama, it is far from a foregone conclusion that Hope and Change will triumph Nov. 4.”
“Obamamaniacs were thrilled by last month’s Newsweek poll showing their candidate ahead by 15 points. Alas for the apostles of Hope, either that poll was a statistical mirage or else the mass movement toward Obama quickly receded, and Newsweek reported last week that his lead is now an insignificant 3 percentage points.”
Chat’s open at 9:45AM and the call-in number is 646 652-2539. Join us!
Please note that http://faustasblog.com is moving to a new server and can be found temporarily at http://wfaustasblog.blogspot.com/ for the time being. Thank you for your patience.
UPDATE: Rep. Jim McGovern’s Press Secretary Michael Mershon responded to my requests for additional information. View his statement in its entirety HERE.
Are Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) bad actors in a tragedy about the Separation of Powers?
In Spring 2007, Speaker Pelosi visited Syria, where she met with President Bashar Assad in a highly publicized, and much criticized trip. She was the poster child for Obama-esque ‘without pre-condition’ foreign policy. But this year, the Speaker chose to avoid the limelight, allegedly preferring to task loyal foot soldier Rep. Jim McGovern with chatting up leftist guerillas closely affiliated with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) - a group identified by the US State Department as terrorists. Not to mention the talks with Columbian Senator Piedad Cordoba, who remainsunder investigation by the Columbian Attorney General - and who is closely aligned with Venezuelan dictator/President Hugo Chavez.
Much of the main stream media seems content to ignore the Pelosi-McGovern-FARC story. Too much of a political hot potato. Brings to mind Pelosi’s own language regarding Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s repeated attempts to impeach President Bush. Remember? She told us all that was ‘off the table.’ Until yesterday, when Pelosi indicated that Kucinich’s latest attempt might get hearings.
Insert the uncomfortable pause here. All is fair in love and politricks.
So I placed a few calls. Speaker Pelosi’s press staff: delightful but refused to provide on-the-record comments each of the several times we spoke. I’m still waiting to hear back from McGovern’s office. Somehow, I am unsurprised by the lack of candor.
In multiple conversations with sources close to Speaker Pelosi, I was told the assertions made in the Wall Street Journal reports are “categorically false” and “without merit.” (This wins the prize for least original evasive answer)
Gee, I suppose if a Republican stood accused of colluding with a terrorist to undermine the democratically elected government of a US ally that it would be a non-story. Oh wait… the entire country would be enraged. And demanding answers. Hearings. Accountability.
This is where the average American should step in. Call Speaker Pelosi. 202.225.0100. The role of Speaker of the House is supposed to transcend partisan politics. She is a public servant. Our tax dollars may have funded these misadventures.
Never ask permission to engage in our national dialogue. Your tax dollars matter. And Speaker Pelosi should address this Obama-esque policy directly. Was she engaging with an agent of a foreign government to undermine our ally, the democratically elected government in Columbia? Did Speaker Pelosi direct Rep. McGovern to tell FARC that all military aid from the US to Columbia would be suspended under an Obama presidency?
If Speaker Pelosi was a pawn in McGovern’s game, where he invoked her name to play-up his own street-cred and power - then Pelosi should promptly throw him from the Democratic train. Give him a little partisan spanking. Go public. Offer a little straight-talk to the American people.
From the Wall Street Journal… House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may well have committed a felony in traveling to Damascus this week, against the wishes of the president, to communicate on foreign-policy issues with Syrian President Bashar Assad. The administration isn’t going to want to touch this political hot potato, nor should it become a partisan issue. Maybe special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, whose aggressive prosecution of Lewis Libby establishes his independence from White House influence, should be called back.
The Logan Act makes it a felony and provides for a prison sentence of up to three years for any American, “without authority of the United States,” to communicate with a foreign government in an effort to influence that government’s behavior on any “disputes or controversies with the United States.”
A hard drive recovered from the computer of a killed Colombian guerrilla has offered more insights into the opposition of House Democrats to the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
A military strike three weeks ago killed Raúl Reyes, No. 2 in command of the FARC, Colombia’s most notorious terrorist group. The Reyes hard drive reveals an ardent effort to do business directly with the FARC by Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass.), a leading opponent of the free-trade deal. Mr. McGovern has been working with an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia’s elected and popular government.
Mr. McGovern’s press office says the Congressman is merely working at the behest of families whose relatives are held as FARC kidnap hostages. However, his go-between’s letters reveal more than routine intervention. The intervenor with the FARC is James C. Jones, who the Congressman’s office says is a “development expert and a former consultant to the United Nations.” Accounts of Mr. Jones’s exchanges with the FARC appeared in Colombia’s Semana magazine on March 15. This Mr. Jones should not be confused with the former Congressman and ambassador to Mexico of the same name from Oklahoma.
“Receive my warm greetings, as always, from Washington,” Mr. Jones began in a letter to the rebels last fall. “The big news is that I spoke for several hours with the Democratic Congressman James McGovern. In the meeting we had the opportunity to exchange some ideas that will be, I believe, of interest to the FARC-EP [popular army].”
Last fall, Mr. Chávez and the FARC hatched an audacious plan whereby the Venezuelan would take “proof of life” of Ms. Betancourt to French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris, where the plight of Ms. Betancourt was a cause célèbre. The rebels wrote that Mr. Chávez was sure French pressure for negotiations would cause President Bush to “order Uribe to allow the meeting” between Mr. Chávez and the rebels on Colombian soil, something Mr. Uribe had refused to do. The rebels reported that Mr. Chávez was “super-motivated,” because he viewed the rendezvous as a public-relations coup that would give him and the FARC “continental and world renown.”
That plan flopped, but Mr. Chavez had other cards up his sleeve. One involved Ms. Cordoba, who is currently under investigation by the Colombian attorney general for ties to the FARC. She figures prominently in the captured rebel documents, and is notoriously close to Mr. Chávez.
She met at the Venezuelan presidential palace with FARC leaders last fall. From that meeting the rebels reported that “Piedad says that Chávez has Uribe going crazy. He doesn’t know what to do. That Nancy Pelosi helps and is ready to help in the swap [hostages in exchange for captured guerrillas]. That she has designated [U.S. Congressman Jim] McGovern for this.”
If the speaker of the House was working with Ms. Cordoba in this scheme, her judgment was more than a little misguided. The rebels write that on a trip to Argentina Ms. Cordoba told them, “It doesn’t matter to me the proposal that Sarkozy has made to free Ingrid. Above all, do not liberate Ingrid.” In short, why give up such a useful pawn?
Here is the text of the Logan Act:
Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.
STATEMENT FROM REP. JIM MCGOVERN’S PRESS SECRETARY MICHAEL MERSHON:
It’s important to remember that what INTERPOL determined is that there was no evidence of any tampering of the FARC computers by the Colombian military once the military took possession of those computers. Which is very good news. What INTERPOL did NOT determine, of course, was whether any of the statements in those computers were somehow empirically true. Which, of course, they could not, as we made very clear in our letter to the Wall Street Journal.
As to the Journal column in question which attacked Colombian-based human rights groups for their alleged ties to the FARC (therefore suggesting that the FARC would easily be convinced to turn the hostages over to these groups), we were disappointed to see that one of the Colombian military members involved in the hostage rescue was wearing the insignia of the International Committee of the Red Cross during the mission, in apparent violation of the Geneva Conventions. We were pleased to see that President Uribe has apologized for that error.
As to the specific questions you have asked:
Rep. McGovern met with Sen. Cordoba during the time she was the official mediator (appointed by President Uribe) for a potential humanitarian exchange of the hostages. She also met with high-level U.S. State Department officials during this period.
Rep. McGovern never said that Sen. Obama would win the election. At the time, he was a strong supporter of Sen. Clinton.
Rep. McGovern never ‘ensured’ the end of military aid to Colombia. He doesn’t believe that would be a proper policy position to take. He has argued, and will continue to argue, that a higher percentage of our aid should be used for the building of civilian and judicial institutions in Colombia; for economic redevelopment; and for assistance to the hundreds of thousands of Colombians who have been internally displaced by the conflict.
I have attached a copy of Rep. McGovern’s floor statement from yesterday’s debate on an amendment offered by House Republican Whip Roy Blunt to the intelligence authorization bill. It lays out a lot of his thinking about the way forward, and I hope you find it useful.
I’d be happy to respond by e-mail to any other specific questions you may have.
Regards,
Michael Mershon, Press Secretary
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
On Saturday, June 7, 2008 Al Garza, Executive Director of the Minute Man Civil Defense Corps, joined me to discuss the War that is being waged by Mexican Drug Cartels at our southern border. Listen to that episode HERE.
And on Sunday you may have missed the most inspirational broadcast in the history of Blog Talk Radio. Mrs. Pistachio and Doug were heading for divorce court in the nineties, and an amazing act of love saved them. What was this act of love? Bring Kleenex, and listen to the latest episode of Personal Pistachio.
Memorial Day means more than bar-b-qued hamburgers and hot dogs. It is more than just a day off from work. Memorial Day is a time to thank those who have sacrificed their lives for this nation, and a time to thank those who are currently laying it all on the line everyday to keep this nation safe. These men and women are most deserving of our deepest respect and gratitude for all they have done on behalf of our great country.
It is my sincere hope that everybody takes the time to pay tribute to those heroes who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while protecting our freedom, and also recognize the tremendous sacrifices that our Veterans have made and our active duty troops are making everyday.
Simple words cannot convey my gratitude. As a veteran myself I understand the oath, and I understand the difficult journey. However, as a peace-time veteran, I will never fully understand the taste of freedom that graces the hearts and souls of our war-time veterans, and the brave men and women currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In fact, there are only two words that I can say that truly relay how I feel. They are simple words, insignificant by themselves, but filled with emotion and honor when placed together and delivered to a member of the United States Military.
Thank You.
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Tonight on Political Pistachio Radio we will pay tribute to those fine members of the military, past and present, living and dead. I encourage the veterans that read this site and listen to the show to call in so that we may thank you personally.
Two Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, attempting to interrupt a cross-border drug smuggling operation, fired their weapons in self-defense at an admitted illegal alien, drug smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila. The smuggler managed to escape across the border into Mexico, but he left his vehicle, loaded with more than 700 pounds of marijuana. It was another good bust. Rather than be congratulated for doing their job, the Border Patrol agents were charged with attempted murder, indicted, placed under house arrest for eight long months. The two agents were later sentenced to 11 and 12 years in federal prison, respectively, on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and for violation of the drug smuggler’s civil rights. They remain in prison serving their unfair sentence that President George W. Bush could pardon, but won’t because of his globalistic position, and lack of cajones against the liberal left which would lambaste him if he so dared.
Last Friday I attended a Free Ramos and Compean Sidewalk Rally in Irvine, California near where First Lady Laura Bush was autographing copies of the book she authored with Jenna Bush, “Read All About It!” While I was there I interviewed a number of the folks holding up signs and waving American Flags in support of our unjustly jailed Border Patrol Agents, Ramos and Compean. Tonight on Political Pistachio Radio, after the tribute to our American Military Heroes, past and present, I will play for you the audio of those interviews. Don’t miss this broadcast! This will be a show you will remember for a lifetime.
Below are photos I took from the Rally. The first is of the line waiting to meet Laura Bush. The last picture is of a woman born in South America who declares proudly she is an American, and she is the final, stirring interview you will hear tonight.
Jonathan Davis, the lead singer of KORN, was born in Bakersfield, California. During his teenage years he recorded demos in his father’s studio. Later, he joined a band called Sex Art, Which also included Ryan Shuck (the guitarist of the current band Orgy). Sex Art was performing in a club one night when at the time L.A.P.D. was also performing which had James Shaffer and Brian Welch (Munky and Head of Korn) saw Jonathan Davis singing, and asked him to join their band Creep. After Jon got the job they later became Korn.
Jonathan’s father, Rick Davis, first worked in the music industry with Glenn Campbell. He spent several years working for and learning from Gary S. Paxton (Alley Oop - and many other hits - Gary has been a Christian producer since the 1970’s).
Rick Davis spent over 25 years in the music industry, touring, recording, managing, and then mentoring.
Rick’s very successful brother, Mike Davis, is the Senior VP of Entertainment for Universal Theme Parks, Japan, and he is a former VP of entertainment for Disney.
Rick Davis’ final tour was working for Ringo Starr on his 1989/90 All Star Band Tour.
Rick had a lifetime close working relationship with the late Buck Owens, operating Buck’s recording studio for 16 years.
Jonathan Davis is my second cousin (once removed?). Rick is my mom’s cousin. When Rick and Mike Davis were kids one of their strong musical influences was my grandfather. Grandpa loved gadgets and guitars, and he loved to show everyone how it all worked. Mike took to the guitar and musical side, and Rick was more into the gadgets. In the end, both brothers broke into the music industry, Mike as a singer, and Rick became involved in the production end of the industry.
I last spoke with Rick in person at my grandfather’s funeral years ago. Jonathan will always be to me that quiet little kid that I ignored at family get togethers. Little did I know that the young man that studied to be a mortician in college would be the front man for one of the biggest rock bands in history.
Recently, I was thinking about doing a show on my Political Pistachio Radio about how the music industry and world of politics affect each other. When the idea formulated in my mind, the first person I thought of to request as a knowledgeable guest regarding the subject was Rick Davis (Papa KORN).
So, Monday night, after my guest hosting on the Andrea Shea King show, Political Pistachio Radio’s guest is Rick Davis, the father of Jonathan Davis, to discuss how the music industry and the political cockroaches influence each other. Join us at 10:00 PM Eastern Time.
Gary W. Moore is a humble man, calm and friendly, happy to discuss the life of his father. After all, the tale of his father is larger than life, and a story we can learn from - because it is a tale about second chances, but second chances in a direction that we don’t always expect. Gary’s father, Gene Moore, began his journey to the pages of Playing With The Enemy as a 15 year old baseball prodigy that was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940. The outbreak of World War II, however, demanded that the young phenom join the military. Gene Moore joined the United States Navy, and his tour began in North Africa where he played for the Navy baseball team to entertain the troops. The duty was not always easy, or away from danger, evidenced by the death of the center fielder when an explosion on the field took the young ballplayer’s life. Later, as the war effort concentrated more on the theater in Europe, Gene Moore was sent on a secret mission to guard German POWs in Louisiana. These prisoners were very special, however, and their capture was a secret to the outside world for a tremendous reason. The submarine these German sailors were the crew of was the U-505 (now on display in Chicago, Illinois at the Museum of Science and Industry), inside which the United States procured the Enigma Machine and all of the code books that went with it, enabling us to stay on top of the changes in the code, and therefore assisting us in winning the war against Germany. During this time that Gene Moore guarded these prisoners, primarily out of his desire to play baseball (and perhaps a little boredom), Gene Moore and his fellow military baseball players taught the enemy soldiers how to play America’s pastime. The story does not end there, however. Tragedy, and the storms of life that can crush dreams, and enable the birth of new ones, came to Gene Moore’s life. It was then that he learned about second chances, and the importance of the unexpected things in life. This inspirational true story is being made into a film by Producer Gerald R. Molen via his WhiteLight Entertainment production company. Molen’s and White Light Entertainment’s credits include Schindler’s List, Minority Report, Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Twister, Casper, Rain Man and The Flintstones. White Light Entertainment has to its credit 33 Academy Award nominations, 19 Academy Awards, including two for the best picture and a total box office collection of $4 billion from the 14 movies it has produced so far. The screenplay was written by WhiteLight director of development David Ranes and the author’s son, Toby Moore, who’s also set to portray his grandfather. The film is in production now and is slated to be released during the first quarter of 2009. I first met Gary W. Moore, the author of Playing With The Enemy, at a book signing in San Diego on October 1, 2006. A month later we got together in Pasadena, California after another book signing, and it was then that I realized I had made a wonderful friend. Since then, Gary W. Moore has appeared on my Political Pistachio Radio Show a number of times (April 7, 2007; June 16, 2007 with his publisher: Ted Savas; and January 26, 2008). And honestly, Playing With The Enemy is a great read, and a book that is not about World War II and Baseball as much as it is about the human spirit. As for the movie? Well, I hear there is going to be some great acting talents in the film, but the producer has not released the names, yet. However, when we know who those actors are that are in the film, you will find out about it on Political Pistachio, and of course at that time we will have Gary W. Moore return to Political Pistachio Radio to discuss the latest news regarding this blockbuster film. Also see Gary interviewed by CNN here, and the Fox affiliate in Milwaukee here.
Among Conservatives the rumblings are constantly about how the Republican Party has left us, moving toward the left, using “Compassionate Conservatism” as an excuse to inject big government into the party. The Republican Party leadership is hardly conservative, and the current nomination for President of the United States, John McCain, is barely better than his two Democrat Party opponents.
The Republican Party has lost its way, and if it is not salvaged soon, the GOP will go the way of the Whigs.
A handbook for Republicans who feel in their heart that the basics of the Republican Party have been lost is on the bookshelves of bookstores today. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is a handbook for Republicans that explains how we need to return to our roots. The author of the book is Michael Zak.
Back to the Basics for the Republican Party is an acclaimed history of the Grand Ol’ Party from the civil rights perspective, as well as recognizing the founding principles of the United States. Michael Zak believes that we can benefit greatly from knowing and appreciating the Republican Party’s heritage.
Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, and his book has been cited by Clarence Thomas in a Supreme Court decision. Hundreds of articles by Mr. Zak are available on the Grand Old Partison blog each day, celebrating 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.
The United States provides assistance to the Palestinian Authority in the hopes of helping the people. However, there is evidence that this aid is not being used as the U.S. intends, but actually funds the Palestinian Authority with weapons, money, and training, meaning that the U.S. is actually funding terrorism. Israel is constantly bombarded by Hamas and Hezbollah, but former president Jimmy Carter claims that Hamas only wants peace. However, after denouncing the recent Israeli seminary school shooting, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’ official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper is holding the terrorist up as a hero, calling him a martyr who died while fighting jihad.
James Hutchens, PhD, a former U.S. Military Chaplain who retired with the rank of Brigadier General says that our aid to the Palestinians is in violation of our laws, and states that Jimmy Carter’s so-called peace-seeking friends have a charter calling for the total annihilation of Israel.
But why should we defend Israel? Why is our alliance with Israel so important?
James Hutchens is also the President of the JerUSAlem Connection, the foremost Christian Zionist magazine in America, and he is on a mission for Israel. He is on the battle front in the area of informing, educating, and activating America’s Christian community on issues related to Israel from a Biblical perspective. His military experience also makes him well acquainted with the concept of “Mission,” decorated with a Purple Heart as a result of his time as a battle chaplain in Viet Nam.
by MD Conservative — published on April 25th, 2008
I usually do not promote my show, but tonight I will be spending the first portion of the show speaking about Missile Defense. If you want some facts please tune in at 2100hrs eastern.
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