Haven't had time to write lately. As a result I have missed talking about news such as the Republican debate, Weiner's weiner, and the Wal-mart case. If anyone have any interest in these and other old news, please write in.

Today Obama decided to open the oil reserve and flood the market with oil to bring down the prices. I don't understand this since the prices were already dropping and there is no shortage at this time. He is probably thinking that by lower the price of oil it would stimulate the economy indirectly by making the cost of doing business lower and keep more money in the pockets of consumers. It may also put a chill on futures traders who want to bid up the prices down the line as they maybe afraid Obama will do this again. But I don't like this move as the reserve should be used in emergencies only. I think this has only been done couple of times before. If we do this at $3.65 per gallon, what are we going to do when it goes over $4 next time? This seems like a desperate political move for the economy and I don't think will play well.

I also didn't like the troop withdrawal decision yesterday by Obama. I know withdrawal needs to be done as Obama had promised. But he should have listened to his military leaders who want to do it slower. With the cost of the war and the bad economy there is an urgency to leave Afghanistan. But as I have said before, I think we have an obligation to leave the country with a reasonable chance of surviving without the Taliban taking back over. I think Patreus's time line is better than Obama's. Many people on the Republican side who want quicker withdrawal are also the same people who advocated the invasion of Iraq. Of course we would have been able to get out of Afghanistan a lot quicker if we never went into Iraq in the first place. Now, I think we can get the rest of the soldiers out of Iraq quicker since I don't think we are doing anything there now anymore. Quicker out of Iraq, slower out of Afghanistan, that's what I advocate.

Last week Goodwn Liu took himself out of the nomination for an Appellate court position. This occurred after the Republicans filibuster his nomination. Of course they accuse him of being biased and unqualified. I am not familiar with all his writings and of course the Democrats say the opposite. But one thing is certain and that is both Kenneth Starr and John Yoo, two of the most well known conservative lawyers in the country, support Liu and think that he is well qualified. Certainly if Liu is an extremists like the Republicans claim, then Starr and Woo would not have supported him. Given that there have never been an Asian American Supreme court justice and only couple of Federal Appeals court Asian American judges active right now, I find this tactic by Republicans to be a travesty.