So I guessed that John McCain would pick Mitt Romney. I was way wrong. He went with the unknown Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who is still in her first term.

What exactly his reasoning to pick her was, who knows. I'm sure over the next few days there will be a lot of reports and background digging so the truth shall come out, sooner or later.

Word is spreading across the internet that John McCain is going to announce his pick for Vice President tonight.

I'm guessing that he will pick Mitt Romney to be his running mate.

We'll see tonight!

As you might have heard, the California State budget is about two months overdue. It was originally due on July 1. Here we are August 26 and still nothing but infighting between the Republicans and Democrats in Sacramento.

To add to the mix, Governor "I Will Not Raise Taxes" Schwarzenegger has recently proposed raising taxes temporarily to get over the problems we are having with the budget. The Governor said he would take a tough stance on passing the budget as well by not signing any bills until a budget was finally passed.

Well that was until today when Governor Schwarzenegger announced he would be signing several bills concerning a high speed rail measure and a water bond measure.

So first he said that he'd never raise taxes, then he said he wouldn't sign any bills until the budget got passed. Whats next?

Seriously, its no wonder why the legislature does not take the Governor serious.

Not everyone likes FOX News, actually most people don't. I am one of the few. So when I saw a video of one of their anchors, Griff Jenkins, trying to interview a far left group, Recreate 68, I thought, "this guys the man." It happened during a Recreate 68 march On Sunday in Denver. Griff Jenkins pretty much went out there to put his head on the line in order to get some good video footage. If you really watch it, he walks into them as theyre walking forward. Pretty courageous for some no name Fox News reporter.

Legal Disclaimer: The second video has the F word. Watch at your own risk.

Griff's the man!

Today marks the beginning of the Democrats convention in Denver. A lot is about to happen. They are trying to shore up all loose ends to bring a unified party together for the election in November. After Hillary gave all her delegates to Barack, it looks like there is a good chance of unification.

Anything can happen from here until November though. The announcement of Joe Biden could help shore up all those loose ends Barack needs shored up. Especially with those voters who still don't think Barack is ready to lead because of his lack of experience.

So as the democrats descend upon Denver, it will be interesting to see how unified they come out of it.

When I first heard that Senator Joe Biden was picked to be Senator Barack Obama's running mate, I really was not too impressed. Maybe it was a let down from the so called "dream ticket" of Senator Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton. Either way, it'll be an interesting final couple of months to the election.

Read here for a great analysis of the pic.

I do not own any houses. John McCain owns so many, he does not know how many. This is quite a turn around from the man who tried to paint Barack Obama as an elitist.

Over the last few weeks, tensions around the world between the major power players has taken a new turn that has not been seen since the days of the Cold War. Russia originally went into Georgia on the pretext of defending South Ossetia. Since rolling into Georgia, easily defeating their army, and signing a peace deal, the world is getting hints of a restored Russian empire.

The situation in the region became even further complicated this week when Poland accepted a deal from the United States for the missile defense shield. Moscow shot back denouncing the deal and vowing a response that was not by diplomatic means.

 Even though Russia has been talking tough the last several years, this seems to be the toughest stance it's taken in a while. Hopefully, this will soon fizzle over because if not, it can lead to a new age Cold War that could end worse than the original.

Now I do not want to pump any fear mongering, but the next few months of diplomacy need to be handled with extreme care. Any future escalation can result in unnescessary war.

The Cold War started long before I was alive. Actually when I was born, the Cold War was warming and coming to an end. Looking back, the Soviet Union made some good propaganda.

Take the piece below for example. It shows the unity of men and woman and the strength that the military/government was about. What the text says, beats me. Anyone know Russian?

**Disclaimer: In no way do I or the Ventura County Star support communism. This blog is about politics and from time to time I will analyze propaganda of the past and present.

After several days of holding out, Pervez Musharraf announced he would be resigning as President of Pakistan instead of facing impeachment. The move was not a big surprise as the media had been reporting that many people in the upper circles of Pakistani politics, including some in the army, had been candidly encouraging Musharraf to resign.

This will undoubtely change the direction of Pakistani politics. The real question is though, how will it effect American foreign policy towards the nation.

Currently, American forces have been battling Taliban and Al Qaeda forces on the Afghanistan and Pakistan border. A new regime, might allow the United States to pursue those terrorist in a more aggresive manor than has previously been allowed. American forces have rarely crossed the border into Pakistan and occasionally rely on UAVs to carry out strikes against Taliban who ride the border fence. New tactics could include more cross border raids and possible forward operating bases/points to be established on the border or in Pakistan itself.

On the other hand, a new regime could do the unexpected and hamper the United States ability to chase the terrorists into their hideouts. Musharraf was able to keep the Taliban in check by only allowing them to operate near the border region. Hopefully the newly elected government led by Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani will be able to continue this trend. An unfortunate event will be for the Taliban to assume control of more land and continue their extremist ways. This route seems less likely, but is still possible.  Today President Bush acknowledged that Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani will continue to do his part to battle terrorism in his country.

Either way, with a new government being established in Pakistan and an election coming up this fall here at home, the future of American foreign policy in the volatile region will change and be important for years to come.  

So long Musharraf!