Heads Up!

This pic. is just odd, so of course I had to post it-lol.

Lest We Forget!

While our government continues to argue over whether Iraq is in a civil war, whether we can win in Iraq, what our strategy should be in Iraq, who exactly we’re fighting in Iraq, whether we should stay in Iraq, how long we should stay in Iraq ETC., our American troops on the ground there continue to be wounded and killed.

We’ve now been fighting in Iraq for longer than we fought World War Two. There have been 3,131 coalition deaths, 2,884 of those have been Americans. At least 21,921 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. I’ve heard a lot of conservatives say things like, “well that’s nothing, compared to World War Two, or Vietnam”. I say, tell that to the families and friends of each of those KIA’s. Tell them that their sons or daughters death is no big thing given a historical context, I’m sure they would find that a huge comfort.

I think it’s important to realize and remember that these figures represent actual human beings. It’s too easy to forget that each of these numbers was a real person who lived and laughed, who had a family, friends and dreams for their future, just like the rest of us. Are casualties a grim reality of war, yes, and that is exactly why responsible political leaders exhaust all their options before they reluctantly turn to military solutions. Unfortunately, I believe, the current political leadership of the U.S. did not take that responsibility seriously enough and found it far too easy to throw our troops into harms way in an unnecessary and ill thought out war in Iraq.

CNN has a very sad and moving tribute to all of the military casualties in Iraq. It includes the names, ages and pictures of the troops as well as brief descriptions of where and how they were killed. Some people may find it hard to view, but I think it's a fitting tribute because it truly brings home the real price this country and its allies are paying for this war. You can find the memorial here: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/

Iraq Options!

I'd be willing to bet if it really was Pres. Bush in Iraq and not our troops, he'd be more than willing to make a "quick exit"!

Spreading the True Christmas Spirit!

Well the turkey’s gone and I’ve gained my traditional 5lbs. from stuffing myself with lots of Thanksgiving day goodies, so now that I have my rotund, elf shape again (I’m 5’1) I’m ready for the Christmas season. No groaning…I know it’s stressful and commercialized and consists of lots of crowds and endless lines, but I still love it. It’s definitely my favorite holiday. I am happy to report that despite my rapidly advancing years, I still find it a magical time. There’s just something about the lights and the music and the good will towards men stuff that always gets me right in my soft, sentimental side. Of course the fact that I’ve never quite grown-up probably helps too-lol.

Anyway, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I love presents. Obviously, getting cool stuff is always nice, but I honestly find more joy in giving a gift to someone and watching their eyes light up when they open it. This is especially great with children. I don’t have any kids of my own, but I love to shop for my cousins children, because as I may have mentioned-hee I’ve never completely grown-up and buying toys is the most fun.

The only thing that mires my joy at Christmas is knowing that sadly there are many families out there who can’t afford to give their kids a tree, or holiday meal or even one special present that will bring that sparkle into their eyes. I find that truly heartbreaking. I think every child deserves a little magic in their lives especially at Christmas. I hope that if any of you out there agree with me and want to help spread the true spirit of Christmas you’ll consider contacting your local Salvation Army and joining their Christmas adopt a family program. It’s a very good charity organization, which thoroughly screens its applicant families and chooses from the neediest. Typically, only 40% of the needy families that apply get adopted, due to a lack of willing donors, so the need is great. If you can afford to do it, please consider helping. I’ve participated in this program over the last few years, and I can tell you these families are truly poor and usually ask for such necessities as coats, hats, gloves, boots, blankets etc. for their children. Ok, thanks for listening to my plea and if you’re interested you can find out your local Salvation Army contact info.here http://www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769)

Homosexuality Punishable By Death

Homosexuality punishable by death in 12 countries
GAY.COM Monday 27 November, 2006

Louis-Georges Tin, the President of the Committee of the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) has launched a global petition for a proposed United Nations resolution in favour of the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality.

In more than 70 countries, homosexuality is a crime by law, and punishable by death in 12 of them. Michael Cashman, President of the Europarliament’s Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Affairs spoke of the group’s unanimous support for the campaign , and expressed the hope that it will go far. He added “We hope it will bring strong pressure to bear on the UN, We invite everyone who supports fundamental human rights to support this petition and to ask their friends and co-workers to do so too.”

Alice Nkom, the African human rights lawyer who defended the 11 young men arrested earlier this year in Cameroon and imprisoned for homosexuality said, “This proposed resolution gives us immense optimism and we ardently hope that Louis-Georges Tin and the IDAHO Committee achieve their goal. This is a fight for liberty, and for human rights”.Tin explained that the campaign had two main components; firstly an external media campaign to raise awareness amongst public opinion and government, including the signing of the petition, and secondly the lobbying of members of the newly formed UN Council of Human Rights. Tin has already had talks with the government of South Africa, who have expressed an interest in proposing the resolution. He cited previous United Nations rulings such as Toonen v Tasmania, (where the arrest of a citizen of Tasmania was declared by a committee of the UN to be “a breach of human rights” ) and the more recent ruling by a UN working group that the imprisonment of gay men in Cameroon was an “arbitary deprivation of liberty”, as “encouraging signs”.

VIP’S around the world have given their support to the campaign, and have already signed the petition. Derek Lennard, who is the UK Coordinator of IDAHO, commented about the broad range of support of first signatures, which include Jacques Delors , Cyndi Lauper, Desmond Tutu, David Bowie, ex French Prime Ministers, Michel Rocard and Laurent Fabius and film director Bernado Bertolucci. In the UK, Elton John, Michael Palin, Neil McKenna, Tom Stoppard, Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, have joined campaigners and organisations such as Pride London, School’s Out, LGBT history month, Outrage, GALHA , the George House Trust, and politicians such as Chris Bryant, Lord Lester, Lord Chris Smith and Lord Ali have also signed up. The Green Party of England and Wales has been the first political party to support the campaign, but Lennard said he expected the other main parties to declare their support soon.

The petition can be accessed via http://www.idahomophobia.org/The first few days have seen over 2,000 people signing up to it.Tin added “Gays and Lesbians around the world cannot wait any longer for their love to cease being made a crime. Many are in jail or at risk of being killed. This has to stop now”

You Might Be A Republican If....

No offense, but I found some of these amusing...

You've ever uttered the phrase, "Why don't we just bomb the sons of bitches."

You think "proletariat" is a type of cheese.

You ever told a child that Oscar the Grouch "lives in a trash can because he is lazy and doesn't want to contribute to society."

You've named your kids "Deduction one" and "Deduction two"

You've tried to argue that poverty could be abolished if people were just allowed to keep more of their minimum wage.

You've ever tried to prove Jesus was a capitalist and opposed to welfare.

You're a pro-lifer, but support the death penalty.

The only union you support is the Baseball Players, because heck, they're richer than you.

You don't think "The Simpsons" is all that funny, but you watch it because that Flanders fellow makes a lot of sense.

You argue that you need 300 handguns, in case a bear ever attacks your home.

Vietnam makes a lot of sense to you.

You point to Hootie and the Blowfish as evidence of the end of racism in America.

You've ever said civil liberties, schmivil schmiberties.

You've ever said "Clean air? Looks clean to me."

You own a vehicle with an "Ollie North: American Hero" sticker.

You're afraid of the liberal media."

You ever based an argument on the phrase, "Well, tradition dictates...."

You've ever urged someone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, when they don't even have shoes.

You confuse Lenin with Lennon.

You've ever called education a luxury.

The Draft!

Is Your Car Spying On You?

Does your car have an Event Data Recorder? If it does, and 2/3 of the cars currently on the road do, your car is recording data about your driving and that information can be used against you if you have an accident.

Most people don’t know that their car may have a black box, similar to the ones used in airplanes. Its main job is safety, it operates the airbags, but it also records information. Some continuously record data, overwriting the previous few minutes until a crash stops them, while others are activated by crash-like events (such as sudden changes in velocity or angular momentum) and continue to record until the accident is over. EDRs can record whether or not the brakes were used, the speed at the time of impact, the steering angle and whether seat belts were worn during the crash. Some types hold the information until recovered at the crash site, and others can transmit the data wirelessly to authorities (such as police and insurance companies). If you’re wondering if your car has one, in 2004 and newer models they are required to disclose this information in the drivers manual.

The number of people being convicted (most of whom were completely unaware their car had a black box) using data from their cars EDRs is growing rapidly. The accuracy of EDR information has not been thoroughly investigated/studied, given the fact that once installed (when the car is manufactured) the EDRs are never recalibrated to check their accuracy. Numerous people, now sitting in prison have discovered the hard way that while these black boxes save lives, they can also go a long way towards ruining them.
For further info., there is a great video story about this at CNN.com

Disgraced Ex-lobbyist Begins 6-year Prison Stint

CUMBERLAND, Maryland (AP) -- Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, convicted of federal charges after using expensive gifts, campaign donations and exotic trips to win access to the powerful in Washington, went to prison Wednesday.
Abramoff arrived at about 6:30 a.m. ET at a relatively secluded prison facility in western Maryland and began serving a nearly six-year prison sentence for a fraudulent deal to buy a fleet of casino ships in Florida.
Abramoff was delivered out of sight of waiting reporters and camera crews and his arrival was announced in a two-paragraph statement by a prison representative.
The part of the camp where Abramoff will be kept is a 334-bed minimum-security facility located near an industrial park along the north branch of the Potomac River.
The camp is all male. It consists of a number of two-story dormitories that are light red cinderblock structures. Each dormitory contains a number of six-bed cubicles, and Abramoff was being assigned to one of those. The prison is nearly surrounded by Appalachian Mountain ridges rising along either bank of the Potomac on the Maryland and West Virginia sides of the river.
From millions to 12 cents an hour
Stephen Finger, executive assistant at the prison, said all inmates work while there. Incoming inmates such as Abramoff typically are assigned to menial jobs such as food service work. Finer said that inmates can work their way up from low-level jobs paying 12 cents an hour to better positions paying up to 40 cents an hour.
Abramoff also is awaiting sentencing for corrupting government officials and their staff members. He made a name for himself on Capitol Hill by lavishing politicians with football tickets or whisking them away on faraway golf junkets, and thus became the face of government corruption. This contributed to the Republican Party's Election Day defeats nationwide.
If it were up to the Justice Department, however, Abramoff wouldn't be heading to prison -- at least not yet. He could hold the key to a sweeping corruption case involving Congress, members of the Bush administration and their aides, and prosecutors said putting their star witness behind bars would impede the investigation.

Well, while I hope his imprisionment does not impede further investigation of his other Congressional and Administration cronies, I must say I am pleased to see this wanna-be Tony Soprano figure (what exactly is up with the weird 1930’s gangster get-ups he wears?) right where he belongs. It’s about time that white collar crooks, which rip this country and working class people out of millions, get the prison time they so ‘richly’ deserve.

Necking!

I'm taking a break from politics to post this just because I think it's sweet.

Civil War!

A worker removes debris next to a destroyed vehicle the morning after Thursday's bomb attacks in Baghdad's Sadr city. The death toll in Thursday's Baghdad bombings rose to 202, police said, after more than 40 people died overnight following the worst sectarian attack since U.S. forces invaded Iraq in 2003.

I'm sorry, but when you have over 200 people killed in sectarian violence in a single day, when you have the different sects digging fighting holes on their neighborhood streets and people being pulled out of mosques and burned alive with kerosene, the U.S. government can deny it all they want, but that's a civil war.

No Exit!

A Glimpse

It should be more than obvious to anyone who has spent more than ten seconds looking at my blog that I truly love politics. I revel in all of the ins and outs of it, the strategies, the gamesmanship, but mostly I love politics possibilities, it’s potential as it were. It’s rare that we see that potential, much less see it fulfilled, but every once in awhile we get lucky and a person or a movement comes along that shows us a glimpse of it, a glimmer of what ‘could be’. If you’re not sure exactly what the heck I’m talking about-lol, I’m speaking of the Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King moments, the end to segregation and the fall of the Berlin Wall, the times when politics has risen above the mire and the muck and affected genuine change for the good of this country and all mankind.

Unfortunately, those people and those moments are few and far between and I realize many would label me an idealist for continuing to hope and yes, even demand more of that type of true, genuine service from our political leaders. Laugh at me and call me naïve, but I will continue to hope and demand and I think we all should because that is what true leadership and holding political office should be about. These elected officials of ours are given a great honor and an even greater responsibility, which is to serve the people, the nation and the greater good. Now as everyone here probably knows, I am a staunch Democrat, but I can say without hesitation that I would happily give my vote, my time and my money to any candidate who could convince me that he wishes to hold political office, not for his own glory or ego, not to make money or career connections, but simply to serve and do his or her best to help this country and its citizens.

Looking at the current field of potential presidential candidates for 2008, no one as yet has jumped out at me from either party who I believe would fit that bill, but at least two have already convinced me that they are the exact opposite of what I think a leader of this country should be. Those two, are Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton and they’ve both gone a long way towards alienating me for one reason, they’ve both proven themselves in my opinion to be hypocrites and very possibly liars. Neither one can be trusted to truly stand for anything since they both have completely overhauled and changed their opinions in an attempt to appeal to certain segments of the population. I know that in today’s political arena it’s a common strategy, but personally I’d sooner vote for someone who I disagree with issue wise who at least I know really stands for something, than vote for someone who’s willing to change their opinions, beliefs and values simply to be more electable.

It’s early yet in the run up to 2008 and at the moment I’m sitting back, watching, waiting and of course continuing to hope that perhaps if we’re extremely lucky someone will step out of the pack who has true integrity and that all important desire to simply serve and in doing so grant us another glimpse of what ‘could be’.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I've had a really horrible day today. I totalled my beautiful car and feel like hell, so I don't think I'll be posting much for at least a day or so, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. Have fun and eat some pumpkin pie for me-lol.

Humble Pie?

Conservative Blog B.S. (Part 2)

A week or so ago I wrote the first post in what I have a feeling will be a long, intermittent series on some of the most outrageous, pure b.s. out there on many conservative blogs. Now don’t get me wrong, everyone’s entitled to their opinions and frankly, I’m not the sensitive type who gets all upset when I see conservatives spouting reasonable arguments even if I don’t agree with them. Heck I don’t even sweat it when they call all liberals loony, moon bats etc., because when you have to resort to name calling, well then you probably don’t have any rationale arguments for your point of view and you demean yourself, not me. I’m writing this series to address one specific type of conservative b.s., and that’s the statements made and repeated constantly that are designed to sound like logical fact, when they are anything but logical or factual.

The b.s. I want to address today is the idea and various statements that assert that, “liberals don’t love this country”, “liberals aren’t patriotic” etc. These comments are some of the most asinine, presumptuous, narrow-minded thoughts ever to spew from Americans mouths. I mean are there really people out there who are so ignorant that they don’t realize just how many Democrats and liberals have served and died for this country? Do they honestly believe that only Republicans/Conservatives serve and sacrifice for America on an every day basis, or do they know better and simply like to ordain themselves the only, “true Americans”, so they can feel justified in their opinions and actions no matter how skewed they may be?

The decision to go to war in Iraq is a great example of how this rationalizing works. Most reasonable people would at this point say that invading Iraq was a mistake, but for some hard core neocons rather than admit to this and look for a new path they’d rather point at liberals who voice concern over the war and say, “you just hate America and want the terrorists to win”. By pointing their fingers at the people who have enough guts to stand up and speak out when they feel their country is headed down the wrong path, and yelling “unpatriotic” at all dissenters, they allow themselves to continue to cling to simple ideals without ever having to think. It’s a heck of a lot easier to say or think, “well I love my country so I must follow my President no matter what”, or “I love America, so it must always be in the right”, then it is to actually take a look at what your President and country is doing and ask yourself, “why are we doing that, and is it in Americas best interest? Is it the right/moral action to take”? Asking those difficult questions and voicing your dissent when you can’t answer yes to them is what America and democracy is all about and in my opinion is a hell of a lot more patriotic than simply draping yourself in the flag and following along blindly no matter where you’re lead. For those of you who disagree give this some thought, if simply following your leaders and not ever voicing dissent is the standard you set for patriotism than German citizens during the Nazi reign should be your role models because they were excellent "patriots".

Checkers Anyone?!

What me worry? We're obviously in good hands....hee hee (nervous chuckle).

Burger King Served Pot Burgers to Cops

I'm posting this AP article because it made me giggle:

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- Two police officers sued Burger King Corp., claiming they were served hamburgers that had been sprinkled with marijuana.
The lawsuit says Mark Landavazo and Henry Gabaldon, officers for the Isleta Pueblo tribal police, were in uniform and riding in a marked patrol car when they bought meals at the drive-through lane October 8 of a Burger King restaurant in Los Lunas, New Mexico.
The officers ate about half of their burgers before discovering marijuana on the meat, the lawsuit said. They used a field test kit to confirm the substance was pot, then went to a hospital for medical evaluations.
"It gives a whole new meaning to the word 'Whopper,"' the officers' attorney, Sam Bregman, said Monday.
"The idea that these hoodlums would put marijuana into a hamburger and therefore attempt to impair law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs is outrageous."
Three Burger King employees were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and aggravated battery on an officer, a felony. They later were indicted.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Bernalillo County, alleges personal injury, negligence, battery and violation of fair practices. It seeks unspecified damages along with legal costs.
Officials at Miami-based Burger King declined to comment, citing a company policy against discussing pending litigation.

Iraq; the Vietnam of This Generation?

So President Bush sees that there are comparisons between the current Iraq War and the war in Vietnam. I think the obvious question then is, does he know anything about the Vietnam War? Does he know that the Vietnam War was the longest military conflict in U.S. history? Does he realize that the hostilities in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans and another 304,000 wounded? Most importantly does he realize that the American government lacked a credible plan for winning and that despite superior U.S. firepower and technology the North Vietnamese forces were successful in fighting a protracted, guerilla-style conflict?

Pres. Bush compares these two wars because he’s trying to make the point that, “we must stay the course”, in Iraq, but personally I think the comparison shows the exact opposite. We stayed the course in Vietnam for 14 years (the first U.S. servicemen were killed in 1959), and through four presidencies. We poured more and more troops and equipment into Vietnam and while we held our own we were by no means winning the war. (which by the way a Republican, Nixon, pulled us out of) I know it’s a hard thing for a lot of Americans to swallow, but simply having a superior military does not guarantee victory in every type of war no matter how long you stay the course. If it did, then America would not exist in the first place since our American Revolution was fought against one of the best equipped, largest, best trained military forces in the world (at the time). We won our Revolution because we used guerilla tactics and we were fighting on our own soil not only for freedom, but for our very homes and families. History is full of examples of great militaries who could not win when faced with fighting smaller, guerilla forces on their own turf.

Can we hold our own in Iraq? I’m sure we can, but the question becomes can we win when we’re fighting in a country where the majority of the people see us as occupiers and don’t want us there and if we can’t “win” what price will we pay for continuing a futile effort? If we had left Vietnam in 1970 instead of 73’ how many American lives would have been saved and would it have made any difference to the overall outcome? I believe these are the questions President Bush should be asking himself when he compares Iraq to Vietnam.

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Super Hero Extraordinaire

Who out there remembers Underdog? I know, I'm showing my age, but to heck with Batman and Spiderman movies, what we need is a good Underdog and his gal pal Polly flick!-lol

Unlikely Couple Forms Gay/Lesbian Support Group

I'm posting the following article because people like these two grandparents give me some hope that the world may not always be the bigoted, hypocritical place it is today.

By Felicia Megdal, Roundup staff reporter

Ray and Linda Wiebe seem like an unlikely couple to start Payson's chapter of PFLAG -- Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
The Wiebes, with their tidy log cabin on the east side of Payson, represent the quintessential image of the American grandparent. Side by side in matching La-Z-Boys, they finish each other's sentences.
Ray shows his patriotism with Old Glory pinned to blue suspenders, while Linda wears a sweatshirt that reads, "Tender loving grandma."

The couple just celebrated 50 years of marriage with a family gathering at Lake Powell.
As far as they know, none of their four children, 13 grandchildren or close friends are gay or
lesbian but, just as they'd want tolerance and affirmation for loved ones, the couple believes everybody is entitled to acceptance.
"What is the first thing you think of when somebody says, ‘Gay'?" Ray asked. "Sex. But it's not about sex."
The couple ended up walking down this unlikely path after witnessing the mistreatment of one person -- someone they loved and respected.
He was a Lutheran pastor -- their pastor.
"At the time, the congregation didn't know he was gay," Ray said.
"The day he came out, he did it in front of the congregation," Linda said. "He was crying and everybody seemed to be so supportive."
But even though the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) ruled that gays and lesbians -- as long as they remain chaste and single -- could serve as ordained pastors, not everyone wanted a gay man leading the local synod.
Parishioners refused to receive Communion while others threatened to leave. The pastor eventually resigned after the bishop learned of his admission.
"We saw the harm that was being done and it wasn't right," Ray added.
The Wiebes and about 40 members of the church defected and established a new group rooted in the Lutheran tradition. For six years, they met, worshiped and took Communion from the pastor in their Southern California home. They accepted everyone and encouraged tolerance.

PFLAG is a nationwide group that promotes the support, education and advocacy of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, including their families, friends and allies.

The Wiebes and other gay-rights supporters believe that a person's sexuality is innate.
"I've heard many parents ask, ‘What did I do wrong?' We say, ‘You did nothing wrong,'" Ray said.
"We believe people are born gay or lesbian. They know there is something different about them."
Ray said he didn't always feel that compassion.
The Wiebes grew up during a time when things were a certain way: Men and women married, the wives took care of the home and the husbands worked.
But age chipped away at that prejudice and the message of the pastor just made sense -- love thy neighbor, love God.
"They're no different than anyone else," said Linda. "Why do we have to put labels on everyone?"
Four years ago, the Wiebes moved to Payson, but didn't start the PFLAG chapter until this past August.
After running their own church for six years, Ray said the couple needed time to decompress and enjoy retirement.
Now, with the help of other community members, they've taken up their cause once again.
The local PFLAG group meets the third Wednesday of the month.
The group keeps a separate voicemail for messages, and above all, the Wiebes stress confidentiality.
To contact PFLAG, call (928) 472-3227 or visit the Web site at www.pflagpayson.org.

Attorney General Wades Into Wire-tapping Fray

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in remarks addressed to the Air Force Academy Saturday, joined with Dick Cheney in attacking a federal judge’s ruling last August that the Bush administrations warrentless surveillance program was unconstitutional.

Gonzales and Cheney’s attacks on the court order came as the administration is urging the lame-duck Congress to approve legislation authorizing the warrentless surveillance. The bill’s chances are doubtful however, because of Democratic opposition in the Senate, where 60 votes are required to end debate and actually vote on the legislation.

Yet one more example of the autocratic Bush administration attempting to do an end around the U.S. Constitution and the courts mandated with protecting it. I mean really, they have absolutely no shame. First the President authorizes the NSA to secretly wire-tap American citizens without seeking or receiving a warrant to do so, something that is COMPLETELY and without question illegal in this country and then when they’re found out and our federal court system does it’s job and rules it an unconstitutional act, they simply dismiss this, calling it “an act of judicial overreach” and attempt to bypass our bill of rights by having their Republican rubber-stamping Congress change the law. It seems to me that the only ones overreaching their power in this country are the executive branch minions with their self-righteous, do whatever they feel like, rule the country without oversight brand of governing. Funny, I could have sworn I heard Pres. Bush take an oath to uphold our Constitution, not rewrite it.

It Can't Come Soon Enough!

It's wonderful to know that I'm going to get what I want this Christmas. "All I want for Christmas is some oversight".....

O.J.'s Accomplices!

The Fox network, which touts itself as a family friendly station, is about to air a two night “special” consisting of an interview with O.J. Simpson whose touting his new book, “If I Did It”. Coincidentally, this brutal murderer will be given his soapbox for self-promotion during tv sweeps week.

What the hell is wrong with this picture?! In a word, EVERYTHING! The fact that this heinous, sociopathic killer is free to walk the streets of America is one of the biggest travesties of justice ever, and now his hypothetical confession is being marketed to America as entertainment in order to up the Fox networks’ ratings. You just can’t get any more pathetic and disgusting than that. Well, wait maybe you can, you could be the publisher of his “true crime” book and hand the double murderer, through a third party a reputed $3.5 million. The other horrifying fact is that there are Americans out there lining up to buy this piece of crap. It’s being reported that pre-orders for it have already placed it in the top 20 in sales. I realize that morbid curiosity can be a strong urge, but come on now people! We all know the man premeditatedly slaughtered two human beings, anyone with any sense of decency would not contribute one ‘bloody’ cent to his financial well being, no matter how lurid the tale.

Democrats Ready to Push for Minimum Wage Increase

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are readying a maximum effort to raise the minimum wage. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said Thursday that increasing the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 would be his top priority as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. On the House side, incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., already has listed an increase in the minimum wage as one of the issues that would be taken up during the first 100 hours of thenext Congress."Americans are working harder than ever, but millions of hardworking men and women across the country aren't getting their fair share," Kennedy said during a speech outlining his legislative agenda for next year. "We're not rewarding work fairly anymore, and working families are falling behind."

I believe raising the minimum wage is a necessity long overdue in this nation where the rich get richer and the poor well, they get forgotten. Here’s what Candace Corner at CareerBuilder.com had to say about it:

With the costs for gas, energy and seemingly everything else at an uncomfortable high, the only national figures that don't seem to be getting any fatter are the ones on the paychecks.
The minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour for over nine years, making it the second-longest freeze in wage growth since the establishment of the U.S. minimum wage in 1938. The cost of living has risen 26 percent, but the minimum rate of compensation hasn't seen a value this low since 1955, and Senate recently rejected a proposal that would have raised the rate to $7.25 by 2008.

So who's making the minimum? According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), 11 percent of the workforce, an estimated 14.9 million workers, would receive a boost in their hourly compensation if the rate hike proposal had passed. About 6.6 million workers earning less than $7.25 would have been directly effected by the increase. But the pay increase isn't limited to those earning exactly $5.15 an hour. More than 8 million workers earning a bit more than the minimum rate would see an increase as employers made adjustments to keep the payroll in check.

Come Play Name that Animal!

Time for another strange animal pic. Aardvark maybe? Anyone know?

How Many Young Women Have to Die?

How many young women and girls have to die, before society cares? I’m wondering this after reading the news that another young model has died from complications of anorexia. 21 year old Anna Reston died Tuesday in a Sao Paulo, Brazil hospital. You may remember the death in August of Uruguayan model, Luisel Ramos of heart failure during a fashion show in Montevidieo. Some people out there may be shrugging at these deaths, putting it down to the price of fame, and thinking it's a problem that only affects the modeling world , but after doing some research here on the web, I would urge anyone who cares about young women to take note, because these women are the role models your daughters and nieces etc. look to in deciding what constitutes female beauty and I can promise you that a lot of these kids are paying attention to the magazine covers and the fashion layouts and they’re learning younger and younger that skinny equates to beauty in our society. Sadly some of these children have decided at ages 8, 9, 10, that it’s better to be starving, sick or even dead than it is to be fat.

If you think I’m exaggerating with that last statement go right now and google pro anorexia sites and see for yourself. Search engines are fighting the good fight to try and keep these anorexia promoting sites off the web, but it’s a losing battle. One estimate I saw was that yahoo alone has over 70 websites at any given time that tout the positives of eating disorders. The kind of support offered to these sites visitors’ ranges from calorie counts for various low calorie, “safer” foods to glamorous photographs of skinny women. Many pro-an sites also offer community boards that feature postings from users seeking support for dieting and losing weight. Here are a few excerpts from some of these sites, which are mostly run by teenage to 20 some yr. old young women:

"This is a gathering point for sentient individuals who are working to cause changes to occur in body in conformity to will. There are no victims here, and maturity is measured in the acceptance of personal responsibility, not the number of birthdays survived."

One example of a post from the Anorexic Files is from a woman trying to get into modeling -- at 4'11" and 92 pounds; she feels that her weight is preventing her from getting modeling jobs. Another posting is from a 23-year-old mother of two whose family and friends "make her eat"; her posting seeks advice on how best to disguise her lack of intake.

I hope that this post will in some small way help to draw more attention to this problem and give everyone who reads it, especially parents some “food for thought”. We need to recognize that by allowing and even demanding that models and actresses in our society be super thin, we are setting up not only them but also our own children to lead lives of secret desperation, self-destruction and very possibly early death.

An Elephant of an SUV

Too true to be funny!

Wiccan Soldiers Unworthy?

Yesterday the widows of two combat veterans sued the government for not allowing Wiccan symbols on their husbands’ military headstones. Apparently the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs allows families to choose from 38 authorized headstone images, which include commonly recognized symbols for Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and the smaller religions of Sufism Reoriented, Eckiankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-le.

I decided to write about this because it simply amazes me. Whatever happened to the idea of religious freedom in this country? Frankly I don’t think it’s coincidental that the Wiccan religious symbol is a pentacle (a pentagram inside a circle) and it’s banned while these other small religions that I’ve never even heard of are given the a-ok by our “Christian” government. I myself am Catholic and I don’t know tons about the Wiccan creed, but I do know that they’re not devil worshipers and even if they were so what? If someone dies serving this country and they want a pink elephant inscribed on their headstone then I think that’s the least this nation can do for them. Obviously, I’m being slightly facetious about the pink elephant to make a point (so please no comments trumpeting my blasphemy-hee hee), but seriously why is our government ignoring the first amendment in order to tell the family of a deceased military serviceman, “sorry, but his religious symbol is unacceptable to decorate his grave”? It's moves like this by our government that make me question just how free the land of the free and the home of the brave (except Wiccan brave evidently) is.

One further note, on doing research for this post I came across this quote from our fearless leader, who was then governor of Texas,
"I don't think witchcraft is a religion. I would hope the military officials would take a second look at the decision they made." G.W. Bush (R), as Interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America, 1999-JUN-24. (At the time the military had ruled it would be allowed). He disapproved of giving Wiccan soldiers the same religious rights as other military personnel. Now why doesn’t that surprise me?!

Top Recuiter!

Conservative Blogs B.S.

I read a lot of blogs and while I don’t necessarily agree with everything I see out there in the blogosphere I don’t get to worked up about most of it. There are however a few statements that I’ve seen over and over on conservative blogs that really piss me off mainly because they are completely illogical and misrepresent the facts even more than usual.

Probably the most inane drivel I’ve heard is the old conservative classic, “well, (insert cause here-Bush, Iraq war, Republicans etc) must be making us safer because the terrorists haven’t attacked us again.” Now at first glance this may seem to make some sense, until you realize a couple of things. First that there is absolutely no proof of cause and affect there. It’s kind of like saying, “well pork must be healthy, cause I had bacon for breakfast and I haven’t had a heart attack today”. The fact that I haven’t had a heart attack today may very well be true, but that doesn’t make the statement pork must be healthy true. That’s false logic.

The second important reason that this popular conservative argument is complete bullshit, is the fact that terrorists attacked the World Trade Center for the first time on February 26, 1993 and we we’re not attacked on our home soil again until September 11, 2001, that is over 8 and half years apart. At this point it has only been a little over 5 years since the 9/11 attacks. Common sense would therefore dictate that if the terrorists took over 8 years in between their attacks on American soil before there was a war on terror, (or a President Bush or an Iraq War )then the fact that they have not attacked us in the last 5 years is not surprising nor any sort of proof that any of Pres. Bush’s tactics are working.

In the interest of keeping this post shorter than a novel, I will close for now and address some of the conservative blogs other bullshit arguments and statements in posts to follow.

List of Gay Republican Leaders Grows

According to the GLLIN:

Social Conservatives Questioning Past Support for GOP as Evidence of Large Numbers of Gay Republican Leaders Grows (Washington, D.C.) - Mike Rogers, a leading gay activist blogger, last week took his campaign against hypocrisy by anti-gay Republicans and evangelicals who are gay themselves to the U.S. Capitol steps.
Under a full moon in front of the Capitol dome, at a prayer vigil organized by the Christian Defense Coalition "to put men and women in office that will honor God and the principles of this nation," Rogers handed out flyers with a list of 27 "known homosexuals in the Bush administration and Republican party."

On the leaflets was a version of an open letter that Rogers sent over 900 conservative Christian pastors on Friday, bearing a picture of Republican National Committee Ken Mehlman and saying that "a staggering number of leaders claim to support 'family values' in public, but secretly lead what many social conservatives call the 'homosexual lifestyle.'"
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney first told Rogers to stop leafleting, and when he did not, took the microphone to tell the crowd not to take the leaflets and keep praying.

Rogers said, "I think that social conservative voters should be told by someone just how gay the Republican leadership is. I know I'm an unlikely messenger, but I think that upon reflection, social conservative leaders will at least agree that closeted gay politicians should be straight with the public about who they are, and let the political chips fall where they may."
The event was covered by WTTG-TV, the Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C., which led its 11 p.m. news broadcast with a report on the confrontation between Rogers and Mahoney. A link to the report appears on Rogers' blog at www.blogActive.com.

Two weeks ago, Rogers released what became one of the most-watched videos on YouTube, an ad parody about Mehlman's hypocrisy. Mehlman marshalled social conservatives in the GOP's vaunted "72-hour strategy" to drive conservative voter turnout against the "pro-homosexual agenda" in the midterm elections this past Tuesday. However, Mehlman deflected a question about his own sexual identity as recently as three weeks ago on camera.
Mahoney put out a news release the Wednesday before the election saying, "If Republicans lose the House or Senate, they only have themselves to blame. They have failed to energize and empower faith and value voters which provide a critical base of support... Many evangelicals I have talked with feel used and taken for granted."

Rogers in the open letter on his leaflets said, "At the top of the Republican party, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman still refuses to answer reports that he leads a 'homosexual lifestyle.' Because of my work on this subject, I can provide you the truth that no one else will tell you."

What is it?

Ok anybody know what this is? I have no clue, but it's cute in an ugly sorta way.

What You Can Do To Support Our Troops!

You hear a lot of talk in this country about honoring our military men and women and supporting our troops. Well, Veterans Day is almost here and rather than just pay lip service to the idea of supporting our servicemen and women I hope that some or all of you will put your money where your mouth is and donate to one of these fine organizations that our doing wonderful things to help America’s military personnel, past and present.

www.operation-helmet.org/

OPERATION HELMET provides helmet upgrade kits free of charge to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to those ordered to deploy in the near future. These helmet upgrades do three primary things:
Protection - Shock-absorbing pads keep the helmet from slapping the skull when hit with blast forces, fragments, or being tumbled along the ground or inside a vehicle. This decreases the chance of brain injury from bombs, RPG's, vehicle accidents, falls, etc.
Comfort - If it is comfortable, it will stay on troop's head longer and more often.
Stability - Keeps the helmet firmly on the head and out of the eyes.


"fallenheroesfund.org

The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is constructing a world-class state-of-the-art advanced training skills facility at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The center will serve military personnel who have been catastrophically disabled in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The center will also serve military personnel and veterans severely injured in other operations and in the normal performance of their duties, combat and non-combat related.

Although sufficient funding has been received for the construction costs, the Fund is accepting donations to provide additional services to the patients who will be treated in the Center and their families. These services may include facilities for patients' children, additional medical equipment and supplies, medical research to improve the care of patients, or other areas relating to the Center's activities including the patients and their families. One hundred percent of the contributions will continue to go to these services, with nothing taken out for the Fund's administrative costs. We thank you for continuing to support our efforts.


"FisherHouse.org

Supporting America's military in their time of need, we provide "a home away from home" that enables family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time -- during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.

Sizing Up Our Fearless Leader

I thought this was amusing.

U.S. Religious Right Baffled By Election

According to the Advocate:

From around the US voters sent messages that altered America's culture wars and dismayed the religious right -- defending abortion rights in US state South Dakota, endorsing stem cell research in Missouri, and, in a national first, rejecting a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona. Conservative leaders were jolted by the setbacks and looked for an explanation on Wednesday. Gay rights and abortion rights activists celebrated.

The verdict on abortion rights was particularly clear. Oregon and California voters defeated measures requiring parents to be notified before a girl under 18 could get an abortion, and South Dakotans - by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent - rejected a new state law that would have banned all abortions except to save a pregnant woman's life.

"This was really a rebellion in the heart" of anti-abortion Republican territory, said Sarah Stoesz, head of the Planned Parenthood chapter that oversees South Dakota. "It sends a very strong message to the rest of the country." South Dakota legislators had passed the law in expectation it would trigger a court challenge and lead to a possible Supreme Court reversal of the 1973 Roe vs Wade decision legalising abortion. Anti-abortion leaders said the Republicans shared some of the blame for the defeat.The Reverend Thomas J Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, said President Bush and other top Republicans failed to campaign strongly for the South Dakota abortion ban and against the Missouri stem cell measure. "While South Dakotans fought valiantly to defend their babies, we once again witnessed an almost total lack of support from the national leadership," Euteneuer said. Operation Rescue president Troy Newman said the election results meant any legislation from Congress restricting abortion would be "virtually impossible" for the next two years.

Janice Shaw Crouse of Concerned Women for America suggested that Republicans -- some of them entangled in corruption and sex scandals -- had lost some of the selling power of the "family values" themes they had pushed in recent elections. "Families had such high hopes when conservatives were in power; they ended up discouraged, disappointed and disillusioned," she said.

In Missouri, anti-abortion groups, evangelical Christian clergy and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Louis campaigned hard against the stem cell measure, contending it would condone life-destroying embryonic research.

Voters in six states also approved ballot boosting their minimum wage above the federally mandated $5.15 an hour, getting a jump on newly empowered Democrats in Congress who have vowed to raise the wage nationwide.
The measures won with support ranging from 76 percent in Missouri to 53 percent in Colorado, where business groups mounted an aggressive opposition campaign.Arizona, Montana, Nevada and Ohio also approved increases, joining 23 other states that already have set their minimum wages above the federal level.

Walk of Shame!

After being embarrassed at the polls Tuesday, this famous Republican Advisor ventured out in disguise!-hee, hee

Beam Me Up Scotty!

Not much to say tonight, but is this a cool pic. or what?! I think space stuff is beautiful and used to dream of being an astonomer, until I found out how much math is involved. Math and me are a truly ugly combination.-Lol

Rejoice, We're Finally Rid of Rummy!

Rumsfield's gone! Alleluia!!! My first though thought when I heard this was alleluia, my second thought was, thank God Pres. Bush was either too dumb or too stubborn or both to do this a couple of days before the election. The American people wanted change and now they have the beginning of some. Onward and foward to a better America!

America Sets a New Course!

Thank God it looks like America has finally woken out of her stupor! It's 4:45 am e.s.t. here and the Democrats have cleaned up in the house and look like they may very well be headed to taking the Senate as well. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I will be doing a "happy dance," for days to come.

I truly believe that the country made the right choice and not simply because they gave Democrats power, but because with a Democratic Congress and a Republican Executive branch I believe that the days of extreme partisanship and lack of compromise will have to end. I also think having the Congress in Democrats hands will bring back some much needed oversight and balance to our government. I sincerely hope that this election will be the beginning of a new course for America, a course towards a more moderate center, a course of bipartisanship, a course away from corruption and towards accomplishing what's best for America.

What are you sitting there for, go Vote!

I don't usually post a couple comics in a row, but this seemed especially appropriate for Election Day. Please get out and vote, it's our right and our duty!

Home Sweet Home

LMAO!

10 Reasons to Vote for the Democrats!

1. A Democratic Congress will not simply rubberstamp everything, from Pres. Bush’s exorbitant spending bills (when we’re in debt up to our ears), to Cheney’s continued plan to “just stay the course” in Iraq, when the ‘course’ has got us lost in a wilderness of chaos and death.

2. A Democratic Congress will provide the check and balance to this administrations extreme grab for executive branch power. Our forefathers intended Congress to prevent the President from overreaching for power. The present Republican Congress has not provided any check or balance and has allowed the President to illegally wire-tap American’s phones and suspend Habeas Corpus (thus shredding our bill of rights).

3. Power corrupts. The Republicans have been in sole control of Congress for 12 years and have proven this adage true with the likes of indicted and/or convicted; Tom Delay, Randy “Duke” Cunningham, Bob Ney, Scooter Libby, James Tobin, Ralph Reed and their favorite lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

4. They say the economy’s good, but middle-class salaries are stalled, energy prices continue to rise, our national debt is in the trillions and the vast majority of the jobs that have been created pay about $7.50 an hour. Meanwhile manufacturing plants in the U.S. continue to pack up and move over seas taking our decent paying jobs with them.

5. In their famous, “Contract with America”, the Republicans promised to balance the budget, cut pork-barrel spending and lobbyists influence and bring morality back to Washington. Have they kept that promise?

6. Republicans say we’re safer now, but while the vast majority of our military forces are mired in a war with a country which was never a threat to us, Osama Bin Laden runs free, Iran laughs at us and continues its nuclear program and N. Korea test fires nuclear weapons.

7. Despite billion dollar budgets allocated for national security, the U.S. still does not have any system to check the tens of thousands of cargo containers entering the country on a daily basis, nor do we check planes cargo or more than 2% of airline luggage for explosives. Countries such as Britain and Israel manage to check 100% of their airlines cargo and luggage so it is quite possible to do if your citizens’ security is truly a priority. Do you feel safer?

8. The U.S. is one of the richest countries in the world so why does it rank 72nd in the world in healthcare, according to the World Health Organization’s Dale Index, far below the average of developed nations? Why do 45.8 million Americans (about 15% of the total population) have no health insurance coverage (2004) a number which rose by about 850,000 from the previous year? Most uninsured Americans are working-class persons between the ages of 2 and 65 whose employers do not provide health insurance and who earn to much to qualify for one of the local or state insurance programs for the poor, but don’t earn enough to cover the cost of buying their own insurance. The Democrats have a plan to address the overwhelming healthcare crisis in this country, what have the Republicans done?

9. America can’t afford to keep the Republicans in office, literally can’t afford it! Republicans laud themselves as fiscally conservative, but under their management we have run-up the largest deficit in U.S. and world history. President Bush has signed every single spending package placed in front of him, and these spending packages have been overloaded with pork barrel incentives. The President and Republican Congress have passed spending packages with over 16,000 pork barrel earmarks. The last Democratically controlled Congress passed bills with a couple of hundred pork barrel earmarks. The Republicans promised to clean up pork barrel spending, instead they’ve cleaned their plates and gone back for second and third helpings of the bacon!

10. The Republicans claim to support the troops, but have under funded the Veterans Administration, which provides healthcare for our wounded soldiers, over and over since they took office. They talk a good game on patriotism, but when it comes right down to it, they just don’t GET IT! They refuse to change strategy or leadership in Iraq. They attempt to cut hazard pay for our military personnel serving in combat areas. They under fund our Veterans Administration. They’ve passed billions of dollars of funding for the Iraq War and yet try to demand that our combat forces pay for upgrades in their body armor themselves, out of pocket. Is that supporting our troops?!!!!! The Democrats currently in Congress have stood up over and over again to prevent Pres. Bush from shafting the very soldiers he claims to love and support. Check the records.

Remember this Guy?!

Remember this guy? Does anyone else find it a little odd that we never hear a peep about him, from our government, anymore? Pres. Bush loves to talk tough on terrorism, but the fact of the matter is that the man who planned, financed and gave the go ahead to attack America on Sept. 11th is still running around free as a bird and we have 140,000 U.S. troops fighting in a country that had nothing to do with attacking America. Maybe if we had sent those 140,000 soldiers and marines to Afghanistan Osama wouldn't have escaped and be hanging out in Pakistan, making us look like fools. Just my thought for the day!

Words of Wisdom!

These are some quotes I like and think relevant to America's current situation.


"The shaft of the arrow has been feathered with one of the eagle's own plumes. We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction".–Aesop



"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety". –Benjamin Franklin



"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." -Albert Einstein



"I know war as few other men now living know it, and nothing to me is more revolting. I have long advocated its complete abolition, as its very destructiveness on both friend and foe has rendered it useless as a method of settling international disputes". –General Douglas Macarthur



"History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap".-Ronald Reagan



"During times of war, hatred becomes quite respectable, even though it has to masquerade often under the guise of patriotism".-Howard Thurman



"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved". –Franklin D. Roosevelt




"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them". –Mark Twain


"Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself".-Mark Twain

"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong".-Voltaire

The Perfect Poster Boy!

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - Embattled evangelist Ted Haggard admitted on Friday to buying the drug methamphetamine and seeking a massage from a gay male prostitute but denied he had sex with the man or used the stimulant.
Haggard, a vocal opponent of gay marriage, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday after being accused by a male escort of having had a sexual relationship with him and using meth.
"I did call him. I called him to buy some meth. But I threw it away. I was buying it for me but I never used it," Haggard, who looked uneasy as he sat in a car with his wife, said in an interview with KUSA TV in Colorado broadcast on CNN.
Asked if he had sex with his accuser, he replied tersely, "No I did not." He said he had sought the man out at a Denver hotel for a "massage”.

POSTER BOY
With his chiseled features and wide smile, Haggard was a poster boy for the evangelical movement and social conservative causes. Harper's magazine reported he had regularly advised the White House.


Well, I guess it wasn’t really a sin then, since he ‘threw’ the freshly purchased meth away, and
was only with a male prostitute in a motel in order to get a “healthy” massage!—LMAO
Is there no end to the complete hypocrisy of the right wing fanatics? I’m one of those horrible, frightening gay people this moron has preached about God smiting for the last however many years and do you know what my bad habit is? I smoke, cigarettes that is-lol. My morally bankrupt existence consists of, working, paying bills, catching the occasional movie, walking my dogs and having the audacity to be in a 6 year monogamous relationship that involves no cheating, no drugs, no crimes and mostly just a lot of hanging out together and talking. Yup, I can see why some people in this nation feel threatened by my wild lifestyle and embrace the good, righteousness of people like Ted Haggard, Mark Foley, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Delay, Bob Ney, and Randy “Duke” Cunningham.

Botched a War

American Values

Every time election season rolls around, the political hype begins and we hear the same old, “This is the most important election in our lifetime,” line. Now usually, while I believe every election is important, I roll my eyes at this kind of over dramatization. This time is different though and while I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s the most important election of our lifetimes, I would say it’s right up there in the top five and I’ll tell you why.

We’ve heard a lot about American values in the last seven years or so. In fact we’ve been inundated with “values” jargon. What exactly are, “American values”? Well according to the right wing of this country they consist of, keeping gays from marrying, making abortion illegal, prayer in schools and the Ten Commandments on our courthouse steps. Obviously these things are important to some Americans, perhaps even to you, but are they the values that have made this country truly great and unique in the annals of history? Are they the values that all Americans have held dear and many have fought and died for? No, they’re not. The true American values, the ones this country was built upon are liberty, freedom, equality and democracy. Without these values what would America be? I believe this election is very important because these true “American Values” are in grave danger, not from an outside enemy, but from within our own government and without, “American values” we won’t need to worry about some terrorist blowing the country up, because it will already be as good as dead.

Perhaps you think I’m guilty of over dramatization, histrionics even. If so take a good hard look around you at what’s happening to our “values” and our bill of rights. First, the President decided to ignore the fourth amendment that protects us from unlawful search and seizure, by secretly green lighting the NSA to wire tap any Americans phone without having to go to the trouble of asking a court for a warrant. This action was completely illegal, but don’t worry not for long because since then the Congress instead of stopping the President from illegal activity has proposed legislation to legalize it thereby completely gutting the amendment for good. If that’s not enough to worry you, don’t fret there’s plenty more. While the nation was busy foaming at the mouth over the Mark Foley scandal, Bush urged Congress to hurry up and pass the Military Commissions Act, which they did late the night of Sept. 28. They we’re in such a rush that many congressmen didn’t bother to even read the bill, which had a small section in it’s midst which suspended Habeas Corpus. For anyone who doesn’t know, Habeas corpus (ad subjiciendum) is Latin for “you may have the body” (subject to examination). It is a writ which requires a person detained by the authorities be brought before a court of law so that the legality of the detention may be examined. Pres. Bush lost no time in signing this bill and so now if he decides he doesn’t like what you or I or a reporter or any American says he can have us picked up and detain us indefinitely without benefit of a lawyer or Ever seeing a judge.

Wake up America; this is some scary shit (excuse the language)! I know that there are a lot of Americans out there who put great trust and faith in our government and President, but there is a reason we have a Constitution and Bill of Rights to protect us, and without them we will be no better off than a citizen of China, where they have to rely on luck and keeping their mouths shut to avoid government suspicion and punishment. If these reasons alone are not enough to convince every American that this election is extremely important and that they must vote, then I think that there are too few citizens that truly love America and we will all suffer the grim consequences.

The White House Basement

This one speaks for itself!

Ten Reasons Why Gay Marriage Is Wrong

This has been making its rounds on the web recently:

Homosexuality is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

Straight marriage will be less meaningful if homosexual marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Homosexual couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.

Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.

Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Bizarre Baby

I like cute/funny animal pics., and this sorta qualifies as cute if a bit bizarre. My only question is what the heck is it? Kangaroo? Anyone know?

Talk is Cheap! (part 2)

This post is part 2 of my, “Talks Cheap” post. If you haven’t read part 1, please scroll down and read the previous post first.

Year after year the patriotic rhetoric from Pres. Bush’s administration grows louder while our veterans’ benefits continue to be cut and woefully under funded. There’s a name for the type of behavior this adminstration's displayed in supporting our troops; hypocrisy. Here are some of the headlines and excerpts from newspapers across the country in 2004 & 2005:

Demand Strains VA Sites in State
By Marsha Austin
Denver Post Staff Writer
Dec. 2004

Colorado’s veteran’s healthcare system is straining under unprecedented demand and a budget shortfall as thousands of ill and injured soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan in need of care.
“It will be a very difficult budget year,” said Ed Thorsland, director of the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System. “We just hope and pray that we make it through”.
The $245 million budget for fiscal 2005, which has already started, is nearly $1 million less than 2002 funding levels.


Michigan State Clinic Reaches Capacity for Veterans Patients
Associated Press
2004

Ted Sperling a 57 year old Lansing resident, who served two years in the Army, began going to the clinic 5 years ago. He recently saw a sign about cutting off new veteran patients. “It certainly isn’t fair,” he said. “I don’t like seeing other veterans denied something that’s permitted to me”.


VA Medical Center to Cut Back Services
Altoona Mirror, Altoona, Pa.
Dec. 2004

The Van Zandt VA Medical Center will cut back funding for patient services, eliminate money for military celebrations and strike all capital projects and hiring to ease a projected $5 million shortfall this fiscal year.
“It perturbs me,” local veteran Charlie Ofiesh said. “Costs keep going up, but they (Congress) don’t raise funding in the same percentage,” he said. “I can’t figure it out”.



Togus VA Medical Center Faces Budget Shortfall
By Dan McGillvry
Blethen Maine Newspaper
2005


With a 14.2 million dollar shortfall projected for the annual allocation at the VA Medical Center at Togus, officials are exploring ways to cut costs while maintaining services at current levels.

In March 2005 the Togus Va Med. Center was forced to cut their staff by 50 employees.


Funds for Health Care of Veterans $1 Billion Short
2005 Deficit Angers Senate Republicans, Advocacy Groups
By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 24, 2005

The Bush administration, already accused by veterans groups of seeking inadequate funds for health care next year, acknowledged yesterday that it is short $1 billion for covering current needs at the Department of Veterans Affairs this year.
The disclosure of the shortfall angered Senate Republicans who have been voting down Democratic proposals to boost VA programs at significant political cost. Their votes have brought the wrath of the American Legion, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and other organizations down on the GOP.



If I wanted to make this blog post a book I could go on and on with headlines from every state saying the same type of things over and over, budget shortfall, cuts in funding, layoffs of medical staff, unable to service new veterans, closing VA pharmacies, closing VA medical centers. I think you get the point.

While this Republican administration and Republican controlled Congress talk a great game about the importance of supporting our troops, that’s all it is, Talk, their Actions in continuously under funding the VA speak much louder and clearer to the truth than their words ever will!