Saturday, July 28, 2007

The Puddycat of Death

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours.

His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means the patient has less than four hours to live.
"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," Dr. David Dosa said in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.

The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.
After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.

Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.
Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill.

She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near.
Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room, though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.

Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advance warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.

No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause. Teno wonders if the cat notices telltale scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him.

Nicholas Dodman, who directs an animal behavioral clinic at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and has read Dosa's article, said the only way to know is to carefully document how Oscar divides his time between the living and dying.
If Oscar really is a furry grim reaper, it's also possible his behavior could be driven by self-centered pleasures like a heated blanket placed on a dying person, Dodman said.
Nursing home staffers aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.

Oscar recently received a wall plaque publicly commending his "compassionate hospice care."

Oscar the cat sounds like a sweetie, but if I see him coming I'm running the other way!-lol

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Iraqi's Vacation


Hi people! I probably won't be posting for the next couple of days as I have tons of stuff to do, including painting my dining and living rooms. I'll get back to blogging asap, until then I hope all of you have a great week.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Injured Iraq War Vets Sue VA

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Frustrated by delays in health care, a coalition of injured Iraq war veterans is accusing VA Secretary Jim Nicholson of breaking the law by denying them disability pay and mental health treatment.The class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco, seeks broad change in the agency as it struggles to meet growing demands from veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Suing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans, it charges that the VA has failed warriors on several fronts -- from providing prompt disability benefits, to adding staff to reduce wait times for medical care to boosting services for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The lawsuit also accuses the VA of deliberately cheating some veterans by allegedly working with the Pentagon to misclassify PTSD claims as pre-existing personality disorders to avoid paying out benefits. The VA and Pentagon have generally denied such charges.

VA spokesman Matt Smith said Monday he could not comment on a pending lawsuit. But he said the agency is committed to meeting the special needs of Iraq war veterans.

I'm glad to see that some veterans are feed up with waiting for this country to fix the problems that have plagued the VA for years. What type of country doesn't take proper care of its' military veterans? I'd say a piss poor one with some seriously confused priorities.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

A Taste of His Own Medicine


I am completely disgusted by the cruel actions of NFL quarterback Michael Vick. People like him are enough to make you ashamed to be a human being. How anyone can treat dogs with such callousness and cruelty is beyond me. If you're equally appalled, sign this petition to urge the NFL commissioner to suspend Vick: Suspend Vick

Friday, July 20, 2007

GOP Hopefuls Outspending Democrats So Far

The top Republican presidential candidates spent more than their Democratic counterparts in the first six months of the year, even though the Republican contenders raised less money, the latest campaign-finance reports show.

Republicans Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain outspent Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards by more than $20 million, a USA TODAY analysis found. The three Republicans lag the top Democrats in total receipts by $40 million and have $61 million less in the bank.

The Republicans "are running Cadillac campaigns," said Michael McDonald, a political scientist at George Mason University in Virginia. He cautioned that they will "have to re-engineer their campaigns and downsize to a more efficient vehicle" if they are to compete effectively when more than 20 states hold primaries or caucuses Feb. 5.

It looks like the GOP's latest batch of wannabee leaders, is just as "fiscally" conservative as good ole' George W.!! I'm thinking that if their campaigns have to sign up for some sort of government assistance (welfare) down the road, they may be in trouble-lmao.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

President Bush & Republicans Attempt to Screw Our Troops Again!


Talk about lousy timing. With President Bush's popularity scraping bottom in opinion polls, with U.S. casualties rising in Iraq in a force surge that has stretched tours to 15 months, the Bush administration has said it "strongly opposes" key military pay and benefit gains tossed into the fiscal 2008 defense bill.

Initiatives the administration opposes include:
· A military pay raise for next January of 3.5 percent versus 3 percent endorsed by the White House.

· Lowering the age-60 start of reserve retirement annuities for reserve component members by the length of their future mobilizations.

· Expanding eligibility for Combat-Related Special Compensation to service members forced by combat disabilities to retire short of 20 years.

· Directing pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide the Department of Defense with same-price discounts for Tricare retail pharmacy network that are provided on medicines dispensed from base pharmacies.

The administration also grumbled that the Senate intends to block for another year Tricare fee increases for under-65 retirees and dependents.

The objections appear in a "Statement of Administration Policy" from the White House's Office of Management and Budget delivered to Senate leaders as they opened floor debate on the defense authorization bill.

A day later, Senate Republicans, at White House urging, blocked amendments that would have shortened Iraq tours for U.S. ground forces and slowed the frequency of war deployments.

Bush and his sycophant followers in Congress love having their pictures taken with our men and women in uniform. They love to pretend that they care and truly support our military personnel, but when it gets right down to it, when they have chances to actually show that “support and caring”, to prove that their words aren’t just hollow, political rhetoric designed to further their own careers, this is how they act. They vote and push constantly and consistently to screw the very people they trumpet as heroes. If you apply the old adage, “actions speak louder than words” to the republican’s treatment of our troops, the truth of how much they really care is obvious, very little, if at all.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Fort Lewis To Consolidate Memorials For the Dead

Michael Gilbert The News Tribune
Fort Lewis, which this month has suffered its worst losses of the war, will no longer conduct individual memorial ceremonies for soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Instead, the post will hold one ceremony for all soldiers killed each month, the Fort Lewis acting commanding general, Brig. Gen. William Troy, wrote in a memo to commanders and staff last week.

“As much as we would like to think otherwise, I am afraid that with the number of soldiers we now have in harm’s way, our losses will preclude us from continuing to do individual memorial ceremonies,” Troy wrote in the memo, according to a copy obtained by United for Peace Pierce County and posted on the group’s Web site. A post spokesman confirmed the policy change Tuesday. It will start in June.

There are 10,000 Fort Lewis troops in Iraq, more than at any other time since the March 2003 invasion. The post has reported 16 soldiers killed there so far in May, by far the most in any month of the war. The previous worst month was December 2004, when nine soldiers were killed, including six in the Mosul chow hall bombing. In all overseas deployments since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, 124 Fort Lewis soldiers have died.

In his memo dated May 22, Troy said he asked the post’s senior chaplain, Col. Jack Van Dyken, to work out the details of the new policy.

“I see this as a way of sharing the heavy burdens our spouses and rear detachments bear, while giving our fallen warriors the respect they deserve,” Troy wrote. “It will also give the families of the fallen the opportunity to bond with one another, as they see others who share their grief.”

Other Army posts already consolidate soldier memorials into one or two ceremonies per month.

My girlfriend's nephew is currently serving in Iraq. He's stationed out of Ft. Lewis, in Washington. His wife brought this new Ft. Lewis policy to my attention and I must say I think it's a sad day in America when our troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan can't get their own individual funerals/memorials. I realize that it's more financially practical to hold a monthly ceremony for all the soldiers at once but, I personally think honoring each and every soldier, who's given his/her life for the nation, is the least we can do and a more than worthwhile expense.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Death Row


Sunday, July 15, 2007

Our "Friends", The Saudis'


Los Angeles Times

BAGHDAD — Although Bush administration officials have frequently lashed out at Syria and Iran, accusing it of helping insurgents and militias here, the largest number of foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from a third neighbor, Saudi Arabia, according to a senior U.S. military officer and Iraqi lawmakers.

About 45% of all foreign militants targeting U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians and security forces are from Saudi Arabia; 15% are from Syria and Lebanon; and 10% are from North Africa, according to official U.S. military figures made available to The Times by the senior officer. Nearly half of the 135 foreigners in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq are Saudis, he said.Fighters from Saudi Arabia are thought to have carried out more suicide bombings than those of any other nationality, said the senior U.S. officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity. It is apparently the first time a U.S. official has given such a breakdown on the role played by Saudi nationals in Iraq's Sunni Arab insurgency.He said 50% of all Saudi fighters in Iraq come here as suicide bombers. In the last six months, such bombings have killed or injured 4,000 Iraqis.

The situation has left the U.S. military in the awkward position of battling an enemy whose top source of foreign fighters is a key ally that at best has not been able to prevent its citizens from undertaking bloody attacks in Iraq, and at worst shares complicity in sending extremists to commit attacks against U.S. forces, Iraqi civilians and the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.The problem casts a spotlight on the tangled web of alliances and enmities that underlie the political relations between Muslim nations and the U.S.

Let’s put this in perspective, nine of the eleven terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, zero were from Iraq. So we invaded Iraq and Saudi Arabia is our “friend and ally”?! Now, Bush and company want to bomb Iran because it’s helping insurgents in Iraq. Saudi Arabia is helping the insurgency in Iraq, but they’re still our “friend and ally”?! With logic like this is it any wonder that Bin Laden is free and rebuilding Al Qaeda’s strength in Pakistan and we're caught in a unwinnable quagmire in Iraq? I’ll tell you what my prayer for this country is, “God, please give us leader’s with some common sense and at least a few working brain cells”!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Impeachment Now!

Saw this at People in the Sun. Spread it around. Let's get this thing out there.

We the people want impeachment NOW

The other day, George Bush decided to let Scooter Libby, the one man who was convicted for the lies around the Iraq war, avoid serving out his prison sentence. Even Paris Hilton served more jail time than he will. And letting Libby off the hook is only the most recent example of a consistent Bush administration pattern of obstruction of justice. Warrantless wiretaps, Alberto Gonzalez, the original outing of Valerie Plame; we're all familiar with the numerous past transgressions by these criminals.As they say in civics class, America is a country of laws, not of men. It's time for Congress to stand up and use those laws to rid our country of the men who are systematically dismantling our constitution and ignoring the checks and balances that have always protected our democracy. Bush and Cheney think their administration is above the law. That's un-American, and this July 4th it's time for Congress to re-assert its constitutional authority and stop the administration's obstruction of justice.Congress can start by demanding answers from the Bush administration about the Iraq war and their illegal spying program, and not backing down until they get them. Cheney won't testify? Subpoena him. He won't come? Hold him in contempt of Congress and send over the police. And if that doesn't work, impeach the guy. We just can't let President Bush and his administration continue to wipe their feet on our Constitution.Let's celebrate Independence Day by reaffirming the basic, founding idea of our government: No one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law. Sign this petition to urge Congress to act NOW! If enough of us make enough noise, and for long enough, and from all corners of our country, then perhaps this Congress will stiffen it's spine and move to remedy the poison that has seeped into our land for far too long now.After you've signed the petition and pestered your own Congress critter, join me by copying this post to your own blog, and adding your blog to the list below. Let's take this message of unity and support to every corner of America, and show just how many of us are ready to take back America!- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Instructions:1.- Copy and paste this message as a new post on your own blog.2. - Replace one of the “Impeach NOW” tags in the matrix below with your anchor text (Blog name) of choice with your blog’s URL (Don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have questions about this!). Please keep anchor text to a max of 3 words to keep the matrix size manageable.3. - Encourage and invite your readers to do the same and soon this can grow virally.
4.- The above steps will not only add your voice to the chorus for impeachment, but will also increase your Technorati stats as an added bonus.
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We, the undersigned bloggers of America, agreeing that dissent is the truest form of patriotism, hereby publicly voice our unanimous discontent with the Bush administration and beseech the Congress of the United States of America to provide redress by immediately initiating impeachment proceedings against George W. Bush and Richard Cheney.

Left in Aboite Fort Wayne Left Left of Centrist Monticello America Weeps Get Your Own Der Parson's Rant The Katrinacrat Let's Talk About It Carol for Peace Divided States bu$hmeriKa Dizzy Dayz Anti-bush pro-usa States-a-Mind Life’s Journey A Poetic Justice The Peace Tree Poets For Peace The Anti-War Theatre APJ Photomontage LeftwingNutJob The Sirens Chronicles Sumo Merriment People in the Sun Moondanzer Delivers Lionboi Blues & News ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW ImpeachNOW

The Light Bulb

How many George W. Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?

None.

There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; it's condition is improving every day.
Any reports of it's lack of incandescence are totally unfounded, and the result of delusional "spin" assaults from the fanatic, elitist, liberal media.
.
That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect and dims it's ego.

Why do you hate freedom?

This had me laughing hard!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Humpty Dumpty

When I was a kid one of my favorite nursery rhymes was Humpty Dumpty. I don’t know if Barbara Bush read this one to little Georgie or not, but it might be good for him to brush up on it either way, because it’s a simple, yet accurate metaphor for Iraq and maybe even he could understand it. It’s a sad truth of life that sometimes no matter how hard you want to fix something, no matter how much time, energy and man power you put into accomplishing it, it’s broken and you can’t put it back together again. Such was the case with Humpty and such is the case in Iraq. Unfortunately, President Bush, much like a small child who broke his toy, doesn’t want to hear this and ignores anyone who tries to tell him. He stubbornly insists it can be fixed, and much like a spoiled four year old on a rampage with crazy glue, he continues to make a bigger and bigger mess which someone will have to clean up, probably after Georgie goes to bed.

Bush's New I-raq Phone


Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Schmooze Award Goes To.....



According to Mariuca, schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well.

Well today is the day you lucky people! I want to hand out the Schmooze Award to a few of my well deserving fellow bloggers.

The first Schmoozy goes to Larry over at Let’s Talk. Larry runs a couple of wonderful political blogs, yet always manages to find the time to comment on everyone else’s. He definitely leaves a trail of smiles behind where ever he goes and is an all around cool guy.

The next Schmooze Award goes to Tom, from Who Hijacked Our Country. Tom’s way with words and passion make his blog a must read. He brings those qualities to his comments as well, which improves the quality of the blogosphere in general.

Last, but certainly not least, the Schmoozy goes to David, author of D.C. Podhaskie. David’s blog is bipartisan and while I don’t always agree with all of his opinions, he brings some superb writing, a seriously witty humor, and a pleasant reasonable manner to each of his posts. His blog is the type that, I believe, makes the blogosphere a great place to visit.

There are many other well deserving bloggers out there, but I decided to pick just three, and these three are some of my favorites. If you haven’t already checked out there blogs, I highly recommend doing so, as they won’t disappoint!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Oath

During her testimony today in front of Congress, Sara Taylor, former White House Political Director, said something that I found both frightening and quite telling. At one point in her testimony she stated that, “I took an oath and I take that oath to the President very seriously”. Senator Patrick Leahy immediately corrected her, pointing out that the oath she had sworn was to the Constitution, not to the President. Was this a harmless misstatement on Ms. Taylor’s part? Neocons will surely argue that it was, but while it was certainly a misstatement, I believe that rather than a harmless faux pas it was a chilling glimpse into the mindset of those who have served and those who continue to serve in the Bush administration.

It doesn’t take a very close examination of our current Presidential administration to see the obvious, that it’s minion work and act under the guise that an oath to uphold our Constitution is synonymous with an oath to uphold the President They seem to believe that no matter what happens their first responsibility, whether as government employees or private citizens, is to serve the will of President Bush, to loyally follow him and do his bidding, even if it’s illegal or diametrically opposed to the Constitution. This is a patently false and dangerous misconstruction of duty. In America, as opposed to say Nazi Germany, our government employees, do not and can not swear allegiance to any one man, or the office he/she may hold. This is one of the fundamental differences between a democracy and a dictatorship. When people start confusing the basic tenets that make this a democracy with those that form a dictatorship that is, to put it mildly, some scary shit!

The people who support President Bush, Dick Cheney and company in their unprecedented grab for overwhelming executive branch power, either do not understand or do not care the risk and inherent danger they are exposing our country to. Neocons will tell you that liberals are paranoid and that it’s no big deal, but they couldn’t be more wrong. By thinking and acting as if the President and the executive branch is the sole end all and be all of this nation, they are complicit in severely damaging the very fiber of our democracy and that is a very big deal indeed.

Last Breathe

It started as a barely audible murmur, but as time past and frustrations grew, more and more people took up the cry and the low rumble became a roar, a roar of discontent and outrage. A roar that even now sweeps across the land, swelling in volume as it goes. It’s loud, incessant, and demanding and it can be heard all over America. It’s the sound of the people. The ordinary citizens of this country standing up and crying out for an end to this war without merit, this war that has drained America, this war that offers only new terrorists, stronger enemies and more dead Americans to fill the empty coffers and coffins of our land.

Have no doubt America, we the people have done our job. We have raised our voices, first whispering then shouting our dissent. We have communicated our message over the airwaves, across the internet, in the streets and from the ballot box. We continue to yell, but our leaders plug their ears even as they nod in acknowledgement to us. They pretend to hear our pleas; they feign interest in our concerns, but most our deaf to our loudest screams. They patronize the people, the average Americans of our nation, with their mimicked agreement, but once tucked back into the presumed safety of their cocoons of power they continue to vote to fund this war with no deadline for withdrawal in sight.

Yes, the halls of Congress are well insulated from the noise of the people and the White House is utterly sound proof. So the din, the cacophony we’ve raised so loudly falls to silence as it reaches this nations capitol. It dies not slowly, not naturally, oh no, it is slain. Stabbed and pierced through the very heart, our democracy gasps for breathe.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

The Schmooze Award


According to Mariuca, schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well.
I’ve been awarded the Schmooze Award by the wonderful Raven, over at Stuperhero Extraordinaire I just want to say, thank you so much Raven, it’s an honor. I will be handing it out to some of my favorite blogging friends sometime soon. I borrowed the schmoozing definition from Raven, thanks. I hope you don’t mind.
One last note, a little while ago I was honored by the Blog Thinking Award by Larry at Let’s Talk. I didn't post about it, because I am fairly computer illiterate and at the time I didn't know how to add hyperlinks properly. Larry was very kind in trying to help me figure it out, but I couldn't seem to get it right. Recently I found a friend who could show me on their computer how to do it. Anyway, long story short, I just wanted to give a shout out to Larry and let him know that I really did appreciate his award and I hope he understands why I didn't repost it.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Fred Thompson Helped Nixon During Watergate




By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Writer Sat Jul 7, 4:38 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Fred Thompson gained an image as a tough-minded investigative counsel for the Senate Watergate committee. Yet President Nixon and his top aides viewed the fellow Republican as a willing, if not too bright, ally, according to White House tapes.

Thompson, now preparing a bid for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, won fame in 1973 for asking a committee witness the bombshell question that revealed Nixon had installed hidden listening devices and taping equipment in the Oval Office.
Those tapes show Thompson played a behind-the-scenes role that was very different from his public image three decades ago. He comes across as a partisan willing to cooperate with the Nixon White House's effort to discredit the committee's star witness.
It was Thompson who tipped off the White House that the Senate committee knew about the tapes. They eventually cinched Nixon's downfall in the scandal resulting from the break-in at Democratic headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington and the subsequent White House cover-up.
Thompson, then 30, was appointed counsel by his political mentor, Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker, the top Republican on the Senate investigative committee. Thompson had been an assistant U.S. attorney in Nashville, Tenn., and had managed Baker's re-election campaign. Thompson later was a senator himself.
Nixon was disappointed with the selection of Thompson, whom he called "dumb as hell." The president did not think Thompson was skilled enough to interrogate unfriendly witnesses and would be outsmarted by the committee's Democratic counsel.
This assessment comes from audio tapes of White House conversations recently reviewed by The Associated Press at the National Archives in College Park, Md., and transcripts of those discussions that are published in "Abuse of Power: The New Watergate Tapes," by historian Stanley Kutler.
"Oh s---, that kid," Nixon said when told by his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, of Thompson's appointment on Feb. 22, 1973.
"Well, we're stuck with him," Haldeman said.
In a meeting later that day in the Old Executive Office Building, Baker assured Nixon that Thompson was up to the task. "He's tough. He's six feet five inches, a big mean fella," the senator told Nixon.
Publicly, Baker and Thompson presented themselves as dedicated to uncovering the truth. But Baker had secret meetings and conversations with Nixon and his top aides, while Thompson worked cooperatively with the White House and accepted coaching from Nixon's lawyer, J. Fred Buzhardt, the tapes and transcripts show.
Just what we need, another not so bright President who believes that covering up and lying is the height of good leadership!

Valerie Plame Was a Covert CIA Agent

The far right continues to spread the lie that Valerie Plame was not a covert agent when her name was disclosed to the media. Here is a link where you can actually view a copy of the now unclassified CIA document which shows her status was covert at the time of her outing: CIA Document

Mission Accomplished


Saturday, July 07, 2007

Former 9/11 Panel Member Says U.S. Still Not Secure

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Al Qaeda is gaining strength and the United States is still not as safe as it should be, former Indiana congressman Tim Roemer said Saturday.
Speaking about a week after failed bombing attacks in Britain, the 9/11 commission member chided Congress and the White House for not taking enough action to secure the country from another attack.
Roemer urged lawmakers to move forward on adopting safety measures the commission suggested and asked President Bush not to threaten to veto the proposed legislation.
"Only half of these bipartisan recommendations have been passed," Roemer said during the weekly Democratic radio address. "The White House's execution and funding of them has received failing grades."
He identified border security as one of the most critical issues for protecting the country.
"We still do not have the ability to know fully who and what is crossing our borders and sailing into our ports," he said. "We've left the door open to attacks."
Roemer emphasized his belief that al Qaeda is training more people to participate in terrorist activities and that the war in Iraq is "creating a new generation of jihadists."
He listed information sharing, infrastructure protection and first responder communication among other domestic priorities to combat these threats. Internationally, he stressed the importance of securing "loose nuclear material" and increasing educational opportunities for people in the Middle East.
"We need to fix the logjam in Washington," Roemer said. "We cannot afford to wait any longer."

AMEN to that! Perhaps if we ended the complete snafu in Iraq, which is leading to More terrorists, we could afford to secure our own country. Of course, even with a huge budget it will never happen while Bush is President, as it "makes sense" and doesn't put any money in his or Cheney's pockets.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

What's Wrong With This Picture?!

If we divided the income of the US into thirds, we find that the top ten percent of the population gets a third, the next thirty percent gets another third, and the bottom sixty percent get the last third. If we divide the wealth of the US into thirds, we find that the top one percent own a third, the next nine percent own another third, and the bottom ninety percent claim the rest. (Actually, these percentages, true a decade ago, are now out of date. The top one percent are now estimated to own between forty and fifty percent of the nation's wealth, more than the combined wealth of the bottom 95%.)

A some what easier way to understand the great disparity in American wealth distribution is to look at it this way (from 2001 statistics): Assume there are a hundred people with $100.00 to split. No one expects it to be split exactly evenly, at a dollar a piece, but everyone expects some fairness in the split. Now let’s say it is split up this way:

1 person gets $38.10
4 people get $5.32
5 people get $2.30
10 people get $1.25
20 people get .60
20 people get .23
40 people get ½ cent each

This is how our economic system has divided the wealth of our nation.

Now I ask you, what’s wrong with this picture? Our economy produces tremendous wealth, but it also produces tremendous poverty. Those in the top percentages of wealth want you to resent the poor and think of them as welfare leeches, and yes there are lazy people, but there are also a vast quantity of hard working citizens who live in poverty and shrinking numbers of middle class men and women. That is because the problem is systematic and not individual. There is plenty to go around, but it’s not being distributed fairly or adequately. It goes to the top and leaves the rest of us to fight for the crumbs.

I believe it is not enough to create a strong economy. It is just as important to ask how the benefits of that economy are being distributed throughout the population. A truly democratic society needs to find ways to manage the economy to benefit the whole population. This isn’t being done. Recent economic booms have had little if any effect on improving the conditions of the masses, but the top one percent of the wealthy in this country made huge gains. Can this be considered prosperity? Do we want to continue to gear our national policies to repeat this performance?

Let’s look at it from another angle. The extremely rich can use their influence very effectively. A single billionaire can get the undivided attention of any politician he wants, anytime he wants. If he doesn’t get what he wants he can in fact, “fight city hall”, the statehouse or even the federal government. Average Americans must pool their resources, and join their individual power together with many others to have any sort of influence at all. This is a difficult thing to manage typically. So I ask you, who wins when it comes to electoral votes? Whose interests are being represented in Washington?
Can democracy meaningfully exist where the distribution of wealth, and thus the distribution of power, is this concentrated?

Osama's Latest Disguise


No wonder we can't catch him. He's a master of disguise!-lol Sorry, but this pic. was too cute not to use, somehow. I'm working on a bit more serious post and should have it up soon.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy Fourth of July


I hope everyone has a happy fourth!

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Enough is Enough!

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m fed up!! Bush commuting Libby’s sentence is one more example, of the FACT that this presidential administration believes it is above the law. Well, I have a news flash for them, they are not! The people in that, “we the people” clause need to stand up and tell Bush, Cheney and Congress that we have had enough. I believe Joe Biden had the right idea when he encouraged us to flood the White House phone lines with our protests. I went him one step better and not only e-mailed and called the White House, but also e-mailed my representatives in Congress and let them know just how disgusted I am. Bush would be surprised to hear it, but the truth is, this is not his country nor the country of the elite and powerful, this is OUR country, all of ours and if we really love it then it’s time to show it by banding together and taking a stand for what is right and true and legal. Please take the five minutes to call or write or both the White House and your representatives and tell them, enough is enough!!

White House Contact Info: comments@whitehouse.gov

Phone Numbers Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

Link to page where you can easily find your Congressional Reps. and their contact info:

www.visi.com/juan/congress/

Monday, July 02, 2007

"Sicko"


I went to see “Sicko” last night and it didn’t disappoint. This is a documentary, that I think, every American should see, though I’ll warn you, be prepared to leave the theater thoroughly agitated and pissed off. Moore does a wonderful job exposing the pure corporate and political greed and propaganda that allows the U.S., one of the richest nations on earth, to continue with a healthcare system that is not only broken but complicit in the fleecing, maiming and even the deaths of many Americans.

Contrary to what you’ll hear from the neocons who love to criticize Moore without ever having seen his films, “Sicko” visits and examines the healthcare systems in not just Cuba, but also Canada, England and France and let me tell you it’s an eye opening experience. You come away bewildered, wondering how the supposed “best” country in the world could get it so wrong, while these other nations have gotten it so right. I don’t want to ruin it for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, so suffice to say “Sicko” is a wonderful, important work that will leave you with the desire to either take to the streets of America in protest of our current system, or take to the road north in the hope of gaining citizenship in Canada.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Bush Threatens D.C. Funding Veto Over Gays

SUMMARY: President Bush threatens to veto a routine appropriations bill to the District of Columbia over its recently strengthened partner rights.

In what the Human Rights Campaign called "a new low" of "anti-gay zeal," President Bush has threatened to veto this year's routine appropriations bill to the District of Columbia over the district's recently strengthened recognition of domestic partners.

The district, governed by a city council, gets about 25 percent of its funding directly from Congress, giving that body control over local affairs far greater than it has on other cities. Congress' Democratic takeover in the 2006 elections heartened the district's gay activists, out D.C. Council member Jim Graham told the Washington Post this month.
Graham, one of two out council members, told the Post that he plans to introduce a bill in the next two years for the district to recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

The District of Columbia first recognized domestic partnerships in 1992 and greatly strengthened them last year. The registry is open to same- and opposite-sex unmarried couples and confers hospital visits, medical decisions, joint tax filings and inheritance rights, among other rights, according to the local Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance. D.C. public employees also can get health and other benefits for their partners. About 80 percent of the registered partners are gay.

Said the White House in its June 27 policy statement on the bill:
"Under federal law, legal marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Federal tax dollars are not used to extend employment benefits to domestic partners of federal employees, and D.C. should not enjoy an exception to this rule. If the final version of HR 2829 does not include this longstanding provision, the president's senior advisers would recommend he veto the bill.

"With his popularity at an all-time low, this president has yet again dipped his cup into the well of anti-gay bigotry," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, which like many advocacy groups is based in the district.
"He has issued a veto threat on funding for the District of Columbia because long-term, committed couples want to have such basic rights as visiting each other in the hospital and making medical decisions for their partner," Solmonese said.
"The anti-gay zeal of this administration has reached a new low." (Barbara Wilcox, The Advocate)

It's obvious that Bush doesn't care about anyone, gay or straight, who doesn't somehow further his narrow agenda and put more money in the pockets of him and his rich, white, "Christian" buddies.

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