Christmas wreath, a no-go??

t r u t h o u t | News Politics: "November 28, 2006 | Bill Trimarco and Lisa Jensen with their symbolic wreath. Last week, they were threatened with fines of $25 a day by their homeowners association until they removed the four-foot wreath shaped like a peace symbol from the front of their house. In its original letter to the couple, the association said some neighbors had found the peace symbol politically 'divisive.' The fines have been dropped, the three-member board of the association has resigned, and peace signs are multiplying in the town.
(Photo: Randi Pierce / Durango Herald)"

Imagine, some folks were complaining the peace symbol was "satanic." WTF! On what planet do these folks live???

Christmas Lights Gone Wild

Love it! Merry Christmas ya'll!

Remembering our fathers

My husband and I, are remembering our fathers this week. My father, George, and my husband's father, Boris, died 3 days apart. Their legacies, are both interesting. We think that the two men, so opposite in many ways, had so much in common that they had a "date" in the next world. Boris was an immigrant to this country; my Dad could have been a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. What did they have in common? Love of this country.
They both served in WW II, my father in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, and Boris in France and Germany. They loved SOS, spam, souse, and organ meats. They could both sing Maresie Doats, Don't sit under the Apple tree, You are my sunshine, my only sunshine and She'll be coming around the mountain, and loved slang words like schlemiel, S.N.A.F.U., and my Dad's favorite for us, "wrong way Corrigan!" They were both loved people and loved to talk.
My father served in the US Army Air Corps (US Air Force) as a Chaplain for over 30 years. My father-in-law, served in the US Army and civil service.
Their legacies?
Two examples, which of course, do not include the legacies of fun, frivolity, and love they left to their families, but what they left to their country.....

This is the Memorial Window at the Strategic Air Command Chapel at Offutt AFB, NE. It commemorates the service, duty and loyalty of USAF comrades during WW II. It was my father's project. Boris, left another legacy, his valuable skill as a translator during the cold war.

These men, and the men and women of their generation gave everything they had and more to this country. They came back from war to the GI Bill, and a country that thanked them for their service. The middle class was born, unions were strong, one man could raise a family and buy a house on his wages. Yes, we were more homogeneous then, and a lot of it was due to homogeneity forged in the military when all our fathers were just "GI Issue." Our country and our parents worked to rebuild Europe and Japan; many admirable things were accomplished.

President Jimmy Carter stated the following in his recent book, Our Endangered Values:
"Our people have been justifiably proud to see America's power and influence used to preserve peace for ourselves and others, to promote economic and social justice, to raise high the banner of freedom and human rights, to protect the quality of our environment, to alleviate human suffering, to enhance the rule of law, and to cooperate with other peoples to reach these common goals."

These were the goals of our fathers, ours and yours. Their legacy. They had a common bond, whether new immigrant or old immigrant, a bond forged in adversity. Now, in adversity, all we have done is polarize ourselves, forgetting the values that brought us together as a nation. For the sake of our fathers and forefathers, we should get back to the business of building a nation for everyone. ALL of us.

Again, to quote Carter, ..."our own well being [as a nation]would be enhanced by restoring the trust, admiration, and friendship that our nation formerly enjoyed among other peoples."

Walt Handelsman - The Midterm’s Greatest Hits

Walt Handelsman - The Midterm’s Greatest Hits
A little humor!

The Blotter

The Blotter: "First Daughter Barbara Robbed in Argentina

November 21, 2006 3:14 PM

From Our Sources:

Bush_sisters_nr First Daughter Barbara Bush had her purse and cell phone stolen as she had dinner in a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, even though she was being guarded by a detail of Secret Service agents, according to law enforcement reports made available to ABC News.

It was not the only mishap on the two-week trip to Argentina by Barbara (right) and her twin sister Jenna (left).

A Secret Service agent on the advance detail got into an 'altercation' with someone after a night out and was badly beaten, according to the law enforcement reports. The Secret Service said today the incident was an attempted mugging that occurred while the agent was on his own time. The agent is doing fine."

My comment....Oh boo hoo Now you know how the rest of us manage to exist without body guards. Funny, I have been overseas but never mugged. Perhaps I knew, from long experience, to never carry a purse. Duh! Even may daughters don't carry purses. Guess you wanted your several hundred dollar status symbol purse to stick out. Well it did, moron.

Calif. Couple Calls for Orgasm for Peace - New York Times

Calif. Couple Calls for Orgasm for Peace - New York Times: "Calif. Couple Calls for Orgasm for Peace

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 19, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Two peace activists have planned a massive anti-war demonstration for the first day of winter.

But they don't want you marching in the streets. They'd much rather you just stay home.

The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.

''The orgasm gives out an incredible feeling of peace during it and after it,'' Reffell said Sunday. ''Your mind is like a blank. It's like a meditative state. And mass meditations have been shown to make a change.''"

Ok, sounds like a plan to me! Oh progressive grandpa..... LOL.

President Bush: Driving Iraq Towards A Wall Of Death

President Bush: Driving Iraq Towards A Wall Of Death
Bob Cesca

"We'll succeed unless we quit," has to be one of the president's most ridiculous and dangerous statements about Iraq since, "Those weapons of mass destruction have to be around here somewhere." No wait. It was one of the most dangerous things he's said since, "It'll be just a comma." That's not it. Since, "Bring 'em on," maybe? Ah hell. There are so many stupid, dangerous and ridiculous things he's muttered with a smirk about this war, you could probably document them on enough paper to build a giant paper bridge from Washington to Baghdad allowing our soldiers to walk home.

This latest nugget of I'm-not-stay-the-course-but-stay-the-course-anyway ignorance was regurgitated by the president in Hanoi, Vietnam of all places which served only to underscore the tragedy of it all. And what's worse is he's signaled an intention to escalate the hostilities with increased troop levels in Iraq -- a plan that appears to be endorsed by the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group. It goes without saying the entire schmear is not only a slap in the face to all the soldiers who are dutifully departing on their fourth and fifth tours of duty, but also a kick to the throat of everyone who spoke out against the war on November 7.link

This article is well worth reading as it compares Iraq and Vietnam. Add to this McCain's statement that we need to send a massive number of troops over there and you can only see disaster looming. Will they re-institute the draft? And, where will all those troops come from? And where will the medical support come from? Old military medical folks like me,called back to active duty? Are they f*ing crazy?

FRONTLINE: the torture question | PBS

FRONTLINE: the torture question | PBS
You can watch this online at this web site. Well worth watching. There is no excuse for torture. Bush and Cheney continue to push their torture agenda, but even the Senate voted 90-9 to stop torture.

AlterNet: We Need a "Can-Do" Attitude on Health Care

link:
By Barbara Ehrenreich, AlterNet, Posted on November 15,2006,
After their roaring two-house victory, the Democrats are squeaking about micro-policies. There'll be no impeachment, we're told, though maybe a bit more oversight of Halliburton-style war profiteering. No withdrawal from Iraq, only a 'phased redeployment.' And, the New York Times assures us (11/12/06), that the Dems ' have largely dropped ... talk of a Canadian-style national health insurance.' Instead, they might try to reverse the Medicare drug plan's ban on bargaining for drug price discounts.

They've caught the can't-do spirit that hovers over that former malarial swamp, Washington D.C. "

Wake up Dems! We, the activists helped get you elected and we, the activists can, and will, exert pressure if you continue this cowardly streak.

WE THE PEOPLE did not put you there to sit on your stinking hands! Get some balls and get out there and fight for what is right, even if you don't think you can. We need to see action on issues that are important to our society as a whole.

Progressive Grannie's newest blog

Blog spot has a beta version.
Check it out. It is easier to use in some ways, but still not as functional as a myspace blog.

Today's news

Bush reappoints overseas broadcast chief
boston.com/...
President Bush on Tuesday renominated the chairman of the agency that directs U.S. overseas broadcasts even though the nomination has been stalled in the Senate amid allegations of misconduct.

Tom DeLay: Nancy Pelosi Refused To Have A Slave "Mindset" When She Was In The Minority | The Huff - Huffington Post
On Tuesday, Fmr Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay told the audience at the Time magazine Person of the Year luncheon and panel that he thinks soon to be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi deserves to be awarded the magazine's cover and title this year. DeLay's reason for nominating her included a metaphor on Washington, plantations and the slave mentality. Read what DeLay said below, since he manages to explain it best.

"I'm going to shock you on two levels. One is I think the real Person of the Year ought to be Nancy Pelosi....I think it's unfortunate that you said I created the culture in Washington. The Democrats, when they lost power, it was like, as John said, it was like losing your plantation - they refused to work with the Republican majority. Back in the good old days they always talk about the Republican minority mindset like the slaves of the plantation and as long as they kept that, the Democrats, they all got along. It's when things got up and changed that we all got more partisan. Nancy Pelosi, I have to give her credit."

Gallup: Obama Now Posing Threat to Hillary in 2008 -- Giuliani Leads McCain on GOP Side - Editor and Publisher/
After a whirlwind political campaign and press tour riding a bestselling book, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois now trails Sen. Hillary Clinton by only 12% among Democratic voters (and Democratic-leaning independents) as their choice for president in 2008, in a new Gallup poll.

As Bush Goes To Vietnam, White House Website Displays The Wrong Flag Think Progress
Today, President Bush visits Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, “looking to burnish his foreign-policy credentials.” He’s off to a miserable start.

FOX NEWS INTERNAL MEMO: "Be On The Lookout For Any Statements From The Iraqi Insurgents...Thrilled At The Prospect Of A Dem Controlled Congress"Huffington Post

Truthdig - Bush: I Can Hold Immigrants Forever, Without Trial

Truthdig - Bush: I Can Hold Immigrants Forever, Without Trial: "Bush: I Can Hold Immigrants Forever, Without Trial
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20061114_bush_immigrants_without_trial/
Posted on Nov 14, 2006

From the AP: “Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts,” Bush & Co. officials said Nov. 13.

Maybe it’s time to stop singing that Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the U.S.A” ? (And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free...) Those lyrics don’t quite resonate anymore…

AP:

Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees.

In court documents filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., the Justice Department said a new anti-terrorism law being used to hold detainees in Guantanamo Bay also applies to foreigners captured and held in the United States.

Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, was arrested in 2001 while studying in the United States. He has been labeled an “enemy combatant,” a designation that, under a law signed last month, strips foreigners of the right to challenge their detention in federal courts."

Soon will he try to ship dissidents off indefinitely? Thank goodness there will be some checks and balances in Jan. IF, and only if, the democrats quit this conciliatory B.S.

Truthdig - Cartoons - Mr. Fish - Rumsfeld, Vagabond

Truthdig - Cartoons - Mr. Fish - Rumsfeld, Vagabond

Truthdig - Barry Golson: Stop U.S.-Canada Immigration Now!

A little humor to brighten you day.
Truthdig - Barry Golson: Stop U.S.-Canada Immigration Now!: "The House of Commons in Canada’s Parliament today passed its final legislation of 2009, a controversial bill to strengthen Canada’s border with the U.S. The bill calls for erecting a wall across the continent from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, similar to the wall and demilitarized zone at the U.S. border with Mexico.

“Illegal American immigrants continue to take Canadian jobs,” said the Hon. Dashell Samuels, Minister of Public Safety. Samuels cited the estimated 10 million American “illegals” who “mow our lawns and bus our tables at below the minimum wage,” disrupting the Canadian economy."

Slap a yellow ribbon on your SUV

Slap a yellow ribbon on your SUV watch here

Why did I post that Asylum Street Spankers song? The video, by the Asylum Street Spankers, brought to mind what I have said, in in various venues, that I am sick and tired of the lip service given to our veterans. As benefits have been cut time and time again, and our President has seen fit to ignore the dead and wounded, it's has become more and more obvious that this so-called war is all about money. Money for Halliburton, KBR, Caci, and Bush and Co.
They should be tried for crimes against humanity. I was interested to hear the following information on Democracy Now! There is never an excuse for torture, and our leaders should be made to step up to the bar of justice.


War Crimes Suit Prepared Against Rumsfeld

Democracy Now!

Thursday 09 November 2006

The president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Michael Ratner, is heading to Germany today to file a new case charging outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with war crimes for authorizing torture at Guantanamo Bay. [includes rush transcript] Would Rumsfeld stepping down leave him open to prosecution? In 2004, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a criminal complaint in Germany on behalf of several Iraqi citizens who alleged that a group of U.S. officials committed war crimes in Iraq. Rumsfeld was among the officials named in the complaint. The Iraqis claimed they were victims of electric shock, severe beatings, sleep and food deprivation and sexual abuse.

Germany's laws on torture and war crimes permits the prosecution of suspected war criminals wherever they may be found.

U.S. Vs. John Lennon Trailer

Sigh, no longer playing at the Bijou or anywhere else in town. I think I'll just have to buy it to see it. Still appropriate today. We can only hope that the Demos give our habeus corpus rights back to us and immediately!

A Tribute to the Nebraska Cornhuskers

I could not have had a better week! The Democrats win the House and the Senate and the Cornhuskers beat the Aggies! Yahoo!

We are THE champions!

Queen says it all!

Rummy, this is for you

Black Sabbath War Pigs Paris 1970

Very appropriate as Rumsfeld leaves the office he totally screwed up.

Incredible!

OMG! We did it! We did it! The 50 state plan, boots on the ground, and pissed off Americans, what a marvelous combination. We pulled our country back from the brink of fascism. There is hope, for our country after all!
Now the work begins. We must continue to exercise due diligence, participate in our government and get ready for 2008.

A note from John Courage.

Dear Team Courage,

To All My Friends and Supporters
I have been honored and humbled to have been allowed to represent you as a candidate for the 21st Congressional District of Texas. From Austin to San Antonio to Kerrville and many places in between, I have traveled and spoken and worked to offer the best representation I know how to all of you.

To those of you I have informed, impressed, or convinced that I could and would do a better job in Washington to represent you I say thanks for your support and encouragement, and to those of you I may never have had the chance to meet, and to those I failed to convince to vote for me, I just share your hope that through your vote for my opponent we will receive good leadership over the next two years.

I will continue to strive to serve in whatever way I may be asked, and I will not end my commitment to make this district, state, and country a better place to live in.

Let me add a special congratulations to all the Democratic victors, especially Valinda Bolton, Susan Steeg, Charlie Baird, and Diane Henson in Travis County; and my Hays County friends Liz Sumter, Karen Ford, and Jeff Barton; and finally my San Antonio fellow Democrats Joe Farias, Larry Knoll, and particularly my friend Ciro Rodriguez for forcing Republican Henry Bonilla into a runoff.

All of the candidates, whether they won or lost, worked incredibly hard, and it has been a privilege to be on the ballot with them.

I also want to thank all the great Team Courage staff and volunteers for their work. I know if I name names I will forget someone or two, but you all know who you are and you should be proud of everything you did. The Austin crew, led by Teri, Matt, and Stewart were awesome, and the San Antonio crew of Madeleine, Davida, and Zada (my wonderful spouse) were amazing.

I’ll never forget this great effort and hope you won’t either.

Truthdig - The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq

Truthdig - The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq

Thirty-eight years ago, on Jan. 20, 1968, I was shot and paralyzed from my mid-chest down during my second tour of duty in Vietnam. It is a date that I can never forget, a day that was to change my life forever. Each year as the anniversary of my wounding in the war approached I would become extremely restless, experiencing terrible bouts of insomnia, depression, anxiety attacks and horrifying nightmares. I dreaded that day and what it represented, always fearing that the terrible trauma of my wounding might repeat itself all over again. It was a difficult day for me for decades and it remained that way until the anxieties and nightmares finally began to subside.

As I now contemplate another January 20th I cannot help but think of the young men and women who have been wounded in the war in Iraq. They have been coming home now for almost three years, flooding Walter Reed, Bethesda, Brooke Army Medical Center and veterans hospitals all across the country. Paraplegics, amputees, burn victims, the blinded and maimed, shocked and stunned, brain-damaged and psychologically stressed, over 16,000 of them, a whole new generation of severely maimed is returning from Iraq, young men and women who were not even born when I came home wounded to the Bronx veterans hospital in 1968.

I, like most other Americans, have occasionally seen them on TV or at the local veterans hospital, but for the most part they remain hidden, like the flag-draped caskets of our dead, returned to Dover Air Force Base in the darkness of night as this administration continues to pursue a policy of censorship, tightly controlling the images coming out of that war and rarely ever allowing the human cost of its policy to be seen.

What do we need to do to support these men and women? Simply put, we need to elect veterans to office, who will then fund VA Hospitals and clinics, PTSD programs and generally stop the funding cuts in Veterans programs. The chickenhawks in DC just keep cutting the budget for veterans healthcare, without any regard for the lives that have been incredibly altered by war. Of course, many of those officials, including the President and Vice President have no skin the game, so they could care less. The sound like they support the troops, but when it comes to putting their money where their mouths are...they don't.
These injuries will be something these veterans will struggle with for 30-40+ years. This impacts them and their families. Reservists get little or no support at all.
This must stop! Stand up and demand better care for our veterans!

Bill Moyers | America 101

Again, Bill Moyers lays it out for the nation. The non critical thinkers among us need to pay attention, but will they?
Bill Moyers | America 101: " Rub the crystal ball: In the next few decades, when the huge liabilities start coming in due to Social Security and Medicare, there may be nothing left - less than nothing left - for public needs like education, highways, disaster relief, and social services, let alone national healthcare.

Small wonder that the Wall Street investor, Pete Peterson, a life-long Republican who served as President Nixon's Commerce Secretary, says our children's future is being ruined by a reckless fiscal 'theology.'

Theology asserts propositions that are believed whether or not they meet the test of reality. Not only do our governing elites act as if there's no tomorrow, they behave as if there is no reality. Alas, they won't be around to feel our grandchildren's pain.

In his recent book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed , the Pulitzer-prize winning anthropologist Jared Diamond writes about how governing elites throughout history isolate and delude themselves until it is too late. He reminds us that the change people inflict on their environment was one of the main factors in the decline of earlier societies. For example: the Mayan natives on the Yucatan peninsula who suffered as their forests disappeared, their soil eroded, and their water supply deteriorated. Chronic warfare made matters worse as they exhausted dwindling resources. Although Mayan kings could see their forests vanishing and their hills eroding, they were able to insulate themselves from the rest of society. By extracting wealth from commoners, they could remain well fed while everyone else was slowly starving. Realizing too late that they could not reverse their deteriorating environment, they became casualties of their own privilege.

Any society contains a built-in blueprint for failure, Diamond warns, if elites insulate themselves from the consequences of their decisions. Then he describes an America in which elites have cocooned themselves in gated communities, guarded by private security patrols and filled with people who drink bottled water, depend on private pensions, and send their children to private schools. Gradually they lose their motivation to support the police force, the municipal water supply, social security, and public schools."

Video the Vote 2006

we must get out there and watch the polls. but most of all VOTE!

IAVA - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America - The F Troop

IAVA - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America - The F Troop

Get these bums out of power! We need checks and balances. That requires more Demo's in the house folks.

End the war in Iraq.

Apple - Trailers - Borat - Trailer

Apple - Trailers - Borat - Trailer

Great reviews! Looks like something to see.

video the vote.mov (video/quicktime Object)

2004 Voting in Ohio. Will this kind of thing happen again? We need to prevent this from happening. REMEMBER, WHEN YOU VOTE ON A MACHINE, MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW TO ENSURE THAT YOUR VOTE WAS CORRECT.
video the vote.mov (video/quicktime Object)

Borat On Daily Show: "In Kazakhstan We Have Midterm Elections Just Like You, The Next One Is In 30 Years"... | The Huffington Post

Borat On Daily Show: "In Kazakhstan We Have Midterm Elections Just Like You, The Next One Is In 30 Years"... | The Huffington Post: "Kazakh journalist Borat appeared on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart to discuss his upcoming movie. Borat and Jon discussed the similar nature of US and Kazakh democracies. Borat told Jon, 'In Kazakhstan, we have midterm elections just like you. The next one is in 30 years.'"

U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Guide - New York Times

Bush and Co. won't allow anti-war demonstrations, yet they allow the "cookbook" for nuclear bombs to be posted. This does not make any sense. Unless, you believe, as they obviously do, that by creating chaos, you can plunder the world.
Read on:
U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Guide - New York Times: "Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb."

.:Some of My Best Friends Are American:.

.:Some of My Best Friends Are American:.

Very, very funny!

Chertoff Given Henry Petersen Award...Petersen's Grandson Protests Decision: Chertoff Is "An Ass"... | The Huffington Post

Chertoff Given Henry Petersen Award...Petersen's Grandson Protests Decision: Chertoff Is "An Ass"... | The Huffington Post

Petersen's grandson is a smart man. Why award incompetence? Oh, it's the GOP (grand old pervert party) way.

The Blog | Brad Friedman: Here Ae Go Again: 'Just Push the Yellow Button and Vote as Many Times as You Want' on Sequoia Touch-Screen Voting Machines!

The Blog | Brad Friedman: Here Ae Go Again: 'Just Push the Yellow Button and Vote as Many Times as You Want' on Sequoia Touch-Screen Voting Machines! | The Huffington Post

Add to this the fact that Bexar County voters have noted their votes were not properly recorded when they got to the review screen, and had to try again and sometimes more than once to get their vote recorded properly. Review your votes folks!

Where are we going and why is it in a handbasket? I am glad I got to use a paper ballot and fill in the circles. Of course, I have nothing but praise for Darlene at the courthouse. She is a consummate professional, and very conscientious. Kudos Darlene!

Indicted Fmr. House Speaker Tom DeLay: "I Haven't Had No Ethical Problems"... | The Huffington Post

Indicted Fmr. House Speaker Tom DeLay: "I Haven't Had No Ethical Problems"... | The Huffington Post: "Tom Delay appeared on Fox News's Hannity & Colmes Tuesday night. The Former Speaker Of The House has been indicted for money-laundering and conspiracy to commit money-laundering, and has been linked to a number of other scandals. Colmes pressed DeLay on whether his 'ethical problems' have contributed to 'the negative view that Americans have of the Republican Party and Congress right now.' DeLay replied, 'I haven't had no ethical problems.'"

Ok, DeLay, you big fat liar, what the hell do you consider ethical? Do you remember the 10 commandments? Do you actually profess to be a religious person, perhaps even Christian? I think NO.