We need a strong candidate in 2008, one with steel balls

BuzzFlash Mailbag May 8, 2006: "For a long time Democrats have needed a hatchet man, someone who will play rough and slit throats when the need arises. I think they've got one in Rahm Emanuel, congressman from Illinois and a former policy advisor to President Clinton. Along with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, they head the party's efforts to retake both houses in the Fall. Emmanuel is a shark. The smell of blood in the water invigorates him and ignites his lust to crush opponents into dust. I believe Hunter Thompson would have liked him.
This is just what the Democratic party needs right now. We don't need 'Bush lite' or people who tack to the left or the center or the right based on the morning polls. Emanuel is a guy who plays for keeps. He'll f**k with you and beat you down. But best of all, he wants to win."

I don't know a lot about Rahm Emanuel, but I think I'll learn more. What we need is someone who will not back down, period. However, we also need all of us, the bloggers and those in the netroots to push away from the keyboard and get out there and put the rubber to the road, and support our candidates despite what the Democratic party bigwigs say. They helped kill what Howard Dean was doing, let's not let them get the upper hand again.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Washington

The Best Little Whorehouse in Washington
As usual, Molly Ivins has her hand on the pulse in D.C.

"I don’t care what anyone smoked 20 years ago, I approve of those who boogie ‘til they puke, and I don’t care who anyone in politics is screwing in private, as long as they’re not screwing the public.
On other hand, if you expect me to pass up a scandal involving poker, hookers and the Watergate building with crooked defense contractors and the No. 3 guy at the CIA, named Dusty Foggo (Dusty Foggo?! Be still my heart), you expect too much. Any journalist who claims Hookergate is not a legitimate scandal is dead—has been for some time and needs to be unplugged. In addition to sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, Hookergate is rife with public interest questions, misfeasance, malfeasance and non-feasance, and many splendid moral points for the children. Recommended for Sunday school use, grades seven and above."

A floating poker game, prostitutes, limo rides, defense lobbyists, elected officials, what more could anyone want? It is like the "good old days" in Washington politics. Back when we heard great gossip at parties in D.C., met interesting people, and our phone was tapped. When the Congressman or was it Senator dumped his mistress in a fountain in DC? Back before the so-called Christians had a grip on the White House.

Funny how those with great religious fervor also have great secret sexual issues, and act them out. These individuals are just asking to be blackmailed...and some of these folks lead our country. Intelligence remains an oxymoron.

An Excellent Reason Not to Join the Military

AlterNet: WireTap: An Excellent Reason Not to Join the Military
I found this very disturbing. Realize that I was a 36 year old mother of 2 when I joined the US Army in peacetime, 1987. I had a very gentile basic training as an officer and a nurse. There was no drill Sgt. there was no horrible experience. The highlight was a stint at Camp Bullis north of San Antonio where we were introduced to camping Army style which was posher than my Dad's idea of camping. After all, I did not have to haul 5 gallon Gerry cans of water for 1/2 mile or so, chop wood, pee in the woods, or suffer at all. We learned about sound, noise and light discipline and hiked to the top of a hill, as we hummed oh we oh, we oh oh (from the Wizard of Oz) and saw a spectacular shooting star. The next day it was back to the Omni hotel and the swimming pool, and a weekend off on the San Antonio River Walk on St. Patrick's Day....were we had too much beer, got a bit rowdy and were asked to leave the Hyatt Hotel. I was carded at Durty Nellies, where the young man howled very loudly that I was old enough to be his mother.
Yep, that was the old days. Now, women are afraid to even walk to the bathroom. We were smart enough in the olden days to never go anywhere alone, because we were taught by our mothers and the Army to never go anywhere alone. Now, young women in the military don't have that luxury. It's disgusting what they must go through, and without any support for improved conditions from the upper echelons in the military. Rumsfeld should be screaming about this, but he is strangely silent, unless confronted by my idol, Ray McGovern.
Ladies...stay home and don't join, it's not worth it.

How to support our troops

This was prompted by an email I recieved showing a bogus US Army patch and those gut wrenching pictures of soldiers that just begs for support of our troops.
This is what I sent in return.....

As a US Army Veteran, I was offended by the doctored patch in the photo. However, I know it was sent out of concern for the plight of our soldiers.
So,thought I would send information on ways to help our military in a seriously real way. It is better than magnets on your car or emails with soldiers' pictures. Give your time and your money. Sacrifice for those who have sacrificed for you. I suggest you donate your dollars to:

USO

Operation Helmet which buys helmet liners for Marines, the US government buys liners for the US Army but not the Marines. The liners help prevent closed head injuries from bomb blasts (IED's)

Fisher House where wounded soldiers and their families stay for treatment of their long term war injuries

Food for Marines who are going hungry
collected by the Greenwood Credit Union in Warwick, R.I.

Intrepid Fallne Heroes Fund

Or donate your time to your local VA medical center.

If a unit in your area has been deployed, call them and ask where you can send care packages. We have sent boxes and boxes of stuff, all of which was well received. I may be an activist and march for peace, but I put my money where my mouth is, and support the troops actively. I hope you will consider doing the same.

In addition, if you know of others who are unaware of how to support the troops, please send these links on to them.

Troops go hungry

Scripps Howard News Service, Troops go hungry
This is disgusting! These men and women deserve the best of everything. Food should not be hard to come by. Can we starve Rumsfeld?

Kent State anniversary today, remember the fallen

I was a student at TCU in Ft. Worth at this time. On the day after the shooting, we lined University Blvd., hand in hand, to commemorate the dead. We must remember this event. This could happen again. I know that when I was in Crawford,Texas with Cindy Sheehan on the first day of her protest, a secret service agent leaned out his window and snarled....someone could get hurt. So beware, but continue to speak truth to power.
KENT STATE 1970: : "At 11 a.m., about 200 students gathered on the Commons. Earlier that morning, state and local officials had met in Kent. Some officials had assumed that Gov. Rhodes had declared Martial Law to be in effect--but he had not. In fact, martial law was not officially declared until May 5. Nevertheless, the National Guard resolved to disperse any assembly.
As noon approached, the size of the crowd increased to 1,500. Some were merely spectators, while others had gathered specifically to protest the invasion of Cambodia and the continued presence of the National Guard on the campus. Upon orders of Ohio's Assistant Adjutant General Robert Canterbury, an army jeep was driven in front of the assembled students. The students were told by means of a bullhorn to disperse immediately. Students responded with jeers and chants.
When the students refused to disperse, Gen. Canterbury ordered the guardsmen to disperse them. Approximately 116 men, equipped with loaded M-1 rifles and tear gas, formed a skirmish line towards the students. Aware of bayonet injuries of the previous evening, students immediately ran away from the attacking National Guardsmen. Retreating up Blanket Hill, some students lobbed tear gas canisters back at the advancing troops, and one straggler was attacked with clubs.
The Guard, after clearing the Commons, marched over the crest of the hill, firing tear gas and scattering the students into a wider area. The Guard then continued marching down the hill and onto a practice football field. For approximately 10 minutes, the guard stayed in this position. During this time, tear gas canisters were thrown back and forth from the Guard's position to a small group of students n the Prentice Hall parking lot, about"

More on S.1955, The Enzi Bill

Families USA website lists the reasons why this bill is bad for America. Again, it is the dismantleing of healthcare for all but the very rich in this country. Add to that the information in JAMA this month, which notes that British National Healthcare has better outcomes that the US style of healthcare. As a nurse, I am not surprised, but I am sure the you, the consumers of healthcare are very surprised to hear that since we have been brainwashed to believe that we do better healthcare than anyone else. Call or email your representative today.

Benefits Texans will lose:
Texas Alcoholism Treatment
Bone Density Screening
Colorectal Screening
Contraceptives
Diabetic Supplies/Education
Drug Abuse Treatment
Emergency Services
Home Health Care
Infertility Treatment
Mammography Screening
Mental Health (General) Mental Health (Parity)
Metabolic Disorders (PKU)
Minimum Mastectomy Stay
Off-Label Drug Use
Prostate Cancer Screening
Rehabilitation Services
TMJ Disorders
Well-Child Care
Alzheimers
Brain Injury

and from AARP:
CEO Bill Novelli said the following about the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act:

"While it is a laudable goal to make health insurance more accessible and affordable for small businesses, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, which the US Senate is expected to consider in early May, does so by placing older workers at significant risk.

In its current form, this legislation would drive health care premiums higher for many employers and employees, put critical benefits—like cancer screening—out of reach for many Americans, and create a disincentive for employers to hire or retain older workers.

The elimination of discriminatory restrictions has been tried before with disastrous consequences. When a state law was passed in 2003, employers in New Hampshire would not hire older or ill workers for fear that their health insurance rates would increase.

Ray McGovern, I love you!

Rumsfeld called out in Atlanta by Ray McGovern. Now I met Ray in Crawford, and he is a very well informed kind of guy, and I think he performed a bit of national service today. The odd thing to me is that in so many places it is said that he was ejected. However, if you watch the CNN video, Ray just walked to his seat and sat down. I found that interesting.
However the best part of the whole thing was watching Rumsfeld stumble over his words and then try to obfuscate...because he had no clue who he was dealing with. I am sure Rumsfeld thought he was just dealing with some schumck hippie person, instead of the very well informed Ray McGovern.

Veterans to be shafted again

Veterans are again, about to get shafted. This information came from the Texas Democratic Vets, a group I belong to and support.

Lt. Gen. Terry Scott (U.S. Army, ret.), who is Chairman of theVeterans' Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC), wants to study vetswho get Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as well as VA compensation. The goal is an offset (reduction) in payments to veterans.The VDBC's charter doesn't allow this, so, in an unconstitutional move, he asked Congress to interpret their own law, to give himpermission to do this. Go here VA Watchdog to read more.

An Article from the Kendall County Area Democratic Women's newsletter

This was so informative that I had to share this article. Thanks to the KCADW for sharing this, so I might add this to the blog.

The Big Frame by Robert P. O'Reilly, Ph.D.

At the time the ideas and feelings came on me as-formless, like words in the mind without physical identity of any kind. Yet somehow I seemed to know, to feel, and to hear though I could not say what the experience was all about. But I knew what to do and I did it. Without thinking.
As the TV debates between the contenders for the past presidential election came to a close my wife an I were mildly elated by the highly rational and seemingly effective performance delivered by John Kerry. He seemed to touch all of the bases of public concern at the time-values, the economy, the environment, and so on. He came on as dignified, complex but yet understandable, presidential, moderate, and only occasionally contentious in contrast with the conceptually simple, halting, and almost vacuous GW Bush. At the time we thought the debates at both executive levels might prove to be a turning point for the Democratic Party in the coming election. But as that day approached I saw any advantage that might have been gained in the debates buried in an avalanche of dirty tricks and purulent propaganda. Some of the techniques used at the time were new while others had been well practiced in politics by Lincoln's day. The whole business of social control through propaganda became a well-honed fixture in modern times in Nazi Germany in the '30s and later in Communist regimes in Russia and East Germany. Unexpectedly, we were again seeing the awful specter of deadly propaganda arise ominously in our midst-in a democratic society!. Soon, we would see the Bush machine resort to a level of ugliness that simply fell out of our time. I watched incredulously as the Swift Boat scene came on repeatedly, spreading lies and revulsion that precluded any rational response. I watched as the Dems were buried irretrievably in a message that touched deeply, indelibly and almost subliminally on the common experience of many Americans.
As the TV campaign spread its corrosion I began to see in the Republican message a beguiling technique of influence that has its modern origins in linguistics and cognitive psychology in the '8Os known as framing. This is the subject of our discussion, a highly technical concept that some see as heavily accounting for how individuals construct meaning from their personal experience. In modern politics, television is the principal medium; the message is systematically devised by Madison Avenue types to capture the minds and emotions of the public. Visual and verbal metaphors are standard routine but political advertising extends the use of metaphor to repackage lies as truth, foster dissimulation, and manipulate emotion to engage loyalty.
A well known example of metaphor, one level of framing used endlessly in the past election, portrayed John Kerry as a:
flipflopper
Here the frame uses a type of metaphor known as metonymy. Like any metaphor, flipflopper conjures up a whole raft of conceptual referents in one's personal experience such as unreliable, unbelievable, inconsistent, undependable, not credible, and so on. By repeating the term over and over it sticks in the mind like a cat stuck on the back of a terrified dog. Even worse, one could not imagine Kerry indignantly saying, "Look here, I'm not a flipflopper! Yeah! We know, John." Diabolically, those who pushed the term soon brought up numerous examples of inconsistency from Kerry's political record and from other aspects of his personal life. Soon, we could see, "Here lies poor Kerry. Buried in an avalanche of metaphor: liberal, atheist or Deist, spender, patrician, tax supporter, criminal lover, and the like."
One property of metaphors is emphasis. The term flip flopper, for example, is meant to be dwelt on for its unstated implications. Emphatic metaphors resonate with the listener. For political purposes, strong or emphatic metaphors are among the best. We can even change the meaning of a once good metaphor into something personally deadly as when the term liberal got re-translated into more or less a creeping social virus that, unless contained, would insidiously spread corruption, big-spending, and oppression throughout the land.
According to one view metaphors have two distinct subjects, a primary one and a secondary one. The metaphor accomplishes its work by projecting onto the primary subject a set of implications that draw on the real world of personal experience. The primary subject such as, has a good head, draws on a whole range of experiences with people who can think, are intelligent, know what to do in complex settings, and so on.
In an especially well-constructed metaphor, the primary subject such as, a cancer on society, quickly conjures up emotional and other experiential referents that suggest an immediate need to act. Draconian measures such as military attack might be implied.
A metaphor can help us to see things we never saw before, i. e., to see the facts about our experience differently and thus get a better handle on reality. Metaphors, on the other hand, can be used to disguise or distort the nature of the interactions or implications between the primary and secondary subjects. Thus the phrase, war on terror, disguises the true nature of the interactions between the U.S. and Iraq in initiating and conducting our latest war. Note how this phrase is used repeatedly to justify our continuing presence in Iraq. The idea is to repeat and repeat until you believe, even though the implications have turned out to be false.
As seen above, metaphors often deal with emotions as implied in terms such as faithbased, tax-relief (that helps only the rich) and compassionate conservative (an oxymoron?). They reach deep down into our most cherished belief systems and feelings. Really good metaphors may immediately incite people to respond with strong feelings, This kind of manipulation is often not in our interests. Our schools take on the mission of the madras in Pakistan; churches get paid to treat social problems.
Finally, metaphors may make some aspects of life believable and even desirable while placing others in the background where they may not be seen. Think of the negative implications of housewife (God's intended way for women), labor (as purely an economic not a human factor), money (as the goal of life), and even love (unattainable for some).
There are several types of metaphors such as orientational, structural, and causal. The whole business of metaphor has now been analyzed so thoroughly that metaphors may be constructed systematically and tested and then tried out to see how well they work. This may be what the Republican Party did in the past 30 years to capture the interests and loyalty of the public. When metaphors are organized into a thoroughly coherent system with multiple levels of reference and expression, we have a frame. A frame might be thought of as many levels of metaphor built on metaphor. Every frame tries to capture objective reality in a way that will attract and hold listeners. A frame might also be thought of as a kind of blend. The Republicans have in fact blended frames encompassing a conservative brand of economics, corporate business and financial interests, cultural populism, and Christian theology. They have blended these frames with a Southern rights tradition that goes back to before civil war times. Notice, this frame isolates us into the blue states again--the vile habitat of the bluenoses.
In the meantime the Dems have been left behind because they seem to lack a message or they have been framed so fatally they may never recover. Will it be a death sentence? After all, who wants to vote for the party of the non-believers--not many when we know that 90% of voters profess to believe in God. We might take some heart in knowing that George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, the fellows who wrote the seminal book on metaphors, Metaphors We Live By (1980), have been working for the Dems. Lakoff’s ideas seem to have changed the way the Democratic Party will approach the next election. But the Republican frame remains strong, even as Bush weakens. The Contract With America marches on! There are also signs that America itself may be weakening under an onslaught of fiscal and political irresponsibility. The frame this country was built on lies somewhere--moldering in the shadows. Can it be resurrected and blended with the new realities that face us? What kind of a blend might that be? Perhaps we ought to try framing it?
I took the Pulse of the People. There were many but the overall trend was down. The people had become blind, trapped in unspoken words and fearful visions.
Sticker suggestions: Try fact-based thinking ~ Cheney looking like devil at GW's grave ~ Think free! With GW jackass picture ~ Lost in faith with Bush in head-lights look ~ GW Is Listening with FBI wiretap visual

John Courage is having an open house on Sunday

Courage for Congress!

www.courageforcongress.org

INVITE EVERYONE TO THE THE NEW SAN ANTONIO CAMPAIGN OFFICE

OPEN HOUSE

Sunday, May 7th

1:00pm to 5:00pm

8107 Broadway

For info call 210-602-4213

You may be about to lose insurance benefits

The US Congress, in an obvious bow to HMO's and insurance corporations, have developed bill, S. 1955 Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and affordable Act of 2005, which would allow health insurers to bypass state requirements for minimum benefits. That means your HMO could potentially eliminate key benefits in your coverage, including cancer screenings, contraception, emergency services, mental health care and diabetic supplies, should this bill be passed. Don't you love the Orwellian name of the bill? What's bad is good.

And how much did the CEO of Blue Cross/Blue Shield make this year? I could be wrong, but it was in the neighborhood of 42 million dollars. We all know that for a corporation to make profits this big, someone is being short-changed, and it's us.

What concerns me is the fact that Americans are being sold down the river for profit. All other industrialized nations have a form of national healthcare. It is an investment in their country's future.

According to an article in the New York Times "Americans 55 and over are much sicker than their British counterparts even though the United States spends more than twice as much per person on health care as Britain, researchers said Tuesday. The article, in the issue of JAMA to be published Wednesday, said "middle-aged to older U.S. residents have higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, lung disease and cancer than their English counterparts."

Gee, do you think that healthcare for everyone just might be a good idea? I do. But the NY Times article attempted to spin the information, saying "But, the press release said, the study found that "differences in socioeconomic groups between the two countries were so great that those in the top education and income level in the U.S. had similar rates of diabetes and heart disease as those in the bottom education and income level in England."

My interpretation would be that the wealthy in the US get poor healthcare across the board, with the poor being totally left out. If 45 million Americans have no healthcare, then how can we actually compile statistics, except to extrapolate from hospital admissions? We all know that you have to be practically dead to be admitted to a hospital. Patients are sicker when admitted than ever before.

We need a national healthcare plan, a single payer plan. F** the insurance companies. They ration care now, although they deny it. It is very sad that we, as a nation, do not value our citizens. The poor are throwaways, and the middle class will soon be gone. We will just die off because we can't afford healthcare or medications.

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN TODAY AND SAY NO TO THIS BILL!

Winning hearts and minds, the mega embassy in Baghdad

I found this particularly apalling. Supposedly we are not building any permanent facilities in Iraq, which of course, we all have know is baloney. Here is the proof that we are truly building permanent facilities, a so-called embassy. It will be the largest embassy that the US has, anywhere. So why would we need so many buildings? Because they will be housing a lot more than just embassy-type folks. Whoever it houses, they will be living the life of Riley, with all the perks imaginable. Bet Haliburton and KBR folks will be housed there, and lobbyists, and more. Nothing good will come of this. The Iraqi's are not stupid, and this huge embassy city will not convince them that they need their own functioning government because they will continue to feel like they are being occupied.


From:The Times May 03, 2006

Building work at the 104-acre complex, known locally as 'George W's palace', is supposed to be secret, but it is impossible to disguise the cranes dominating the Baghdad skyline In the chaos of Iraq, one project is on target: a giant US embassy
From Daniel McGrory in Baghdad. THE question puzzles and enrages a city: how is it that the Americans cannot keep the electricity running in Baghdad for more than a couple of hours a day, yet still manage to build themselves the biggest embassy on Earth?

Irritation grows as residents deprived of air-conditioning and running water three years after the US-led invasion watch the massive US Embassy they call “George W’s palace” rising from the banks of the Tigris.

In the pavement cafés, people moan that the structure is bigger than anything Saddam Hussein built. They are not impressed by the architects’ claims that the diplomatic outpost will be visible from space and cover an area that is larger than the Vatican city and big enough to accommodate four Millennium Domes. They are more interested in knowing whether the US State Department paid for the prime real estate or simply took it.

While families in the capital suffer electricity cuts, queue all day to fuel their cars and wait for water pipes to be connected, the US mission due to open in June next year will have its own power and water plants to cater for a population the size of a small town.

Officially, the design of the compound is supposed to be a secret, but you cannot hide the giant construction cranes and the concrete contours of the 21 buildings that are taking shape. Looming over the skyline, the embassy has the distinction of being the only big US building project in Iraq that is on time and within budget.

In a week when Washington revealed a startling list of missed deadlines and overspending on building projects, Congress was told that the bill for the embassy was $592 million (£312 million).

The heavily guarded 42-hectare (104-acre) site — which will have a 15ft thick perimeter wall — has hundreds of workers swarming on scaffolding. Local residents are bitter that the Kuwaiti contractor has employed only foreign staff and is busing them in from a temporary camp nearby.

After roughing it in Saddam’s abandoned palaces, diplomats should have every comfort in their new home. There will be impressive residences for the Ambassador and his deputy, six apartments for senior officials, and two huge office blocks for 8,000 staff to work in. There will be what is rumoured to be the biggest swimming pool in Iraq, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, a cinema, restaurants offering delicacies from favourite US food chains, tennis courts and a swish American Club for evening functions.

The security measures being installed are described as extraordinary. US officials are preparing for the day when the so-called green zone, the fortified and sealed-off compound where international diplomats and Iraq’s leaders live and work, is reopened to the rest of the city’s residents, and American diplomats can retreat to their own secure area.

Iraqi politicians opposed to the US presence protest that the scale of the project suggests that America retains long-term ambitions here. The International Crisis Group, a think-tank, said the embassy’s size “is seen by Iraqis as an indication of who actually exercises power in their country”.

A State Department official said that the size reflected the “massive amount of work still facing the US and our commitment to see it through”.

BEHIND SCHEDULE----

A US Inspector General’s report into reconstruction found that although $22 billion had been spent, water, sewage and electricity, infrastructure still operated at prewar levels


Despite “significant progress” in recent months, less than half the water and electricity projects have been completed


Only six of the 150 planned health centres have been completed


US officials spent $70 million on medical equipment for health clinics that are unlikely ever to be built. More than 75 per cent of the funds for the 150 planned clinics have been allocated


Task Force Shield, the $147 million programme to train Iraqi security units to protect key oil and electrical sites failed to meet its goals. A fraud investigation is under way


Oil production was 2.18 million barrels per day in the last week of March. Before the war it was 2.6 million

BuzzFlash Editorial: From King George of 1776 to King George of 2006, It's Time Declare Our Independence from Monarchal Rule

This is an excellent editorial! When you add this information to the 14 signs of fascism, you come up with a scary scenario.
BuzzFlash Editorial: From King George of 1776 to King George of 2006, It's Time Declare Our Independence from Monarchal Rule: "The Declaration of Independence states unequivocally:
'In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.'
When you read the document that was the birth certificate of this great nation, you can't help but be struck by how the Busheviks would regard it as a radical, perhaps even terrorist call to arms. "

Scott Ritter on Iran

Bush administration again looking like they want to invade Iran (see below). Today in an interview on Randi Rhodes, Dennis Kuchinich noted that more and more facts point to the fact that we already have troops in Iran. Can WWIII be far behind? Sigh.
Once more unto the breach: "The United States has already made clear its intent to introduce a draft resolution under Chapter VII of the UN charter, elevating Iran's obstinacy to the level of a clear and present danger to international peace and security, and paving the way for the imposition of stringent economic sanctions against Iran. The United States will be lobbying quite hard for such a resolution, and is looking to a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Paris group in New York on May 9 as the time and place for bringing this issue to a head. "....
If the Russians and Chinese balk over the imposition of Chapter VII-linked measures against Iran, as they have indicated they will, then the Bush administration will simply declare that the security council has become impotent and irrelevant in dealing with threats that it has itself declared to exist, and, as such, the United States, not wanting to have its own national security interests so hijacked, will have no choice but to move forward void of any security council endorsement or authorisation. This model of action directly parallels that undertaken by the US and UK regarding Iraq, and has been strongly alluded to in recent statements made by Vice-President Cheney, the US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, and Rice.

Daily Kos: Think Medicare Pt. D is bad? Brace Yourself for the Enzi Bill

Daily Kos: Think Medicare Pt. D is bad? Brace Yourself for the Enzi Bill
From the folks who brought you Medicare Part D(isaster), here's yet another bad idea for health care reform: the so-called Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (S.1955), known here in the Beltway as the "Enzi Bill." From the bill's intro:


...to expand health care access and reduce costs through the creation of small business health plans and through modernization of the health insurance marketplace.

Sounds harmless enough, right? In reality, this is an extremely dangerous bill that, if passed, could jeopardize the health care of 85 million Americans. Find out why after the jump. If you can't wait to do something, a coalition of national organizations is sponsoring a national call-in day tomorrow, May 3rd. Please take a minute tomorrow to call your Senators, toll free--1-800-828-0498--and tell them to vote NO on the Enzi bill.

Need to see Colbert roast the Prez again?

here is the link I know I will watch just one more time so I can laugh my ass off again.

Healthcare is a myth in the US

As a healthcare professional, I have strong feelings about the lack of healthcare today. Patients are sicker and require more care when admitted to the hospital. Matter of fact. Add to that the fact that there are fewer healthcare professionals to care for the patients. There is the usual cry of "shortage" but we must look farther into the issue. There was a shortage of nurses when I was in nursing school in 1969-1973 and the solution at that time was to hire foreign nurses. The scary part, was that some of them had fewer skills than we (junior year of college) nursing students had. The hospital where I worked in Ft. Worth at that time, was run (on the evening and night shifts) by nursing students and foreign nurses. Much of what I learned was by experience. Nursing supervisors were invaluable when we were stuck and had no clue what to do. Now, RN's take care of up to 8-35 patients, depending upon the facility. Does that make you feel safe? It shouldn't. Never go to a hospital without a significant other who will remain with you 24-7. A co-worker's care was so bad it took nurses and doctors to get things changed and to get adequate care from physicians. Be scared, be very scared. Then work for national healthcare. If you have not experienced national healthcare in a foreign country, you would be surprised. They do a great job, and the myth of rationed healthcare is just that, a myth. HMO's and insurance companies want your money and don't give a damn about your health. Your Momma gets better care through Medicare.
more

Lest we forget

April 28, 2006 |

A US Marine pays respects to Lance Cpl. Stephen J. Perez, of San Antonio, Texas. Perez was killed in a mortar attack on April 13, 2006, at Camp Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad. The death toll of American soldiers in Iraq rose to 69 in April, the highest in five months.
(Photo: Jacob Silerberg / AP)

Whatever we do, don't forget our troops. May the Lord watch over them and give them peace.

Power to the people

CNN.com - Thousands�march for immigrant rights - May 1, 2006 They marched and their voices were heard by the new media at least. What will be gained? It remains to be seen. I, for one, am glad that people were moved to get up and get out and march!

Daily Kos: News Wrap-Up for Immigration Marches

Daily Kos: News Wrap-Up for Immigration Marches MOre than a million marchers nation-wide according to the Guardian! People power at its best. I sure wonder what the economic impact will be. Now, if only many of these people will vote!

Aljazeera.Net - Global warming may boost oil industry

Aljazeera.Net - Global warming may boost oil industry This is a fascinating view of global warming from the middle east. They list the good points of global warming and the bad points. Worth a read if you have the time.

Meanwhile, we pay as the oil companies make bundles of cash.

Bush's prejudice in action?

Check out Orwell's grave blog.

Immigration Boycott

Our nation doesn't want brown people. Many speak of sending them all back where "they" came from. The Senate bill wants to make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant...but what about those who employ them?

Well, they did not want my people when they came in droves (the Irish). The Chicago Post wrote, "The Irish fill our prisons, our poor houses...Scratch a convict or a pauper, and the chances are that you tickle the skin of an Irish Catholic. Putting them on a boat and sending them home would end crime in this country."

Sound familiar? Today the same sentiment is prevalent about hispanics.

And so it goes, generation after generation.

Immigrants march across the USA

Immigrants march across US: "Reports from around the country suggested many immigrants were staying away from work, despite a mixed message from immigrant-rights organizations, some of which opposed the one-day strike."

At my daughter's place of employment none of the installers came to work today. My brother-in-law, a Mexican immigrant planned to stay home and spend no money today, in solidarity with the protesters.

Thank you Stephen Colbert!

Colbert roasted Bush beautifully at the DC correspondent's dinner. Colbert was awesome. My favorite line was about re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.

Protests you did not hear about in south Texas

Thousands in New York march against war - Apr 29, 2006
The San Antonio Express news covered this march in a tiny 2 inch paragraph on page 8A.

The Kerrville peace march was not covered at all. Granted it was small, but it is news nonetheless. It was interesting to be given the "finger" by elderly women, called a communist by others, and told by a white haired former marine that we were just hurting the troops. Amazing, that peace is such a frightening prospect to so many. We did have much more positive support than before, according to the folks that arranged this march.

For a video of the NY march go here

Neil Young's new album

Living with War
Listen for free, it is awesome. I had a flasback to the 60's remembering earler war protests, and then I cried to think of all the lives lost in this war. War is not a solution to anything. Bush needs to go.

Huffington Post April contagious festival

Here you can view all of the entries and vote for your favorite. WWJD is still high in the rankings.

More videos from peace takes courage

Broken promises
the time is now
the 32%
the decider
Remember, there is a peace march in Kerrville on Sat. April 29, 12 noon to 1 pm at the Kerrville County courthouse. Be there!

George Bush, what would Jesus do?

A 15 year old girl, Ava Lowery, from Alabama,who is a peace activist has received death threats for this animation she created. I am proud of this girl, and I think her work is gutsy, and shows great courage. To see the WWJD animation and more go here

MyDD :: A Letter to the Verizon/AT&T Five

Call these guys who voted against a free internet. Especially Charlie Gonzalez, whose father must be rolling in his grave about now.
MyDD :: A Letter to the Verizon/AT&T FiveA law that passed in a House Committee today lets them. It's a little more complicated than that, but that's the gist. Pretty soon your broadband provider will be allowed to block Google, Vonage, or your favorite blog if a competitor pays them, if they develop a competing service, or if they just don't like you. This sort of undermines the whole internet thing, and I'm fighting against it. More info is at Savetheinternet.com. These five people I'm highlighting are the Democrats who voted against a free internet, and I'd like you to call them up and let them know that their vote against the Markey Amendment (that's what the amendment was called) is simply outrageous. They need to know people are mad.

Some wounded troops have come home to collection notices from government

I can vouch for the messed accounting in the military. Reservists paychecks are routinely screwed up, and it takes months and months to correct the error. Active duty (including my sister's husband) will sometimes not get pay for an entire month, even though the accounting error that is being corrected is not their fault. The ansswer they are given when asked how they will feed their kids? Figure it out yourself.

Now, word again, that our wounded veterans are being dunned to pay debts to Uncle Sam. IMHO, if you lost your health due to battlefield injuries, I say you owe the feds NOTHING, NADA, ZIPPO!

In the WAPO 4/27/06, an article by Donna St. George noted the following:
Nearly 900 soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have been saddled with government debts as they have recovered from war, according to a report that describes collection notices going out to veterans with brain damage, paralysis, lost limbs and shrapnel wounds.
The report from the Government Accountability Office, to be released at a hearing today, details how long-recognized problems with military computer systems led to the soldiers being dunned for an array of debts related to everything from errors in paychecks to equipment left behind on the battlefield.
The problem came to light last year, as soldiers' complaints began to surface and several lawmakers became involved. The GAO had been investigating other pay problems caused by the defense accounting system and was asked by Congress to investigate debts among the battle-wounded.
The new report shows a problem more widespread than previously known.
"We found that hundreds of separated battle-injured soldiers were pursued for collection of military debts incurred through no fault of their own," the report said.
"It's unconscionable," said Ryan Kelly, 25, a retired staff sergeant who lost a leg to a roadside bomb and then spent more than a year trying to fend off a debt of $2,231.
Kelly recalled the day in 2004 when, months after learning to walk on a prosthesis, he opened his mailbox to find a letter saying he was in debt to the government -- and in jeopardy of referral to a collection agency. "It hits you in the gut," he said. "It's like, 'Thanks for your service, and now you owe us.' "
The underlying problem is an antiquated computer system for paying and tracking members of the military. Pay records are not integrated with personnel records, creating numerous errors. When soldiers leave the battlefield, for example, they lose a pay differential, but the system can take time to lower their pay.
The government then tries to recoup overpayments, docking pay for active-duty troops and sending debt notices to those who have left the military. Eventually, the government sends private agencies to collect debts and notifies credit bureaus.
The computer system is so broken that 400 soldiers killed in action were listed as owing money to the government, although no debt notices were sent, the report said.
A total of $1.5 million in debts has been linked to the 400 fallen soldiers and 900 wounded troops. Of the total, $124,000 has been repaid. The government has waived $959,000, and the remainder is still owed.

Great blog

check it out: dickysdoodles

totally off topic

Parque Infantil Miguel Hidalgo
It's hard to make ends meet any more. Gas prices have doubled, as have the costs of everything else. We give our kids gas money because their paychecks don't stretch enough to cover the cost of getting to school or work. I am sure with the next semester of college, books will be more expensive and we will pitch in for that. Sadly, sigh, where does it end? It's like living with Reaganomics all over again, and that was hard. However, we could at least buy "gasohol" then, at half the price of gas and still get to work...and car pooling. Now we can do neither. I guess we will survive on ground meat, starches and casseroles. It's tough.
Selling out here and buying a dairy farm in Aguas Calientes state in Mexico looks better and better.

As the worm turns....

There are clues from the past about Rove's present date with the grand jury. It doesn't look good for old Karl. As noted in the Village Voice, it seems that there are several concerns for the investigators including Rove's truthfulness (or lack thereof), and the appearance of impropriety in the handling of the investigation by John Ashcroft. Rep. John Conyers noted that the Ashcroft had wel documented conflicts of interest in this matter, particulary regarding his relationship with Rove. Rove was employed by Ashcroft throughout his political career and had advocated for Ashcroft's appt to the Attorney General post. Not only that, but many Ashcroft's "inner circle" also were familiar with Rove and had worked closely with him.
This should get even more interesting as time goes by...

one more song

Cant' help it, I am enjoying these songs.
The Decider

Op-Critical

Watch this and weep for the lost lives.

Justice Through Music

Justice through music an awesome website full of music and growing. Includes my favorite song, When the President Talks to God by Bright Eyes. Go, enjoy. Music touches our souls and might awaken those who are blind to what is going on right now.

George Bush doesn't care about black people

When the President Talks to God

Guess who voted against internet neutrality?

Rep. Charles A. Gonzalez(against net neutrality)
Democrat representing Texas's 20th district
Call Rep. Gonzalez now at 202-225-3236 tell us about your call
Say: "Please keep the Internet free and open. Vote for enforceable network neutrality requirements. Thank you." A concerned constituent called and reported: "The person answering phone at San Antonio and DC offices did not know congressman's position."
Call Charlie and tell him why net neutrality is important!

FRONTLINE: the insurgency | PBS

This show on PBS was very informative and worth watching, go to FRONTLINE and watch the full program online.

This is what you get for serving your country?

This is what veterans get for risking life and limb, or worse, losing limbs, their health, their eyesight, their hearing, their brain function and worse? Pass this on to every veteran you know. Veterans, make phone calls to your representatives and write letters to the editors of your local papers, which will help get the word out even more.

Push to cut Benefits for Vets who get VA and Social Security Compensation

Vets’ Commission Chair, General Terry Scott wants to study if vets should get VA compensation and Social Security disability at the same time with the aim of reducing benefits. In an unconstitutional move, he asks Congress to interpret its own law so he would have the power to launch study.

Larry Scott notes: The next step in dismantling veterans’ benefits could be a payment reduction, known as an offset, for veterans receiving disability compensation and Social Security.

The Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC) was established by Public Law 108-136 and signed into being by President Bush in November 2003. The VDBC’s charter states they are to study “whether a veteran’s disability or death should be compensated” and at what level if any.

Since the VDBC was first established it was obvious to veterans and veterans’ service organizations (VSOs) that the Commission had one thing in mind and that was cutting veterans’ benefits. The VDBC is made up of 13 political appointees. Four were appointed by Democratic Members of Congress, four more by Republican Members and the other five by President Bush. The VDBC is truly a 9-4 politically-stacked deck even though they like to refer to themselves as bipartisan. The legality of the VDBC has been questioned by some VSOs.

As the VDBC’s meetings progressed, veterans began to notice a “secretive” quality to the workings of the Commission. Last fall the VDBC issued a list of questions they would study. They asked for input and gave veterans just a few days, over a Holiday weekend, to respond. The questions signaled the direction of the VDBC. One question was: “Does the disability benefit provided affect a veteran’s incentive to work?”

Now, “secretive” has taken on a new meaning. In a recent editorial written by Arthur H. Wilson, National Adjutant for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) we find: “Optimism was in short supply at the Commission’s March 16-17 meeting as some of its members maneuvered to authorize collecting data about Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits paid to veterans who also receive VA disability compensation. That was done with a view toward an offset [reduction] of disability insurance if the veteran receives disability compensation from the VA.”

Wilson continues: “A move to sidestep proper procedures and hold a secret ballot on the matter was postponed, but the issue is expected to resurface at the commission’s meeting in May. If so, it could lay the groundwork for cutting or eliminating veterans’ benefits as a way of saving the government money. The idea that disability compensation is some kind of income security or welfare program cheapens the service and sacrifice of disabled veterans. That kind of thinking might also open the door to cutting off VA compensation when a disabled veteran becomes eligible for Social Security retirement benefits. Veterans’ benefits are separate and distinct from Social Security, so receiving payments under both programs is not dual compensation for the same disability, as some have tried to argue.”

It appears the VDBC is about evenly split on the idea of studying the SSDI issue. But the Chairman, retired Army Lt. General Terry Scott, is adamant about getting this on the agenda and wants the power to move forward. And, he wants the help of Congress to push his agenda. Scott has taken the liberty of writing to Congress asking them to interpret their own law that established the VDBC.

This presents a problem. It is unconstitutional for Congress to interpret its own laws. Congress passes laws and the courts interpret them. But, this hasn’t stopped General Scott.

In an email to the House and Senate Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees, General Scott writes: “Some Commissioners believe that this charge [the VDBC’s charter] should be interpreted broadly to mean all related benefits received by disabled veterans under the laws of the United States to include…SSDI payments…the Chairman would appreciate clarification of the intent of Congress in writing or in person during the next Commission public meeting May 19, 2006”

General Scott’s unconstitutional request has raised major concerns among the VSOs. Christopher J. Clay, General Counsel for the DAV, has written to the four Chairmen involved. In part, Clay’s letter states: “…[General Scott’s] request, if honored…would violate one of the fundamental principles which have guided the government of the United States for more than 200 years. That principle is the separation of powers…Congress exercises the sole power to enact laws while the Judicial and Executive Branches have the power to say what those laws mean…neither a committee of either the House or Senate nor the full Congress may interpret a statute after it is enacted, without passing a new law…The DAV is unaware of any precedent for the congressional interpretations requested by the Commission Chairman. If the Committee responds to the Chairman’s inquiry, it will set a precedent that the courts are no longer the sole arbiters of disputes over our laws.”

Now, veterans play the waiting game. Will any of the four Congressional Committees respond to General Scott’s request and interpret their own law? Will General Scott get enough votes from VDBC members to push ahead with his idea to study a Social Security offset (reduction) for veterans’ disability compensation? We will know by May 19.

But, what we don’t have to wait for is the fact that General Terry Scott and other members of the VDBC want to cut veterans’ benefits and will try to hold secret votes and try to get Congress to, unconstitutionally, interpret its own laws.

General Scott must be reminded that veterans’ disability compensation is not welfare. It is not to be confused with welfare. It is not to be confused with any other sort of compensation. Veterans receive disability compensation because they earned it. Many earned it on the field of battle. They don’t deserve to lose it in a Commission hearing.

Authors Website: http://www.vawatchdog.org

Keep the internet free, take action

MoveOn petition
How to call congress today
Go here for information on proposed changes to the internet.
How gutting Net Neutrality : affects regular people (Ipod users, Google users), and proof that telecom companies abuse their power.
Our coalition MySpace profile video explanation
Coalition blog with good recent developments
A key committee is voting this week. Click here to see if your Representative is on this committee:
Find out where your member stands

Need lower gas prices? Let's pollute!

Bush, what a moron!Earlier today he stated that we needed more "cellulostic sources for ethanol", so that we could "make something out of nothing." I kid you not! Later, I find out that he has eased environmental rules on gasoline, making it "easier" for refiners, and possibly lower gas prices. According to Business Week, these move came after political pressure intensified.
The best response to Bush's latest attempt to mollify voters? Barbara Mikulski who asked: "What happened to Iraq oil, Mr. President? You said Iraqi oil would pay for the war. Ain't seen no money. Ain't seen no oil."
So, the solution to the gas prices is to give the producers free reign to ruin the environment? What about developing alternative energy, you know a REAL plan? Oh wait, that would require someone with a) a brain, and b) concern for how we leave the planet for our children and grandchildren.

Today's Cheers and Jeers on Kos

Today's Daily Kos has so many great cheers and jeers today it's worth wandering over there to read, and best of all catch all the links!

Kerry takes same stance on different war

Before a wildly enthusiastic crowd of hundreds at Faneuil Hall yesterday, US Senator John F. Kerry exhorted Americans to speak out against the war in Iraq, declaring that troops are dying because of what he called an inept and deceitful policy orchestrated by the Bush administration.

It was the 35th anniversary of the day Kerry, as a young Navy veteran returning from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, famously asking, ''How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

Kerry's case yesterday was much the same: that Americans have a duty to speak out against a war that is sacrificing lives on the ''altar of stubborn pride."

''Presidents and politicians may worry about losing face or losing votes or losing their legacy; it is time to think about young Americans and innocent civilians who are losing their lives," Kerry said, to a thunderous standing ovation.

And then the Republicans rear their ugly heads.

Matt Wylie, executive director of the Massachusetts Republican Party, dismissed Kerry's criticism.

''John Kerry has been acting bizarrely ever since he lost the election for president," Wylie said yesterday. ''Today's speech is another strange step in that direction. There has never been a time in our nation's history when so many people freely gave dissenting opinions about the nation's policies from both ends of the political spectrum. John Kerry should hop on the Internet, and he'll see there is a dialogue about all the positions going on in America today."

How in the world can the Repugnants even come up with this kind of crap? Why would speaking out against the war in Iraq be considered bizarre behavior? Gosh, guess if you don't agree with Bush you are open to be smeared any way they can do it. I say, thanks Kerry for speaking the truth.

All of us need to speak truth to power and get out and demonstrate not only on April 29th, but also on June 2nd (date of the bomb test in Nevada).

Pentagon Clarifies Nevada Intent....

Explosives Test Not 'Nuclear'. So they say. However, read on...

Pentagon officials apologized to members of Congress yesterday for generating
fears about an unusual military experiment to detonate 700 tons of explosives in
the Nevada desert in June, and they said the test was not designed to simulate a
low-yield nuclear explosion, even though government budget documents had
described it that way.

I don't believe a word of it! The Bush administration can't keep denying things and calling them "mistakes" or whatever, and expect the American public to continually buy this B.S.
Read it in WAPO

A spring day in Massachusetts

William Rivers Pitt wrote an eloquent piece that I wanted to share it with everyone.

Worth watching

Loose Change 2 A movie about 9/11 worth watching. I may have posted this before, but since I have been getting emails about this type of thing, I felt it was time to post it again.

Faithless- Weapons of Mass Destruction

Google Music: Faithless
Thanks Jools Holland for having Faithless on the show. Love the song, the lyrics and the group.
For more information: Lyrics
[Chorus] Whether long range weapon or suicide bomber Wicked mind is a weapon of
mass destruction Whether you're soar away sun or BBC 1 Misinformation is a ... www.lyricspremium.com/display.php?id=12439
www.onlylyrics.com/song.php?id=12439
lyrics.doheth.co.uk/songs/faithless/no-roots/mass-destruction.php
More search results for Faithless Mass Destruction lyrics »

Buy songiTunes Music Store - $0.99
AOL Music Now - $0.99
Napster - $0.99
Real Rhapsody
Sony Connect - $0.99

"Peace" grannies on trial in NY for Iraq protest - Yahoo! News

"Peace" grannies on trial in NY for Iraq protest - Yahoo! News From one grannie to another...GO GRANNIES GO! !

YouTube - livingwithwar.blogspot.com

YouTube - livingwithwar.blogspot.com
Check out the absolutely brilliant reporter who asks...one of the songs is "lets impeach the president" what does that mean? BINGO! Sweetie pie, you get the stupid award for the year.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is why we don't have real news today.
As for Neil Young...I have always loved his music, but now, I love it MORE! The music will be rolled out soon. So watch for more.

Randi Rhodes on Lou Dobbs

Crooks and Liars Randi tells America about the planned nuclear test in Nevada on June 2nd. Go Randi go!

Playing President by Robert Scheer

This was excellent; it makes me want to read the book.
Truthdig - Reports - Playing President: "Playing president is not a book title selected casually, but a distilled opinion gleaned over forty years of journalism, covering our most important democratic exercise. After decades spent interviewing dozens of leading presidential candidates, including those who ended up in the highest office, I came to the conclusion that the process endured in obtaining electoral power tends to be the controlling influence on the candidate�s behavior once in office. "

A day without a Mexican?

With apologies to my family...
Can the USA run without Mexicans? Who will mow your lawn, pick your lettuce, stock the grocery shelves, clean your office? A Mexican of course. Why is this a problem now? Because Sensenbrenner, Bush and corporate America say so. If it had been such a problem before now, the US Govt would have enforced the Immigration Act of 1986, which I have not seen enforced since 1987!
I see it as divisive and racist, on purpose. You see, we are dumbing down our schools, so where will our kids and grandkids work when there are no more Wal-mart of McD's jobs? Picking lettuce and mowing lawns. Corporate america will have succeed in keeping down wages, union busting, and the middle class will be gone.

Check out A Day Without A Mexican, the movie to get an idea of how it could be on May 1st when immigrants in the US and Mexico boycott the US. I say GO FOR IT you guys! Teach the US and corporate america a lesson.

...And yes, we have some proud Mexican immigrants in my family. However, my ancestors are Irish...remember the days when Irish need not apply for a job? Surely they taught you that in history class? It's a game played by the rich so that some poor schmuck immigrant group must always be at the bottom of the totem pole. Irish, Chinese, Polish, now Mexicans...the list will be endless until we see the value of the melting pot that we live in. [After all, you do like the food that immigrants bring to this country, right? Well, they bring a lot more value that that!]

Woman arrested for speaking freely right after Bush call for "freedom...to speak freely"

At an outdoor ceremony, Bush told Hu:

China has become successful because the Chinese people are experience the freedom to buy, and to sell, and to produce -- and China can grow even more successful by allowing the Chinese people the freedom to assemble, to speak freely, and to worship.

Seconds later, one of the people assembled on the White House south lawn actually tried to speak freely right here in America -- about both the lack of free speech and religious freedom in China.

That free-speaking woman was promptly hauled off and arrested.
article

What a country that we live in! What an example to the Chinese president, hooh boy!

some levity....

MEXICAN EARTHQUAKE

A big earthquake with the strength of 8.1 on the Richter scale has hit Mexico.
Two million Mexicans have died and over a million are injured.
The country is totally ruined and the government doesn't know where to start with providing help to rebuild..
The rest of the world is in shock.

Canada is sending troopers to help the Mexican army control the riots.
Saudi Arabia is sending oil.
Other Latin American countries are sending supplies.
The European community (except France) is sending food and money.
The United States, not to be outdone, is sending two million replacement Mexicans.

God Bless America!!

Thanks to my brother-in-law, a proud US citizen, formerly from Mexico, for this joke.

New Orleans is our Gettysburg, a generation defining event

Black Commentator
The authors Glen Ford and Peter Gamble make an excellent point. Many of us have watched the disenfranchisement of African Americans in Katrina stricken areas, and sadly it continues, as they now lose their voting rights as well.

This Saturday’s elections in New Orleans represent yet another element of the vast crime committed against Black America. With as many as 300,000 residents, overwhelmingly African American, strewn about the country in government-engineered exile, the elections are an insult to the very idea of democracy, and to the dignity of all Black people.

This farcical exercise in faux democracy will no doubt be followed by corporate media declarations that New Orleans is returning to “normalcy” – the same term that the media bandied about when the city held a shrunken Mardi Gras, in February.

Apparently, Bush and Co., the crime family, have found the perfect way to totally eliminate New Orleans so that they can turn it into a Disneyesque version of New Orleans...white, clean, homogenous and made in their own right-wing image. This is a national tragedy, and a horrible precedent. What will be the next community that they remake in their white-washed image?
It was heartening to read that some Katrina survivors have become more political, and that they may be many new Fanny Lou Hamer's out there, working for change. I know I hope so. Perhaps what will develop with be a Black Caucus with great power and a big, big voice. I hope so. Count me in to help!

Theocons and Theocrats

Theocons and Theocrats
By Kevin Phillips,The Nation, 01 May 2006 Issue

Is theocracy in the United States (1) a legitimate fear, as some liberals argue; (2) a joke, given the nation's rising secular population and moral laxity; (3) a worrisome bias of major GOP constituencies and pressure groups; or (4) all of the above? The last, I would argue.
The essential US conditions for a theocratic trend fell into place in the late 1980s and '90s with the growing mass of evangelical, fundamentalist and Pentecostal Christianity, expressed politically by the religious right; and the rise of the Republican Party as a powerful vehicle for religious policy-making and eventual erosion of the accepted degree of separation between church and state. This transformation was most vivid at the state level, where fifteen to twenty state Republican parties came under the control of the religious right, and party conventions in the South and West endorsed so-called "Christian nation" platforms. As yet nationally uncatalogued-a shortfall that cries out for a serious research project-these platforms set out in varying degrees the radical political theology of the Christian Reconstructionist movement, ranging from the Bible as the basis for domestic law to an emphasis on religious schools and women's subordination to men. The 2004 platform of the Texas Republican Party is a case in point.

Worth reading the entire article, and I think, Phillip's new book American Theocracy : The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury. It is available on Amazon.com and Audible.com.

Nuclear Bunker Buster (RNEP) Animation

Nuclear Bunker Buster (RNEP) Animation
Animation of the potential effects of a bunker buster bomb on the middle east. Horrible! We need to stop the nuke testing!

USATODAY.com - War game will focus on situation with Iran

USATODAY.com - War game will focus on situation with Iran

The July exercise may have real-world consequences since Iran could interpret it as evidence the United States plans to attack, said Khalid al-Rodhan, an Iran expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Anything the U.S. will do in the region will be seen as further provocation," al-Rodhan said. "Given what's happening in Iraq, it's clear the Iranians are afraid of U.S. intentions."

In the meantime, the Pentagon is also collecting and interpreting photos and other intelligence data about Iran's facilities, developing weapons to attack hardened targets and laying the policy groundwork for a possible strike, Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, said in recent congressional testimony.

Add to this the Divine Straker scenario with testing in June, and just when do you think we might invade Iraq? Well, at least before the 2006 elections, if not sooner. They (Bush & Co.) must rule us through fear, to get us to keep believing they will protect us. How better to up his lousy poll ratings?

The question remains, how amazingly stupid are the American people?

Bombs That Would Backfire - New York Times

Bombs That Would Backfire - New York Times
In this article Richard Clarke and Steven Simon note that "a conflict with Iran could be even more damaging to our interests than the current struggle in Iraq has been." In this article they review US history with Iran and state the following:

American frustrations with Iran were growing, and in early 1996 the House speaker, Newt Gingrich, publicly called for the overthrow of the Iranian government. He and the C.I.A. put together an $18 million package to undertake it.

The Iranian legislature responded with a $20 million initiative for its intelligence organizations to counter American influence in the region... Iranian agents began casing American embassies and other targets around the world. In June 1996, the Qods Force...arranged the bombing of an apartment building used by our Air Force in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 Americans.

Response from the Clinton administration in published reports "suggest that the United States responded with a chilling threat to the Tehran government and conducted a global operation that immobilized Iran's intelligence service. Iranian terrorism against the United States ceased...In essence, both sides looked down the road of conflict and chose to avoid further hostilities...

Now, as in the mid-90's, any United States bombing campaign would simply begin a multi-move, escalatory process." This could cause oil prices to spike as high as $80 per barrell...Second and more likely, Iran could use its terrorist network to strike American targets around the world, including inside the United States.

Third, Iran is in a position to make our situation in Iraq far more difficult than it already is. The Badr Brigade and other Shiite militias in Iraq could launch a more deadly campaign against British and American troops. There is every reason to believe that Iran has such a retaliatory shock wave planned and ready...the question that would face American planners would be, "What's our next move?" How do we achieve so-called escalation dominance, the condition in which the other side fears responding because they know that the next round of American attacks would be too lethal for the regime to survive?... President Bush would most likely authorize wider and more intensive bombing...So how would bombing Iran serve American interests? In over a decade of looking at the question, no one has ever been able to provide a persuasive answer...But the current level of activity in the Pentagon suggests more than just standard contingency planning or tactical saber-rattling.

The parallels to the run-up to to war with Iraq are all too striking: remember that in May 2002 President Bush declared that there was "no war plan on my desk" despite having actually spent months working on detailed plans for the Iraq invasion. Congress did not ask the hard questions then. It must not permit the administration to launch another war whose outcome cannot be known, or worse, known all too well.

As I noted earlier, the prospect of escalation in the Middle East is a frightening. The planned test bomb in June, I fear, will merely promote escalation from Iran. Where is our country going? Stop the merry-go-round Mr. Bush, it's time to get off and develop a SANE not INSANE policy. Then add to that his new "Decider" idea, and his mistaken belief that Rumsfeld is actually doing a good job, while his administration smears those retired Pentagon Generals who are now speaking out. These guys war game all the time, they know consequences, Bush and Co. know shit from consequences. The prospects for our nation are so daunting and so very, very frightening.

Divine Strake? What the heck?

DIVINE STRAKE If Bush's desire to perform a test of this nuclear device on June 2nd doesn't scare the hell out of you, then you must be a chickenhawk like Bush.

Look at the names of the devices as listed:
Divine Strake
Divine Warkhawk
Divine Helcat
Divine Hates

Further explained in the article as: DIVINE STRAKE is one of several "DIVINE" efforts under the Hard and Deeply Buried Target Defeat (HDBTD) program. DIVINE WARHAWK consists of deep underground operational tunnel facility defeat demonstrations using advanced weapons at the White Sands Missile Range. DIVINE HELCAT was a 2004 reconstitution exercise to determine reconstitution time for the C3I tunnel facility at Nevada Test Site (NTS). Also in 2004 planning began for DIVINE HATES, which is a WMD production and storage tunnel complex functional defeat effort.

Worse, are the "divine" bombs to be used in the quest to bring on Armageddon in the middle east? This just scares the hell out of me!

I just noted something I missed in the article, the definitions of divine and strake, which should scare the hell out of you even more.

Divine: Having the nature of or being a deity. Of, relating to, emanating from, or being the expression of a deity: sought divine guidance through meditation. Being in the service or worship of a deity; sacred. Superhuman; godlike. Supremely good or beautiful; magnificent: a divine performance of the concerto. Extremely pleasant; delightful: had a divine time at the ball. Heavenly; perfect.
Strake: A device for controlling air flow over an aircraft. A strake is also a part of a boat or ship used for generally the same purpose in water rather than air. It is a strip of planking in a wooden vessel or of plating in a metal one, running longitudinally along the vessel's side, its bottom or between them on the turn of the bilge.

Giant doobie

This story just cracked me up, sorry...

They just lit the doobie at the wrong end! LOL.

Firefighters stumble on basement marijuana farm

Associated Press in Ohio
Tuesday April 18, 2006
The Guardian

US firefighters tackling a blaze in an attic were confused when the man they had thought was the owner of the house suddenly left - until they found $700,000 (£400,000) worth of marijuana plants in the basement.

"If it were my home burning, I'd want to be there," said Fire Chief Ralph Copley of Wadsworth, Ohio. After extinguishing the fire early on Friday, officers found 239 marijuana plants filling a quarter of the basement.


Investigators from the federal drug enforcement administration were trying to find two people who left the house. The cause of the fire was unknown.

Watch this blog

Watch the comments on this website for sure.
Orwells grave

Orwell's Grave: Why I Saved My First Kiss for Marriage

http://orwellsgrave.blogspot.com/2006/03/why-i-saved-my-first-kiss-for-marriage.html
This blog is right on the mark. Abstinence only won't work. Any of us that are no longer teenagers can certainly remember what it was like to be a teenager, and how strong our urges were. If we don't then we are in total denial. We should be teaching not only the virtues of abstinence, but be realistic enough to teach about contraception, and more, covering all the issues of sexuality. If we don't we are lying to ourselves and our children.

USNews.com: Bush losing ground even in the likability department

USNews.com: Bush losing ground even in the likability department
Wow, guess 1/2 of the country did not get their sleeping pills renewed....what in the world woke them up...the LIES? Slow on the uptake you guys!

Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Special report: freedom of information

Guardian Unlimited Politics Special Reports Special report: freedom of information Why? Are their working conditions as bad as they are here? I sure wonder.

Suppression of science by Bush administration

Representative Brad Miller (D--North Carolina)sits on the House Committee on Science, and was interviewed in this article. Daily Kos: A Good Science Friday

The interview is concerned with suppression of science by the Bush administration. Examples found in the House Government Reform Committee (pdf document) included suppression over a wide range of agencies and policy areas including the following:

1. Manipulation of scientific advisory committees: appointing unqualified persons with industry ties and/or ideological agendas; stacking advisory committees; opposing qualified experts
2. Distorting and suppressing scientific information by doing the following: including misleading information in presidential communications; presenting incomplete and inaccurate information to Congress; altering web sites; suppressing agency reports
3. Interfering with scientific research

Another example of the way in which our country is being manipulated by religious whackos and neocons, each with their own scary agenda.

I want to put this in my header, but flunked html

anybody out there got help for me?
This is what I want to put in the header: Martin Niemoeller wrote:

In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up!

Watch List Delays Reservist's Homecoming

This is so ridiculous. In my travels I have certainly noticed the the "Homeland Security" folks are totally inflexible, are unable to perform critical thinking skills, and could not find their way out of a paper bag with directions. This is a perfect example of their inflexible thinking.

A Marine reservist returning home after eight months in Iraq was told he couldn't board a plane to Minneapolis because his name appeared on a watch list as a possible terrorist.

Staff Sgt. Daniel Brown, who was in uniform and returning from the war Tuesday with 26 other Marine military police reservists, was delayed briefly in Los Angeles until the issue was cleared up.

The other reservists arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as scheduled, but instead of immediately meeting their families, they waited on a bus for Brown.

"We don't leave anybody behind," 1st Sgt. Drew Benson said. "We start together, and we finish together."

Brown, 32, arrived more than an hour later. He had also had airport trouble when he was trying to go to Iraq — and he missed his plane then as well.

"A guy goes over and serves his country fighting for eight or nine months, and then we come home and put up with this?" he asked.

Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, said Wednesday he could not confirm or deny whether someone was on a watch list. He said Brown's case should have been fairly easy for the airline to clear up in Los Angeles.

"It should have taken 10 minutes," he said. "We do regret that an American hero was inconvenienced."

NSA secret room at AT&T

AT&T provided National Security Agency eavesdroppers with full access to its customers' phone calls, and shunted its customers' internet traffic to data-mining equipment installed in a secret room in its San Francisco switching center, according to a former AT&T worker cooperating in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit against the company.

This just makes me angry and scared. If they have secret rooms in San Francisco, where else do they have them and who are they spying on? This is getting to be like an episode of The Prisoner or a George Orwell novel. This is NOT the country I grew up in! It's not the one I served in the military either. Read more here

Watching America

Watching America
Interesting point of view. I certainly agree with the statement that rational minds must prevail....Bush just doesn't seem rational.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran attack debate raises nuclear prospect

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran attack debate raises nuclear prospect

Legality issue

There is also the question of legality to be considered.

Any attack would be hard to justify. Jack Straw told reporters recently: "I don't happen to believe that military action has a role to play in any event. We could not justify it under Article 51 of the UN charter which permits self-defence."

In the absence of Security Council approval, the US might argue that its interests in the Gulf were at stake and that its ally Israel was at risk.

The Bush crime family risks World War III. What in the heck are they thinking? We may be joining our sisters-in-law in Mexico before we know it. The state of Aguas Calientes is pretty nice.
Aguascalientes site

Creationism 'no place in schools'

The UK has something right!

Leading scientists have warned against the teaching of creationism in schools, saying pupils must be clear that science backs the theory of evolution.

The Royal Society's statement said some pupils may wish to "explore the compatibility, or otherwise, of science with various beliefs, and they should be encouraged to do so".

"However young people are poorly served by deliberate attempts to withhold, distort or misrepresent scientific knowledge and understanding in order to promote particular religious beliefs."

BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Creationism 'no place in schools'

Gutting higher education

There's been this relentless shelling of higher education," said David L.
Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities, who does not sit on the commission but has attended its meetings.
If included in the final report, several of the proposals "would
fundamentally undercut the commission's credibility," he said. "These would
include the dismantling of the current accreditation system, the demolition of
the federal student aid program, and the demotion of higher education to the
role of handmaiden to business needs."

This article reviews various proposals regarding the total revamping of funding at colleges and universities. It includes a proposal to test all college students, just like their counterparts in elementary school and high school are tested. It is alread obvious that testing and "no child left behind" is leaving millions of children behind, so why in the world would they consider this for colleges and universities? Look at it this way, soon only the rich will be able to go to college, the middle class will be gone, and we will all be working for corporate bosses, with no say about our working conditions. Next thing you know, we will be the illegal border crossers. Of course, dumbing down our education system will help corporations because the population will be too stupid to rise up because they won't understand the constitution, democracy, or their rights as citizens.

I had Mr. Wizard, my kids had Bill Nye the Science Guy, our childhood science idols. Some lucky kids in Waco got to see Bill Nye. However, their experience was ruined by some religious freaks who stood up and yelled "we believe in a God!" and stampeded out the door. That's astounding to me. Perhaps some of us should start disrupting their worship services, since they think they can disrupt everything from miltary funerals to science lectures. Waco Tribune

Presidential briefing

Donald Rumsfeld briefed the President this morning. He told Bush that 3 Brazillian soldiers were killed in Iraq. To everyone's amazement, all of the color ran from Bush's face, then he collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, visibly shaken, almost whimpering. Finally, he composed himself and asked "Just exactly how many is a brazilion?"
LOL couldn't resist blogging this one!

Speaking truth to power

watch this

Another Homeland Security pervert

This occurred 10/27/05, and of course, this is not mentioned in current news accounts. I would think if you were reporting the Doyle story, you might want to mention this as well. Ah well, I am no reporter. Oddly enough, every link I have tried to this article on Figueroa in the Orlando Sentinel no longer works, but it did yesterday. I did find this link Worse, his badge number as near as I can tell from other blogs, is 007.

The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Central Florida was arrested late Tuesday after exposing himself to a 16-year-old girl, according to Orlando police. Frank Figueroa, head of ICE's Tampa office, began fondling himself after catching the teen's eye in the upscale Millenia Mall an arrest report states. "The nature of Figueroa's actions do corrupt the public morals and outrage the sense of public decency," the report states. "Due to the small children in the area...Figueroa's actions did create a threat to the safety and well being of others." Charged with exposure of sexual organs and disorderly conduct...

Lampson supporters shoved

From Nick Lampson's campaign via email today (emphasis mine). DeLay is a fascist pig for sure! link

At a press conference on the steps of the Sugar Land city hall, where Nick Lampson called on Tom DeLay to resign so a May 13th special election can be held to fill his seat, DeLay's goons showed up to harass, assault, and intimidate. A number of female Lampson supporters, including Marsha Rovai, a 69 year-old woman from Richmond, reported being pushed and shoved by belligerent DeLay goons at the event.

Said Marsha Rovai, "I can't believe my Congressman, Tom DeLay, would organize this type of assault. I was assaulted by two different people. One of the men hit me and another shoved his sign into my face, and then when I pushed his sign away he violently pulled my hat down over my eyes and pushed me. I'm considering filing an assault charge. This is just very upsetting and I'm so disappointed in Tom Delay for organizing this attack."

Please stand with Marsha, and all the residents of TX-22, in demanding that Tom DeLay and his goons stop their campaign of intimidation.

link

Myth: Republicans value sexual morality

Specific examples can be found in alphabetical order on this web site.
Prepare to puke!

Stupid DeLay quotes

One of many stupid DeLay quotes....

DeLay on causes of the Columbine High School massacre:

"Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills."

What a moron! For more quotes: go here

War on Christians? Not!

“This week, radio commentator Rick Scarborough convened a two-day conference in Washington on the "War on Christians and the Values Voters in 2006." The opening session was devoted to "reports from the frontlines" on "persecution" of Christians in the United States and Canada, including an artist whose paintings were barred from a municipal art show in Deltona, Fla., because they contained religious themes.”

Persecution my Aunt Fanny! First of all, the majority of Americans are Christian; second, not all Christians subscribe to this fundamentalist brand of religion; third: how can a majority religion be persecuted? Oh, because many of us believe in the separation of church and state, as outlined in the US Constitution?

“Among the conference's speakers were former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) as well as conservative Christian leaders Phyllis Schlafly, Rod Parsley, Gary Bauer, Janet Parshall and Alan Keyes.”
“DeLay discussed the "chattering classes" who think there is no war on Christians.
"We are after all a society that abides abortion on demand, that has killed millions of innocent children, that degrades the institution of marriage and often treats Christianity like some second-rate superstition. Seen from this perspective, of course there is a war on Cristianity," he said.”

DeLay should consider the log in his own eye, rather than the splinter he perceives in someone else’s! Who are the “chattering classes?” I guess that would be you and me, we who work for a living, and aren’t rich enough to be of the corporatist and rich classes. I do not take this insult lightly. My religion is a very private thing to me, and I do not appreciate being called names because my view of Christianity differs from his. I firmly repudiate his idea that there is a war on Christians, and I am appalled that he would consider me one of his “chattering classes.” That would mean that he is of what class? The rich, the powerful, the lying-to-get-ahead class? Sounds right to me. After all, wasn’t he recently indicted? Do good Christians commit crimes? Oh, wait….they will be forgiven when the rapture comes. Hogswallow! What ever happened to Christ and the new testament, the Sermon on the Mount?
Worth re-reading: The 14 defining characteristics of fascism by Dr. Lawrence Britt. link
By the way, Orthodox Easter is April 23rd. I will be remembering what Christianity is really about...and it's not all about money, fame, and getting stuff. It's about helping your neighbor, those less fortunate than you, and remembering that it is easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle than to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Bush and Co. tell us our economy is improving?

Baloney!

The poverty rate in 2003 rose to 12.5%, up from 12.1% in 2002. About 35.9 million people were poor in 2003, 1.3 million more than in 2002. Both the number and rate have risen for three consecutive years, from 31.6 million and 11.3% in 2000, to 35.9 million and 12.5% in 2003.

link

Democrats' Conspiracy of the Soulless

At last, the lack of a spine in the Democratic party is explained, to a degree by David Sirota. link :

A lot of folks wonder why the Democratic Party in Washington, D.C. seems to stand for nothing. Is it because the party is beholden to corporate interests? In many instances, yes. Is it because leaders in Washington of both parties are, by and large, wholly disconnected from the real world? That's a big part, too. But still, the lack of principles that wafts from the party in Washington is just too widespread for it to be some random, organic phenomenon. Put another way, there must be some organized, well-crafted strategy being implemented that keeps the Democrats' few voices of true opposition muted, and keeps the party as a whole stuck in the convictionless muck.

Now, I am no conspiracy theorist, and I tend to be suspicious of those who imply that a close-knit cabal of Democratic Party insiders in Washington have all sorts of secret plans. But if you look carefully at the public statements of many of the key players in this cabal, you don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to see that, in fact, gutting the party's conviction-based soul is a deliberate, calculated strategy emanating from the nation's capital.

Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism

This was an item in the Washington Post. I have only one comment? Duh? You think so?

My, my the "brillant" folks in DC sure think slower than the rest of us, and I guess they were behind the door when common sense was passed out. I guess someone just snapped to this in a flash of brillance. To quote Homer Simpson: Doh!
link

David Sirota to speak in Austin

Mark your calendar!

PPC Annual Meeting April 22nd, 2006, 5-7 p.m.

Texas AFL-CIO Building, 1106 Lavaca, Austin, Texas

Keynote Speaker: David Sirota