Kucinich on Sept 2nd

Floor Statement of Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich: The Supplemental for
Katrina
Saturday, September 03 2005 @ 08:24 AM PDT
Contributed by: Peggy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
12:20 PM CONTACT: Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Doug Gordon (202) 225-5871

Floor Statement of Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich:
The Supplemental for Hurricane Katrina

WASHINGTON - September 2 - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) gave the
following speech today on the House floor during a special session to
provide relief money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina:

"This amount of money is only a fraction of what is needed and everyone here
knows it. Let it go forward quickly with heart-felt thanks to those who are
helping to save lives with necessary food, water, shelter, medical care and
security. Congress must also demand accountability with the appropriations.
Because until there are basic changes in the direction of this government,
this tragedy will multiply to apocalyptic proportions.
The Administration yesterday said that no one anticipated the breach of the
levees. Did the Administration not see or care about the 2001 FEMA warning
about the risk of a devastating hurricane hitting the people of New Orleans?
Did it not know or care that civil and army engineers were warning for years
about the consequences of failure to strengthen the flood control system?
Was it aware or did it care that the very same Administration which decries
the plight of the people today, cut from the budget tens of millions needed
for Gulf-area flood control projects?

Countless lives have been lost throughout the South with a cost of hundreds
of billions in ruined homes, businesses, and the destruction of an entire
physical and social infrastructure.

The President said an hour ago that the Gulf Coast looks like it has been
obliterated by a weapon. It has. Indifference is a weapon of mass
destruction.

Our indifferent government is in a crisis of legitimacy. If it continues to
ignore its basic responsibility for the health and welfare of the American
people, will there ever be enough money to clean up after their
indifference?

As our government continues to squander human and monetary resources of this
country on the war, people are beginning to ask, 'Isn't it time we began to
take care of our own people here at home? Isn't it time we rescued our own
citizens? Isn't it time we fed our own people? Isn't it time we sheltered
our own people? Isn't it time we provided physical and economic security for
our own people?' And isn't it time we stopped the oil companies from
profiting from this tragedy?

We have plenty of work to do here at home. It is time for America to come
home and take care of its own people who are drowning in the streets,
suffocating in attics, dying from exposure to the elements, oppressed by
poverty and illness, wracked with despair and hunger and thirst.

The time is NOW to bring back to the United States the 78,000 National Guard
troops currently deployed overseas into the Gulf Coast region.

The time is NOW to bring back to the US the equipment which will be needed
for search and rescue, for clean up and reclamation.

The time is NOW for federal resources, including closed Army bases, to be
used for temporary shelter for those who have been displaced by the
hurricane.

The time is NOW to plan massive public works, with jobs going to the people
of the Gulf Coast states, to build new levees, new roads, bridges,
libraries, schools, colleges and universities and to rebuild all public
institutions, including hospitals. Medicare ought to be extended to
everyone, so every person can get the physical and mental health care they
might need as a result of the disaster.

The time is NOW for the federal government to take seriously the research of
scientists who have warned for years about the dangers of changes in the
global climate, and to prepare other regions of the country for other
possible weather disasters until we change our disastrous energy policies.

The time is NOW for changes in our energy policy, to end the domination of
oil and fossil fuel and to invest heavily in alternative energy, including
wind and solar, geothermal and biofuels.

As bad as this catastrophe will prove to be, it is in fact only a warning.
Our government must change its direction, it must become involved in making
America a better place to live, a place where all may survive and thrive. It
must get off the path of war and seek the path of peace, peace with the
natural environment, peace with other nations, peace with a just economic
system."

my hat is too BIG!

Big hat, originally uploaded by skystone461.

Xavier tries on a hat at the Labor Day parade, while waiting for the KCDC float to take off.

Riders ready to get on the KCDC float

pretty girls, originally uploaded by skystone461.

Lexi and Ariana were ready to ride the float on Labor Day. It did not take them long (with Xavier's help, not pictured)to figure out that throwing candy was fun!

Barbara Bush, on the evacuees...heartless B-----

You know, I was so overwhelmed with anger this past week that I could not add to this blog in any shape or fashion that would have been civil. The Army Nurse in me was so outraged! Now, here comes Barbara Bush, with an outrageous statement! I can't believe it!

Barbara Bush: Things Working Out "Very Well" for Poor Evacuees from New Orleans

By E&P Staff

Published: September 05, 2005 7:25 PM ET updated 8:00 PM

NEW YORK Accompanying her husband, former President George H.W.Bush, on a tour of hurricane relief centers in Houston, Barbara Bush said today, referring to the poor who had lost everything back home and evacuated, "This is working very well for them."

The former First Lady's remarks were aired this evening on National Public Radio's "Marketplace" program.

She was part of a group in Houston today at the Astrodome that included her husband and former President Bill Clinton, who were chosen by her son, the current president, to head fundraising efforts for the recovery. Sen. Hilary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama were also present.

In a segment at the top of the show on the surge of evacuees to the Texas city, Barbara Bush said: "Almost everyone I’ve talked to says we're going to move to Houston."

Then she added: "What I’m hearing is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality.

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this [she chuckles slightly]is working very well for them."

The Shame of the Bush "rescue" effort

From the frameshopisopen
"Despite endless reports and images that tortured the minds of Americans, President Bush’s delivery--his behavior in general--never registered any of the dramatic emotion that fell like a dark cloud on the country. He was and continues to be emotionally empty in the face of the tragic events."

As the failure of the relief effort unfolded, Americans witnessed a startling contrast between a citizenry, press corp, and local leadership who spoke with more and more emotion with each passing moment, and a President, White House and Cabinet that grew more and more stoic.

After a short while, the President’s failure to deliver food and water became linked in the minds of Americans to the absence of emotions in his behavior. And once those two issues were connected, America had effectively lost faith in its leader."

Today as I waited for my phone to be repaired I overheard several people still talking about how Bush did nothing in the early days to help the flood victims. One even said that she used to like Bush, but not anymore because it was obvious he didn't care about people like her.

The anger I feel over how the Bush administration acted, and how they are now spinning the blame, is over the top! I can hardly wait to go to DC in a few weeks, and visit my representative's office in person, to speak about my anger at this poor, poor response. I trained for years and years in NDMS drills with the Army, practicing for just this kind of thing. Did someone forget all the years of work so many of us put into mass casualty situations?

Of course the Bush folks listen to input from only their inner circle, and pay no attention to the experienced folks, who are not of their "clan." Shame on them. Shame on them!

Today's Headlines: Help Finally Rolls In

Finally rolls in...6 days later?????? I have been angry to 6 days, to angry to put it in words. Why couldn't they drop water? Why couldn't they do anything? So it's flooded, so what. Where were the helicopters, the high profile military vehicles, the US Navy, Coast Guard and Marines? Where were the brains in the federal government? Oh, I forget Bush hasn't got a brain, a shred of compassion or common sense, nor do any of his cronies that he put in positions of authority.
I am just so ANGRY! We could drop food in Afghanistan and Iraq faster than we can in our own country! It's outrageous beyond belief!

Crawford Aug. 27 2005

It was a large crowd, gathered together in the 101+ degree heat in Crawford, under a large tent. Just a hint of a breeze, that taunted, but did not cool. A variety of people, from elderly to the young were present. There were few pro-Bush folks around. They drove back and forth on the road, waving huge American flags, and honking their horns. One man, in particular, honked repeatedly as we sang Amazing Grace led by Joan Baez.
One thing I did not understand on any of my visits to Crawford (Aug 6, 13, 27) was the attitude of the pro-Bush folks. They spent a lot of time and energy calling us "un-American, pinkos, commies,: and worse. I can curse a blue streak and will do so at any opportunity, but these folks used words that I would not use or even repeat. They feel strongly about their cause, vut are inarticulate and tend to regurgitate the bullet points of the administration. In today's Express-News, there were 2 letters to the editor that almost word for word regurgitated the Prez's bullet points. What a waste of time. But of course, if we do not educate our children well, they will not become critical thinkers, and will be incapable of determining government fact from fiction.
I just do not understand the value of being "pro-war." The folks that protested in Crawford against the peace movement were called "pro-war" in the media. Why is being PRO WAR a good thing? Why would we want to go to war? Who benefits? Obviously the rich and corporate interests benefit, not the rest of us! Folks, stop drinking the Koolaid....wake up! There is no "good" war. We do not solve world wide terrorism by invading Iraq. It's just one country, and the root of terrorism is deeper than that. Economics and social justice play a part in the entire scenario, but we are too blind to see it.

So, more pictures....to soothe my soul:







I am a lucky Veteran. I served my country in the US Army but my "war" experiences only consist of caring for post Vietnam war Veterans, being active duty for Operation Just Cause at Fort Bragg, and caring for Gulf War veterans with neurological injuries resulting from parachute training accidents at Fort Benning. I have the utmost respect for all our war veterans. I am angry that they do not get the best of medical care. They are continually short-changed by our federal government and used as "cannon fodder" for the rich.
God bless our Veterans.
Be a supporter of our Veterans. Give to the USO; volunteer at a VA Hospital, and question the closure of Walter Reed Army Hospital...which was just getting ready to open an amputee unit. Now, only BAMC will have one.
Do you find it odd that military hospitals and VA clinics are being closed at a time when we have a need to take care of the injured?
Write your legislator!

The very professional police officers in Crawford

Every time I have been up to Crawford, including the first day, Aug. 6, I have been impressed with the professionalism of the police officers. This photo was posted on the blog ellagoes.com and is a good example of how things have been at Camp Casey in contrast to right-wing radio and media reports.

"Regarding the friendly relationship at Camp Casey with the local authorities:
Ella playing with Lt. Sid Franklin this weekend."

I just wonder how things will be this weekend as the right wingers plan their supposed invasion of Camp Casey. Previously it has been a calm, friendly place, with few anti-whatever protesters. However, with the right wing media riling up these people there is no telling what will happen. I am hoping the right wing people will remember that they usually pride themselves on being Christians, and will bring their best Christian behavior with them.

Bush's vacation from his vacation

New York Times
By Maureen Dowd

"W. vacationed so hard in Texas he got bushed. He needed a vacation from his vacation.
The most rested president in American history headed West yesterday to get away from his Western getaway - and the mushrooming Crawford Woodstock - and spend a couple of days at the Tamarack Resort in the rural Idaho mountains.
"I'm kind of hangin' loose, as they say," he told reporters."

Here is a photo of the largest lodgings at Tamarack Resort:
Price per night was not noted. In addition, the website noted that the ENTIRE lodge was closed for the duration of the Prez's visit.
So, what else can our most rested Prez do? How about biking?

Nice that he can "hang loose" while our troops get killed. Nice that he has the most vacation days ever of any sitting President.

Guess his "war" is going just fine, and he just keep trotting out the same old speeches in front of highly screened crowds. Although I must say, the VFW Convention attendees were awesome enought to find a way to protest without the Secret Service catching on! You see the Secret Service won't allow T-shirts, paper, markers, posters, signs, bumper stickers, etc. But these old guys found a way!

Check out the ear....



God bless those Veterans!

Pittsburg police arrest, and tazer women protesters

Sgt. Clint Winkler, a supervisor on duty, told The Associated Press he tried to use pepper spray on one woman who would not leave, but it hit her glasses. She was then subdued with a Taser, Winkler said.
full article

Pepper spray and Tazers to subdue a measly 60 protesters? Outrageous abuse of power. This is still a free country, and this is inexcusable. Period. Of course, did you hear about it on NBC, CBS or ABC? Nope, the news uis canceled, we are fed the pap of celebrity and faux news.

Bush flips off everyone

Go to google, click images, put this in the search box: bush + finger.
Although there are some duplicates, it is obvious that our "frat boy" and bully of a President has no sense of decency, despite labeling himself at "Christian."

George Bush, "getting on with his life."  

Today, Thurday Aug. 18 I have many things on my mind ...

Therefore this post will be a free assocation of thoughts, in no particular order. Just as our world is a less orderly place, so are my thoughts. So many problems in our country, and no solutions, it's frustrating.

First, this letter by Elizabeth Edwards:

"Cindy wants Casey's death to have meant as much as his life -- lived fully -- might have meant. I know this, as does every mother who has ever stood where we stand. And the President says he knows enough, doesn't need to hear from Casey's mother, doesn't need to assure her that Casey's is not one small death in a long and seemingly never-ending drip of deaths, that there is a plan here that will bring our sons and daughters home. He doesn't need to hear from her, he says. He claims he understands how some people feel about the deaths in Iraq.

The President is wrong." complete letter

The right wing bashes Cindy Sheehan:

"Pro-Bush media hit squads are busily spreading the notions that Sheehan is a dupe of radicals, naïve and/or nutty. But the most promising avenue of attack is likely to be the one sketched out by Fox News Channel eminence Bill O’Reilly on Aug. 9, 2005, when he declared that Cindy Sheehan bears some responsibility for “other American families who have lost sons and daughters in Iraq who feel that this kind of behavior borders on treasonous.”
During a typical outburst in early 2003 before the Iraq invasion, Rush Limbaugh told his radio audience: “I want to say something about these anti-war demonstrators. No, let’s not mince words, let’s call them what they are—anti-American demonstrators.” Weeks later, former Congressman Joe Scarborough, a Republican rising through the ranks of national TV hosts, said on MSNBC: “These leftist stooges for anti-American causes are always given a free pass. Isn’t it time to make them stand up and be counted for their views, which could hurt American troop morale?”

Such poisonous sludge is now pouring out of some mass media—and we should expect plenty more in response to a growing anti-war movement."
" more

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart on Bush vs. Cindy. (You gotta love Jon Stewart!)
In a segment titled -- what else? -- "Texas Scold'em," Stewart covers Cindy Sheehan's vigil in his own peculiar way (video here).

Out at "Dude Ranch One," the president steps onto the set of Bonanza to concede that Sheehan does, of course, have the right to say what she believes, as long, Stewart says, as long as that position's a mile away from the BBQ pit!"

And to Bush's statement that he must "go on with my life," Stewart, nearly losing his comic cool, responds: "yes, I've gotta be strong, it's time for me to put this woman's dead son behind me and just move on."


George Bush, "getting on with his life."  

Monday morning in Crawford

huffingtonpost

The ninth day ended in the most awesome way. We were out at Camp Casey and it was sprinkling a little bit and it really looked like the rain was going to start pouring down anytime. We looked over into the next cow pasture and there was a full rainbow. Rainbows are supposedley God's sign of hope. When Casey was killed on 04/04/04, I thought that all of my hope was killed, too. Being involved in the peaceful occupation of Crawford and meeting hundreds of people from all over the world has given me so much hope for the future.

We had a lovely interfaith prayer service this morning. It was truly beautiful and we were all weeping while we were singing "Amazing Grace." But, during the service, one of our neighbors fired off a shot gun. He said he was shooting at birds, but he is tired of us being there and he wants us to leave. I didn't get to talk to him, but I told the media that if he wanted us to leave so badly, why doesn't he tell his other neighbor, George, to talk to me. We are good neighbors and we are cooperating with everyone. By the way, in case I forgot to blog it last night, the Sheriff has requested that I stay down in Crawford during the night, because he is afraid for my safety after he leaves. He said he would "sleep better" himself at night if I came into town to sleep. Judging from the shooting guns, I guess he was right.

Cindy Sheehan's war

"Sheehan herself seems unfazed by the media circus and image-shaping going on around her. In a world where horrors are referred to euphemistically, or limned in politely, or artfully ignored, she does something quite rare -- she calls things by their names as she sees them. She is as blunt and impolite in her mission as the media is circumspect and polite in its job, as most of the opposition to George Bush is in its "opposition." And it was her very bluntness, her ability to shock by calling things by their actual names, by acting as she saw fit, that let her break through and that may help turn a set of unhappy public opinion polls into a full-scale antiwar movement.

What will happen next? Will the President actually attend a funeral? Will Cindy Sheehan force him from his Green-Zone world? Suddenly, almost anything seems possible.

However the media deals with her, she embodies every bind the administration is in. As with Iraq (as well as Iran), the administration can't either make its will felt or sweep her off the landscape. Bush and his officials blinked at a moment when they would certainly have liked to whack her, fearing the power of the mother of a dead son from their war. And then, completely uncharacteristically, they vacillated and flip-flopped. They ignored her, then negotiated. They sent out their attack dogs to flail at her, then expressed sympathy. Officials, who have always known what to do before, had no idea what to do with Cindy Sheehan. The most powerful people in the world, they surely feel trapped and helpless. Somehow, she's taken that magical presidential something out of George and cut him down to size. It's been a remarkable performance so far."

The Tomdispatch article is very insightful, clarifying many historical facts and is well worth the read

Shots fired by Camp Casey!

10:15 a.m.
From Deborah Mathews' report for The Iconoclast: Camp Casey is becoming very organized, with how-to signs placed about. Ann Wright said, "That's what we are trying to do."

Let me read you the schedule posted on a tree: "9:15 camp meeting; 10 a.m. inter-faith service, 10:30 a.m., "Food-Not-Bombs Breakfast at Peace House," and....

"Wait! Someone is firing a gun. (pause). He fired it into the air about five times. He appears to be a local inside the fence line on private property. Now he has thrown what looks like a shotgun into the front seat of a pickup, and he's stomping off out of sight. I wonder where he went.

"Now he's coming back out. I'm out here standing on the road. He's got a no parking sign in his hand, walking toward his fence. I'm going to go try to talk to him. I've got to hang up."

The man is Larry Mattlage, who says he is on his property and just posted a no-parking sign.

"We're going to start doing our war and it's going to be underneath the law," he told me. "Whatever it takes. So y'all go find another place to do whatever you do. 'Cause this is our front yard and back yard."

It was from behind this vehicle that shots were fired. Note the box of shells on the tailgate of this pickup.


As he hung a “No Parking” sign on his fence, he said:

“We’re gonna’ start doing our war, but we’re gonna’ do it underneath the law, or whatever it takes. So you all go find you another place to do whatever you’re gonna’ do, because this is our front yard and back yard.”

I asked him, “When you say you all, do you mean the protestors?”

He answered, “I’m talking this whole damn country is neighbors and friends and this is our country. And if this group says that they are so much in Jesus and neighbors' rights and all that they pretend to be, why don’t they show it. You gotta’ live it. You gotta’ live Jesus Christ. And this is not Jesus Christ . . .

Another reporter walked up and asked, “Are you Mr. Mattlage?”

“I sure as hell am,” he answered. “Well, I want to get on the Letterman Show. I want to get on Jay Leno. This is a joke out here. You done your right and I believe in ??. This ain’t about Democrats and this ain’t about Republicans. This is about my rights and these people’s rights as American citizens who live here. You done your deal. You done your show. Now move on. I’m asking that as an American citizen and a taxpaying citizen, because I pay taxes to the middle of this road, and I mow it, and I keep it clean, and all I got now is trespassers. If that ain’t right, it ain’t right, but I want the whole world to know what they’ve done. They started out doing right and now they are doing wrong. When they first got here, I understood their cause and I appreciate it. I don’t like the war no more than anybody else, but right here we got war . . right on my front yard. Everybody here is sick of it. If everybody will leave now, everybody will go home a winner. Then the president can enjoy his vacation like everybody else and these farmers and ranchers can go check their cattle without having to go through a campsite.”

Deborah: Are any of them prevented from getting to their cattle now?

Mr. Mattlage: Ma’am, who wants to wade through all these people walking around there. What this is a war of porta-potties and the one with the most porta-potties is gonna’ win and you know who that is don’t you. You all got started out going to the bathroom in a five gallon bucket. Now, I see three porta-potties. How many more porta-potties are we going to have to put up with? Now, George Bush has more porta-potties than you all, so if I was a bettin’ man, I’d say he’s gonna win. So let’s don’t make this a little more ridiculous than it is now. Everybody go back a winner. You’ve made your point. I’m proud of you. God bless all of you.

Reporter: Did you fire a shotgun?

Mr. Mattlage: Yes I did! I got a right to fire up in the air. I am getting ready for dove season and you all are messing up my dove huntin’, so if you all could please leave and go somewhere else, this whole community would be behind you.
em>[Note: Central Zone Texas Dove Season 2005; Sept 1 to Oct 30 & Dec 26 to Jan 4]

Reporter: How many acres do you have?

Mr. Mattlage: It don’t make any difference. That don’t have nothing to do with it. I pay taxes to the middle of this road and that person over there (he said as he pointed across the road to the opposite side) pays taxes to the middle of that road.

Reporter: So this is your land right here?

Mr. Mattlage: This is my land right here. We’ve been here for 125 years, okay. And this group ain’t running us out. Our family’s fought in wars, drought—grew up without any water—we’re pretty tough folks. We will survive this. This group is like Frosty the Snowman here. It’s gonna’ melt and they’ll be back another day. We are just waiting for Frosty to melt. We’ve got one group over here that’s not gonna’ give up and we’ve got one group over here won’t give up and we right here in the middle. Do you understand? This ain’t New York and it ain’t California and it ain’t Washington. I’m not political. I’m just a taxpaying citizen that wants my rights. That’s all I got to say. Thank you. And I will be back here all night long and I’ll be shootin’ at doves in the air, so anybody that camps here better get ready for some gunfire. If we don’t hit anything, I want every redneck in Texas to come on my property and this property here and we gonna’ really have a show. Thank You."

Now shooting and being called traitors, does lynching come next? Is the truth about Bush that scary that his followers, like the members of a religious cult, must follow and support their leader no matter what, regardless of facts?
Great thanks to the Lone Star Iconoclast, catch them and Cindy watch here They are the best, most complete and unbiased news source there is! and audio links are here

This story embodies some of what is going on at Camp Casey

Annie and the man in the pick up truck

As everyone was going about their business, waiting for the counter protesters to arrive, a man drove up in a huge diesel pickup truck. You know the kind, with the big doolie wheels and such. He parked right in the center of the triangle – right in the space no one from Camp is supposed to be. He parked in such a way that the front end of his truck was facing directly towards the tents where Cindy and the other military families sleep – and where all the crosses of fallen soldiers have been erected.

The man sat in his truck for quite some time while our people looked on and waited to see what he intended. After a while, one of the vets from Camp Casey walked up to the man’s truck and informed him that no one was allowed to park in the triangle. The gentleman identified himself as the father of a fallen soldier. Anne Wright walked up to this man’s truck and began speaking with him through his rolled down window. He told her that he did not support what Cindy and the others are doing at Camp Casey, but he wanted to come and see if his son’s name was on one of the crosses. Anne invited him to come walk the crosses with her. The man got out of his truck and went with Anne to move up and down the rows of crosses, looking together for his son’s name. When they found it, they sat down in front of it, wrapped their arms around each other and cried together.

The entire Camp was affected by this event. I suspect that there were few dry eyes in our little corner of Crawford yesterday afternoon. I know that even as Annie related this story to me, I was choking up and having a very difficult time typing as she spoke, her voice cracking as she related the tale. Much has been said on both sides of this issue about what is “right” and what is “good” and what is “honorable.” If you ask me, the interaction between Anne and “The Man In The Truck” is the perfect representation of what we are trying to accomplish – Peaceful coexistence among people of different beliefs, politics and ideologies. I don’t know who “the man in the truck” is, but should he ever read this, I want him to know how much his story touched me. I want him to know that I honor him, and I honor his child, and I honor the sacrifice his family has made in pursuit of their ideals. To you, Sir, I bow my head in respect.

Camp Casey, Crawford Texas August 13, 2005

A pissed off rancher's sign on the property adjacent to Camp Casey 


One point of view from progressivegrannie and husband:

We drove up to Crawford for the second time, just to lend our support. There was a large crowd of folks, numbering in the hundreds. There was a smaller crowd of anti protesters, although it was hard to figure out what they were anti about. They bristled with flag strewn shirts, do-rags, and angry expressions. The anti people held a rally near the stadium, and had signs stating "american zone" like those of us who have not drunk the koolaid are traitors and worse. At Camp Casey some anti people, a handful, held signs saying, "don't be Michael Moore's puppets; stay the course; if we don't fight them over there..."

For both of us our experience at Camp Casey was a very moving experience. The lives that have been lost for this war of lies and deceit, is part of a tragedy that it is overwhelming. Standing and looking at the line of crosses is heartbreaking. So many parents gave their treasure, their children, in this war of lies. Then you see Cindy and the other Gold Star mothers and wonder how they can be so strong after such a loss. God bless Cindy, the mouse that roared!



See more photos below.

Many carried signs at Camp Casey

A sign at Camp Casey 

Cindy Sheehan speaking at Camp Casey