We've heard it all over this election from Matt Kelty. The
"families of Fort Wayne". Well, today at the Courthouse
Green we saw those families of Fort Wayne and they were supporting
Tom Henry. As opposed to the "white crew" that supports
Matt Kelty in this
flyer, this was a diverse crowd kn support of the ONLY mayoral
candidate in Fort Wayne. It wsa a beautiful day, a good crowd and
a nice visit from Evan Bayh. I saw friends, neighbors, bloggers
and some other wonderful people downtown supporting Tom.
I now have a picture of three generations, my father, my husband
and my daughter, with Senator Bayh.
I found it amusing that when asked about Evan Bayh flying in to
endorse Tom, Kelty said something to the effect of "it's not
who support you about economic growth in our community".
Maybe that's because no one is supporting you! Ha Ha!
Fred Thompson to keep convicted cocaine
dealer as top campaign aide
From John Aravosis for AMERICABlog
Now
that takes some chutzpah.
Even for a Democrat, keeping a convicted drug dealer - a cocaine
dealer in fact - as a top campaign aide, would be death. But for a
Republican? What is Thompson snorting? Seriously, what an
incredibly stupid, amateur decision for Thompson to decide keep
this guy as a top fundraiser. Perhaps my favorite line from the
article: "The campaign has no reason to suspect there is any
problem with the money Martin has raised, she said." Um, how
about BECAUSE HE'S A FREAKING CONVICTED DRUG DEALER? And I thought
Obama wasn't ready for prime time. Geez, Thompson makes Obama look
like Machiavelli.
"Christian Roots Of
Anti-Immigration" - Manassas VA
From Cliff
Schecter
This is Virginia. Watch these
insane people: "Your leaders are not chosen by the people, but by
God, so when you go against them, you are fighting against God."
That is as close as I can get to word-for-word without watching
this a second time, which I'll choose not to do, lest I lose my
breakfast.
The theoretical human being
interviewed in this video is Greg Letiecq, President of Help Save
Manassas, who is speaking about the "Christian roots of the
anti-immigration movement."
Yup, sure.
Don't you love how
conservatives, who were on the wrong side of slavery, Jim Crow, etc.,
now appropriate those movements as part of their history when they're
trying to burn Latinos at the stake?
There are statewide elections
in Virginia tomorrow, where, shocker, Republicans are
expected to lose seats in the state house and state senate. So for
right-wing politicians this is the gay marriage, partial-birth
abortion or affirmative action of this election cycle, i.e. the way to
misdirect people through shiny social wedge issues so that they don't
pay attention to how much Republicans, for lack of a better word, suck
at governing.
Know a blog that
deserves to be featured on the Blog World Report? Contact Robert.
U.S.- I have to say, I'm as much of a fan of the
Daily Show and Colbert Report as anyone else, but seeing as how Mr.
Colbert is king of mock politics, he's also moved into the realm of
mock opinion writer as well.
that to be president, you don’t need to care about science,
literature or peace.
While my hat is not presently in the ring, I should also point out
that it is not on my head. So where’s that hat? (Hint: John McCain
was seen passing one at a gas station to fuel up the Straight Talk
Express.)
Others point to my new bestseller, “I Am America (And So Can
You!)” noting that many candidates test the waters with a book
first. Just look at Barack Obama, John Edwards or O. J. Simpson.
Look at the moral guidance I offer. On faith: “After Jesus was
born, the Old Testament basically became a way for Bible publishers to
keep their word count up.” On gender: “The sooner we accept the
basic differences between men and women, the sooner we can stop
arguing about it and start having sex.” On race: “While skin and
race are often synonymous, skin cleansing is good, race cleansing is
bad.” On the elderly: “They look like lizards.”
Our nation is at a Fork in the Road. Some say we should go Left;
some say go Right. I say, “Doesn’t this thing have a reverse
gear?” Let’s back this country up to a time before there were
forks in the road — or even roads. Or forks, for that matter. I want
to return to a simpler America where we ate our meat off the end of a
sharpened stick.
Let me regurgitate: I know why you want me to run, and I hear your
clamor. I share Americans’ nostalgia for an era when you not only
could tell a man by the cut of his jib, but the jib industry hadn’t
yet fled to Guangdong. And I don’t intend to tease you for weeks the
way Newt Gingrich did, saying that if his supporters raised $30
million, he would run for president. I would run for 15 million. Cash.
Nevertheless, I am not ready to announce yet — even though
it’s clear that the voters are desperate for a white, male,
middle-aged, Jesus-trumpeting alternative.
What do I offer? Hope for the common man. Because I am not the
Anointed or the Inevitable. I am just an Average Joe like you — if
you have a TV show.
More
Articles in Opinion »I Am an Op-Ed Columnist (And So Can
You!)
By STEPHEN COLBERT
Surprised to see my byline here, aren’t you? I would be too, if I
read The New York Times. But I don’t. So I’ll just have to take
your word that this was published. Frankly, I prefer emoticons to the
written word, and if you disagree :(
I’d like to thank Maureen Dowd for permitting/begging me to
write her column today. As I type this, she’s watching from an
overstuffed divan, petting her prize Abyssinian and sipping a Dirty
Cosmotinijito. Which reminds me: Before I get started, I have to take
care of one other bit of business:
Bad things are happening in countries you shouldn’t have to
think about. It’s all George Bush’s fault, the vice president is
Satan, and God is gay.
There. Now I’ve written Frank Rich’s column too.
So why I am writing Miss Dowd’s column today? Simple. Because I
believe the 2008 election, unlike all previous elections, is
important. And a lot of Americans feel confused about the current crop
of presidential candidates.
For instance, Hillary Clinton. I can’t remember if I’m
supposed to be scared of her so Democrats will think they should
nominate her when she’s actually easy to beat, or if I’m supposed
to be scared of her because she’s legitimately scary.
Or Rudy Giuliani. I can’t remember if I’m supposed to support
him because he’s the one who can beat Hillary if she gets nominated,
or if I’m supposed to support him because he’s legitimately scary.
And Fred Thompson. In my opinion “Law & Order” never
sufficiently explained why the Manhattan D.A. had an accent like an
Appalachian catfish wrestler.
Well, suddenly an option is looming on the horizon. And I don’t
mean Al Gore (though he’s a world-class loomer). First of all, I
don’t think Nobel Prizes should go to people I was seated next to at
the Emmys. Second, winning the Nobel Prize does not automatically
qualify you to be commander in chief. I think George Bush has proved
definitively
Tips To find reference information about the words used in this
article, double-click on any word, phrase or name. A new window will
open with a dictionary definition or encyclopedia entry.
But you know what? All these dire pronouncements are meaningless.
The plain fact is that the price of gasoline right now has nothing
to do with the price of crude. Are you paying $3.80 a gallon for
gas? No? I didn't think so, and neither is anybody else...not
anywhere in the nation! Despite the fact that, with crude at
$100/barrel, $3.80 is the break even point for refiners...the
BREAK EVEN POINT! Forget about profits.
What's it all about then? Simple... Last spring--as the summertime
petroleum consumption bonanza ramped up, crude hovered in the
$70s, and gas prices topped out just above $4.00 a gallon--Big Oil
raked in the profits. And now they can afford to subsidize our
purchases--sell gasoline at a loss for a bit--because what they
must ensure, in fact what they are desperate to ensure, is that we
keep on consuming oil just as fast as we can. In other words, this
is massive market manipulation.
So forget about opportunistic politicians who whine about price
gouging. Complaining about gouging, with respect to a finite
resource the remaining supply of which is already known, is
absurd. What politicians should be talking about is the fact that
Big Oil is selling at a loss in order to encourage demand. Or, to
put this on a more personal level, we are all being manipulated
through price fixing into consuming more petroleum than we
probably should.
Think about that the next time you're at the pump.
Poppy Bush Warns of More Bushes
to Come
From Christopher for From
the Left
Poppy Bush warns of more Bushes to come.
“I’ve got a grandson that would make a wonderfully able
public servant if he ran, George P.,” said Bush. “And Pierce,
Neil’s son. They have an interest in politics.”
We need a Constitutional amendment to prevent this family from
treating the presidency as their family business.
Unmitigated Temerity
By niCk (Mem Beth) for This*is*it
One
of my favorite books of all time is To
Kill A Mockingbird. It was Harper's Lee only novel.
I don't know why the U.S. media sources buried this news story, while
it made headlines in the United Kingdom. This is important news, and
it's good news.
It's too bad she is receiving this award from a man I do not respect.
Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge him, after all I haven't walked
in his shoes.
Harper's tale of racism and prejudice in the south, through the eyes
of a young girl, was the first book to leave a lasting impression on
me. I've read this book many times, and it always feels fresh, and I
always find something new that didn't notice before.
When I was in the sixth grade, we had to choose a book, from a
teacher's list, to read and do a book report on. When I saw this book
on the list, I selected it right away, because I had seen and loved
the movie many times. I knew the story and thought I could be lazy and
write the report from the story I'd seen in the movie. Although the
basics of the plot were well portrayed in the moving picture, compared
to the book, it is only two dimensions of a three dimensional story.
When I got up and presented my report, the teacher quizzed me about
aspects and characters of the novel not shown in movie. I remember one
of the things she asked was about "....Dolphus Raymond, how was
he different than town judged him, and why did he live like
that?"
Not only was I very disturbed and humiliated for not knowing that part
of the story, it fueled my curiosity enough to make me read the book
and find out the answers. I started it and couldn't put it down, I
think I read it in two days. I learned two life lessons; movies never
even come close to telling the stories from novels and always do
research yourself, never trust other sources.
This novel should be required reading for all.
Actors Support Writers Guild *
Valerie Plame
From Lydia
Cornell
Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors Issues
Statement in Support of Writers Guild of America...
Going on strike is a very sad thing, but the producers won't
budge on the hated DVD issue and the new media downloads. I
have something important to post later today on this. As
members of AFTRA and SAG, we stand in solidarity with our
brothers and sisters of the Writers Guild. Let's pray for a
swift resolution. (more below)
***************
On Wednesday November 7, 2007, VALERIE PLAME will be our
guest on the Basham and Cornell Radio Show at 8 am Pacific
Time on AM 1230 KLAV in Las Vegas (simulcast worldwide on
the web.) And we’ll have her for the entire hour.
Valerie Elise Plame Wilson, known as Valerie Plame, is a
former United States CIA officer who worked as a classified
covert intelligence agent for over twenty years and the wife
of 2-time past guest on the show, former Ambassador Joseph
C. Wilson.
On 14 July 2003 Robert Novak identified "Wilson's
wife" publicly as "an agency operative on weapons
of mass destruction" named "Valerie Plame" in
his syndicated column in The Washington Post. In that column
Novak was responding to an "op-ed" entitled
"What I Didn't Find in Africa," written by former
Ambassador Wilson and published in the New York Times the
previous week, on July 6, 2003.
In his op-ed, former Ambassador Wilson states that the
George W. Bush administration exaggerated unreliable claims
that Iraq intended to purchase uranium yellowcake to support
the administration's arguments that Iraq was proliferating
weapons of mass destruction so as to justify its preemptive
war in Iraq.
Novak's public disclosure of Mrs. Wilson's
then-still-classified covert CIA identity as "Valerie
Plame" led to a CIA leak grand jury investigation,
resulting in the indictment and successful prosecution of
Lewis Libby in United States v. Libby for perjury,
obstruction of justice, and making false statements to
federal investigators, in the Wilsons' civil lawsuit (Plame
v. Cheney) against current and former government officials
(dismissed on July 19, 2007 in U.S. District Court in a
decision appealed the next day), and in continuing related
controversy.
The controversy related to the leak of Plame's identity
and subsequent legal and political action is sometimes
referred to as the Plame Affair. Her autobiography, “Fair
Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House”,
was published on October 22, 2007.
The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8
am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern). All shows are simulcast on the
Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at www.BashamAndCornell.com
The National Board of Directors of Screen Actors Guild
unanimously approved a statement of support for the Writers
Guild of America (WGA) at its plenary meeting in Los Angeles
Oct. 27.
Saturday’s resolution, which is included below in full,
sounds a resounding note of support for the WGA from the
highest elected body of Screen Actors Guild.
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR THE WGA
WHEREAS the advent of digital production and distribution of
content through the Internet, cell phones, and other new
media platforms has created a moment of historical urgency
for the Guilds that represent creative talent;
WHEREAS our employers sought to change the compensation
structures fought for by generations of actors, writers and
directors by proposing to pay residuals on a profit-only
basis across all media;
WHEREAS our employers have thus far been unwilling to
counteroffer the reasonable WGA payment proposal for
Internet streaming and instead call such use
“promotional” even when whole pictures are shown and new
revenue is generated;
WHEREAS our employers persist in equating content downloaded
over the Internet with the sale of DVDs despite the complete
absence of manufacturing costs and the relatively de minimis
cost of digital distribution;
WHEREAS our employers have thus far been unwilling to
recognize that the wages, working conditions and residuals
provided in our basic contracts should govern work made for
any platform, new or old;
WHEREAS our employers have had sufficient experience in new
media to make confident, public revenue projections to their
shareholders, but nevertheless insist that they must study
new media for another three years before they can bargain a
residuals formula;
WHEREAS any solution devised for payment of residuals in new
media must address the problems of monitoring and
enforcement;
WHEREAS our employers have been unwilling to improve the
unjust home video residuals formula despite record home
video revenues they have reaped since convincing the Guilds
over 20 years ago to help grown this market by accepting a
discounted residual;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the National Board of
Directors of Screen Actors Guild that:
1. The current position of the AMPTP and its members
referred to above are unreasonable and would set a dangerous
precedent for all creative talent.
2. The Guild supports the WGA and any other Guild or union
that seeks to resist the employer positions referred to
above and fight for fair compensation and protections for
creative talent in the motion picture, television, and new
media industries.
Adopted unanimously this 27th day of October 2007 by the
National Board of Directors of Screen Actors Guild.
Cool Video
From YouTube
George H.W. Bush
cries again publicly…
From Kay in Maine for White
Noise Insanity
….but this time he’s crying, because he’s
ashamed of how his son George has allowed the
torturing of Iraqi prisoners, but he is proud that
when he was president and sent our troops into
Iraq, our soldiers were respectful to the
prisoners they captured! Wow. I actually agree
with his emotion for the first time ever.
As a nation, we should be embarrassed how
we’ve treated prisoners in Abu Graib and in
GITMO. “We are Americans….not
barbarians” is what I always say
and this should be our mantra for crying out loud!
Interrogation
methods from the Spanish Inquisition. Yep, we've come a long way,
baby!
From Pookyshoehorn for Ramblings
of a Madwoman
H/t
to Mock, Paper,
Scissors for this posting image. And it's true. No one
expects the Spanish Inquisition! Unless they're being held
prisoner at Gitmo.
[I am reprinting
it here because I could not find a link on the web. -
dancewater]
"This is one of the best anti-war letters I have
ever read, written by a U.S. Iraq War Veteran." --
Don Barletta
-----
From James Circello (AWOL soldier)
To those Businessmen and women holding seats in
Congress,
To the Highest Court of America,
To every Department within the U.S. government,
To the President's Cabinet,
To the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
To the Vice President and President of the United States
of America:
My name is James Circello. I am sure some of you already
know who I am now that wiretaps and spying on American
citizens has been approved. Or maybe you've heard of me
when you saw my name on a comprehensive list of Anti-War
activists. Or maybe you just know of me because I was a
Sergeant in the United States Army and served as an
Airborne Infantryman for six years, went to Iraq in
March 2003 and served until March 2004, remained in the
Army a little longer before refusing to take part in the
Occupation of the Middle East and went AWOL.
I am writing you today, not asking for forgiveness for
what I decided to do, but to give you an idea of what
brought me to that decision to leave the Army and speak
out against the Occupation. Though some will claim I
left for other reasons and will try to force the
discussion away from the facts and at the same time
attempt to assassinate my character with half truths and
out right lies, these are the facts. If later we wish to
get into more of my personal life, we can do that: I
have no fear of it.
I will first like to say that I am no longer a member of
the United States Armed Forces. When I left the military
on Easter morning, April 2007, I have officially
resigned from service to that military. There are no
ties between myself and an oppressive military regime
set on occupying groups of impoverished indigenous
people.
I am no longer a Sergeant or a paratrooper. I will not
respect an organization that can and does, at its own
will, change entire enlistment contracts for the purpose
of extending soldiers;
Gives quarterly sexual harassment courses and still
allows roughly 30% of women to be sexually assaulted in
some way, shape or form;
Openly discriminates against people based on
homosexuality, race, gender and ethnic background;
Allows crimes against humanity and peace to occur and
covers them up with internal investigations;
Actively recruits young boys and girls from low level
income high schools and communities with false promises
of health care, school and job experience and fails on
all accounts;
Refuses to recognize conscientious objectors (C.O.), and
when individuals apply for C.O. status that are
administratively "punished" by their chain of
command;
I refuse to be a part of a military and Administration
that continue to abuse and torture, doesn't recognize
the rights of detainees and allows them to be shipped to
secret detention facilities for "National
Security" purposes; a military that is illegally,
based on all U.S. as well as International Law, inside
of Iraq; a military that is over extended, under funded
in a war with no foreseeable end (because time tables
give our enemy a "sense of victory", but how
can the enemy have victory when "Mission
Accomplished" has been declared?); a military that
watches billions of government contracts given to
private military outfits, while they run through the
streets of Iraq unchecked, and allows soldiers to be
poorly equipped and the V.A. poorly funded.; the No
Child Left Behind Act and it's policy of making it
mandatory for schools to send out the information of all
students attending the school to military recruiters, or
they are threatened with being cut off from Federal
funding (I thought school was a place of learning, not a
place of turning our youth into the: "(insert
Arabic country name here) Veterans Against The
War".
This and many other reasons are why I tell you today, I
do not recognize any of the warrants that may have been
placed upon me. These warrants are merely a way to
silence any opposition to this criminal war. I do not
support the United States foreign policy and will not be
the fool that enforces it.
The United States has a history of using the poor of
this country to massacre and oppress the poor of other
countries and I say to everyone that is able to read
this - I am no longer a member of the United
States Armed Forces. I also say, this by no way makes me
Un-American. I love this country and feel very strongly
that it can be saved and that it must be saved. I say
this without a growing ego, but my acts as of now are
what the Founding Fathers envisioned and wrote about.
This is what Democracy looks like. Dissent isn't
Un-American, it is what Patriotism means. Patriotism is
not blindly following a Flag waver, it is Direct Action.
I joined the Army after the towers of New York fell.
Swept up in the fervor, I left college to enlist. My
country was attacked - I, like many, wanted to defend
it. But here is where a majority of Americans, as
well as Politicians have made their largest mistake:
Defending your country does not mean destroying other
Nations out of and/or for Revenge. But the People bought
into the outcry that we must kill to feel
better, and the Politicians sang their songs and danced
their dances, in an attempt to show who was the most
Patriotic of them all!
America stayed fixed to the lies from Fox News (can it
really be called "News"?) and we watched the
towers fall so many thousands of times until we were all
ready to go kill and die for the Eagle and Red, White
and Blue. Though, I will admit, I was angry and young
but it didn't take me too long to see that this wasn't
about defending America, but creating an entirely new
enemy.
It was all there. It was almost too perfect. They are of
different color. They speak a different language. They
are a people that have been made to be poor - not a
people that are poor; there is a difference.
They follow a strange religion that Americans don't
understand! A religion so very similar to Christianity,
that - get this - it recognizes almost the same
individuals as being Prophets that the Bible does.
They "hate us (you) for our (your) freedom".
They will come here and kill our women and children if
we do not go there (and kill their women and children
first).
The Administration and all of Its men and women sold it
and Americans bought it.
How many people got chills when the American flag was
placed there at Ground Zero? Remember when there were so
many flags outside of houses, and flag stores ran out of
them?
So I went to Iraq and I saw their faces. People that I
thought wanted to kill me, and hated me because I was
free, brought me into their homes, offered me food and
something to drink. Was the food poisoned? No. Was it a
poor family that could barely afford the food they were
offering, but offered it to me without charge or regret?
You bet.
I was quickly disillusioned by the military. Senators
and Representatives from Congress would come to visit us
- and we would be told to get everything clean for the
Dog and Pony Show.
We would up the security levels, to make everything look
ship-shape. When it was time for the questions and
answers portion, we would never be without a question,
because the chain of command was always there for us -
and thankfully they had come up with the questions we
were allowed to ask our Representatives. This is what
happens every time someone from D.C. came for a little
sight seeing visit. I can only imagine what kinds of
shows they put on now.
Long story short, I left Iraq feeling really
uncomfortable with America's position in this entire
conflict. It didn't feel right. It didn't look right.
And after much soul searching and researching, I
discovered that it plain out just wasn't right.
It took me a while to finally decide to leave. I wanted
to leave prior to invading Iraq, while witnessing the
illegal "Shock and Awe" that killed so many
innocent people and destroying the infrastructure of the
country that we hadn't destroyed from the first bombings
in the Gulf War and what wasn't antiquated and useless
from the illegal sanctions held over the heads of the
every day Iraqi citizen.
I fell for the trap of "don't let your buddies
down". And what a well spun web it is. I can not
control the conscience of another man. I can only follow
mine. And after deciding what I believe in is not
consistent
with the United States military and learning that
"don't let your buddies down" is just a form
of domination through guilt, I left my post in Italy to
return to America. I began speaking out against this
Occupation. I do not fear arrest. I do not stay hidden.
I go to all national events and travel the country at my
own leisure.
I say this to you Congressional Democrats: you have
failed us. I delayed my going AWOL, because when I
learned both Houses of the Congress were controlled by
Democrats I was confident that the war was finally over.
You ran on the platform of ending the war. I told all of
my friends to just hang on, it will be over very soon.
You funded the war and you continue to fund it. By no
means is my hostility solely directed towards the
Republican bench of the government. You lied to the
American people, and more so, you failed the American
people. We are finally awake and more and more are
realizing that we don't have a two party system in
America, we have a single party that is not representing
the will of the People.
Realize this Congressional Democrats, that when you
agreed to continue funding the Occupation, this was no
longer the President's war against the Arabs. You helped
buy this Occupation and now you own it as well. And I
will remind you every time that I see your faces.
The People say end the war. Stop funding the Occupation.
The Soldiers want to come home. The insane idea of we
must stay in Iraq and Afghanistan so that these
thousands of soldiers will not have died in vain should
never be said again! We tried saying that in Vietnam!
The Iraqi people are strong and can defend themselves.
They also want us out.
It took years for a G.I. Resistance to begin within the
Military during Vietnam, but I am telling you right now
- the feeling of resentment is there. The feeling that
Politicians and Businesses are profiting off of
this Occupation while we suffer through extended tours
and battle Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depleted
uranium, losing friends and family and losing our lives
and limbs through wounds.
We come home and barely have time to adjust to being
home before we begin training to leave again. Families
are falling apart. Iraqis are dying. For what? A red,
white and blue flag that says, "I'm a
Patriot"?
Dissent is Patriotic.
Open discussion is Patriotic (this to Speaker of the
House Pelosi who refuses to have an open forum with the
people of her district. I believe it is going on just
over 2 Years now.)
And I say to you dissent is filling the ranks of the
military and it doesn't even need a charismatic
figurehead to come forth and say "Dissent;
Desert!". They are doing it and will keep doing it.
And the
military's attempt to censor free speech will not
contain it. Blogs, Youtube, Myspace: these sights, and
others, weren't blocked for any reason other than these
are the most popular places to find out that the
G.I. Resistance Movement is growing daily.
So proud Patriots of America, I ask you today for
nothing. You are my Employee, never forget that. My tax
dollars pay your salary, never forget that. I do however
have demands for you:
-End the Occupation Now. Not tomorrow.
-Bring home all American troops. Replace them with a
true international coalition designed specifically for
peace keeping operations, NOT military operations.
-Remove all U.S. contractors from the Middle East that
continue to benefit off of the death of the Iraqi and
Afghan people and the destruction of their countries.
-Allow the Afghan and Iraq governments the freedom to
decide what kind of country they want to be in, not what
kind of country we want them to have.
-Allow the Afghan and Iraq governments freedom to choose
who is given reconstruction contracts - which none
should be American companies, for obvious reasons.
-Fund in full all reconstruction projects in Afghanistan
and Iraq: We destroyed their countries, by International
Law we must pay. By Moral virtue we must pay.
-Support the Troops means take care of them when they
come home, not blindly fund their continued existence in
a war zone - Completely fund the V.A. Department!
-Fund the Levees; Do NOT allow another Hurricane Katrina
or Rita.
-Oversight on Gulf Region reconstruction (where is it?)
- I was just in New Orleans, it is still a disaster area
two years later. Fix it now.
-Open Diplomatic negotiations with Iran - Do not allow
another war to take place. We have Diplomats that are
paid by taxpayers to do just that: to Talk and Discuss.
Use Diplomats not Depleted Uranium and Cruise Missiles.
I also want to say this before I close, I wrote it in a
letter, just yesterday, to the people of Italy that
stand up and actively oppose more U.S. military bases in
their country. And it says:
The Iraq war is a War of Aggression, led by a cry of
"We Will Never Forget"; the famous quote from
September 11, 2001. Well, I have something to say for
the people of the World and to the People of this
Administration, as well as to the members of the U.S.
Congress.
We WILL never forget.
We will never forget that the men who hijacked those
aircraft on September 11, 2001 were not Iraqi.
We will never forget that Iraq had no Weapons of Mass
Destruction (W.M.D) when we invaded.
We will never forget that the W.M.D's that Iraq did have
years before, were sold to them by the U.S. Government.
We will never forget the millions of Iraqi men, women
and children who have suffered through the Dictatorship
of Saddam Hussein, The Iraq-Iran War, The Gulf War,
Depleted Uranium, Years of Illegal Sanctions, Shock and
Awe, "Liberation" from a Tyrant only to find a
new Tyrant take his place.
We will never forget the 2 million of Iraqi men, women
and children who are now displaced refugees within their
own country.
We will never forget the 1.5 million refugees in Syria,
the 775,000 refugees in Jordan and the nearly 200,000
refugees in Egypt.
We will never forget the 1 million dead Iraqi men, women
and children since March 2003.
We will never forget that nearly 100,000 Iraqis flee the
country each month since 2003.
We will never forget the widows, widowers and orphans of
those dead.
We will never forget the effects of depleted uranium in
American ammunition that litters the countries of the
Middle East.
We will never forget the increased infant mortality
rate. The sewage on the streets. The sectarian violence
that was never in the streets of Iraq until we installed
a Pro-U.S. Government.
We will never forget the destruction of Shock and Awe
that destroyed Iraq's entire infrastructure.
We will never forget Abu Ghraib.
We will never forget the Lost men and women of
Guantanamo Bay and other Secret U.S. Detention
facilities.
We will never forget the every day Iraqi that is gunned
down at a Traffic Control Point by a tired American
teenager.
We will never forget the sounds of Improvised Explosive
Devices (I.E.D) directed not at the American soldier,
but at American Policy.
We will never forget the Women and Children gunned down
at random after an I.E.D. explodes, because they were
working the vegetable fields and were frightened and
began to run.
We will never forget that War is, in fact, Terrorism.
And America is the largest State Sponsor of Terrorism.
We will never forget that the Men, Women and Children of
the Middle East may be of the same color as Saddam
Hussein, but they do not have his face. They are not
him. They do not deserve what they have been made to
endure.
And we will never forget that corporations are profiting
off of the death and destruction.
We will never forget that Blackwater and other private
armies, which are in themselves illegal, are running
around the Middle East killing at will - and are left
unchecked.
We will never forget amazing photo opportunities with
the soldiers, whether its walking through a market in
Iraq with security all around you and Apaches in the
air, or sitting on the deck of a ship under a
"Mission Accomplished" banner.
We will never forget that a majority of the American
population want the Occupations to end and we will keep
repeating it until you do what you are paid to do - and
that is, Listen to the People.
The People are United and I know that attempts will be
made to have me appear a fool and soon you will have my
grade school photographs, my coloring books, a list of
every library book I have ever checked out, and whatever
other records these incredibly large and over-funded
Secret Agencies compile on Activists in America, but I
do not fear you.
You have no moral authority over me. Or any authority at
all. I do not fear you. Any of you.
We The People, United within The Struggle, James
Circello; Iraq Veterans Against The War
Cherie Eichholz
Veterans For Peace National Office
veteransforpeace.
org ~ (314) 725-6005
BLOG RECOMMENDATION
As someone who used to run and jump constantly when I was
younger, I feel a certain affinity toward the kids who are involved in
Free Running and Parkour. In addition, I am constantly in awe of the
seemingly superhuman feats they are capable of. Take a look at the Parkour
Training
Blog and tell me you're not impressed.
One year out from the 2008 election, Americans are
deeply pessimistic and eager for a change in
direction from the agenda and priorities of
President Bush, according to a new Washington
Post-ABC News poll.
Concern about the economy, the war in
Iraq and growing dissatisfaction with the political
environment in Washington all contribute to the
lowest public assessment of the direction of the
country in more than a decade. Just 24
percent think the nation is on the right track, and three-quarters
said they want the next president to chart a course
that is different than that pursued by Bush.
Overwhelmingly, Democrats want a new
direction, but so do three-quarters of independents
and even half of Republicans. Sixty percent
of all Americans said they feel strongly that such a
change is needed after two terms of the Bush
presidency.
Dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq remains a
primary drag on public opinion, and Americans are
increasingly downcast about the state of the
economy. More than six in 10 called the war
not worth fighting, and nearly two-thirds gave the
national economy negative marks. The
outlook going forward is also bleak: About
seven in 10 see a recession as likely over the next
year... [emphasis added]
This poll shows clearly
what the people want. As a result, I think
Democrats are significantly likely to have the White
House and considerable majorities in both Houses in
2009. I remain committed to helping make that
happen. But they need to be warned that, if
they fail to deliver, their ascendency shall be
brief, because voters are so dissatisfied with the
status-quo that the Dems can expect a very short
leash.
Anarchopagan found this, a personal favorite
of his by Paris. Its more current. And i gotta
say i like it a lot. There are so many
unacceptable things going down in our society.
Its got to , got to change,but it is unlikely
given the momentum of empire that it will - sad
fact but a good bet. So we had better keep
preparing for the worst.
that song by Sly and Family Stone - Stand
is a great one also for getting one's soul
stirred up for Justice. (another oldie but
goodie) How do we the people seize our civil
rights ? It seems the elected care only about
their own power. - WTF is up with Schumer and
Feinstein Dinocratic stalwarts ?! Giving
MuKKKsey a free pass. Its official the Attorney
for the People,the head of the Dept. of Justice,
is now the Attorney General for the President
and will protect his personal police force
otherwise known as the CIA. What would we do ?
What can we do ? Enjoy this Video is has a world
of truth in it. What do our votes really mean ?
I still must ask. Look at the choices, the
system is soo rigged. Yeah i will vote in the
primaries, but we must continue to build locally
-sustainable pockets of resistence. Keep the
Ugly Truth of American Empire, out there for all
to see.
