The following is an article by Juan Cole that I found via the "Information Clearinghouse." It seems that the Iraqis don't want the our military in their country any longer. So much for the chimp's stupid "flowers" idea.
Sunnis Demonstrate in Baghdad: 1 Million Iraqis say "US Out"!
By Juan Cole
07/30/05 "ICH" -- -- Maher al-Thanoon of Reuters reports that one thousand Sunni Arabs staged a demonstration outside the Green Zone (barricaded government offices) against the elected Iraqi government, which is dominated by Shiites in coalition with Kurds. They accused the Jaafari government of using torture and death squads on a sectarian basis against their community, which they called "the new Iraq of fire and steel." Al-Thanoon says, "Simulating torture, they dressed up as soldiers and used drills, wooden clubs and electric wires to act out what they said were the techniques used by government forces against them."
The Muqtada al-Sadr followers say they have collected the signatures of one million Iraqis asking that US and other Coalition troops leave the country immediately. In his sermon at an East Baghdad mosque, Shaikh Abdul Zahra al-Suwaidi told the congregation, "We obtained the Iraqi signatures demanding the withdrawal of the occupation troops as asked for by Sayyed Moqtada Sadr . . . The goal of this petition is to show the world the rejection by Iraqis of foreigners in Iraq . . ."
Then on Friday evening in south Baghdad, guerrillas cut down Faisal al-Khaz'ali, a major leader of an important Shiite clan.
Juan Cole is Professor of History at the University of Michigan. Visit his blog at http://www.juancole.com
Sunday, July 31, 2005
SENATE APROVES PATRIOT ACT
On Friday, 29 July 2005, the US Senate rushed...again...a late night vote on the renewal of the (un)Patriot Act. This time it recieved unanimous aproval. Not even Sen. Russ Feingold, Dem. Wis., voted against the passage of this Act. I believe there was a good reason why he didn't.
Sen. Pat Roberts, Rep. Kas., who leads the Intelligence Committee, had been pushing for changes that would have expanded the (un)Patriot Act to allow the FBI to demand records in terror investigations through administrative subpoenas, without a judge's order, and to have sole discretion in deciding whether to monitor the mail of terror suspects. But Republican leaders in the Senate had agreed to include additional civil rights safeguards and to forestall any expansion of the government's counterterrorism powers that would give the FBI the ability to do this. Roberts did received assurances though in discussions this week that Republican leaders would back him if and when he decided to bring those issues up again. I'm sure he will.
The bill which the Senate aproved Friday makes permanent 14 of the 16 antiterrorism sections of the Patriot Act that were going to expire at the end of this year. The other two sections...one that allows the government to conduct roving wiretaps and demand records from institutions like libraries and medical facilities...are to expire in four years unless Congress reauthorizes them. I feel that this is the main reason Sen. Feingold voted for passage. The House of Representatives put a ten year expiration on these same two sections.
The legislation puts in place several new restrictions on the government's powers. A higher standard of proof will be required from the government when it demands library and business records. There will also be greater judicial oversight and increased reporting to Congress on antiterrorism operations, secret searches will have time restrictions placed on them, and there will be limits on roving wiretaps. About these secret searches, did you know that these have been done for years prior to 9/11? Nice of them to put restrictions on them now.
In the wee hours of the morning of Friday, 22 July 2005, the House of Representatives passed their own version of the (un)Patriot Act. Their's was pretty much the same as the original with a few additions mostly to do with punishment for crimes connected to terrorism. One amendment, passed 402-26, would require the FBI director to personally approve any request for library or bookstore records. Another amendment calls for a 20-year jail term for an attack against a rail or mass-transit vehicle, a 30-year sentence if the vehicle carries nuclear material, and life imprisonment...with the possibility of the death penalty... if anyone is killed in such an attack.
Congress has now gone into recess for a month. When this month-long "recess" is over and all the Senators and Representatives return to Washington they will begin the process of hammering out all the details of the (un)Patriot Act so they can send it to the chimp for his paw print.
We've got one month to write to our Senators and Representatives to tell them to make sure that the FBI and other government agencies are not given so much power and authority...permanent or not... that they squash our Constitutional Rights.
Sen. Pat Roberts, Rep. Kas., who leads the Intelligence Committee, had been pushing for changes that would have expanded the (un)Patriot Act to allow the FBI to demand records in terror investigations through administrative subpoenas, without a judge's order, and to have sole discretion in deciding whether to monitor the mail of terror suspects. But Republican leaders in the Senate had agreed to include additional civil rights safeguards and to forestall any expansion of the government's counterterrorism powers that would give the FBI the ability to do this. Roberts did received assurances though in discussions this week that Republican leaders would back him if and when he decided to bring those issues up again. I'm sure he will.
The bill which the Senate aproved Friday makes permanent 14 of the 16 antiterrorism sections of the Patriot Act that were going to expire at the end of this year. The other two sections...one that allows the government to conduct roving wiretaps and demand records from institutions like libraries and medical facilities...are to expire in four years unless Congress reauthorizes them. I feel that this is the main reason Sen. Feingold voted for passage. The House of Representatives put a ten year expiration on these same two sections.
The legislation puts in place several new restrictions on the government's powers. A higher standard of proof will be required from the government when it demands library and business records. There will also be greater judicial oversight and increased reporting to Congress on antiterrorism operations, secret searches will have time restrictions placed on them, and there will be limits on roving wiretaps. About these secret searches, did you know that these have been done for years prior to 9/11? Nice of them to put restrictions on them now.
In the wee hours of the morning of Friday, 22 July 2005, the House of Representatives passed their own version of the (un)Patriot Act. Their's was pretty much the same as the original with a few additions mostly to do with punishment for crimes connected to terrorism. One amendment, passed 402-26, would require the FBI director to personally approve any request for library or bookstore records. Another amendment calls for a 20-year jail term for an attack against a rail or mass-transit vehicle, a 30-year sentence if the vehicle carries nuclear material, and life imprisonment...with the possibility of the death penalty... if anyone is killed in such an attack.
Congress has now gone into recess for a month. When this month-long "recess" is over and all the Senators and Representatives return to Washington they will begin the process of hammering out all the details of the (un)Patriot Act so they can send it to the chimp for his paw print.
We've got one month to write to our Senators and Representatives to tell them to make sure that the FBI and other government agencies are not given so much power and authority...permanent or not... that they squash our Constitutional Rights.
Friday, July 29, 2005
SO LONG HAPPY HOUR
Once upon a time employers in this country didn't have a big problem their employees talking to each other on the job just as long as everyone got their work done. Many times this was to the benifit of the employer because workers would put their heads together and come up with better, faster, and easier ways to get the job done. As a result production increased, and both employers and employees were happy.
Then came a time when these same employers started to prevent their employees from communicating on the job. This put a strain on employer/employee relations.
Now they have taken this one step further, they don't want their employees to talk, party, have cookouts together, in general gather together outside of the workplace. The security firm Guardsmark had a lawsuit overruled in their favor by the National Labor Relations Board that will allow the firm to prevent their employees from communicating with each other on their own free time away from the job.
The following is the report from the organization American Rights at Work.
Then came a time when these same employers started to prevent their employees from communicating on the job. This put a strain on employer/employee relations.
Now they have taken this one step further, they don't want their employees to talk, party, have cookouts together, in general gather together outside of the workplace. The security firm Guardsmark had a lawsuit overruled in their favor by the National Labor Relations Board that will allow the firm to prevent their employees from communicating with each other on their own free time away from the job.
The following is the report from the organization American Rights at Work.
Big Brother Nixes Happy Hour
NLRB Green Lights Ban on Off-Duty Fraternizing Among Co-Workers
It is a regular pastime for co-workers to chat during a coffee break, at a union hall, or over a beer about workplace issues, good grilling recipes, and celebrity gossip. Yet a recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) allows employers to ban off-duty fraternizing among co-workers, severely weakening the rights of free association and speech, and violating basic standards of privacy for America's workers.
So how did the NLRB decide to weaken fundamental workplace protections? Security firm Guardsmark instituted a rule directing employees not to "fraternize on duty or off duty, date, or become overly friendly with the client's employees or with co-employees." In September 2003, the Service Employees International Union filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB against Guardsmark, claiming that the company's work rules inhibited its employees' Section 7 rights.
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act grants workers the right to "self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations…and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection..." While the law allows employers to ban association among co-workers during work hours, Guardsmark's rule was broader in that it applied to the off-duty association of co-workers.
On June 7, 2005, the Board ruled 2 to 1 that Guardmark's fraternization rule was lawful.1 The Board majority argued that workers would likely interpret the fraternization rule as merely a ban on dating, and not a prohibition of the association among co-workers protected by Section 7. But the dissenting member of the Board pointed out that since the rule already mentions dating, workers would understand fraternization to mean something else. She noted, "the primary meaning of the term 'fraternize…[is] to associate in a brotherly manner'…and that kind of association is the essence of workplace solidarity."
While there are reasons for employers to ban dating among co-workers (namely to prevent sexual harassment), prohibiting off-duty fraternization is something quite different. Such a ban inevitably chills collective action of any sort—be it on a purely social basis or related to employees discussing whether to form a union or not.
Since employers are not obligated to inform employees of their legally-protected right to associate with their co-workers, how can we expect any employee to assume that a rule banning fraternization doesn't interfere with these rights? And why would someone risk violating a no-fraternization rule, given that most employees work 'at will'—meaning they can be fired for no reason?
America's workers need more opportunities to come together to discuss vexing workplace issues, or just to make personal connections with those we spend most of our waking hours with. But the NLRB gives employers the green light to invade our privacy and chip away at our most basic rights in the workplace.
This is total bullshit!
As you can see it's not just those who want to turn this country into a fascist theocracy that want to take more and more of our personal constitutionally guaranteed freedoms away from us but they also have the employers in our country helping them.
KARL ROVE: LIAR AND TRAITOR, PART IV OR THE PLAME-ROVE-LIBBY-GONZALEZ-CARD SCANDAL
Here's a little tid-bit about everybody's favorite reporter Judith Miller, aka jailbird, that I discovered at the Aquarian Conspirators blog which was originally posted at The Huffington Post. This explains alot about just why Judy Miller kept her mouth shut and took the jail time. I thought some of my readers might find this very interesting. It helps to show how much of a cluster-fuck this whole scandal has become. It's gonna get harder for the White House to get out of this one.
Huffington is still on the Miller Case
The more I'm reading about Judy Miller and her actions leading up to and during the early days of the war, and then through the unfolding Plame-Rove-Libby-Gonzalez-Card scandal, the more I’m struck by the special access and relationships she enjoyed with many of the key players in the Iraq debacle (which, at the end of the day, is really what Plamegate is all about).
For starters, of course, we have her still unfolding involvement in the Plame leak. Earlier this month, Howard Kurtz reported that Miller and Libby spoke a few days before Novak outed Plame -- and I’m hearing that the Libby/Miller conversation occurred over breakfast in Washington. Did Valerie Plame come up -- and, if so, who brought her up? There is no question that Miller was angry at Joe Wilson… and continues to be. A social acquaintance of Miller told me that, once, when she spoke of Wilson, it was with “a passionate and heated disgust that went beyond the political and included an irrelevant bit of deeply personal innuendo about him, her mouth twisting in hatred.”
Miller’s special relationships go much further than Scooter Libby, Richard Perle and the rest of the neocon establishment. Take her involvement as an embedded reporter during the war with the Pentagon’s Mobile Exploitation Team (MET) Alpha -- the unit charged with hunting down Saddam’s WMD. As extensively reported by both Kurtz and New York Magazine’s Franklin Foer, Miller’s time with the unit was highly unusual.
First, there was the fact that she landed the plum assignment in the first place. It would give her first dibs on the biggest story of the war… the hoped-for reveal of Saddam’s much-touted WMD (with much of the touting done by Miller herself and her special sources). Was this the reward for her pro-administration prewar reporting?
Foer cites military and New York Times sources as saying that Miller’s assignment was so sensitive that Don Rumsfeld himself signed off on it. Once embedded, Miller acted as much more than a reporter. Kurtz quotes one military officer as saying that the MET Alpha unit became a “Judith Miller team.” Another officer said that Miller “came in with a plan. She was leading them… She ended up almost hijacking the mission.” A third officer, a senior staffer of the 75th Exploitation Task Force, of which MET Alpha was a part, put it this way: “It’s impossible to exaggerate the impact she had on the mission of this unit, and not for the better.”
What did Miller do to create such an impression? According to Kurtz, she wasn’t afraid to throw her weight around, threatening to write critical stories and complain to her friends in very high places if things didn’t go her way. “Judith,” said an Army officer, “was always issuing threats of either going to the New York Times or to the secretary of defense. There was nothing veiled about that threat.”
In one specific instance, she used her friendship with Major General David Petraeus to force a lower ranking officer to reverse an order she was unhappy about. (Can we stop for a moment and take the full measure of how unbelievable this whole thing is?)
Miller also had a special, ten-year relationship with Ahmed Chalabi, which led to the MET Alpha unit, which had no special training in interrogation or intelligence, being given custody of Saddam Hussein’s son-in-law, Sultan. Miller was even allowed to sit in on the initial questioning of Sultan -- a turn of events that didn’t go down well with some Pentagon officials.
Miller apparently ended up developing an especially close relationship with Chief Warrant Officer Richard Gonzalez, the leader of the MET Alpha unit. Along with puffing him up in some of her dispatches -- once describing his “meeting tonight with Mr. Chalabi to discuss nonproliferation issues” -- Miller took the unusual step of taking part in the ceremony where Gonzalez was promoted, actually pinning his new rank to his uniform (has the bizarreness of all this hit you yet?).
Later, when Miller’s reporting came under serious fire, Gonzalez was only too happy to return the favor, writing an impassioned response to the Times’ Iraq reporting mea culpa. “We have been deeply disturbed,” Gonzalez wrote in a letter to the Times that was co-signed by a pair of his colleagues, “by the mischaracterizations of the operation and of [Miller’s] reporting… We were particularly disturbed by the recent New York Times editor’s note apologizing for having been ‘taken in’ by WMD ‘misinformation’ and citing one article she wrote while embedded with our unit… We strongly disagree with that assertion and remain firmly supportive of the accuracy of her accounts of the events she described, as well as other articles she wrote while embedded with our unit.” Wow. I’m kinda surprised he didn’t sign it “JM + MET Alpha, N.A.F (Now and Forever)”.
But Gonzalez and his pals seem to be the only ones standing behind the accuracy of Miller’s reporting. Even the administration is no longer barking up that tree, with top weapons hunter Charles Duelfer closing his investigation this spring saying that the search for WMD “has been exhausted” without finding any -- while at the same time dismissing the Miller-touted claim that WMD had been shipped to Syria just before the U.S. invaded.
So the WMD investigation has ended. But the investigation into Judy Miller’s role -- both in the WMD fiasco and the Plame scandal -- is just beginning.
My thanks to The Huffington Post and Aquarian Conspirators for this information. It is greatly appreciated by myself and I am sure many others.
ROBIN HOOD PART II: THE SENATE ASSIST
The United States Senate has joined the House of Representatives in giving Bush what he wanted in the form of corporate welfare to the energy industry. They actually gave the chimp more than what he asked for. He originally wanted $6.7 billion and those thieves gave him $12.3 billion. Thats another $5.6 billion folks. Chump change, take it out of petty cash. Sure thing, nooo problem.
This is just great. Those bastards can make sure all their campaign financial backers get the help they want, but can't do a fucking thing for the working poor who are without health and medical coverage. Screw the voting public and their kids again. Anybody besides me getting tired of taking it in the ass? I sure hope so, and that you remember this at election time. Got one coming up next year.
Not all the senators voted to pass this idiotic bill. The vote total was 74 for and 26 against. A measly 25% of the Senate tried to prevent this bill from ending up on chimpy's desk. Twenty-five percent, that's really sad...better yet that's really really sick. That also means that there were several democrats who voted with the repukes. And here I thought that the dems were supposed to be for the little guy. Silly me.
"We won't have any answers if the question is what are you going to do tomorrow morning about gasoline prices," Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. said. This is the jerk who led the Senate negotiations with the House in crafting the legislation. He also said that the bill would provide financial incentives and federal policies "that we as a nation will benefit from not tomorrow, but for the next five or 10 years."
Oh yeah, who's going to benifit? It sure isn't me or my neighbors. It's not the couple with two kids across town who both work but don't have any health or medical insurance. It's not my wife's retired parents living on a fixed income either. The only people this is going to help are the energy industry, the stock holders, and those politicians who get financial election support from said industry.
I am proud to announce that there was at least a couple of bright spots in this whole screwing of the American working stiffs. The Senate avoided a certain fight by leaving out one of the chimp's top energy goals: opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling. But the down-side to that is that House Republicans promised to bring that issue back up again this fall.
Another one of the bright spots was what three Democrats said and did. First Sen. John Kerry D-Mass., said the bill "falls far short of what is needed by not addressing climate change and including nothing that would increase the fuel economy of automobiles, the biggest guzzlers of oil."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said "The bill is a series of missed opportunities." He also was the only Senate Democrat to oppose the compromise legislation in the House-Senate conference that crafted the final version this week.
Last, but not at all least, was my favorite Senator from my home state of Wisconsin, Sen. Russ Feingold. He tried to block the measure because he said it violated the Senate's own budget rules. His attempt was rejected 71-29. "The cost of this .... is staggering, " said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
You may remember Russ from when the Unpatriot Act was passed the first time. He was the only Senator who had the balls to stand up and say that they shouldn't rush it through so fast, that time was needed to study it to make sure it wouldn't rip apart the Constitution. When the time to vote came the final talley was 99 for and 1 against. Russ Feingold was the only one smart enough and brave enough to take a stand and say NO. I am very proud of him for that, that he was more concerned with our freedoms than pushing something through the senate that would only benifit the fascists in the White House.
Don't forget people, there's a mid-term election next year. It's time for some new blood in the House and Senate. Hopefully some new progressive blood.
This is just great. Those bastards can make sure all their campaign financial backers get the help they want, but can't do a fucking thing for the working poor who are without health and medical coverage. Screw the voting public and their kids again. Anybody besides me getting tired of taking it in the ass? I sure hope so, and that you remember this at election time. Got one coming up next year.
Not all the senators voted to pass this idiotic bill. The vote total was 74 for and 26 against. A measly 25% of the Senate tried to prevent this bill from ending up on chimpy's desk. Twenty-five percent, that's really sad...better yet that's really really sick. That also means that there were several democrats who voted with the repukes. And here I thought that the dems were supposed to be for the little guy. Silly me.
"We won't have any answers if the question is what are you going to do tomorrow morning about gasoline prices," Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. said. This is the jerk who led the Senate negotiations with the House in crafting the legislation. He also said that the bill would provide financial incentives and federal policies "that we as a nation will benefit from not tomorrow, but for the next five or 10 years."
Oh yeah, who's going to benifit? It sure isn't me or my neighbors. It's not the couple with two kids across town who both work but don't have any health or medical insurance. It's not my wife's retired parents living on a fixed income either. The only people this is going to help are the energy industry, the stock holders, and those politicians who get financial election support from said industry.
I am proud to announce that there was at least a couple of bright spots in this whole screwing of the American working stiffs. The Senate avoided a certain fight by leaving out one of the chimp's top energy goals: opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling. But the down-side to that is that House Republicans promised to bring that issue back up again this fall.
Another one of the bright spots was what three Democrats said and did. First Sen. John Kerry D-Mass., said the bill "falls far short of what is needed by not addressing climate change and including nothing that would increase the fuel economy of automobiles, the biggest guzzlers of oil."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said "The bill is a series of missed opportunities." He also was the only Senate Democrat to oppose the compromise legislation in the House-Senate conference that crafted the final version this week.
Last, but not at all least, was my favorite Senator from my home state of Wisconsin, Sen. Russ Feingold. He tried to block the measure because he said it violated the Senate's own budget rules. His attempt was rejected 71-29. "The cost of this .... is staggering, " said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
You may remember Russ from when the Unpatriot Act was passed the first time. He was the only Senator who had the balls to stand up and say that they shouldn't rush it through so fast, that time was needed to study it to make sure it wouldn't rip apart the Constitution. When the time to vote came the final talley was 99 for and 1 against. Russ Feingold was the only one smart enough and brave enough to take a stand and say NO. I am very proud of him for that, that he was more concerned with our freedoms than pushing something through the senate that would only benifit the fascists in the White House.
Don't forget people, there's a mid-term election next year. It's time for some new blood in the House and Senate. Hopefully some new progressive blood.
GEORGE BUSH: THE NEW ROBIN HOOD IN REVERSE
Well, the chimp in the White House got his energy bill through the House of Representatives this week. What this bill will do, which will more than likely get passed in the Senate unless the chickenshit democrats block it, is put even more money into the hands of the big oil and energy companies.
Allow me to digress here for a moment to ask a question. Isn't the House of Representatives supposed to contain ladies and gentlemen...I use both those terms very loosely...who were elected by the people to represent the people and their best interests? If they were they're doing one really piss-poor job of it!
With that said, I'll now return to the original subject, theft. Yes, theft. Theft of your hard earned money in the form of taxes we all pay to keep this country going. Now a large portion of those tax dollars will be spent to cover for the loss of taxes that the energy industry will no longer be paying. Remember those one time tax breaks that Bush handed out? Well you can kiss any more of those good-bye. The loss of tax dollars from the energy industry will probably mean a tax increase for all the working stiffs in this country.
You know, chimpy is just trying to help out those poor folks who run all those buisnesses who are part of said industry. We all know they need the tax breaks to be able to make ends meet. For example, ExonMobile only had a profit of 7 plus billion dollars in clear profits, those which are over and above any costs, during the last three months. That's $7,000,000,000 in digits. Gee, having one tenth of one percent of that would enable my wife and myself to be very comfortable for the rest of our lives and let us leave all the kids and grandkids a healthy chunk of change when we're gone.
Not only do we all have to pay for skyrocketing gas and diesel prices, we will also have to cover their fucking asses for the taxes they will not be paying. Add to this the increases that the electric and natural gas and propane companies are getting and you've got an even bigger squeeze on the home budget for the common people.
This is Bush's economic theory in a nutshell: Take the money from the hard working people of this country and give it to the energy industry, big buisness types, and the rich bastards because they are the ones who really supported him and are the ones who, in his feeble mind, keep this country going.
This is called corporate welfare, plain and simple. Can't give any help to the poor or downtrodden because that's their own fault. Hell no. But damned if we aren't supposed to help those poor rich folks because they aren't making enough money off their investments.
Bush is going to keep fucking around with people's lives and money and, hopefully, it's going to cost him and the republicans. If, and that's a big if, people start waking up to the fact that the asshole in the White House is giving it to them in the ass there should be a big revolt at the ballot box in 2006 and again in 2008. If that doesn't work maybe taking it to the streets would be a good idea.
Allow me to digress here for a moment to ask a question. Isn't the House of Representatives supposed to contain ladies and gentlemen...I use both those terms very loosely...who were elected by the people to represent the people and their best interests? If they were they're doing one really piss-poor job of it!
With that said, I'll now return to the original subject, theft. Yes, theft. Theft of your hard earned money in the form of taxes we all pay to keep this country going. Now a large portion of those tax dollars will be spent to cover for the loss of taxes that the energy industry will no longer be paying. Remember those one time tax breaks that Bush handed out? Well you can kiss any more of those good-bye. The loss of tax dollars from the energy industry will probably mean a tax increase for all the working stiffs in this country.
You know, chimpy is just trying to help out those poor folks who run all those buisnesses who are part of said industry. We all know they need the tax breaks to be able to make ends meet. For example, ExonMobile only had a profit of 7 plus billion dollars in clear profits, those which are over and above any costs, during the last three months. That's $7,000,000,000 in digits. Gee, having one tenth of one percent of that would enable my wife and myself to be very comfortable for the rest of our lives and let us leave all the kids and grandkids a healthy chunk of change when we're gone.
Not only do we all have to pay for skyrocketing gas and diesel prices, we will also have to cover their fucking asses for the taxes they will not be paying. Add to this the increases that the electric and natural gas and propane companies are getting and you've got an even bigger squeeze on the home budget for the common people.
This is Bush's economic theory in a nutshell: Take the money from the hard working people of this country and give it to the energy industry, big buisness types, and the rich bastards because they are the ones who really supported him and are the ones who, in his feeble mind, keep this country going.
This is called corporate welfare, plain and simple. Can't give any help to the poor or downtrodden because that's their own fault. Hell no. But damned if we aren't supposed to help those poor rich folks because they aren't making enough money off their investments.
Bush is going to keep fucking around with people's lives and money and, hopefully, it's going to cost him and the republicans. If, and that's a big if, people start waking up to the fact that the asshole in the White House is giving it to them in the ass there should be a big revolt at the ballot box in 2006 and again in 2008. If that doesn't work maybe taking it to the streets would be a good idea.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
SEN. JOHN McCAIN: DECORATED WAR VETERAN AND SPINELESS POND SCUM
I don't spend alot of time watching corporate television news...ABC, NBC, CBS, and the fascists at FOX...because I find it to be a waste of time, of course unless I want to pick apart the lies they all tell for Bush & Company. But today I found something very interesting while crusing through some of the blogs I like. There was a tidbit at Karena's Blog which led me to Pensito Review and then on to Americablog.
It seems that George Stephanopoulos had none other that Senator John McCain (R, Arizona) as a guest on ABC's "This Week." The interview was centered on Karl The Fascist Pig Rove’s involvement in the CIA leak involving the outing of agent Valerie Plame.
As I have discussed previously, Turd Blossom is not the only person inside the White House to have a connection with this scandel which is being called "Plamegate." As if this were on the same scale as Watergate; you remember, Nixon...lies...breaking and entering...secret tapes...and The Watergate a HOTEL not a person. There's quit a bit of difference between what Nixon and his hatchet men did and the assholes that are commiting treason.
As it turns out, Stephanoplous had what must have been a copy of the text of the security clearance agreement which was signed by Rove just pryer to taking his position in the government. This is the same security clearance agreement that all government officials must sign or they are not allowed to view, or be privy to, anything that has to do with national security.
The following is from the aforementioned security clearance agreement as read by Stephanoplous:
“I have been advised that any breach of this Agreement may result in the termination of any security clearance I hold; removal from any position of special confidence and trust requiring such clearances; or the termination of my employment…”
With that said, the interview continued as follows:
It seems that George Stephanopoulos had none other that Senator John McCain (R, Arizona) as a guest on ABC's "This Week." The interview was centered on Karl The Fascist Pig Rove’s involvement in the CIA leak involving the outing of agent Valerie Plame.
As I have discussed previously, Turd Blossom is not the only person inside the White House to have a connection with this scandel which is being called "Plamegate." As if this were on the same scale as Watergate; you remember, Nixon...lies...breaking and entering...secret tapes...and The Watergate a HOTEL not a person. There's quit a bit of difference between what Nixon and his hatchet men did and the assholes that are commiting treason.
As it turns out, Stephanoplous had what must have been a copy of the text of the security clearance agreement which was signed by Rove just pryer to taking his position in the government. This is the same security clearance agreement that all government officials must sign or they are not allowed to view, or be privy to, anything that has to do with national security.
The following is from the aforementioned security clearance agreement as read by Stephanoplous:
“I have been advised that any breach of this Agreement may result in the termination of any security clearance I hold; removal from any position of special confidence and trust requiring such clearances; or the termination of my employment…”
With that said, the interview continued as follows:
Stephanopoulos: Do you believe that this agreement should be abided by?
McCain: I do, but that also implies that someone knowingly revealed…
Stephanopoulos: This covers negligent disclosures
McCain: Again I don't know what the definition of "negligent" is.
HE DOESN'T KNOW THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD "NEGLIGENT"!!!
This man is a United States Senator and he can't give anyone the definition of negligent. Somebody pleeeease get that boy a dictionary. Now he's either that stupid...which doesn't make Arizona look good...or he's trying to help run cover for Turd Blossom.
For the record I don't think people in the great state of Arizona are stupid. In fact I think they are rather intelligent, they don't live in snow country, tornado alley, earthquakeville, or hurricane land.
Now where was I...oh yes, I remember now. Therefore I do believe McCain was running cover for that arrogant fat fuck-head, and I think I know why.
Let's hark back to the 2000 Republican Presidential Primaries. McCain was actually leading Bush in the polls, primary voting, and the debates. People liked the man. He stood for what he believed in and stuck to his guns. He was doing quit well and probably would have been the next president instead of the idiot we have now.
Then along came Karl Rove. He put a stop to all that momentum McCain had built up by starting a smear campaign against him and his wife. Rumors started flying about McCain's wife being a drug addict and that he wasn't fit to hold the office. Of course that was easy for Rove because he's had so much practice fucking up other people's political lives.
Now John wants to make another run at the presidency in 2008 and he knows that he needs Karl The Fascist Pig Rove on his side. Without Turd Blossom McCain will be dead in the water before he even gets started. This is why McCain is sticking up for the fat fuck-head, to keep his political career and aspirations alive and going strong.
This is also why I think McCain is SPINLESS POND SCUM! He doesn't have the BALLS to stand up, tell the truth, and defend the country he once fought for and served time in the Hanoi Hilton for after being shot down. He had the fortitude to survive that but doesn't have enough to take a stand for what is right and right for his country.
IT'S TIME TO IMPEACH BUSH FOR TREASON!!!
IT'S TIME TO GET RID OF ALL THOSE TREASONOUS BASTARDS!!!
Saturday, July 23, 2005
WRONGFUL DEATH UPDATE
Police in London have released a statement saying that the man who was shot in the head and torso in the Stockwell train station Thursday had no connection with the bombings of 21 July or 7 July. The man has been identified as a Brazilian by the name of Jean Charles de Menezes, age 27. Just a few hours after the shooting, Police Commissioner Ian Blair said the person who had been shot by police was "directly linked" to the investigations into the attacks which happened on Thursday and 7 July.
Police initially said de Menezes attracted their attention because he exited a house which was under surveillance after Thursday's attempted bombings, in which explosive devices were planted on three subway trains and a double-decker bus but failed to detonate properly. Oval station was one of those targeted and is near Stockwell.
Police said Friday that"He was then followed by surveillance officers to the station. His clothing and his behavior at the station added to their suspicions." However, police did not give an explanation as to what went wrong. Citing a need to keep the investigation under wraps, the authorities refused to give any indication whether de Menezes had done anything wrong at all.
The only thing that Mr. de Menezes did do wrong was to wear a long padded black coat and appear to look like a South Asian, or as some might say, a terrorist. It is the trigger happy police who were wrong with their racial profiling. A man is dead because someone "thought" Mr. de Menezes looked like a terrorist.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said that the killing was a "human tragedy" that was a consequence of the attacks."The police acted to do what they believed necessary to protect the lives of the public. This tragedy has added another victim to the toll of deaths for which the terrorists bear responsibility."
Now we have the terrorists being blamed for not only the bombings, which they rightly should be, but also for the fucked-up trigger happy actions of the police. Don't get me wrong here, I believe the terrorists are to blame for the bombings but not for the fucking stupid actions, or reactions, of the police. They must take the blame for the death of Mr. de Menezes. They were the ones who followed him. They are the ones who got trigger happy and put the bullets in his head and body not the terrorists.
Maybe, just maybe, if the US and the coalition of the insanely willing were to pull out of Iraq, Afganistan, and any of the other Muslim countries they are in and are trying to control all these attacks of terror would stop. All they want to do is live their lives their way, not ours. If we had someone invade the US or Britian or any of the other countries of coalition members I am sure we would all be doing the same thing to rid ourselves of the invaders and occupiers.
Colonialism has long been dead. Other countries don't want our style of government and they sure the hell don't want to be our colonies or to be told how to rule their countries. It's time for the US to get out of everybody elses buisness and leave them alone to rule themselves. I know I wouldn't want a foreign government to come over here and try to tell us how to live and run our country. If they did I, too, would be doing whatever it would take to get them out including bombing their homeland.
MAY THE SPIRIT OF JEAN CHARLES DE MENEZES REST IN PEACE!!!
MAY HIS FAMILY FIND COMFORT SOMEWHERE, SOMEHOW!!!
MAY WE PLEASE STOP ALL THIS MADNESS SOON!!!
UPDATE: Sunday, 24 July 2005
It has now been reported by the BBC and Reuters UK that the police put all five shots into Mr. de Menezes head. Just a little overkill here folks. Just how many fucking times does someone have to be shot in the head before they are classified as dead. Fucking overzelous, trigger happy cops doing their own racial profiling. They said he was acting odd. They said he wouldn't stop when ordered by the cops. Well, if I had twenty guys in street clothes chasing me and yelling at me to stop, I probably wouldn't either. As far as acting odd...odd by who's definition of the word. I guess we shouldn't act "odd" or we might get shot, too.
I feel very sorry for Mr. de Menezes' family for they have lost a loved one for no good reason. I also feel sorry for the people of London because they not only have to worry about being killed in bombings, but by being shot by their own police if they look different or act "odd."
Updated Sunday 24 July 2005 at 7:38 AM. by Grandpa Eddie
Police initially said de Menezes attracted their attention because he exited a house which was under surveillance after Thursday's attempted bombings, in which explosive devices were planted on three subway trains and a double-decker bus but failed to detonate properly. Oval station was one of those targeted and is near Stockwell.
Police said Friday that"He was then followed by surveillance officers to the station. His clothing and his behavior at the station added to their suspicions." However, police did not give an explanation as to what went wrong. Citing a need to keep the investigation under wraps, the authorities refused to give any indication whether de Menezes had done anything wrong at all.
The only thing that Mr. de Menezes did do wrong was to wear a long padded black coat and appear to look like a South Asian, or as some might say, a terrorist. It is the trigger happy police who were wrong with their racial profiling. A man is dead because someone "thought" Mr. de Menezes looked like a terrorist.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said that the killing was a "human tragedy" that was a consequence of the attacks."The police acted to do what they believed necessary to protect the lives of the public. This tragedy has added another victim to the toll of deaths for which the terrorists bear responsibility."
Now we have the terrorists being blamed for not only the bombings, which they rightly should be, but also for the fucked-up trigger happy actions of the police. Don't get me wrong here, I believe the terrorists are to blame for the bombings but not for the fucking stupid actions, or reactions, of the police. They must take the blame for the death of Mr. de Menezes. They were the ones who followed him. They are the ones who got trigger happy and put the bullets in his head and body not the terrorists.
Maybe, just maybe, if the US and the coalition of the insanely willing were to pull out of Iraq, Afganistan, and any of the other Muslim countries they are in and are trying to control all these attacks of terror would stop. All they want to do is live their lives their way, not ours. If we had someone invade the US or Britian or any of the other countries of coalition members I am sure we would all be doing the same thing to rid ourselves of the invaders and occupiers.
Colonialism has long been dead. Other countries don't want our style of government and they sure the hell don't want to be our colonies or to be told how to rule their countries. It's time for the US to get out of everybody elses buisness and leave them alone to rule themselves. I know I wouldn't want a foreign government to come over here and try to tell us how to live and run our country. If they did I, too, would be doing whatever it would take to get them out including bombing their homeland.
MAY THE SPIRIT OF JEAN CHARLES DE MENEZES REST IN PEACE!!!
MAY HIS FAMILY FIND COMFORT SOMEWHERE, SOMEHOW!!!
MAY WE PLEASE STOP ALL THIS MADNESS SOON!!!
UPDATE: Sunday, 24 July 2005
It has now been reported by the BBC and Reuters UK that the police put all five shots into Mr. de Menezes head. Just a little overkill here folks. Just how many fucking times does someone have to be shot in the head before they are classified as dead. Fucking overzelous, trigger happy cops doing their own racial profiling. They said he was acting odd. They said he wouldn't stop when ordered by the cops. Well, if I had twenty guys in street clothes chasing me and yelling at me to stop, I probably wouldn't either. As far as acting odd...odd by who's definition of the word. I guess we shouldn't act "odd" or we might get shot, too.
I feel very sorry for Mr. de Menezes' family for they have lost a loved one for no good reason. I also feel sorry for the people of London because they not only have to worry about being killed in bombings, but by being shot by their own police if they look different or act "odd."
Updated Sunday 24 July 2005 at 7:38 AM. by Grandpa Eddie
MORE LONDON BOMBINGS AND A WRONGFUL DEATH
On Thursday 21 July 2005 there were four more bombings in London, England. These four blasts were not as destructive, or deadly as the bombings of 7 July, which claimed the lives of fiftyseven people and injured an excess of five hundred. It now appears that the explosives used in Thursday's attacks were of the "homemade" variety not like the military explosives which were used previously. It has been reported that no Londoners were harmed in the explosions, and it seems that they were much smaller than the first ones. Although these most recent attacks did not carry the force of the previous ones, they all the same were intended to cause panic, destruction, and physical harm.
Scotland Yard has said that they have made two arrests in connection with the latest attacks. Bravo to them for moving so quickly. But, if they made these arrests so soon the question I have is did they know about these persons before and do nothing to prevent this most recent attack. Or will these two, in the end, be like the scholar who was arrested in Egypt and was found to have nothing to do with the 7 July bombings.
As I said before, no one was injured or killed during this most recent attack, except for one unfortunate soul who, it appears, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This person looked as if he was of South Asian decent. South Asia consists of countries such as Pakistan, Afganistan, and Iran. It is said that he was wearing a long black coat which "appeared" to be bulky.
This person was followed at the Stockwell Tube Station by the police. As he boarded one of the trains he was aproached by four members of the security detachment. The officers proceded to throw him to the ground, covered him with their bodies, and then repeatedly shot him five times one shot being to the head.
Now I can understand why this would happen with all that London has been through this month, but if , and that's a big IF, he was carrying a bomb, why not try to disarm him first. This sounds like these officers were a little bit to jumpy. It also sounds alot like racial profiling, he looked like an arab...muslim...so he must be one of the terrorists.
Today we find out that he had nothing to do with either these recent bombings or the ones from 7 July. This man was innocent. An unarmed man slain because he looked like he might be a terrorist because of his heritage. This shooting was done by people who have the power to take a life because of the way someone looks. This is totally WRONG. No amount of apoligizing or justification will bring back this person who was someone's son, brother, husband.
If this can happen in a free and liberal society like Britian, just what is going to prevent it from happening here in the US. It may very soon come to the point here that the police, FBI, military, or others will start shooting people because they look like they just might possibly be a terrorist because they look like they might be of a South Asian decent, or because of the way they are dressed. You may think I'm crazy, but remember the reactions of alot of people to any teenagers who wore black after the Columbine shootings. If you were a teenager wearing black you were suspected of being a "nut case" with a gun. I, myself, wear something black all the time. I, like most teenagers, do so because I like black clothing. This does not mean that I am a terrorist or some "nut case" with a gun. In fact I haven't owned a gun in nearly thirty years.
Just because someone chooses to dress different than the "norm", or looks like they might be a muslim, or even if they are a muslim, does not mean that they are a terrorist or a "nut case". It just means that they are not like everyone else and they either are different or choose to be different. This country is a melting pot of all the nations, religions, thoughts, and beliefs of the entire world. We must accept everyone for who they are, where they have been, and where they are going in life. Not everyone fits into that quaint little conservative mold that so many people think we should all fit into or conform to.
I have been a non-conformist all my life, and I like it that way. There have been times that it has caused me problems but I've also gotten through those times. I feel that if someone doesn't like me because of the way I dress, or the length of my hair, or what I believe in, or how I live my life, that's their problem for their mind is closed to all the riches of diversity that the world holds. To those who "get in my face" about the previously stated things and tell me I should be more "like them" I say go fuck yourself, this is my life not yours.
Just because someone looks "different" or acts "different" or speaks a different language doesn't mean they are wrong in who they are. Just because a man wears a long black coat and "looks" like he might be of South Asian decent does not mean he is a terrorist or a threat and does NOT give anyone the right to take his life.
WE MUST STOP ALL THIS MADNESS!!!
WE MUST STOP TRYING TO CONTROL THE WORLD!!!
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!!!
IMPEACH BUSH AND HIS BAND OF MILLIONAIRE THUGS!!!
Scotland Yard has said that they have made two arrests in connection with the latest attacks. Bravo to them for moving so quickly. But, if they made these arrests so soon the question I have is did they know about these persons before and do nothing to prevent this most recent attack. Or will these two, in the end, be like the scholar who was arrested in Egypt and was found to have nothing to do with the 7 July bombings.
As I said before, no one was injured or killed during this most recent attack, except for one unfortunate soul who, it appears, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This person looked as if he was of South Asian decent. South Asia consists of countries such as Pakistan, Afganistan, and Iran. It is said that he was wearing a long black coat which "appeared" to be bulky.
This person was followed at the Stockwell Tube Station by the police. As he boarded one of the trains he was aproached by four members of the security detachment. The officers proceded to throw him to the ground, covered him with their bodies, and then repeatedly shot him five times one shot being to the head.
Now I can understand why this would happen with all that London has been through this month, but if , and that's a big IF, he was carrying a bomb, why not try to disarm him first. This sounds like these officers were a little bit to jumpy. It also sounds alot like racial profiling, he looked like an arab...muslim...so he must be one of the terrorists.
Today we find out that he had nothing to do with either these recent bombings or the ones from 7 July. This man was innocent. An unarmed man slain because he looked like he might be a terrorist because of his heritage. This shooting was done by people who have the power to take a life because of the way someone looks. This is totally WRONG. No amount of apoligizing or justification will bring back this person who was someone's son, brother, husband.
If this can happen in a free and liberal society like Britian, just what is going to prevent it from happening here in the US. It may very soon come to the point here that the police, FBI, military, or others will start shooting people because they look like they just might possibly be a terrorist because they look like they might be of a South Asian decent, or because of the way they are dressed. You may think I'm crazy, but remember the reactions of alot of people to any teenagers who wore black after the Columbine shootings. If you were a teenager wearing black you were suspected of being a "nut case" with a gun. I, myself, wear something black all the time. I, like most teenagers, do so because I like black clothing. This does not mean that I am a terrorist or some "nut case" with a gun. In fact I haven't owned a gun in nearly thirty years.
Just because someone chooses to dress different than the "norm", or looks like they might be a muslim, or even if they are a muslim, does not mean that they are a terrorist or a "nut case". It just means that they are not like everyone else and they either are different or choose to be different. This country is a melting pot of all the nations, religions, thoughts, and beliefs of the entire world. We must accept everyone for who they are, where they have been, and where they are going in life. Not everyone fits into that quaint little conservative mold that so many people think we should all fit into or conform to.
I have been a non-conformist all my life, and I like it that way. There have been times that it has caused me problems but I've also gotten through those times. I feel that if someone doesn't like me because of the way I dress, or the length of my hair, or what I believe in, or how I live my life, that's their problem for their mind is closed to all the riches of diversity that the world holds. To those who "get in my face" about the previously stated things and tell me I should be more "like them" I say go fuck yourself, this is my life not yours.
Just because someone looks "different" or acts "different" or speaks a different language doesn't mean they are wrong in who they are. Just because a man wears a long black coat and "looks" like he might be of South Asian decent does not mean he is a terrorist or a threat and does NOT give anyone the right to take his life.
WE MUST STOP ALL THIS MADNESS!!!
WE MUST STOP TRYING TO CONTROL THE WORLD!!!
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!!!
IMPEACH BUSH AND HIS BAND OF MILLIONAIRE THUGS!!!
Sunday, July 17, 2005
BUSHCO LIES AND TREASON, INC.
"I am saying that if anyone was involved in that type of activity which I referred to, they would not be working here."
- Ron Ziegler, press secretary to Richard Nixon, defending the presidential aide Dwight Chapin on Oct. 18, 1972. Chapin was convicted in April 1974 of perjury in connection with his relationship to the political saboteur Donald Segretti.
"Any individual who works here at the White House has the confidence of the president. They wouldn't be working here at the White House if they didn't have the president's confidence."
- Scott McClellan, press secretary to George W. Bush, defending Karl Rove on Tuesday, July 12, 2005.
The two quotes above and a few of the following thoughts were borrowed from an Op-ED column writen by Frank Rich, the rest are from me. I don't always agree with what he has to say, but his column today was exceptionally good.
So far I've made three posts about Karl The Fascist Pig Rove's treasonous act of the outing of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame. Rove has commited a felony and should stand trial, and when found guilty, be sentanced to a federal penitentiary.
I do believe Rove is guilty, but I don't believe he acted alone. I think everyone in the White House who has political connections to or is a staff member of George W. Bush has had a hand in this up to and including Bush himself.
You see, this all started with former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who is from the opposite side of the political aisle of Bush. Wilson was sent to Niger in February 2002 to check on reports that Saddam was purchasing weapons grade nuclear material. Wilson came back with a report that he was not, that the original report was bogus. But Bush didn't like Wilson's report and continued to push the lie that Saddam was building nuclear weapons which would be a threat to our safety and security.
Bush wanted to go to war with Saddam so bad that he was willing to tell any lie so he could get the backing of the American public. It is not just Rove who is responsible for this scandel, the largest amount of blame lays with the group of arrogant bastards that sent American sons and daughters to war on trumped-up grounds and in so doing diverted this country's finite resources, human, financial, and others, from fighting the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. This is why the stakes are so high for Bush and his cronies. This scandal is about the unmasking of an ill-conceived war, not the outing of a C.I.A. operative.
Bush would do anything to be able to get his way so he could go to war, because he wanted to be "the war president." So in March, 2002 V.P. Dick Cheney planted the idea, during a CNN interview, that Saddam was "actively pursuing nuclear weapons" at that time. Cheney went on to repeat this same charge in May, 2002 on "Meet the Press," in three speeches in August, 2002 and on "Meet the Press" again in September,2002. Sometime during this time period the frightening word "uranium" was thrown into the mix.
By September Bush was freely using the u-word (along with his infamous "nucular"), too, at the United Nations and across the US. He kept saying how Saddam only needed a small amount of uranium to cause the destruction of America. This is when, out of view of the civilian population, the whole idea of this propaganda campaign was being challenged by people with more official power than Wilson. In October, 2002, as Congress deliberated authorizing war against Iraq, the National Intelligence Estimate was delivered to Congress, which included the State Department's report that a British report of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa was very highly doubtful. The White House also recieved an assessment from the CIA that same month that determined the evidence of Saddam purchasing uranium from Africa was weak and overblown. There were also questions raised by some analysts at the State Department as to the legitimacy of some documents that had surfaced in Italy that were supposed to be proof of the Iraq-Niger uranium transaction. These turned out to be blatant forgeries. The Bush administration's propaganda and rhetoric had been hammered constantly for more than five months by then and there was no way to stop the march to war.
Once Bush and his rich fascist friends had us locked into war, and no WMD's were found, the original plot line was dropped in favor of the "We're fighting the terrorists there so we don't have to fight them here" line of propaganda. The warning signs about the uranium claims were forgotten. We were told it was all the C.I.A.'s fault because of their faulty information, or that it didn't matter anyway, because there were new reasons to justify the war. The Bush administration knows how guilty it is. That's why it has been so quick to smear anyone on the inside who chooses to contradict the official line of propaganda about how we got into this mess in Iraq. Former Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill and the former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke both have felt the wrath of the Bushevik's.
So you see, the Bush administration as a whole has opened a "pandora's box" that it can't close or control. Coverup is now the name of the game and it doesn't matter who has to take the fall as long as it is outside of the loyal inner circle. Wilson and Plame were just a small part of the larger coverup. This administration is filled with corruption. This group of rich bastard fascists make the Nixon administration look like Cub Scouts on a weekend retreat.
IT'S TIME TO TAKE THE GOVERNMENT BACK!!!
POWER TO ALL THE PEOPLE, NOT JUST THE RICH FEW!!!
- Ron Ziegler, press secretary to Richard Nixon, defending the presidential aide Dwight Chapin on Oct. 18, 1972. Chapin was convicted in April 1974 of perjury in connection with his relationship to the political saboteur Donald Segretti.
"Any individual who works here at the White House has the confidence of the president. They wouldn't be working here at the White House if they didn't have the president's confidence."
- Scott McClellan, press secretary to George W. Bush, defending Karl Rove on Tuesday, July 12, 2005.
The two quotes above and a few of the following thoughts were borrowed from an Op-ED column writen by Frank Rich, the rest are from me. I don't always agree with what he has to say, but his column today was exceptionally good.
So far I've made three posts about Karl The Fascist Pig Rove's treasonous act of the outing of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame. Rove has commited a felony and should stand trial, and when found guilty, be sentanced to a federal penitentiary.
I do believe Rove is guilty, but I don't believe he acted alone. I think everyone in the White House who has political connections to or is a staff member of George W. Bush has had a hand in this up to and including Bush himself.
You see, this all started with former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who is from the opposite side of the political aisle of Bush. Wilson was sent to Niger in February 2002 to check on reports that Saddam was purchasing weapons grade nuclear material. Wilson came back with a report that he was not, that the original report was bogus. But Bush didn't like Wilson's report and continued to push the lie that Saddam was building nuclear weapons which would be a threat to our safety and security.
Bush wanted to go to war with Saddam so bad that he was willing to tell any lie so he could get the backing of the American public. It is not just Rove who is responsible for this scandel, the largest amount of blame lays with the group of arrogant bastards that sent American sons and daughters to war on trumped-up grounds and in so doing diverted this country's finite resources, human, financial, and others, from fighting the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. This is why the stakes are so high for Bush and his cronies. This scandal is about the unmasking of an ill-conceived war, not the outing of a C.I.A. operative.
Bush would do anything to be able to get his way so he could go to war, because he wanted to be "the war president." So in March, 2002 V.P. Dick Cheney planted the idea, during a CNN interview, that Saddam was "actively pursuing nuclear weapons" at that time. Cheney went on to repeat this same charge in May, 2002 on "Meet the Press," in three speeches in August, 2002 and on "Meet the Press" again in September,2002. Sometime during this time period the frightening word "uranium" was thrown into the mix.
By September Bush was freely using the u-word (along with his infamous "nucular"), too, at the United Nations and across the US. He kept saying how Saddam only needed a small amount of uranium to cause the destruction of America. This is when, out of view of the civilian population, the whole idea of this propaganda campaign was being challenged by people with more official power than Wilson. In October, 2002, as Congress deliberated authorizing war against Iraq, the National Intelligence Estimate was delivered to Congress, which included the State Department's report that a British report of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa was very highly doubtful. The White House also recieved an assessment from the CIA that same month that determined the evidence of Saddam purchasing uranium from Africa was weak and overblown. There were also questions raised by some analysts at the State Department as to the legitimacy of some documents that had surfaced in Italy that were supposed to be proof of the Iraq-Niger uranium transaction. These turned out to be blatant forgeries. The Bush administration's propaganda and rhetoric had been hammered constantly for more than five months by then and there was no way to stop the march to war.
Once Bush and his rich fascist friends had us locked into war, and no WMD's were found, the original plot line was dropped in favor of the "We're fighting the terrorists there so we don't have to fight them here" line of propaganda. The warning signs about the uranium claims were forgotten. We were told it was all the C.I.A.'s fault because of their faulty information, or that it didn't matter anyway, because there were new reasons to justify the war. The Bush administration knows how guilty it is. That's why it has been so quick to smear anyone on the inside who chooses to contradict the official line of propaganda about how we got into this mess in Iraq. Former Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill and the former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke both have felt the wrath of the Bushevik's.
So you see, the Bush administration as a whole has opened a "pandora's box" that it can't close or control. Coverup is now the name of the game and it doesn't matter who has to take the fall as long as it is outside of the loyal inner circle. Wilson and Plame were just a small part of the larger coverup. This administration is filled with corruption. This group of rich bastard fascists make the Nixon administration look like Cub Scouts on a weekend retreat.
IT'S TIME TO TAKE THE GOVERNMENT BACK!!!
POWER TO ALL THE PEOPLE, NOT JUST THE RICH FEW!!!
Saturday, July 16, 2005
KARL ROVE: LIAR AND TRAITOR, PART III
Here's a little something I found about that fucking troll Rove this morning via BUZZ FLASH:
Karl Rove Has Now Given Us An Astounding Insight Into PlameGate! According to Karl, Bushevik Journalists Leaked Classified Information to Him! Holy, Batbrain, Karl Was the Last to Know! Wonders Never Cease.
Of Course, It's All a Crock of Hooey from the Turd Blossom. At a time When
Scott McClellan Keeps Repeating that Bush Doesn't Want Anyone in the White House to Comment on an Ongoing Investigation, Rove is Orchestrating a Major PR Offensive that is Offensive to Common Sense. Is This Hypocritical? Hey, is a Mob Boss a Thug?
Meanwhile, Novak, who Rove was Fired by Poppy Bush for Leaking to in 1992, Disproves Turd Blossoms Entire Excuse: Novak, in an early PlameGate Interview Defended Himself: ""I didn't dig it out, it was given to me," he said. "They thought it was significant, they gave me the name and I used it."
And Then There's the Latest Hypothesis: Rove Read a State Department Document on Air Force One that Identified Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA Deep Cover Operative Specializing in Tracking WMD. Rove Called Judith Miller -- a Drama Queen, Who Likes to be a Player INSIDE the Administration -- and Told Miller of Plame's Cover and Sort of Indicated that it Was a "Useful Piece of Information" for Reporters to Know. Then Novak and Cooper Called Him, Among Other Reporters, Already Knowing About Valerie Wilson Plame's Cover Because Karl Had Used Miller as a Virus to Spread It Around. That Way Karl Had What is Known as "Plausible Deniability." So He Could Then Claim that He Found Out About Plame's Undercover Status from Journalists, Even Though He was the Original Leaker.
Mind You, Rove Still Committed a Crime and Breach of National Security in Confirming to Reporters Plame's Status, But His "Alibi" Obscures that Point by Blaming Journalists for Outing a CIA Operative Who Specialized in Tracking WMD, the Very Reason Bush Claimed We Urgently Needed to Attack Iraq. Rove Also Exposed Wilson-Plame's Front Company.
Does Anyone Know if Rove is On Al-Qaeda's Payroll. Because Osama bin Laden Would Die to Do This Much Damage to Our National Security.
And remember, Novak claims a second senior administration source confirmed Valerie Plame was a CIA operative. Who might that be?
I just wonder who those two treasonous bastards might be. Could be almost anybody connected with that bunch of fucking liars.
IMPEACH THEM ALL, NOW!!!!
Friday, July 15, 2005
KARL ROVE: LIAR AND TRAITOR, PART II
Karl Rove, Georgie Boy's right hand man....or is it the other way around....is at it again with more lies. Now he's saying that he heard about Valerie Plame from someone in the news media. He claims that the first time he heard Plame's name mentioned was when he was talking to CNN's Robert Novak. Rove testified at during a grand jury investigation that Novak had called him the Tuesday before Plame's identity was revealed in July 2003 to discuss a different story. Just for the record, Robert Novak is an ultra right-wing journalist who thinks that everything that Bush does is the best thing for America and anyone who disagrees is Unamerican and unpatriotic.
With that said we can get back to the conversation between Rove and Novak.That conversation turned to Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador who was strongly criticizing the Bush administration's use of faulty intelligence to justify the war in Iraq. Former Ambassador Wilson had traveled to Africa to check bogus claims that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Niger. His wife, Valerie Plame was a CIA operative who was an expert in WMD's. By outing Plame, Rove was able to retaliate against Wilson for trying to discredit Bush's war aims.
This is not the first time Rove has used a smear campaign to benifit a like minded GOP member or himself. Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards was one of Rove's targets when Dumbya was running for the GOP ticket in the gubernatorial primary for Governor of Texas. He used a smear campaign against Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 Presidential Campaign, and against Sen. John McCain during the 2000 Presidential Campaign.
Former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, a decorated Vietnam War Veteran was hit with a Rove smear attack after Max blasted Bush for stonewalling the 9/11 commission, his lies about Iraq's WMD's and his photo-op in a flight-suit on the deck of the USS Lincoln after hiding out during the Vietnam War. Rove also attacked another one of Georgia's sons who, I do believe, had been a prominant Circut Court Judge who was running for State Supreme Court. Rove started circulating lies about this judge that he was a pedophile.
Karl The Fascist Pig Rove had worked for Georgie Boy's daddy in the past and had used his "expertise" to help the elder Bush during elections. You see, neither one of the Bush boys, elder or the punk, has enough in the old cranium to be able to do anything by themselves.
The following is an exerpt from an article written by Wayne Madsen for Counter Punch.org on Nov. 2, 2002. The link for the entire piece is http://www.rense.com/general31/EXPs.htm You will have to copy and paste this link.
As you can see, Rove has been a real asshole for a number of years, but what he has done to Valerie Plame is treason. It is a Felony for anyone in the Federal Government to release the name of any operative working for the CIA, FBI, or the military. Rove has broken the law. He should be fired by Bush and then brought up on charges of treason, and if found guilty....is there any doubt....sentenced to a hell-hole prison or 60 years of hard labor at Levenworth.
WHILE THE INNOCENT DIE, THE RICH THRIVE!
THE TEARS OF ORPHANS CRY OUT "STOP THIS MADNESS!"
KARL THE FASCIST PIG ROVE MUST GO, NOW!!!
With that said we can get back to the conversation between Rove and Novak.That conversation turned to Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador who was strongly criticizing the Bush administration's use of faulty intelligence to justify the war in Iraq. Former Ambassador Wilson had traveled to Africa to check bogus claims that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Niger. His wife, Valerie Plame was a CIA operative who was an expert in WMD's. By outing Plame, Rove was able to retaliate against Wilson for trying to discredit Bush's war aims.
This is not the first time Rove has used a smear campaign to benifit a like minded GOP member or himself. Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards was one of Rove's targets when Dumbya was running for the GOP ticket in the gubernatorial primary for Governor of Texas. He used a smear campaign against Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 Presidential Campaign, and against Sen. John McCain during the 2000 Presidential Campaign.
Former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, a decorated Vietnam War Veteran was hit with a Rove smear attack after Max blasted Bush for stonewalling the 9/11 commission, his lies about Iraq's WMD's and his photo-op in a flight-suit on the deck of the USS Lincoln after hiding out during the Vietnam War. Rove also attacked another one of Georgia's sons who, I do believe, had been a prominant Circut Court Judge who was running for State Supreme Court. Rove started circulating lies about this judge that he was a pedophile.
Karl The Fascist Pig Rove had worked for Georgie Boy's daddy in the past and had used his "expertise" to help the elder Bush during elections. You see, neither one of the Bush boys, elder or the punk, has enough in the old cranium to be able to do anything by themselves.
The following is an exerpt from an article written by Wayne Madsen for Counter Punch.org on Nov. 2, 2002. The link for the entire piece is http://www.rense.com/general31/EXPs.htm You will have to copy and paste this link.
|
WHILE THE INNOCENT DIE, THE RICH THRIVE!
THE TEARS OF ORPHANS CRY OUT "STOP THIS MADNESS!"
KARL THE FASCIST PIG ROVE MUST GO, NOW!!!
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
CHEMO, WORK, AND.....
I really wanted to get to my blog last night to put something down about my wife's first chemo treatment and my first day back to work. I was so tired last night that every time I tried to type the fingers wouldn't do what the brain wanted them to do. Haven't done any factory work for five and half years. I'll share on that later. Right now my wife's chemo is more important.
First off, from now on I'll be refering to her as Hunny.That way I can get away from the impersonal "my wife". Well I'm gnooa try real hard anyway, I may forget off and on 'cause I can be like that at times...forgetful.
Yesterday, Monday, was Day One for Chemotherapy. I couldn't go with Hunny 'cause I was starting that new job. So her duaghter went with her instead. Sometimes it's a good thing for moms and daughters to spend time together....they've always been close which really helps.
Hunny's appointment was at 1:00. She has a port on the right side of her chest that the surgeon put in because her veins aren't strong enough to handle all the chemo treatments. Part of that is because she can't have anything put into her left arm anymore, or blood pressure taken, because of the lymph nodes she had removed. Anyway, Hunny said that the port worked GREAT. She said all she felt when the nurse was putting the needle in was a little bit of pressure.
Shortly after the chemo treatment, Hunny noticed that light was bothering her eyes. This is something we were told before hand, so we were kind of prepared for this, except we didn't get her sunglasses out of the van before I went to work Monday. Hunny's eyes are bothering her even more now. She had to turn the brightness way down on her monitor, curtains are closed and most all of the lights in the house are off.
Today has been quit a bit rougher on her. She got up about a half an hour after I left for work this morning with a splitting migrain headach. Hunny called the chemo nurses to find out what she could do....she wasn't expecting this. Because of the treatments they told her not to take ibueprophen, Tylenol, or aspirin. She told them that she had some percocet left from her last surgery....they said "Great, take that as needed".
Everything Hunny eats taste like "crap". I wish I could help her out with that, but there's not much I can do. She did find out that yogurt still tastes pretty good. She can't even stand the taste of Pepsi which is the only thing other that water she likes to drink. So, for now it looks like a steady diet of yogurt and water. At least the migrain seems to have disipated.
O.K. Here's the later part.
As I said, this new job is the first factory work I've done in five and a half years. During that time I've done several other things for employment. For about a year I worked as a bartender, then some construction....siding, soffit, facia....after that fell through, boss sold buisness, I worked in a convenience store. I did the construction for a year, the store for a year, and then went back to bartending.This, too, fell through and as of last October I was unemployed. Hunny and I tried to start our own computer buisness but then she got diagnosed with breast cancer. That threw a wrench into that idea 'cause she's the Tech and I'm the gopher.
So for the last three months I've been looking for work. Put apps. in all over the place but no responses. Last week I decided to go to a new employment agency in one of the towns near us.
That was Wednesday. On Thursday morning I had a job interview and got hired that same day. So I started the new job Monday. It's a place where they make fuel tanks for school buses, semi tractors, motorhomes, and refers....refrigerated containers. The tanks are anywhere from 80 gallons up to 200 gallons. I'm one of the guys who tack welds the ends onto the tanks.
It may not sound like much but these are big steel tanks that we have to flip around to tack weld them. Having been away from any kind of factory work for awhile, by the end of the day the back hurt, the feet hurt, and I was totally worn out. Getting up at 3:30 in the morning is a switch. Hell, I'm used to staying up 'til then. So by the time I got home, took a shower, got something to eat, I was pretty burned out....but it felt good to be working again. Like I said earlier, I tried writing last night but just couldn't do it. I was so tired that I went to bed at about 8:30. The last time I went to bed that early I was sick as a dog.
I expect to be back on track here shortly so I'll get back to doing my normal bitchin', rantn' and ravin' about all those fuckin' moronic idiot bastards in the Dumbya administation, along with those neo-con fascists and anybody else who tries to take away our freedoms or pisses me off in general.
Instead of taking off on a tangent, I think I'm gonna close for now, go check on Hunny, and then get ready for bed 'cause I'm starting to have a hard time hittin' the right keys. Hell, it took me three tries just to write this last little bit.
Thanks to all those out there pullin' for Hunny.
We love you all.
Take care.
P.S. If you could, send my Hunny a note of encouragement, her blog is listed in my Links it's "Ramblings...Musings...and Breast Cancer. I'm sure she'd apreciate it. Thanks again folks.
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW
SO NO MORE MAMAS
WILL BE MISSIN' THEIR BABIES!!!
First off, from now on I'll be refering to her as Hunny.That way I can get away from the impersonal "my wife". Well I'm gnooa try real hard anyway, I may forget off and on 'cause I can be like that at times...forgetful.
Yesterday, Monday, was Day One for Chemotherapy. I couldn't go with Hunny 'cause I was starting that new job. So her duaghter went with her instead. Sometimes it's a good thing for moms and daughters to spend time together....they've always been close which really helps.
Hunny's appointment was at 1:00. She has a port on the right side of her chest that the surgeon put in because her veins aren't strong enough to handle all the chemo treatments. Part of that is because she can't have anything put into her left arm anymore, or blood pressure taken, because of the lymph nodes she had removed. Anyway, Hunny said that the port worked GREAT. She said all she felt when the nurse was putting the needle in was a little bit of pressure.
Shortly after the chemo treatment, Hunny noticed that light was bothering her eyes. This is something we were told before hand, so we were kind of prepared for this, except we didn't get her sunglasses out of the van before I went to work Monday. Hunny's eyes are bothering her even more now. She had to turn the brightness way down on her monitor, curtains are closed and most all of the lights in the house are off.
Today has been quit a bit rougher on her. She got up about a half an hour after I left for work this morning with a splitting migrain headach. Hunny called the chemo nurses to find out what she could do....she wasn't expecting this. Because of the treatments they told her not to take ibueprophen, Tylenol, or aspirin. She told them that she had some percocet left from her last surgery....they said "Great, take that as needed".
Everything Hunny eats taste like "crap". I wish I could help her out with that, but there's not much I can do. She did find out that yogurt still tastes pretty good. She can't even stand the taste of Pepsi which is the only thing other that water she likes to drink. So, for now it looks like a steady diet of yogurt and water. At least the migrain seems to have disipated.
O.K. Here's the later part.
As I said, this new job is the first factory work I've done in five and a half years. During that time I've done several other things for employment. For about a year I worked as a bartender, then some construction....siding, soffit, facia....after that fell through, boss sold buisness, I worked in a convenience store. I did the construction for a year, the store for a year, and then went back to bartending.This, too, fell through and as of last October I was unemployed. Hunny and I tried to start our own computer buisness but then she got diagnosed with breast cancer. That threw a wrench into that idea 'cause she's the Tech and I'm the gopher.
So for the last three months I've been looking for work. Put apps. in all over the place but no responses. Last week I decided to go to a new employment agency in one of the towns near us.
That was Wednesday. On Thursday morning I had a job interview and got hired that same day. So I started the new job Monday. It's a place where they make fuel tanks for school buses, semi tractors, motorhomes, and refers....refrigerated containers. The tanks are anywhere from 80 gallons up to 200 gallons. I'm one of the guys who tack welds the ends onto the tanks.
It may not sound like much but these are big steel tanks that we have to flip around to tack weld them. Having been away from any kind of factory work for awhile, by the end of the day the back hurt, the feet hurt, and I was totally worn out. Getting up at 3:30 in the morning is a switch. Hell, I'm used to staying up 'til then. So by the time I got home, took a shower, got something to eat, I was pretty burned out....but it felt good to be working again. Like I said earlier, I tried writing last night but just couldn't do it. I was so tired that I went to bed at about 8:30. The last time I went to bed that early I was sick as a dog.
I expect to be back on track here shortly so I'll get back to doing my normal bitchin', rantn' and ravin' about all those fuckin' moronic idiot bastards in the Dumbya administation, along with those neo-con fascists and anybody else who tries to take away our freedoms or pisses me off in general.
Instead of taking off on a tangent, I think I'm gonna close for now, go check on Hunny, and then get ready for bed 'cause I'm starting to have a hard time hittin' the right keys. Hell, it took me three tries just to write this last little bit.
Thanks to all those out there pullin' for Hunny.
We love you all.
Take care.
P.S. If you could, send my Hunny a note of encouragement, her blog is listed in my Links it's "Ramblings...Musings...and Breast Cancer. I'm sure she'd apreciate it. Thanks again folks.
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW
SO NO MORE MAMAS
WILL BE MISSIN' THEIR BABIES!!!
Saturday, July 09, 2005
CLEAN-UP DAY, BAD NEWS-GOOD NEWS
Today was clean-up day. I've been getting frustrated with trying to find different news sites and blogs that I have listed as links on my own blog. I will usually use my blog to get to other sites I like to get news and opinions and it had gotten to the point of mild(LOL) confusion when trying to find what I wanted. So, to make it easier for all who visit as well as myself, I decided to spend the day getting everything organized. I really don't know why I took so long to get around to do this other then the fact that there has been alot going on in our lives here lately. I'll explain what I mean a little farther down in this post.
Now, where was I...hmmm...oh yah, clean-up day.
Being a fairly intelligent person...some will disagree with that statement...I realized that "Hey, it would be a whole lot easier to locate stuff if it was in alphabetical order. Besides, libraries do it so I should be able to, too." My second thought was something like "Gee, ya think". This was the point where I decided it was time to get some coffee, wake up, and get started.
As you will notice, I've split everything into two catagories, News and Commentary Links, and Links to Blogs. This is how it will stay for now, or at least until I get a bug up my butt or get frustrated again and break them down even more. This should make it alot easier for any of you, and myself, to find a certain link.
I also added a few more News links today while I was "fixing" things up. I will be adding more as time goes by. This will be another reason for doing more arranging later. At least now it's going to be much easier to enter new sites.
Here I wish to thank "Tiny Little Dots" for listing my blog on his/her/their blog. Thank-you very much, I greatly appreciate that you have done that. If anyone else has listed my blog on their blog I thank-you, also. If any have I apologize for not noticing, but I haven't been doing alot of searching lately other than news.
Now to give you an explanation of why there's been alot going on in our lives.
We got married on January 1st of this year, so as you can see we are what you could call "newlyweds". This is my wife's third marriage and my fourth so we both have experience at this marriage thing, some good and some bad. I have four kids, she has two. Her youngest still lives at home. Mine, thank God, are all out on their own.
Back in April my wife found a lump in her left breast. Needless to say we both became very concerned. Both of us being unemployed at the time, we had no insurance. At first we didn't know what we were going to do. We soon found out that my wife could get help through a program here in Wisconsin called Well Woman. It doesn't cover everything completely but it's one hell of a big help. Through this program she was able to get the medical attention she needed.
A mammogram was done first which did show a lump. Then came the biopsy. Cancer was found along with two lumps not just one. Next came the mastectomy and lymphendectomy. When this was done cancer was found in the sentinal lymph node along with a third tumor in the breast.
Monday, July 11th, is the start of chemotharapy. After chemo is radiation and then hormone therapy. With all this she has a 76% chance of being alive in five years. This chance is a whole lot better than no chemo, or radiation, or hormone therapy. That survival rate after five years is only 46%.
I love my wife with all my heart and strength. I have, and will stand by her through everything she has to endure. She is my wife, my lover, my best friend, and my very best buddy. I have told her before that it's the two of us against the world.
She has been keeping a diary blog since this all started. It's in my "Links to Blogs" section. Just look for "Ramblings...Musings...And Breast Cancer". For those women who visit my blog I highly recomend reading it. She has included alot of infomation which will be helpful to you and your health. I would also recomend it to any of the men who read this who have a wife, daughter(s), mother, grandmother, or niece(s).
Now for some good news. After several months of unemployment I start a new job on Monday, the same day that my wife has her first chemo treatment. I really wanted to be with her at that time, but we both know that the new job is really important right now. She's going to ask her daughter to go with her on Monday. If for some reason she can't go, my wife's mother said she would go.
I wanted to start posting on a daily basis but we'll have to wait and see how much time I have with the new job and all. I will try though. It may not all be bitchin' about politics and such, there may be more that I add as far as comment content.
So there you have it, a little cleaning, some bad news but even more good news. Thanks to all who stop by to read what I squak about. Thanks for reading this post, and please stop by my wife's blog and check it out.
Thanks again,
Grandpa Eddie
Citizen, Patriot, and Lover of Freedom
Now, where was I...hmmm...oh yah, clean-up day.
Being a fairly intelligent person...some will disagree with that statement...I realized that "Hey, it would be a whole lot easier to locate stuff if it was in alphabetical order. Besides, libraries do it so I should be able to, too." My second thought was something like "Gee, ya think". This was the point where I decided it was time to get some coffee, wake up, and get started.
As you will notice, I've split everything into two catagories, News and Commentary Links, and Links to Blogs. This is how it will stay for now, or at least until I get a bug up my butt or get frustrated again and break them down even more. This should make it alot easier for any of you, and myself, to find a certain link.
I also added a few more News links today while I was "fixing" things up. I will be adding more as time goes by. This will be another reason for doing more arranging later. At least now it's going to be much easier to enter new sites.
Here I wish to thank "Tiny Little Dots" for listing my blog on his/her/their blog. Thank-you very much, I greatly appreciate that you have done that. If anyone else has listed my blog on their blog I thank-you, also. If any have I apologize for not noticing, but I haven't been doing alot of searching lately other than news.
Now to give you an explanation of why there's been alot going on in our lives.
We got married on January 1st of this year, so as you can see we are what you could call "newlyweds". This is my wife's third marriage and my fourth so we both have experience at this marriage thing, some good and some bad. I have four kids, she has two. Her youngest still lives at home. Mine, thank God, are all out on their own.
Back in April my wife found a lump in her left breast. Needless to say we both became very concerned. Both of us being unemployed at the time, we had no insurance. At first we didn't know what we were going to do. We soon found out that my wife could get help through a program here in Wisconsin called Well Woman. It doesn't cover everything completely but it's one hell of a big help. Through this program she was able to get the medical attention she needed.
A mammogram was done first which did show a lump. Then came the biopsy. Cancer was found along with two lumps not just one. Next came the mastectomy and lymphendectomy. When this was done cancer was found in the sentinal lymph node along with a third tumor in the breast.
Monday, July 11th, is the start of chemotharapy. After chemo is radiation and then hormone therapy. With all this she has a 76% chance of being alive in five years. This chance is a whole lot better than no chemo, or radiation, or hormone therapy. That survival rate after five years is only 46%.
I love my wife with all my heart and strength. I have, and will stand by her through everything she has to endure. She is my wife, my lover, my best friend, and my very best buddy. I have told her before that it's the two of us against the world.
She has been keeping a diary blog since this all started. It's in my "Links to Blogs" section. Just look for "Ramblings...Musings...And Breast Cancer". For those women who visit my blog I highly recomend reading it. She has included alot of infomation which will be helpful to you and your health. I would also recomend it to any of the men who read this who have a wife, daughter(s), mother, grandmother, or niece(s).
Now for some good news. After several months of unemployment I start a new job on Monday, the same day that my wife has her first chemo treatment. I really wanted to be with her at that time, but we both know that the new job is really important right now. She's going to ask her daughter to go with her on Monday. If for some reason she can't go, my wife's mother said she would go.
I wanted to start posting on a daily basis but we'll have to wait and see how much time I have with the new job and all. I will try though. It may not all be bitchin' about politics and such, there may be more that I add as far as comment content.
So there you have it, a little cleaning, some bad news but even more good news. Thanks to all who stop by to read what I squak about. Thanks for reading this post, and please stop by my wife's blog and check it out.
Thanks again,
Grandpa Eddie
Citizen, Patriot, and Lover of Freedom
Thursday, July 07, 2005
TERROR IN THE TUBES OF LONDON
7 July 2005 Today, as the citizens of Britain were still enjoing the realization of being awarded the 2012 Olympic Games, the subway tubes of London were rocked by bombs exploding while Londoners were on their way to work. Three separate blasts were detonated in three different tubes. Shortly after that a bomb ripped apart the top of one of London’s famous double decker buses. The last word that I heard was that there were at least thirty-five dead and 350 to 1000 injured. Through all of this the Brits remained calm, or as calm as one could be during a disaster such as this. There was no panic, although there was confusion. A stoic people the British are.
London in general, and all of Britain, has not suffered an attack of this magnitude since the bombing by the Nazi’s during WWII. I commend the Londoners on how wonderfully they responded to this disaster.
Shortly after the blasts, Prime Minister Tony Blair held a news conference to inform the rest of the world of what had happened. Mr. Blair appeared visibly shaken and was having a hard time trying to hold back tears. No-one can fault him for that because his country had just suffered a horrendous terrorist attack.
This is much different than the reaction from Bush after the attacks on 11 September 2001. Bush seeded to be completely unfazed by what had happened in New York that day. Instead of being concerned about what might be happening to the people of New York, he continued to listen to the children read from a book titled “My Pet Goat”. When Bush finally started to get worried, it wasn’t for anyone who may have died or been injured, he was worried about his own butt. Being the self-centered prick that he is, it was hours before we heard any kind of statement from him. Big difference between Bush and Blair.
Two newscasters from FOX…False News Network… made statements today that were uncalled for and stupid on their parts. The first came from Fox News host Brian Kilmeade. This idiot stated “I think that works to our advantage…”. How can people being killed and maimed work to our advantage? Is this a bonus for Bush and his cronies that Londoners are dead and injured? What kind of sadistic asshole is this guy? Here’s the link so you can see all he said… http://mediamatters.org/items/200507070005 You'll have to cut and paste this link.
The other comment came from the idiotic pie-hole of Brit Hume. He said…”My first thought when I heard – just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, ‘Hmmm, time to buy.’” Now just what kind of asshole is Hume, wanting to profit off of the death and injury of someone else? Good God, people died and are still dying and all he can think about is how much he can profit from this. The bastard has no concern for these people. No thought of a prayer or even asking anyone else to pray for them. No concern at all! Here are two links to go to and check out what Hume said… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/david-sirota/
brit-hume-goes-on-tv-sa_3813.html and http://mediamatters.org/items/200507070007 You'll have to cut and paste these links, too.
Bush wasn’t any better with his 9/11…9/11…terrorists…terrorists, yet no mention of the Madrid bombings. He showed what appeared to be superficial concern, but turned it around to use to keep people scared. This fuckin’ prick has used those two items so much that he’s starting to sound like a record with a big gouge in it. (For those of you who don’t know what a record is go ask your parents or grand-parents.)
My wife’s daughter has a friend who lives in London with her mother. We didn’t know if they were alright this morning or not, so my wife sent an e-mail to them to see how they were. We heard back from them this evening, and they are fine. Thankfully, they were not near the bombings.
My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to the people of London and all of Britain. To those who lost loved ones, you are in our prayers. To those who were injured, you, too, are in our prayers and we hope for a speedy recovery.
Maybe, just maybe if Bush didn’t have us wrapped up in an illegal war in Iraq, these people wouldn’t have suffered as they did. Hopefully this will be the last time something like this happens. Although I really doubt it.
BUSH KEEPS LYING, SOLDIERS AND CITIZENS KEEP DYING!
WE MUST STOP THIS MADNESS!
London in general, and all of Britain, has not suffered an attack of this magnitude since the bombing by the Nazi’s during WWII. I commend the Londoners on how wonderfully they responded to this disaster.
Shortly after the blasts, Prime Minister Tony Blair held a news conference to inform the rest of the world of what had happened. Mr. Blair appeared visibly shaken and was having a hard time trying to hold back tears. No-one can fault him for that because his country had just suffered a horrendous terrorist attack.
This is much different than the reaction from Bush after the attacks on 11 September 2001. Bush seeded to be completely unfazed by what had happened in New York that day. Instead of being concerned about what might be happening to the people of New York, he continued to listen to the children read from a book titled “My Pet Goat”. When Bush finally started to get worried, it wasn’t for anyone who may have died or been injured, he was worried about his own butt. Being the self-centered prick that he is, it was hours before we heard any kind of statement from him. Big difference between Bush and Blair.
Two newscasters from FOX…False News Network… made statements today that were uncalled for and stupid on their parts. The first came from Fox News host Brian Kilmeade. This idiot stated “I think that works to our advantage…”. How can people being killed and maimed work to our advantage? Is this a bonus for Bush and his cronies that Londoners are dead and injured? What kind of sadistic asshole is this guy? Here’s the link so you can see all he said… http://mediamatters.org/items/200507070005 You'll have to cut and paste this link.
The other comment came from the idiotic pie-hole of Brit Hume. He said…”My first thought when I heard – just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, ‘Hmmm, time to buy.’” Now just what kind of asshole is Hume, wanting to profit off of the death and injury of someone else? Good God, people died and are still dying and all he can think about is how much he can profit from this. The bastard has no concern for these people. No thought of a prayer or even asking anyone else to pray for them. No concern at all! Here are two links to go to and check out what Hume said… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/david-sirota/
brit-hume-goes-on-tv-sa_3813.html and http://mediamatters.org/items/200507070007 You'll have to cut and paste these links, too.
Bush wasn’t any better with his 9/11…9/11…terrorists…terrorists, yet no mention of the Madrid bombings. He showed what appeared to be superficial concern, but turned it around to use to keep people scared. This fuckin’ prick has used those two items so much that he’s starting to sound like a record with a big gouge in it. (For those of you who don’t know what a record is go ask your parents or grand-parents.)
My wife’s daughter has a friend who lives in London with her mother. We didn’t know if they were alright this morning or not, so my wife sent an e-mail to them to see how they were. We heard back from them this evening, and they are fine. Thankfully, they were not near the bombings.
My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to the people of London and all of Britain. To those who lost loved ones, you are in our prayers. To those who were injured, you, too, are in our prayers and we hope for a speedy recovery.
Maybe, just maybe if Bush didn’t have us wrapped up in an illegal war in Iraq, these people wouldn’t have suffered as they did. Hopefully this will be the last time something like this happens. Although I really doubt it.
BUSH KEEPS LYING, SOLDIERS AND CITIZENS KEEP DYING!
WE MUST STOP THIS MADNESS!
Monday, July 04, 2005
HAPPY 229TH AMERICA
July 4th 1776, that's when the papers were signed and this nation embarked on it's journey through history. Some of that history has been good, some has been bad. As a nation we have made mistakes, such is the falibility of the human race, nobody is perfect. We have tried, at times, to correct our mistakes. Sometimes we succede, sometimes we don't.
Slavery was a mistake that our Founding Fathers overlooked. We've tried to correct that but I don't think we've really done enough to repair the damage done. But theI don't know what else we could, except by way of an Act of Congress with a formal apology.
There were many Indian Nations here before the Europeans set foot on the shores of this great land. At first we treated them with respect, but then it was decided that they stood in the way of our expansion through this land. We made treaties with them, over 300, and turned around and broke them all. We tried to confine them to small areas but found out that they liked their freedom, which they had before we arrived, just as much as we did. So we tried to solve that problem with genocide by way of giving them blankets infected with smallpox. This is another big mistake we made that we have not completely corrected and probably never will.
The Spanish-American War was started because the battleship Maine was destroyed and sank in the harbour of Havana, Cuba. At that time Cuba was a colony of Spain as was the Philipines. Spain was blamed for the destruction of the Maine though there was never any proof they had anything to do with it. This gave us a reason and opportunity to invade Cuba and the Philipines, take them from Spain, and make them our territories, or colonies if you will. Control of Cuba would give us control of the Gulf region. Control of the Philipines would give us a place for military bases in the far east. Nice plan but colonization is not in, or allowed by the Constitution.
We entered WWI on false pretense. There were certain people here, and in England, who wanted us to enter that conflict for capital gain. To get us involved, passenger ships were transporting military hardware and equiptment to England. As a result one of these ships was sank with the loss of a great number of American citizens causing our entry into that war.
The Second World War was something completely different. We were physically attacked by Japan. Congress declared war on Japan within days of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although we fought against Germany and Italy in Europe and North Africa, we never officially declared war on Germany or Italy. Even without declaring war on them we could not conceivably go to war with Japan only, because Germany, Italy, and Japan had formed an alliance. Our invasion of North Africa and then Europe was to stop the domination, or colonization, of the two by the governments of Germany and Italy. We went to war against Japan for two reasons. The first was because they attacked not only Pearl Harbor, which was a military base on the territory, or colony of Hawaii, but also the Philipines, Midway, and the Aleutian Islands which were territories, or colonies, too. The second was because Japan wanted to control East Asia for the oil reserves that it contained.
The Korean War was our attempt to prevent the advancement of Communism in Asia. China had already fallen to the Communists and we didn't want China to extend that past it's borders. That war never really ended, it just came to a stalemate with the country being split in two.
Vietnam was another attempt to stop Communism from spreading into Southeast Asia. There we set up a puppet government that didn't work. It was more concerned with it's own well-being and not that of the citizens. This, too, failed. Partly because the war was mishandled by our own government and partly because the Vietnamese did not want to be controled by a foreign entity. They had just thrown off the yoke of oppression the French had had on them. During WWII they had fought tenaciously to prevent the Japanese from dominating them.
Since Vietnam we have made several attempts at military intervention that were either wrong, handled poorly, or just plain stupid . Ganada, Kosovo, and Somalia just to name a few.
The first Gulf War was a bogus attempt to control Iraq and it's oil. Saddam invaded Kuwait because Kuwait's oil was drying up and had constructed slanted wells to reach the oil in Iraq by going under their border with Iraq. Therefore we invaded Iraq to "save" Kuwait. Here we have Bush the Elder's bullshit.
Today we are in Afganistan and Iraq. We went to Afganistan under the pretense of finding Osama bin Laden and destroying Al Qaeda. We set up another "puppet" government thinking we could control it, for the new empire building, but that has since backfired on Bush and his cronies. We still haven't found Osama but we crushed the Taliban, for a while anyway. Now they're back with a vengence and our troops are dying at an even greater rate. Could it be that just like Vietnam they don't want us there?
So Bush invades Iraq under fales pretense of WMD's, nonexistant threats of attack by Saddam, and the infamous 9/11 connection. We keep hearing about all the foreign fighters in Iraq causing problems, that they have no right to be there because it isn't their country. How about the 140,000 foreign fighters from our country, not to mention those from Britian and the rest of the coalition of the willing idiots, who are in Iraq as a part of Bush's empire building. Could it be that they don't want us in their country, that maybe they want to be free of the yoke Bush has placed on them?
The invasion of Iraq was illegal. We were not attacked by them, but they do have oil that we want and Iraq would be an ideal place for alot of military bases. Bush could have control over the entire Middle East from there. Build the empire! Make America bigger and stronger and even more powerful! Let's just get everybody to hate us. Bush and his cronies have done a good job of that so far. We're the only superpower, right now. Don't we deserve to be a great empire?
No, we don't. The following statement by John Quincy Adams, at the time Secretary of State, to the House of Representatives on Independence Day in 1821 should prove we don't.
Slavery was a mistake that our Founding Fathers overlooked. We've tried to correct that but I don't think we've really done enough to repair the damage done. But theI don't know what else we could, except by way of an Act of Congress with a formal apology.
There were many Indian Nations here before the Europeans set foot on the shores of this great land. At first we treated them with respect, but then it was decided that they stood in the way of our expansion through this land. We made treaties with them, over 300, and turned around and broke them all. We tried to confine them to small areas but found out that they liked their freedom, which they had before we arrived, just as much as we did. So we tried to solve that problem with genocide by way of giving them blankets infected with smallpox. This is another big mistake we made that we have not completely corrected and probably never will.
The Spanish-American War was started because the battleship Maine was destroyed and sank in the harbour of Havana, Cuba. At that time Cuba was a colony of Spain as was the Philipines. Spain was blamed for the destruction of the Maine though there was never any proof they had anything to do with it. This gave us a reason and opportunity to invade Cuba and the Philipines, take them from Spain, and make them our territories, or colonies if you will. Control of Cuba would give us control of the Gulf region. Control of the Philipines would give us a place for military bases in the far east. Nice plan but colonization is not in, or allowed by the Constitution.
We entered WWI on false pretense. There were certain people here, and in England, who wanted us to enter that conflict for capital gain. To get us involved, passenger ships were transporting military hardware and equiptment to England. As a result one of these ships was sank with the loss of a great number of American citizens causing our entry into that war.
The Second World War was something completely different. We were physically attacked by Japan. Congress declared war on Japan within days of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although we fought against Germany and Italy in Europe and North Africa, we never officially declared war on Germany or Italy. Even without declaring war on them we could not conceivably go to war with Japan only, because Germany, Italy, and Japan had formed an alliance. Our invasion of North Africa and then Europe was to stop the domination, or colonization, of the two by the governments of Germany and Italy. We went to war against Japan for two reasons. The first was because they attacked not only Pearl Harbor, which was a military base on the territory, or colony of Hawaii, but also the Philipines, Midway, and the Aleutian Islands which were territories, or colonies, too. The second was because Japan wanted to control East Asia for the oil reserves that it contained.
The Korean War was our attempt to prevent the advancement of Communism in Asia. China had already fallen to the Communists and we didn't want China to extend that past it's borders. That war never really ended, it just came to a stalemate with the country being split in two.
Vietnam was another attempt to stop Communism from spreading into Southeast Asia. There we set up a puppet government that didn't work. It was more concerned with it's own well-being and not that of the citizens. This, too, failed. Partly because the war was mishandled by our own government and partly because the Vietnamese did not want to be controled by a foreign entity. They had just thrown off the yoke of oppression the French had had on them. During WWII they had fought tenaciously to prevent the Japanese from dominating them.
Since Vietnam we have made several attempts at military intervention that were either wrong, handled poorly, or just plain stupid . Ganada, Kosovo, and Somalia just to name a few.
The first Gulf War was a bogus attempt to control Iraq and it's oil. Saddam invaded Kuwait because Kuwait's oil was drying up and had constructed slanted wells to reach the oil in Iraq by going under their border with Iraq. Therefore we invaded Iraq to "save" Kuwait. Here we have Bush the Elder's bullshit.
Today we are in Afganistan and Iraq. We went to Afganistan under the pretense of finding Osama bin Laden and destroying Al Qaeda. We set up another "puppet" government thinking we could control it, for the new empire building, but that has since backfired on Bush and his cronies. We still haven't found Osama but we crushed the Taliban, for a while anyway. Now they're back with a vengence and our troops are dying at an even greater rate. Could it be that just like Vietnam they don't want us there?
So Bush invades Iraq under fales pretense of WMD's, nonexistant threats of attack by Saddam, and the infamous 9/11 connection. We keep hearing about all the foreign fighters in Iraq causing problems, that they have no right to be there because it isn't their country. How about the 140,000 foreign fighters from our country, not to mention those from Britian and the rest of the coalition of the willing idiots, who are in Iraq as a part of Bush's empire building. Could it be that they don't want us in their country, that maybe they want to be free of the yoke Bush has placed on them?
The invasion of Iraq was illegal. We were not attacked by them, but they do have oil that we want and Iraq would be an ideal place for alot of military bases. Bush could have control over the entire Middle East from there. Build the empire! Make America bigger and stronger and even more powerful! Let's just get everybody to hate us. Bush and his cronies have done a good job of that so far. We're the only superpower, right now. Don't we deserve to be a great empire?
No, we don't. The following statement by John Quincy Adams, at the time Secretary of State, to the House of Representatives on Independence Day in 1821 should prove we don't.
And now, friends and countrymen, if the wise and learned philosophers of the elder world, the first observers of nutation and aberration, the discoverers of maddening ether and invisible planets, the inventors of Congreve rockets and Shrapnel shells, should find their hearts disposed to enquire what has America done for the benefit of mankind?
Let our answer be this: America, with the same voice which spoke herself into existence as a nation, proclaimed to mankind the inextinguishable rights of human nature, and the only lawful foundations of government. America, in the assembly of nations, since her admission among them, has invariably, though often fruitlessly, held forth to them the hand of honest friendship, of equal freedom, of generous reciprocity.
She has uniformly spoken among them, though often to heedless and often to disdainful ears, the language of equal liberty, of equal justice, and of equal rights.
She has, in the lapse of nearly half a century, without a single exception, respected the independence of other nations while asserting and maintaining her own.
She has abstained from interference in the concerns of others, even when conflict has been for principles to which she clings, as to the last vital drop that visits the heart.
She has seen that probably for centuries to come, all the contests of that Aceldama the European world, will be contests of inveterate power, and emerging right.
Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be.
But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy.
She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all.
She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.
She will commend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example.
She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom.
The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force....
She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit....
[America's] glory is not dominion, but liberty. Her march is the march of the mind. She has a spear and a shield: but the motto upon her shield is, Freedom, Independence, Peace. This has been her Declaration: this has been, as far as her necessary intercourse with the rest of mankind would permit, her practice.
Our Founding Fathers, the framers of our Constitution, never intended for this country to be an empire builder. To the contrary, they expected this country to stay out of the affairs of other countries. They knew firsthand what it was like to be dominated by a foreign power and did not want this country to abuse it's power to control another.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!
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