* Chasing windmills ~ and enjoying it - This is the 50th edition of Stephen Views the News that began in June 2007. Readership and positive feedback continue to grow and in February I was invited to additionally post my blog each week at the websites PA for Democracy and Montgomery County Democracy for America. A question I am often asked is where do I find the time? The answer is less TV and fiction novels. The question I occasionally ask myself is, why? Writing about what is happening in our country is certainly challenging, it offers opportunities for creativity, it demands a degree of analysis that is not natural to my once apolitical inclination and it provides an outlet for the frustrations I experience viewing the news. However, the original motivation for writing this blog remains strong. I believe that America has room for improvement and the more we are aware of the ways and the degree to which our country is being damaged, the better the chance that the self-serving and power-driven incompetents managing our political system will be replaced. And, there is the possibility they will be replaced with more responsible leaders such as Webb, Casey, McCaskill, Sestak, Tester and Patrick Murphy who won elections in 2006. At times events cause me to feel like Don Quixote but it is not dissuasive. The 2008 presidential and congressional races could be subtitled “Save America”. It is my opinion that the core elements that made America the standard for modern democracy, freedoms and a better way of life are at stake. Tens of thousands of Americans are currently working diligently for positive change in our country. The opportunity to have a modest voice in this quest is satisfying.
* The Impossible Dream ~ McCain’s healthcare plan – John McCain says the country must provide access to healthcare for all citizens and that "we need to help people who need it." He is against requiring health insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions because, “That would be mandating what the free enterprise system does." McCain also wants to shrink government's role in healthcare and doesn't want to impose regulations on insurance companies. The McCain healthcare plan reminds one of Bush’s Iraq incursion. There ain’t no plan! Bob Laszewski, an expert on health policy, has a website Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review that offers a more detailed analysis of McCain’s ideas on healthcare as well as the other candidates.
* It definitely is sobering - The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) released a new report stating that because "political progress is so slow, halting and superficial, and social and political fragmentation so pronounced," the U.S. "is no closer to being able to leave Iraq than it was a year ago." The new assessment -- which was conducted by the same experts that advised the Iraq Study Group (ISG) -- "predicts that lasting political development could take five to 10 years of 'full, unconditional commitment' to Iraq, but also cautions that future progress may not be worth the 'massive' human and financial costs" to the U.S.” The “surge” is now a “pause” and probably the best we can hope for until January 20, 2009.
* A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq – While no one in the Bush administration attempts to bring the Iraq war to some resolution a number of congressional candidates and military experts have developed an intelligent multi-approach plan to change the Iraq dynamics and actually strengthen America. The highlights include:
End U.S. Military Action in Iraq
Use U.S. diplomatic power
Address humanitarian concerns
Restore our Constitution
Restore our military
Restore independence to the media
Create a new, U.S.-centered energy policy
The specifics of this plan can be read on line or downloaded to a PDF file at this link. You can sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of this plan at True Majority Action.
* Don’t drink the water – The Bush administration has been successful in stripping vital protections from the Clean Water Act. Polluters want to keep dumping contaminants linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems into our water because dealing with chemical waste, oil spills, and other pollution would cut into their profit margin. According to the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), “That means that pollutants like E-Coli, bacteria, mercury, PCBs and dioxin could be contaminating the drinking water of more than 110 million Americans. The LCV offers a petition you can sign urging Congress to enact the Clean Water Restoration Act.
* Don’t drink the Kool Aid ~ or bleach – Florida has a strict abstinence-only sex education policy. How is that working out? “A recent survey that found some Florida teens believe drinking a cap of bleach will prevent HIV and a shot of Mountain Dew will stop pregnancy has prompted lawmakers to push for an overhaul of sex education in the state... The survey showed that Florida teens also believe that smoking marijuana will prevent a person from getting pregnant.” Florida teenagers may have whiter teeth but their genitals are falling off. As a nation we are beginning to pay attention to what is happening in Washington D.C. The same light should be shone on state legislatures who are equally susceptible to special interests that do not represent majority interests.
* A response to Guantanamo – The site of torture, indefinite imprisonment and ignorance of international and American law and morality will be the location where George W. Bush attempts to justify the criminality that permeates his “rain” of error. Trials for a number of these prisoners are being scheduled to take place. Five former Secretaries of State and the American Bar Association have condemned the activities that have occurred at Guantanamo and the possibility of fair trials. Fortunately, there are individuals and organizations in America that have not lost their conscience. The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers have joined forces by assembling defense teams to be available to assist in the representation of detainees facing prosecution at Guantánamo. “We are taking this step because of our grave concerns that the Guantanamo military commissions process does not reflect our country’s commitment to justice and due process. The military commissions’ authorization of the use of coerced evidence possibly derived from torture, secret evidence, and hearsay is unconstitutional and counter to American traditions of fairness and justice.” You may not care about these “foreigners”, who may have committed egregious crimes, BUT, in a democracy we all should care about the application of justice on a selective basis. To not care is a dangerous road traveled.
* It definitely is us – When we hear figures that the Iraq war will cost the U.S. $196 billion this year or that the projected cost will reach more than $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) the irony is that the numbers are so large that they are virtually meaningless on a personal level. Well, it just got personal. Barack Obama recently said that the Iraq war is costing each American household $100 per month. It was not campaign hyperbole. The source of the $100 figure came from The Three Trillion Dollar War, a new book by Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, and Linda J. Bilmes, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. It will cost each of our households $1200 this year. John McCain is comfortable with the U.S. being in Iraq for decades. Of course he is married to a multi-millionaire heiress, he has a federal pension and healthcare package. You and I are paying the price AS WILL generations to follow since Bush’s war is being paid for with our tax dollars but even more so with borrowed money – what the economists call deficits and I call an element of the Bush legacy.
* Truth ~ a fact that is verified – The Pentagon will begin issuing hand-held lie detectors to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan aimed at rooting out potential insurgents and terrorists. The Pentagon claims that these devices have an accuracy rate up to 90%. The Pentagon’s accuracy claims are questioned by polygraph experts. It seems that the accuracy rate is between 63% and 79%. "I don't understand how anybody could think that this is ready for deployment," said statistics professor Stephen E. Fienberg, who headed a 2003 study by the National Academy of Sciences that found insufficient scientific evidence to support using polygraphs for national security... ‘Sending these instruments into the field in Iraq and Afghanistan without serious scientific assessment, and for use by untrained personnel, is a mockery of what we advocated in our report." Mockery is the operable word for a Pentagon that did not provide our troops with adequate protective equipment as they went into battle and renewed a contract with a helmet manufacturer they knew intentionally produced helmets below specifications to increase their profit margin. Jimmy Breslin wrote a hilarious book about a group of incompetent Mafia-like sad sacks titled The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. Well, neither can this gang but it is not humorous.
* Perfect Rice for the perfect wedding – It appears that Condoleezza Rice is vying to be John McCain’s running mate for the White House. As National Security Advisor in the early years of the Bush administration she “neglected to explain to President Bush the importance of a pre-9/11 intelligence briefing that suggested Osama bin Laden's followers intended to attack the United States, and she later claimed on the basis of no apparent evidence that a failure to attack Iraq would put the U.S. in danger of nuclear attack.” Secretary of State Rice is best known for playing the piano and her collection of shoes since her diplomatic achievements would fit on a grain of rice. Having been a surrogate in the flawed and failed Bush administration for seven plus years and given that McCain provides a continuum of Bush’s imperialistic and error-laden foreign policy it would be the perfect marriage. The neocons could be ushers, James Dobson could perform the ceremony, Joe Lieberman could be the ring bearer and ExxonMobil could pay for the honeymoon in the romantic, sun-drenched and historical city of Baghdad.
Dominatrix Update: ABC and the AP are reporting that Condoleezza Rice chaired explicit White House discussions in 2002 and 2003 about which torture techniques should be used on prisoners. This is the first time we see evidence that senior officials, "not only discussed specific plans and specific interrogation methods, but approved them". Recall when news of prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib become public, responsibility was attributed to rogue low-level military personnel. Other “stellar” attendees at these Club Sadist meetings were Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft and VP Cheyney approved these measures. As much as I would like to see Rice on a losing ticket with McCain this news will likely waterboard her chances. Speaking of chances, Bush and Cheyney may have dodged impeachment but a war crimes tribunal may not be out of the question.
* A marriage made in heaven – It is my sense that our souls are color blind and worship at a non-sectarian universal cathedral. I thought about this while reading an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the married couple David Hyman and Farah Jimenez. He is a white Jewish Democrat and she is a black Cuban American Baptist Republican. They are both active in their respective religions, political affiliations and perform wonderful work in the community. Their story is worth reading. Aside from the fact that Ms. Jimenez voted for Rick Santorum and to this day defends Bush, they are living examples of what America can be. Mazel tov and buena suerte.
* "We both want to have a positive impact on the world and we're not waiting for politics to make a difference."
Farah Jimenez
Showing posts with label Guantanamo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guantanamo. Show all posts
Friday, April 11, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
*America on Trial – This week military commission charges were handed down that seek the death penalty for six individuals accused of involvement in the 9/11 attack. There is a natural inclination to say, “fry the bastards”. And bastards they may well be. However, there is much more at stake than emotional retribution for Americans. As noted by the Center for Constitutional Rights, “For the past six years, the United States government has refused to conduct traditional criminal trials or courts martial against Guantanamo detainees suspected of wrongdoing... the military commissions at Guantanamo allow secret evidence, hearsay evidence, and evidence obtained through torture. They are unlawful, unconstitutional, and a perversion of justice... Now the government is seeking to execute people based on this utterly unreliable and tainted evidence: it is difficult to imagine a more morally reprehensible system. Executions based on secret trials and torture evidence belong to another century. These barbaric sham proceedings will likely to inflame the controversy surrounding Guantanamo and draw the condemnation of even our allies.” Some thoughts:
>If America is so proud of its system of justice, a system that it has held up to the world as the icon of a free society, why has the Bush administration chosen an alternative thorny path?
>Is this justice? “The cadre of civilian lawyers representing terrorism suspects held by the military at Guantanamo Bay are not allowed to meet their clients in private, without video surveillance. All their mail and notes must be turned over to the military. Classified information cannot be shared with their clients. They are not entitled to everything the government knows about their clients.”
> The majority of Americans and the world community will have no confidence in these proceedings.
>What jeopardy does this create for our own military men and women if captured by enemy forces?
>Losing our moral compass under the “leadership” of George W. Bush has resulted in an America tentative and uncertain. The ultra divisive politics of the Republican Party has left our country fractured.
>Actions have consequences. What price this fiasco – for Americans and America?
*House cleaning ~ the road to better government – This week politically progressive Donna Edwards (D) defeated 8-term incumbent Al Wynn (D) in Maryland’s 4th congressional district primary. Steve Benen at The Carpetbagger Report explains why this matters: “Was Wynn really that bad? Without question. He partnered with right-wing crooks like Bob Ney to oppose campaign-finance reform; he partnered with right-wing lobbyists on the estate tax; he partnered with right-wing lawmakers on the ridiculous bankruptcy bill; and he partnered with right-wing hedge-fund managers on the private equity tax break. It wasn't just corporate lobbyists, either -- Wynn also voted with Bush on Iraq and tax cuts for the wealthy.” I have received emails from several organizations celebrating this win including Democracy for America and Act Blue. Each group deserves credit for helping to fund and campaign for Edwards. Some other organizations working to bring about better government are Common Cause, People for the American Way, MoveOn.org, Human Rights Campaign, and TrueMajority.org. You may want to visit one or two of these organizations to participate in making a difference in your community and your country.
*Only the names have been changed ~ to protect you know who – When Bush’s “personal” lawyer Alberto Gonzales was forced to resign as Attorney General (under pressure for incompetence and malfeasance) much discussion took place over his replacement. During confirmation hearings for the next Bush nominee to head the Department of Justice it was learned that a number of senators decided to vote for the confirmation of Michael Mukasey because he would be the best alternative the president would offer for this post. Last week Mukasey testified before the House Judiciary Committee and said he would not investigate torture or warrantless wiretapping (which legal experts and lay people alike believe are against the law). He also said he would not enforce contempt citations if issued by congress to current and former Bush officials for not answering subpoenas to appear before investigating committees (videos of the testimony are available at the above link). Like Gonzales, it appears that former judge Mukasey does not interpret his role as Attorney General to be an independent enforcer of the laws of the land. Both men were persuaded that their role was to be enablers and apologists of a unitary executive branch unbounded by existing law and precedent.
Life memoir ~ abridged edition – smithmag.net is an online storytelling community where authors write and share stories. They invited people to submit a life memoir in only six words. Over 15,000 did and 832 were selected for a book titled “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure”. I found the idea intriguing. Being a guy I am introspectively challenged so I decided to try a six-pack of six word memoirs:
>From solid parents a firm footing.
>Bush presidency did a writer inspire.
>Looked over shoulder, hit a boulder.
>Life love, life illuminated, love life.
>Became a father, never pushed farther.
>Friends, friends, friends, friends, friends, friends.
If only everyone could be so fortunate. If only politicians could be so succinct.
*Questions for the President – In Mr. Bush’s latest attempt to convince congress to approve anti-terror legislation that permits spying on Americans without court oversight he said, “Terrorists are planning new attacks on our country...that will make Sept.11 pale by comparison.” How does spying on Americans without warrant or court oversight make us safer? Should we not fear a government that attempts to reduce our constitutional freedoms? Would we be safer now if you had done a better job? Disclosure: Please remember that these are rhetorical questions. My people do not speak to his people and President Bush and I do not speak directly to each other.
*Question for Democrats in the Senate – Why do you wet you underwear every time the President says Boo? The President has an approval rating below freezing (30%). The vast majority of Americans oppose his policies. Recall Franklin D. Roosevelt’s admonition, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Boo! The Democrats in the House did stand up to Bush’s fear tactics this week by not rubber-stamping the Protect America Act as the Senate did. By exhibiting some courage they did not have to pack Desitin for their week-long legislative break.
*Do we hear a bid of 30 – The announcement by Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) that he will not seek re-election marks the 29th Republican congressman to do so. Some of the spoken and unspoken reasons for these representatives moving on include spending more time with the wife and kids, joining a lobbying firm, too busy being investigated by the Dept. of Justice, suffering from Bushitis and won’t get re-elected. Recalling the Republicans performance in congress for well over a decade I feel no love lost. Do we hear 30?
*Be all that you can be – This is a phrase used in U.S. Army recruitment advertisements. I am sure that enlistment in all of the armed services has been an excellent and wonderful opportunity for millions of young Americans. The following causes one to wonder if the Army is not just plain Bushed. “A Fort Carson soldier who says he was in treatment at Cedar Springs Hospital for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse was released early and ordered to deploy to the Middle East with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team... [he had] spent 31 days in Kuwait and was returned to Fort Carson on Dec. 31 after health care professionals in Kuwait concurred that his symptoms met criteria for bipolar disorder and “some paranoia and possible homicidal tendencies.” Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, was outraged. “If he’s an inpatient in a hospital, they should have never taken him out... First, we had the planeload of wounded, injured and ill being forced back to the war zone. And now we have soldiers forcibly removed from mental hospitals. The level of outrage is off the Richter scale.” Enlisted men and women deserve better than a Command that is AWOL. Where is the outrage of military leaders that are seemingly: silent to the uncaring deployment of personnel; silent to the inadequate care of wounded troops with permanent disabilities; and silent to the frighteningly high number of suicides and emotional disorders of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are under-treated. When the history of Iraq is written the top brass will be indelibly tarnished.
*Be all that you should be – In 2007 the Food and Drug Administration received 350 reports of health problems associated with the drug heparin (a blood thinner). The drug ingredients are manufactured in China for Baxter International. Following 4 patients dying and hundreds becoming ill Baxter halted sales on some versions of the drug. The FDA admits it has never inspected the plant (a violation of its own policy), BUT, "Preparations are being made to perform an inspection as soon as possible," said FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley. Perhaps they were waiting until the summer so that inspectors could take in the Olympics and avoid the harsh winter that China is experiencing. And where was Baxter in this equation?
~Update – The Chinese manufacturer is not certified by China’s drug regulators to manufacture pharmaceuticals and therefore was not inspected by China’s drug agency. It appears that the FDA and Baxter International are on brain thinners. That rumbling you hear in the background are the hooves of personal injury lawyers.
~Caveat for consumers – From the same NY Times article: “China provides a growing proportion of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in drugs sold in the United States. And Chinese drug regulators have said that all producers of those ingredients are required to obtain certification by the State Food and Drug Administration. However, some of the active ingredients that China exports are made by chemical companies, which do not fall under the Chinese drug agency’s jurisdiction.”
*There is a positive side to the subprime crisis – You may have noticed that your junk mail is a tad lighter in recent weeks. It is the result of companies such as Citibank and Discover cutting back on credit card mailing offers following substantial losses in the mortgage meltdown. I am puzzled by this strategy because our elected “leaders” have allowed credit card companies to charge interest rates of 23% and higher for unpaid balances. One would think that more than ever these usurious financial icons would be trying to increase the number of people they can “legally” drain. What do I know?
*McCain ~ conviction versus confection – Over the last several years, as America has debated the use of torture, John McCain has consistently spoken out against its. Although the use of torture is prohibited by the U.S. Army Field Manual, agencies such as the CIA have used waterboarding. A bill that has already passed the House was voted on this week in the Senate. It requires that the Army Field Manual be adhered to by all U.S. agencies. Although the bill passed, and will likely be vetoed by Bush, McCain voted against the bill. He voted to allow waterboarding. On October 26, 2007 the NY Times reported: Of presidential candidates like Mr. Giuliani, who say that they are unsure whether waterboarding is torture, Mr. McCain said: “They should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture.” Americablog.com has a video from a recent Republican presidential debate where McCain discusses the use of torture and says, “Life is not 24 and Jack Bauer. I just came back from visiting prisons in Iraq and the Army General there said the techniques under the Army Field Manual are working effectively and he didn’t think they needed anything else. My friends, this is what America is all about.” For McCain what America is really about alters when alteration he finds.
*Sex toys – Now that I have your attention you will be relieved to know that you can once again purchase them in Texas. “A federal appeals court has overturned a Texas statute outlawing sex toy sales...” Why? The statute violated the 14th Amendment on the right to privacy. In its opinion the appeals court said, “the state here (Texas) wants to use its laws to enforce a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct... The case is not about public sex. It is not about controlling commerce in sex. It is about controlling what people do in the privacy of their own homes because the state is morally opposed to a certain type of consensual private intimate conduct.” Hallelujah and pass the batteries.
*Macho Republicans – “The National Park Service has reasonable guidelines about firearms in national parks. It is currently lawful to transport firearms through national parks as long as they are unloaded and stored.” But a pending amendment proposed by Senator John Coburn (R-OK) would allow people to carry loaded weapons in national parks. The organization Care2 provides a petition to senators and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to say NO to the loaded guns in parks amendment at the above link. The senators need our help since it was reported that a number of them believe firearms are prohibited in national parks.
*Trader Joe’s ~ another reason I like shopping there – This food store chain has announced that it will cease importing food products from China due to customers' concerns about the products' safety. I applaud this decision for several reasons: U.S. inspection of imports is questionable; China’s inspection of exports is more than questionable; numerous articles have noted very serious air and water pollution problems in China and their effect on the food supply. Another reason to reduce our purchases of Chinese products is economic. As America’s trade imbalance with China has grown so has the loss of American jobs. Buying American-made and grown products where possible just seems to make sense. Increasing the demand for locally-grown produce makes equal sense.
*Who is going to hell? – I find it interesting that the “values” voters who are so concerned about everyone else’s soul and telling others how to conduct their lives continue to support an unprovoked war, torture, the politicians who voted against raising the minimum wage, the congressmen who opposed SCHIP (health insurance for children), an administration that hides the inadequate care it is providing wounded military, a Party that attempts to suppress the voting rights of minorities and has the unmitigated effrontery to restrict the freedoms of gay men and women in our society. I’ll chance my eternal fate opposing such hypocrisy.
*"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1829)
>If America is so proud of its system of justice, a system that it has held up to the world as the icon of a free society, why has the Bush administration chosen an alternative thorny path?
>Is this justice? “The cadre of civilian lawyers representing terrorism suspects held by the military at Guantanamo Bay are not allowed to meet their clients in private, without video surveillance. All their mail and notes must be turned over to the military. Classified information cannot be shared with their clients. They are not entitled to everything the government knows about their clients.”
> The majority of Americans and the world community will have no confidence in these proceedings.
>What jeopardy does this create for our own military men and women if captured by enemy forces?
>Losing our moral compass under the “leadership” of George W. Bush has resulted in an America tentative and uncertain. The ultra divisive politics of the Republican Party has left our country fractured.
>Actions have consequences. What price this fiasco – for Americans and America?
*House cleaning ~ the road to better government – This week politically progressive Donna Edwards (D) defeated 8-term incumbent Al Wynn (D) in Maryland’s 4th congressional district primary. Steve Benen at The Carpetbagger Report explains why this matters: “Was Wynn really that bad? Without question. He partnered with right-wing crooks like Bob Ney to oppose campaign-finance reform; he partnered with right-wing lobbyists on the estate tax; he partnered with right-wing lawmakers on the ridiculous bankruptcy bill; and he partnered with right-wing hedge-fund managers on the private equity tax break. It wasn't just corporate lobbyists, either -- Wynn also voted with Bush on Iraq and tax cuts for the wealthy.” I have received emails from several organizations celebrating this win including Democracy for America and Act Blue. Each group deserves credit for helping to fund and campaign for Edwards. Some other organizations working to bring about better government are Common Cause, People for the American Way, MoveOn.org, Human Rights Campaign, and TrueMajority.org. You may want to visit one or two of these organizations to participate in making a difference in your community and your country.
*Only the names have been changed ~ to protect you know who – When Bush’s “personal” lawyer Alberto Gonzales was forced to resign as Attorney General (under pressure for incompetence and malfeasance) much discussion took place over his replacement. During confirmation hearings for the next Bush nominee to head the Department of Justice it was learned that a number of senators decided to vote for the confirmation of Michael Mukasey because he would be the best alternative the president would offer for this post. Last week Mukasey testified before the House Judiciary Committee and said he would not investigate torture or warrantless wiretapping (which legal experts and lay people alike believe are against the law). He also said he would not enforce contempt citations if issued by congress to current and former Bush officials for not answering subpoenas to appear before investigating committees (videos of the testimony are available at the above link). Like Gonzales, it appears that former judge Mukasey does not interpret his role as Attorney General to be an independent enforcer of the laws of the land. Both men were persuaded that their role was to be enablers and apologists of a unitary executive branch unbounded by existing law and precedent.
Life memoir ~ abridged edition – smithmag.net is an online storytelling community where authors write and share stories. They invited people to submit a life memoir in only six words. Over 15,000 did and 832 were selected for a book titled “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure”. I found the idea intriguing. Being a guy I am introspectively challenged so I decided to try a six-pack of six word memoirs:
>From solid parents a firm footing.
>Bush presidency did a writer inspire.
>Looked over shoulder, hit a boulder.
>Life love, life illuminated, love life.
>Became a father, never pushed farther.
>Friends, friends, friends, friends, friends, friends.
If only everyone could be so fortunate. If only politicians could be so succinct.
*Questions for the President – In Mr. Bush’s latest attempt to convince congress to approve anti-terror legislation that permits spying on Americans without court oversight he said, “Terrorists are planning new attacks on our country...that will make Sept.11 pale by comparison.” How does spying on Americans without warrant or court oversight make us safer? Should we not fear a government that attempts to reduce our constitutional freedoms? Would we be safer now if you had done a better job? Disclosure: Please remember that these are rhetorical questions. My people do not speak to his people and President Bush and I do not speak directly to each other.
*Question for Democrats in the Senate – Why do you wet you underwear every time the President says Boo? The President has an approval rating below freezing (30%). The vast majority of Americans oppose his policies. Recall Franklin D. Roosevelt’s admonition, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Boo! The Democrats in the House did stand up to Bush’s fear tactics this week by not rubber-stamping the Protect America Act as the Senate did. By exhibiting some courage they did not have to pack Desitin for their week-long legislative break.
*Do we hear a bid of 30 – The announcement by Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) that he will not seek re-election marks the 29th Republican congressman to do so. Some of the spoken and unspoken reasons for these representatives moving on include spending more time with the wife and kids, joining a lobbying firm, too busy being investigated by the Dept. of Justice, suffering from Bushitis and won’t get re-elected. Recalling the Republicans performance in congress for well over a decade I feel no love lost. Do we hear 30?
*Be all that you can be – This is a phrase used in U.S. Army recruitment advertisements. I am sure that enlistment in all of the armed services has been an excellent and wonderful opportunity for millions of young Americans. The following causes one to wonder if the Army is not just plain Bushed. “A Fort Carson soldier who says he was in treatment at Cedar Springs Hospital for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse was released early and ordered to deploy to the Middle East with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team... [he had] spent 31 days in Kuwait and was returned to Fort Carson on Dec. 31 after health care professionals in Kuwait concurred that his symptoms met criteria for bipolar disorder and “some paranoia and possible homicidal tendencies.” Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, was outraged. “If he’s an inpatient in a hospital, they should have never taken him out... First, we had the planeload of wounded, injured and ill being forced back to the war zone. And now we have soldiers forcibly removed from mental hospitals. The level of outrage is off the Richter scale.” Enlisted men and women deserve better than a Command that is AWOL. Where is the outrage of military leaders that are seemingly: silent to the uncaring deployment of personnel; silent to the inadequate care of wounded troops with permanent disabilities; and silent to the frighteningly high number of suicides and emotional disorders of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are under-treated. When the history of Iraq is written the top brass will be indelibly tarnished.
*Be all that you should be – In 2007 the Food and Drug Administration received 350 reports of health problems associated with the drug heparin (a blood thinner). The drug ingredients are manufactured in China for Baxter International. Following 4 patients dying and hundreds becoming ill Baxter halted sales on some versions of the drug. The FDA admits it has never inspected the plant (a violation of its own policy), BUT, "Preparations are being made to perform an inspection as soon as possible," said FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley. Perhaps they were waiting until the summer so that inspectors could take in the Olympics and avoid the harsh winter that China is experiencing. And where was Baxter in this equation?
~Update – The Chinese manufacturer is not certified by China’s drug regulators to manufacture pharmaceuticals and therefore was not inspected by China’s drug agency. It appears that the FDA and Baxter International are on brain thinners. That rumbling you hear in the background are the hooves of personal injury lawyers.
~Caveat for consumers – From the same NY Times article: “China provides a growing proportion of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in drugs sold in the United States. And Chinese drug regulators have said that all producers of those ingredients are required to obtain certification by the State Food and Drug Administration. However, some of the active ingredients that China exports are made by chemical companies, which do not fall under the Chinese drug agency’s jurisdiction.”
*There is a positive side to the subprime crisis – You may have noticed that your junk mail is a tad lighter in recent weeks. It is the result of companies such as Citibank and Discover cutting back on credit card mailing offers following substantial losses in the mortgage meltdown. I am puzzled by this strategy because our elected “leaders” have allowed credit card companies to charge interest rates of 23% and higher for unpaid balances. One would think that more than ever these usurious financial icons would be trying to increase the number of people they can “legally” drain. What do I know?
*McCain ~ conviction versus confection – Over the last several years, as America has debated the use of torture, John McCain has consistently spoken out against its. Although the use of torture is prohibited by the U.S. Army Field Manual, agencies such as the CIA have used waterboarding. A bill that has already passed the House was voted on this week in the Senate. It requires that the Army Field Manual be adhered to by all U.S. agencies. Although the bill passed, and will likely be vetoed by Bush, McCain voted against the bill. He voted to allow waterboarding. On October 26, 2007 the NY Times reported: Of presidential candidates like Mr. Giuliani, who say that they are unsure whether waterboarding is torture, Mr. McCain said: “They should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture.” Americablog.com has a video from a recent Republican presidential debate where McCain discusses the use of torture and says, “Life is not 24 and Jack Bauer. I just came back from visiting prisons in Iraq and the Army General there said the techniques under the Army Field Manual are working effectively and he didn’t think they needed anything else. My friends, this is what America is all about.” For McCain what America is really about alters when alteration he finds.
*Sex toys – Now that I have your attention you will be relieved to know that you can once again purchase them in Texas. “A federal appeals court has overturned a Texas statute outlawing sex toy sales...” Why? The statute violated the 14th Amendment on the right to privacy. In its opinion the appeals court said, “the state here (Texas) wants to use its laws to enforce a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct... The case is not about public sex. It is not about controlling commerce in sex. It is about controlling what people do in the privacy of their own homes because the state is morally opposed to a certain type of consensual private intimate conduct.” Hallelujah and pass the batteries.
*Macho Republicans – “The National Park Service has reasonable guidelines about firearms in national parks. It is currently lawful to transport firearms through national parks as long as they are unloaded and stored.” But a pending amendment proposed by Senator John Coburn (R-OK) would allow people to carry loaded weapons in national parks. The organization Care2 provides a petition to senators and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to say NO to the loaded guns in parks amendment at the above link. The senators need our help since it was reported that a number of them believe firearms are prohibited in national parks.
*Trader Joe’s ~ another reason I like shopping there – This food store chain has announced that it will cease importing food products from China due to customers' concerns about the products' safety. I applaud this decision for several reasons: U.S. inspection of imports is questionable; China’s inspection of exports is more than questionable; numerous articles have noted very serious air and water pollution problems in China and their effect on the food supply. Another reason to reduce our purchases of Chinese products is economic. As America’s trade imbalance with China has grown so has the loss of American jobs. Buying American-made and grown products where possible just seems to make sense. Increasing the demand for locally-grown produce makes equal sense.
*Who is going to hell? – I find it interesting that the “values” voters who are so concerned about everyone else’s soul and telling others how to conduct their lives continue to support an unprovoked war, torture, the politicians who voted against raising the minimum wage, the congressmen who opposed SCHIP (health insurance for children), an administration that hides the inadequate care it is providing wounded military, a Party that attempts to suppress the voting rights of minorities and has the unmitigated effrontery to restrict the freedoms of gay men and women in our society. I’ll chance my eternal fate opposing such hypocrisy.
*"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1829)
Friday, December 14, 2007
12/14/07
*On vacation, almost - The Caribbean is not a place for following the news. Enjoying eight days with white sand and blue/green warm waters allows one to relax, renew and separate from the everyday world. However, one news item that came to my attention was the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), the combined intelligence of America’s 16 spy agencies, stating that Iran was not building nuclear weapons. It surprised me because only several weeks ago Bush and Cheyney were calling for World War III to stop Iran from doing what the NIE says they are not doing. Seymour Hersh, highly respected investigative reporter for The New Yorker, says that this information has been circulating at the highest levels of the Bush administration for over a year. Therefore, for many months Bush and Cheyney have been calling for support of military attacks on Iran knowing that their claims were false (Iraq redux). I do not believe for a moment that Iran is one of the good guys. I also do not believe anything that comes out of the lying lips of Bush and Cheney. They screwed our country with the Iraq “weapons of mass destruction” scare your pants off mass fear hysteria. What I do not understand is how they allowed the American intelligence community to release the truth. It is most curious. The Bush/Cheney history has been one of extreme secrecy, state secrets and a stranglehold on the truth about their machinations. Did these intelligence agencies act on their own to avoid duplicating the Iraq debacle?
*A new record ~ for hate – I received a fundraising call from the Southern Poverty Law Center. I have supported this organization for about 15 years because of their important work identifying, exposing and working against hate and extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis and Racist Skinheads. An equally important activity of the SPLCenter is its Teaching Tolerance programs for teachers of K-12 and other educators to promote respect for differences and an appreciation of diversity. The telephone solicitor pointed out the need for funds because the hate groups that they track are at a record number of 840. Twenty-one hate groups are identified in my state of Pennsylvania. I accept the sorrowful fact that racism and homophobia have a permanency in our society BUT, 840 hate groups in the United States of America is an unsettling number and an ugly statement about the somewhat delusional self-concept we profess about diversity and freedoms.
*The Lone Star state of pandering – The director of science curriculum for the state of Texas was forced to resign because she opposed the religious right’s attempt to force feed intelligent design into the curriculum. Offering agenda driven pseudo-science as an alternative to scientifically proven evolution reminds one of the Catholic church threatening Galileo with torture and excommunication when his scientific theories contradicted church teaching. I find John Aravosis’ comment at americablog.com engaging: “May all of your children be educated believing the uneducated garbage these people believe, and then may their children compete against the children of my friends and family for jobs.“ The religious right is welcome to believe whatever their narrow little hearts and minds divine. That is a freedom provided in the U.S. Constitution. The wheels fall off their wagon when they attempt to make their obfuscations mandatory for all citizens. That is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. Our founding fathers intentionally conceived a secular system to avoid the foibles and detriments of the preaching profits (sic). Amen.
*Business’ Best Bud Bush – Anticipating the end of the Bush administration, business and their lobbyists are nervously rushing to get favorable regulations approved. Some examples: “trucking companies are trying to get final approval for a rule increasing the maximum number of hours commercial truck drivers can work; automakers are trying to persuade officials to set new standards for the strength of car roofs — standards far less stringent than what consumer advocates say is needed to protect riders in a rollover; coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys; a priority for many employers in 2008 is to secure changes in the rules for family and medical leave; the National Chicken Council and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association have petitioned for an exemption from laws and rules that require them to report emissions of ammonia exceeding 100 pounds a day; the EPA is drafting final rules that would allow utility companies to modify coal-fired power plants and increase their emissions without installing new pollution-control equipment.” Drug companies and defense contractors are especially concerned about Democrats controlling congress and the White House. The American consumer has not had a friend in the White House since Bush took residency (“enemy” would be a more accurate characterization). The end of the Bush presidency bodes well for policies and regulations that protect Americans in the marketplace and the environment.
*Good news for cell phone users – Cell phone carriers are relenting on some of their greedy policies (due to law suits and public outrage). The $200 penalty for cancelling your agreement they claim was justified because they subsidized the cost of the phone. However, that same $200 penalty was in effect if you cancelled you agreement after 1 month or after 23 months. Under a new policy some carriers will prorate the penalty so that the longer you keep the agreement the lower will be the cancellation penalty. Another greed-driven policy was if you made a change to you agreement, for example, one year into the 2-year plan, the plan would begin a new 2-year waiting period from the date of the change to avoid penalties. This policy is also being adjusted as long as the change does not involve a new phone. One would think that the FCC would have had some say about such usurious policies but we have learned the hard way that “our” government does not really work for us. Reference credit card companies policies and interest charges. We may elect them but that is where the fiduciary relationship ends.
*Guantanamo’s ambulance chasers – Six years have passed during which time there have been 775 detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. To date the military tribunal installed by the Bush administration has successfully prosecuted 1 (one) person. If memory serves me that individual was an Australian citizen who cut a deal so that his prison time could be served in Australia. Making this even more remarkable is that these detainees receive very limited defense representation and are not permitted to examine the evidence against them or know their accusers. What is not remarkable is that it is as pathetic, ill-conceived and ineffective as everything else that has the Bush imprimatur. This is the “justice” that results when a democratic legal system is abandoned. This is an excellent example of why we cannot allow our government to spy on us without a proper court order and operate outside the legal system. Either incompetence or iniquity will prevail.
*Idiot of the Week ~ Meet Sen. Kitt Bond (R-MO) – While appearing on PBS’ The News Hour Senator Bond stated that we should not talk about waterboarding (even though he says it is not being done) because this will allow the enemy to adapt to it. Could there be any truth to the rumor that al Qaeda has hired Acapulco cliff divers to train them to hold their breath for 19 minutes – which is actually longer than Sen. Bond is conscious each day?
*My new punching bag (move over Rudy) ~ Meet Mike Huckabee – The surging Republican presidential candidate has all of the qualities that would appeal to a citizen living in the Middle Ages. What brings him to my attention at the moment is information we learned this week. In 1985 the federal government had publicly concluded that AIDS was not spread through casual contact. In 1992 Huckabee stated, "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague. . . . It is difficult to understand the public policy toward AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population . . ." When Huckabee was asked on FOX News this week about this statement that gays should be quarantined he replied, “I didn’t say that we should quarantine.” For someone with a fascist mentality Mr. Huckabee is quite the smooth talker.
*Life is important ~ until you are born – For the second time in recent months President Bush vetoed bi-partisan legislation providing health insurance for children of poor families. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provides coverage for 6 million poor children (reducing the number of uninsured children by a third) and has been one of the few successful healthcare programs in recent years. Bush is fond of lecturing about the sanctity of life of unborn babies and in the same vein opposed stem cell research. That deep concern evaporates once the birth takes place. In 2004 when Bush was campaigning for re-election he said, “America’s children must also have a healthy start in life. In a new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government’s health insurance programs. We will not allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need.” Democrats and Republicans, in the House and the Senate, supported this legislation. The only opposition was Bush the Decider. Reference “lying lips”.
*Answering a question – “The parents of an Iraq war veteran who committed suicide and members of Congress on Wednesday questioned why there's not a comprehensive tracking system of suicide among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.” To me the answer is and has been obvious. Since day one of the Iraq invasion the people responsible for initiating this war have not given a crap about the young men and women sent into battle. And, if possible, the lack of concern about the welfare of our troops diminishes further when they return from duty. Inadequate health and mental care, not ensuring that former jobs are made available (it is a law not enforced by the Justice Department) and defeating legislation that would have increased educational benefits for veterans have been the norm for the Bush administration. Every time I hear a Bush operative pontificate about supporting the troops my skin crawls. Deplorable, reprehensible, criminal and shameful characterize their actions.
*The homogenization of church and state - I deemed it strange enough when Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) introduced a resolution that Christmas and Christians are important. You can read the full text of the resolution at this link. Where this story really goes off the road is that the House of Representatives actually held a vote on the resolution. At one time I thought that a few members of congress had little concept of our Constitution. I now believe that a random sampling of illegal immigrants would score higher on an American civics quiz than these morons running our government. Appearing on FOX News King said,” I recognized that we’re a Christian nation founded on Christian principles, and we’re coming up to Christmastime. … It’s time we stood up and said so, and said to the rest of America, Be who you are and be confident. And let’s worship Christ and let’s celebrate Christmas for the right reasons.” Next year I expect Rep. King to introduce legislation requiring that one’s voter registration card must be velcroed to one’s bible to be valid.
*Living in glass houses – A national co-chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign said, “Democrats should give more thought to Sen. Barack Obama's admissions of illegal drug use before they pick a presidential candidate.” Obama has written about and discussed his experimenting with drugs and alcohol in high school and advises young people that he regrets having wasted a lot of time. Should this be criteria for choosing a president? Bill Clinton admitted that in college he smoked pot and although he puffed he did not inhale. He eventually admitted that he was puffed in the Oval Office by an intern. Overall he was a relatively good president and leader. George W. Bush has a history of drug and alcohol abuse while an adult. He will be judged as the worst president in U.S. history. I feel that most of us have a history of some type of “experimentation”. My focus on presidential candidates is their ability to lead and to understand their policies and visions. Indiscretions in high school and college have little to do with the mark of an adult other than to provide political campaign fodder.
*Another opposite result – “After the invasion of Iraq, the US government claimed that women there had 'new rights and new hopes'. In fact their lives have become immeasurably worse, with rapes, burnings and murders now a daily occurrence.” This is the introduction to a Special Report on Iraq that appeared in the Guardian (England). The following excerpt is disquieting and another indictment of what the U.S. invasion has inflicted upon the Iraqi people: “Even under Saddam, women in Iraq - including in semi-autonomous Kurdistan - were widely recognised as among the most liberated in the Middle East. They held important positions in business, education and the public sector, and their rights were protected by a statutory family law that was the envy of women's activists in neighbouring countries. But since the 2003 invasion, advances that took 50 years to establish are crumbling away. In much of the country, women can only now move around with a male escort. Rape is committed habitually by all the main armed groups, including those linked to the government. Women are being murdered throughout Iraq in unprecedented numbers.” This is the culture to which Bush confidently introduced “democracy”.
*Despicable company of the week – With much competition the number 2 hamburger chain in the world Burger King earns this dishonor. They are paying their farm workers to pick tomatoes for under $5.00 an hour – a rate that has not changed in almost 30 years. Workers must average 10 hours a day and pick 2 tons of tomatoes to earn $50. While McDonalds, Taco Bell and other chains have recently committed to higher wages and better working conditions Burger King is having it their way and resisting ethical and humane changes. A petition urging BK to change its ways can be signed at this link.
"I must do something" always solves more problems than "Something must be done."
Author Unknown
*A new record ~ for hate – I received a fundraising call from the Southern Poverty Law Center. I have supported this organization for about 15 years because of their important work identifying, exposing and working against hate and extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis and Racist Skinheads. An equally important activity of the SPLCenter is its Teaching Tolerance programs for teachers of K-12 and other educators to promote respect for differences and an appreciation of diversity. The telephone solicitor pointed out the need for funds because the hate groups that they track are at a record number of 840. Twenty-one hate groups are identified in my state of Pennsylvania. I accept the sorrowful fact that racism and homophobia have a permanency in our society BUT, 840 hate groups in the United States of America is an unsettling number and an ugly statement about the somewhat delusional self-concept we profess about diversity and freedoms.
*The Lone Star state of pandering – The director of science curriculum for the state of Texas was forced to resign because she opposed the religious right’s attempt to force feed intelligent design into the curriculum. Offering agenda driven pseudo-science as an alternative to scientifically proven evolution reminds one of the Catholic church threatening Galileo with torture and excommunication when his scientific theories contradicted church teaching. I find John Aravosis’ comment at americablog.com engaging: “May all of your children be educated believing the uneducated garbage these people believe, and then may their children compete against the children of my friends and family for jobs.“ The religious right is welcome to believe whatever their narrow little hearts and minds divine. That is a freedom provided in the U.S. Constitution. The wheels fall off their wagon when they attempt to make their obfuscations mandatory for all citizens. That is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. Our founding fathers intentionally conceived a secular system to avoid the foibles and detriments of the preaching profits (sic). Amen.
*Business’ Best Bud Bush – Anticipating the end of the Bush administration, business and their lobbyists are nervously rushing to get favorable regulations approved. Some examples: “trucking companies are trying to get final approval for a rule increasing the maximum number of hours commercial truck drivers can work; automakers are trying to persuade officials to set new standards for the strength of car roofs — standards far less stringent than what consumer advocates say is needed to protect riders in a rollover; coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys; a priority for many employers in 2008 is to secure changes in the rules for family and medical leave; the National Chicken Council and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association have petitioned for an exemption from laws and rules that require them to report emissions of ammonia exceeding 100 pounds a day; the EPA is drafting final rules that would allow utility companies to modify coal-fired power plants and increase their emissions without installing new pollution-control equipment.” Drug companies and defense contractors are especially concerned about Democrats controlling congress and the White House. The American consumer has not had a friend in the White House since Bush took residency (“enemy” would be a more accurate characterization). The end of the Bush presidency bodes well for policies and regulations that protect Americans in the marketplace and the environment.
*Good news for cell phone users – Cell phone carriers are relenting on some of their greedy policies (due to law suits and public outrage). The $200 penalty for cancelling your agreement they claim was justified because they subsidized the cost of the phone. However, that same $200 penalty was in effect if you cancelled you agreement after 1 month or after 23 months. Under a new policy some carriers will prorate the penalty so that the longer you keep the agreement the lower will be the cancellation penalty. Another greed-driven policy was if you made a change to you agreement, for example, one year into the 2-year plan, the plan would begin a new 2-year waiting period from the date of the change to avoid penalties. This policy is also being adjusted as long as the change does not involve a new phone. One would think that the FCC would have had some say about such usurious policies but we have learned the hard way that “our” government does not really work for us. Reference credit card companies policies and interest charges. We may elect them but that is where the fiduciary relationship ends.
*Guantanamo’s ambulance chasers – Six years have passed during which time there have been 775 detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. To date the military tribunal installed by the Bush administration has successfully prosecuted 1 (one) person. If memory serves me that individual was an Australian citizen who cut a deal so that his prison time could be served in Australia. Making this even more remarkable is that these detainees receive very limited defense representation and are not permitted to examine the evidence against them or know their accusers. What is not remarkable is that it is as pathetic, ill-conceived and ineffective as everything else that has the Bush imprimatur. This is the “justice” that results when a democratic legal system is abandoned. This is an excellent example of why we cannot allow our government to spy on us without a proper court order and operate outside the legal system. Either incompetence or iniquity will prevail.
*Idiot of the Week ~ Meet Sen. Kitt Bond (R-MO) – While appearing on PBS’ The News Hour Senator Bond stated that we should not talk about waterboarding (even though he says it is not being done) because this will allow the enemy to adapt to it. Could there be any truth to the rumor that al Qaeda has hired Acapulco cliff divers to train them to hold their breath for 19 minutes – which is actually longer than Sen. Bond is conscious each day?
*My new punching bag (move over Rudy) ~ Meet Mike Huckabee – The surging Republican presidential candidate has all of the qualities that would appeal to a citizen living in the Middle Ages. What brings him to my attention at the moment is information we learned this week. In 1985 the federal government had publicly concluded that AIDS was not spread through casual contact. In 1992 Huckabee stated, "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague. . . . It is difficult to understand the public policy toward AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population . . ." When Huckabee was asked on FOX News this week about this statement that gays should be quarantined he replied, “I didn’t say that we should quarantine.” For someone with a fascist mentality Mr. Huckabee is quite the smooth talker.
*Life is important ~ until you are born – For the second time in recent months President Bush vetoed bi-partisan legislation providing health insurance for children of poor families. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provides coverage for 6 million poor children (reducing the number of uninsured children by a third) and has been one of the few successful healthcare programs in recent years. Bush is fond of lecturing about the sanctity of life of unborn babies and in the same vein opposed stem cell research. That deep concern evaporates once the birth takes place. In 2004 when Bush was campaigning for re-election he said, “America’s children must also have a healthy start in life. In a new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government’s health insurance programs. We will not allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need.” Democrats and Republicans, in the House and the Senate, supported this legislation. The only opposition was Bush the Decider. Reference “lying lips”.
*Answering a question – “The parents of an Iraq war veteran who committed suicide and members of Congress on Wednesday questioned why there's not a comprehensive tracking system of suicide among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.” To me the answer is and has been obvious. Since day one of the Iraq invasion the people responsible for initiating this war have not given a crap about the young men and women sent into battle. And, if possible, the lack of concern about the welfare of our troops diminishes further when they return from duty. Inadequate health and mental care, not ensuring that former jobs are made available (it is a law not enforced by the Justice Department) and defeating legislation that would have increased educational benefits for veterans have been the norm for the Bush administration. Every time I hear a Bush operative pontificate about supporting the troops my skin crawls. Deplorable, reprehensible, criminal and shameful characterize their actions.
*The homogenization of church and state - I deemed it strange enough when Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) introduced a resolution that Christmas and Christians are important. You can read the full text of the resolution at this link. Where this story really goes off the road is that the House of Representatives actually held a vote on the resolution. At one time I thought that a few members of congress had little concept of our Constitution. I now believe that a random sampling of illegal immigrants would score higher on an American civics quiz than these morons running our government. Appearing on FOX News King said,” I recognized that we’re a Christian nation founded on Christian principles, and we’re coming up to Christmastime. … It’s time we stood up and said so, and said to the rest of America, Be who you are and be confident. And let’s worship Christ and let’s celebrate Christmas for the right reasons.” Next year I expect Rep. King to introduce legislation requiring that one’s voter registration card must be velcroed to one’s bible to be valid.
*Living in glass houses – A national co-chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign said, “Democrats should give more thought to Sen. Barack Obama's admissions of illegal drug use before they pick a presidential candidate.” Obama has written about and discussed his experimenting with drugs and alcohol in high school and advises young people that he regrets having wasted a lot of time. Should this be criteria for choosing a president? Bill Clinton admitted that in college he smoked pot and although he puffed he did not inhale. He eventually admitted that he was puffed in the Oval Office by an intern. Overall he was a relatively good president and leader. George W. Bush has a history of drug and alcohol abuse while an adult. He will be judged as the worst president in U.S. history. I feel that most of us have a history of some type of “experimentation”. My focus on presidential candidates is their ability to lead and to understand their policies and visions. Indiscretions in high school and college have little to do with the mark of an adult other than to provide political campaign fodder.
*Another opposite result – “After the invasion of Iraq, the US government claimed that women there had 'new rights and new hopes'. In fact their lives have become immeasurably worse, with rapes, burnings and murders now a daily occurrence.” This is the introduction to a Special Report on Iraq that appeared in the Guardian (England). The following excerpt is disquieting and another indictment of what the U.S. invasion has inflicted upon the Iraqi people: “Even under Saddam, women in Iraq - including in semi-autonomous Kurdistan - were widely recognised as among the most liberated in the Middle East. They held important positions in business, education and the public sector, and their rights were protected by a statutory family law that was the envy of women's activists in neighbouring countries. But since the 2003 invasion, advances that took 50 years to establish are crumbling away. In much of the country, women can only now move around with a male escort. Rape is committed habitually by all the main armed groups, including those linked to the government. Women are being murdered throughout Iraq in unprecedented numbers.” This is the culture to which Bush confidently introduced “democracy”.
*Despicable company of the week – With much competition the number 2 hamburger chain in the world Burger King earns this dishonor. They are paying their farm workers to pick tomatoes for under $5.00 an hour – a rate that has not changed in almost 30 years. Workers must average 10 hours a day and pick 2 tons of tomatoes to earn $50. While McDonalds, Taco Bell and other chains have recently committed to higher wages and better working conditions Burger King is having it their way and resisting ethical and humane changes. A petition urging BK to change its ways can be signed at this link.
"I must do something" always solves more problems than "Something must be done."
Author Unknown
Saturday, September 29, 2007
9/29/07
*Celebrating Bono – Heroes can be as scarce as truth. This week the Constitution Center in Philadelphia awarded the Liberty Medal to an unlikely Irish rock star of U2 fame. It is important that we learn about the accomplishments of this amazing individual. He is a symbol of how the human spirit can be channeled to benefit tens of millions of human beings suffering from poverty, disease, lack of education and miniscule opportunity. The organization that Bono helped found only 5 years ago, DATA, has brought together world leaders, countries and average citizens to make a major impact on Africa. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of DATA said these efforts “have supported Africans to support themselves.” When the honor roll of remarkable people of the 21st century is assembled, You Too, Bono, will be so remembered.
*Celebrating America – I just returned from horseback riding with a very close friend. It is one of the most beautiful days of the year. It reminded me that although it is too easy to criticize many of the things occurring in our country, there is not a better place to live in the world. Given the safety, freedoms and standard of living that most of us enjoy I at times wonder if there has ever been a better time and place to have existed on this planet. It is because of this special gift that we share that we must be vigilant and proactive. What we have inherited must not be intentionally or unintentionally dissipated and deprived from our children and their children.
*An interesting question – The droll comedian Steven Wright once posed the question, “What do you add to powdered water?” It came to mind when I pondered what our country will do about Iraq. President Bush will retire having bequeathed this debacle to the next administration and the country. Then what?
*Those damn kids! - Bush plans to ask congress for $200 billion more for the Iraq war. He is also planning to veto bipartisan legislation that would provide health insurance for 10 million children. The insurance would cost $12 billion annually, an amount equal to 41 days of Iraq funding. One day of Iraq funding would insure 246,000 children. One hour would insure over 10,000 children. One minute of Iraq war funding, sixty seconds, would insure 166 children.
*Louisiana gumbo – Recall Senator David Vitter (R-LA) the married “family values” guy exposed for multiple involvement with prostitutes. The New Orleans Times Picayune reports that he recently placed an earmark in a spending bill that gave $100,000 to a creationist group in Louisiana to push creationism in public schools. The recipient of the earmark is Louisiana Family Forum (LFF). Among their core values ...”life-long, faithful marriage is the first Human institution ordained by God and therefore, the basic, irreducible building block of society. We believe the value of marriage in a community will determine that community’s health, happiness, productivity and safety.” Politics and money sure make strange bedfellows. Attention LFF, “bedfellow” is not an accusation of homosexuality, it is an accusation of hypocrisy. (credit to dailykos.com for the background on this topic).
*Waterloo 3, The God gap – Last week I noted 2 developments that indicate the Republican future is not especially bright. Here is another interesting one. The so-called “God gap”—the 20-point advantage Republicans have held for a decade among Americans who attend religious services once a week or more—has been virtually cut in half, down from 22 points in 2004 to 12 points in 2006, according to the National Election Pool exit polls covering U.S. House races nationwide. Republican presidential candidates have decided to ignore Blacks and Latinos and concentrate on their perceived base. It appears that there are a lot of empty seats in the pews.
*The irony surrounding Nader - I found John Aravosis’ observations (americablog.com) concerning Ralph Nader running for President as an independent most interesting. Many feel that George W. Bush won the presidency because of the Democratic votes that Nader garnered instead of the votes going to Al Gore. As a result, many of the issues that Nader has spent his career trying to improve, product safety, the environment and the excessive influence of corporations have all deteriorated under the Bush administration. The topic has arisen because Nader is considering another presidential run. I understand the fact that he is unhappy with both political parties. Who isn’t? However, with absolutely no chance of winning a presidential election Mr. Nader must address what is the greater good. Diluting the Democratic vote possibly resulted in a Republican administration that trashed his goals. Will he chance it again?
*Oil industry oversight is an oil slick – I have been commenting on the failure of the federal government in its policing and oversight responsibilities. No better example is the Interior Department and its mission to collect billions of dollars annually from gas and oil companies that drill on federal land. An independent inspector’s report found that the Minerals Management Service “is troubled by mismanagement, ethical lapses and fears of retaliation against whistle-blowers. ...investigators found a “profound failure” in the agency’s technology for monitoring oil and gas payments”. This report brings to mind an event at the beginning of the Bush administration when VP Cheney held secret meetings with oil company executives to develop a U.S. energy policy. Secret. The Bush-Cheney-Republican-Oil Industry cabal represents as great a concern for Americans as does OPEC. The primary difference is that the OPEC cartel functions more in the public view.
*Mr. Potato Head – The man from Idaho, Senator Larry Craig (R), is an interesting study. In spite of being arrested recently for homosexual solicitation, this week he voted against the Matthew Shepard Act. The legislation expands federal hate crimes laws to include violence based on a victim's sexual orientation, gender, disability, and other factors. He voted against protecting himself.
*Not even a band aid - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal in the spring revealed how ill-prepared our country is to take care of wounded military. Bush and members of congress promised to fix the problem. A new report by the Government Accountability Office found “the response to shoddy outpatient treatment at Walter Reed has been woefully inadequate….there has been little progress in rectifying staffing shortfalls, facilitating VA/DoD data sharing, and streamlining disability evaluation systems. Processing disability payments still takes an average of 177 days.” Seven months have passed and there has been little improvement. The President is what he is but the new Congress is a big disappointment. Regardless of one’s stance on the Iraq war caring for wounded military is not a political issue. It has become an issue of shame.
*Derriere Orifice of the Week ~ fools Rush in - Conservative radio talk show host and egomaniacal blowhard Rush Limbaugh said that those troops who come home and want to get America out of the middle of the religious civil war in Iraq are "phony soldiers" On tomorrow’s show Limbaugh will probably state that these brave men and women deserve the phony medical care they receive at Walter Reed.
*Chasing windmills ~ A Resolution– The Senate just condemned MoveOn for an advertisement. On Monday a resolution will be introduced in the House condemning Limbaugh for the “phony soldiers” remark. Today I submit the following resolution: We the people condemn the Senate and the House for taking the time to discuss and vote on meaningless resolutions that ignore free speech and that have absolutely nothing to do with addressing the problems confronting the United States of America.
*Flash observations:
~President Bush told a NYC school class, "Childrens do learn." It seems that adults dunt.
~President Bush’s nominee for General Counsel for the CIA, John Rizzo, has withdrawn his name from nomination. He is the man who wrote the memo “acceptable” interrogation techniques or, as sentient human beings would say, “torture”. We can hope that in the next administration his memo will have a similar demise.
~ A new trend in beauty-conscious Venezuela is to give girls breast implants for their 15th birthday. What ever happened to charm bracelets?
~If you are concerned with the dominant role the right and the religious right have had on the national discourse you may want to visit the web site People for the American Way. Their area of emphasis includes; independent judiciary, constitutional liberties, civil rights and equal rights; religious freedom.
~Bill Maher has very interesting comments at the Huffington Post. New Rule: Stop saying Iraq is another Vietnam, it is another Enron. He details some of the whistleblowers of Iraq mis-spending and their vilification.
~If Republican Senator Ted Stevens is to be given credit it is for fortitude and consistency. His Alaskan “bridge to nowhere” linking two little populated areas at a cost of $452 million has been scrapped. His solution is a high-speed ferry at a cost of $83 million, twice what the Navy estimated the cost to be. Of course the Navy did not budget kickbacks and payoffs to family, friends, lobbyists and political supporters.
~A House Oversight hearing found that a key reason why six nuclear warheads were loaded onto a cross-country military flight was a simple error: the Air Force base of departure stored its fake nuclear warheads with its real nuclear warheads. I would say simple and effective. A plan so stealth it fooled themselves.
~In June the House passed a bill that would strengthen background checks on gun buyers. The Sensate version, National Instant Check System (NICS) Improvement Act has been put on “hold” by Republican (surprise?) Senator Tom Coburn (OK). You can send emails to your senators from the Brady Campaign web site urging them to pass this important legislation.
*Some idealism and accountability would not hurt - The law requires candidates for the White House and members and candidates for the House of Representatives to file their campaign finance reports electronically. The Senate has attempted to pass a similar law. Each time it is brought up for consideration Republicans block it. If an elected official is not for transparency they should not be in office.
*Gung ho Genghis Khans - Republican senators Kyl (R-AZ) and Lieberman (R-at-large) have offered an amendment to a defense bill that would escalate the possibility of a military attack on Iran. These armchair warriors join Bush and Cheney to demonstrate who has the biggest trigger. Our aggressive militarism and impotent diplomacy have failed miserably. Solution – stay the course and kick it up a notch. In a mind-boggling vote 75% of the Senate voted for the amendment. Have they learned nothing from earlier votes that enabled the Bush-Neocon juggernaut? Please do not send emails telling me that Lieberman is not a Republican.
*Fantasia? - The Bush administration has made many accusations against Iran over the past year concerning its involvement with and weapons supply of Iraq Shiite militia. The media, almost joyously, repeat these claims. Less-mainstream media and a variety of experts have questioned the accuracy of such statements. Recall that claims about Iraq in 2002 were a crock of material scooped from the bull pen at the Crawford ranch. I do not doubt that the Iranian leadership presents a real danger to the Middle East and the world. I question whether our government is providing the truth. Tinker Bell and a government looking out for our best interests are both fantasies in the first decade of the 21st Century in America.
*Another corner, another shell game - We are 4 years into the Iraq war and Defense Secretary Gates tells congress that he has ordered U.S. military commanders in Iraq to crack down on any abuses they uncover by private security contractors. One of the primary functions of the contractors is to provide security for U.S. officials. No one leaves the Green Zone without a full security force. These contractors have operated with impunity and were suspected of abuses well before the most recent Blackwater incident. The abuses have been ignored because the US operation in Iraq cannot function without these contractors, mercenaries making more money than U.S. military personnel. In most cases they are former military and Gates admits that they lure soldiers with the higher wages. The Pentagon claims to have 180,000 U.S. troops on the ground but the Iraq operation is actually using a total of 350,000 people between military and contractors. The real surge began over 3 years ago when these contractors were authorized.
*Go global, go private, gone – Although little publicized, Blackwater (yes, that Blackwater), Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Arinc were recently awarded a collective $15 billion from the Pentagon to conduct global counter-narcotics operations. Yes, 15 followed by nine zeroes. Whatever happened to our army, our police force, our federal agents? Answer - the same thing that happened to U.S. domestic manufacturing – outsourced.
*Guantanamo Bay is an anathema to democratic principles and American tradition. It is symbolic of America’s deteriorating moral position and leadership position in the world community. It is symbolic of the misguided, poorly managed and amoral approach the Bush administration has taken to “protect” America. Our President is fond of pontificating about the “evil” governments of Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria and most recently Myanmar. These are in fact dangerous regimes. However, our President has not looked in the mirror. Some of what he accuses these governments of doing are also being committed by himself under the banner “fighting terrorism.” While Mr. Bush is “defending” America he is also seriously damaging its heart – democracy. Amnesty International has a web site Tearitdown.org where you can sign a petition promoting human rights and advocating the elimination of Guantanamo and its practices.
*”You do not have to become a monster to defeat a monster.”
Bono, in remarks accepting the Liberty Medal on September 27, 2007
*Celebrating America – I just returned from horseback riding with a very close friend. It is one of the most beautiful days of the year. It reminded me that although it is too easy to criticize many of the things occurring in our country, there is not a better place to live in the world. Given the safety, freedoms and standard of living that most of us enjoy I at times wonder if there has ever been a better time and place to have existed on this planet. It is because of this special gift that we share that we must be vigilant and proactive. What we have inherited must not be intentionally or unintentionally dissipated and deprived from our children and their children.
*An interesting question – The droll comedian Steven Wright once posed the question, “What do you add to powdered water?” It came to mind when I pondered what our country will do about Iraq. President Bush will retire having bequeathed this debacle to the next administration and the country. Then what?
*Those damn kids! - Bush plans to ask congress for $200 billion more for the Iraq war. He is also planning to veto bipartisan legislation that would provide health insurance for 10 million children. The insurance would cost $12 billion annually, an amount equal to 41 days of Iraq funding. One day of Iraq funding would insure 246,000 children. One hour would insure over 10,000 children. One minute of Iraq war funding, sixty seconds, would insure 166 children.
*Louisiana gumbo – Recall Senator David Vitter (R-LA) the married “family values” guy exposed for multiple involvement with prostitutes. The New Orleans Times Picayune reports that he recently placed an earmark in a spending bill that gave $100,000 to a creationist group in Louisiana to push creationism in public schools. The recipient of the earmark is Louisiana Family Forum (LFF). Among their core values ...”life-long, faithful marriage is the first Human institution ordained by God and therefore, the basic, irreducible building block of society. We believe the value of marriage in a community will determine that community’s health, happiness, productivity and safety.” Politics and money sure make strange bedfellows. Attention LFF, “bedfellow” is not an accusation of homosexuality, it is an accusation of hypocrisy. (credit to dailykos.com for the background on this topic).
*Waterloo 3, The God gap – Last week I noted 2 developments that indicate the Republican future is not especially bright. Here is another interesting one. The so-called “God gap”—the 20-point advantage Republicans have held for a decade among Americans who attend religious services once a week or more—has been virtually cut in half, down from 22 points in 2004 to 12 points in 2006, according to the National Election Pool exit polls covering U.S. House races nationwide. Republican presidential candidates have decided to ignore Blacks and Latinos and concentrate on their perceived base. It appears that there are a lot of empty seats in the pews.
*The irony surrounding Nader - I found John Aravosis’ observations (americablog.com) concerning Ralph Nader running for President as an independent most interesting. Many feel that George W. Bush won the presidency because of the Democratic votes that Nader garnered instead of the votes going to Al Gore. As a result, many of the issues that Nader has spent his career trying to improve, product safety, the environment and the excessive influence of corporations have all deteriorated under the Bush administration. The topic has arisen because Nader is considering another presidential run. I understand the fact that he is unhappy with both political parties. Who isn’t? However, with absolutely no chance of winning a presidential election Mr. Nader must address what is the greater good. Diluting the Democratic vote possibly resulted in a Republican administration that trashed his goals. Will he chance it again?
*Oil industry oversight is an oil slick – I have been commenting on the failure of the federal government in its policing and oversight responsibilities. No better example is the Interior Department and its mission to collect billions of dollars annually from gas and oil companies that drill on federal land. An independent inspector’s report found that the Minerals Management Service “is troubled by mismanagement, ethical lapses and fears of retaliation against whistle-blowers. ...investigators found a “profound failure” in the agency’s technology for monitoring oil and gas payments”. This report brings to mind an event at the beginning of the Bush administration when VP Cheney held secret meetings with oil company executives to develop a U.S. energy policy. Secret. The Bush-Cheney-Republican-Oil Industry cabal represents as great a concern for Americans as does OPEC. The primary difference is that the OPEC cartel functions more in the public view.
*Mr. Potato Head – The man from Idaho, Senator Larry Craig (R), is an interesting study. In spite of being arrested recently for homosexual solicitation, this week he voted against the Matthew Shepard Act. The legislation expands federal hate crimes laws to include violence based on a victim's sexual orientation, gender, disability, and other factors. He voted against protecting himself.
*Not even a band aid - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal in the spring revealed how ill-prepared our country is to take care of wounded military. Bush and members of congress promised to fix the problem. A new report by the Government Accountability Office found “the response to shoddy outpatient treatment at Walter Reed has been woefully inadequate….there has been little progress in rectifying staffing shortfalls, facilitating VA/DoD data sharing, and streamlining disability evaluation systems. Processing disability payments still takes an average of 177 days.” Seven months have passed and there has been little improvement. The President is what he is but the new Congress is a big disappointment. Regardless of one’s stance on the Iraq war caring for wounded military is not a political issue. It has become an issue of shame.
*Derriere Orifice of the Week ~ fools Rush in - Conservative radio talk show host and egomaniacal blowhard Rush Limbaugh said that those troops who come home and want to get America out of the middle of the religious civil war in Iraq are "phony soldiers" On tomorrow’s show Limbaugh will probably state that these brave men and women deserve the phony medical care they receive at Walter Reed.
*Chasing windmills ~ A Resolution– The Senate just condemned MoveOn for an advertisement. On Monday a resolution will be introduced in the House condemning Limbaugh for the “phony soldiers” remark. Today I submit the following resolution: We the people condemn the Senate and the House for taking the time to discuss and vote on meaningless resolutions that ignore free speech and that have absolutely nothing to do with addressing the problems confronting the United States of America.
*Flash observations:
~President Bush told a NYC school class, "Childrens do learn." It seems that adults dunt.
~President Bush’s nominee for General Counsel for the CIA, John Rizzo, has withdrawn his name from nomination. He is the man who wrote the memo “acceptable” interrogation techniques or, as sentient human beings would say, “torture”. We can hope that in the next administration his memo will have a similar demise.
~ A new trend in beauty-conscious Venezuela is to give girls breast implants for their 15th birthday. What ever happened to charm bracelets?
~If you are concerned with the dominant role the right and the religious right have had on the national discourse you may want to visit the web site People for the American Way. Their area of emphasis includes; independent judiciary, constitutional liberties, civil rights and equal rights; religious freedom.
~Bill Maher has very interesting comments at the Huffington Post. New Rule: Stop saying Iraq is another Vietnam, it is another Enron. He details some of the whistleblowers of Iraq mis-spending and their vilification.
~If Republican Senator Ted Stevens is to be given credit it is for fortitude and consistency. His Alaskan “bridge to nowhere” linking two little populated areas at a cost of $452 million has been scrapped. His solution is a high-speed ferry at a cost of $83 million, twice what the Navy estimated the cost to be. Of course the Navy did not budget kickbacks and payoffs to family, friends, lobbyists and political supporters.
~A House Oversight hearing found that a key reason why six nuclear warheads were loaded onto a cross-country military flight was a simple error: the Air Force base of departure stored its fake nuclear warheads with its real nuclear warheads. I would say simple and effective. A plan so stealth it fooled themselves.
~In June the House passed a bill that would strengthen background checks on gun buyers. The Sensate version, National Instant Check System (NICS) Improvement Act has been put on “hold” by Republican (surprise?) Senator Tom Coburn (OK). You can send emails to your senators from the Brady Campaign web site urging them to pass this important legislation.
*Some idealism and accountability would not hurt - The law requires candidates for the White House and members and candidates for the House of Representatives to file their campaign finance reports electronically. The Senate has attempted to pass a similar law. Each time it is brought up for consideration Republicans block it. If an elected official is not for transparency they should not be in office.
*Gung ho Genghis Khans - Republican senators Kyl (R-AZ) and Lieberman (R-at-large) have offered an amendment to a defense bill that would escalate the possibility of a military attack on Iran. These armchair warriors join Bush and Cheney to demonstrate who has the biggest trigger. Our aggressive militarism and impotent diplomacy have failed miserably. Solution – stay the course and kick it up a notch. In a mind-boggling vote 75% of the Senate voted for the amendment. Have they learned nothing from earlier votes that enabled the Bush-Neocon juggernaut? Please do not send emails telling me that Lieberman is not a Republican.
*Fantasia? - The Bush administration has made many accusations against Iran over the past year concerning its involvement with and weapons supply of Iraq Shiite militia. The media, almost joyously, repeat these claims. Less-mainstream media and a variety of experts have questioned the accuracy of such statements. Recall that claims about Iraq in 2002 were a crock of material scooped from the bull pen at the Crawford ranch. I do not doubt that the Iranian leadership presents a real danger to the Middle East and the world. I question whether our government is providing the truth. Tinker Bell and a government looking out for our best interests are both fantasies in the first decade of the 21st Century in America.
*Another corner, another shell game - We are 4 years into the Iraq war and Defense Secretary Gates tells congress that he has ordered U.S. military commanders in Iraq to crack down on any abuses they uncover by private security contractors. One of the primary functions of the contractors is to provide security for U.S. officials. No one leaves the Green Zone without a full security force. These contractors have operated with impunity and were suspected of abuses well before the most recent Blackwater incident. The abuses have been ignored because the US operation in Iraq cannot function without these contractors, mercenaries making more money than U.S. military personnel. In most cases they are former military and Gates admits that they lure soldiers with the higher wages. The Pentagon claims to have 180,000 U.S. troops on the ground but the Iraq operation is actually using a total of 350,000 people between military and contractors. The real surge began over 3 years ago when these contractors were authorized.
*Go global, go private, gone – Although little publicized, Blackwater (yes, that Blackwater), Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Arinc were recently awarded a collective $15 billion from the Pentagon to conduct global counter-narcotics operations. Yes, 15 followed by nine zeroes. Whatever happened to our army, our police force, our federal agents? Answer - the same thing that happened to U.S. domestic manufacturing – outsourced.
*Guantanamo Bay is an anathema to democratic principles and American tradition. It is symbolic of America’s deteriorating moral position and leadership position in the world community. It is symbolic of the misguided, poorly managed and amoral approach the Bush administration has taken to “protect” America. Our President is fond of pontificating about the “evil” governments of Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria and most recently Myanmar. These are in fact dangerous regimes. However, our President has not looked in the mirror. Some of what he accuses these governments of doing are also being committed by himself under the banner “fighting terrorism.” While Mr. Bush is “defending” America he is also seriously damaging its heart – democracy. Amnesty International has a web site Tearitdown.org where you can sign a petition promoting human rights and advocating the elimination of Guantanamo and its practices.
*”You do not have to become a monster to defeat a monster.”
Bono, in remarks accepting the Liberty Medal on September 27, 2007
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