« VIGILS | Main | New Word Needed »
Disgraceful
For the second time since the Iraq war began, the Pentagon is struggling to replace body armor that is failing to protect American troops from the most lethal attacks by insurgents.
The ceramic plates in vests worn by most personnel cannot withstand certain munitions the insurgents use. But more than a year after military officials initiated an effort to replace the armor with thicker, more resistant plates, tens of thousands of soldiers are still without the stronger protection because of a string of delays in the Pentagon's procurement system.
The effort to replace the armor began in May 2004, just months after the Pentagon finished supplying troops with the original plates - a process also plagued by delays. The officials disclosed the new armor effort Wednesday after questioning by The New York Times, and acknowledged that it would take several more months or longer to complete.
Contrary to what people may believe, half the troops being killed right now are from small arms fire. The other half are from IED bomb explosions. Clearly, this is yet another example of incompetence in those managing this war, and more mother's sons and daughters are paying the price for these massive planning failures.
Meanwhile, the President thinks it's important for him to "go on with his life".
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush, noting that lots of people want to talk to the president and "it's also important for me to go on with my life," on Saturday defended his decision not to meet with the grieving mom of a soldier killed in Iraq.
Bush said he is aware of the anti-war sentiments of Cindy Sheehan and others who have joined her protest near the Bush ranch.
"But whether it be here or in Washington or anywhere else, there's somebody who has got something to say to the president, that's part of the job," Bush said on the ranch. "And I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say."
How? By driving past the grieving mother in the ditch on your way to a $2 million fundraiser? How exactly is that thoughtful and sensitive?
"But," he added, "I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life."
When does Cindy Sheehan get to go on with her life, Mr. President?
Let's be clear here what the President means when he talks about "getting on with his life." What he means is getting on with his vacation.
The comments came prior to a bike ride on the ranch with journalists and aides. It also came as the crowd of protesters grew in support of Sheehan, the California mother who came here Aug. 6 demanding to talk to Bush about the death of her son Casey. Sheehan arrived earlier in the week with about a half dozen supporters. As of yesterday (Saturday) there were about 300 anti-war protesters and approximately 100 people supporting the Bush Administration. In addition to the two-hour bike ride, Bush's Saturday schedule included an evening Little League Baseball playoff game, a lunch meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a nap, some fishing and some reading. "I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy," he said when asked about bike riding while a grieving mom wanted to speak with him. "And part of my being is to be outside exercising."
On Friday, Bush's motorcade drove by the protest site en route to a Republican fund-raising event at a nearby ranch.
As Bush rolled by, Sheehan held a sign that said, "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?"
Let's review the Bush Administration priorities here as indicated by the facts and statements from the President:
Bike riding, fishing and napping: Very important
Answering ONE question from a mother who gave her son's life in a war that President Bush started: Not important
Getting proper armor for our troops: Whatever
Disgraceful, truly disgraceful.
And for those who are keeping track, the number of soldiers killed in Iraq since President Bush went on vacation is now 49.
I don't even know what else there is to say.
AOL Poll # 1 Today
WE ARE NOT DOING THAT WELL IN TODAY'S AOL POLL:
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050815070609990001&ncid=NWS00010000000001
If you add up both the people who sympathize with Bush and the ornery neighbor, we actually lose 43% to 57%
With whom do you sympathize most?
Protester mom Cindy Sheehan 43%
Gun-toting neighbor Larry Mattlage 37%
President Bush 20%
Total Votes: 291,752
Ralph, go post the URL of that poll on Kos as a diary and over at Atrios.
The numbers will change is if by magic.
AOL Poll # 2 Today - How's He Doing: rate
the president's overall performance:
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050815090909990001&ncid=NWS00010000000001
How would you rate Bush's handling of the war in Iraq?
Poor 62%
Good 16%
Excellent 13%
Fair 9%
Total Votes: 43,673
Note on Poll Results
How would you rate Bush's handling of domestic affairs?
Poor 58%
Good 15%
Excellent 14%
Fair 13%
Total Votes: 43,465
Note on Poll Results
How would you rate Bush's overall job performance?
Poor 59%
Good 15%
Excellent 14%
Fair 11%
Total Votes: 39,709
Note on Poll Results
In which direction do you predict Bush's approval rating will move?
Down 62%
Up 24%
It'll stay about where it is now 14%
Total Votes: 40,376
Note on Poll Results
Ralph, go post the URL of that poll on Kos as a diary and over at Atrios.
The numbers will change is if by magic.
Posted by: spinnaker at August 15, 2005 06:37 PM
Give me a link or two - I have no idea how to navigate Kos.
And DU, go post it at DU. That ought to take care of it.
of course the fact that 37% sympathize with the gun-toting redneck, speaks volumes here...
And before the South rises again, redneck is a term we use up here in the North, and we used it out West, too.
Unfortunately, redneck knows no geographical borders.
"I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions..."
Well, he's right about that...Wish we had one that does.
I do not have an account and there is a 24 hour waiting period for new account before posting.
Can you do it for me?
Cindy Sheehan on CNN w Anderson Cooper right now.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 15, 2005 07:28 PM
Wow, she's making the rounds. She was just on Hardball. (Matthews is now interviewing Georgie's supporters and making them look stupider, if that's at all possible...)
Feedback requested on Cindy Sheehan to Anderson Cooper at 360. Go to the CNN page and click on Aaron Brown schedules to get to Anderson to click.
Should Cindy Sheehan get to meet with the President or has the protest gone too far?
Here was my instant feedback:
Of course he should meet with her.
If he has time to have cocktails with big campaign contributors at a party down the road, why shouldn't he have time for Cindy Sheehan?
What is the going rate for an audience with the President? I should think giving the life of your child would be enough, but maybe they only take cash.
----------
Please go give feedback.
AOL POLL UPDATE: Bush still getting stomped on performance:
How would you rate Bush's handling of the war in Iraq?
Poor 61%
Good 16%
Excellent 13%
Fair 9%
Total Votes: 162,590
Note on Poll Results
How would you rate Bush's handling of domestic affairs?
Poor 58%
Good 16%
Excellent 14%
Fair 13%
Total Votes: 162,262
Note on Poll Results
How would you rate Bush's overall job performance?
Poor 59%
Good 15%
Excellent 14%
Fair 12%
Total Votes: 148,967
Note on Poll Results
In which direction do you predict Bush's approval rating will move?
Down 62%
Up 24%
It'll stay about where it is now 14%
Total Votes: 149,912
Note on Poll Results
Other Poll about the Shotgun neighbor
With whom do you sympathize most?
Protester mom Cindy Sheehan 44%
Gun-toting neighbor Larry Mattlage 37%
President Bush 19%
Total Votes: 311,389
Note on Poll Results
You MUST check out this link from the Huffington Post blog site
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/cenk-uygur/what-fox-news-channel-wou_5514.html
Article is titled: What Fox News Channel Would Have Done to Rosa Parks.
It is absolutely brilliant and spot on!
Wow, she's making the rounds. She was just on Hardball. (Matthews is now interviewing Georgie's supporters and making them look stupider, if that's at all possible...)
Posted by: madame defarge at August 15, 2005 07:30 PM
Madame,
I don't know if anybody got to see the Anderson Cooper interview with Cindy. He at least let her
state that there were no weapons of mass destruction, when we were told there were, and there was no link between Saddam and 9-11. She also got a chance to say that she thought this war was illegal, and said that the cabal is getting rich at the expense of our children. I was glad she at least got to say that. Anderson kind of cut her off but at least the best part of the interview, where she made her points, was not cut out of the tape he showed.
Paula Zahn was on next and she had an interview with Cindy, too. Cindy said they murdered thousands and thousands of innocent people in Iraq, and our sons and daughters were used and gave their lives for their greed. She got the message over that the President has not been truthful about the war.
We would have never gotten this much press a year ago.
Madame, the people that they had on after Cindy to give the "other side" was pathetic, actually. One woman was deep in grief, and all she could think of was she wanted her son to be honored as a hero. I think she is afraid to let go of that illusion, because for her, it gives his death some justice and meaning. It's probably too hurtful to say it was for nothing.
People need to be educated to the fact that even though the war was entered into on false pretenses
their children still died for a noble cause. Many are having a hard time trying to distinguish between even if the leader sent the soldiers there under false pretenses, the soldiers that served did so with honor, and indeed, they are heros. The noble cause they died for was to be part of our military and take orders from the Commander-in-Chief. Our leaders are culpable, our military is not. They would be there to defend us, if necessary, and serving is a noble cause.
They also showed a clip of the neighbor of Bush, and him complaining about outhouses being put on the side of the road off "his" property. He said they first used a bucket (thanks, I always wanted to know that), then one potty, now two. He said "By the time they get done they'll have portapots lined up all along the road for miles."
(Gee I hope so!) He was going on and on how "the good book says we are to love our neighbors, and George Bush is my neighbor, so I love him." The reporter asked "What about loving neighbors you just met?"
He said "I've already loved them for a week". LOL
He kept complaining that their cars are parked on "his" property. The cars are parked along side the road, off the blacktop, and in front of the fence he has running across his property. He said "I can't do anything through the Sheriff, and they know it."
Paula Zahn then said "In all fairness, he (the owner of that property) did find it worth his while to rent a piece of his property to a rival network. Heh. Touche'!
I don't think the President is having a very good month. No wonder he probably wants to ride his bike and take naps.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 15, 2005 09:19 PM
I did not see the grieving mother interview; I was watching Anderson Cooper then. (Your account of his show was right on. I'd like to add kudos to Cooper for allowing Cindy time to clarify the issue around Israeli-Palestinian statement she alledgedly said.)
You are right about how we discuss dying for a noble cause vs. dying for nothing. Regardless of why we're in this war, these soldiers & Marines are putting their lives on the line for their country. And that indeed is noble and honorable. It's our administration that isn't noble or honorable for putting our military in this unwinnable position.
BTW, Georgie's actions, behavior, and statements are so indicative of the type of person he is, IMHO. For heaven's sake, he's the leader of the most powerful country in the world (at least until he runs it into the ground). Taking a 5 week vacation in the current political climate is absolutely unbelievable...
Taking a 5 week vacation in the current political climate is absolutely unbelievable...
Posted by: madame defarge at August 15, 2005 09:41 PM
Not really, it's right in keeping with how he's always conducted himself.
Cashing in on all those Frequent Liar miles.
Monkey Won,
LOL.
Madame? Are we the only ones not on vacation in these dog days of summer?
Cashing in on all those Frequent Liar miles.
Posted by: monkey at August 15, 2005 09:50 PM
LOL! And he's #1 on the list of most frequent lies.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 15, 2005 09:57 PM
I'd rather be here than any place else...OK, well almost any place else...
I am suggesting that the ornery neighbor take his gun to Iraq and shoot it over there. He'll even be helping out his neighbor.
This is good to read, as I am (as usual) getting news from the internet & radio. It's part of my personal system of "balance". Thanks for the summaries, folks!
Good point, Mary from Manhattan, about what the mainstream media would have done to Rosa Parks!
I sent a "Frameshop" thing out this morning about Cindy Sheehan & how this whole thing is putting the focus on family values not terror. I had several respond that they'll be at the Green Lake Vigil on Weds. (Seattle).
I'll rush home from work just in time to be there.
Let's see if presnitwit can now come up with, yet, ANOTHER reason to go into Iraq...NO wmd's NO frrrrrrrrredom for the Iraqi's, and of course that tricky democracy cry as his third, which will now come crashing down.
Just saw the tape on bottom of screen on CNN,blaming the reason the constitution didn't fly today was a "sandstorm"...yep and Bush kicked up all the dust. Too bad we can't send some sand to Crawford. I can't believe the state our world is in and some still support that nutcase.
The "values" crowd better get worried about Cindy,as what could be worse than the loss of a child....NOTHING!!
The Washington Post does the right thing...
Post Drops Plan to Promote Pentagon Event
By David Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 16, 2005; Page C01
The Washington Post announced yesterday that it will back out of a controversial co-sponsorship of a Pentagon-organized event next month to remember the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and support the troops in Iraq.
The newspaper notified the Department of Defense that it would no longer donate public service advertising space to help promote the Freedom Walk, an event planned for Sept. 11. At the conclusion of the procession from the Pentagon to the Mall, there will be a performance by country star Clint Black, who recorded the song "I Raq and Roll."
"As it appears that this event could become politicized, The Post has decided to honor the Washington area victims of 9/11 by making a contribution directly to the Pentagon Memorial Fund," said Eric Grant, a Post spokesman. "It is The Post's practice to avoid activities that might lead readers to question the objectivity of The Post's news coverage."
--snip--
Pentagon officials have maintained that the event is intended to be a non-political homage to the victims and a salute to veterans past and present, devoid of commentary on the merits of the war in Iraq. The Post's corporate officials emphasized that distinction after its involvement was the subject of a Post story Friday. But The Post's participation was criticized by members of the antiwar movement and by journalists in the paper's own newsroom who posted messages on an internal electronic discussion board. These critics said the co-sponsorship could hurt the paper's credibility in covering the war and antiwar demonstrations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/15/AR2005081501523.html
Now this is truly disgraceful...I'm speechless...
Monday 15 August 2005
9:50 PM
Reality Hits Camp Casey
The last 10 minutes have been very difficult here. I am at the Peace House editing video. First came a phone call that someone drove their vehicle over the Arlington West Crosses at the camp. I will head out to the camp now to get more details.
Within minutes one of the volunteers logged on to a website and learned that her friend was killed in Iraq. She burst into tears, Cindy was sitting across the room and immediately moved over to comfort her. What a reality check.
http://www.truthout.org/cindy.shtml
Patti,
What is this going to do to the whole concept of invading sovereign nations to spread democracy and freedom across the world? Especially ones in the Middle East?
I must admit, I am a bit surprised at this new switch in policy we have seen the past month. One day we're at war for at least a generation, around 12 years. Then we are not at war, we are involved in a "struggle", per George. Then we are at war again, staying the course, not backing down. Then 2 days later we are lowering our expectations for what we can accomplish in Iraq. Then one day later we are pulling troops in one year. Then we are adding troups now, to pull them out later, to make it look like we will have pulled alot of troops in a year, but we won't have, really. Then the Iraqi constitution will be ready by it's deadline date. Now it won't, they need another week. Then those no good for nothing "Axis of Evil" countries need freedom and democracy. (Enter the tape of Laura Bush in Afghanistan visiting her newly liberated sisters.) Then, back in Iraq, today I hear that women are not going to be able to have all the progress and liberation and freedom we told them they were going to have (before we killed their children.), and Iraq wants to have a theocracy.
Today Condi told the world that although the constitution won't be ready to be signed in Iraq for another week, "everyone is happy and playing well together until they can reach an agreement." (All the while, she looked like a cat that got electrocuted.)
I don't know who is at the helm, but I think he fell asleep at the switch.
The one at the helm seems to be a flip flopper.
& my husband just said, "I think they've lost PR control because of a sunburned woman sitting in a ditch in Texas."
Latest on the poll - 300,000 people voting:
How would you rate Bush's handling of the war in Iraq?
Poor 61%
Good 16%
Excellent 14%
Fair 9%
Total Votes: 331,407
Note on Poll Results
How would you rate Bush's handling of domestic affairs?
Poor 58%
Good 16%
Excellent 14%
Fair 13%
Total Votes: 330,891
Note on Poll Results
How would you rate Bush's overall job performance?
Poor 58%
Good 16%
Excellent 15%
Fair 12%
Total Votes: 305,453
Note on Poll Results
In which direction do you predict Bush's approval rating will move?
Down 61%
Up 24%
It'll stay about where it is now 14%
Total Votes: 307,070
Note on Poll Results
*********
***********
Now this is truly disgraceful...I'm speechless...
Monday 15 August 2005
9:50 PM
Reality Hits Camp Casey
The last 10 minutes have been very difficult here. I am at the Peace House editing video. First came a phone call that someone drove their vehicle over the Arlington West Crosses at the camp. I will head
***********
*********
*******
Start making more crosses - don't back down.....
http://www.harpers.org/ExcerptNoneDare.html
Some of us have read the newest Harpers, notable for its excerpt from Mark Crispin Miller's None Dare Call It Stolen. And many of us have been waiting for it to hit the net.
from None Dare Call It Stolen http://www.harpers.org/ExcerptNoneDare.html, by Mark Crispin Miller:
Whichever candidate you voted for (or think you voted for), or even if you did not vote (or could not vote), you must admit that last year's presidential race was—if nothing else—pretty interesting. True, the press has dropped the subject, and the Democrats, with very few exceptions, have “moved on.” Yet this contest may have been the most unusual in U.S. history; it was certainly among those with the strangest outcomes. You may remember being surprised yourself.
... or not ... you may have been expecting it ... once burnt, twice shy ...
At least fifty-nine daily newspapers that backed Bush in the previous election endorsed Kerry (or no one) in this election. The national turnout in 2004 was the highest since 1968, when another unpopular war had swept the ruling party from the White House. And on Election Day, twenty-six state exit polls incorrectly predicted wins for Kerry, a statistical failure so colossal and unprecedented that the odds against its happening, according to a report last May by the National Election Data Archive Project, were 16.5 million to 1.
Other analysts have pegged the number differently, of course, but nobody has ever argued that the odds against it happening by chance were anything like small.
The press has had little to say about most of the strange details of the election—except, that is, to ridicule all efforts to discuss them. This animus appeared soon after November 2, in a spate of caustic articles dismissing any critical discussion of the outcome as crazed speculation: “Election paranoia surfaces: Conspiracy theorists call results rigged,” chuckled the Baltimore Sun on November 5. “Internet Buzz on Vote Fraud Is Dismissed,” proclaimed the Boston Globe on November 10. “Latest Conspiracy Theory—Kerry Won—Hits the Ether,” the Washington Post chortled on November 11. The New York Times weighed in with “Vote Fraud Theories, Spread by Blogs, Are Quickly Buried”—making mock not only of the “post-election theorizing” but of cyberspace itself
Read http://www.harpers.org/ExcerptNoneDare.html the article for yourself; it's well worth the effort.
ACTION ITEMS: Here are some great action ideas for the 6 or 7 squad.
[1] Buy as many copies of the August Harpers as you can find/afford. Keep one for yourself and give the rest away. Everybody needs to read this article, to see it in print, to hold it in their hands. This is not some internet hoax. This is Harpers. And the glossy paper itself has a weight that no blog can match.
[2] Subscribe to Harpers if you can afford to do so. Then write a letter to the editor. Explain that you subscribed because Harpers has shown it is willing to tell the truth about the "election". And make it very clear that you expect more of the same.
Thanks, as always, to all 6 or 7 of you. We've been rockin' the boat ... and it's making a difference ... so please let's keep that boat a-rockin'!
Posted by: ralpheh at August 16, 2005 12:10 AM
Yes, we can make more crosses. But we can't replace that woman's friend...
This horror has to stop. Now.
Elizabeth,
How about getting copies of Harpers and leaving them in the waing room of various areas...doctor waiting rooms, dentist waiting rooms....the list goes on and on.
ELECTION FRAUD CONTINUES IN THE US
In the fall of 2001, after an eight-month review of 175,000 Florida ballots never counted in the 2000 election, an analysis by the National Opinion Research Center confirmed that Al Gore actually won Florida and should have been President. However, coverage of this report was only a small blip in the corporate media as a much bigger story dominated the news after September 11, 2001. New research compiled by Dr. Dennis Loo with the University of Cal Poly
Pomona now shows that extensive manipulation of non-paper-trail voting machines occurred in several states during the 2004 election.
http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/627
(courtesy Marjorie G)
interview with Sibel Edwards
http://www.antiwar.com/deliso/?articleid=6934
DiAnne,
Ira was wondering earlier how he can get some reports from Zogby.
Looks like the one he wants is pretty pricey.
I think he wants one that is broken down in certain catagories for each state, for the '06 race.
If you know if he can get some of his desired materials by taking a poll, could you let him know?
Tnx
Truth Shall Prevail
Will do. I can email. When you take a poll, you never know what Zogby will send but it's always something interesting. I think Zogby needs a certain number by area, age group, gender, voting preference, income etc. You can volunteer to be polled at his site but may or may not be contacted. I think it's fairly interesting.
What Ira & several other people want is a breakdown of how the 2006 Congressional races would go, not just the Senate. So will watch for it (with Zogby or elsewhere). So much is speculation but even just summaries of which seats are open and what the variables are would help get ready for the races!
By the way, I was phone polled tonight about some local issues coming up for vote & it turned out to be a good way to find out more about the issues (smoking ban, increased use of ethanol and biodiesel in fuel, ways to pay for public transit etc.) The caller turned out to be from Denver but I was able to get in some good discussion. It's not an easy job to be a phone pollster!
I read some conservative blogs and internet sites & the upshot seems to be that they think Cindy Sheehan (& other women) are not capable of thinking for themselves, questioning, doing research or figuring things out - that we need to be spoonfed and docile. It's quite eye opening to read some of this stuff. Strong women with their own moral sense are not to be encouraged, according to the rightwing slant.
We know the answer to this question...
Is Bush Out of Control?
By DOUG THOMPSON
Aug 15, 2005, 05:46
Buy beleaguered, overworked White House aides enough drinks and they tell a sordid tale of an administration under siege, beset by bitter staff infighting and led by a man whose mood swings suggest paranoia bordering on schizophrenia.
They describe a President whose public persona masks an angry, obscenity-spouting man who berates staff, unleashes tirades against those who disagree with him and ends meetings in the Oval Office with "get out of here!"
In fact, George W. Bush's mood swings have become so drastic that White House emails often contain "weather reports" to warn of the President's demeanor. "Calm seas" means Bush is calm while "tornado alert" is a warning that he is pissed at the world.
Decreasing job approval ratings and increased criticism within his own party drives the President's paranoia even higher. Bush, in a meeting with senior advisors, called Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist a "god-damned traitor" for opposing him on stem-cell research.
"There's real concern in the West Wing that the President is losing it," a high-level aide told me recently.
A year ago, this web site discovered the White House physician prescribed anti-depressants for Bush. The news came after revelations that the President's wide mood swings led some administration staffers to doubt his sanity.
Although GOP loyalists dismissed the reports an anti-Bush propaganda, the reports were later confirmed by prominent George Washington University psychiatrist Dr. Justin Frank in his book Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. Dr. Frank diagnosed the President as a "paranoid meglomaniac" and "untreated alcoholic" whose "lifelong streak of sadism, ranging from childhood pranks (using firecrackers to explode frogs) to insulting journalists, gloating over state executions and pumping his hand gleefully before the bombing of Baghdad" showcase Bush's instabilities.
"I was really very unsettled by him and I started watching everything he did and reading what he wrote and watching him on videotape. I felt he was disturbed," Dr. Frank said. "He fits the profile of a former drinker whose alcoholism has been arrested but not treated."
Dr. Frank's conclusions have been praised by other prominent psychiatrists, including Dr. James Grotstein, Professor at UCLA Medical Center, and Dr. Irvin Yalom, MD, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University Medical School.
As a recovering alcoholic (sober 11 years, two months, nine days), I know all too well the symptoms that Dr. Frank describes and, after watching Bush for the past several years, I have to, unfortunately, agree with him.
Conversations over the last few weeks with longtime friends who work in the Bush White House confirm even more what Dr. Frank says and others have suggested.
The President of the United States is out of control. How long can the ship of state continue to sail with a madman at the helm?
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7218.shtml
If you get a chance, go into this link. It is the VERY FIRST time I have seen anyone cross out the words "freedom and democracy" and substitute theocracy in it's place.
Yellow Caucus
Mailed to 15 congresspeople* who are under 42 years old and support the war.
Dear Representative [Name],
Our nation is at war at a time when our military is suffering from a manpower crisis. Recently, the Department of Defense asked Congress to relieve the shortage of recruits by raising the enlistment age to 42.
You voted to support this war and have defended it at every turn. Now it's time for you to do more. The President needs you to champion the recruitment bill in Congress, and the nation needs you to sign up for infantry duty once the bill passes.
Your service in the military will not go unnoticed. If anything, it will enhance your image with voters and your colleagues--think about all the kind things you've said about veterans like John Kerry and Max Cleland over the last few years. Certainly, your peers will honor you in a similar way if you return. If you don't make it back, you can at least rest assured that your family will receive the same treatment as Casey Sheehan's mother.
You've sent thousands of our sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers, and fathers to destroy Saddam's weapons of mass destruction...to bring freedom to the people of Iraq...No no no, scratch that - to establish an Islamist theocracy in Iraq. Now it's time for you to answer your nation's call and join them. It's the right thing to do. It's the decent thing to do.
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/
Bush, in a meeting with senior advisors, called Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist a god-damned traitor for opposing him on stem-cell research.
There's real concern in the West Wing that the President is losing it, a high-level aide told me recently.
A year ago, this web site discovered the White House physician prescribed anti-depressants for Bush. The news came after revelations that the President's wide mood swings led some administration staffers to doubt his sanity.
(YA THINK?)
The President of the United States is out of control. How long can the ship of state continue to sail with a madman at the helm?
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7218.shtml
Posted by: madame defarge at August 16, 2005 01:07 AM
Bless your heart. I just asked who was at the helm, and now my worst fears are realized. Maybe I can stop twitching now and get some real sleep.
Lovely.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 16, 2005 01:18 AM
Sorry...really didn't mean to cause insomnia. But these last 5 1/2 years have really been one big nightmare...
Posted by: not my president at August 16, 2005 12:50 AM
Someone posted a piece by Teresa Whitehurst earlier stating a bunch of fallacies about Christian women's roles in the family and the church. This is an issue I definately have
studied. I disagree with alot of the assumptions she made in that article, so much so that I want to write her and let her know that even though those are things she may have heard or read, in most of the cases they aren't true.
Two that I remember tonight are l. That Christian women are taught to let their men rule, and that they are not to think for themselves or voice their opinion. and 2. That Christian men are taught that they may "punish" their wives for assertive behavior that would question his position as head of his household.
There are some denominations that teach this, yes. But most of the churches I have been to don't teach this. What's the point? There are many, MANY Christian families that are matriarchal. And happily so. My own relatives that pastor here and I have had discussions about this, too. My pastor uncle teaches "If Mamma ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy." My aunt has said that women really run the church, and they do, in alot of cases. When my husband and I were in the ministry years ago, before every board meeting he would come and ask me what I thought he should do. Then he went in to the meeting and did it. He relied heavily on my opinion about many things.
This is what is taught, if the teaching comes from a mature, sane person. l. The man is responsible for how he provides for his family in every way - emotionally, financially, etc. He is to have a kind, loving attitude toward his wife.
2. The woman is responsible for how she provides for the family emotionally, many times financially, physically, and spiritually. She is to "respect her husband", not mindlessly obey him.
If the husband treats his wife lovingly and takes his responsibilities seriously, his wife will learn to trust him and respect him. Mutual respect is encouraged from each. The husband is NEVER EVER taught to "punish" his wife.
This concept has been mistaught for decades, but recently has had more light shed on it. It's not any different than two people would do if they each had common sense, anyway. I am sure alot of secular people know that mutual respect, love, and being responsible is a good thing. That's what is really taught in most Christian churches who have studied the issues out and are run by emotionally mature people anyway.
~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~
DiAnne,
I took Zogby's polls, too. I think he polled often during the '04 race because I was kind of a wild card when I answered his first poll. I was, at that time, a rural white female, moderate, Independent, and undecided. They followed me closely as I decided on Kerry, because I didn't fit the profile of a rural white female who goes to church and is a moderate. Anyway, I can't remember now what kind of treat I was offered, but I do know they offered to send me some free reports.
Ira really wants one of the reports, but it is pretty expensive.
Well, night. I am off to the very north of the state tomorrow. You should be getting about ready for your holiday, yes?
Madame,
You didn't cause insomnia. I was kidding around.
Who would have EVER thought this would have turned out like this? As my son told me "Don't forget, you voted for this nutcase the first time around." I was so proud of him in 2000. I knew nothing about him other than the fact that he claimed to be such a moral man. I watched the first inauguration with such high hopes, he looked like such a promising choice, I remember thinking.
How would I have ever known.
It is, indeed, like something out of a horror movie.
Norman Solomon | Someone Tell Frank Rich the War Is Not Over
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0815-24.htm
Excerpt:
We’re not “outta there” -- until an antiwar movement in the United States can grow strong enough to make the demand stick. And we’re not there yet. Not by a long shot.
Celeste Zappala and Dante Zappala | Dust Devils and Grief in Crawford
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0815-29.htm
Thom Hartmann | Jefferson Would Have Stood With Cindy Sheehan
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0815-21.htm
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights: Oil Companies' Profiteering to Blame for Gas Price Spike, Says FTCR
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0815-03.htm
Rove and Ashcroft Face New Allegations in Plame Case
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/081505Y.shtml
Leaving for work .. anxious for lst hand reports from those heading to Camp Casey! Will be with them in spirit!
Nonny,
Thanks for the new this A.M. I particularly like the feature piece about Jefferson and Adams. I imagine a Hollywood movie with that plot line. The author says however that it is the blogosphere that is similar to the pamphleting of yesteryear, I however am not so sure about that. It is a small dedicated group of individuals who rely on the blog for information. It is incumbent on us as individuals to take the message beyond the blog and into the streets just as Cindy Sheehan is doing.
oncall--bless you
I've had a week of serious swings of hopefullness and dread. When I hear about Justice Sunday 2, and realize that many of those folks could care less that BushCo is ravaging our country and the world, I wonder how we can ever bridge the gap.
But then when I go here: http://www.truthout.org/cindy.shtml
and read about Camp Casey, and look at the side bar and see pictures from around the country, it gives me hope that Cindy, and we, are making a difference, and that maybe we will be able toget our great country back. How about those pig farmers?!!!!
Tomorrow's vigils will be a beautiful site, and, if people really turn out, a loud statement that people are starting to stand up for what is right, true, and real, instead of blindly accepting whatever BushCo offers up.