It's been much too long since I last posted anything. It's not that I'm not paying attention and it's not that there's nothing going on to blog about.
I'm just watching events. Waiting for the inspiration to strike again. It certainly doesn't help that I've been so busy lately...
I'll be back.
Soon.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Republican Loose Cannon Claims No Free Speech
Over the past 6 years Republican lawmakers have acted and legislated as though they see the First Amendment as something with which to wipe their asses, but this is beyond outrageous:
From one of his namesake weapons.
Back to the 15th Century.
Where he'd obviously be more comfortable.
Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) issued a startling rebuke to the NASA official [during hearings on how BushCo. appointees have censored scientific papers on Global Warming], disputing his assertion that taxpayer-funded scientists are entitled to speak freely.The voters of Utah need to fire Mr. Cannon.
"Free speech is not a simple thing and is subject to and directed by policy,"
From one of his namesake weapons.
Back to the 15th Century.
Where he'd obviously be more comfortable.
The Death of the U.S. Army
When I was a Cavalry Troop commander, if I had to report that 80% of my aircraft were unready for deployment and combat, I would have been relieved of duty. The same would have been true of any commander up the chain of command. Had any unit been not ready to deploy while a part of the "Ready Brigade Task Force" - a combined-arms unit on rotational stand-by able to be "wheels up" on an Air Force transport to go anywhere in the world in 18 hours or less - every commander in the chain, right up to the Division Commander would have been relieved.
And yet, because of his disastrous Iraq invasion, Bush has caused the entire Army to be incapable of fulfilling its mission. Not only its current primary mission in the Middle East, but also its secondary (and without doubt, its tertiary) mission of being capable of responding to a second crisis anywhere else in the world.
This NYT story about the Ready Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division not being capable of even getting to its Air Force transports is the most disturbing evidence of the tragic - and dangerous - mess created by BushCo.'s half-assed attempt at military adventurism. If this story doesn't scare you, you might be forgiven for not knowing just how vital this Ready Brigade is. That everyone in the Department of Defense, right up to the Commander-in-Chief, isn't scrambling to fix this, but apparently are just accepting it as the price of "staying the course" or the "surge" should certainly frighten anyone with even a modicum of knowledge about the military and its missions.
Bush has not only robbed our children and grandchildren of a safe, secure future in the world, he hasn't only robbed our treasury blind with this misadventure and he hasn't only been responsible for the death of thousands of America's finest. He has actually, purposefully, made us all less safe, less secure now.
George W. Bush, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States has caused, through negligence, those armed forces to be not ready to fight. He has failed in one of his primary Constitutional duties to all of us.
He MUST be relieved of command.
Now.
And yet, because of his disastrous Iraq invasion, Bush has caused the entire Army to be incapable of fulfilling its mission. Not only its current primary mission in the Middle East, but also its secondary (and without doubt, its tertiary) mission of being capable of responding to a second crisis anywhere else in the world.
This NYT story about the Ready Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division not being capable of even getting to its Air Force transports is the most disturbing evidence of the tragic - and dangerous - mess created by BushCo.'s half-assed attempt at military adventurism. If this story doesn't scare you, you might be forgiven for not knowing just how vital this Ready Brigade is. That everyone in the Department of Defense, right up to the Commander-in-Chief, isn't scrambling to fix this, but apparently are just accepting it as the price of "staying the course" or the "surge" should certainly frighten anyone with even a modicum of knowledge about the military and its missions.
Bush has not only robbed our children and grandchildren of a safe, secure future in the world, he hasn't only robbed our treasury blind with this misadventure and he hasn't only been responsible for the death of thousands of America's finest. He has actually, purposefully, made us all less safe, less secure now.
George W. Bush, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States has caused, through negligence, those armed forces to be not ready to fight. He has failed in one of his primary Constitutional duties to all of us.
He MUST be relieved of command.
Now.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Lost
How can four years seem so long?
Unless I really stop and count the years, it seems that we've always been in Iraq.
In the darkest moments, looking forward, it seems that we will always be in Iraq.
What have we gotten for those four years? Three thousand plus dead American soldiers. Ten times that many - or more - injured. Fifty times that many - or more - Iraqis dead. Uncounted more injured. As if we ever thought it possible we are more hated in the Middle East than ever before. We are estranged from many of our formerly closest allies. Our civil rights have been egregiously curtailed. The Constitution torn and shredded by secrecy and lies.
And that's just the near-term legacy.
Our children and grandchildren will be paying for this "war on credit" for their entire lives. Not just the cost of the continuing funding resolutions or the cost of rebuilding a worn out military. But also the continuing costs of caring for the thousands of critically wounded soldiers and the ensuing costs of mental health care for their families, the costs of helping those families whose primary earner has been killed or injured. The legacy we will leave in the world will be no better: anger at our leaders' hubris and naked imperialism will taint global relations and security for a century or more.
And should our politicians find it impossible to manage an honorable end to the mess they've created our children and grandchildren will literally be paying for BushCo.'s arrogance and ignorance with their lives.
And at some point in that dark, dystopic future our children will wonder why it seems that we've always been in Iraq.
And four years will seem like such a short time.
Unless I really stop and count the years, it seems that we've always been in Iraq.
In the darkest moments, looking forward, it seems that we will always be in Iraq.
What have we gotten for those four years? Three thousand plus dead American soldiers. Ten times that many - or more - injured. Fifty times that many - or more - Iraqis dead. Uncounted more injured. As if we ever thought it possible we are more hated in the Middle East than ever before. We are estranged from many of our formerly closest allies. Our civil rights have been egregiously curtailed. The Constitution torn and shredded by secrecy and lies.
And that's just the near-term legacy.
Our children and grandchildren will be paying for this "war on credit" for their entire lives. Not just the cost of the continuing funding resolutions or the cost of rebuilding a worn out military. But also the continuing costs of caring for the thousands of critically wounded soldiers and the ensuing costs of mental health care for their families, the costs of helping those families whose primary earner has been killed or injured. The legacy we will leave in the world will be no better: anger at our leaders' hubris and naked imperialism will taint global relations and security for a century or more.
And should our politicians find it impossible to manage an honorable end to the mess they've created our children and grandchildren will literally be paying for BushCo.'s arrogance and ignorance with their lives.
And at some point in that dark, dystopic future our children will wonder why it seems that we've always been in Iraq.
And four years will seem like such a short time.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
The Fruits of Torture?
Besides the timing, something else strikes me as odd about the announcement of Khalid Sheik Mohammed's confessions. Yes, it was perfectly timed to take the heat off of Alberto Gonzales - although it hasn't seemed to work as well as BushCo. would have hoped. But no, there's something else about it.
It seems that "KSM" has confessed to planning or being involved in every known terrorist attack or foiled attack in the past 14 years. He even confessed to a few that nobody knew about. He confessed to plotting to assassinate Jimmy Carter! Who the hell could have possibly wanted to assassinate Carter?!?
No, this reeks of two things:
What we are usually left with after any kind of serious thought about the actions of this administration: an attempt at working the refs and a blatant attempt to further consolidate the power and reach of the "unitary executive;" also known as king, dictator or tyrant.
That is, if you read history - which our fellow citizens are known for being ridiculously ignorant of.
It seems that "KSM" has confessed to planning or being involved in every known terrorist attack or foiled attack in the past 14 years. He even confessed to a few that nobody knew about. He confessed to plotting to assassinate Jimmy Carter! Who the hell could have possibly wanted to assassinate Carter?!?
No, this reeks of two things:
1. Sheer, crass political cover for Bush's best minority buddy (see how diverse my friends are?), Gonzales. This is pretty much all over the blogosphere and even a couple of MSM outlets as well.So what are we left with after such considerations?
2. The confessions of a man under torture. It's well established that torture nets just about zero useful information; that's why so many intelligence (and intelligent) folks wanted nothing to do with BushCo.'s torture guidelines. What it does get you is the tortured telling you anything you want to hear in order to make the torture stop.
What we are usually left with after any kind of serious thought about the actions of this administration: an attempt at working the refs and a blatant attempt to further consolidate the power and reach of the "unitary executive;" also known as king, dictator or tyrant.
That is, if you read history - which our fellow citizens are known for being ridiculously ignorant of.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
New Orleans is Sinking, Man and I Don't Want to Swim
How sad that a story like this is not only not surprising but that it fits right in with everything else this administration has done.
This is classic BushCo., total disregard for the peons as long as their friends are given lucrative contracts - with no accountability.
The Army Corps of Engineers, rushing to meet President Bush’s promise to protect New Orleans by the start of the 2006 hurricane season, installed defective flood-control pumps last year despite warnings from its own expert that the equipment would fail during a storm, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.Thankfully, the 2006 season was relatively benign and the pumps were not put to the test. But once again, like our soldiers in Iraq must fight with insufficient equipment, our fellow citizens in NOLA must make due - and keep their fingers crossed - with equipment that is not only insufficient for the job, but that was known to be insufficient when installed.
This is classic BushCo., total disregard for the peons as long as their friends are given lucrative contracts - with no accountability.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Setting the Tone
When I commanded soldiers and pilots in the Army I was taught that "the commander sets the tone" for the unit. In other words, by my actions, work ethic, the things I said I set an example for my men (they were all men at the time) and determined how the unit would function. Many years of experience taught me that there was a very large kernel of truth to that old military trope.
It's also why I will not be fooled by the spin that is already following General Peter Pace's remarks on homosexuality yesterday. The Pentagon and White House are already saying that the Boston Globe asked General Pace's personal views and he gave them.
But in the military - especialy at the Joint Chiefs level - there are no personal views. Most especially not when they are broadcast on the national media and replayed endlessly by the talking heads.
The new Democratic majority has made it known that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" may be on their target list and Pace's remarks, orchestrated as they must have been by the administration are a first shot across the bow. And while Rove and Co. only care about the politics, they may have unleashed something altogether different.
Because, you see, "the commander sets the tone."
And Pace's tone yesterday was as narrow-minded and intolerant as any backwoods homophobe. He has just told every soldier, sailor and airman that it's okay - still okay - to treat homosexuals as second class citizen-soldiers.
It's also why I will not be fooled by the spin that is already following General Peter Pace's remarks on homosexuality yesterday. The Pentagon and White House are already saying that the Boston Globe asked General Pace's personal views and he gave them.
But in the military - especialy at the Joint Chiefs level - there are no personal views. Most especially not when they are broadcast on the national media and replayed endlessly by the talking heads.
The new Democratic majority has made it known that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" may be on their target list and Pace's remarks, orchestrated as they must have been by the administration are a first shot across the bow. And while Rove and Co. only care about the politics, they may have unleashed something altogether different.
Because, you see, "the commander sets the tone."
And Pace's tone yesterday was as narrow-minded and intolerant as any backwoods homophobe. He has just told every soldier, sailor and airman that it's okay - still okay - to treat homosexuals as second class citizen-soldiers.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Peace of Mind
There are certain songs that never fail to take me back to my highschool days. From 28 years down the road, those were truly golden days; filled with friends and football, baseball and beach trips. Boston's eponymous first album is probably the best at taking me back. When I listen to it, from the first, quiet strains of "More Than a Feeling" to the last beat of "Let Me Take You Home Tonight," I'm 17 again and the future is still wide open and the sun never sets over the Florida beaches.
Those are all the things that went through my mind this morning when I heard that Brad Delp had died.
To me, Delp's voice is the sound of the late-seventies when I was in highschool; Boston was the soundtrack to so many great times. I've owned that first album in four different formats and right now it's playing over my computer speakers from my iPod. I imagine that whatever the next big music format is, I'll get Boston then, too.
Delp will be missed by many, but the music and the words of Boston will always make me feel 17.
Those are all the things that went through my mind this morning when I heard that Brad Delp had died.
To me, Delp's voice is the sound of the late-seventies when I was in highschool; Boston was the soundtrack to so many great times. I've owned that first album in four different formats and right now it's playing over my computer speakers from my iPod. I imagine that whatever the next big music format is, I'll get Boston then, too.
Delp will be missed by many, but the music and the words of Boston will always make me feel 17.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Modern Miracle Disappoints
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Not So Inconvenient
Let me preface this post by saying if you haven't seen "An Inconvenient Truth" yet, you need to. Now.
It was wonderful seeing Al Gore at the Oscars on Sunday night. He was witty, warm and personable. The kind of candidate who could have won... Most importantly, he showed that he really has become the preeminent voice for the need to do something - and soon - about global warming.
In that vein, I'd like to ask the few folks who still come by to see what I'm doing to head on over here and help send a message, to be delivered by Al Gore, to Congress.
It's important.
Vitally important.
And to those who would say that reversing climate change is bad for the economy I leave you with Thoreau:
It was wonderful seeing Al Gore at the Oscars on Sunday night. He was witty, warm and personable. The kind of candidate who could have won... Most importantly, he showed that he really has become the preeminent voice for the need to do something - and soon - about global warming.
In that vein, I'd like to ask the few folks who still come by to see what I'm doing to head on over here and help send a message, to be delivered by Al Gore, to Congress.
It's important.
Vitally important.
And to those who would say that reversing climate change is bad for the economy I leave you with Thoreau:
"What good is a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Putting the "Surge" in Insurgency
Here's the thing about insurgencies; the insurgents want to avoid, at all costs, meeting the occupiers on the field of battle. The term "asymmetric warfare" was created for just the kind of tactics our military is facing in Iraq. The insurgents cannot defeat us head-to-head and much like Vietnam it really doesn't matter. They don't need to.
So what do recent events in Iraq tell us about the incipient success or failure of Bush's surge?
Nothing.
If attacks are down it's because during this time of year, over the past 5 years the late winter and spring have always seen the number of attacks go down. There just isn't any way to judge whether the few additional troops already there are making a difference. It's too early.
If the attacks are bigger and more deadly, as they have been for the past week, it's only because the insurgents are carefully following the dictates of asymmetric warfare; hit fast, hit hard and then disappear. And with a few more soldiers in-country, now starting to relocate to more dispersed, less heavily fortified bases, the opportunities for mayhem are increased.
But don't count on BushCo. to discuss the finer points of counter-insurgency operations in public - most of them probably can't even spell it - as it doesn't fit well with their current spin cycle. And don't count on hearing about the vagaries of insurgency peaks and valleys or about the methods of asymmetric warfare in the media. It takes too long to spell out and there are no good sound-bites to be had from such a discussion. Finally, don't count on hearing much public discussion about any of these things in your local pub or grocery store. Most people you meet would think that COIN Ops refers to how they get their laundry done.
The lack of information from our government and our media and the general lack of knowledge about military operations in the citizenry means that BushCo. can spin events however they want. And only a very few will know that - as usual - they're lying through their teeth.
So what do recent events in Iraq tell us about the incipient success or failure of Bush's surge?
Nothing.
If attacks are down it's because during this time of year, over the past 5 years the late winter and spring have always seen the number of attacks go down. There just isn't any way to judge whether the few additional troops already there are making a difference. It's too early.
If the attacks are bigger and more deadly, as they have been for the past week, it's only because the insurgents are carefully following the dictates of asymmetric warfare; hit fast, hit hard and then disappear. And with a few more soldiers in-country, now starting to relocate to more dispersed, less heavily fortified bases, the opportunities for mayhem are increased.
But don't count on BushCo. to discuss the finer points of counter-insurgency operations in public - most of them probably can't even spell it - as it doesn't fit well with their current spin cycle. And don't count on hearing about the vagaries of insurgency peaks and valleys or about the methods of asymmetric warfare in the media. It takes too long to spell out and there are no good sound-bites to be had from such a discussion. Finally, don't count on hearing much public discussion about any of these things in your local pub or grocery store. Most people you meet would think that COIN Ops refers to how they get their laundry done.
The lack of information from our government and our media and the general lack of knowledge about military operations in the citizenry means that BushCo. can spin events however they want. And only a very few will know that - as usual - they're lying through their teeth.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Rumors of My Death...
Totally exaggerated, I assure you!
I'm over the wicked head cold I was suffering under in my last post. It's just that as seems to be the case in my life lately, events have piled up to the point where I have found my self totally overwhelmed and with no time left for pleasantries like blogging. For sure I'm trying to keep up with the news and the goings on at some of my favorite blogs, but every effort to make time to write myself have been stymied.
The weather here in upstate New York hasn't helped matters. The little free time I find is often taken up with various versions of digging out and blowing snow. There's a drift in my back yard that's easily 4 feet deep. And I've run the snow blower up and down my drive way five times in the past two days. We haven't gotten nearly the snow that the poor folks in Oswego county have gotten - now nearly 11 feet in the past week - but three feet can still leave you plenty worn out!
So, Steve, I'm not buried, but I sure do wish it would stop snowing for a while!
So... I'm still here; still engaged and worried and reading.
Hopefully I'll have some time to get a few thoughts down over the next few days. There's lots on my mind!
I'm over the wicked head cold I was suffering under in my last post. It's just that as seems to be the case in my life lately, events have piled up to the point where I have found my self totally overwhelmed and with no time left for pleasantries like blogging. For sure I'm trying to keep up with the news and the goings on at some of my favorite blogs, but every effort to make time to write myself have been stymied.
The weather here in upstate New York hasn't helped matters. The little free time I find is often taken up with various versions of digging out and blowing snow. There's a drift in my back yard that's easily 4 feet deep. And I've run the snow blower up and down my drive way five times in the past two days. We haven't gotten nearly the snow that the poor folks in Oswego county have gotten - now nearly 11 feet in the past week - but three feet can still leave you plenty worn out!
So, Steve, I'm not buried, but I sure do wish it would stop snowing for a while!
So... I'm still here; still engaged and worried and reading.
Hopefully I'll have some time to get a few thoughts down over the next few days. There's lots on my mind!
Monday, February 05, 2007
Sickening
I stayed home from work today - an extremely rare sick day for me - since I could not breathe or see. Whatever I've got, some sort of upper respiratory virus, has stuffed me up and crusted over my eyes.
Nice.
So I finally make my way to my computer and tried to read some news when I saw the size of the budget that Bush has submitted to Congress. Then I really felt ill.
More on all this when I'm feeling better. In the mean time, check out the size of our Republican President's Tax (the poor) and Spend Budget.
Nice.
So I finally make my way to my computer and tried to read some news when I saw the size of the budget that Bush has submitted to Congress. Then I really felt ill.
More on all this when I'm feeling better. In the mean time, check out the size of our Republican President's Tax (the poor) and Spend Budget.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Those Damned Brits!
Showing what real policing can do to thwart terrorism before it happens.
Meanwhile...
BushCo. still can't figure out how to run the Never-ending War on Terror.
Or maybe they have it figured out; they seem to be lining the pockets of their friends and contributors without any oversight. And the missing weapons make sure that the "terrorists" have all they need to keep it Never-ending.
Fuck bipartisanship.
Impeach now.
Meanwhile...
BushCo. still can't figure out how to run the Never-ending War on Terror.
Or maybe they have it figured out; they seem to be lining the pockets of their friends and contributors without any oversight. And the missing weapons make sure that the "terrorists" have all they need to keep it Never-ending.
Fuck bipartisanship.
Impeach now.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Lost Opportunity Costs
It's a basic consideration in any investment, yet this is not just any "basic investment."
Tonight Diane Sawyer will do a piece on 20/20 about how you only have to go as far as Camden, NJ to find children living in horrible conditions - like those you'd find in third-world nations. I heard a promo spot about this show just after listening to Charlie Gibson talk about the continuing adventures of the Decider in Chief in Iraq.
Most estimates for the cost of the Iraq War converge on about $5 billion per month. I'll use that as a nice round number. Diane's estimates of the number of American children living in poverty, with not enough to eat is close to 12 million.
So let's do the math.
What's the lost opportunity cost to the war on poverty of the most misguided part of the war on terror?
Imagine that I never had to see the example that was shown on the ABC news tonight of a young child going to Kindergarten who knew his ABCs and his numbers, but didn't know the names of the three meals that most of us take for granted because he never got three meals a day.
Imagine.
Tonight Diane Sawyer will do a piece on 20/20 about how you only have to go as far as Camden, NJ to find children living in horrible conditions - like those you'd find in third-world nations. I heard a promo spot about this show just after listening to Charlie Gibson talk about the continuing adventures of the Decider in Chief in Iraq.
Most estimates for the cost of the Iraq War converge on about $5 billion per month. I'll use that as a nice round number. Diane's estimates of the number of American children living in poverty, with not enough to eat is close to 12 million.
So let's do the math.
What's the lost opportunity cost to the war on poverty of the most misguided part of the war on terror?
$5 billion divided by 12 million children is about $416 per child per month. Multiply that by 12 months and you get $4,992 per child per year.Imagine - we do a lot of imagining when thinking about the good we could be doing - that every one of these 12 million children could get $416 worth of food and clothing and school supplies every month. Imagine the difference that could make in the lives of those children and their families.
Imagine that I never had to see the example that was shown on the ABC news tonight of a young child going to Kindergarten who knew his ABCs and his numbers, but didn't know the names of the three meals that most of us take for granted because he never got three meals a day.
Imagine.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Bush Twins Stripping on the Senate Floor
It's just about the only thing Bush didn't do last night to take attention away from the debacle in Iraq.
What a wonderfully ironic picture it was; Bush on the dais looking mildly dazed, Darth Cheney over his right shoulder scowling like mad and trying to keep his mind-meld with his putative boss, and over Bush's left shoulder - "Madame Speaker" - Nancy Pelosi, looking dignified and clearly enjoying herself. From the occasional wry smile it was obvious the irony didn't escape her.
Yet it wasn't until two thirds of the way or more through his speech, after dangling several shiny attempts at bipartisanship before Congress, did he dare mention Iraq. He raised all of the usual scare points he's used before, 9-11, al Qaeda, nucular weapons - although this time in Iran, not Iraq - but he did so rather mechanically; as though someone told him that he must. But his heart just wasn't in it.
There was nothing new here. One more time that this failed President had to ask us to just trust him. Why, given the polling data, he would think for an instant we would is beyond me. But given his sullen performance last night, especially in regards to his New Way Forward (Staying the Course Part IV), maybe he knew we wouldn't and was just going through the motions.
What a wonderfully ironic picture it was; Bush on the dais looking mildly dazed, Darth Cheney over his right shoulder scowling like mad and trying to keep his mind-meld with his putative boss, and over Bush's left shoulder - "Madame Speaker" - Nancy Pelosi, looking dignified and clearly enjoying herself. From the occasional wry smile it was obvious the irony didn't escape her.
Yet it wasn't until two thirds of the way or more through his speech, after dangling several shiny attempts at bipartisanship before Congress, did he dare mention Iraq. He raised all of the usual scare points he's used before, 9-11, al Qaeda, nucular weapons - although this time in Iran, not Iraq - but he did so rather mechanically; as though someone told him that he must. But his heart just wasn't in it.
There was nothing new here. One more time that this failed President had to ask us to just trust him. Why, given the polling data, he would think for an instant we would is beyond me. But given his sullen performance last night, especially in regards to his New Way Forward (Staying the Course Part IV), maybe he knew we wouldn't and was just going through the motions.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Global Warming - It's All Our Fault
A new, more powerful UN report on climate change is to be released starting next week. Nay-sayers, all of them with a financial interest in the supposed "controversy", will receive another forceful blow to the head with this report.
Smoking gun? Nope, but there is this:
None.
Zero.
Zip.
Not surprising that Republicans don't want to do anything about climate change, they are the same people who want to saddle their children and grandchildren with the bill for their stupid war and their even more idiotic tax policies. Why not force them into servitude in a ruined climate? They won't have time to get out and enjoy it anyway, they'll be too busy working to pay off their grandparents' debts.
Smoking gun? Nope, but there is this:
Andrew Weaver, a Canadian climate scientist and chapter co-author, went even further: “This isn’t a smoking gun; climate is a battalion of intergalactic smoking missiles.”And for those who still want to claim that there are scientists who doubt anthropocentric causes for the current climate change, have a look at these numbers:
The first chapter, written by more than 600 scientists and reviewed by another 600 experts and edited by bureaucrats from 154 countries, includes “a significantly expanded discussion of observation on the climate,” said co-chair Susan Solomon, a senior scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.There are no environmental scientists of any repute who doubt that human activities are the cause - or the cure - for global warming.
None.
Zero.
Zip.
Not surprising that Republicans don't want to do anything about climate change, they are the same people who want to saddle their children and grandchildren with the bill for their stupid war and their even more idiotic tax policies. Why not force them into servitude in a ruined climate? They won't have time to get out and enjoy it anyway, they'll be too busy working to pay off their grandparents' debts.
Friday, January 19, 2007
A Modest Proposal
With apologies to Jonathan Swift.
What if it were possible to prevent adults from imposing any religion on children? Once reaching adulthood, they could - if they desired - declare themselves a member of the superstition of their parents or any other.
Or none at all.
Imagine if the followers of Fred Phelps were unable to expose their children to their religiously inspired hate?
Imagine if imams were unable to call for children to become martyrs in jihad?
Of course there is no more chance of this ever happening than of the Irish eating their children during the early 1700s. But imagine the difference it might make in our world.
And while you think of Swift and Lennon, I leave you with Diderot:
What if it were possible to prevent adults from imposing any religion on children? Once reaching adulthood, they could - if they desired - declare themselves a member of the superstition of their parents or any other.
Or none at all.
Imagine if the followers of Fred Phelps were unable to expose their children to their religiously inspired hate?
Imagine if imams were unable to call for children to become martyrs in jihad?
Of course there is no more chance of this ever happening than of the Irish eating their children during the early 1700s. But imagine the difference it might make in our world.
And while you think of Swift and Lennon, I leave you with Diderot:
Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Another Step Closer to Emperor?
Another newly discovered way that the Patriot Act - never completely read by anyone who voted for it - has brought us that much closer to the "Imperial Presidency."
Investigate.
Impeach.
Gitmo.
A little-known, year-old amendment to the USA Patriot Act is allowing the Bush Administration to replace outgoing U.S. Attorneys with controversial appointments in a process that circumvents the usual approval process in the Senate, and three Democrats are charging that an unknown number of attorneys have been asked to resign "without cause."In their second 100 Hours Democrats need to seriously review these laws, passed in the panic of the post-9-11 period, and set about restoring our Constitutional rights.
Investigate.
Impeach.
Gitmo.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Bush Is Spending Our Future - He's Also a Thief
Spending Our Future:
Stealing From Our Treasury:
To add insult to injury, during the same meeting, Walker was asked about the Whitehouse quoted price tag for the "surge:"
Impeach.
Gitmo.
The head of the GAO [David M. Walker] also warned that if no action is taken now to control government spending, severe tax hikes could be necessary. He stated that, "balancing the budget in 2040 could require actions as large as cutting total federal spending by 60 percent or raising federal taxes to 2 times today’s level."Only Reuters covered this committee meeting and it's just now being more widely disseminated via Raw Story.
Stealing From Our Treasury:
To add insult to injury, during the same meeting, Walker was asked about the Whitehouse quoted price tag for the "surge:"
During the course of the hearing, senators also asked Walker about the cost estimates presented by President George W. Bush for sending 21,500 more troops to Iraq this year, according to Air Force Times. Walker believed that the amount of money planned to be spent on the troop escalation was much more than needed for the number of troops involved. "I have some serious concerns about the numbers...It is unclear what much of the $5.6 billion is to be spent on," they reported him saying.Investigate.
Impeach.
Gitmo.
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