Thanks to everyone who voted on our "Best New Blog" nomination for a Koufax Award. Check out this wonderfully generous website and all the nominees at Wampum
HEY - WHY didn't any reporters in Bush's press conference yesterday, bring up the fact that JACK ABRAMOFF was on Bush's transition team?
We must FILIBUSTER ALITO. Along with Donald Rumsfield, Alito is part of the "Princeton elite" or "Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) which wanted to stifle women and minorities on campus back in the 70's. I have some very interesting news about Rumsfield, who always seems so "aw-shucks" nice and innocuous, doesn't he? Well we all know he owns a multi-million dollar stake in Tamiflu -- the only drug that can combat "bird-flu". So guess why bird flu keeps seeping into the news? There is something going on here that will blow your mind. Stay tuned.
Bush said, in 2002, "Wiretapping requires a court order." Now he says, "The FISA law was written in 1978.
We're having the discussion in 2006. It's a different world." How convenient. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS were made over 2000 years ago. It's a different world, aren't you going to change them? (paraphrased from Randi Rhodes on Air America yesterday.)
Have you noticed more boobs in America lately? And I’m not just talking about our political leaders, though the two seem to go hand-in-hand. What I mean is, the larger the boobs, the more narrow-minded the politicians. (See below for the rest of Boobgate article; I'm interrupting this to post a summary of our position on Iraq and what the NSA spy scandal means to us, US! By the way, I changed the title from BOOBGATE REDUX because it was pretentious, not because "libs" are dumb, as a certain right-winger mentioned in the comment section.
ALERT: JOHN McCAIN THINKS BUSH BROKE THE LAW. (So does Walter Cronkite)
Things to think about: If we had known we were invading Iraq to spread democracy, and for “nation-building”, I wonder how many of us would have voted for this? Also -- How many of you believe Bush never met Jack Abramoff?
I received this comment from a right-winger named “StevieWonder” on my blog "Blessed Are the Peacemakers" this Christmas:
“If we lived in a country that limited your right to dissent from our war efforts (I.E. GWB has not chopped off your head for dissenting) I would be grateful for the right to have my democratic voice, as you have the right to yours”.
Here is my answer:
Figuratively, many people have had their heads chopped off for dissenting. People who wore "PEACE" t-shirts were arrested in malls. The Dixie Chicks seem to have vanished (Maybe I'm wrong, but where did they go?) Michael Moore has been marginalized and ridiculed. There's a sinister form of blacklisting going on in America right now. If you research it, there are thousands of "swarthy" types (Ann Coulter's term) who are still being held at Guantanamo Bay, who are completely innocent and whose lives have been ruined. "There are also things about this war that no one is telling us; our trusted leader did not do everything in his power to avoid war -- on the contrary, he chose to ignore every spiritual leader, even the Pope, who came to him and beseeched him to stop and really think this through, or at least slow down. There was no imminent danger: we were ON TOP of Sadaam. The whole world was watching him --and there was no IMMINENT DANGER. Bush RUSHED us to war. You say he didn't create more terrorists? It's only natural: if our country were invaded, more and more people would rise up against the invaders in very violent ways. More and more people in Iraq have joined the "resistance" and are committed to hating us -- more than ever before -- across all Muslim territories. Believe me, we would do the same thing if we were invaded -- even with a despot in power. ("He may be an evil despot, but at least he's MY evil despot.") You have to remember that at the time of Sadaam's reign, there was at least a routine and normalcy to daily life that people had been accustomed to: at least they could get food & housing & electricity. Students, even women, attended universities, had parties, and celebrated birthdays in cafes without fear of suicide attacks. And Time Magazine had a report on Christians in Iraq: they were not bothered or interfered with by Sadaam -- and some even owned laundries and corner markets. I actually read that they owned their own liquor stores! And at the time we were hovering over Sadaam while the U.N. inspectors made their rounds -- no one was going to look away for one second. We had Sadaam on his best behavior, after all -- he knew the world was his stage, and at that point, just to look like a good guy -- he might have actually been malleable enough (given enough time) to be willing to work with us. I wrote a book on Stalin and he definitely had an Achilles heel: his ego. There were many ways to get to Saddam - it would have been interesting trying, in a focused way, while the world watched. Or if not him, maybe his cronies. We could have won people in the underground over to our form of democracy -- by attraction not force. Nothing is ever truly won by force (and I mean that figuratively as well -- until a person reaches his own bottom or sees the light, they resist. You never win them over until they come to the decision inside first. Yes you can chain them up, but to win their hearts they have to want to change and be attracted to the light; they have to want it for themselves.) You think what they have now in Iraq is better? Living in constant fear of walking outside, going to school, buying groceries? Religious extremists blowing up Iraqi children as they blow themselves up -- because they are so passionately against the invaders? The Mideast has always been a hotbed, why on earth did Bush have to invade Muslim Holy land -- when the extremists made it known this was their biggest beef with us? American footprints on their holy land bringing capitalism to the Muslim world. Just like we did with the Saudis.
I will not be smeared by propagandists like Ann Coulter. I have family in the military (Marine with purple heart) and the American flag flies high outside our house. I love my sons and love all children. We are the most patriotic family I know. This is a heinous, diabolical war, brought on by an unthinking elitist who couldn't even finish his Airforce training. I'd like to know why he doesn't send his own daughters to fight. Or why don't any of the other members of Congress who sold this war to the American people. American parents who have lost their only children in Iraq have a right to speak out against this evil war without being called unpatriotic.
By the way, I do not hate Ann Coulter. As a Christian, I am called to hate the sin, but not the sinner. I do not hate anyone. But I will continue to speak out against her tactics. I am praying for her -- and for all of us to have softer hearts. I thank you for your understanding.
Peace on Earth. Love, Lydia
(BOOBGATE....continued further down below)
BUSHGATE; OR HOW TO SPY ON EVERYONE AND NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE Guest Blogged by MYSTERY BLOGGER
PART I
Friends, countrymen, lend me your earpieces……
The Bush administration announced a campaign to convince Americans that his warrant-less spying program is legal, and does not violate US laws, all this on the heels of several ongoing investigations into corruption involving high ranking members of both the Bush administration and other top ranking republican figures.
These efforts are designed to convince us that although the facts seem to point to the contrary, that the President has complied with all US laws and no improprieties exist.
But do the facts agree?
On Saturday the Washington Post indicated that Congressional research clearly demonstrated that Mr. Bush had broken US Law when he instituted his Warrantless domestic spying program.
A report by Congress's research arm concluded yesterday that the administration's justification for the warrantless eavesdropping authorized by President Bush conflicts with existing law…
Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 7, 2006; Page A01
Thursday, the New York Times published similar findings.
A legal analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service concludes that the Bush administration's limited briefings for Congress on the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping without warrants are "inconsistent with the law."
Scott Shane
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18
Yet the Bush administration and its supporters continue to defend illegal actions by the President, elevating Bush to almost kinglike status, ignoring the inherent balance of powers in our democracy and disregarding our own US law.
So why today would the Bush administration launch an all out effort, with an almost totalitarian disdain for oversight, and their typical our way or the highway mentality?
Yesterday the Department of Justice released in response to criticism of the Bush administrations spying program a 42 page document prepared under the direction of longtime Bush ally and appointee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
The document, while filled with lengthy rhetoric, does little to demonstrate any legality for the program. On the one hand, the document argues Bush had the authority to launch his domestic spying program based on Congressional authority provided in 2001 following the 911 attacks.
On the other hand, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales argues that if they had asked Congress for approval, they may have rejected the requests; “that was not something we could likely get” Alberto Gonzales – and therefore opted to carry out the operations without Congressional oversight.
This week the debate heated up, however coincidentally after over a year in silence Osama Bin Laden decided to drop us all a note and remind us all what we’re fighting for, and subsequently took pressure off the White House and turned America’s attention back to the War on Terror.
As the week progressed however attentions shifted back towards the ongoing spy scandal and the ever
increasing possibility that the President has broken the law. Gore, Walter Cronkite and now John McCain believe Bush has broken the law.
Today, US Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D) MD, said with regards to the DOJ’s 42 page apology for the administrations actions;
Making their argument longer does not make it better
And ”Any first year law student can see this argument is specious “.
Later in the day, former Federal Prosecutor Richard Sauber said on Hardball;
”At best it's a weak argument. At worst it's a silly argument”
We are at a crossroads here. The President of the United States has broken US Law, openly and defiantly. The Department of Justice, headed by a long time Bush ally has chosen to defend this crime with legally unfounded official rhetoric.
And now, the Bush Administration is actively out trying to convince Americans that the President now makes the laws, and therefore he cannot break them.
A long time ago the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith made a prediction that in the end of times, the US Constitution would literally ”dangle by a thread.
I cannot attest as to his prophetic capabilities however we can certainly see the relevance of this saying today, as we are faced with the ultimate threat to our democratic way of governing ourselves. Do we allow ourselves to be fostered under the wings of a benevolent monarch whose only concerns are purportedly to keep us all safe from terrorists? (forget natural disasters, crime, poverty, etc, terrorists are all we have to fear)
Or should we be more concerned as to letting Bin Laden win by turning America into exactly what he said he would force us to turn it into, a paranoid totalitarian, Orwellian like police state where the cure is far worse than the disease?
And while we make up our minds which poison will kill us first, our Constitution is precariously dangling by a thread.
BOOBGATE....continued:
... As the fixation with cartoon-porn blondes such as Anna Nicole Smith et al. has proliferated, so have the number of conservatives in Washington. Could it be a plot to distract us? In the case of Coulter, it’s her short skirt and "traditional values" that seem to give her that slutty attitude.
How do you speak to an enemy? Coulter writes: "You must outrage the enemy. If the liberal you’re arguing with doesn’t become speechless with sputtering, impotent rage, you’re not doing it right. … Start with the maximum assertion about liberals and then push the envelope, because, as we know, their evil is incalculable. … Nothing too extreme can be said about liberals, because it’s all true. – Talk, pg. 10
Ann Coulter ridicules Liberals for hurling insults and being unable to argue back intelligently with equal venom. She accuses them of stammering and calling her names. But I submit that this is a normal person’s reaction when confronted with her insanity. Reasonable people stammer! But I know a better way: turn the other cheek and let her slap that one. Before trying that technique, I want to muck around in the dirt a little first. Here is a fantasy conversation:
Ann: Liberals are traitors and the spawn of Satan.
Me: That’s a little hostile. Are those claws on your reptile or are you just happy to see me?
Ann: Oh how I hate them! They should be tortured publicly if they can't get on board.
Me: Well it's kinda hard to get on board once the train’s already wrecked.
Ann: Wrecked!? The war is going perfectly! And Sadaam had WMD hidden in his toilet, which you would know if you read my column, you war-hating chicken ass.
Me: Thank you, I was hoping my ass was as small as a chicken’s.
Ann: You just want to tax and spend, tax and spend…
Me: No, I just want you and Delay to pay for this war. By the way, what do you have against helping the poor?
Ann: The poor are swarthy and they don’t wear Izod; they're not preppy! They can’t read and they take up too much space and they don’t bathe!
Me; Well they could if they had bathtubs.
Ann: But they’re swarthy.
Me: That’s just caked-on dirt, remember?
Ann: You and your liberal scum are against the war, which means that you long to see our troops blown up!
Me: No, I’m against the war because I want our troops alive. By the way, according to Websters “liberal” means ‘generous, open-hearted, bounteous.”
Ann: Swarthy types belong in coal mines. The poor have no work ethic; they should get jobs.
Me: They would if Bush starts actually creating some (for the people who already live here.)
Ann: How dare you! Job growth has been climbing steadily under this President.
Me: I wasn't talking about Haliburton. Hey, I have an idea -- let them work for you!
Ann: No they’ll steal my china. They just want to suck me dry.
Me: It looks like that’s already happened.
Ann: You’re obviously a moron with no education.
Me: I have a Bachelor of Science degree, but thank you. Guess I'm lucky to be a be a moron with no education as opposed to a moron with the best education money can buy. :D
LYDIA CORNELL: AFI Best Actress Nominee, People's Choice Award winner; Actor, Writer, Director, Producer; woman and children advocate; teen mentor, comedienne, talk show host, inspirational pubic speaker best known for her starring role on ABC's "Too Close for Comfort" as TV legend Ted Knight's daughter 'Sara'; HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, and over 250 shows, episodes and movies worldwide. Turns tragedy into comedy, life-saving issues for women and equal pay for equal work...
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Friday, January 20, 2006
CORRUPTION AT THE CORE ** HELP OUR VETERANS
"It's easier to wear slippers than to carpet the whole world." - Stuart Smalley
A method Bush Inc used was "intent to deceive" by word association. An analysis revealed that on over 100 occasions Bush and Gang had used Saddam and 9-11 in the same sentence to convey an association. Bush did it in 8 sentences during one speech. How else could 70% come to believe there was an association? The same technique was used on Saddam-Osama.
- From Political Historian Clarence Swinney
______________________________
From Ron Kovic, paralyzed from the chest down by Vietnam War wounds, and confined to a wheelchair for almost 40 years: "As I now contemplate another January 20th I cannot help but think of the young men and women who have been wounded in the war in Iraq. They have been coming home now for almost three years, flooding Walter Reed, Bethesda, Brooke Army Medical Center and veterans hospitals all across the country. Paraplegics, amputees, burn victims, the blinded and maimed, shocked and stunned, brain-damaged and psychologically stressed, over 16,000 of them, a whole new generation of severely maimed is returning from Iraq, young men and women who were not even born when I came home wounded to the Bronx veterans hospital in 1968."
"I have come to believe that there is nothing in the lives of human beings more terrifying than war and nothing more important than for those of us who have experienced it to share its awful truth."
"We must break this cycle of violence and begin to move in a different direction; war is not the answer, violence is not the solution. A more peaceful world is possible." To read Ron's entire essay, go to: TRUTHDIG
_________________________
Yesterday I had the honor of hosting Robert Dreyfuss for lunch at my house. He's the author of the brilliant new book, DEVIL'S GAME: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam (Holt/Metropolitan) This is a must-read, and answers all the questions about our Mid-East foreign policy stretching back 60 years, when America forged an alliance with the Islamic right in order to, among other things, combat Soviet atheistic communism. Dreyfuss is an investigative journalist who writes for Rolling Stone, The Nation, The American Prospect, Mother Jones and is a frequent contributor to NPR, MSNBC and CNBC. ROBERT DREYFUSS
__________________________
From this blog's feisty contributing commenter WORFEUS, who is not aligned with either party:
DON'T BE FOOLED: The increases Bush made in the VA are based on peace-time regular annual cost increases.
In peace-time we don't have many Post Traumatic Stress Disorder cases. And not too many Amputee's.
Right now the VA is dealing with some 16,000 GI's needing prosthetic limbs, seeing eye dogs, physical therapy, wheel chairs and reconstructive surgery.
We have another 30,000 + needing counseling, therapy, medication and hostpitalization for battle related stress and mental illness, family and medical counseling and so on.
------------------------
VA officials told Congress that the unexpected shortfall occurred because they had used an inaccurate, two-year-old financial model to calculate their spending requests. VA officials said the model underestimated the impact of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and made other forecasting errors
VA Undersecretary Jonathan Perlin said budget forecasts are created two years in advance, meaning that the current year's predictions were made before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. - Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, June 24, 2005
** What Bush did is take the lowest number he could get away with to tend for our nations veterans, based upon Peace Time Projections, then sent them to war, then cut that figure after he got elected by a Billion dollars to help pay for his war.
This is a prime example of Bushonomics. (WORFEUS)
Received this from my friend Doug Basham, whose amazing Progressive Talk-Radio show I did last month. DOUG BASHAM RADIO
Dear Lydia, Just wanted to share this with you. It hit me pretty hard last night. Back on Dec. 16, a little over a week after you appeared on my show, I had Specialist Douglas Barber as my guest, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran suffering from PTSD. He was telling us how the VA had abandoned Iraqi vets, and how he couldn't get help for his PTSD. Last night, at the top of my 3rd hour, I received this email...
Mr. Basham: I was a dear friend of Douglas; I say was, because Douglas committed suicide today on the front porch of his trailer around 2:30 pm Opelika, Alabama time. I was just listening to your interview with him so I could hear his voice again. Just thought you might like to know.
Here is a link to the interview itself:
http://www.dougbasham.com/12-16-05DouglasBarber.mp3
********************************
GORE "The President of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently."
Click here to hear Gore's electrifying speech at BRAD BLOG (Or read highlights of the speech at end of blog below)
On the eve of the election of 2004, I sent this excerpt and wrote the following letter to a Republican Christian friend:
"Al-Qaeda came into Iraq after the American invasion," claimed Said. He added that, contrary to claims in Washington, the deposed Iraqi leader was probably the most reliable bulwark against Al-Qaeda infiltration into Iraq." - Mohammed al-Sayed Said, deputy director of the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and a former Washington correspondent for the Al-Ahram daily.
Dear Tristan (name changed)
For years I've done research on Islamic fundamentalism, Christianity and the Middle East. I am not implying that life under a madman was anything but terrifying, so please don't distort or spin my words, but do read TIME Magazine's article on "Iraq's Persecuted Christians" written by Iraqi Christian leader, Munir Mardirisosian. "The current violence in Iraq threatens one of the oldest Christian communities, dating back 2,000 years....Under Sadaam, Christians coexisted more or less amicably with the Muslim majority. Easter services were broadcast on state television, and Christians were allowed to own and operate liquor stores, beauty salons..."
Tristan, there is only one truth — but many distortions, manipulations and hidden agendas. I hate the way politics polarizes people; you seem to imply that people like myself (pro-environment, anti-guns/NRA, pro-peace) are not PATRIOTIC and madly in love with our country!! There are millions of faith-filled Democrats who support our troops but despise this illegal war — and it's corrupt how the extreme right-wing has smeared anyone against the war for lacking morals, faith or patriotism!
After much soul-searching and constant prayer for months, years — asking God to fill my heart with answers — without a doubt, the answer that keeps coming up over and over is that this war is wrong and our president is morally corrupt (as well as lazy, unconscious, severely misguided and resistant to truth.) There is something inherently wrong with the principles of current administration, their enablers and right-wing lawmakers. These are not true conservatives. The Republican party is hardly recognizable, though it used to be a party of balance. Please read Gore's speech below.
It says in the Bible, that we must go to God in private to hear God's voice, and follow God's leading in our heart. If you get out of your head and go to your heart, and take away all intellectual arguments as well as personal profit or money motives, you will know this administration is morally wrong. In fact, they are behaving the opposite of any real Christian.
No matter what, as a follower of the Prince of Peace, no Christian can say that bombing an entire country to remove one man (among other reasons) is the method Jesus would have used. His teachings were very clear. I sent you an article that tells how much we are hated in the world because of Bush, and therefore in MUCH more danger. You don't have children yet, but now I'm really scared about the increasing hatred Bush has brought upon us.
"All Arab and Muslim peoples are convinced that (US President George W.) Bush is persecuting Muslims and Arabs and is targeting only the Arab world," said Makram Mohammed Ahmed, editor-in-chief of the semi-official Al-Mussawar magazine.
And this, he said, "increases tensions and hatred. The whole Arab world hates America and the Bush administration." Said said he found it even more disturbing that "the Americans do not have any regret for what they did to the Iraqi people as a result of their mistakes."
And you never answered my question: how do you explain Christ's explicit instructions for dealing with our enemies? Why don't Bush "Christians" take Christ's words literally, fundamentally: Bless those who persecute you, resist NOT evil, return love for hate, love your enemies? Even if we can't always follow this, at least we should never be the invaders, torturers or aggressors. Defense is one thing, a preemptive strike based on a lie is another. As Robert Dreyfuss put it: "Bush is like a kid with his hand stuck in the candy jar; he wants the oil, and he won't let go until many more of our troops have died.
I used to be a Republican, but I finally had to check my motives. To be conservative is admirable, but to be fear-based and withholding (as in conservative with your charity), motivated by increasing your own profits at the expense of others, and interested only in self-preservation (as these "new-conservatives" are) -- rather than elevating mankind and helping others, this to me is primitive and shameful. God is love and should never be used to justify war, "moral righteousness, hatred or judgment of others. And the bible is still being written because we are still living our history. Why do people think it all ends, when it's still going on! Every spiritual thinker is writing the living Bible right now. Our battles are truly within ourselves. Love is the essence of everything.
I am dismayed that our president was actually proud of the fact that he didn't like to read or think deeply! (He later denied it, but he did actually bragged that he didn't read books or newspapers!) He’s proud of himself for never changing his mind, never enlightening himself, never reflecting. All great men REFLECT, go within, read the great books, consult spiritual advisers with the big decisions -- and ponder the meaning of life. And a wise judge or leader always investigates, considers all sides, puts himself in another’s shoes. Remember Solomon?
I don’t want a Supreme Court justice that doesn’t change his or her mind in 20 years -- a quality Bush finds desirable! This would be just plain STUPID.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM GORE'S AMAZING SPEECH...
A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government. Our Founding Fathers were adamant that they had established a government of laws and not men. Indeed, they recognized that the structure of government they had enshrined in our Constitution - our system of checks and balances - was designed with a central purpose of ensuring that it would govern through the rule of law.
...
The President and I agree on one thing. The threat from terrorism is all too real...Where we disagree is that we have to break the law or sacrifice our system of government to protect Americans from terrorism. In fact, doing so makes us weaker and more vulnerable.
...
In the 70's and 80's, the oversight hearings in which my colleagues and I participated held the feet of the Executive Branch to the fire - no matter which party was in power. Yet oversight is almost unknown in the Congress today.
...
It is the pitiful state of our legislative branch which primarily explains the failure of our vaunted checks and balances to prevent the dangerous overreach by our Executive Branch which now threatens a radical transformation of the American system.
URL: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002288.htm
A method Bush Inc used was "intent to deceive" by word association. An analysis revealed that on over 100 occasions Bush and Gang had used Saddam and 9-11 in the same sentence to convey an association. Bush did it in 8 sentences during one speech. How else could 70% come to believe there was an association? The same technique was used on Saddam-Osama.
- From Political Historian Clarence Swinney
______________________________
From Ron Kovic, paralyzed from the chest down by Vietnam War wounds, and confined to a wheelchair for almost 40 years: "As I now contemplate another January 20th I cannot help but think of the young men and women who have been wounded in the war in Iraq. They have been coming home now for almost three years, flooding Walter Reed, Bethesda, Brooke Army Medical Center and veterans hospitals all across the country. Paraplegics, amputees, burn victims, the blinded and maimed, shocked and stunned, brain-damaged and psychologically stressed, over 16,000 of them, a whole new generation of severely maimed is returning from Iraq, young men and women who were not even born when I came home wounded to the Bronx veterans hospital in 1968."
"I have come to believe that there is nothing in the lives of human beings more terrifying than war and nothing more important than for those of us who have experienced it to share its awful truth."
"We must break this cycle of violence and begin to move in a different direction; war is not the answer, violence is not the solution. A more peaceful world is possible." To read Ron's entire essay, go to: TRUTHDIG
_________________________
Yesterday I had the honor of hosting Robert Dreyfuss for lunch at my house. He's the author of the brilliant new book, DEVIL'S GAME: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam (Holt/Metropolitan) This is a must-read, and answers all the questions about our Mid-East foreign policy stretching back 60 years, when America forged an alliance with the Islamic right in order to, among other things, combat Soviet atheistic communism. Dreyfuss is an investigative journalist who writes for Rolling Stone, The Nation, The American Prospect, Mother Jones and is a frequent contributor to NPR, MSNBC and CNBC. ROBERT DREYFUSS
__________________________
From this blog's feisty contributing commenter WORFEUS, who is not aligned with either party:
DON'T BE FOOLED: The increases Bush made in the VA are based on peace-time regular annual cost increases.
In peace-time we don't have many Post Traumatic Stress Disorder cases. And not too many Amputee's.
Right now the VA is dealing with some 16,000 GI's needing prosthetic limbs, seeing eye dogs, physical therapy, wheel chairs and reconstructive surgery.
We have another 30,000 + needing counseling, therapy, medication and hostpitalization for battle related stress and mental illness, family and medical counseling and so on.
------------------------
VA officials told Congress that the unexpected shortfall occurred because they had used an inaccurate, two-year-old financial model to calculate their spending requests. VA officials said the model underestimated the impact of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and made other forecasting errors
VA Undersecretary Jonathan Perlin said budget forecasts are created two years in advance, meaning that the current year's predictions were made before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. - Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, June 24, 2005
** What Bush did is take the lowest number he could get away with to tend for our nations veterans, based upon Peace Time Projections, then sent them to war, then cut that figure after he got elected by a Billion dollars to help pay for his war.
This is a prime example of Bushonomics. (WORFEUS)
Received this from my friend Doug Basham, whose amazing Progressive Talk-Radio show I did last month. DOUG BASHAM RADIO
Dear Lydia, Just wanted to share this with you. It hit me pretty hard last night. Back on Dec. 16, a little over a week after you appeared on my show, I had Specialist Douglas Barber as my guest, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran suffering from PTSD. He was telling us how the VA had abandoned Iraqi vets, and how he couldn't get help for his PTSD. Last night, at the top of my 3rd hour, I received this email...
Mr. Basham: I was a dear friend of Douglas; I say was, because Douglas committed suicide today on the front porch of his trailer around 2:30 pm Opelika, Alabama time. I was just listening to your interview with him so I could hear his voice again. Just thought you might like to know.
Here is a link to the interview itself:
http://www.dougbasham.com/12-16-05DouglasBarber.mp3
********************************
GORE "The President of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently."
Click here to hear Gore's electrifying speech at BRAD BLOG (Or read highlights of the speech at end of blog below)
On the eve of the election of 2004, I sent this excerpt and wrote the following letter to a Republican Christian friend:
"Al-Qaeda came into Iraq after the American invasion," claimed Said. He added that, contrary to claims in Washington, the deposed Iraqi leader was probably the most reliable bulwark against Al-Qaeda infiltration into Iraq." - Mohammed al-Sayed Said, deputy director of the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and a former Washington correspondent for the Al-Ahram daily.
Dear Tristan (name changed)
For years I've done research on Islamic fundamentalism, Christianity and the Middle East. I am not implying that life under a madman was anything but terrifying, so please don't distort or spin my words, but do read TIME Magazine's article on "Iraq's Persecuted Christians" written by Iraqi Christian leader, Munir Mardirisosian. "The current violence in Iraq threatens one of the oldest Christian communities, dating back 2,000 years....Under Sadaam, Christians coexisted more or less amicably with the Muslim majority. Easter services were broadcast on state television, and Christians were allowed to own and operate liquor stores, beauty salons..."
Tristan, there is only one truth — but many distortions, manipulations and hidden agendas. I hate the way politics polarizes people; you seem to imply that people like myself (pro-environment, anti-guns/NRA, pro-peace) are not PATRIOTIC and madly in love with our country!! There are millions of faith-filled Democrats who support our troops but despise this illegal war — and it's corrupt how the extreme right-wing has smeared anyone against the war for lacking morals, faith or patriotism!
After much soul-searching and constant prayer for months, years — asking God to fill my heart with answers — without a doubt, the answer that keeps coming up over and over is that this war is wrong and our president is morally corrupt (as well as lazy, unconscious, severely misguided and resistant to truth.) There is something inherently wrong with the principles of current administration, their enablers and right-wing lawmakers. These are not true conservatives. The Republican party is hardly recognizable, though it used to be a party of balance. Please read Gore's speech below.
It says in the Bible, that we must go to God in private to hear God's voice, and follow God's leading in our heart. If you get out of your head and go to your heart, and take away all intellectual arguments as well as personal profit or money motives, you will know this administration is morally wrong. In fact, they are behaving the opposite of any real Christian.
No matter what, as a follower of the Prince of Peace, no Christian can say that bombing an entire country to remove one man (among other reasons) is the method Jesus would have used. His teachings were very clear. I sent you an article that tells how much we are hated in the world because of Bush, and therefore in MUCH more danger. You don't have children yet, but now I'm really scared about the increasing hatred Bush has brought upon us.
"All Arab and Muslim peoples are convinced that (US President George W.) Bush is persecuting Muslims and Arabs and is targeting only the Arab world," said Makram Mohammed Ahmed, editor-in-chief of the semi-official Al-Mussawar magazine.
And this, he said, "increases tensions and hatred. The whole Arab world hates America and the Bush administration." Said said he found it even more disturbing that "the Americans do not have any regret for what they did to the Iraqi people as a result of their mistakes."
And you never answered my question: how do you explain Christ's explicit instructions for dealing with our enemies? Why don't Bush "Christians" take Christ's words literally, fundamentally: Bless those who persecute you, resist NOT evil, return love for hate, love your enemies? Even if we can't always follow this, at least we should never be the invaders, torturers or aggressors. Defense is one thing, a preemptive strike based on a lie is another. As Robert Dreyfuss put it: "Bush is like a kid with his hand stuck in the candy jar; he wants the oil, and he won't let go until many more of our troops have died.
I used to be a Republican, but I finally had to check my motives. To be conservative is admirable, but to be fear-based and withholding (as in conservative with your charity), motivated by increasing your own profits at the expense of others, and interested only in self-preservation (as these "new-conservatives" are) -- rather than elevating mankind and helping others, this to me is primitive and shameful. God is love and should never be used to justify war, "moral righteousness, hatred or judgment of others. And the bible is still being written because we are still living our history. Why do people think it all ends, when it's still going on! Every spiritual thinker is writing the living Bible right now. Our battles are truly within ourselves. Love is the essence of everything.
I am dismayed that our president was actually proud of the fact that he didn't like to read or think deeply! (He later denied it, but he did actually bragged that he didn't read books or newspapers!) He’s proud of himself for never changing his mind, never enlightening himself, never reflecting. All great men REFLECT, go within, read the great books, consult spiritual advisers with the big decisions -- and ponder the meaning of life. And a wise judge or leader always investigates, considers all sides, puts himself in another’s shoes. Remember Solomon?
I don’t want a Supreme Court justice that doesn’t change his or her mind in 20 years -- a quality Bush finds desirable! This would be just plain STUPID.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM GORE'S AMAZING SPEECH...
A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government. Our Founding Fathers were adamant that they had established a government of laws and not men. Indeed, they recognized that the structure of government they had enshrined in our Constitution - our system of checks and balances - was designed with a central purpose of ensuring that it would govern through the rule of law.
...
The President and I agree on one thing. The threat from terrorism is all too real...Where we disagree is that we have to break the law or sacrifice our system of government to protect Americans from terrorism. In fact, doing so makes us weaker and more vulnerable.
...
In the 70's and 80's, the oversight hearings in which my colleagues and I participated held the feet of the Executive Branch to the fire - no matter which party was in power. Yet oversight is almost unknown in the Congress today.
...
It is the pitiful state of our legislative branch which primarily explains the failure of our vaunted checks and balances to prevent the dangerous overreach by our Executive Branch which now threatens a radical transformation of the American system.
URL: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002288.htm
Sunday, January 08, 2006
THE TAPESTRY * SPYING ON AMERICANS
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt
THE TAPESTRY
Imagine if the human pageant were just a tapestry — and God sees the complete picture on the finished side, but from our vantage point below, we only see dangling threads that keep disappearing as they are woven in and out. As people pass on, certain threads disappear because they are part of a grand stitch that completes a beautiful landscape — or picture on the other side. We can’t see the whole picture. But God can. We don't know the reason for death and suffering; we don't know what's on the other side, but I'm sure there are many mansions and colors -- and the weave creates a majestic tapestry.
Somehow in this day and age, we’ve seen too much, done too much, been too naked. There’s too much hard-core violence and porn in the airwaves. We can’t really take it back and become innocent again. But I really want to be a virgin again in more ways than one. There is nothing in the physical world left to want, do or imagine. I don’t want one more luxury or gadget to make my life easier except maybe a Gizmo can opener. I don’t think anything impresses anyone anymore. Except seeing, actually seeing God. The great mystical force of love inside us all. I was thinking about the tragedy of the hurricane and the tsunami – and how many bodies have rotted and evaporated – how quickly human life is snuffed out. It proves to me what I’ve always known: that man is not made of matter, that rotting flesh has no essence in and of itself --- no matter how real the illusion seems. Man is spiritual; we are linked to the Divine mind, the one mind, God -- and to each other with the fabric of love.
This is a universe of thought. Thought is energy and it is swift (too bad those lying 'Boat Veterans' forever ruined the word 'swift' for me, which just proves I am too much a victim of my thought.) Here's the Catch 22: what you think about all day long, is what you become; what you focus on grows. Whatsoever things are good, pure, lovely -- think on these things and you will bring these into your life in proportion to your thoughts. Our thoughts create our reality, and as Shakespeare said, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." It's just so hard not to be horrified by this administration, the lies they told, the Machiavellian way they operate -- and the way they aligned themselves with truly good people in order to make liberals seem like heathens. This is a travesty. Liberal is not a dirty word: it's a great word. It means FREEDOM LOVING!
I have the profound sense that we can touch God everyday when we are loving to others, especially those who offend us and disturb us, and especially those less fortunate. Have you seen someone's face light up with just one kind word? Anne Frank was a pure and loving soul and thank God we have her diary to describe for us man's inhumanity to man. I have heard that at the moment of death, we transcend suffering - that it is removed. They did a study of people whose heads hit the tarmac after an explosion, and one woman who "died" and then was revived, said that she did not feel anything but went straight to the "light" as heaven embraced her. ** No one is going to hell by the way, unless their thoughts are already there and they are consumed with hatred for their fellow man.
I lived in Holland and visited Anne Frank's hiding place; it is so eerie to think humans can do this to other humans -- disparage an entire group of people and actually get the masses to believe that Jewish people were as worthless as rats. We have to be careful not to do this with any group - even extremist Muslims. The tendency in this divisive culture is to lash out at each other, and I have been guilty as well when I speak of the religious-right. But this new breed of militant "Christian" has completely missed the point of Christ's teachings and turned many people off to Christianity in the process. And I believe they are partly behind our foreign policy and this rush to war.
SPYING ON AMERICANS
"It seems the Bush administration — being a group of sane, informed adults — has been secretly tapping Arab terrorists without warrants" -- from ANN COULTER "WHY WE DON'T TRUST YOU (Democrats) WITH NATIONAL SECURITY" January 4, 2006
Tell that to James Moore, who is on the "No -fly list". He was once one of GW Bush's good friends, until he wrote a book called "Bush's Brain" about Karl Rove. He is all-American, not Middle Eastern, has no Middle Eastern business and has never had a connection to a terrorist. Now he is forbidden to fly anywhere -- and has no way to get off the list. WONDER WHY HE IS ON THAT LIST!!!
My friend Chaz has an analogy of this administration: "A frog will not jump out of a pan if you turn the heat up slowly."
God Bless the miners' families, the brave soldiers we have lost in Iraq, and Ariel Sharon. Our prayers are with you. I am deeply humbled by our men and women in the military, and in awe at their courage and sacrifice. These amazing people are true super-heroes -- along with fire fighters and police. God Bless those who died for our freedom.
THE TAPESTRY
Imagine if the human pageant were just a tapestry — and God sees the complete picture on the finished side, but from our vantage point below, we only see dangling threads that keep disappearing as they are woven in and out. As people pass on, certain threads disappear because they are part of a grand stitch that completes a beautiful landscape — or picture on the other side. We can’t see the whole picture. But God can. We don't know the reason for death and suffering; we don't know what's on the other side, but I'm sure there are many mansions and colors -- and the weave creates a majestic tapestry.
Somehow in this day and age, we’ve seen too much, done too much, been too naked. There’s too much hard-core violence and porn in the airwaves. We can’t really take it back and become innocent again. But I really want to be a virgin again in more ways than one. There is nothing in the physical world left to want, do or imagine. I don’t want one more luxury or gadget to make my life easier except maybe a Gizmo can opener. I don’t think anything impresses anyone anymore. Except seeing, actually seeing God. The great mystical force of love inside us all. I was thinking about the tragedy of the hurricane and the tsunami – and how many bodies have rotted and evaporated – how quickly human life is snuffed out. It proves to me what I’ve always known: that man is not made of matter, that rotting flesh has no essence in and of itself --- no matter how real the illusion seems. Man is spiritual; we are linked to the Divine mind, the one mind, God -- and to each other with the fabric of love.
This is a universe of thought. Thought is energy and it is swift (too bad those lying 'Boat Veterans' forever ruined the word 'swift' for me, which just proves I am too much a victim of my thought.) Here's the Catch 22: what you think about all day long, is what you become; what you focus on grows. Whatsoever things are good, pure, lovely -- think on these things and you will bring these into your life in proportion to your thoughts. Our thoughts create our reality, and as Shakespeare said, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." It's just so hard not to be horrified by this administration, the lies they told, the Machiavellian way they operate -- and the way they aligned themselves with truly good people in order to make liberals seem like heathens. This is a travesty. Liberal is not a dirty word: it's a great word. It means FREEDOM LOVING!
I have the profound sense that we can touch God everyday when we are loving to others, especially those who offend us and disturb us, and especially those less fortunate. Have you seen someone's face light up with just one kind word? Anne Frank was a pure and loving soul and thank God we have her diary to describe for us man's inhumanity to man. I have heard that at the moment of death, we transcend suffering - that it is removed. They did a study of people whose heads hit the tarmac after an explosion, and one woman who "died" and then was revived, said that she did not feel anything but went straight to the "light" as heaven embraced her. ** No one is going to hell by the way, unless their thoughts are already there and they are consumed with hatred for their fellow man.
I lived in Holland and visited Anne Frank's hiding place; it is so eerie to think humans can do this to other humans -- disparage an entire group of people and actually get the masses to believe that Jewish people were as worthless as rats. We have to be careful not to do this with any group - even extremist Muslims. The tendency in this divisive culture is to lash out at each other, and I have been guilty as well when I speak of the religious-right. But this new breed of militant "Christian" has completely missed the point of Christ's teachings and turned many people off to Christianity in the process. And I believe they are partly behind our foreign policy and this rush to war.
SPYING ON AMERICANS
"It seems the Bush administration — being a group of sane, informed adults — has been secretly tapping Arab terrorists without warrants" -- from ANN COULTER "WHY WE DON'T TRUST YOU (Democrats) WITH NATIONAL SECURITY" January 4, 2006
Tell that to James Moore, who is on the "No -fly list". He was once one of GW Bush's good friends, until he wrote a book called "Bush's Brain" about Karl Rove. He is all-American, not Middle Eastern, has no Middle Eastern business and has never had a connection to a terrorist. Now he is forbidden to fly anywhere -- and has no way to get off the list. WONDER WHY HE IS ON THAT LIST!!!
My friend Chaz has an analogy of this administration: "A frog will not jump out of a pan if you turn the heat up slowly."
God Bless the miners' families, the brave soldiers we have lost in Iraq, and Ariel Sharon. Our prayers are with you. I am deeply humbled by our men and women in the military, and in awe at their courage and sacrifice. These amazing people are true super-heroes -- along with fire fighters and police. God Bless those who died for our freedom.
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